Harry Potter
and
The Half-Blood Prince
by
J. K. Rowling


Chapter 1- The Funeral
“Gotta go to the bathroom… gotta go to the bathroom…” Harry Potter repeated 
over and over in his mind until the words lost  all meaning. He and Dudley had just spent 
the past two hours celebrating their graduation from their fifth years at school by having a 
soda drinking contest, which Harry won. Sadly, it  was a pyrrhic  victory. Harry had set  a 
personal record by chugging down fifty-three cans of soda, and now he had to let it out… 
but where?
The restaurant  in which the  two of  them had held the contest  was just a small 
diner, it had no bathrooms, and it was on a busy street, with very few other businesses. All 
there  was were houses, and Harry had to resist the urge to barge into one and demand to 
use the bathroom. The closest place they could seek refuge was Dudley’s house, but that 
was a little more than a mile away… could they make it?
“Why don’t you just use some magic and teleport  us back home or something?” 
asked Dudley, looking extremely red in the face, and almost in pain.
“I can’t… I left my wand at home,” said Harry, wanting to hit himself in the head 
for doing so. He had been so used to just having his wand with him wherever he went that 
he forgot that he actually had to bring it with him in order to have it. Back at Hogwarts, it 
was normal to have his wand with him wherever he went.
Of course, nothing like that would be normal to us, only to Harry and the rest of 
the wizarding world. You see, despite  what you may think from  the contest, Harry Potter 
is not a normal boy. He is a fifteen year old, going on sixteen, wizard student at Hogwarts 
School for Witchcraft  and Wizardry. There, he among many other students  learn how to 
perform fabulous  magic, and gain powers that could help them in dangerous  situations, 
everyday life… or situations much like the one Harry was in now.
“Arg, if I had my wand I could just  summon us  a toilet  or something,” groaned 
Harry and he walked slowly forward, the pain growing with each step.
“Oh, there has to be a place somewhere around here,” said Dudley, gripping his 
stomach and desperately turning his head in all directions.
Harry couldn’t help but smile. This was his  and Dudley’s  first  time  out doing 
something together, and actually enjoying each other’s  company. For the past five years 
during summer vacations at Hogwarts, and for ten years before then, Dudley’s family, the 
Dursley’s, watched Harry. His  parents  were  killed by the most  terrible  and vicious dark 
wizard in over a century: Voldemort. He attacked their house  one  night, to try and steal 
Harry from  his  parents. Both of  his  parents  died in  the  attack, but Harry  managed to 
survive due to  his  mother sacrificing her life  for his. When Voldemort  performed  the 
killing curse on Harry, like he had done on hundreds of others, it just rebounded off of the 
invisible shield of love, and gave Harry only a small scar on his forehead. 
When the curse rebounded back to Voldemort, it nearly killed him, turning him 
into a feeble spirit that wandered the world for thirteen years, trying to regain his former 
power. At the end of Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts, Voldemort  managed to resurrect 
himself, and rose to become even more horrible than before. Now, instead of trying to kill 
Harry, he has been trying to recruit him into his army of darkness. 
Up  until  now,  Harry  hadn’t  stopped   worrying  about   Voldemort.  But,  at   this 
moment, he had more pressing matters  at hand; like his exploding bladder.


“Oh man, we’ve got to find a place  quick!” yelled Dudley and Harry at the same 
time, surprising each other. After a quick laugh, they returned to their previous states, and 
continued looking.
Suddenly, a place  appeared before  them. It was  the most  glorious  place  in the 
world. It shone its  magnificent  light, becoming the greatest  building of all. It was like a 
mirage in a desert, it was salvation in a city. It was…
“A funeral home!” exclaimed Harry, pointing it out to Dudley. His face suddenly 
perked up.
“Oh yeah, they have to have ‘facilities’ in there!” he said, looking happier than 
Harry had ever seen him. With every ounce of energy in them, the two boys ran toward the 
building, gritting their teeth, and trying to stop  their  eyes  from  watering. Finally, after 
what felt like hours, they reached the front door and burst inside.
“May I help you… gentlemen?” asked a man at a desk in front of them. At first, he 
had a pleasant tone, but then once he saw the condition of Harry and Dudley’s clothes  (not 
at all appropriate for the place they were in) he immediately stuck his massive nose  high 
in the air, stood up, and put on a snobbish attitude.
“Yes, do you have a bathroom anywhere?” gasped Harry.
“Well  yes,  but they are  only  for  people  visiting the  deceased,”  said  the  man, 
sticking  his  nose,  if   it   was  possible,  higher  into  the  air.  “Are  you  here  to  pay  your 
respects?”
“Um…” stuttered Harry.
“Yes… yes of course,” interjected Dudley. “We’re here to… um… see grandma! 
Yeah, right! Grandma!” The man put his nose down slightly.
“Oh really? Well, Mrs. Perenelle  is  still accepting visitors,” he said, sitting down 
and pointing his arm in the direction of a long hallway. “You may go see her.”
“Thanks,” groaned Harry and Dudley together quickly, running off as fast as they 
could.
 “What did you think you were doing?” demanded Harry, elbowing Dudley in the 
side. “What if they didn’t have any dead women? What then? Where would ‘grandma’ be?”
“I dunno,” shrugged Dudley. “We’d just run away I guess. Sometimes you’ve got 
to take a chance. I did, and it paid off!”
“We’re lucky it  did,” said Harry. “Now where’s  the  bathroom?” Both  of them 
turned their heads in every direction, scanning the hallway, trying to find the familiar signs 
of a lavatory. Suddenly, Dudley tapped Harry on the back, gasping that he saw one. They 
ran over to it, faster than they had ever run in their lives; even faster, for Harry, than when 
he was trying to get away from Voldemort. 
After  several minutes,  both boys  left  the  bathroom, their tongues  hanging out, 
feeling greatly relieved. Harry put his hand on Dudley’s shoulder.
“Let’s never do that again,” he said.
“Well, just don’t forget your wand next time and we’ll be okay.”
“Hey Dudley, what should we do about… her?” asked Harry, pointing to the room 
that the woman was in that they were supposed to be seeing as they walked by it.
“What about her?”
“Well, it’s  thanks to  her  that we were  able  to use  the  bathroom. The least  we 


could do is thank her.”
“I guess so… let’s just make it quick.”
The two of  them quickly popped into the  small, slightly decorated room. Harry 
was surprised, however, at the lack of flowers  or pictures. It was as if no one had been 
there, as if no one cared that she had died.
“Look at this,” said Dudley, reading the guest book. “No one’s been here yet, and 
according to this, the wake ends in just a few minutes. Where is everyone?”
“Maybe she didn’t have any friends or family,” suggested Harry, walking over to 
the open coffin. He looked in, and saw an extremely old woman inside. Her hair was pure 
white, with a small golden crown, and she  looked at least one hundred years  old, if not 
more. Her face was just a peach colored prune, and there  were so many wavy wrinkles in 
her arms and hands, it was not hard to imagine someone surfing on them.
“Well… thanks,” whispered Harry to her, backing away slowly. “Heh, you saved 
our lives…. Ready to go Dudley?”
“Yep,” he said, putting down a pen.
“What were you doing with that?” asked Harry.
“I just put down our names in the guest book,” he responded. “To make our story 
more believable..”
“Good thinking. Alright, let’s go.”
Both of them walked out of the home, trying to look  like  they were  mourning. 
The man at the front appeared to have been satisfied with their  look, he just  nodded and 
went back to his work as they passed by. 
“I hope you found your visit… relieving,” said the man.
“Oh yes, it was very relieving,” said Harry, trying not to burst out laughing as they 
walked out of the door. 
The two of them walked the rest of the way back to Dudley’s house, still laughing 
and reminiscing about their little  adventure. Just when they were  reliving the  best part, 
Mrs. Figg, their old neighbor (who happened to be a witch and a teacher  at Hogwarts) 
shouted out to them.
“Hello Harry!” she yelled from her door, walking outside.
“Hello Mrs. Figg,” said Harry, walking over to her.
“Oh… hello there Dudley,” she said. “Not used to seeing you two together.”
“Yeah, me and Harry have kind of…become friends since last summer.”
“Oh, well that’s nice.”
“What did you want to tell me, Mrs. Figg?” asked Harry. 
“Oh  yes!  Well,  I wanted  to  tell  you that  I  will  not   be  teaching this  year  at 
Hogwarts.”
“What? Why not?” asked Harry, feeling extremely upset. “You were one of the 
best Defense Against  the Dark Arts teachers  I’ve ever had… the entire school  has ever 
had!”
 “Well, teaching just isn’t my thing, Harry. I much prefer actually being out there 
fighting the dark forces  than teaching how to  do it. I only did it last year because  there 
were no others willing to do it, and I felt as though I owed that school something. But, you 
don’t have to worry; someone just as good, if not better than me is  taking my place.”


“Oh I doubt that,” said Harry. “But who is?”
“Professor Quirrell.”
“What!?” yelled Harry, almost knocking himself and Mrs. Figg over. “But, he died 
five years ago! He was a servant to Voldemort!”
“Oh no no no no no,” said Mrs. Figg, waving her arms. “That was Larry Quirrell. 
This is  Jerry Quirrell, his twin brother.”
“He had a twin brother?” asked Harry.
“Yes, and you know how they say when twins are born, one is supposedly evil, and 
the other is  good? Well, before  I knew the Quirrell children, I never believed that. But, 
they are a perfect example of that theory. Larry was foul, and Jerry is lovely.”
“Well, I hope  so,” said Harry, still  not  feeling too  sure. He personally fought 
Quirrell at the end of his first year at Hogwarts, and it was not a very pleasant experience, 
nor was it especially easy. “But why are you telling me now?”
“Harry, unlike students, teachers do not have the summers  off. Me, among many 
others, are still quite busy at work, trying to keep the world we live in a safe one. I will be 
gone for the rest of summer, and wouldn’t have a chance to tell  you. I figured it would be 
better for you to hear it from me rather than just find out on the first day of school.” 
“Oh okay,” said Harry. “But, one  more  thing. Is  Snape going to  teach Potions 
again this year, or is someone else?” Mrs. Figg let out a laugh.
“I’m afraid so, Harry,” she said. “Snape will be back.” 
“Too bad,” sighed Harry. “I lose  a good teacher and gain a bad one, both in the 
same year. It’d be nice if Lupin could come back… or Sirius.”
“I don’t think Sirius will be coming back anytime soon,” she groaned. “Ever since 
last year, with Cornelius  Fudge having been revealed for  what he  was, the Ministry  of 
Magic has been extremely desperate  to show that they can do something right. So, they 
went back to their old attempt at catching Sirius.”
“He’s evaded them before, I’m sure he can do it again.”
“I’m not so certain, Harry,” she admitted. “This time, the Ministry is using very 
advanced magic to  find him; especially one  spell, the Possession Position Spell. If they 
get a hold of something that they know belongs  to Sirius, they can immediately find him 
no matter where he is on Earth. I’ve heard he’s trying to give most of his stuff away to his 
most trusted friends to try and avoid it.”
“I hope they don’t get him…” said Harry, feeling a little worried. 
“Now don’t fret  too much,” said Mrs. Figg. “I do not want you to lose  sleep over 
this.”
 “Speaking of which…” moaned Harry, trying to indicate that he wanted to leave.
“Ah yes, it is  getting late,” said Mrs. Figg, walking back to her door. “I’ll see  you 
boys later!”
“Goodbye Mrs. Figg,” yelled Harry, running up to the door to the Dursley’s house 
alongside Dudley. “And… good luck!”
“Who’s  Snape?”   asked   Dudley   when  Harry   opened   the   door,   having  a   very 
dumbfounded look on his  face. Harry merely laughed as  they walked in. Dudley was so 
oblivious to Harry’s world, it was funny. 
“Where  have you  two been!?” scorned  Harry’s  Aunt  Petunia  the  second  they 
stepped inside, as if she had just been standing there, waiting to pounce.


“Will you shut it  mom,” said Dudley, closing the door. “I’ll be sixteen in just a 
few days, I think I can take care of myself.”
“Well of course you can take care of yourself in a normal situation, Dudley,” she 
said. “But, whenever… he’s  around  (she  pointed to  Harry) the  situation  can never be 
normal.” Dudley just sighed at her response. Unlike him, the rest  of the Dursleys  had not 
yet come to respect the fact that Harry was a wizard, and nothing was going to change that. 
Dudley waved his  arm, indicating to Harry to  come into the living room  and partake in 
their favorite  activity (even more than soda chugging): watching Monty Python and the 
Holy Grail.
“Did I tell you watching this movie saved me during a test last year?” asked Harry.
“Hah! and they said memorizing it would never pay off!”
“Oh yeah, and there’s  something else  I’ve been meaning to  tell  you Dudley… 
oh… what was it…?”
“Well, out with it!” he said, taking the movie out of its cover.
“Oh… it  was…. Oh man, it’s  on the tip of my tongue!” said Harry, snapping his 
fingers.
 “Come on! Use your magic or something to remember!” 
“Oh yeah! That’s it, I remember now!”
“What is it?”
“Dudley… you’re a wizard.”


Chapter 2- Dobby Again
Dudley dropped the  video to  the floor, and he  stayed squatted there, with his 
mouth opened wide. Harry knew he should have waited for a better time… but this  was the 
best he could think of.
“I’m a… what?” stuttered Dudley.
“You’re a wizard, like me,” said Harry, trying to stay calm.
“But- but… how could I… be  a wizard?” Harry tried  not to  smile. Dudley was 
reacting to the new the same way he did when he was told that he was one too.
“I can assure you that you are.”
“But… I don’t go to that school of yours, and- and… I’ve never done anything… 
magical. And how could I be… that way… with parents like mine?” 
Harry sighed. Voldemort had told him the answers to all the same questions at the 
end of last year when he was holding Harry captive, and he didn’t really feel like having to 
repeat it all over again. But, he had to. He had brought this new burden to Dudley, and he 
had to try and begin to relieve it.
“Well   Dudley,   to   answer   your   first   question,   the   reason   you   don’t   attend 
Hogwarts is  because Voldemort somehow changed the attendance sheet for the new first 
years, when it was your time to come, so that your name was not on it.”
“Why did he do that?”
“I never told you about the Kinsafe Charm put on this house, did I?”
“Um… no?”
“I guess not then,” sighed Harry. “Well, when I was brought here, Dumbledore put 
the charm on the house so that as long as I was around family, Voldemort could not touch 
me. Now, if you came to Hogwarts with me, I’d still  have that protection at school, which 
is something Voldemort definitely did not want.”
“Oh, okay. I see,” said Dudley, wide-eyed and not looking like he did ‘see’ at all. 
“But still, how  can I be  magical? I’ve never done any magic  and  my parents  certainly 
aren’t!”
 “Well, I’m not sure how to say this, but your mom is a witch, Dudley.”
Dudley didn’t say anything, he just merely continued to stare at Harry, with a drop 
of drool slowly falling down from his mouth. Harry decided to keep on talking.
“You know that your mom and mine are twins, but what you don’t know, is that 
their father is Voldemort.” Harry stopped there for a second. The thought just occurred to 
him: Voldemort was his grandfather. He shuddered at the thought. “It’s just by chance that 
he chose to help my mom out at a young age and give her a magic book to read before she 
even started school, giving her a huge advantage. When the time came for new students  to 
be chosen, Lily so overshadowed Petunia, that they just  forgot  about her, and she never 
came  to school. So, just  because  she never went to Hogwarts  doesn’t mean she lost her 
powers.”
“But why doesn’t she use magic now?” asked Dudley, quietly and slowly.
“After a while, I guess  Hogwarts discovered  their  mistake  and they wiped her 
memory, making her forget she was ever a witch. But, yet again, that didn’t take away her 
powers, and when she gave birth to you, you gained some of them.”
“So I’m… a wizard?” gasped Dudley.


“That’s what I said.”
“Wow,” said Dudley, slowly getting up and sitting in a chair. “So… am I going to 
be coming to Hogwarts then?”
“Err…” stuttered Harry, he hadn’t really thought about that. He had been meaning 
to owl Dumbledore. “I think so.”
“Oh man… I don’t know what to say,” said Dudley, starting to look a little better, 
and possibly excited. “So, I’ll be able to make fire, and summon brooms, and even control 
the weather?”
“Um… sure,” said Harry, not wanting to get Dudley’s hopes too  high. There was 
always the chance  that he  wouldn’t be coming. But, it  couldn’t hurt to get  him started a 
little. “In fact, let’s practice some right now!”
“That sounds  like a great idea,” said Dudley, jumping up from  off his chair, and 
dropping the video on the floor, ready to start exploring his new life.
“That’s it! Now you’re  getting the  hang of it!” said Harry to Dudley, after his 
seventieth attempt at trying to perform a simple Lumos Spell resulted in some light. Even 
though he was using Harry’s wand, and was therefore not as powerful as if he had used one 
that was his own, Harry hadn’t expected it to make that much of a difference.
“Hey! I made some light!” squealed Dudley with excitement. 
“Good job,” said Harry, giving a small yawn. They had been practicing basic spells  
all day long inside the living room, and it was now extremely late. “But, I think it’s time to 
call it a night. We’ll practice some more tomorrow.”
“Alright, Harry,” he squeaked, giving him his wand back. Harry felt much stronger 
and more confident when he had his wand; it felt great to have it back. 
“Good night, Harry,” yawned Dudley, walking up the stairs to his room.
“See you later,” said Harry, for one of the first times  in his life, actually looking 
forward to the rest of his summer vacation.
Each day, for  the  next  several  weeks,  Harry and Dudley practiced  magic.  Of 
course,  they only did  it  while not  in  the  presence   of  Dudley’s  parents:   Harry’s  Aunt 
Petunia and Uncle  Vernon. Hearing them walk through the door, returning from whatever 
they were doing all day (work or mindless  gossiping), was the low of the two boys’ day.
Finally, when Dudley was able to perform most  spells that an average First  Year 
would be  able to do, Harry decided it was time  to  send Dumbledore a letter, to  see  if 
Dudley would be  able to come  to Hogwarts  next year. So, when Uncle Vernon walked 
through the door and their lesson was over, Harry decided it would be a good time to write 
it.
 “I’ve got some  things  to do,” said Harry, trying to find an excuse. “I’ll see you 
later Dudley. Keep working on memorizing those spells names!”
“I will,”  he said, engaged in reading one  of Harry’s  schoolbooks,  staying in a 
position that would allow him to quickly hide it if one of his  parents entered the room. 
Harry scooted up the stairs as fast as he could, and when he arrived in his room, he ripped 
out a piece  of parchment from  one  of his notebooks on which he would write the letter. 
After just a few seconds of making a mental outline, he wrote:


Dear Professor Dumbledore,
How are you? I am fine here, living with the Muggles. I must say, it has been one 
of  my better vacations, due to  my new friendship with my cousin  Dudley. Speaking of 
which, I’m not sure  if I forgot to mention this to you or not, but at the end of last year, 
Voldemort told me  that my Aunt Petunia was a witch, and that Dudley is  now a wizard. 
Hearing this, I am wondering if it is possible for Dudley to begin at Hogwarts, since he has 
the magical power, all he needs is the proper teaching.
Please reply soon.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
Harry reread it, to make sure it sounded good, and it sufficed. He folded it up, and 
walked over to his white owl, Hedwig, who was asleep in her cage. Harry opened the small 
door to the cage, put his hand on her, and shook the owl gently. Her eyes  opened, and she 
gave a quiet hoot.
“I need you to send this to  Dumbledore,” ordered Harry, attaching the letter to 
her leg. Immediately, Hedwig stood up and ruffled her feathers, trying to look important 
and superior. Harry gave her a small pat, and she  nipped his finger. He stepped back and 
she flew out of the window. 
Harry watched her fly  away for a few  seconds, until she  was out of  sight. He 
crossed his arms, smiled to himself, turned around, and gave a yell.
“AAAHHH!”
“Hello Harry Potter!” squeaked an all too familiar creature.
“Dobby!” gasped Harry loudly, clutching his chest and trying to  regain himself. 
“You- you scared me! Don’t sneak up on people like that.”
“I is  very sorry sir,”  squeaked Dobby. Harry looked at him, and he  looked  no 
different from the last time they met, except for the clothes he was wearing. On his arms, 
he had on some rubber gloves; yellow on the left, and blue on the right. Over his body, he 
had extremely loose  rainbow suspenders, and over those, on his  legs, he had very baggy 
black pants, something you’d expect a punk kid to wear. Harry knew Dobby liked to flaunt 
his freedom, but he’d never seen him do it to this extent. “But, I is  having to sneaks up on 
you! I is having to tell you something very important!”
“What is  it this  time, Dobby?” sighed Harry. Last time they had met like this, in 
Harry’s bedroom, Dobby had threatened Harry not to return to Hogwarts. 
“I is very sorry to say this, sir,” he squeaked, “but you cannot returns to Hogwarts 
this year!” Harry sighed.
“Dobby… we’ve been through this before.”
“No!” yelled Dobby, much more forcefully than Harry had ever heard him speak. 
“No! This  times  is  completely  different!  This  times,  if  Harry  Potter  is   returning to 
Hogwarts, he will certainly die, along with many others!”
“Why, what is  it this  time?” asked Harry in a bored voice. “Has the  Chamber of 
Secrets  been opened again?”
“No no no! I is not able to say!”


“But Dobby, you don’t have a master anymore. You are a free  elf now. You can 
say whatever you want, whenever you want.” 
“Not really, Harry Potter, sir. I is  still having masters. But, we does not have time 
to talk now! We is having to leave… now!”
“I’m not leaving, Dobby,” said Harry. “Last time, nothing serious happened to me, 
and nothing will happen this time either. You can either tell  me what the threat is now, or 
let me find out for myself later. Either way, I’m going back to Hogwarts.”
“If you is  not  coming because  you is  wanting to, you is  coming because  I am 
forcing you to!” said Dobby quite loudly. He suddenly put both if his arms out, one on top 
of the other, with some  space in between. He closed his  eyes, and began to shake a little, 
and a blue  orb appeared between his hands. The elf then yelled some  sort  of incoherent 
chant, and the orb grew ten times  its  size  and imploded on itself, creating a small  black 
hole that was sucking in everything in the room. 
Harry was immediately drawn toward it, but he lashed out for the end post of his 
bed, and held on, his legs  high in the  air, being drawn into the hole. His  entire room  was 
spinning, and everything was  being sucked to  the  middle.  On top of  that, there  was a 
deafening windy noise, like a hundred tornadoes.
“Dobby! Stop this!” yelled Harry as loud as he could, still holding on.
“Not unless  you is  coming with  me!”  said Dobby, as  clear  as  a bell. He  was 
standing in a corner of the room, unaffected by his own spell.
Harry had to think of something. His bed was beginning to shake too, it was being 
sucked into the  hole  along with everything else.  He  had to  get out  of the  room! Harry 
desperately looked around for anything that would help him.
Then he saw it: his broomstick! Of course, why hadn’t he thought of that before? 
Harry slowly climbed  his  way up the  bed sheets  and towards  the  broom that  was  still 
stationary where it was. Apparently since it was magical, the spell had no effect  on it, and 
since it was a Firebolt, it didn’t even phase it. Harry continued climbing along his blankets, 
and soon reached the broom. Just as the bed was beginning to shake, and getting ready to 
join the swirling mass, Harry made a daring leap from his where he was to the broom, and 
grabbed on tight.
“See you later Dobby!” yelled Harry, mounting the Firebolt. 
“No! Harry Potter  cannots  leave!” screamed Dobby as Harry raced out  of  the 
window, and into the open air. He took a deep breath, filled his lungs, and then exhaled it 
all out. Flying was the greatest, and most natural to Harry of everything in the wizarding 
world. It was the most  exhilarating thing in the universe… well, at least  the second most. 
There were only two things in the world that could compare to flying on a broom: flying as 
a gryffin through the air, and being with Cho Chang, the greatest girl in Hogwarts.
Ever since  he first  saw her in his second year, Harry had had a crush on Cho. 
However, he had never really done anything about it until last year, when the two of them 
went   out  on   their   first  date,   and  had  silently   proclaimed   each   other  boyfriend  and 
girlfriend.
As for flying as a gryffin, during his  last year, Harry had become an Animagus, 
that is,  a wizard who can transform  into  an animal without  the  use of  a wand. Harry’s 
gryffin was a half lion and half bird creature, possessing the greatest attributes of both; it 
was truly a beast to behold.


Harry suddenly snapped out of his little daydream, and returned to the real world. 
He found himself flying several hundred feet  above the  ground, looking down at the tiny 
buildings, cars, and ant-like people. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea where 
he was going. He certainly had to pick a destination. He couldn’t return to the Dursleys, at 
least  for  a while. Not until he was sure  Dobby wouldn’t return… which was never. He 
couldn’t fly all the  way to  Hogwarts… he didn’t even know where  it was. The last  place 
left  he could go, which in this  case  was  definitely  not  least,  was  his  best  friend Ron 
Weasley’s house. Last year, Harry had found himself in a very similar situation (fleeing 
from the Dursleys) and went to Ron’s place for a while. Why not do the same thing again?
Harry sped off in the direction to the Weasley’s house, hoping he was going the 
right way since he didn’t have a map this time. 
After a few wrong turns and dead ends, (which was very odd since he was in the 
air) Harry eventually found his way. Once he was on the right path, it wasn’t long before he 
arrived at Ron’s house.
It looked just  like Harry remembered it: a house that looked far too tall, and at 
too much of an angle to one  side. If such a thing existed in the  Muggle world, it  would 
surely fall over within an instant. But, things  such as it were  common in the wizarding 
world in which Harry lived in.
Harry flew  down towards  the front door, dismounted his  broom, and ‘rang’ the 
doorbell that made the entire  house flash bright for just a second. Harry slung his broom 
over his shoulder, and wondered who would answer the door.
If there  was  one  thing that  set  the   Weasleys   apart  from  any other  wizarding 
family… it would be two things: the fact that everyone in their house had bright red hair 
that made it appear as though there was an inferno whenever they had a family picture, and 
the insane amount of children they had. As far as Harry knew,  Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had 
seven children, six boys and one girl. Five of the six boys, however, had already graduated 
from Hogwarts, and only Ron and Ginny (the girl) were still in it.
Just then, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway. She was a 
kind,  plump lady who was  always  ready  to  welcome   anyone  and  everyone.  Her   face 
immediately lit up when she saw Harry standing in front of her.
“Oh hello Harry dear!” she said, standing back and opening the door some  more 
for him to walk through. “Come in, come in! What brings you here?”
“House elf trouble,” groaned Harry, walking inside.
“Ooh, if I had a nickel for each time I heard that excuse! I’d have… well, let’s see 
here… three nickels!”
“Um… that’s good,” said Harry, rolling his eyes  slightly. As he did, he got a full 
view of the main room that was usually crowded with Weasleys during the summer, but for 
some reason, empty right now. “Where is everyone?”
“Oh,” sighed Mrs. Weasley. “Fred and George have finally officially opened up 
their business down in Diagon Alley. The two of them and Percy are there now, working.”
“Their store  is open?” asked Harry, feeling very excited. For the past two years, 
Fred and George had been wanting to open up a joke shop, and due  to a very generous 
donation from Harry, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes  became a reality. “I can’t wait to see it!”
“Yes, neither could Ginny. She’s down there now, too.”


“But… why is  Percy helping? I thought he was working for the Ministry.”
“Oh, with all that happened to Crouch a while ago, Percy lost all will to continue 
working in that field. No, he  left that some time ago, and has  started  helping Fred and 
George with their business.”
“Is Ron here?” asked Harry, sounding hopeful.
“Oh yes, he’s in no rush to see  the shop. He’s rather enjoying being away from the 
chaos of their insane inventions, and I don’t disagree. He’s upstairs in his room by the way, 
playing with his cards.” 
“Oh, the chocolate frog cards?”
“No, these  are  something different.   With  these  new   ones,   you  actually  play 
games. Ron seems to enjoy it, but I Haven’t really looked into it yet. Why don’t you go on 
up and see for yourself?”
“I think I will,” said Harry, running up the  crooked stairs  to  Ron’s  room. He 
reached the top rather quickly, and threw open the door, revealing Ron’s extremely orange 
room, and Ron himself, sitting on his bed with playing cards all around him.
“Hello Ron,” said Harry. Ron immediately looked up and waved to him.
“Hello Harry!” he said. “What are you doing here? Muggle trouble?”
“Nah, Dobby.”
“Hmm, I see,” he said, returning to the cards. 
“What’cha got there?”
“Oh, it’s  a new card game,” said Ron, looking up slightly. “It’s really fun, and it 
has all sorts of real people and things in it.”
“Have you got a million Dumbledores  again?” asked Harry, sitting down next to 
him on the bed. 
“No,  he’s  one  of  the  rarest  ones,” said Ron, still  organizing the  cards. Harry 
picked one up, and read it off.
“Let’s see  here: ‘Boggart, power of four’ . Well, there might not be much text, 
but wow! The artwork looks  very nice, and they really are based on real things! Is it a fun 
game?”
 “You bet,” said Ron, grabbing the card out of Harry’s hand and putting it in a pile. 
“Want to learn how to play?”
“Sure,” said Harry eagerly, eyeing all of the cards hungrily. It was as if they had 
some sort of drawing power on him, beckoning him to touch them, and mocking him for 
not doing so.
“Alright, well  there’s  two types  of  cards:  fighters  and effects.  The fighters… 
well, do the fighting, and the effects  help you and hurt your opponents. Each turn, you get 
to use two total  actions, made up of  playing fighters  or using effects,  or even drawing 
additional cards. Then, your fighters  attack your opponent’s fighters, and once you have no 
fighters in play, all the damage comes to you, that is, your deck.”
“Sounds kind of complex,” said Harry, his head beginning to spin.
“Nah, not really. No more than Quidditch anyway. One you play a game or  two, 
you’ll get the hang of it.” 
“Can we play a game?” asked Harry, waning to try it out.
“No, I don’t have enough cards yet, and you need sixty for each deck.”
“Oh, too bad.”


“But… I think I remember dad once telling me that he had quite a collection.”
“What? You mean, this card game had been around before?”
“Oh  yeah.  This   cards  game   used  to   be   the  most  popular   one,   but  then   the 
chocolate frog cards took over for a while. Now though, these  ones  are back and better 
than ever!”
“Do you know where he kept them?” 
Ron put his hand up and began stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Well  I’m not  exactly sure, but I do  have an idea! Let’s  go downstairs!” Ron 
jumped up from his bed, causing most of his cards to fall on the floor. He ran over to the 
door, and shouted down with his friend.
“Alright! I’ll be down in a second! Just let me write a note to Dudley telling him 
where I am!” Harry scanned Ron’s extremely cluttered desk for a quill and a spare piece of 
parchment. He found a tattered pigeon feather under a pile of books, and ripped out a sheet 
of parchment from one of Ron’s old books. He quickly scribbled down a note to Dudley, 
telling him he had some ‘business’ with Ron, and had to  leave abruptly, but he should be 
back later. 
Harry folded the letter up, and walked over to Ron’s tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, who 
was fluttering about in his  small cage, looking extremely excited at the hope of sending a 
letter.
 “I need you to send this to Dudley,” said Harry, opening the door to the cage, and 
attaching the letter  to Pigwidgeon’s  small  leg. “He’s a Muggle that lives  in Surrey. You 
shouldn’t have too much trouble finding him, just look for the most normal-looking house 
you can see  and that’s it.” Pigwidgeon puffed his  feathers  out, and gave a funny sort of 
salute. Harry burst out laughing; he looked like a small and extremely fluffy kid who had 
his cheeks puffed out. A second later, though, Pigwidgeon was out the window and on his 
way.
 Harry, upon seeing that his  letter  was  okay, began walking downstairs  to meet 
Ron. He  ran down, as fast  as he could, eager to  see  what Ron had found. When he got 
downstairs, Harry saw him sitting in a giant red chair in a corner of the house Harry had 
never really taken any notice of before. Around the chair were two massive shelves, each 
filled  to  the  point  of overflowing with books, like  a mini-library. Ron was  engaged in 
reading a particularly large one at the moment, and was flipping through it very quickly.
“What are you reading?” asked Harry, walking over to the chair.
“Reading? No, I’m looking,” said Ron, keeping his head down. “This is  a picture 
album; this entire library is filled with picture albums.”
“Ohh,” said  Harry, eyeing  the  shelves  and wondering how  many thousands  of 
pictures there were.
“Here, grab one and look for some cards,” said Ron, blindly taking a book down 
and throwing it to Harry. “I know they’re in one of these.” Harry walked over and cracked 
open the book. Revealed inside was a single, full page that was like a miniature television 
screen. Like most wizard pictures, the people and things inside were moving. This picture 
showed a scene of a young Ron running around in the yard in his diaper, chasing after Fred 
and George, squealing the entire time.
“Aw, you were such a cute baby!” said Harry sarcastically. Ron peered over and 
sighed at the sight himself of the picture.


“Keep looking,” he said sternly, turning the page for Harry and putting his own 
album away and getting a new one. Harry laughed and looked at the next sheet. This time, 
instead of there  being one giant image taking up the entire  page, there  were nine smaller 
pictures, each depicting a different event. 
“Wow,” said Harry, gazing at each of the photos. He put his  fingers out at the top 
middle  one, a picture  of two small boys, with red hair of course, playing on a swing set. 
Harry had no idea who they were, it could be any of the six Weasley boys. But, as Harry 
looked closer, he saw in the bottom right corner of the picture a girl with red hair, and she 
looked older than the other two in the picture. As Harry looked even closer, he saw that 
the   girl   was   writing   something   in   the   sand…   a   single   word:   “Jamie”.
Harry put his hand over the picture, and swung the book over, to try and ask Ron who the 
boys and the girl were in the picture. But, just as the album was going through the air, the 
picture that Harry had his hand on fell out.
“Oh Harry!” said Ron, sounding annoyed. “Try not to make any pictures  fall out!”
“Sorry,” apologized Harry, bending over to  pick  them  up. “Wait  a minute….” 
Where  Harry had thought only one  picture  had fallen out, there  were actually two now. 
Harry picked them up, and looked at them; one of the images was the one he had looked at 
before,  the   picture  of   the  two  boys  and  the   girl,  but  the  other  one   was   completely 
different. It was a photo of a much younger Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry guessed at least 
ten or fifteen years, with a single, small girl in front of both of them. Who was she?
“Hey Ron,” said Harry, still looking at the picture. “Who is  this?” Ron looked up 
from his album, and glanced at the picture.
“Oh that’s… wait a second,” said Ron, looking surprised. He dropped his  book, 
and walked over to Harry, still looking at the picture. He took the image into his hand, and 
examined it up close. “Hmm, I’ve never seen this picture before.”
“Well, isn’t it  just one  of  Bill or Charlie?” asked Harry. It was hard to tell the 
gender of a baby at that age, it could have been a boy. But, Ron shook his head, and showed 
him the picture, pointing to a calendar in the background.
“No. Bill was born in 1975,  and Charlie  was born in 1977. The calendar in the 
back here says the year is 1974. Neither of them were alive at that time.”
There was a few seconds of an awkward silence.
“So… who is that girl?” asked Harry. “I mean, she’s definitely a Weasley.”
“Yeah, just look at that hair! But I have no idea who he is…. The only girl in this 
family is Ginny.”
“Well, why don’t you just ask your mom?”
“Good idea,” said Ron, sounding serious  and standing up. The two of them, with 
Ron carrying the  picture, walked over to Mrs. Weasley who was cooking something for 
dinner.
 “What can I help you with boys?” she asked, stirring something in a pot.
“Mom, who is  this?” asked Ron, showing her the picture. “That is, the girl in this 
picture?” Mrs. Weasley lazily looked over, and turned around, with her pot in her hand. 
But, when her eyes  met the photo, she dropped the container, causing whatever was inside 
to fall to the floor with a gigantic crash. Her eyes  grew wide, and she snatched the photo 
out of Ron’s hand.
“Mom, are you going to do something about the-” Ron was cut off.


“Where did you get this?” she demanded, not looking at all her normally kind self. 
Her face  was all scrunched up and red, and reminded Harry more  of an angry rhino than a 
loving mother.
“It… it was in the photo album….” stuttered Ron.
“I thought I told Arthur to hide this.…” fumed Mrs. Weasley quietly to herself.
“Hide… what, mom?” asked Ron.
“Nothing! Nothing at all!” she said, trying to look cheerful again. She tapped the 
spill on the floor with her wand, and it magically cleaned itself up. She stood back before  
her stove, and inconspicuously crumpled up the picture in her hand. “Nothing at all dears, 
now go run along and-”
“No mom,” said Ron, cutting her off. “Who is the girl in that picture?”
“Oh my! Look at the time!” gasped Mrs. Weasley, looking at a non-existent watch 
on her wrist. “I had better go do… something.” She began shuffling off, but Ron looked as 
though he was not going to take no for an answer. He reached into his pocket, and took out 
his wand.
“Locomotor Mortis!” he  yelled, pointing his  wand at his  mother. Immediately, 
her legs magically fused together, and she stopped dead in her tracks.
“Thank goodness  Dumbledore  is  letting us  use  magic  at home now,” whispered 
Ron to Harry. Mrs. Weasley, however, was not looking nearly as happy.
“Ronald Weasley!” she yelled, looking furious. “You had better take this spell off 
of me before I-”
“No! I want you to tell  us who this girl is in the  picture!” yelled Ron, unfolding 
the   crumpled   image,   and   pointing   to   the   unknown  child.   “Evidently,   it’s   someone 
important, or you would have told us by now!”
“Ron, take this spell off of me and-”
“Don’t make me go and get the Veritaserum,” said Ron, pointing his wand at his 
mother. Harry didn’t know how to feel, he was trying to keep quiet. It was very exciting 
and horrible at the same time what was going on. Mrs. Weasley gave a loud sigh.
“I knew someone would find out eventually,” she said quietly.
“Find out? About what?” asked Ron, looking curious.
“Ron,” said Mrs. Weasley slowly, “there’s  something I’ve both wanted and not 
wanted to tell you for the past sixteen years. I’ve wanted to tell the entire family, actually, 
but I just… couldn’t.”
“Tell me what? What is it?”
“It is the only secret  this family has. The only thing that has ever made this family, 
at one point, feel weak. It is the greatest loss  we had ever faced.”
“What is it already? And what does this have to do with the picture?”
“Ron…” said Mrs. Weasley slowly, “you have another sister.”


Chapter 3- Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, Inc.
Ron’s mouth practically fell to the floor, along with his wand. Harry as well felt a 
wave of disbelief and shock come over him. There was another Weasley girl? How could 
this possibly be?
“But…” stuttered Ron, “I thought there was just me, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, 
George, and Ginny. Who else is there?”
“First  off,”   said  Mrs.  Weasley  with  a  great   sigh,  “will  you  please  take   this 
ridiculous curse off of me?”
“Yeah yeah, sure,” said Ron. Wide-eyed, he bent over for his wand, and removed 
the Leg-Locker curse  from  his mother. She rubbed her legs and sat down in the red chair 
by the library.
“So who is my other sister?” asked Ron, walking over to her. Harry followed.
“That,” said Mrs. Weasley, “is a long and not very pleasant tale.”
“We’ve got a few months until we have to return to Hogwarts,” said Ron, crossing 
his arms. “I’m sure that will be enough time to tell it.”
“Very well,” sighed Mrs. Weasley, slapping her legs. She took a deep breath, and 
began. “Well, I guess  it all starts  in the year 1970. That was the year your father and I got 
married, Ron. It was a lovely ceremony, held in the North Pole,  something your father 
wanted to do. For the next two years, we contemplated having children, what with the state 
that the wizarding world was in at the time, but decided to go for it anyway. So, in 1973, 
Jamie was born.”
“Jamie? Is that my long-lost sister?”
“Yes, Jamie was her name. Now we, that is your father and I, were perfectly happy 
with only one  child. However, the  area in which we lived was not very populated, and 
except for a few teenagers, Jamie was the only kid. We  decided the best way for her to 
have a playmate was to have another child. So, in 1975, Bill was born, and the two of them 
were as happy as could be. 
“Now, around this  time, dark activity was  slowing down, and we were  actually 
doing pretty well, financially wise. So, we decided that if we could afford another kid, why 
not? It would be nice for Jamie and Bill to have another playmate. So, in 1977, Charlie was 
born, adding to the happiness.
“However, I’m sure as you two know, in a group of three, there is  always one that 
gets left out.”
Harry and Ron looked at each other. In their group of three, the two of the  and 
Hermione,  it   always   seemed   as   though  each   was   getting  his  or   her   equal  share   of 
attention… right?
 “Well, in this case, that was Bill. He was the  middle  child, and didn’t have the 
glamour of being the oldest, nor the cuteness of the youngest. The only solution we saw 
for this was to bring yet another child into the world, Percy. 
“Now, at this time, Hogwarts was accepting young wizards and witches at the age 
of ten, if they showed enough talent. Jamie was the most talented witch of her time, and 
Hogwarts couldn’t wait to have her. In 1983, she started at school, and we were left with 
only three children, and now Percy was the one being left out. 
“This is  where things all started going wrong… no offense. Arthur and I decided 


than one more  child would be perfect.  However, neither  of us  were prepared for twins. 
You-Know-Who’s  rise to power started, and your father had to work extra long hours. It 
was terrible:  Charlie  and Bill  always  asking me for  the  latest  Quidditch  supplies, and 
Percy demanding higher quality books, he could read at that age, all the while, Fred and 
George were screaming their eyeballs out. I thought nothing else could go wrong… until 
the day of the fieldtrip.
“Back then, all students  at the school  could go, not  just  the upper class  wizards 
and witches. In fact, I think this incident is why they changed that rule.”
“Why? What happened? Where did they go?” demanded Ron.
“It was a field trip to the Egyptian pyramids,” continued Mrs. Weasley. “We were 
so happy that Jamie was going, and we even came to Hogwarts  the day she left. And today 
we are so thankful that we did, that was the last time anyone one of us ever saw her.”
“What happened? Did she die?”
“Perhaps…” trailed Mrs. Weasley. “No one is  positive  today. All we know for 
sure is  that she was walking along with her group one second, and then suddenly, she was 
gone.”
 “Gone?” gasped Ron.
“Yes. She completely disappeared without a trace. We regret so much only taking 
that one picture of her, and the other one which had her in the corner. That’s why we have 
so many pictures of you other kids… in case anything ever happened to one of you.”
There was another very awkward silence.
“So… why haven’t you told any us, mom?” asked Ron slowly and quietly.
“Well, once we found out about Jamie, your father and I were at first  heartbroken, 
and we stayed in that state of complete shock that one can only receive after losing a child 
for an entire year.
“However, after that yearlong depression, we decided it was time to move on, and 
the best way to do that, we figured, was to have another daughter. So, two years  later, we 
had another child.”
“Yeah, you had me,” said Ron. “But wait… I’m not a girl!” 
Mrs. Weasley gave a small chuckle.
“I know that, Ron, and that’s the reason why we didn’t want to tell you. We didn’t 
want you to think that you were  a failure to us: that you should have been a girl, but you 
weren’t. Now, since  you didn’t know, we decided it would be best if the others  didn’t 
either, so they didn’t go about flaunting their superior knowledge to you. Right now is  the 
first time I have told any one of you kids about Jamie.”
“But what about  Bill,  Charlie,  and  Percy,”  said  Ron, sounding almost  a  little 
annoyed. “Shouldn’t they have some memory of Jamie?”
“Oh, they remember her alright,” said Mrs. Weasley, rocking in her chair. “But, 
they don’t remember her as their sister. After just a few talks, and whenever the question 
came up, I convinced them that she was simply a childhood friend who moved away while 
they were little.
“Ah, how I wish I had old you all this before!” she exclaimed once  again. “But, I 
just didn’t want you or even Ginny for that matter to think you were merely replacements, 
and inferior to the first child…. I’m sorry!”
Ron looked at his mother for a second, she  appeared to be ready to  burst  into 


tears: both from telling the story, reminding herself of the heartbreak, and for love of her 
son. Then, Ron just  walked up to  his  mother, and gave her a massive  hug, all the way 
around her.
“It’s okay mom,” he said. “Just… don’t ever do it again!”
“Oh believe me, I won’t,” she said, standing up after their hug was over. “Now, if 
you’ll please, don’t tell  the story to any of your brothers or sisters  just yet. I want to be 
the one to tell them if it ever comes up again, not you.”
“Alright mom,” said Ron, watching her walk back to the kitchen and return to her 
cooking work.
“Well,” said Harry, breaking his silence, “that was a very dramatic moment.”
“Extremely,” said Ron, returning to the shelves full of albums.
“So… somewhere… out there… you have a sister,” said Harry.
“Eh, I doubt it. I mean, what are the odds that she’s  still alive? Slim  to  none  I’d 
say.”
 “Perhaps…” said Harry, reaching up for another book. Then, when he opened this 
one, hundreds of small cards fell out all over the floor, creating a small, paper pool. “Hey 
Ron! I think I found your dad’s stash of cards!” Ron looked down at the ever growing pile 
on the floor and grinned.
“Good job  there  Harry!” he said, tapping the  pile  of cards  with his  wand, and 
making them all teleport inside a small sac. “Now we can really start to have some fun!”
Harry stayed at the Weasley residence  for most of the summer, even celebrated 
his birthday there. Even though it was just Ron, himself, and Mrs. Weasley there the entire  
time  during the  day,  all  of   that   changed  at   night  when dinner  was  ready. All   of  the 
Weasleys, except for  sometimes  Charlie, and occasionally Bill, came home  at night to 
partake in the massive feasts that Mrs. Weasley always had ready. All eight of them, Harry, 
Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Bill, and Ginny, crowded the table and laughed 
the entire time, due to Fred and George’s wacky inventions.
It was during those few funny moments that Harry saw Ginny, for the only time 
during  the   entire   meal,  say  something   (though  he  wasn’t   sure   if   laughing would  be 
considered talking). She kept to herself most  of the time, and Harry wondered if that was 
because  she  still  had a small crush on him, or  if it  was because  of her new boyfriend: 
Draco.
 Either way, Harry enjoyed spending time there, and his only low point throughout 
the rest of his summer was when Dumbledore sent him an owl in reply to his letter:
Dear Harry,
I would have to say, I am fine as well. I always love summer, don’t you? Even the 
worst days are the best… I’m so happy I decided to lengthen it a week.
As for your question, I am sorry to  say no. Dudley cannot  come  to Hogwarts. 
Despite the fact that he has the talent and the desire, he simply is unable to come. I’m not 
sure  if you have learned about it in school  yet, but there  is  such a thing called ‘magical 
ripeness’. That is, the longer a wizard or witch waits to perform his or her first actual spell 


with a wand, and the more  powerful the first spell  that is  used, the greater that wizard or 
witch will be.
Now, Dudley has  never performed any magic with a wand, and he is  five years 
over the  usually starting age for school. This means, he  will  be at least  five  times  as 
powerful  as  an  average  wizard.  We  cannot  take   the   chance  of  having this   extremely 
powerful wizard go over to Voldemort’s side. He would be especially easily corrupted and 
tempted, having had so little experience in the wizarding world. 
Once again, I am deeply sorry, but in this day and age, we cannot take the chance.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Harry let  the letter  droop down. So… Dudley wouldn’t be coming to Hogwarts 
with  him, Ron  and Hermione….  He  had  been so   sure  that  he  would  be  able  to! He 
shouldn’t have gotten his and Dudley’s hopes up so high.
“Hey Harry!” called Ron from the other end of the room. “Want to play a game?” 
He held up two decks of cards and shook them with a smile on his face.
“Sure,” said Harry, trying to cheer up. He walked over to Ron, and grabbed one of 
the decks right out of his hand. “Let’s go!”
Harry had gotten extremely good at the card game, which he learned was called 
Wizard  Duel,   and  had  even  beaten  Ron   a  few  times.   Fred,  George,  Charlie   or   Bill 
sometimes  even joined in on the fun, creating multiplayer games which were even more 
exciting than one on one. The only bad part about the game, as Harry was concerned, was 
that the cards just… stayed cards. If only they could become real….
“Hey you two!” said Fred, during one of those such games. “You still haven’t seen 
the business yet!”
“Yeah, you have to see it,” said George, drawing his card.
“What business?” asked Harry, playing a Killing Curse on Bill’s dragon.
“Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes of course!” said Fred, countering Harry’s curse.
“Oh yeah…” groaned Ron, having his elf attacked by the dragon.
“Well, we’ll see  it when we go to Diagon Alley for supplies  for this year,” said 
Harry, using a Pin Spell on Fred’s Balloon-Beast.
“Hey! You popped him!” laughed Fred, throwing his beaten card into the air.
Before  Harry knew it, his  summer was practically over. There was only a week 
left  of school, and Harry was feeling a little  guilty for not visiting Dudley again. He had 
broken the sad news to him that he would not be coming to Hogwarts through a letter, and 
he had taken it fairly well. Though slightly disappointed, Dudley had not ever really known 
much about the wizarding world, so he didn’t have much to not look forward to. 
Even though Dudley didn’t, Harry and Ron needed new school supplies, and the 
only place to go for them was Diagon Alley. Harry especially needed them, seeing as he 


had left them all at the  Dursley’s, and did not feel  like seeing Dudley right now. So, the 
day before the beginning of the new year, the two of them headed there with lists in their 
hands of what they would need.
“Let’s see here…” said Ron, taking out his supply list. Harry looked at his.
Sixth-Year Students Will Require:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6
By Miranda Goshawk
Creatures. Creatures! CREATURES!
By Ilike Topet
What Makes Good Wizards Go Bad
By Gulden Armur II
Changing Others: How To Not Jump Back In Surprise
By Shanjez Toncorps
Magical Origins
By Ekstremle Uld
“Hmm, there’s not as many books on this year’s list as there were on last year’s,” 
observed Harry, eyeing it  again. “Looks  like I’ll be making up for that by buying a new 
cauldron, quills, parchment…”
“Yeah, well, this  year we mostly use the same ones we used last year,” said Ron, 
folding up his list and putting it in his  pocket. Harry trusted him, he had already had five 
other   brothers  go  through the  system.  If  anyone  knew  more  about  what to  expect  at 
Hogwarts, it was Ron.
The two of them purchased their books  as fast as  they could, wanting to try and 
get to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes as soon as possible. Even Ron looked a little excited at 
the thought of it.
Since the two of them had been to Diagon Alley so many times  before, it  only 
took them a few minutes to acquire everything they needed: books, quills, ink, parchment, 
and some new dress robes, just slightly larger sizes  of what they already had. They stuffed 
all of their  purchases  into magical bags that stayed their same, small size no matter how 
much stuff you put inside it, and ran over to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. 
“Um… Ron…” said Harry. “Where exactly is it?”
“I’m not  really  sure,”  said Ron, looking around. “Fred and George  said  ‘you 
couldn’t miss  it’, so it has to be around here  somewhere.” The two of them, hands over 
their eyes, scanned the area, looking for any sign of the place. All Harry could see, though, 
were several small shops, and one rather distinct yellow building….
“Hey Ron!” yelled Harry, pointing at the  very tall  yellow building. “Is that it?” 
“Let’s go see,” he said. The two of them ran over to the  building, and looked up at it  in 
awe. It was the tallest structure Harry had ever seen, and it was entirely yellow. It looked 


so fluffy and nice too, it was like a massive marshmallow. And, right above the giant glass 
door at the bottom of the cylindrical  building, there were the words: “Weasley’s Wizard 
Wheezes, Inc.” in bright, multicolored letters. Through the  windows that were all around 
the building, Harry saw many people inside, purchasing and trying out the items. It looked 
extremely busy. 
Harry and Ron walked up to  the front door, and it  opened for them, just like a 
Muggle store’s would. But, after that, something happened that definitely did not occur at 
Muggle shops. Below Harry and Ron’s feet, there was a sudden burst of air that shot them 
right up to the ceiling.
“AAAHHH!” both  of   them  yelled.  They  were  now  hovering  with their  heads 
touching the  ceiling. Then, by some invisible  force,  the  two of  them were  turned one 
hundred  and eighty degrees  so  that  their  feet  were   on  the   ceiling now, or   what  was 
previously the ceiling anyway. Harry expected to fell all the blood rushing to his head, but 
he felt perfectly fine, as if he was standing right-side up.
“Whoa, what’s going on?” asked Ron, rubbing his head.
“I think that… this  room is  upside down,” said Harry, looking around. However, 
the room  looked perfectly  normal. In fact, there  were others  in the room  in the  same 
position  that Harry  and  Ron were, buying or  testing  products, and acting as  if  it  was 
perfectly normal to be upside down. 
“This  must  be just  another  one  of Fred and George’s  little  tricks, to  try  and 
enhance their customer’s experience at their shop,” said Ron, looking around. “Man, look 
at all this stuff!”
Now that Harry had gotten over the initial shock of begin flipped, he took a look 
at all the items available. The walls were covered in hundreds of colored  boxes, ranging 
from the size  of  a small nut to the size of cars! Scattered among those boxes were also 
tricks and toys that were not packages, just out for people to sample, and many were doing 
just  that. Among them, Harry saw a red-haired young man with a clipboard, checking off 
and writing many things. Harry immediately recognized him as Percy.
“Hello there  Percy!” yelled Harry, waving his  hand. Percy looked up from his 
work, and waved to the two of them.
“Hey there  Harry! Ron, you’ve finally  come   to  see  it! Isn’t this  place  great? 
Though I don’t quite agree with some  of Fred and George’s little ideas, like flipping the 
customers upside down when they enter, a few compromises makes everything worth it.”
“Makes it all worth what?” asked Harry.
“Makes it all worth having the biggest business in all of Diagon Alley!” exclaimed 
Percy, throwing his arms  into the air, and giving a giant grin. “Just this  past week, we’ve 
quadrupled our sales, and in the  past  month, we’ve made more  money than the  rest  of 
Diagon Alley put together!” He  had a superior-looking expression on his  face, and was 
breathing a little hard too.
“Um… that’s great Percy…” said Harry. “But… where are Fred and George?”
“Oh, they’re working the cash register,” said Percy, returning to his work. Harry 
and Ron slowly backed away from Percy, and bumped right into the check-out desk. The 
two   of   them   turned   around,   and   saw   Fred   and  George,   working   tirelessly,   taking 
transactions. The line  for  the check-out was so  long it  went  up to the next floor, and 
money, receipts, and even a few items  were flying everywhere. Fred and George, however, 


looked happier than Harry had ever seen them.
“Hey  there   Fred!   George!”   yelled   Harry   above  the   excited   talk   of   all   the 
customers. The twins turned and smiled at Harry for a second, and then immediately went 
back to their work of checking people out.
“Can’t you two take a break for a second?” asked Ron.
“We are taking a break,” came a voice  from behind them. Harry and Ron turned 
around, and saw the two of them standing right there, drinking some sort of wizard soda.
Harry felt extremely confused.
“But- you were  just…  the  cash register,”  he mumbled out, pointing in random 
directions. Fred and George looked at him for a second, then suddenly appeared as though 
they understood what he was trying to say.
“Oh them?”   asked   George,   pointing  to   the   people   that  looked   exactly   like 
themselves behind the desk. “Yeah, they’re our clones. We alternate shifts… it works out 
well.”
 “Clones?”   asked   Harry,   sounding   very   surprised.   Last   year,   he,   Ron,   and 
Hermione had had some very nasty incidents with clones. “Isn’t that a little… bad?” 
Fred shook his head.
“Nah, not really. They’re just like regular workers, only they look like us. We pay 
them, give them a place to live… it works out well.”
“Heh, you’re lucky that it worked out good for you because when me and Harry 
here  tried  to  clone-”  said  Ron,  before  Harry  jabbed him  in the  side  with his  elbow, 
signaling to him to stop.
“That’s quite enough, Ron,” he said through gritted teeth. 
“Hey, how would you like to  have the grand tour  of  this  place?” asked George. 
“It’s really all quite amazing!”
“Sure!” said Harry and Ron together, eager to see what inventions the two of them 
had cooked up.
Fred and George showed them the entire store, and it was even more amazing than 
Harry had imagined it would be. Each room, like the upside-down entrance, had some sort 
of special feature. Once of them had a floor  mad out of  a bouncy, jell-o like substance; 
another  one’s  ground was like  that  of a game board, and you could only move certain 
spaces  depending on the roll of a dice, and occasionally even had to go backwards due to 
landing on  certain areas; another room had fluffy balls  shoot  out  in every conceivable 
direction  every few  seconds, and yet  another was a zero-gravity room,  one that people 
floated around in. The last room on the agenda was the dormitory. Inside it, there  were six 
beds (one for Fred and George, their clones, Ginny, and Percy). However, the beds liked 
to changed places, colors, and stuffings every day, so  you never slept in the same one 
twice.
 And, of  course,  each room  was packed with goodies.  There  were  some of the 
things that Harry had seen Fred and George  use last  year, but there were also an almost 
uncountable number of new inventions. There was Giant Gum, a candy that made you grow 
as high as the ceiling of a room, and the opposite, Shrink Sugar, that made you become the 
size of an ant. There were Ants-In-Your-Pants-Plants, vegetables that when eaten gave that 
very unpleasant  sensation to  the consumer. There  was some Gassy Guzzler, a soda that 


made you float about for  several  minutes,  and Harry’s favorite, Itchy Exploders:  little 
bombs that created a gas when set off that made everyone who breathed it in feel itchy all 
over, and make them scratch for up to ten hours. There were hundreds of other items to 
see, but Fred and George didn’t have time to show everything.
“Yeah, we’ve got a pretty good system going on here,” said Fred, returning to the 
first floor. “Me and George run the register and come up with ideas for new stuff when it’s 
not our shift, and Percy finds ways to market the new inventions and keeps  inventory. He 
also takes polls  to see what items  are popular and which aren’t.”
“Sounds like you guys have it pretty easy,” said Ron. “Run the register for a few 
hours, then come up with jokes for the rest of the day.”
“It’s actually a little  harder than that,” said George. “We have to constantly be 
coming up with new ideas, people can’t be playing the same jokes on each other forever, 
and we can’t simply improve on old ideas  anymore, we need completely new inventions. 
It’s very difficult.”
“Yeah, I’m sure…” said Ron sarcastically, rolling his  eyes. Just then, Fred and 
George’s exhausted clones came up to them and told them it was time for their shift. 
“Alright, we’ll see you later you two,” said Fred, heading to the register.
“Yeah,” said George, “but remember Harry! All of this… none of it would be here 
if it wasn’t for you!”
“Well… I’m happy to see you have put the money to good use… very good use,” 
said Harry, taking another look at the place. “It’s doing much more here than it would have 
ever done sitting in my account.”
“Thanks again Harry!” the  two  of  them  yelled, returning to  their  work.  Harry 
suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw Ron behind him, eyes-wide, 
and mouth open.
“What is it?” asked Harry. Ron didn’t say anything, just merely pointed to the wall 
right in front of  them. Harry looked at it  and fell  into just  as much shock as  Ron did. 
Before them, there was an entire  wall… full of packs of Wizard Duel cards. Literally, the 
entire wall was filled with small packs of cards that glittered in the sunlight as if they were 
gold. Each wrapper had a different image on it, depicting one  of the millions  of cards. It 
was truly a sight to behold.
Harry and Ron flew over to  that almost-sacred wall, and immediately  grabbed 
several packs off of it as if they were treasure. On the cover of each pack, it said that there 
were sixteen additional cards:  one rare, five uncommons, and ten commons. After taking 
about ten packs (he would have bought more, but they were seven sickles  each, and Harry 
didn’t have too much money with him) Harry quickly ran up to the above floor and bought 
a few Itchy Exploders… he just couldn’t resist the thought of using one on Malfoy.
The two of them, hands bulging with goods, got in the quickly-moving line, and it 
was soon their turn.
“Hey! Didn’t expect to see  you this soon!” said Fred, grabbing their packs.
“I didn’t know you guys sold cards here!” exclaimed Ron.
“Oh yeah, they’re our best selling items,” said George, adding up their total. “We 
have to get new shipments every night… they go like crazy!”
“Well, I’m proud to  say  that we’re  part  of  those  crazy people,”  smiled  Ron, 
handing Fred exact change for  his cards. Harry did the  same. The both of them grabbed 


their stuff, and headed to the exit door.
“Hey!” yelled George. “You two can just use Floo Powder to get out of here! The 
fireplace is  right to your left!”
“Yeah, that’d be a good idea,” said Ron, stuffing his packs into his Never-Growing 
Bag. “Even those these bags don’t get bigger, they certainly get heavier, and I don’t want to 
have to carry them all the way back home.” Harry agreed, and put the packs into his bag and 
the Itchy Exploders into his pocket.
The two of them walked over to the fireplace, Ron reached into his pocket, took 
out  some  Floo  Powder, and threw it in, causing the flames to  turn from  a dark red to a 
bright green. He stepped right up to the fire.
“The Burrow!” he yelled, right before  disappearing into the flames. Now it was 
Harry’s turn. He stepped up, and reached into his pocket for some powder. But, just as he 
reached in, he accidentally took out one of the Itchy Exploders, and it  fell to the floor, 
causing a large, green cloud of pure itchiness to appear. The effect was instant, and Harry 
felt as though mosquitoes were biting him all over… he couldn’t stop scratching!
But,  he  had  to   concentrate  on  getting  the   Floo   Powder.  While   he  scratched 
himself with one  arm, he  reached into his  pocket with the  other, and grabbed out some 
powder. He quickly threw it into the flames.
“Th- the  bur… ack! It itches! Oh man… the  b- Burrow!” gasped Harry, jumping 
right into the fire. The entire  world around Harry turned black, and began spinning rapidly. 
Faster and faster… until Harry shot right out of the remote fireplace.
“Ron!” groaned Harry, still itching all over. “Where are you?” Harry took a closer 
look around, and saw that he was definitely not in the Burrow. Everywhere surrounding 
him, there were dark and decrepit shelves, contained some of the most horrific items that 
Harry had ever seen: skulls  with the eyes  still  in them, hands that had hands, and many 
assorted items in jars of water… or at least what Harry thought was water. Harry assumed 
he must have accidentally arrived at some sort  of store, but it looked much more  like  a 
tomb. 
 Suddenly, Harry heard a footstep and a loud creak in the floor. He immediately 
tried to forget about his itchiness  and took out his  wand. Who else  could be here? Could 
this be a trap? Another creak in the floor echoed throughout the room.
“Who’s there?” asked Harry, walking around one of the dusty shelves. A few feet 
in from of him, there were a figure, hidden in the dark shadows of the store.
“Who are you?” demanded Harry.
“Finally…” hissed the figure. His voice was deep and dark, just like the store.
“Finally? Finally what?” asked Harry. This  had to be one  of Voldemort’s  traps! 
How could he have been so stupid as to let an Itchy Exploder fall on the floor?
“FINALLY!” yelled the figure. Harry had no time to react, the figure just jumped 
right at him, and pinned him to the floor.


Chapter 4- The Ring 
“Ow! Get   off  me!”  yelled  Harry at  whatever had  jumped on  him. Drool   was 
coming down from his attacker’s mouth and splashing all over Harry. He was acting like a 
dog that hadn’t seen his owner in decades. It finally dawned on Harry that this was not one 
of Voldemort’s minions. A Death Eater would not pounce on his target, but use some sort 
of spell. This was just a crazy old man.
“Finally,” he yelled again. This time, Harry got a good look at him, and there was 
only one word to describe  him:  hideous  (hih-day-us). He  only had one eye, and it was 
three  times  the normal size, with veins popping out all over it. His face was just a sea of 
wrinkles, and it looked like his nose and mouth were upside down. “Finally!”
“Finally? Finally what?” asked Harry, trying to push the guy off of him.
“Finally!” he thundered, jumping off of Harry and throwing his hands into the air. 
“A customer!” He  brought his arms down, and began tapping his  fingers  together with a 
menacing look.
“Um… yeah,” said Harry, just relieved to not have to  deal  with a Death Eater. 
“Where am I anyway?”
“You are in The Itchy Man’s Burrow, the greatest shop in all of Knockturn Alley!” 
the old man exclaimed. He  suddenly spun around, giggled quietly, and walked behind an 
ancient cash register. He put his elbows down on the counter, and rested his head on top of 
his bandaged and mangled hands. “Now… what can I interest you in?”
Harry sighed; he didn’t want to make the man feel bad, but there was nothing in 
the shop that Harry was even slightly interested in. In fact, most of the items made Harry 
feel as though he was going to throw up.
“Um… I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing-” said Harry slowly before the man 
interrupted him. He glared at him with his one massive eye that had a distinct twinkle to it, 
and suddenly pointed to a small and cobweb-covered sign above him. Written in dark red 
ink, that Harry  thought could have been  blood,  were  the   words:  “You enter,  you  buy 
something, lest  you die.” Harry swallowed hard. Even though the  man looked old and 
weak, he probably knew a few magical tricks.
“Yes, you see,” hissed the man, “if you leave without something from my store in 
your hands, you will explode. I’ve enchanted all of the exits, so don’t even try.”
“Well, I can see  why this  place is  so  popular,” said Harry to himself, looking 
around for a cheap and non-disgusting item that he could quickly buy. Harry looked behind 
the register, and saw an assortment of different jewelry. Maybe he could buy something 
for  Cho.  Quickly looking  at  the   selection  of  different  earrings,  necklaces,  bracelets, 
and… rings. Those seemed to be the greatest of all the jewelry available, and Harry took a 
closer look at them.
There  were at least  a hundred rings  pinned to the wall, each with its  own unique 
Stone and symbol, though they were all almost  exactly the  same size  and shape. There 
were gold rings with ruby phoenixes, there were jade rings with crystal stars. All of them 
looked incredibly expensive, and Harry only had a galleon and a few sickles  left  after his 
spree at Fred and George’s store. 
Just then, Harry’s attention turned to a single ring. It was in the very bottom, right 
hand corner, and it had a single cobweb over it, as if the spider were trying to hide it from 


view more than it was already. From the looks of it, this one didn’t appear too expensive, 
with its rather dull ring and not very shiny Stone. 
“How much for  that one?” asked Harry, pointing to the ring and trying to sound 
casual. The tattered man looked at where Harry’s finger  was indicating, and reached a 
bandaged hand over to it. He brushed away the cobweb, and blew the  dust off of it as he 
brought it forth. He stuck out his bottom lip, rocked his head from side to side, trying to 
get a good estimate.
“How much ya got?” he asked. Harry took out his galleon and three  sickles, and 
the man quickly snatched them away. “Well what do you know? That’s exactly how much it 
costs!” He gave a toothless  grin, and popped the ring into Harry’s hand.
Then, just as the ring touched Harry’s palm, he suddenly felt a power rush through 
him. He felt  a surge of energy and excitement flow  through his bloodstream, and all the 
way up to his brain, electrifying his  body all the way. Harry quickly slipped the ring onto 
his finger. He brushed it off a bit more, and realized that the dull Stone was actually carved 
into the shape of a skull with one crystal eye and one ruby eye. Now, in fact, the skull was 
no longer a dull gray, but a brilliant black that shone like the darkest Stone. The powerful 
feeling that Harry was experiencing only increased  while  the  ring was on his finger…. 
Maybe he wouldn’t give the ring to Cho after all, he smiled to himself.
“Will that be all?” grinned the man.
“Well, seeing as you did take all of my money…” said Harry.
“Ah yes, I forgot about that,” he said. “You can leave now… you won’t explode.”
“Alright,” said Harry, walking towards the door. “Oh, and thanks for the ring.”
“No problem,” coughed the  man, heaving something large and disgusting out of 
his mouth just when Harry opened the door and left the store. When Harry stepped outside 
of the place, and saw that he was still in one piece, he took a look around. Though he had 
been to Knockturn Alley before, he had never been in this  part of  it. None of the other 
stores  in the area looked any better than the one he had just been in; all of them appeared 
as though just one good wind could make them fall over. Even the sky looked decrepit in 
this area: it was dark and gray, and the air felt heavier and rusty. It was nothing like Diagon 
Alley.
 Now Harry had to find a way out of this place. He didn’t want to go back into The 
Itchy Man’s Burrow, nor did he desire  to go into any of the other stores. He had to find a 
fireplace to Floo from that would allow him to return to the Weasley’s. All Harry had to 
do was turn his head slightly to the side, and his prayers were answered.
It was like a Muggle phone booth, only much larger, and with a fireplace inside; a 
Floo Station. Harry ran over to it, and entered into it. It felt extremely calm and serene 
inside, the crackle of the  fire  and the silence  from the  horrible outside made for a very 
nice environment. There was even, attached to the side of one of the walls, a Floo Powder 
dispenser. 
“I guess  a lot  of people  must  accidentally come  here,” said Harry to  himself, 
wondering why there would be a Floo station in the middle of Knockturn Alley. 
“Maybe the store  owners  purposely name their business closely to other popular 
landmarks,” shrugged Harry, throwing some powder into the flames. “The Burrow!” Harry 
jumped into the flames  and once again the world turned black and spun around quickly. A 
second later, Harry appeared right  in the Weasley’s  house, before a distressed looking 


Mrs. Weasley, and a worried Ron. 
“Where have you been?” demanded Mrs. Weasley, jumping at Harry, and putting 
her hands on his shoulders.
“Yeah, I was beginning to  think you were  another one of my missing sisters  or 
something,” grinned Ron. Mrs. Weasley, not turning away from Harry, whacked Ron on 
the head. 
“Where have you been?” she asked again.
“I accidentally Flooed to Knockturn Alley,” groaned Harry.
“Again?” said Mrs. Weasley and Ron together
“Yeah,” grimaced Harry… he really had to stop doing that. It was the second time 
in… well, four years. His track record wasn’t that bad.
“Are you alright, Harry?” asked Mrs. Weasley, trying to sound comforting, but 
not  overly caring. She didn’t want Harry to  think as though she were treating him like  a 
baby.
 “Yeah, I’m fine,” he smiled, then, rubbing his ring, “Yeah, I feel better than ever in 
fact.”
 “Well good,” said Ron. “I guess you didn’t have to go in the really bad stores.”
“It appears as though you haven’t been traumatized too badly,” said Mrs. Weasley, 
eyeing Harry, just to be sure. “So, I don’t think you’ll object to me telling you that you will 
still have to go to school  tomorrow. With that in mind, I think you two should think about 
heading to bed. It is almost midnight anyway!”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right mom,” yawned Ron. He and Harry walked over to 
the stairs that were more tiring to climb than an entire  mountain. Harry had not realized 
how exhausted he actually was. He and Ron quickly changed into their night clothes while 
Harry told Ron of his interesting time at Knockturn Alley.
“He really wouldn’t let  you leave until  you bought something?” asked Ron in 
surprise, just before he climbed into his bed.
“Yeah, so I finally decided on this ring,” said Harry, showing it to Ron.
“Nice,” said Ron, nodding his head. “But, aren’t you going to take it  off before 
you go to bed?”
Harry looked at his ring… it was so beautiful…. He rubbed it with the tip of his 
finger, and watched the skull and diamonds shine. A small surge of excitement and energy 
flowed through him. Harry took a deep breath, feeling full of life.
“No,” he said finally, climbing under the covers. “No, I don’t think I’ll take it off.”
“Get up you two! Get up!” came the voice of Mrs. Weasley what felt  like only a 
few seconds after Harry had placed his head down on the pillow. “Come on! The train is  
leaving in an hour, and you want to have time to get ready! Oh, and Harry, a letter came for 
you.”
 This comment made Harry jump out of bed and immediately get dressed. He ran 
downstairs, and asked Mrs. Weasley where his letter was. She gave it to  him, and Harry 
was surprised that it had a Hogwarts  seal on it. What was the  school  doing sending him 
letters  an hour before the new year started? Harry ripped it open, and read:
Dear Harry,


After  the   Sorting  Ceremony,  I  need  you  to  come  up  to   my  office.   I  have 
something for you. The password is ‘monkey cakes’.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
“What could it be?” wondered Harry, biting on a piece of toast that Mrs. Weasley 
had prepared for the two of them… but wait! 
“Mrs.   Weasley,”   asked  Harry,   suddenly   realizing  something,   “how  is  Ginny 
coming to Hogwarts? I mean, she’s spent most of the summer at Fred and George’s shop.”
“And they’re  bringing her to the Platform,” responded Mrs. Weasley. “Both of 
them  have very nice  brooms  to fly  over with. I guess  they’ll be coming over about the 
same time we are. Which, by the way, would be much improved if you (she pointed to Ron 
who had just come down the stairs) hurried up in waking.”
“Yeah, yeah…” yawned Ron, grabbing some breakfast and quickly eating it. “Let’s 
just get this year started already. Are we leaving soon?”
“Just  as  soon  as  his  majesty  is  done   with his  breakfast,” said Mrs.  Weasley 
sarcastically, bowing to Ron. He just rolled his  eyes  and continued eating. It wasn’t long, 
though, before they were out the door and at Platform 9 ¾.
“Hey there Harry!” came a voice from not to far away. Harry looked over and saw 
Fred and George waving to him. He and Ron ran over to them.
“Hey there!” yelled Ron. “Did you bring Ginny?”
“Yup, she’s already gone through,” said George. Fred sighed.
“Kind of sad… this is the first year we haven’t gone through this barrier,” he said. 
“I almost wish I was going back…” He put a smile on. “Almost….”
“Yeah, whatever,” said Ron, running through the supposedly solid brick wall that 
led to the train.
“See you Fred! George!” yelled Harry, running after Ron head first  into the not 
very brick wall. Just like traveling with Floo  Powder, the entire  world turned black, but 
only for a second, and the next thing Harry knew, he was standing amidst hundreds of other 
students, anxious to get on the train. He quickly found Ron among them and they walked 
on board together, into their usual compartment. It was very nice and relaxing… this  was 
one of the first times they weren’t late or rushing to get on the train.
A few minutes later, after sitting there and chatting for a while, Harry felt his ring 
get a little  warm, as if he were holding it close  to a fire. Harry looked over at it, and saw 
that it was glowing a little yellow too….
Suddenly, Harry’s thinking was broken by the compartment door opening, and his 
other best friend, Hermione Granger, stepping in. She walked right on in and sat down next 
to Ron.
 “Why hello, Ron,” she smiled, giving him a small kiss. “It’s been nice  talking to 
you.” Harry raised an eyebrow.
“We’ve been talking through letters  all summer,” explained Ron, blushing a little.


“Oh really?” asked Harry, crossing his arms. “I don’t remember seeing you write.”
“Well, I mostly did it at night…”
“Even then I didn’t-”
“After I saw you had gone to sleep.” 
“Ah ha,” said Harry. “I see.”
“And it wasn’t only letters  he sent to me during the summer,” smiled Hermione. 
“Ron also  sent  me  this.”  She pushed  out  her arm, and lifted up her  sleeve. Revealed 
underneath was the most beautiful bracelet Harry had ever seen in his  entire life. Even 
from just the little light coming in from  the window in the side of the  compartment, the 
bracelet shone bright like the sun… brighter even.
“Wow, where did you ever get that Ron?” asked Harry, in awe.
“On our vacation in Egypt,” said Ron. “I actually found it in one of the pyramids 
we went to. I‘ve just been saving it in my desk for the right occasion… or person.”
“You didn’t steal it? Did you?” asked Harry as the train started moving.
“Well, not really,” said Ron. “It’s kind of funny actually, the  bracelet was just 
lying there in the middle of the room, as if asking to be picked up.”
“It was just… lying there?” asked Harry.
“Yep, and I just happened to be the first  person to see it. I hid it from the rest  of 
my family, who’d either want me to return it or cash it in to save for later or invest in their 
business.”
“Speaking   of   business,”   interjected   Hermione,   “I   heard   Weasley’s   Wizard 
Wheezes is doing quite well.”
“Yeah, but me and Harry know the real secret  to their success,” said Ron.
“We do?” asked Harry.
“You do?” asked Hermione.
“Yep,” said Ron, putting his  hands behind his  head and leaning back. “They sell 
Wizard Duel cards… that’s  where  most  of  their money comes  from.” At this  remark, 
Hermione rolled her eyes.
“Oh no, not that card game,” she said.
“Hey, what’s wrong with it?” asked Ron, sounding hurt. “It’s a fun game!”
“Well, I like the fact that it teaches people about that many different wizards and 
items  that have historical value, but it’s just a silly game. I don’t know why some get so 
obsessed with it.”
“Hey!” said Harry. “That reminds me! I still haven’t opened my packs of cards!”
“Oh don’t tell  me you’re into that game too?” said Hermione. Ron ignored her 
comment.
“Really? You didn’t? I opened mine as soon as I got home, before I realized that 
you weren’t there.”
“Did you get anything good?” asked Harry, looking through his bags for where he 
put the packs.
“Nah, not really,” said Ron. “Just a few copies of what I already have mostly.”
“Ah ha, here they are!” exclaimed Harry, bursting from his bag with the packs of 
cards  that he bought. He threw them onto the seat next to him, and immediately grabbed 
the first one. On the front, there was a picture of a house elf.
“A house  elf? Hah, don’t expect  anything good in that one,”  said Ron, peering 


over to see what Harry would get.
“Don’t judge a book by its  cover,” said Hermione, looking over at Harry’s  card 
pack even though she said that she detested the game.
Harry quickly tore  open the pack, watched the wrapper fall to the floor, and then 
magically disappear.
“Ahh, an Anti-pollution Charm, very nice,” commented Hermione.
Harry looked through the cards, flipping through them as fast as he could, trying 
to find the rare one in the pack.
“Yeah, Grindylow, another Boggart,” said Harry, naming the cards as he passed by 
them. “Hey a Kneazle! Speaking of which, where’s Crookshanks, Hermione? I haven’t seen 
her yet this year, and now that I think of it, I didn’t see her much at all last year either.”
“Oh, I put him in the  storage compartment in the back,” said Hermione. “Yeah, 
last year, Crookshanks was gone for most  of the  day, out catching food I suppose. Only 
really saw  him  during the  late  afternoon and evening.  But, don’t worry, I’ve only lost 
Crookshanks once  at the beginning of the summer, I’m getting better at controlling him. 
Oh yeah, and-”
“Oh… my… god…” said Harry interrupting her, his  eyes  were wide, and he was 
staring at a single card in his hand, evidently the rare one.
“What is it Harry?” asked Ron and Hermione.
“Did you get a really rare one?” asked Ron.
“I got,” said Harry, turning the card around, and showing it to them, “Voldemort.”




Chapter 5- The Field  Trip
The picture on the card was different than ay other Harry had ever seen. Instead of 
just  being a flat moving image, this  one appeared almost three  dimensional. Behind the 
horrible,  cloaked figure, there  was a sparkling black background that just added to the 
mysticness and amazement of the card. 
“How could they even think of putting HIM in the game?” asked Harry, shocked.
“Well, he is  a very important historical figure…” said Hermione.
“Yeah, and he’s really rare too!” drooled Ron. “Look at that! A four-star rarity! I 
only thought it went up to three!”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Harry, turning the card around and glaring at the horrific 
image  of   Voldemort,   stroking   his   chin,  and  giving  an  occasional   laugh.  “They  still 
shouldn’t put him in the game.”
“Oh come on Harry,” laughed Ron. “Look at his power! It’s through the roof! You 
could probably win most games with just that one card!”
“I suppose so,” said Harry, tucking the Voldemort card away along with the rest of 
his small collection. He also put his  unopened card packs in his bag too, he didn’t really 
feel like opening any more today.
“Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll gladly take him!” offered Ron.
“No way,” laughed Harry, feeling better.
The   rest   of   the   rather   short  trip   was  pleasant,   talking   about   their   summer 
vacations, and of course, making comments  on Hermione’s  bracelet. It was like  nothing 
Harry had ever seen before.
Before  long, however, the train ride came to an end and the three  of them got off 
just in time to see their teacher and friend, Hagrid. He was at least twice as tall as any man, 
and five times  as wide… he almost  took up as much space as  all  of the  new first  year 
students he was leading up to the castle.
“Hullo!” he called to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. “Good ter see  ya, but I can’ talk 
now. Gotta lead these newbies up to th’ castle. I’ll see ya later!” He, along with a few new 
first  years, and five other students  that did not look anything like first  years, but rather 
sixth or seventh years, made their way to the boats they would take to cross  the lake and to 
the massive citadel.
“See you later Hagrid!” yelled the  three  of them, making their way to the much 
more luxurious carriages  that quickly took them to the front gate of Hogwarts which they 
quickly burst through, eager to start the new year… and to eat at the start of school feast!
Harry, Ron, and Hermione speedily found some seats  at the Gryffindor table and 
waited anxiously as the rest of the Gryffindors filed in. The table looked especially empty, 
now that all the seventh years from last year were gone… then a thought suddenly came to 
Harry. He nudged Ron in the side.
“Hey Ron!” he whispered loudly. “We’re going to have to hold tryouts again! We 
need five new people for the Gryffindor Quidditch team! Fred, George, Alicia, Angelina, 
and Katie all graduated last year.” Ron’s eyes widened.
“Oh man,” he gasped. “I totally forgot about that.”
“Oh well, it shouldn’t be that difficult,” said Harry. Then, remembering that at the 


end of last year, a group of  last years’ new Gryffindors  promised that they would make 
the team, Harry began to think that maybe it wouldn’t be as easy as he initially speculated.
“Come on Harry,” interjected Hermione, “put on your Prefect  Badge! You need 
to show all of the new first years  where they can go if they’re lost  or having trouble.” She 
quickly reached into her pocket, and pinned on her shiny badge, wearing it proudly. 
“Ugh… the last thing I want is for more first  years  to be crawling all over me,” 
groaned Harry, taking out his grimy badge and trying to clean it up a bit.
“You  should   really   take   your   Prefect   responsibilities   more  seriously,”   said 
Hermione severely. “I noticed that last year you never took any house  points  away from 
anyone, nor did you ever read the Prefect Guidebook, which I’m sure you must have lost 
by now or something.”
“Fine fine fine, “ said Harry, pinning his slightly cleaner badge on, “I’ll try to do a 
better job this  year Miss. Hermione.” Harry tried to look as cute as he could, pretending 
to be a little preschooler. Ron laughed, but Hermione merely turned away.
“Shh!” she said. “The Sorting is starting!”
And so it was. The doors  to the Great Hall burst open and the first years who had 
crossed the lake with Hagrid now walked up to the front of the room in a single straight 
line, led by Professor McGonagall. Once again, Harry saw that five of the new students did 
not look like first years at all, they looked more along the lines of Harry’s age.
“What’s up with them?” asked Ron.
“Maybe they’re  more  exchange students  from  other  schools, like  Tci was last 
year,” suggested Hermione. Harry hadn’t thought of that, and she was probably right; they 
were just new students from Durmstrang.
“Well, whoever they are, they are definitely  cool,”  said Ron, eyeing them and 
smiling.
 “What makes you say that?” asked Harry.
“Just look at their pockets!” pointed Ron. Harry looked over, and almost laughed 
at the sight. The pockets of the five new students  were literally overflowing with Wizard 
Duel cards. Every now and then, one fell on the floor, and the student who dropped it just 
magically brought it back up, proving that they were definitely not newcomers  to the world 
of magic, they had had some training. 
Finally, the line stopped, and professor McGonagall stepped up to the head of the 
room with a big sheet of parchment that had all the names of the new students  on it. She 
also took the large, black, pointed hat off of her head, and placed it on a stool that was next 
to her. Harry realized that this was no ordinary hat, that was the Sorting Hat. It suddenly 
shot up into the air a few feet, a small hole appearing for its mouth, and started singing:
“You should listen to what I have to say,
It’s different every year on this same day.
You see, I am the Sorting Hat;
And I will tell you where you should be at.
If Gryffindor is  what I bark out loud,
Then you possess  a soul that is  brave and proud!
If Ravenclaw is what come out of my mouth,
Then you are the wisest in your house.


If Hufflepuff is what I say,
Then you are loyal, behind your friends is where you stay.
If Slytherin is what I hiss,
Then you are cunning, you know when something is amiss.
But, who cares? Just try me on!
I’ll tell you where you belong….”  
Everyone  clapped  respectfully  and the   hat  fell  back down  to  its  seat, with a 
slightly smug look on its face, or at least Harry thought that’s what its  expression was; it’s 
very hard to tell with hats.
“Trenholm Archibald,” said Professor McGonagall. A quite tall boy walked up to 
the hat, not looking nervous at all, and threw it right on his head.
“Gryffindor!” yelled the hat, causing the Gryffindor table to clap and cheer as he 
walked over and sat down. The first sorting was over.
“Ai Gomon!” continued Professor  McGonagall, causing one  of the bigger new 
students, his  pockets  bulging with cards, to walk up to the  hat and place  it on his  head. 
Almost immediately, the hat yelled out his house name.
“Slytherin!”
The whole of Slytherin table applauded for their bigger new student, and Malfoy 
and Tci even stood up for him, welcoming him in to their clan. Harry noticed, that for the 
first  time, Malfoy didn’t have his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, sitting next to him. In fact, 
they were all the way down at the other end of the table, looking hopelessly lost. 
“Oh  well,  I  guess   Malfoy  has  gotten   better   friends   now,”  thought   Harry  to 
himself, returning his attention to the Sorting.
Ten minutes later, Brad Cooper, Susej Tsirch, Stephen Early, and Kevin Williams 
were the latest Ravenclaws, Megan, Kyle, and Lydia Yasigian were the newest Hufflepuffs, 
and three more of the older new students (Faire Morter, Avait Malmin, and Fonce Kuroi) 
went to  Slytherin in addition to  Rusty Johnson. Gryffindor had only  gotten  one  other 
besides Trenholm so far: Chad Horahoe.
“Aku Tenshi!” yelled Professor McGonagall, looking rather happy that he was the 
last person on the list. He was a very tall and skinny boy, with a rather pale appearance. In 
fact, he reminded Harry of himself a little.
Aku walked up to the Sorting Hat with a grin on his  face. He  slowly sat  down, 
causing his cape to go up in the air for a second, then come  back down like a bat flapping 
its wings. He placed the hat upon his head, and after a few seconds….
“Gryffindor!” it yelled out. 
The Gryffindor table erupted into applause. They had gotten one of the older new 
students! Aku walked over to their table, and chose a seat right next to Harry.
“Hey there, Aku!” said Harry, trying to be friendly.
“Please, call me Ak,” he said with a wave of his hand, and a grin of his perfect and 
shining teeth. There was something warm and inviting about him that Harry really liked.
“Alright then… Ak,” said Harry, “I see you like the Wizard Duel card game.”
“Oh yes,” beamed Ak. “In fact, at Durmstrang, we, that is Faire, Avait, Fonce, Ai 
and me, started a Wizard Duel Club. We’re thinking of starting one here too!”
“Whoa! That’d be awesome!” said Ron excitedly.


“Oh, Ak, this is Ron, my friend,” introduced Harry.
“Nice to meet you,” said Ak.
“Likewise,” said Ron, looking more at Ak’s cards than his face.
Suddenly, their conversation was cut off by Dumbledore  standing up to make the 
usual annual announcements, like he did every year at this time. He took a last swig of his 
drink, brushed off his beard, and began speaking.
“Hello  students!”  he  boomed,  his  voice  magically  magnified.  “I  am  happy to 
announce, thought I am sure may of you are  not, that we are starting a new term  here at 
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under me, Minister Dumbledore.”
There was a bit of polite applause. Harry remembered that last year, the previous 
Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stepped down for covering up Voldemort’s attacks 
due to being blackmailed. Dumbledore had been elected in his place.
“Now, for announcements,” he continued. “First  and foremost,  to  all you new 
students, the Forbidden Forest is. That is, it is  forbidden to go in, no matter what, under 
every and all circumstances. Also, I am extending curfew by three hours, because I’m just 
a nice guy like that, and the Village of Hogsmeade is forbidden to all first and second year 
students. 
“Next, I would like  to  welcome five more  transfer  students  from  Durmstrang. 
They were  all  going to be sixth years  at their old school, and will remain in that grade 
despite their late arrival at our school. I do hope that all sixth years will give them as warm 
a welcome as I would like.”
“Also, while we’re working on new welcomes, I would like to introduce your new 
Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell!”
“He doesn’t mean…” started Ron.
“What happened to…” asked Hermione.
Harry looked up and saw the new Professor Quirrell that Mrs. Figg had told him 
about. In fact, even though they were identical twins, this  Quirrell  looked nothing like his 
brother. He had a big moustache and beard, and most obvious of all, did not have a massive 
turban either. He stood up, gave a small wave and smile, then sat down.
“Lastly, to try and cut this little speech of mine to as little time as possible, I have 
one final and major announcement. After the Christmas Holidays, and at the beginning of 
January, most of the school, that is, the second years and up, will go on a field trip to one 
of  the Egyptian pyramids, the Geb Pyramid. I hope that it shall be a most wonderful and 
educational experience.”
The Hall suddenly filled with chatter and excitement. They would be going on a 
magical field trip! The first  one that this  set  of students  would have ever experienced! 
However, amongst the excited talk, Ron’s comment was heard by Harry.
“Field  trip?”   he   swallowed.  “They don’t  mean  the   one  that   my  sister  never 
returned from… could they?” Harry didn’t know what to say. Could it possibly be to  the 
same place?
“I… don’t know,” said Harry quietly.
“The field trip,” continued Dumbledore, trying to keep his  voice heard over the 
cloud of chatter that was going on, “will be paid for by the school, so none of you have to 
worry about giving us any money to go. With that in mind, I hope you all will sign up for it, 
and come. We would like everyone, who is allowed, to go with us, and we have taken many 


precautions  this  time  to ensure  everybody‘s safety.. Now, please, finish your meals and 
end this beginning day.”
Dumbledore  sat down, but nobody really noticed any difference. They were all 
still talking about the field trip.
“Wow! I’ve never been to Egypt before!”
“I wonder if there’ll be any mummies.”
“I didn’t know Professor Quirrell  had a brother….” Were  just a few things that 
Harry picked up.
“Why is  everyone  so excited about a field trip?” asked Ak. “At Durmstrang, we 
had them all the  time! We went to Transylvania, Rome, Hungary, India, China, Japan, and 
more! All in the same year!”
“Well this is the first one we’ll have ever been to,” explained Harry.
“Hmm, I see. Well, it should be good,” he shrugged. “We never did go to Egypt 
before. Maybe it will be interesting.”
“Come on Harry!” said Hermione, pulling on his shirt. “You have to go show the 
new students where their dormitories are.”
“Yeah, yeah,” sighed Harry, leaving the Great Hall with a giant mass of students 
following behind him. He ran ahead of them all, wanting to be able to show the new kids 
where to go before they got lost.
“Follow me,” Harry said to them as they ran to keep up with his quick pace. They 
soon reached the Gryffindor room  entrance that was vigilantly guarded by the portrait  of 
the Fat Lady.
“Password?” she demanded.
“Pookong,” said Harry, causing her to swing open and reveal to them the  room. 
Over the summer, he along with the rest  of the prefects  had received letters  telling them 
the passwords for the entire year. Harry led the two new first  years to their room, relieved 
that there were only two of them this year. They both quickly settled into their new room, 
much more easily than the previous year’s had, and Harry shut the door.
“Hello Harry,” said Ak, who appeared behind him just as he closed the door.
“Ah!” gasped Harry. “You- you scared me there Ak.”
“Sorry,” he said. “But… where do I sleep?” Harry stroked his chin for a second. 
He Didn’t know where Ak should go. With him and the rest of the sixth years, or with the 
new first years?
“Well,” guessed Harry, “I suppose you can come with us. Follow me.” Harry lead 
him to their dormitory, opened the door, and was surprised to see  that there was an extra 
bed in the room, just for Ak. Evidently, this was where he was supposed to be.
“Hey  Harry!”  called   Ron,   whom   Harry  wasn’t   surprised  to   see   was  already 
involved in a Wizard Duel card game match against Dean and Seamus. “You want to play? 
How about you Ak?”
“Oh no, I can’t,” said Harry, remembering the note  Dumbledore had sent to him, 
saying that he had something for him. “I have to go see Dumbledore… I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t worry Harry,” said Ak. “Give me your deck and I’ll play for you.”
“But, you have so many cards,” said Harry. “Why do you need my deck?”
“I… I don’t want to reveal what my cards are until the club starts,” said Ak.
“Fine,” sighed Harry, reaching into the bag in the front of his bed that had been 


bought up earlier for his deck of cards. He found it quickly, and threw it to Ak, running out 
of the room as fast as he could, not wanting to be late. 
Harry shot out of the room, trying to make up for the time he lost showing the 
new students around. He quickly made it out of the common room, and down to the Great 
Hall. From  there, it  was only a little ways to  Dumbledore’s  office, and Harry got there 
quickly.
 “Monkey cakes,” gasped Harry, out of breath. The gargoyle in front of his office  
moved aside and Harry walked through the door and up the stairs.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” said Harry, reaching the office, “but you see I-” He suddenly 
stopped. Dumbledore wasn’t in the room. “Hmm, I guess I didn’t have to go that fast after 
all.”
 Harry looked around. Even though he had been to Dumbledore’s  office  on many 
occasions, for every imaginable type of situation, even to steal a phoenix, Harry still liked 
to see  what was in the office. There was always something new! Just  then, Harry felt the 
same, hot sensation on his ring finger that he had felt on the train. His ring turned blue this 
time, and he felt as though he were being drawn towards Dumbledore’s desk. 
Harry let his ring drag him, as if it were a powerful magnet. His  hand was out in 
front of him, and it led him right towards the bottom right drawer of the desk. The ring was 
burning hotter now, and Harry had to resist  the urge to pull it off. Harry slowly opened the 
drawer, wondering what he would find. The second he opened it a crack, a blue light shone 
right through. Harry pulled it open even more, and an explosion of blue light came out. He 
looked in for the source and it was… a watch.
But it wasn’t just any watch… it was the most beautiful watch Harry had ever seen 
in his life. It was made out of a light blue crystal all over, and the face  was some  sort  of 
rainbow colored glass that was constantly swirling and changing…. Harry just had to pick 
it up and put it on!
He reached inside the drawer, and grabbed the watch, pulling it out. He looked at 
for only a second, for an instant later, a giant holographic map suddenly appeared before 
him, and it took him by such surprise, he dropped the watch. The map was being projected 
right onto  the air… from  Harry’s  ring! It was a map of the  world… but with no border 
lines at all, just geographic features. Harry scanned it over and noticed something… there 
were four dots on the map: a blue one, a red one, a yellow one, and a green one. The blue, 
green, and yellow dots were  both over England…but Harry couldn’t see  exactly where. 
The red one was somewhere in… Africa.
Suddenly, Harry  heard  someone  coming  up the  creaky stairs…  Dumbledore! 
Harry quickly threw the watch back into the drawer and shut it just as fast. Just when it was 
out  of  sight, the  holographic map disappeared and Harry jumped up, trying to  look as 
though nothing out of the normal had just happened. Not even a second later, Dumbledore 
walked in the office. 
“Hello Harry,” he said, walking in. “So sorry I’m late, just had to go over a few 
things with Professor Quirrell.”
“Oh… no problem,” gasped Harry, trying to put on a smile.
“Are you alright? You look as though you’ve been working rather hard. Not that I 
have any objections  to  that, but it‘s  not as  if you should have much to do, considering 
school hasn‘t even started yet.”


“Oh no, I’m fine.”
“Alright then,” said Dumbledore, shaking his  head. “Anyway, down to business. I 
have another item here that was left to you.”
“From my father?” asked Harry. Dumbledore shook his head.
“No, not this. This item is from your godfather.”
“Sirius?”
“Yes,  he   is   giving  it  to   you  to   keep  the  Ministry  of  Magic   from  finding,” 
explained Dumbledore, opening one of his other drawers, reaching inside, and taking out a 
small package. He walked over to Harry and handed it to him. Harry took it, and opened it 
up. Inside, there was a ring… not at all like his skull one, but a clear ring that had a face 
carved on the translucent Stone: half human on one side, half lion on the other.
“What is it?” asked Harry.
“It is an Animagus Invisibility Ring,” said Dumbledore, sitting down in the chair 
before   his   desk.   “It   acts  just   like   your   Invisibility   Cloak.  Only  now,  whenever  you 
transform, you will become invisible if you want to. A very handy thing to have…. Though 
I see that you already have a ring….”
With  that,  he  jumped  up  and walked slowly  in  front   of  Harry.  He  bent   over 
slightly, and gazed at the skull ring, as if he was entranced by it somehow.
“Oh yeah…” said Harry quietly, putting his new  ring on his  middle  finger. He 
could barely even see it  was there, it was so clear. Dumbledore, however, seemed more 
interested   in   Harry’s   skull  ring   than   his   new  one.   It   was   odd…   very   odd   in   fact. 
Dumbledore was just standing there, looming over Harry and gazing at his ring, wide-eyed 
and practically drooling.
“Uh… I have to go now,” said Harry awkwardly. Dumbledore immediately shook 
his head and blinked his eyes  a few times, leaving his catatonic state.
“Oh- oh yes!” he said, sitting back down, but not taking his eyes off of Harry. “Go 
along now, I’m sure you have more  important things to do than talk to an old geezer like 
me.”
 Harry smiled  at Dumbledore  and walked out of  the room, wondering what had 
made him act that way. All the way back to his  common room, he went over in his  mind 
what could have happened in Dumbledore’s office with the blue watch… what was with the 
map and everything? He almost walked right into the portrait of the Fat Lady, not thinking. 
He gave her the password, and had to work his way through a cloud of students, who Harry 
supposed was just gathered there to talk excitedly and anxiously about the upcoming year. 
When he saw what the real cause was, though, he felt a little disgusted.
“Now what cards  would you like?” asked Aylar behind a table  that was covered 
several inches high in sickles  and knuts. “Any card you want, I can give it to you.”
“I’d like a Merlin,” squeaked the kid, who looked like he was a third year.
“Coming right up!” smirked Aylar, waving his wand and causing the card to appear 
out of thin air, right onto the surface of the  table. “That will be… seven sickles please.” 
The kid quickly reached into his  pocket and threw the money out on the table, walking 
away in a blissful state. “Next!”
“Aylar!” yelled Harry. “What are you doing?”
“Oh hello  Harry,” smiled Aylar as his  next customer  approached. “Just  giving 
these kids a few cards that they have trouble getting their hands on if they only buy packs.”


“But Aylar… that’s counterfeiting!”
“I guess   so…   but   who  can  tell   the   difference?”   he   shrugged,  creating  four 
phoenixes  for his  customer. Harry grabbed one from  the  air, and took a spare  card out 
from his pocket, to compare them. After a quick glance, Harry saw a big difference.
“Sorry Aylar,” grinned Harry, showing him the two cards side by side. “But, in the 
bottom left  hand corner  of the real  card, there’s  a ‘T’. On yours, there’s  an ‘A’.” Aylar 
snatched the cards out of his  hand, and looked them over quickly, his eyes  darting from 
side to side.
 “I guess the first letter of the name of the person that made the card is put there,” 
said Aylar quietly, not wanting that little thing to get out.
“But look!” exclaimed Aylar’s  customer  who was waiting for the phoenix that 
Harry took, and had overheard them. He took out a werewolf card from his pocket.
“Yeah… so?”
“This one’s got a ‘V’ in the corner,” he said. Then, taking out another card. “And 
this one’s got an ‘A’ too!”  Aylar folded his arms and put a smug look on his face.
“So, three different people make the cards, and one  of their name’s starts  with 
‘A’, same as mine. There’s no way anyone will be able to tell the difference! Next!” Aylar 
gave his previous customer his phoenix, and a new student came up.
“Four Sorceror’s Stones,” he demanded, causing Harry to sigh and walk up to his 
dormitory. How could Aylar do something like that? Counterfeiting cards  just to make a 
little money. Harry opened the door to his room, and saw the three  boys, Seamus, Dean, 
and Ak, playing Wizard Duel on the floor. Harry groaned at the sight of more cards.
“Yes! I win again!” yelled Ak, throwing his hands into the air. 
“That’s the sixth time in a row!” sighed Seamus, Dean, and Ron together.
“Hey Harry!” said Ak, turning around. “Your deck’s not bad!”
“Thanks, but isn’t that enough for tonight?” suggested Harry.
“Nah,” the four of them said together. 
“But we could use another player…” said Dean.
“You’re right. Hey Neville!” called Seamus. Neville  was back in a corner of the 
room, reading a book. Seamus held up his deck for him to see. “You play?”
Neville looked up, and Harry scanned him over. He appeared completely different 
from  last year. If Harry didn’t know Neville  was his  name, he  would have thought they 
were two totally different people. Now, instead of being slightly on the large side, Neville 
looked stronger than the four of them put together. His hair was different too… extremely 
pointy. He looked more like a character from an anime cartoon than a human.
“No,” he said with a tone of superiority in his voice. “I have… things to do.”
Harry frowned at him and winced an  eye. He knew  that  Neville  was probably 
studying the latest Dark Curses. Ever since halfway through the last year, Neville had been 
a Death Eater, and his new look was probably a gift from Voldemort.
“Fine,” said Seamus, shrugging and returning to the game.
They  played  another  round, and Ak  won, of  course.  Ron,  Seamus   and  Dean 
decided that they’d been slaughtered enough for one day, and all of them chose  to stop for 
the night, and go to bed.
Harry laid there, still slightly awake, with ideas buzzing in his head.


“Could this field trip be the same field trip that Jamie got lost  on…? What was 
the deal with the map thing in Dumbledore’s office…? What was Dobby trying to warn me 
about…?” After a while, however, Harry finally drifted off into a deep sleep.
“Harry…” came a voice, as if from far away.
“Mmmm…” he groaned back.
“Harry Potter…” it came again, louder.
“Yeah, what?” asked Harry groggily, opening his eyes. He was very surprised to 
see that he was not in bed, but rather standing up in the middle of the Gryffindor Common 
room. His  glasses  weren’t on, so  he couldn’t see a thing, but luckily he felt  them in his 
hand. Harry quickly put them on.
“Harry Potter,” hissed the voice again. This time, it was much closer, and sounded 
almost  inhuman. Suddenly, Harry could make out where the voice was coming from, and 
even worse, whose it was. Right before  him, in the middle of  the  common room, was 
Voldemort himself.


Chapter 6- New Classes
“Hello…   Harry  Potter,”  hissed  Voldemort   again,  caressing   himself  with  his 
spider-like fingers. Unlike his followers, Voldemort looked no different than when Harry 
had met  him  last. Pale  and skeleton-like  skinny all  over, with  snake eyes  and a long, 
flowing, black robe and cape.
Harry didn’t have time to scream or yell. He just reached into his pocket for his 
wand. He quickly pulled it right out, and pointed it straight at Voldemort.
“Stupefy!” he yelled. The beam shot right out from  the tip of his  wand… but it 
just passed right through Voldemort, as if he were a ghost. Voldemort gave a short laugh.
“Oh Harry,” he chortled, “don’t you think I’m smarter than that? Even though my 
powers  are  great, I still   wouldn’t risk coming into  Hogwarts  in my actual form…  yet 
anyways.”
“Then how are you here?” demanded Harry, still not putting his wand down.
“This… is  a dream,” said Voldemort, putting his  hands  up, and spinning around 
slowly. “I am not real, not even this  room; which, I might add, is  a very good guess at what 
the Gryffindor common looks like, seeing as I’ve never been in it.”
“You mean, you created this dream?”  asked Harry. 
Voldemort gave a smile.
“Oh yes…” he hissed. “My powers have improved so much after you ‘gave’ me 
your Order last year, that I am able to do almost anything I desire.”
“If you’re  so  powerful, why don’t you just  have an all  out attack on Hogwarts 
then?” snapped Harry, actually curious  as  to  why. Voldemort  ignored his  question, and 
changed the subject.
“Anyway, down to business,” he murmured.
“What do you want now?” 
“I have a feeling that you know what I want… Harry,” he said, smiling. Harry’s 
mind raced. What did he have that he could possibly want? His Animagus Invisibility Ring? 
No, he could probably get one of those from  somewhere else. His other ring, the skull 
one? Perhaps… but why didn’t he just ask for it now if that’s what he wanted? No, it had to 
be something else.
“Well, I can’t give it you if I don’t even know what it is that you want,” said Harry, 
trying to hide his ring.
“I have a feeling you know what it is I desire…” he repeated.
“Even if I knew what it was that you wanted,” spat Harry, “there’s no way I’d give it 
to you anyway!” 
Voldemort shook his head.
“Well   then…   Harry   Potter,”   he   said   slowly.   “Bad   things   will   happen…” 
Voldemort took out his wand, and pointed it at Harry.
“Expellius!” he yelled. A wave shot out of his wand that twisted and contorted the 
entire  room  as  it   went  along. The common room  became  like  some  sort  of  horrible 
attempt at an abstract  painting as it began to curve, melt, fade, and become  sharper all at 
once. As soon as it hit Harry, he fell to the ground, unconscious.
“Harry! Get  up!” came Ron’s voice  over him. “Breakfast’s started now, and you 


don’t want to miss the first one of the year; that wouldn’t look too good!”
“Ugh…  what?”  groaned  Harry,  sitting  up  and  seeing  that   everyone   else   was 
already dressed and ready for the first actual day back. He quickly jumped out of bed and 
over to his trunk of clothes where he quickly picked an outfit, and threw his robes on over 
that. “Alright, let’s go.”
The two of them ran downstairs  to the Great Hall where most of the school was 
already seated. Harry and Ron picked seats next to Hermione, and began eating.
“So, you two have any dreams last night?” she asked. Harry choked on his muffin 
from remembering his.
“Are you okay, Harry?” asked Ron.
“Yeah yeah,” he coughed, hitting his chest. “I’m fine.”
“Okay then,”  said  Ron, “but  no,  Hermione,  no  dreams   for   me…  a  perfectly 
dreamless  night.” Harry looked enviously at his  friend. He  hadn’t spent  the  night with 
Voldemort in the common room.
“How   about   you  Harry?”  asked   Hermione.   Harry   looked  over   at   her.   Why 
shouldn’t he tell  her? There was no reason not to. Maybe they could help him figure out 
what Voldemort wanted.
“Yeah, I had a dream,” said Harry. “Voldemort talked to me in the common room, 
and told me he wanted something from me, but he didn’t say what.” Harry looked at Ron 
and Hermione’s faces,  which now contained wide eyes. He  was impressed, though, that 
they didn’t flinch at him saying Voldemort’s name.
“He- he talked to you?” gasped Ron.
“In the common room?” said Hermione.
“Yeah,” said Harry, acting as if he had night time  conversations with Voldemort 
every day of his life.
“Well, what did he say he wanted?” asked Ron.
“He didn’t really say. He only said, ‘I have a feeling you know what it is I desire.’”
“Anything else?” asked Hermione, looking serious.
“No, well, nothing else about what he wanted. And, when I refused, he said bad 
things will happen then.”
“Ah, we’ve got nothing to  worry about!” said Ron, waving his arm as  if tossing 
Voldemort away. “As long as we’re here in Hogwarts, under Dumbledore’s constant watch, 
nothing could possibly happen.”
Just then, the familiar flapping of wings filled that air, and all head turned to see  
the owls fly in through the hole in the roof, bringing the student’s daily mail. However, no 
owls came through this  time. Only hundreds  of black crows, each with a dark letter  in its 
claws. Indifferent to the  screaming going on, each crow  delivered a single  envelope to 
each student, including Harry, then quickly flew back out the way it came. Harry quickly 
turned it over, to see  what the seal was, and felt  cold all over when he saw what it was: a 
red skull with a green snake coming out of the mouth. That symbol could only mean one 
thing: recruitment notes.
“Voldemort… is sending letters… here?” gasped Ron, from under the table.
“I can’t believe Dumbledore… or anyone for that matter, would let this happen!” 
said Hermione, right next to Ron. Harry was one of the few who had not hid.
“Still feel safe, Ron?” asked Harry, tearing up his letter, not even looking at it. By 


now, all the crows  had left, and the students  started creeping out from their hiding spots. 
Teachers were coming in from preparing their first lessons to try and help out.
As Harry looked around, he  saw that not  everyone  was tearing up the  letters. 
Some of  them were  slipping them  in their pockets  for later, others  were  even reading 
them  now. Harry stared at  the  student  body… how many of  them  were  already Death 
Eaters?
 “See Harry?” chuckled Neville, his  letter  in hand. “We have practically already 
won.” Harry sneered at him.
“I don’t  see  how  anyone  could become   a Death Eater,” he  said  with extreme 
disgust.
 “Actually, it’s  quite  simple, as long as  you put it  into  perspective,” explained 
Neville, putting his hands in his pocket and rocking back and forth on his  feet. “Here’s a 
simple  analogy: the  Dark Arts,  and the  Muggle  drug companies.  Both kill  people   for 
profit, and both are quite successful. At Muggle schools, you’re taught not  to work for 
them, or do it, same thing here; we have Defense  Against the Dark Arts, they have health 
class. In the Muggle world, they have companies trying to get rid of drugs, we have Aurors. 
But, does any of that stop Muggle children everywhere from growing up to work for them? 
No, not at all. All they care about is money, and it’s  the same thing here, Harry. The kids 
see   possibilities   and promotion  in  the  Dark  Arts,  and  they  flock  towards  it.  There’s 
nothing you can do.”
Harry stood there for a second, both amazed at Neville’s  sight and intelligence, 
and hating him  for  thinking that  way. Luckily, Neville  just shrugged  and walked away; 
Harry didn’t have anything to say to him. He instead went over to Ron and Hermione and 
helped them up..
“Oh Harry!” exclaimed Ron, reaching into his  pocket  and taking out a colorful 
sheet  of parchment. “I made this  while you were  gone last  night.” Harry took the sheet 
from him. It was an advertisement for the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team this coming 
Friday.
 “Looks good,” said Harry, eyeing the nice pictures  and colors  on it. “I’ll go hang 
it up on the bulletin board where everyone can see it.”
“Okay, but  hurry  back!” called   Hermione  after  him.  “We’re  getting  our   new 
schedules soon!”
“I’ll be  back in no time,” said Harry, running out  of the Great Hall  and to  the 
magical bulletin board that wasn’t but a few feet  away. He  merely touched the piece of 
parchment to the  board and it magically stuck there, expanding slightly so  it  would be 
more visible. Harry stood back to admire the work, and smiled at it.
Just then, Harry saw another kid putting an advertisement on the board. He placed 
it up, and it expanded as  well. This one, however, looked even nicer  than Ron’s. It was 
practically  a  three  dimensional  picture,   depicting  two  people  excitedly   engaged  in  a 
Wizard Duel game. The student who put it up turned around, and Harry saw that it was Ak. 
He was wearing the same outfit that Tci wore last year: a long jacket with no shirt on under 
it.
 “Hey Ak!” yelled Harry. “So you are starting the club.”
“Oh yes,” he said, turning towards Harry. “Me and the other four are.”
“Wow, the poster looks really nice,” said Harry, nodding his head. “How did you 


make it look so good?”
“Oh… just  a few extra little things,” said Ak, admiring the poster  as well. “Oh! 
But I see  something wrong! I forgot  to dot the ‘I’ on ‘Wizard’! Oh no…. Harry, do you 
have a quill I can borrow?”
“Sure,” said Harry, reaching into his  pocket, grabbing one, and handing it to him. 
“Here you go.”
Ak reached over for the quill, but stopped as soon as he saw Harry’s hand. His 
eyes grew wide and his mouth opened slightly. He was staring at Harry’s ring.
“What- what is it?” asked Harry nervously. “Don’t you want the quill?”
“Where did you get that skull ring?” asked Ak slowly, not blinking.
“Um… Ron gave it to me,” lied Harry, not wanting to say he got it from a crazy 
old man back at Knockturn Alley. “He found it in a pyramid on his trip to Egypt.”
“Pyramid…” said Ak to himself, turning around, and walking away, back towards 
the Great Hall. “Yes….”
“Wait, Ak!” yelled Harry to him. “Don’t you want to fix the ‘I’?”
“Pyramid…” said Ak, disappearing back into  the room. Harry shrugged and put 
the quill away. He began walking back to Ron and Hermione, all the while thinking what Ak 
and Dumbledore knew about his ring that he didn’t.
“Hey there!” said Ron, looking grim, and bringing Harry out of his  dazed state. 
“You won’t believe this. Not only do we have Potions  with the Slytherins still, but we also 
have Defense Against the Dark Arts with them too!”
“You’re kidding!” said Harry, picking up his schedule. But, it was sadly true. Even 
though he and Malfoy had started getting along better, he still did not feel like spending 
another  entire  class  with him this  year. Then, Harry noticed something  else  about  his 
schedule.  “What’s  this?  For the  last   period  of  the  day,  I  have three  things:  Advanced 
Healing, Meteorology, and Spell Invention.”
“We have to choose which one we want,” explained Hermione.
“What, we just  go to the class  of  our choice  at the  end of the  day?” said Ron 
jokingly.
“Yep,” said Hermione, taking Ron by surprise. 
“But, shouldn’t they give us more  time  to think about which class  it  is  that we 
want?” asked Harry. 
Hermione shook her head.
“No,” she said. “It’s supposed to just be a natural choice, not something influence 
by our family or events that happen between when we are told that we have the choice and 
when it comes  time to choose. It is  a spur of the moment thing.”
“How do you know all that?” asked Ron, slightly amazed.
“I think we both know the answer to that,” she said.
Just  then, the  magical  bell  rang throughout  the  school,  signaling the  start  of 
school  time. Harry, Ron, and Hermione  strutted off  to Defense  Against the Dark Arts, 
their first  class  of the day. All of them were wondering how it was going to be with the 
Slytherins, and with their  new professor. They filed into the classroom and in just a few 
minutes the rest of the class  arrived. Surprisingly, Malfoy took a seat right next to Harry, 
and Crabbe and Goyle were on the other side of  the  room, nowhere  near him. Professor 
Quirrell came in soon after.


“Hello everyone!” he said brightly, with his  beard (that looked as  though it was 
even bigger than Hagrid’s) going all the way down to his stomach. It was a very unpleasant 
shade of green all over, probably from food and stuff getting caught in it as he eats. “Now, 
as I have learned, in your fourth year, you learned how to deal with the Imperius Curse, 
then last year you learned about the Cruciatus  Curse. So, this  year, we will be looking at 
ways to protect yourselves from the final Unforgivable Curse… the Avada Kedavra Spell. 
But,  since  the  spell   itself  is  almost  unavoidable, you  will  not  be  studying on  how  to 
protect  yourselves from  actual curse, but how to protect  yourself from  being drawn into 
the Dark Side and ever having to deal with the spell  in the first place. We will be learning 
what makes  wizards  turn, and how to  stop yourself from doing so… in a nutshell, what 
makes good wizards go bad…. Yeehaw!”
“I’d rather learn what made your beard grow so big and disgusting,” whispered 
Malfoy. Harry had to stifle down a laugh and he saw Ron do the same.
“Not bad Malfoy, not bad,” said Harry, commenting on his joke.
“Eh, I could do better,” he replied, cracking his knuckles.
“Hey,”   said   Harry,   feeling   as   though   this   was   actually   becoming   a   good 
conversation, “why aren’t you sitting with Crabbe and Goyle?” 
Malfoy shrugged his shoulders.
“I guess  I kind of… grew out of them,” he said. “They just got boring with their 
pathetic  schemes   and constant   grunts.  We  just…   don’t  think  on  the  same   level  any 
longer.” Harry was liking this more and more. With Crabbe and Goyle gone, Malfoy would 
be desperate for some new friends… perhaps Harry could show him the light.
The rest of the class went very well. Professor Quirrell talked to them about the 
letters  that they all received at breakfast  and how that was a perfect  way for them  to be 
tempted to come over. He asked them is  any of them had kept their letters, and not very 
surprisingly, no one raised their hand. Harry suspected that many of the Slytherins, and 
probably a few of the Gryffindors, had kept their letters  too, but were definitely not going 
to admit to it, especially to a teacher.
By the end of class, Harry and Malfoy were practically as good friends as him and 
Ron. It was a very good feeling, befriending one of  your oldest enemies. Malfoy told 
Harry that  he wished he were a fifth year, because next  year, the Sixth Years  would be 
offering three new courses  in addition to the three that they had now: Necrology, the study 
of  bringing people back from  the  dead; Curses, the study of new and advanced ways to 
bring about horror; and Time Travel, where they’d try to figure out new ways of changing 
past events, and seeing the future.
“How do you know all that?” asked Harry after the bell rang.
“My father told me,” said Malfoy. 
“How would he know the future of Hogwarts?” asked Harry. 
Malfoy shrugged.
“I don’t  know,” he  said. “But I do  know  that if  I  don’t hurry,  I’ll be  late  for 
Transfiguration.”
“Fine, I’ll see you later Malfoy,” said Harry.
“Yeah, see you on the Quidditch field, Potter,” yelled Malfoy, walking away. “You 
know… Marcus Flint finally graduated last year. I wonder who the new captain will be?”
“So what’s up with you two now?” asked Ron, preventing Harry from commenting 


on Malfoy’s statement.
“Oh, don’t worry Ron,” smiled Harry. “You’re still my best friend.”
“I  guess   having  a   new   class   with   the   Slytherins   wasn’t   so   bad  after   all,” 
commented Hermione, walking along beside them. Harry happily agreed.
The rest  of  the  classes,  while okay,  did not  contain  any new friendships  like 
Defense  Against the Dark Arts  did. In Herbology, they started learning about not plants, 
but rather soil. Magical dirt that could be grown and formed to act like humans. It would 
not be until much later into the  year that any of the students, even Neville, could make a 
perfect person.
Transfiguration was pretty good as  well. Professor McGonagall began teaching 
them how to transform each other’s certain body parts into different things. She began by 
making Hermione’s arms into crab claws, and then Neville’s legs into a goat’s. The class 
applauded and laughed at her transfigurations, but it  would be a long time before  anyone 
would be able to do something the well. 
Charms was just  as good. They began learning how to  set magical charm traps, 
like  Ron pretended he did last  year. There were hundreds of  different  kinds: ones  that 
exploded, ones that turned their victims to Stone, and ones that even made the person fall 
asleep. Harry couldn’t wait to begin learning some of them.
If Harry hadn’t know better, he would have though he was in the same Divination 
class  as  last year. Professor Trelawney did not improve much on her syllabus from  last 
year, she only added that they would be using Wizard Duel cards in helping them to make 
some predictions. That, and only that, gave Harry hope for that class  to be any good.
Care of Magical Creatures, though not as exciting as last  year with the dragons, 
was  still   an improvement  on   Divination.  Though  Hagrid  did  not   know  exactly  which 
creatures  they would be studying, he did say they would be looking on an average of a new 
one  each week, and by the end of the  year, they would know almost ever animal in the 
world. It  was very nice  for  once  to  not have Malfoy  criticizing Hagrid every  second, 
poking fun at him for everything he did. On the  contrary, he talked to Harry most  of the 
time,  chatting about  Quidditch or  whatever. Malfoy was  quickly becoming  one  of  the 
group… if only he wasn’t in Slytherin.
In Potions, everyone’s favorite  teacher, Professor  Snape was back. Even before 
he  started  telling them what the were  going to  do during the year, Gryffindor had lost 
twenty points, Dean had an F  for the  semester,  and Lavender ran out crying. Ahh… the 
teacher they all knew and loved was back.
Even with Professor  Snape back, Potions did not even begin to compare to how 
bad History of Magic was. Even Professor Binns reading them the outline of the year was 
enough to make a dead person kill over again with boredom. Halfway into the class, Harry 
fell  asleep, and did not know what they were going to do all year. Oh well, his next major 
test wasn’t until next year’s N.E.W.T.s anyway.
Now, the  thing that Harry, along with the  rest  of  the Sixth Years, was  looking 
forward to the  most  came…  the  time  for them  to choose  their ‘bonus’ class. Ron and 
Harry quickly consulted with Hermione on which one was the best. 
“Well, Advanced Healing is pretty good if you plan on going into some sort  of 
medicinal position, like a doctor or something. Meteorology is for those who want to go 


into serious fighting, you learn how to make storms and tornadoes appear out of nowhere. 
And, if you don’t  fit  into  either of  those  categories,  like me, Spell Invention. You do 
exactly what the class name is… invent spells.”
“Really?” asked Ron, sounding amazed. “You can make your own spells?”
“Yeah, but it’s not as easy as it sounds,” said Hermione. “They recommend having 
taken Arithmancy; you’ll  need it to understand the code  behind it. MMSC, or  Majik’s 
Magical  Spell Code, the  code  for  making  spells  is   quite  similar  to  Muggle  computer 
programs. That little second year, Akshay, would be good at it.”
“So you’re taking Spell  Invention, Hermione?” asked Ron, completely ignoring 
everything she had just said.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean-”
“Well then I’ll take it too,” announced Ron, not allowing her to finish. Hermione 
just sighed. She didn’t want to influence their decision, but she did.
“Well then, I guess I’ll take it too,” said Harry, not wanting to be left out.
“Fine! Don’t let  your subconscious  self  choose, let  me do it for you,” groaned 
Hermione, throwing her hands into the air. 
“Okay thanks,” smiled Ron. The three of them tried to find their way to their new 
class  by  using  the   Marauder’s   Map, the  only good…  well   actually,  the  only  map of 
Hogwarts that Harry had ever seen. It took them no time to find it with the help of the map, 
so not before long, they found their quite large classroom, and walked in to see a rather 
small group of students inside. Most of them were people that Harry had seen before, but 
never really talked to. 
“Why are there so few students here?” asked Harry.
“Yeah, I thought this would be one of the more popular classes,” said Ron.
“Well I did tell you,” said Hermione. “It’s not an easy class. Most people in here 
are from my Arithmancy class.” 
Harry swallowed hard.
“Do you think we made the right choice, Ron?”
“Well, I don’t know….”
“Hey, you’ve had five other brothers  go through this already, you should know,” 
said Harry. “Didn’t any of them take this class?” Ron stroked his chin, thinking hard. 
“Well, I think Bill might have taken it… but never really went anywhere with it,” 
he said. “But, I was so little back then, I don’t remember if he said it was hard or not.”
“Well, do you at least know who the teacher is?” 
“Um… no.”
“Hermione!” called Harry.
“Yeah?” she asked, turning her head from a group of students that she was talking 
excitedly to. “What is it?”
“Do you know who teaches this class?” asked Harry.
“No,” she replied as soon as the bell rang. “But, you’ll find out-”
Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked the teacher. Harry’s, along with most of 
the other student’s jaws fell to the floor.
“Good   afternoon   students,”   announced   their   teacher.   “I  will   be   your   Spell 
Invention teacher… my name, if you don’t already know it, is  Professor Dumbledore.”


Chapter 7- The Return of The Second Years
“Dumbledore?” exclaimed the entire  class  together. The old man jumped back in 
surprise from hearing his name said by so many people at once.
“Yes, that is my name,” he said.
“You… you’re our teacher?” asked one student in surprise.
“You didn’t think all I did around here  was  sign papers  and nod my head when 
people do a job well done?” he asked them. No one said a word. “So, are you saying you’re 
unhappy to see me?”
“No!” said everyone immediately.
 Dumbledore smiled at them.
“Oh good,” he grinned. “Now, time for class to begin. I’m sure  that many of you 
have heard that this class  is extremely hard, almost impossible. Well, I can say that I am 
behind all  of those  terrible rumors,  but  that is  just  to  deter  as  many as possible from 
taking this class, because not many possess the talent necessary to do this, and I don’t want 
a hundred little  students  running around with only a half idea on how to make spells. I 
would rather have only a handful be an expert at it.”
With that, he walked over to his  desk at the front of the room, opened a drawer, 
and took out a small cauldron. He placed it on the top of the desk where  everyone could 
see it.
 “This,”  he  said,  “is   a  Ordinator  Potion.  From  this  concoction,  all   spells   are 
created,  made, and altered.”  He   took  out  his  wand, and pointed  it   at  the   rather  calm 
concoction inside. “Let me show you what a simple MMSC Code looks like. Lumos!” The 
spell, rather than creating a small beam of light, came out as a thick cloud and flowed right 
into the potion, making it turn a bright yellow.
“The spell is now inside the potion, and is completely changeable. But, before we 
alter  it  just  yet,  let  me  show  you  what code   makes   this  spell  up  in  the   first   place. 
Ordinatum!” No beam came out of the wand, but a holographic screen popped right out of 
the potion, and projected itself into the air. It looked like a Muggle computer or television 
screen,  only  larger  and  perfectly  flat.  Then, Harry noticed,  there   were  words   on  the 
screen:
 (Light Spell)
<lumos>
[size]   1
[see]light = light + 100
[smell]none
[hear]none
[taste]none
[touch]none
Harry had no idea what it  meant, but before  he could try to  make sense of it, 
Dumbledore started explaining it.


“This is  the MMSC Code, the code that tells what should happen as soon as you 
summon this  spell.  At the top, in  comment  parentheses, is  the  name  of  the  spell, and 
below it, in the greater than and less  than signs, is what you say to use the spell. Usually, a 
word not heard in normal speech is used, to try and prevent people from accidentally using 
spells  while engaging in conversation. So, words from  other languages  are used, mostly 
obscure ones like Latin, though some still prefer French, Japanese, Greek, or even English 
even though they are still in use today.
“Below that part is  where the real fun begins. The size part tells  how big the beam 
is. In Lumos’ case, the beam is  relatively small, the standard size. The larger the beam, the 
more magical energy it takes to use the spell.
“And below that indicates  what the spell  does. The spell can produce something 
that you see when you use it, smell  when you use it, hear when you use it or when it hits 
you target, taste  when you eat it, or feel when you use it or when your target is it with it. 
Now, Lumos does not do anything except produce a beam of light, so it does  not require 
more than a single line of code, and minimal magical energy. The ‘light = light +100’ part 
shows that when you use it, it creates  a thin beam, as indicated by the size, that increases  
the light in the area of that beam by one hundred. The more lines  of code that are used and 
the higher the  numbers, the more magical energy is  drained upon summoning the spell. 
Now, any questions?” Hermione, of course, raised her hand.
“Yes, Miss Granger.”
“Professor, how are the see, smell, hear, taste, and touch constants declared?” she 
asked, insightfully. “How does the spell know what they are?” .
“That,” said Dumbledore, raising his  pitch, “goes all the way back to the creation 
of magic. As you should know from your History of Magic lessons-”
“Yeah right,” whispered Ron to Harry.
“-Majik Premer was the  first  wizard… ever. He spent years and years trying to 
invent the first spell, but he couldn’t figure out how to change the physical world without 
actually touching anything. It took him decades to finally figure  out a way to change the 
five senses  that we can experience, and since then, not a wizard has ever even touched the 
code he made that declares those constant’s values… even I can barely understand it. But, 
we don’t have to worry about that. All we need to do, nowadays, is  to simply put in the 
words, and tell what should happen to that specific sense.”
“But,” continued Hermione, “if you can change what the five senses  experience, 
then wouldn’t it be possible to change things beyond our physical grasp… like time?”
“But  we  can  already  do  that,”  interrupted  another  student.  “Remember   Time 
Turners?”
“Ah,” said Dumbledore, putting up his finger. “That is  not actually true. Not many 
wizards  know that Time Turners  do not  actually take  you back in  time,  but really just 
change the world around us  to a specific  place in time. You see, every second, a Time 
Turner sends off an invisible wave throughout the entire universe that records everything it 
touches, and saves that data inside. When it is  turned to return to a certain time, the Time 
Turner merely accesses  the saved time, and ‘loads’ it into the current world by changing 
everything to match what it  was. So, you are not really time  traveling, just returning the 
universe to look exactly like a certain time.”
“But isn’t that just as good?” asked the same  student. “I mean, what could make 


actual time travel superior to that?”
“Another very good point,” said Dumbledore,  scratching his  nose. “But if  you 
think about it hard enough, you can find the answer quite  easily. You see, a Time Turner 
only starts  sending out waves after it has been created. So, a Time Turner cannot bring you 
further into the past before the time it has been created. For example, lets  say you created 
a Time Turner on Wednesday the fourth. You wait a week, and you could return to either 
the tenth, ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, or all the way back to the fourth, the day you 
created it. But, no matter how many times  you turned it, you could not go to the third or 
before that.”
“But don’t we have Time Turners that go all the way back for hundreds of years?” 
asked the same  student again, determined to try and prove her point. Dumbledore shook 
his head.
“No,” he  said. “In fact, the  Time Turner is  a  very recent  invention. The latest 
someone could go back is about… thirteen years I think.”
“So that’s  why Voldemort didn’t just  get one of his Death Eaters  to use a Time 
Turner and go back and stop him from  going to  your house,” whispered  Ron to Harry. 
“They hadn’t been invented yet!”
“So,” said Hermione, trying to wrap up the entire discussion, “if someone were to 
figure out a way to declare time as a constant, a person would be able to travel backwards 
and forwards through time as he or she pleased?”
“Yes,” said  Dumbledore,  giving a grin, and showing a twinkle  in his  eye, “the 
development of such a thing would be the greatest invention ever in the history of magic, 
except for its  actual invention.”
For the rest of the class, Dumbledore showed the students various spells and their 
MMSC code.  He  showed them  a few more  not  very complex spells  (like Wingardium 
Leviosa) and some very sophisticated offensive spells  (like Stupefy and Porcini Magus). 
He said they would all, by the  end of the  year, be able to create  spells  like  these, and 
everyone was anxious to try and make their own. To get them all excited, he showed them 
the  MMSC of  one  of his  own spells,  the  Anata Naru Spell, an  unavoidable spell   that 
allowed you to switch bodies  with someone else. Harry was going to ask if he could try it 
out, but the bell  rang and everyone returned to their common rooms, to do their Potions 
Homework. 
The first week of school  went by very quickly and before Harry knew it, Friday 
arrived, bringing with it the tryout for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. After classes  had 
ended, Harry, along with Ron, walked out to the Quidditch Field, where the tryout would 
be held. When they arrived, there were  ten people, ready to go. Much to Harry’s dismay, 
the first years he had helped last year as a Prefect were all there, just as they had said.
“Hey Harry!” called Chris, the most athletic of them all.
“We’ve been practicing all summer long!” said Mike.
“And now we’re really good!” squeaked Akshay, flexing his tiny muscles.
“I LIKE THE QUAFFLE!” grunted Joe, running after the red ball. 
“Ron,” whispered Harry. “We can’t risk having any of them on the team.”
“What should we do then?” 
Harry thought for a second.”


“I know,” he said, “let’s  just  have a Quidditch match. Two Beaters, two Chasers, 
and a Keeper to  each time, five on five. First to… oh say… one hundred wins, and the 
winning team makes it, and the losers go away.”
“But how will that help us get rid of them quickly?” asked Ron.
“Well, we’ll make one of them the captain of one of the two teams. That one will 
surely pick the rest of his friends, and then that team will lose.”
“But what about the poor guy who gets stuck with the four of them for tryouts?” 
asked Ron. 
Harry shrugged.
“Oh well,” said Harry. “All victories  have some sort of sacrifice.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
“Alright!” announced Harry to the hopefuls, clearing his throat. “We’ve decided… 
after much talk and deliberation… that the best way to hold this tryout would be to have a 
Quidditch  match. Two Beaters,  two Chasers,  and a Keeper  to  each  team. First  to  one 
hundred wins, and the winning team makes the official Gryffindor one. Got it?”
“Yes!” said the ten of them together.
“Alright,” said Harry, putting his  arms  akimbo. “Who wants to  be a captain of a 
team?”
 “OOOHHH! ME!” screamed Joe, bouncing up and down and throwing his  hands 
into the air. Harry stifled down a laugh.
“Alright Joe,” he said, pointing to him, “you’re up!”
“Yahoo!” he yelled, running up next to Harry.
“Who else?” demanded Harry.
“How about me?” asked Akshay, putting his hand up. 
“Uh… no,” said Harry. If two of the boys  that he didn’t want to make the team 
came up, that would ruin his plan. “How about… you! Dean! Come on up.” Dean Thomas 
shrugged, and walked up on the other side of Harry.
“Alright Joe, you start.”
“I choose… Chris!” yelled Joe. Chris walked up next to him. 
“Dean?”
“I’ll have… Seamus!” 
“Chris?”
“Mike!”
“Seamus?”
“Dennis!” Harry was surprised to see  Dennis  Creevey try out… especially with 
what happened to his brother last year.
“Mike?”
“Akshay!”
“Dennis?”
“Natalie!”
“Akshay?” 
“Aku!” 
“Aku! WHERE!?” yelled Mike, jumping up.
“What are you talking about?” asked Harry, feeling sorry for Ak that he was on 
their team and was now unofficially out of the running. 


“Oh…” said Mike, calming down. “It’s just that… well, never mind.”
“Okay…” said Harry, turning back. “Natalie, who do you want?”
“Emma, the only one left!” S
She skipped up and high fived Natalie. 
Harry stood  back and  looked  at  the  two teams. Now, that  he  saw them  both, 
neither  was  really  all  too  desirable.  He  wished  he  could  just   have Fred,  George  and 
everyone else back instead. 
“Okay!” yelled Ron, rubbing his hands together. “Teams, figure out your positions 
and Joe, your team goal will be the one on the left and you’re team name will be the uh…”
“THE ELITES!” he barked.
“Okay, your team name will be the Elites…” said Ron, wincing. “And your team, 
Dean, your goal will be down to the right. Your team name will be…”
“The Wizard Duelers!”
“Excellent  name,” said Ron, grinning. He and Harry waited for the two teams to 
arrive at their positions and decided who would be playing as what.
“You guys ready!?” called Harry to them.
“Yeah!” the both teams yelled back.
“Alright  then!”  yelled  Ron,  opening  the   box  of   balls,  and  releasing   the   two 
Bludgers. Since  there  would be no Seekers  in this  match, the Snitch was unnecessary. 
“Three… two… one… go!” He opened the straps for the Quaffle and it flew straight into 
the middle of the match. 
“And they’re  off!” yelled Harry, magically magnifying his  voice  so the  players 
could hear. “And it’s… Joe in possession?” It was true. Through he didn’t look like much, 
Joe  shot for the Quaffle faster than any other player and grabbed it before  the match was 
even a quarter second old. 
“Don’t worry,” said Ron. “Seamus  will stop him.” Harry looked over and saw 
Seamus shooting right at Joe, looking ready to knock him off. Harry smiled… but then, 
right at the last second, Joe threw the Quaffle right into the air, flew under Seamus, and 
since Seamus was distracted by this, Mike easily flew in and grabbed the Quaffle and shot 
it into the goal, scoring the Elites  the first ten points of the game. Harry’s jaw fell  to the 
ground.
 “Wow, they’re good,” said Ron. 
Harry jabbed him in the side.
“Okay, the score  is ten to zero, with the Elites  ahead. Come on Wizard Duelers!”
The wizards  Duelers  were trying their  best, but were  being badly beaten by the 
Elites. It was almost  scary, how the four of them seemed to be linked telepathically or 
something; the way the coordinated their movements… it  was almost  scary. Harry, for a 
few minutes, suspected that Ak was helping them with his magic, but he kept a close  eye 
on him in his Keeper position, and his wand was in his pocket at all times. Now, just five 
minutes into the game, the score was ninety to zero.
“Harry… I don’t think your plan is working,” smiled Ron. 
Harry glared at him. 
“I  think the   Wizard  Duelers  are  do   for   a  comeback,”  he  said,  returning  his 
attention to  the field. Chris suddenly whacked a Bludger in the direction of the  Wizard 
Dueler’s goals, and Emma, mistaking it  for a Quaffle went after it. This left  Mike wide 


open to pass to Akshay, who was already by that goal, and easily dropped the Quaffle into 
the goal, scoring Gryffindor their last  and final ten points that they needed to win even 
before Emma realized the mistake she had made. 
“Hey!” called Joe, flying down in front of Harry. “We won!”
Harry sighed.
“Yes… yes you did.”
“Hey,” whispered Ron, “they may be a bit crazy, but hey, they’re good!”
“I suppose  you’re  right….” moaned Harry. “Hey, Wizard Duelers… good try.” 
Harry waved to the losing tam as they miserably walked back inside the castle. The rest of 
the Elites flew down next to Joe.
“I told you we’ve been practicing,” said Akshay, giving Mike a high five.
“Yeah, well, you won,” said Harry, folding his  arms. “So now, you have to do it 
again… in our first match against Ravenclaw. Think you’re up to it?”
“Yeah!” said the five of them. 
“Alright. Ak, you played Keeper, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, well, we’ve already got a Keeper, and you look like you’re more built 
for action. So, you’ll be one  of  our Beaters. Chris, you too. You’re as good as  Fred or 
George. As for you three others, Mike, Akshay, and Joe, you’ll be the Chasers. I haven’t 
seen such awesome cooperation between Chasers since the last World Cup.”
“Thanks,” they said.
“Alright,” said Harry, trying to look at his team for their playing ability, not how 
he personally felt. “Meet back here  every night after classes. You’ll  practice  your new 
positions  and who knows… we may win.”
“Yay!” yelled the four first years, throwing their brooms into the air.
“Okay… bye,” said Harry quickly, walking back up to the  castle with Ron while 
listening to the excited chatter among the four of them. 
“Hey!” Harry heard Ak call.
“Yeah?”
“Our first  Wizard Duel meeting is tonight… in just  a few minutes in fact. You 
coming?”
“Of course!” said Ron, looking thoroughly excited.
“Alright!” said Ak, running ahead of them back to the castle.
“Harry!” came a voice again.
“What is  it?” asked Harry in an annoyed voice. He expected to see  one  of the 
second years, but it was actually Professor McGonagall. “Oh, I’m so sorry professor! You 
see-”
 “It’s quite alright Harry,” she said, waving her hand. Harry noticed, this was one of 
the first  few times  she had called him by his  first name. The previous time was when he 
asked her if he could become an Animagus…. What did she have to say.
“A letter just  came  for you,” she said, breathing hard and taking a rather  large 
envelope out of her pocket.
“Why didn’t Hedwig just bring it to me?” he asked. 
“This one was not delivered by a magical owl,” she said, giving him the letter. “It 
was sent  by a Muggle owl. Though they are still competent  letter  senders, they are not 


very  good  at   delivering them   to  specific   people.  Luckily,  I saw  it   hooting  outside   a 
window. The poor thing didn’t know what to do.”
“Who’s it from?”
“Look for yourself,” she said. Harry turned the envelop over, and to his surprise, 
the return address was to Dudley!
“Dudley sent me a letter!” he cried in surprise.
“Yes, that’s  why I wanted  to  bring it  to  you personally,” continued Professor 
McGonagall. “It was probably important.”
“Thanks professor,” said Harry, continuing on his  walk back up the castle  and 
shaking the  envelope. From the sound of it, there  was definitely something inside… but 
what could Dudley have sent him?
“Anytime,” she called to him, sounding a little breathless. She began walking back 
as well. Harry and Ron ran all the way to the Gryffindor Common Room, unable to wait 
much longer to see what was inside. What could Dudley have possibly sent him? When the 
two of them arrived in the common room, they walked over to a corner, and opened it up.
“What’s that?” asked Hermione, coming over to them.
“Something from Dudley,” said Harry, trying to shake whatever was inside it out. 
Hermione made a face of surprise.
“What’s he doing sending you stuff?”
“I dunno, but it must be imp-” Harry stopped there, and it seemed as if the whole 
world froze.  When he saw what had fallen out of the bag and onto the floor, someone 
could have knocked him over with a feather, and he  probably would have turned to dust 
from the impact. Right there, before the three of them, was a Sorceror’s Stone.


Chapter 8- The First Match
It looked exactly like the one Harry had found in his  first year at school. It was a 
transparent gold all over with a shiny, red center. Harry’s  eyes  widened and he began to 
drool from looking at it. With this, he could have all the money he’d ever wanted, and live 
forever….
“Oh… my… god….” gasped Ron, not blinking.
“What  is   Dudley doing?” said Hermione  softly, not  taking her  gaze  off  of  it 
either. “Does he have a collection of these at home or what? Where did he get that from!?”
“I… don’t know,” said Harry, doing the same as  the  other  two, standing there, 
transfixed onto it.
“Well didn’t a note come with it or something?” asked Hermione, still not raising 
the volume of  her voice  in the  least. Harry dug into the  beg and felt a small  sheet  of 
parchment. He quickly ripped it out, and read it aloud softly to the two of them. He didn’t 
want anyone else in the room to hear.
Dear Harry,
Remember how we went to see that lady in the funeral home that day during the 
summer? Well, as it turns out, she was actually someone very important… in your world 
that is. I think her name was Perenelle Flamel. Does  that name ring a bell? Oh well. 
Anyway, it seems  as  though this  Stone was her most prized possession and she 
decided to leave it to whoever bothered to show up at her funeral. Seems as though she’s 
not very popular with the rest  of her family… it said in the  will that the funeral home sent 
me that she wouldn’t share her Stone with the rest  of her family, trying to keep some sort 
of  ‘immortality spell’ as  she  called it off of  them. Said she’d give it  to  whoever went 
through the little trouble of finding where her funeral was. Weird, huh?
Anyway, I hope  this  letter  gets  to  you. I had to steal this owl from the biology 
room at my school  and I think I told it to deliver it to you. Oh, by the way, try to send him 
back as soon as possible, so I don’t get in trouble  and because we need owl pellets  for  a 
test on Wednesday.
Dudley
“That lady was Nicholas  Flamel’s  wife!” said Harry, lowering his  voice from a 
yell to a whisper, realizing how loud he was talking before. 
“She has her own Sorcerer’s Stone?” asked Ron.
“And Dumbledore didn’t destroy it?” gasped Hermione.
“Maybe she  hid it,” guessed Ron “No wonder she stayed alive longer than her 
husband; he died last year.”
“Speaking of Dumbledore,” said Harry, “we have to give this to him.” 
Ron and Hermione looked up at him.
“Are you sure?” she asked.


“Couldn’t we just make a little  gold?” begged Ron. 
“No way!” said Harry, snatching it from off the ground. “If we do that-” Suddenly, 
the  same  holographic  map  shot  out   of  Harry’s   ring  and into  the  air. It  was  massive, 
depicting the entire world, and someone could see it!
“Get down!” yelled Harry, pushing Ron and Hermione’s heads to the ground, and 
shining the  map onto the floor. He  looked up for a second… no  one  had seen  it.  He 
breathed a quick sigh of relief.
“What is that?” asked Ron and Hermione together, gazing at the map.
“I- I’m not sure,” said Harry, looking at it too. 
“What are those?” asked Ron, pointing to the four colored dots. 
“Like I said… I don’t know yet,” said Harry, trying to keep his voice down.
“You mean, you’ve seen this map before?” asked Hermione. 
Harry swallowed hard
“Yes. Once before, in Dumbledore’s office.”
“His office? Why there? What triggered it?”
“I don’t know,” said Harry, letting go of the Stone, “I just touched this watch and-” 
Harry suddenly noticed that the map had disappeared. 
“Harry… touch the Stone again…” said Hermione quietly. Slowly, Harry reached 
his finger out, until it touched the Stone. The closer it got, the more Harry’s finger burned, 
and the brighter it shone green. The instant Harry touched it, the map appeared again. He 
took his finger off, it disappeared, touched it, it reappeared, let go, it went away.
“So the Stone is what triggers it,” said Ron.
“No,” said Harry, standing up and putting the Stone in his pocket. “I didn’t touch a 
Stone in Dumbledore’s office. It was a watch.”
“Maybe it was made out of tiny Sorcerer’s Stones,” suggested Ron.
“Ron,” said Hermione  exasperantly, “how many Sorceror’s  Stones  so you think 
there are in the world?” 
Ron shrugged.
“A lot?”
“No,” said Hermione. “This one isn’t even supposed to be here. There’s certainly 
not enough to make a watch out of. What I’d like to know is… what is that map?”
“And what the dots are for,” added Ron.
“Well, we can ask Dumbledore all about that when we see  him in the office,” said 
Harry. “Let’s go. We may still be able to make the Wizard Duel meeting is we leave now.” 
Hermione rolled her eyes.
“Yeah,  I  agree  with Harry,”   said  Ron,  suddenly  interested   upon  hearing  that 
Wizard Duel was involved. “Let’s go!” The three of them walked to Dumbledore’s  office, 
their heads  buzzing and on  the  verge of  explosion. How  were  the  Stone  and  the  ring 
linked? What was that map? What did it show the locations  of? Suddenly, when they were 
walking down a hallway, Ak jumped out in front of them.
“Harry! Ron!” he yelled. “Get in here! You’re going to miss the meeting!”
“Err…” mumbled Harry, wanting to get to Dumbledore as fast as possible. “We… 
have to go somewhere.”
“What place could be more important at this time than here?” asked Ak, shocked.
“Nothing!” said Ron, pushing his  way in front of  the two of them. “In fact, we 


were headed here right now!”
“Ron!” whispered Harry angrily. They had more pressing matters.
“We  can go  see  Dumbledore  anytime,” whispered  Ron back. “This  club only 
meets… what? A few times a year?”
“Yeah, that‘s about right,” said Ak, obviously hearing them.
“Exactly. Let’s go!”
“Fine…” agreed Harry. “But only for a while!”
“Alright alright,” said Ron, grabbing his deck out of his pocket  and running into 
the room. Harry and Hermione followed him inside and Harry was surprised to see  that 
besides the five new students, there were only two other students in the room, and Harry 
had never seen either of them before. Evidently, the club hadn’t been as popular here  as 
the new students had hoped.
“Where is everyone?” asked Ron. Ak shrugged.
“We’re hoping the club will pick up by the second meeting,” he said. “But, no 
matter  right now. Let’s  get  this  meeting underway. Harry, you and I will  play a  little 
exhibition game, just to show Hermione and these other two here how to play. Are you up 
to that?”
 “Oh yeah,” said Harry, taking out his deck and sitting down on the floor. Ak gave 
out a laugh. “What’s so funny?”
“Harry,” he said, “we do not play on the floor! No… we have something specially 
prepared for  the  club.” Ak walked over and opened a closet  in the room. From  it, he 
brought a small table that looked relatively normal, except for a small hole in each corner. 
Ak set it down in front of Harry, and beckoned him to sit. 
“Put your deck of cards in the hole  in the  corner,” said Ak. Harry followed his 
instruction and slid it in. It fit perfectly. Then, just as the deck slid in, Harry’s side of the 
table began to glow, and his deck shone brightly. When Ak put his in, his side of the table 
did the same as well.
“What is this?” asked Harry, amazed.
“It is  a holographic dueling table,” said Ak. “Instead of just  battling with cards, 
you battle with the real things…. Makes for a much more interesting game.” Harry gazed 
at the table, wanting more than anything to see how this was going to look. Suddenly, five 
figures appeared before Harry: a wand with a Stupefy Spell coming out, another Stupefy, a 
Merging Spell, a Disarming Spell, a Quick-Attack Spell, a phoenix, and a house elf. 
“What is this?” asked Harry again.
“Oh, that’s your starting hand,” said Ak. “It is  automatically dealt  to you, along 
with the card you get at the beginning of each turn.”
“But, you can see the cards in my hand!” gasped Harry.
“Can you  see  mine?”  asked Ak,  smiling. Harry looked  over.  Apparently,  the 
holographic cards in you hand were only visible to you. “Here, I’ll go first…to show you 
how to play with this new thing.”
“Alright,” said Harry, looking at his house elf that was playing with his  phoenix. 
They looked incredibly realistic, only they were about four inches high.
“Alright! Listen up!” called Ak to the group. “Watch us, and you’ll find out how to 
play the game!” All of the kids  walked over, and surrounded the  table. “As most  of you 
know, you get two actions  per turn, and an action is  either  playing a fighter, an effect, 


using a fighter’s  ability, or  drawing an additional  card. For my turn, I will use  my first 
action by playing a fighter: Boggart!”
Ak reached and grabbed hold of one of the cards in his hand that were invisible to 
Harry. He picked it up, and placed it on the field. There was a flash of light in the spot he 
chose for a second, then the Boggart appeared in its normal form: a floating blob.
“For my next action,” continued Ak, “I will draw an additional card. Since you can 
only attack at the beginning of your turn, and I have used my two actions, my turn is  now 
over. Harry, you may begin.”
“Thank you Ak,” said Harry, trying not to  laugh at him explaining in detail each 
move that he made. The table automatically drew his card for him; it  was a pensieve. The 
blue, smoking cauldron looked like a miniature version of a real one. After thinking for a 
second, Harry made his first move.
“For my first action,” began Harry, “I will play a phoenix.” Following what Ak did, 
Harry grabbed hold of his  holographic  phoenix that way busy flapping its  fiery wings, 
picked it up, and placed it on the field. There was a small burst of color, and it appeared in 
the spot he had placed it. Immediately, the  boggart turned into a phoenix too, due to  its 
special ability.
“Next,   I   will   play  a   stupefy   spell   on   Ak’s   boggart.”   Harry   picked   up   the 
holographic wand with the green spell coming out, and placed it on the Boggart. After the 
colors  flashed, Ak’s boggart returned to its normal form, and fell onto the table from its 
hovering position. It wasn’t quite dead, but severely wounded, and unable to attack.
“Nice  move there, Harry,” said Ak. “But, it’s  my turn now!” The table drew his 
card for  him. “I choose  not  to attack  with my boggart, since  it  is  so  weak, would be 
slaughtered by Harry’s phoenix, and it is  unable to due to  the Stupefy Spell having been 
played one it. So, I will begin my turn by playing a Flobberworm card.” He dragged the it 
onto the table, and the  pathetic  grub appeared. Suddenly, the Boggart disappeared. “And, 
playing Flobberworm requires  that I discard one of my fighters in play, so my boggart is 
gone.”
 “Hah, what a waste,” said Harry. Flobberworm  was  a very pathetic  card. It had 
almost no power, and it cost you a fighter to play. Ak was worse than he had thought.
“That’s what you think,” smiled Ak. “But, I still have another action. I will play… 
Cloning Chamber!” Ak dragged it  out into  the  field of  play, and a small, metallic  box 
appeared that was giving off smoke and bouncing up and down a little. 
“What does that do?” asked Harry, having never seen that card before. 
Ak smiled.
“It’s a very rare card,” he grinned. “At the beginning and end of each of my turns, I 
get to make a copy of a creature that I have that has a power of one. So, Harry, meet  my 
other   worm.”   The   Cloning  Chamber   made   a   small   explosion   sound,   and  a   second 
Flobberworm appeared next to the other. “Your turn Harry.”
“Yeah yeah, two Flobberworms is  still is  nothing,” he said, the table giving him 
his next card: another pensieve. “Now, I attack one of your worms.” Harry’s phoenix dived 
at the worm, causing it  to burst into flames  and turn into a small pile of ash that quickly 
disappeared. Harry smiled. This was Wizard Duel as it was meant to be played.
“Now, I shall play a house  elf,” announced Harry, dragging it  out  and making it 
appear. “And, I shall use a Merging Spell to combine my phoenix and house elf  into  a 


superior  creature.”  Harry moved the  spell  over the  two  fighters  and  they  both shone 
brightly for a second and then melted together. After giving off a quick, white flash, the 
new creature appeared: a house elf that had extra-long phoenix wings and four, flaming 
arms.
 “Your turn Ak,” said Harry, trying to sound menacing and intimidating. But, it 
wasn’t working. Ak looked as calm and cool as he ever did. He merely allowed the table to 
giving him his card, and then begin his turn. Immediately, another Flobberworm appeared 
on the table, due to the Cloning Chamber.
“Alright… I shall begin by playing… another cloning chamber!” He dragged it 
out, right next to the other one. Harry felt a single drop of sweat come down his forehead. 
Now the Flobberworms would quadruple twice during his turn….
“Then, I will draw a another card, ending my turn, and I gain six more worms,” said 
Ak. As soon as  the word left  his mouth, six new Flobberworms  appeared, making for a 
grand total of eight. “Your turn.”
“Yeah yeah,” said Harry, trying to remain calm with the gaze of the  eight other 
members  of the club on him. His new fighter, the half house elf and phoenix attacked one 
of the Flobberworms, lowering the number by one. Harry drew his card: another pensieve! 
He had to get rid of some of those later.
“Alright,” began Harry, “I’m going to play a disarming spell on one of the Cloning 
Chambers!” Harry dragged his card over the Chamber, and watched it disappear, right into 
Ak’s discard pile. “Good, one down. Now, I’ll play a pensieve.” The bowl appeared on the 
board, appearing to have the mystery liquid in it too. 
“My turn,”  said Ak, still  not  looking shaken. He  drew  his   card,  fourteen  new 
Flobberworms  appeared, and he gave a wide smile. “Well then, for my first  action, I shall 
play another Cloning Chamber!” He dragged it out and it appeared, taking away some of 
Harry’s hope with it. “Then for my second action… yet another Cloning Chamber!” 
Harry’s mouth dropped, and he heard some laughs from the observing crowd as it 
appeared in play. “I’ll end my turn now… and gain sixty three more  Flobberworms!” They 
all appeared, now as a pyramid of Flobberworms, stacked on top of each other, peaking at 
about a foot high. They were making the most horrible sucking sound and giving off some 
sort of horrible  liquid that flowed all the way down the side and onto the surface of the 
table. Whether you were fighting it or in control of it, it was not a pleasant sight 
Harry swallowed hard and began his turn. If all of  those attacked his half-house 
elf-half-phoenix fighter, it would be killed instantly, allowing Ak to deal all the  damage 
directly to his  deck the  next turn, and annihilate him. He  had to find a way to protect his 
card and his  deck… then he remembered! The pensieves! After his fighter attacked and 
killed a single Flobberworm, Harry drew his card (a Stupefy) and began his plan.
“For my first  action, I will put my fighter into my pensieve.” The half-house elf-
half-phoenix disappeared, and the pensieve turned red. “Just so that you know,” said Harry, 
talking to the  crowd who didn’t know as  much as he or  Ak, “a pensieve, when you put a 
fighter  into  one, gains  power  equal  to  the  fighter’s   power, but  it  cannot  attack, only 
defend. When the pensieve dies, the fighter you put in it comes  out unscathed.”
“Yeah yeah, keep  going  with your  turn,”  said  Ak, looking very satisfied  with 
himself.
 “And for my last  action, I will play another pensieve.” Harry moved it  out and 


watched it appear right next to his other one. He would have to stall for a while until he 
could   find  a  way to   wipe   out   all  of  the   Flobberworms   at   once   or   kill  the   Cloning 
Chambers. 
“My turn!” said Ak excitedly, getting his card. As soon as it went into his hand, 
two hundred and fifty two more Flobberworms appeared on the table. “First of all, I will 
attack with all of my Flobberworms!” The mass of grubs, after vibrating for a few seconds, 
fell  over right onto Harry’s pensieve with his fighter inside, making it break open, and his 
half-house   elf-half-phoenix to  come  out. “Now, even though I don’t  need  to,  for  my 
actions, I will play two Cloning Spells  on my Flobberworms, doubling them  each time, 
giving me a total of… one thousand three hundred and forty-four! Now, I end my turn, and 
get an additional four thousand thirty two!”
The amount of worms was almost overwhelming. The pile went ten feet off of the 
table now, and took up most of the  surface  of it, except  for a small area designated for 
Harry’s two cards. Ak gave a superior-looking smile.
“Don’t get too cocky,” said Harry, trying to sound cool, and drawing his card (an 
Avada  Kedavra   curse…   useless   against   the   Flobberworms).   Harry   played   his   other 
pensieve, and put his fighter into one of them, trying to stall for more time… something 
had to happen to turn the tides of this battle!
But, it was now Ak’s turn, and he got and additional sixteen thousand, one hundred 
twenty-eight bugs. He attacked the pensieve, breaking it, and forcing the fighter out. Ak 
skipped his actions, just wanting to get this  battle with as soon as  possible. He got sixty 
four thousand, five hundred twelve more. 
“That Cloning Chamber card should be banned,” commented Harry, attacking one 
of them with his half-house elf-half-phoenix. 
“Oh Harry,” laughed Ak behind his ever growing pile of grotesqueness. “That card 
is  so rare… I’m probably the only person on Earth with four of them. I’ve had to  trade 
away most of my collection to get them from other players.”
“Yeah yeah, sure.” Harry drew his  card, and was happy to see it wasn’t another 
stupefy, it was a Sap Strength Spell. “For my first action, I will use The Sap Strength Spell, 
allowing me to improve one of my fighter’s power by one per fighter my opponent has in 
play. My target  is obviously the half-house elf-half-phoenix, making his power… eighty 
thousand, and twenty six.”
“What’s the point?” laughed Ak. “Even if your fighter has a million power, it can 
still only attack one fighter at a time!”
“Yeah, I know,” groaned Harry. This was his last turn to stall… something had to 
happen soon. “Then, I will put my fighter into my last pensieve, and end my turn.” Ak 
shrugged, and drew his card. He attacked the pensieve, breaking it, and forcing the high 
powered half-house elf-half-phoenix out. His pile of grubs tripled, he skipped his actions, 
and then it doubled again… giving an insane amount of Flobberworms… seven-hundred 
and seventy-four thousand, one hundred forty-four.
It was now Harry’s turn, and all eyes were on him. All of his pensieves were gone 
and he had to get something good this  turn or else his fighter would be destroyed and he 
would lose  the  turn afterwards. Harry closed  his  eyes,  and hoped for  a miracle…. The 
table gave him his card.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and gave a massive smile. 


“For my first action!” announced Harry, feeling great at the promise of victory. “I 
shall play… Voldemort!” There were a few shrieks  of surprise  and fear when Voldemort 
appeared on the  field, in all  his  horrible  glory compressed into four inches. Harry saw 
Ak’s eyes  grow wide. “And as you obviously know, Ak, Voldemort has a special ability. 
When he comes into play, all fighters  that your opponent controls  are sent to the discard 
pile! Goodbye Flobberworms!” In an instant, the pile of Flobberworms that was practically 
overflowing off of the table and bursting through the rood disappeared, allowing Harry to 
get a better view of Ak’s terrified face. 
“And for my last action, I shall use the Quick-Attack Spell on my half-house elf-
half-phoenix fighter. And, Ak, since  you have no other fighters  out, all the damage goes 
directly to your deck, making all your cards in it go to the discard pile, and causing you to 
lose the game!”
“Yay!” cheered Hermione.
“Go Harry!” yelled Ron, throwing his hands into the air.
“I… lost…” gasped Ak, letting his  forehead fall into his hands. All the lights  and 
cards on the table disappeared and Harry removed his deck from the slot. 
“Good game,” he said to Ak, offering his hand. Ak stood up, brushed himself off, 
and shook Harry’s hand, trying to force a smile.
“Yeah, good game,” he said. “You know, that was my first lost… ever.”
“Well, first  time  for  everything,” said Harry. Then, checking his watch, “Oh! I’m 
sorry Ak, but we’ve got to go, we’re terribly late!”
“Yeah,” whispered Ak, looking through his cards. “Go ahead.”
“Alright,” called Harry, walking out  the door with Ron and Hermione  following 
behind him. “See you later!” When they walked out of the room, Harry heard all of the 
kids in the classroom suddenly burst into chatter, talking about the match, and wanting to 
start some games of their own. 
“Wow,” said Ron, “you were saved by Voldemort…. The irony is overwhelming.”
“Shut up,” said Harry. He hoped he didn’t hurt Ak too badly.
“Oh don’t  worry  Harry,”  said  Hermione,  as  if  she   read his   mind.  “That  loss  
probably did more for Ak than it hurt him. The tale of that match will spread around the 
school, and the club will gain popularity. By the next meeting, there’ll probably be many 
more members.”
“Yeah, all eager to see my Voldemort card,” groaned Harry. He wasn’t sure  how 
he felt. He had won, but it was because of Voldemort. Even though he was only a card… it 
still felt as though he had actually helped him win, which was not a good feeling.
They soon arrived right outside  of Dumbledore’s  office, and were surprised to 
see Professor McGonagall standing outside.
“What are you doing here?” Ron asked her.
“I could ask you three the same,” she said, looking awfully surprised. “I’m locking 
up the room, but why are you here?”
“We uh… had to ask Professor Dumbledore something,” said Harry.
“Well, I’m sorry to  say, but  Dumbledore  has  left  for  the  Ministry  on  urgent 
business. He is  the Minister you know, and has plenty of other work.”
“When did he leave?” asked Hermione.
“Just a few minutes  ago,” said Professor McGonagall. Harry could have kicked 


himself in the  head. If he had only not  stopped for the meeting, he could have given the 
Stone to Dumbledore.
“Well, when is he coming back?” asked Harry.
“Oh, not for several days,” she sighed. “I’m afraid he won’t be back for at least a 
week or two.”
“Well, thanks anyway,” sighed Harry.
“By the way,” asked Professor  McGonagall happily, “what was in the  package 
Harry?”
 “Oh… that,” said Harry. He had to  think of  something. “Err- it  was… some of 
Hedwig’s Owl pellets that I left at home.”
“Owl pellets?” asked Professor McGonagall, Hermione, and Ron together.
“Yeah… I have a whole collection of them…” said Harry, trying to smile.
“Well, I’m not going to pry into your personal life,” said Professor McGonagall, 
wincing at Harry, and walking away. “But I will tell  you to return to your common room 
now.”
 “Yes professor,” said the three of them, walking back.
“Now what are we going to do?” asked Ron.
“We’ll just have to hide the Stone from ourselves and not use it for a while,” said 
Harry.
 “Yeah, easier said than done,” commented Hermione. “Even I’m tempted to use it! 
Infinite life and money…. I mean, come on!”
“Yeah, come on!” said Ron.
“I guess  I’ll have to watch it then,” sighed Harry, giving the password (piez) and 
stepping inside. “I’ll hide it somewhere and put a trap on it so none of us, or anyone else 
for that matter, can touch it.”
“Fine,” said Hermione, walking to the girl’s dormitory from the empty common 
room. “Good night.” Harry and Ron walked up to their room, and found everyone else  to 
have already gone to bed. Harry opened one of his drawers in the stand next to his bed, put 
the  Stone  inside  it,  and put  a trap  on it  that  he  learned in Charms.  He  put the  most 
dangerous one he knew on it, one that caused a small explosion if you touched it without 
saying the password first, which he designated as ‘Dumbledore’.
Harry climbed into bed, and tried to  fall  asleep… but the Stone was calling to 
him. He tried to concentrate on Neville’s  breathing, but it didn’t help. The temptation to 
use the Stone was so much, Harry thought his brain was going to leak out of his ears…. He 
didn’t get much sleep that night.


Chapter 9- The Ring of The Ancients
Two weeks went by, and Dumbledore  had not yet  returned. The Spell  Invention 
class  was on the honor system; the students filed in and they were expected to read out of 
their books all period. Though Hermione and a few others  did this, the rest  of the class 
took the time to practice playing Wizard Duel. Hermione was right: the news of Harry’s 
magnificent victory over Ak had spread like wildfire around the school  and now almost 
everyone was into the game. 
Each day after  Quidditch practice, Harry, Ron and Hermione made it a habit to 
head to the library, to see if they could find anything about Harry’s ring, or any link it had 
to the Sorcerer’s  Stone. Even though the three of  them had looked through practically 
every book last year to study for the O.W.L.s, they were surprised to find a few that they 
had  never   gone   at  before.  However,   each   day  they   came   no   closer   to   finding   any 
connection or any information at all.
It was during the  trips  to one  of  these  such sessions  that  Harry heard a most 
peculiar noise coming from the bathroom. 
“What was that?” he asked Ron and Hermione.
“Oh no,” said Ron. “It came from Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.”
The noise came again. It sounding like an insane donkey yelling as it tried to swim 
in an acid bath… not the most pleasant thing in the world. 
“Should we investigate?” asked Harry, leaning on the door to the room.
“I don’t know…” said Hermione. “Who knows what could be going on.”
“All the more reason to look,” grinned Harry, pushing the door open and walking 
in.
 “No no!” scolded Myrtle to a group of ghosts. She pointed to her forehead. “Sing 
up here! In your head voice!” Her  voice’s  frequency went off  the  charts  as  she  sang, 
creating that horrible noise he heard before.
“Myrtle,” said Harry, covering his  ears and looking at the groups of ghosts. Each 
one  that resided inside Hogwarts  was there:  Nearly Headless  Nick, The Fat Friar, The 
Grey Lady, The Bloody Baron, and even Peeves! What was going on? “What are you doing 
here?”
 “Just teaching these ingrates how to sing,” smiled Myrtle. 
Smiled?
“Whatever for?” asked Hermione.
“To help them on their journey towards becoming spirits,” she said, as if it  were 
the most obvious thing in the world. “Singing brings out the inner life!”
“You’re all trying to become spirits?” asked Harry.
“Why else would we be caught here?” asked Peeves, floating all around the room.
“Well, you may want to learn how to sing before you teach others,” said Ron, still 
covering his ears from the last fortissimo of sound.
“Oh… I think I do just fine!” said Myrtle, turning back towards her small crowd of 
ghosts. She ‘sang’ again, and then the group tried to copy what she did. It was horrible, far 
worse than any torture, Harry could imagine; even worse than the Cruciatus Curse.
“Well then, we’ll be on our way,” said Harry, covering his ears again and backing 
up slowly towards the exit.


“Wait Harry!” cried Hermione, tugging at his shirt. “Look over there.” 
Harry looked over where she was pointing and saw a small pile of books laid on 
top of a sink. “Maybe what we need is in there.” The three of them walked over and Harry 
picked up a book.
“The Afterlife: A Ghost’s Guide,” read Harry. “Hey Myrtle! What are these?”
“Those  are  some  books  I got  out  of  the  library about sprits,  the  afterlife  and 
such,” she said, not looking at him. Harry returned it to the small pile, and looked at book 
after book, hoping to find something of interest. 
Suddenly, one caught his eye. It was an old and tattered black book with no title, 
only a large picture on the  front: and it  looked just  like Harry’s skull  ring! He quickly 
opened it up to see if there was anything inside. But, all that there was were words… and 
they were  definitely not English. The characters  looked more like odd combinations of 
squares, triangles, small dots and curvy lines. 
“Hey!” called Hermione, seeing the book in Harry’s hands. “That’s Ptomruv, one 
of  the ancient runes! Let  me see  that!” She snatched the book out of Harry’s hands and 
opened to the first page. 
“Hey, I thought you said you dropped that class,” said Ron.
“No I didn’t,” said Hermione, looking at the first  page. “I only said I dropped 
Divination and Muggle Studies. I never said anything about Ancient-” Suddenly, her eyes 
widened. “Hey! There’s a description of your ring here, Harry!”
“What does it say about it?” asked Harry, leaning over.
“It says that that it is called the Ring of the Ancients,” read Hermione, moving her 
fingers under the odd words. “It says the Ring shows the locations  of the four ingredients 
of the Immortal Potion when it touches one of them.”
“Don’t you mean the Almost Immortal Potion?” asked Harry.
“No, this is a different one,” said Hermione, still reading. “According to this, the 
Immortal Potion would allow the drinker to become  someone capable of  not only living 
forever, but also having the power to control space and time.”
“So… basically a god?” asked Ron.
“Yes,  someone   who  would  be   able  to   change   the   universe  to   anything  they 
desire,” read Hermione. “It says that the  Ancients  concealed the four ingredients  inside 
everyday objects  to stop so many people  from becoming gods. They also made the Ring 
they created a mandatory ingredient in the potion by changing its code.”
“Hah, so that’s why there’s so many polytheistic religions,” commented Ron.
“However,”   continued   Hermione,   still   reading.   “The   magnificence   of   the 
ingredients  couldn’t be hidden perfectly inside the  objects.  All  four of  them made the 
things  they  were  hidden in  glow  brightly  when brought close  to  each  other  and look 
especially beautiful.”
“Does it say what the ingredients are hidden in?” asked Harry.
“Um… yes!” exclaimed Hermione. “The Gomotornice is hidden inside the Glove, 
the  Havomotornice  is  hidden inside  the  Watch, the  Bomotornice  is  hidden inside  the 
Bracelet, the Sorcerer’s  Stone was hidden inside the Necklace, and the Ring was… well, 
the Ring.”
“Does  it  say anything else?” questioned Harry, wanting to know as  much as he 
could about this magnificent item that not more than ten minutes ago he thought was just a 


cool piece of jewelry.
“Well… yes,” groaned Hermione, looking like she  was struggling to read some 
words. “But this book is so old that most of the rest is smudged out. Sorry.”
“So let me see here,” said Ron, trying to bring everything together. “Harry has a 
ring, that, when it touches  a Legendary Ingredient brings up a map that shows the location 
of  the other three  that, when brought together, allow someone to practically become  a 
god?”
 “Uh, yes,” said Hermione.
“Wow, that seems a little… much.”
“So that  Watch in Dumbledore’s  drawer was  really the  Havomotornice,” said 
Harry, finally understanding. “But why would he have one?”
“Probably to hide it from Voldemort,” said Hermione, closing the book. “As long 
as he has even one of the ingredients, Voldemort wouldn’t be able to make the potion.”
“So why don’t we find out where the rest of the ingredients are and give them to 
Dumbledore  too?” asked Ron. “Harry, all you have to do is touch the Stone again, we can 
look at the map for where the dots are and then see if we can get them.” 
“We will,” said Harry, “after the Quidditch game tomorrow.”
The three  of them left the bathroom, thanking Myrtle  for her help. Even though 
she didn’t know what she had helped them with, she said, “You’re welcome,” and waved 
them out of the room. 
“Harry!” called Ron. “Get up! Our match is starting soon!”
“Yeah yeah, I’m going,” Harry yawned back. He heard Ron sigh and close  the door 
behind him as he left the dorm. Harry groaned again. For the first time in a while, he had 
gotten a good night’s  rest  and didn’t really feel like getting up at the moment. Knowing 
what the Ring was and what it could do made him  feel  a little  better… though not too 
much. With this new power came a new responsibility. 
Harry yawned again and decided it  was now really  time  to  get up. He  tried  to 
throw the covers off of himself, but to his surprise, he found that his  arms and legs were 
strapped to the bed with magical rope!
“What the?” asked Harry, struggling to get out. Suddenly, the blankets were pulled 
off of his bed, as if by an invisible force. What was going on? If only he could reach his 
wand on the table next to him….
“Is you ready to  go?” asked Dobby, who abruptly appeared out of  thin air right 
next to Harry.
“Dobby! Is this your doing?”
“I is  so sorry sir,” he squeaked, sounding very guilty. “But I is having to do it. It is 
for your own good Mr. Harry Potter.”
“What are you trying to protect  me from?” demanded Harry, struggling to free 
himself. “What could possibly be so dangerous?”
“I cannot say,” gasped Dobby.
“But,” said Harry, stopping his struggling for a moment and deciding to play along 
for a while, “if you’re  going to  take  me  now anyways, why can’t you tell me?” Dobby 
looked at him for a second, and tilted his head to the side.
“Fine, I is  able to say now,” he squealed. “Harry Potter is  in danger of… the field 


trip!”
 “The one to the pyramid?” asked Harry.
“Yes,” he squealed.
“What’s so bad about? Why was I in danger of it?” 
“There is no time!” said Dobby, looking as  though he were charging another one 
of his blue orbs that he used back at the Dursley’s . “We is having to leave now!”
“But wait!” gasped Harry, getting an idea. “I need my… owl pellet  collection!” 
Dobby stopped charging his spell. 
“Where is it?” he asked.
“Right there,” Harry said, nodding in the  direction of the bottom drawer of his 
night stand. “Inside the drawer.” Dobby walked over to the drawer, put his hand on the knob 
and pulled it open, causing a fantastic explosion that blew Dobby over on his back. It was a 
good thing he set that trap!
Harry’s  wand flew  into the  air, landing right  next  to  his  hand. He  grabbed it, 
performed the counter curse  on the ropes and then jumped out of bed. He quickly fixed 
his nightstand, that was now no more than a pile of ash, and put the trap back on the drawer 
containing the Stone. After slipping his  Quidditch robes  on over his  everyday clothes, 
Harry left the room, laving Dobby there. He didn’t dare to wake him right now, in case he 
tried to  take him  away again. Hopefully he would just wake up on his  own and leave… 
hopefully.
Harry ran downstairs  and to the Gryffindor Quidditch room, where everyone was 
waiting for him. 
“Where have you been?” demanded Ron.
“Dobby trouble,” responded Harry with a sigh, still  buttoning up the top of  his 
robe. Ron nodded in agreement, understanding perfectly.
“Alright team,” said Harry rubbing his hands together, a few minutes  before  their 
first  game of the year. Though he and Ron were veterans, the other five were looking a 
little scared. Even Ak was showing a few signs of nervousness. “I know you’re all a little 
anxious about the game, but we’ve practiced long and hard and we’re ready to go! You with 
me!?”
 “Yeah!” they all said through their shaking voices.
“Alright! Let’s go!” yelled Harry, throwing his  arm into  the air. He swung open 
the doors  that lead to the  field, the  sun flew  right into the room, and the team charged 
outside. The stands were filled with people, excited to see the first match of the year. 
“And let’s welcome the Gryffindor team now… even though they are late,” came 
a new voice over the speaker. Lee Jordan had graduated last year and now Blaise Zabini, a 
Slytherin Sixth Year, was the new commentator. 
“Alright Harry,  get   on over  there  and shake  the  captain’s  hand,”  said  Madam 
Hooch, flying over on her broom. Harry ran over to the middle of the field, anxious to see 
who the Ravenclaw captain was.
“Hello Harry,” she said when Harry arrived in the center of the field. Harry didn’t 
even have to look up to see who it was.
“Hello Cho,” he said, grabbing her hand. Harry had only talked to her a few times 
this  year and she had never said anything about becoming captain. “You’re the captain 
now?”


“Certainly am,”  she  said, letting  go  and smiling.  “But just  because  I’m your 
girlfriend, that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!”
“Heh, don’t expect anything less  than my best against you,” said Harry.
“I would certainly be disappointed if you did any less,” she said, walking away. 
“How about we do something later?” called Harry.
“Only if you win!” yelled Cho back.
Harry ran back to his team with a new reason to do well. The six of them mounted 
their brooms and got ready to go. Madam Hooch flew over with the chest of balls, opened 
it, and let the Bludgers and Snitch fly away.
“Teams ready?” called Zabini. “On your marks… get set… go!”
Madam Hooch let  the Quaffle out of the box and let it  fly right up into  the  air. 
Before Harry even blinked, Joe already had the red ball in his hand. Ron flew backwards to 
the goals to begin defending, and Harry started scouting for the Snitch. 
This is where things all started going wrong. 
All of a sudden, Harry was feeling incredibly warm, as if he were in the middle of 
a massive inferno. He looked down, and saw that his guess  was almost dead on. It appeared 
as though the entire ground was no longer sand, but a giant blaze. Harry almost fell off his 
broom from looking at it, and tried to  see  how the rest  of the team, and everyone in the 
stands, was reacting to it. To his  surprise, though, no one else except  for him seemed to 
had noticed that the entire ground was on fire! 
“Hey Ron!” yelled Harry, sweating like a pig. 
“Yeah?” he asked, not  having much to do. The Ravenclaws were  lucky if  they 
could ever get their hands on the Quaffle, much less  get it all the way to the goal.
“Don’t you see… the fire?”
“Fire?” he asked. Harry saw a massive fiery  blast of ash, dust  and fire  go off 
below him that he didn’t even seem to notice. It bellowed up into the sky, creating a small, 
black cloud. “What fire?”
“That- you know the… that one right- oh…. Never mind,” mumbled Harry. What 
was going on? Why was he the only one seeing all Hell opening up right below them?
“And  Gryffindor   scored   again!”  called   Zabini,  trying  to  sound excited,   even 
though he was a Slytherin. “Making it now thirty to zero!” Harry shook his head. He must 
have missed a few scores  while he was trying to make sense  of the  fire. Now he looked 
over at  the Ravenclaw  goals  and nearly fainted  at  what he  saw. Every member of the 
Ravenclaw team was no longer riding a broom… but a dragon! Each beast was massive 
with red and black scales all over, spikes protruding every few feet, and breathing fire all 
over the place.
“AAAHHH!” yelled Harry, falling off of  his  broom  for  a second, but grabbing 
back on  with  one  arm.  “DRAGONS!” Harry heard  screams   come   from  the   crowd  as 
everyone turned their heads in every direction, trying to see where the dragons were.
“And Harry Potter  has  just  made an interesting announcement, saying that there 
are dragons somewhere,” said Zabini. “But, there is not one in sight.”
“What are  you talking about?” screamed Harry, pulling  himself  back onto his 
broom. “They’re right over there!” Harry pointed at the Ravenclaw team that was getting 
closer  and closer every second. Wasn’t someone  going to do something about it!? The 
dragons could destroy  the  entire  stadium! The entire  school  even! “The entire  team… 


they’re… riding them….”
“Harry,” asked Akshay, riding over to him. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, you’re seeing dragons,” said Chris.
“I’m okay,” gasped Harry, seeing them breathing fire  all over the  stands and his 
teammates, but they weren’t bursting into flames. What was going on? He had to end this 
match quickly… he had to find the Snitch. 
And he  didn’t have to  look long. There, right  below Harry, and near the  fiery 
ground  was  the  golden Snitch.  He  pointed  his  broom  towards  it   and shot  down right 
towards it. He put out his hand, ready to grab it… then crashed right into the fiery ground. 
The Snitch wasn’t really there! It had been an illusion! 
Harry’s broom stuck into the sandy surface and he went flying. He did a roll in the 
air and landed on his  back, right inside the flames. Harry started running around, putting 
water spells  on himself, hearing laughs from the stands and comments from Zabini. But he 
didn’t care! He was on fire!
Suddenly, there  was a sound like thunder above, and Harry looked up, hoping it 
was rain. It was rain… only not the kind Harry was accustomed to. This time, it was raining 
flaming stones. Millions of them were quickly falling from the sky, all ready to fall right 
on the field. It was as if there was a fiery meteor shower, and all of them were aimed right 
at Harry.
“AAAHHH! STONES!” he  yelled, curling up and preparing for the impact. He 
could feel his body on fire, the dragons beating above, and the rocks about to land on him. 
Then, all of it came down at once, and an instant later, everything went black. 
“Good! You is  waking up!” came a voice, from not too  far away. Harry felt the 
world slowly but surely coming back into  focus  and saw  the  all too  familiar  little  elf 
standing on the bed right in front of him. “Go away Dobby!” Harry put on his glasses, and 
found that he was in a bed in the hospital wing.
“Is you ready to go now?” he asked with a smile on.
“Why would I be any more ready to leave now than this morning?” asked Harry. 
Then, he remembered why he was in this room. Harry quickly put two and two together and 
figured out who was responsible  for  what happened. “You did all that at the Quidditch 
match! You made me see all those  things that weren’t really there! The fire, the dragons, 
the Snitch and the stones! You made all that!”
“I is  so sorry,” squeaked Dobby. “But now you is  having to be ready to go, what 
with all the embarrassment you is  must be having now.”
“Dobby,” said Harry seriously, “when will you understand? I am NEVER leaving! 
Got it?” 
There was a knock at the door.
“I is  having to go now!” said Dobby quickly, disappearing. The door opened and 
the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked up to Harry’s bed. He gave a groan. They 
had to have lost the game; without a Seeker, how could they have possibly won?
“What happened?” asked all six of them together.
“Dobby happened,” sighed Harry, lying back down on his pillow.
“What did Dobby do?” asked Ron.
“What didn’t he do?” said Harry. “He made me see  all these  things  that weren’t 


there… making me fall and collapse.”
“Oh well,” said Ak. “You shouldn’t feel too bad. I mean, we won anyways.”
“Wha- what?” asked Harry, amazed at what he just heard. How could they possibly 
win without a Seeker? It was impossible… wasn’t it? “How did you win?”
“I made a Snitch Slip,” said Ak. 
“You did a what?” asked Harry.
“A Snitch Slip,” repeated  Ak. “I caught the  Snitch even though I was a Beater. 
Whenever a player catches the Snitch that’s not the Seeker, it gives the opposing team one 
hundred and fifty points.”
“So how did that let us win?”
“We  got  one  hundred  sixty  points,” explained Chris, “and then  Ak  caught  the 
Snitch. The final score was one hundred and sixty to one hundred fifty in our favor.”
“Ravenclaw didn’t get any points?” gasped Harry.
“Not a one,” said Mike.
“And you got one hundred and sixty?”
“Sure did,” said Akshay.
Harry was amazed. His  team of second years and a sixth year got one hundred and 
sixty points like it was nothing. Harry hoped he wasn’t becoming obsolete.
“You really know the game well, Ak,” commented Harry. “I didn’t know anything 
about Snitch Slips.”
“Not many people  do. I think this  is  only the second or third time its  ever been 
done.”
 “But what we all  want to know,” said Joe, “is  what happened to you out  there, 
Harry. What made you fall like that?” Harry was about to respond, when madam Pomfrey 
came over in her usual manner.
“Now’s not the time for Mr. Potter to be reliving that event,” she said. “Out with 
you all for  now! Once he is  released, you can ask him all the questions  you want.” She 
pushed them  all out  the door. Ron quickly ran out ahead of them all and everyone else 
waved bye to Harry as they parted
“Ah! A mouse!” squeaked Joe, jumping into Mike’s arms.
“Oof! Get out!” yelled Mike, dropping Joe on the floor.
“What’s  going  on?”  demanded  Madam  Pomfrey.  “I  cannot  have  my  hospital 
infested with rats!”
“It couldn’t have been a mouse,” said Akshay, pushing his glasses  up the bridge of 
his nose. “I didn’t see anything.”
“Well, something ran by my foot!” pouted Joe. Harry looked at him. How could a 
kid be so good at Quidditch and yet be so… Joe?
“Well   if   it   wasn’t   a   rodent   than   it   was   probably  just   your  imagination   or 
something. Now, get out!” yelled Pomfrey again. The five of them quickly left the room, 
not wanting to summon her wrath. 
“Well, who knows what it could be,” she sighed. “I’d better go get some  Rodent-
Catching Potion from  Professor  Snape just to be safe. You’ll be alright while I’m gone, 
won’t you Harry?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright then, I’ll be right back.”


 She left the room, shut the door and walked away, leaving Harry quite alone.
“Hey Harry!” came a whisper. “I’ve got some bad news.”
“What?” called Harry, turning his  head in  every direction. “Dobby, get  out of 
here!”
 “No, this is Ron,” he laughed.
“Ron! So it was you who walked by Joe’s  foot. Where are you?”
“I didn’t meant  to do that,” laughed Ron. “But, it was funny anyways. I’m right 
here,   against   the  wall.”   Harry  looked  over   to  try  and  see   him,  but   Ron  was  totally 
camouflaged. It was as if he was wearing an Invisibility Cloak. “Not the first time being an 
Animagus has helped me! Chameleons rock!”
“You’ve got  that  right,”  said Harry,  feeling  awkward talking to  no  one.  “But, 
what’s the bad news?” 
Harry heard Ron swallow hard.
“Harry,”  he  said,  not   sounding  too  happy.  “The  Sorcerer’s  Stone…   its   been 
stolen.”


Chapter 10- Neville  The Death Eater
“Its been stolen!?” yelled Harry.
“Shh!” came a different voice. “You don’t want her to come out again, do you?” 
“Hermione?” asked Harry. “Are you here too?”
“Yeah, I’ve  been waiting here  ever  since  you came  first  in,”  she  said.  “Your 
Invisibility Cloak works very well.”
“Well, there‘s no reason it shouldn’t,” said Harry, lowering his voice. “Anyway, 
how do you know it’s gone?”
“I went upstairs to change before coming down to see you,” explained Ron, “and I 
saw the drawer you put it in. It was opened up and the Stone wasn’t inside.”
“How did you know I put it in the drawer?” asked Harry.
“Oh, I heard you open and close  it  and then  put the  trap  on it,”  said Ron. “I 
couldn’t fall asleep, you know, with immortality just two beds away.”
“But who took it?” demanded Harry.
“We don’t know,” sighed Hermione. “Ron didn’t see the culprit.”
“Who could it have been?” wondered Harry, thinking hard…. Then it hit him! Who 
else had been awake when he had put the Stone away? Neville! His breathing that night was 
not like a sleeping person’s… much louder than usual. Why didn’t he notice it before?
“Neville took it!” gasped Harry.
“Neville?”
“Yes,” said Harry, jumping out of his bed, feeling perfectly fine  all over. “And 
who knows what he could be doing with it.”
“Probably   giving  it   to   Voldemort,”   said   Hermione   and  Ron   together,   still 
invisible.
“My thought exactly,” said Harry, pulling his bandages off. Underneath them, the 
skin was perfectly healed. “And we have to stop him as soon as possible.”
“Right,” they said, finally becoming visible again. Hermione lowered the hood of 
the cloak and Ron changed back into his human form.  
“Let’s go check if we can find someone who’s seen him recently,” said Ron.
The three of them snuck out of the Hospital Wing, trying to leave before Madam 
Pomfrey’s  returned. Once  they escaped that room,  the  three  of  them  burst  into  a full 
sprint all the way back to the  Gryffindor Common Room, and then to  Ron and Harry’s 
dormitory.
“Harry! Ron! Hermione?” exclaimed Seamus and Dean together who were sitting 
on the floor, playing Wizard Duel. “You can’t come in here Hermione!”
 “Are you okay?” asked Dean. “You look like you’re out of breath!”
“Have you seen Neville?” gasped Harry, ignoring their questions.
“Yeah, he just left a little while ago,” said Seamus, still looking at Hermione, and 
wondering what was going on, and appearing to  be  a little  confused. “He looked like  he 
was in a big hurry.”
“So it was him,” said Ron.
“What did he do?” asked Dean. “Is Neville in trouble?”
“Did he say where he was going?” asked Ron, still ignoring their questions.
“No,” said Seamus, shaking his head. 


“Then we’d better hurry up and start  looking for him,” said Harry. The three  of 
them turned around and ran out of the room.
“Wait! What’s wrong with Neville!?” they heard Dean yell from behind.
“What do we do now?” asked Hermione.
“We need to find out where Neville is,” said Ron.
“Well duh. But how do we do that?” asked Hermione again. 
“We need to find an Ingredient to the Immortal Potion,” said Harry. “I can touch it 
with the Ring and then the map will come up. We can just look for the green dot, and that’s 
where Neville is.”
“But   how   can   we   do   that?”   asked   Ron   as   they   left   the   Common   Room. 
“Remember? The Sorcerer’s Stone is  gone.”
“We need another ingredient,” said Harry. “And I know where  to find it. It’s  in 
Dumbledore’s office! He has the Legendary Watch there.” They ran faster than they ever 
did in their entire lives to Dumbledore’s Office, the entire  world unknowingly counting on 
them to get the Ingredient back as soon as possible. It didn’t take them very long to arrive, 
the three of them had been there more times than most professors. 
“Monkey cakes,” gasped Harry, out of breath when they reached the gargoyle. It 
moved aside, and they tiptoed up the stairs, trying to catch their breath as they went. When 
they arrived up in the office, Harry walked over to the  desk, to the  same drawer he had 
gone to before. He opened it up… and there was nothing inside!
“Where is it?” asked Ron, looking over.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” said Harry, feeling a little worried. He opened the 
drawer above it… nothing there. He opened the one on the other side, and the one below 
that, but there was no Watch in sight.
“Check over there,” said Harry forcefully, pointing to a shelf of books. “It has to 
be around here somewhere and we’re going to find it!” 
Within ten minutes, Dumbledore’s office was torn apart. Papers, books, pens, ink 
bottles and more was all over the floor, but there was still  no Watch in sight. Every shelf, 
drawer and surface was cleared and searched thoroughly, but nothing was found. Harry felt 
a little  guilty for tearing the place  apart like this, but it was for the good of the universe. 
After only a few more minutes of tireless searching, the three of them magically fixed the 
room,  with the  only  witnesses  to  their  crimes   being  Fawkes   and the  pictures  of   the 
previous headmasters on the wall who were mostly all asleep.
“I can’t believe we didn’t find it,” said Harry to himself. “Voldemort is probably 
making Elixirs  of  Life  already! I can’t believe we didn’t find it!” Harry banged his  fist 
down hard on the desk, nearly breaking it in half. 
“Harry!” called Hermione, putting her hand over his. “Calm down. It’ll be-” 
Suddenly, both of them were distracted by the same thing. Harry’s Ring shone a 
bright yellow, as did Hermione’s bracelet. Harry’s finger burned for a second and the map 
appeared before them again, just as it did when he touched the Sorcerer’s Stone.
“Hermione…” said Harry slowly. “Your bracelet is… an Ingredient!”
“Ron?” she gasped. “Did you know that?” Ron’s eyes  were wide and glued to the 
magnificent Bracelet. 
“No,” he said, not looking away. As much as  Harry would have liked to continue 
this  little  interrogation, there  were  much more  pressing matters  currently  at hand. He 


looked over at the map… the green dot was in England, that much was for sure. But where 
was it exactly?
“There has to be a way to zoom in,” said Harry, looking for some  sort of button 
on his Ring. He shrugged and touched the right, red eye on the skull. To his surprise, the 
map zoomed in on the green dot, making it fill the entire screen, and the zoomed-in map 
was revealed. According to  the chart, the  green dot was in a massive forest, and it was 
moving all around.
“Harry!” yelled Ron. “That’s the Forbidden Forest!” 
“How do you know?” asked Hermione.
“Because Hogwarts is right there!” he said, pointing to the lower right corner of 
the map. Indeed, there  was a big castle there, complete  with a Quidditch field, lake, and 
railroad tracks coming out of it. What other place could it be?
“Okay, so he’s in the Forbidden Forest,” said Harry, realizing that he was still 
holding onto Hermione’s hand. He quickly let go, and the map disappeared. “Let’s go find 
him!” Not knowing how much time they had left, they quickly left the office, doing a quick 
last minute check that everything was in its place. 
“Well at least he’s still on the grounds, and not with Voldemort yet,” said Harry.
“Yeah…” said Hermione, sounding as if something was on her mind. “Ron? If you 
knew the Bracelet was a Legendary Ingredient, would you still have given it to me?”
“Err- um… sure,” he said. “Of course I would have… maybe.” 
They reached the  front  doors  of  Hogwarts  and opened them up, revealing the 
massive Hogwarts grounds. They ran towards  the  forest  and got ready to go in… as they 
did almost every year.
“I think we should start a petition to change the name ‘Forbidden’ Forest, to just 
Regular ‘Forest’,” said Hermione, catching her breath before they went in. “We go in it 
every year… but why? Why do all the bad guys have to go in there?”
“Dunno… the rhinoceros told them to?” suggested Ron.
“Yeah, that must be it,” said Harry. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” sighed Ron and Hermione  together, stepping inside  with Harry. It was 
like a completely different world inside the Forbidden Forest. Unlike the nice, clear, and 
quiet  Hogwart’s  grounds, the  forest  was  filled with bushes, trees  and other plants  that 
seemed as though they would eat you if you stepped on them. Animals, and probably other 
things Harry didn’t want to think about, were constantly making noise, some okay and nice, 
others not nearly as much.
“How are we going to find Neville if we keep walking in random directions  like 
this?” asked Hermione, pushing a large tentacle-like plant that was hanging off a tree  out 
of her way. 
“Enh, we usually find whatever we’re looking for this way,” said Ron, pushing the 
same thing out of his way.
“Well, we may need a bit more  than luck to help us  this  time,” said Harry. “We 
have to find Neville fast, and chance may not be quick enough. Hermione! Give me your 
bracelet.” She took it off her arm, and handed it to Harry, lighting up the forest  with its  
intense light upon touching the Ring. Harry slipped it on his arm, and his Ring lit up. It hurt 
a little, indicating that they were close to another Ingredient, but not too close. “I’ll just 
follow the pain in my finger. The more there is, the closer we are.”


Harry stuck his  hand out  in front  of  him, as  if  his  finger  were the  guide. He 
followed the burning sensation in his Ring as if her were someone following the beeps on 
a metal detector. 
“I think we’re getting close,” said Harry, the pain growing so much that his finger 
was beginning to shake involuntarily. “We’re getting real close  now! Only a few- whoa!” 
Suddenly, Harry felt as though he had just entered Weasley’s  Wizard Wheezes  again. He 
did a somersault in the air and his  feet  floated up in the sky, as  if held by a large  and 
invisible person.
“Ron! Hermione! Help!” yelled Harry, stuck upside down in midair.
“You  know  Harry,”  said  Ron.  “We   would,  if   were   weren’t   having the   same 
problem as you!” Harry turned his  head around ( the rest of his body felt  frozen all over) 
and saw that it was true. The two of them were  stuck just like  he was, upside down and a 
few feet above the ground. 
“Hey,” said Ron, sounding cheerful. “We’re in the Forbidden Forest, upside down 
and frozen, hungry and cold,  and surrounded by millions  of demons  of every size and 
shape that probably wouldn‘t think twice about ripping the skin off of our bones, and then 
slurping it  up like spaghetti. Well, look  on the bright side. At least  it couldn’t get any 
worse.”
 “Wrong!” yelled Neville, suddenly jumping out of a nearby bush, taking them all 
by surprise. The Sorcerer’s  Stone was nowhere in sight.
“NEVILLE!” yelled Harry, Ron and Hermione  together. “Give back the Stone!” 
Neville laughed hard, throwing his head back.
“I don’t really think you’re in any position to tell me what to do,” he said, pushing 
Harry on the nose  with a single finger. He  swung back and forth in midair as if his  feet 
were on hinges to the sky. 
“What are you doing here anyway, Neville,” demanded Harry, finally coming to a 
stop. “How did you get the Stone? Shouldn’t you be with Voldemort right now, giving it to 
him.?” 
 Neville stifled a laugh. 
“Harry,” he said, “you are  the worst  trap-maker in the  world. I was  awake that 
night, and heard you say the password. All I had to do was wait for the right moment…. As 
for being with my master now, there are things more powerful than the Sorcerer’s  Stone. 
That is  what my master desires.”
“He didn’t tell you what it was he wanted?” asked Harry, wanting to kick himself 
for being so stupid and not realizing Neville was still awake that night he set the trap. He 
was  happy, though, that  they  at  least  knew   something  Neville   didn’t…  the  Immortal 
Potion. He may have known that  Voldemort  wanted something more  powerful than the 
Stone, but he didn’t know what it was. 
“That is unnecessary information,” he said. “All he told me to do was to set a trap 
here for you three. He said that you would somehow follow me here by using a ring that 
could sense the Stone.”
“He knows about the Ring!” whispered Ron angrily to Harry. How could he have 
known that?  Harry didn’t  even  know what it   was  until  just  a  few  days  ago! Why was 
Voldemort always a step ahead of them?
“So what’s going to happen now?” asked Harry, trying to stall for some time. “Is 


he going to come here and take us away to his palace of darkness  or what?”
“I don’t know,” said Neville, checking his  watch. “My master  did not  give me 
further instructions beyond what I have already done. He just told me to wait.”
“How can you respect a master like that?” asked Harry, still trying to figure a way 
out of the trap. But his whole body, except for his face, was entirely numb and then frozen 
solid. There was no way out. “I mean, he doesn’t even tell you what he’s planning on doing. 
How can you possibly be with him?” 
Neville  walked up to Harry’s face, looking more serious  than he had ever seen 
him.
 “Harry,”   he   hissed   softly.   “Voldemort   has   done   more   for   me   than   your 
Dumbledore  has ever or will ever do. Dumbledore  could have performed the same spells 
Voldemort did on me to make me how I am now, but he didn’t. He let me fail, knowing that 
he could have helped.”
“The spells  that Voldemort used on you were probably Dark Magic,” said Harry. 
“Even if it would save someone’s life, Dumbledore would never condone the use of it. So 
your little reason of being a bit more superior is not good enough, Neville. Just because 
Voldemort gave you a bigger brain, head of hair and arms doesn’t mean you should switch 
your allegiance as if it were a bathroom light.” 
Neville walked so close  to Harry that their noses were practically touching.
“Eventually,” he spoke softly, “Voldemort will win. He will rule the world that he 
has will ablaze as an eternal king, and no one will be able to stop him, especially you, Mr. 
Potter. All that matters now is  whether or not, when that time comes, are you going to be 
on his good side?”
“Wouldn’t it be  better to  die  than to  live a good life  in a Hell?” asked Harry. 
“Because that’s just what the world would be if Voldemort ruled it.”
“For some… I suppose,” said Neville, backing up. “I, however, am not among that 
group… fortunately.” 
There was a moment of an awkward silence.
“So what’s this spell you have us under here Neville?” asked Harry, still looking 
desperately in vain for a way out. “I’ve never seen a more secure spell than this.”
“This is  one of my master’s new inventions,” he said, kicking some dirt into the 
air. “Beautiful… isn’t it?”
“What exactly does it do?”
“Well,” said Neville, checking his  watch again, “I suppose we have a little while. 
This is  the Flipped and Frozen Trap Spell. You set it to grab a specific  person when they 
come close  to its  proximity. Then, when the person walks close,  it sucks  them in, flips 
them upside down, and turns the muscles and bones in the body below their head into jelly, 
for lack of a better word. But, the best part about the spell  is  that the person who set the 
traps can control the people who stepped into them.” 
Neville smiled and took out his wand. He pointed it at Harry and Harry followed 
the wand perfectly. Neville put his wand up, Harry went up and hit the trees. He threw it 
down, and Harry’s head banged on the ground. It was ten times as painful, not being able to 
cover where he was hit with his hands. Harry yelled out. Neville happily continued moving 
him through the air as if he were some sort of toy.
But, just like any other child with his toys, Neville quickly got bored with moving 


Harry all over the place, and fixed him back where he was. Even though Harry’s head was 
spinning, his little talk with Neville had given him an idea.
“So Neville,” gasped Harry, still feeling a little  queasy. “These traps  can only be 
set for a single person. What does it do? Detect their DNA or something?”
“Yeah, that’s  it,” said Neville,  sounding a little  annoyed that he had to  wait so 
long.
 “But what if  the   person  in  the   trap  were   to  change  his  DNA?” asked Harry, 
smiling. Ron and Hermione nodded too, they had caught on.
“I suppose the trap would let them go, but that’s imp- oh no…” 
Neville  realized what Harry, Ron and Hermione  were  going to do a second too 
late.  Harry  transformed  into   a  Gryffin   instantly   and  jumped  out  right   onto   Neville, 
knocking him to the ground. When he heard Ron and Hermione fall to the ground in their 
animal forms, Harry decided to show Neville never to try and get them again. He extended 
his claws out of his  paw so they were  almost three  inches  long. He brought it up, right 
above Neville’s head, saw the look of fear and panic in his eyes, and then brought the claw 
down, right on his face, leaving three massive, bloody gashes. 
But, that one slash wasn’t enough to take down Neville. He let out a scream, and 
Harry ripped across  his face again with his other paw, making another bloody mark. That 
last blow subdued Neville and he collapsed to the ground, almost unconscious. At least it 
hurt enough not to scream. Harry turned back into a human, still looming over Neville.
“Where is the Stone!” yelled Harry, shaking Neville’s shoulders.
“I’ll never tell,” said Neville, drooling blood all over the ground, his  eyes rolling 
back into his head. Harry pushed him to the ground, finally knocking him out. He stood up, 
brushed himself off, and looked at Ron and Hermione. They transformed back too, and 
walked over around Neville as well. 
“Look at him,” said Hermione, shaking her head.
“Pathetic,” spat Ron. 
“All it took was little  surprise, and he was taken down,” said Hermione. “All of 
Voldemort’s followers must share his faults.”
“But how are we going to find the Stone now?” asked Ron, waving his  arm at the 
bloody Neville. “The only person who knew where it was is currently… unavailable.”
“Well, we can just use my-” said Harry, before the most surprising thing he could 
have ever imagined happened. Right before them, Neville Longbottom burst into flames.


Chapter 11- The Dueling Club Incident
It happened so quickly, Harry could barely see  what was going on. He thought the 
flames started at his head and worked their way down to his feet, but it was so fast, it was 
impossible  to tell. All that Harry knew for sure  is  that where Neville was a second ago, 
there was now only a pile of ash.
“Where did he go!?” yelled Ron.
“Did he… die?” asked Hermione.
“Well, that would be the best thing to happen all day,” mumbled Ron.
“Oh come on Ron!” said Hermione angrily. “Even if he was evil, he didn’t deserve 
to die. There was still hope for him.”
“Don’t worry Hermione,” said Harry. “I don’t think he’s dead.”
“What makes you think that?” demanded Ron.
“Remember last year, when we spent the  night in Hagrid’s  cabin after capturing 
Wormtail?” questioned Harry.
“Yeah,” said Ron, “and then in the morning, he was gone.”
“And all we could find of  him was a pile of ash,” said Harry. “I think the same 
thing that just happened to Neville is what happened to Wormtail.”
“But what did just happen?” asked Ron.
“That’s the question of the day,” said Harry. “Any ideas Hermione?”
“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “I’m not sure  exactly what this spell was, but I’ve 
seen ones  like it before. I remember reading about one where someone  was frozen in an 
ice cube suddenly, and then it broke into a million pieces. Everyone thought he was dead, 
but it turned out that was just the way for his master to summon his minions. Maybe this 
fire version is just Voldemort’s way of doing it.”
“That’s the best theory so far,” said Harry. “But we have to find the Stone before 
we can do anything else.”
“How are we going to find it, though?” asked Ron. 
“Hermione, give me your Bracelet again,” said Harry. She threw it  over to him, 
and Harry caught it in his hand.
“Nice catch,” she  grinned. Harry slipped the Bracelet  on. It, along with the Ring 
immediately glowed a bright yellow, and just a few feet in front of them, a small, green 
light appeared on the ground. It was very dim, compared to the Ring and Bracelet’s glow, 
but there nonetheless.
The three  of them walked over to the shining spot and immediately began digging 
with their hands, clawing at the  dirt. Each time  they dug further  down to  it, the  glow 
became more bright and vibrant. It wasn’t too long before the Stone was revealed, brighter 
than the  sun. Harry slipped it  into his pocket  and decided it was time  to go. After Ron 
stepped into his trap again and Harry and Hermione had a good laugh, they headed back to 
the castle.
“Alright,” said Harry, when they finally left the  forest. “This time, I’m going to 
put an even more powerful trap on a different drawer and I’ll make sure that-”
“Harry!” interjected Hermione. “I think we need to make the  Stone more secure 
than that. Neville easily took it last time and I don’t think we can risk another situation like 
that ever happening again.”


“You’re right,” admitted Harry. “But where else can we put it?”
“It’s not about putting it somewhere more secure, it’s about giving it to someone 
who will make it more secure.”
“But Dumbledore’s not here, remember?” said Ron.
“Oh for  god’s sake  Ron!” yelled  Hermione. “How stupid can you be? Do you 
think Dumbledore is  the only one who is qualified to protect a Stone? Remember in our 
first year, all the teachers made something to guard it? So all of them are able to watch it.”
“Fine, but who do we give it to?” asked Harry.
“Yeah, I don’t want to give it to Snape,” said Ron.
“Well, we could give it to Professor McGonagall,” suggested Hermione. “She is 
practically second in command at the school anyway.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” yawned Harry. “Let’s give the Stone to her and go 
to bed. Having the weight of the world on your shoulders  is very tiring.” 
The three  of them  walked back to the castle, still  talking about  what had just 
happened. Not before long, they reached Professor McGonagall’s office, ready to tell her 
the news and give her the Stone. 
“Professor?” asked Harry quietly when they walked into her office.
“Yes Mr. Potter?” she  asked, furiously working on grading a paper. “Aren’t you 
supposed to be in bed by now?”
“Well yes, but I, that is… we, have something for you.”
 She looked up from her work and raised an eyebrow.
“You have something for me?” she asked.
“Well… kind of,” said Harry, moving his head from side to side. He didn’t want 
her to think this was a present or anything.
“Kind of?” she asked, looking even more curious. “What is it?” 
Harry decided to just be out with it and give it to her. He reached into his pocket, 
with his non-ring hand, grabbed the Stone, and presented it to her. As soon as her eyes met 
it, they grew twice their size and her jaw fell to her desk.
“That’s a… a….” she gasped.
“It’s a Sorcerer’s  Stone,” said Harry, setting it down on the top of her desk. She 
didn’t take her eyes off of it.
“Where did you… get this?” she asked quietly.
“It was in the package you gave me  from  Dudley,” said Harry. “He got it  from 
Perenelle  Flamel. He didn’t know what it was, so he sent it to me.”
“Perenelle Flamel?” she said. “How did you get it from her.”
“We were the only ones that showed up for her funeral. In her will, it said to give 
the Stone to whoever bothered to come. I guess we were the only ones  that did.” 
There was a moment of silence.
“Why are you giving it to me?” asked Professor McGonagall, back in her normal 
tone of voice
“To protect it better than I did,” sighed Harry. “It’s already been stolen once, and I 
don’t want it to be stolen again.”
“Who took it?”
“Neville,” spat Harry. 
Professor McGonagall sighed.


“That poor boy,” she  said, shaking her head. Then, returning her gaze to Harry, 
“you did the right thing bringing it to me. I will protect it, you need not worry.”
“Thank you professor,” bowed Harry.
“No trouble,” she said, turning her attention back to the Stone. “No trouble at all.”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the room, feeling much better.
“Good,” said Ron. “Now we don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“And we won’t be tempted to use it either,” said Harry.
“Harry!” came a voice suddenly from ahead. “Where have you been?”
“Oh, hello Cho,” said Harry, trying to sound happy, despite what happened.
“Where have you been all day?” she demanded, crossing her arms. “I’ve been in 
the Hospital Wing most of the day waiting for you! I didn’t know where else to go!”
“I’m sorry  Cho,” apologized Harry, signaling to  Ron and Hermione  that  they 
could leave. “I just had some… urgent business.”  
She crossed her arms.
“Well, I suppose I can forgive you,” she smiled. “But from now on, tell me before 
you come out of unconsciousness.”
“I will certainly try,” grinned Harry back.
“Well, I want to see you more often than what we’ve been doing now,” she 
continued. “After all, this is our last year together.” This comment hit Harry hard. 
He hadn’t
realized it  up  until   now, but  since   Cho  was  a  year ahead  of  him, she   would 
graduate next year and poor little Harry would be left all alone.
“How about after the dueling club meeting tomorrow?” suggested Harry. 
“No,” said Cho. “I have a meeting after that.” 
“Okay then, how about after… um, the Wizard Duel meeting?”
“Oh, you’re into all that?” she asked, scrunching her face.
“Enh, it’s okay,” said Harry, trying to downplay his obsession and try to have he 
same opinion as her.
“But… sure, that’ll work,” she replied. “I’ll see you then!”
“See you!” yelled Harry, walking away from her. Had she really been looking for 
him all day? Harry hoped Cho wasn’t becoming a stalker… though that wouldn’t be so bad, 
she was only stalking him after all. 
Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, in which there  were still a few 
people   awake,  mostly   the   Dueling   Club   members.   Everyone   was   excited   about   the 
upcoming meeting since it would be their first duel this year. The rest of the people, Harry 
saw,  were  there  practicing for  the  approaching  Wizard  Duel  club engagement. It  was 
certainly going to be a good week. 
After working his way through the mass of people, Harry arrived at his dormitory. 
Seamus and Dean were downstairs, along with Ak. Ron, however, was busy looking under 
beds and in closets.
“What are you doing?” asked Harry.
“Looking for Neville,” he said, closing the last closet. 
“Any sign of him?” asked Harry sarcastically, putting his night clothes on.
“Not a thing,” said Ron, shaking his head, taking Harry seriously. 
“Good night Ron,” said Harry, jumping into his  bed. “You keep an eye out for 


Neville, alright?” Harry closed  his  eyes, not hearing Ron’s  answer, and thinking about 
where Neville was right now and what Voldemort was doing to him.
“So what are we going to do at this meeting?” asked Malfoy to Harry before the 
Dueling Club meeting the next day. The entire  club was waiting outside of the Great Hall, 
anticipating the  fight. To make up for many of  the members  that left, there  were  even 
more  newcomers. All of Harry’s Quidditch team had joined, along with Ak’s friends  and 
several of the new first  years came as well, trying to learn spells  that would help them in 
class.
 “I  actually  don’t  know,”  said   Harry,   feeling   a   little  guilty.  He   should  have 
consulted with Professor  Flitwick, the head of the club, about what to do for their first 
meeting. He was captain of the club after all. But, with everything that had been going on, 
Harry totally forgot about it, and was now just hoping Professor Flitwick had a good idea. 
“Probably it will be just like what our previous meetings have been like.”
Just then, the  doors opened by themselves  and everyone filed excitedly into the 
room. The first  thing Harry noticed was the fact that, for the  first  time  ever, the entire 
room was completely empty. There were no tables, no chairs, no nothing. Just a massive, 
empty room. 
“Come  in!  Come   in!” called  Professor  Flitwick. He  was  hovering around  the 
room, about ten feet off the ground, sitting cross-legged. Of course, the most obvious and 
noticeable  thing about  him  was  his  enormous  smile  that  seemed  to  give  off  its   own 
rainbow of color and trail  behind him as he went about. He floated around everyone as 
they walked in, shut the doors when they all were inside, and then began speaking again.
“This meeting shall be a little different than our past ones,” he announced with his 
magnified voice. “Up to now, we have been working on only one on one to three on three 
fights. While the knowledge of how to fair well during these  situations  if necessary, it is 
not all that you need to know. What would you do if you were engaged in a war or another 
type of large battle? You would not seek out and destroy every person individually… no. 
You need to learn how to take advantage of your surroundings, how to attack on the larger 
scale, and how to make use of guerrilla tactics.”
He took his wand out, and held it into the air, looking like he was getting ready to 
bring it down and cast a large spell.
“I need all of you to spread out as much as you can, at least ten feet between each 
of you. Trust me, you will need it.” He waited for a minute while everyone moved around, 
spinning  their  arms  to  make  sure  they were   far  away enough from  each other. When 
Professor Flitwick was happy with everyone’s locations, he continued talking.
“When I bring my wand down, your battle location will form. I will wait a minute 
for it to completely develop and then I will countdown for you to begin. The last person 
standing is the winner, and don’t worry: I will announce when there is only one left. It may 
be hard to tell….” Harry saw that everyone was looking nervous, but he was thinking this 
was going to be one of the best meeting ever.
Professor Flitwick brought his wand down in one magnificent motion. Hundreds 
of  green swirls  erupted from  the tip and flew  all  over the room, growing as  they went. 
Then, when each swirl hit a surface, a gigantic tree  grew right out. So many of these  trees 
were  discharged from the walls  and floor, Harry wasn’t sure  whether he was still in the 


Great Hall, or a rainforest. The trees  were huge, at least five feet thick, and they went all 
the way up to the  ceiling. Bushes  grew all around them, some  with thorns, others  just 
leaves and Harry could’ve sworn he heard a bird call somewhere…. They were  going to 
fight here?
“On your marks!” boomed Professor Flitwick’s voice, even though Harry couldn‘t 
see him anymore. “Get set! Go!”
Harry waited for something to happen… but heard nothing. There were no sounds 
of spells  being used or people yelling; just  a few crunches  of leaves every now and then, 
showing that  there  were  people moving, but not  easily  seen. Harry crept  forward, not 
knowing if he was going to  bump into  someone, bump into  a tree, or continue  going 
straight. He was just beginning to notice that it was incredibly dark in here. 
Suddenly, right in front of him, Harry heard a human voice. He ran over towards 
the side of a bush and ducked behind a tree. He put his  head out to the side, to see  if he 
could see what was going on. Though it was still very dark, he could make out two figures, 
fighting.
“Take this!” yelled   one  of  them.  Harry  thought  it  sounded like  Mike. “Kitte 
Imasu!”
 Harry heard something sharp and fast fly through the air quickly and hit its  target. 
It sounded like a bow shooting an extremely aerodynamic and sharp arrow.
“Arg!” yelled  Mike’s  victim. It  sounded like  one   of  the  new Gryffindor  first 
years: Chad. Harry heard him fall to the ground.
“Never underestimate the power of Japanese… and their spells,” snickered Mike, 
spinning his wand around and blowing off the tip, just like an outlaw would do with his gun. 
This was Harry’s chance. One of them was gone, and Mike was distracted. He grabbed his 
wand, spun around, and met him face to face. 
“Stupefy!” yelled Harry, just as Mike saw him. He tried to move out of the way, 
but it was too late. The spell hit him right in the chest and he fell down, right next to Chad. 
Just to mock him blindly a little  bit, Harry spun his  wand around and blew on the  end, 
before putting it back in his pocket. 
“Two down, twenty more to go,” he said to himself.
Harry crept forward, keeping a look out for anyone he knew to be wary of. As he 
went along, he found several people  on the ground, knocked out just  like Mike and Chad 
had been. Harry was thankful that Ak, Tci, and Aylar were among those on the ground. They 
were  the best duelers  there besides  himself. But then, he thought to himself, who beat 
them? Harry tried to suppress  that thought and continued on, stepping over Akshay’s face 
that had a pair of broken glasses  on it.
“Help!”   came   a   voice   from   up  ahead.  Harry   knew   who   it   was:  Hermione. 
Immediately, he forgot  all about the duel, and ran forwards, not  stopping to hide behind 
any trees. If Hermione was calling for help, it had to be serious. 
“Help!” she  called again. This time, Harry could see  the situation. Chris  was on 
her back, with his  arms around her neck, trying to  bring her  down while  Joe  was  busy 
attempting to remove her Bracelet from her arm.
Harry didn’t take any time to think about what was going on.
“Apoyiosi!” he yelled, aiming right at Joe. There was an explosion right below his 
feet and he was thrown up into the trees. Now, it was Chris’ turn. “Wingardium Leviosa!” 


Harry brought Chris  up high, right to  the tops  of the  trees  and then brought him down, 
much faster, so he slammed right into the ground, face first and unconscious.
“Are you alright?” asked Harry, running over to Hermione.
“Yeah,” she gasped.
“What was that all about?”
“I don’t know,” she said, catching her breath. “First, Joe jumped out of nowhere 
and grabbed my Bracelet. I shook him off, but when Chris came down right on my back, it 
got to be too much.”
“What did they want with your bracelet?” asked Harry. “You don’t think they’re… 
Death Eaters?”
“Ekthkweeze  meh!” yelled Joe  from  the branch of  a tree.  His  robe  had gotten 
caught in a branch on his way up, and now he was hanging from it. “Can you help meh down 
please?”
 “What did you want with the Bracelet?” demanded Harry.
“What bracelet!?” asked Joe, waving his arms frantically.
“Don’t play stupid with me!” yelled Hermione. “You just attacked me!”
“What? No  meh didn’t!” yelled Joe.  “All meh know  is   first  meh was  fighting 
Chris, and then meh was up here in this  tree.”
“You mean you don’t know what the Bracelet is?” asked Harry. 
“I  don’t  even  know  what  bracelet  you’re   talking  about!”  yelled  Joe,  spinning 
around and waving even more. There was a snapping sound heard in the branch he was 
hooked on and it suddenly fell all the way down to the ground with a loud crash.
“Were you under some sort of spell or something?” asked Harry, helping him up.
“Meh guess  so,” said Joe, brushing himself off. “But, now that you mention it, 
meh do remember a little. Blurs mostly… meh remember not feeling mehself. Yeah, meh 
was attacking Hermione! But, meh don’t remember wanting to do it, it was like there  was 
someone else, telling meh what to do.”
“So, like someone was controlling you?” asked Harry again.
“Yeah, meh guess so,” said Joe, shrugging his shoulders. 
“Someone must have put the Imperius Curse on him,” whispered Hermione. 
“That means someone here wants  to  Bracelet,” responded Harry. “But who here 
even knows what it is, much less  want it?”
Just then, there was a sudden flash of red light, and Joe collapsed to the ground. 
Harry ran over  to  the  nearest  tree  and hid  behind it.  He  saw  Hermione  do the  same. 
Someone was attacking them. 
“Come  out  come out  wherever you are,” came  an all  to familiar voice. Neville 
slowly crept out from  the dark trees and Harry thought he saw some snakes slither by as 
he   came  out.  He  was  twirling his   wand in  his   hand, as   if   he  had  just   accomplished 
something great. “I know you’re here Harry, so  come  out and face me.” He  was walking 
closer and closer to Harry. But, he was going to wait for just the right moment to appear 
and-
 “Oh no  you don’t!” yelled  Hermione,  jumping out  from  behind her  tree.  She 
quickly pointed her wand at Neville, just as he was turning around. “Stupefy!”
“Fucillius!” yelled Neville, at just the same instant. The two spells met in midair, 
but Neville’s  immediately overpowered Hermione’s, causing her to fall  over backwards 


from the  impact of an imaginary speeding bullet. 
“Take this!”  yelled   Harry,  taking full   advantage   of   the   fact   that   Neville   was 
distracted from  watching her fall. “Itamuda!” A spinning, black beam ejected itself from 
Harry’s wand. It went right for Neville, and hit him… then passed right through him. 
“What!?” yelled Harry, seeing Neville turn to face him. Was he a ghost? What was 
going  on?  Just   then,  Neville   began  flickering  and  going all   staticy,  as  if  he  were   a 
projection, and then all out disappeared.
“Accio wand!” came a voice from behind Harry. He turned around just in time to 
see Neville summoning his wand right out of Harry’s  hand. He quickly shoved the  wand 
into his pocket, and grinned at Harry.
“Now whatcha going to do?” he asked, sticking his tongue our between clenched 
teeth. Harry was worried… he was powerless. He had to transform  and hope  that would 
take Neville by surprise  again…   but would that work? Would Neville fall for the same 
trick twice?
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Malfoy fell  from the trees  and pounced right on top of 
Neville, wiping the grin right off  of his face. He subdued him on the ground, holding his 
arms down with his hands, and putting his knees on Neville’s legs.
“Thanks a million Malfoy,” gasped Harry, relieved. 
“No problem,” said Malfoy, sounding like he was straining to keep Neville pinned 
down. “What are friends for? But, could you hurry up and take this guy out? He’s stronger 
than he looks… and he looks pretty strong.”
Harry  ran  over  to   Neville’s  pocket,  and took  out   his  wand. He  pointed  it  at 
Neville’s face, and looked at the terror in his eyes. What spell should he use on him?
“Bona nox!” yelled Harry so  loud that some  birds  flew away in the  trees  above 
him. Black, lightning-like beams  shot  out of  the  tip of  his  wand, electrifying Neville’s 
forehead, making it shake all over and pulsate, but only for a second. Then, the effect of 
the spell finally came.
“I’m blind!” yelled Neville. “Blind!” 
Malfoy grabbed the wand out  of Neville’s  flailing hand and got up off  of him, 
wiping some sweat from his head.
“How long were you up there waiting?” Harry asked Malfoy.
“I’ve been there since the beginning of the match,” he said, watching Neville run 
around aimlessly and crash into some trees. “I’ve been sniping out people all over, taking 
them out quite easily. It was just by luck that you happened to need me right here.”
“Well thanks,” said Harry, looking over at Neville, and not seeing any of the boy 
he was as a first year anywhere on or in him. Harry ran over to him, and grabbed his neck, 
pinning him up against a tree.
“Was it you who tried to take Hermione’s bracelet?” demanded Harry.
“Wha- no!” gasped Neville, gripping his  neck, and looking all over in vain for a 
way out. He was at Harry’s mercy. 
“Of course it was you!” yelled Harry, tightening his grip. “Who else here is slimy 
enough to try and pull a trick like that!?”
“I don’t know who is was,” choked Neville. “But it wasn’t me!”
“What’s going on here?” asked Malfoy, walking over.
“He tried to steal Hermione’s Bracelet,” said Harry through gritted teeth. “Or, at 


least control someone else  so they would do it.”
“What would he want it for?” asked Malfoy. “I mean, sure, it looks  nice, but is  it 
worth stealing?” Harry looked at him… he didn’t know that the Bracelet was actually one 
of the Ingredients in the Immortality Potion. Should he tell him?
“I  don’t   know,”   Harry   finally  lied.   “And  were   not   going   to   find   out   now! 
STUPEFY!” Harry aimed the beam right at Neville’s chest, and saw it instantly knock him 
out. He let go of his neck and let his unconscious body drop to the grass-covered floor.
“When did Neville get here anyway?” Harry asked Malfoy. “I didn’t see him come 
in at the beginning of the match.”
“I did,” said Malfoy. “From my spot in the trees. He came in a little after it began. 
It gave him a bit of an advantage, really, since  he came  in after  everyone  else  had been 
fighting for   a  while.   I saw  him  take   out   everyone  in  his  path…  Tci,  Ak, and Aylar 
especially…. He certainly has become a better fighter, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, well, do the ends justify the means?” asked Harry. “Sure, Neville’s a better 
warrior, but at the cost  of  him being a Death Eater.” Harry thought this would be a good 
time to see  just  how much Malfoy knew. “Speaking of which, I haven’t heard about much 
Dark Activity going on lately… any idea what that’s about?”
“Yeah,” sighed Malfoy. “You-Know-Who hasn’t said too much about it, but he’s 
planning something big… I mean, really big.”
Harry swallowed hard. Should he have headed Dobby more?
“Well,” sighed Malfoy, breaking the awkward silence  between the  two of them. 
“Yet again, it has come down to us.”
“Too bad we had to go and become friends,” said Harry, backing away a little.
“Yeah, too bad that I’m going to have to beat you,” grinned Malfoy.
“Oh yeah, what makes you so sure of that?” 
Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
“My new Polymagus form,” he snickered. “Prepare to be obliterated.”
Harry backed up against a tree  and took out his wand, ready to deal with whatever 
it was Malfoy was going to become. Malfoy closed his eyes  and threw his arms  and legs 
out as far as they could go, spreading his fingers apart from each other and Harry assumed 
he was doing the same to  his toes  as well. Then, when he was as stretched out as far as 
Harry thought he could be without splitting apart, Malfoy just… fell over, right onto his 
back.
 “Are you okay?” laughed Harry.
“This  is   just  the  beginning,”  said  Malfoy  in  Harry’s   head  through Animagus 
telepathy. He began moving his fingers  and feet  in the most particular manner, so that his 
entire body was spinning around on the ground. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, until 
his animal powers began to kick in and he was almost a blur. Malfoy was spinning so fast, 
he was starting to dig himself into the ground, like some sort of human drill. Then, when 
he was about five feet under, the animal form appeared.
It looked like a massive worm more than anything. It was thick enough to fill the 
entire  hole, but very short,  only coming about four  feet  out of  the  hole. It was a dark 
yellow all over, and looked extremely slimy. It had only a single eye, with a small spike 
protruding underneath it. Suddenly, many much smaller versions of the beast popped up all 
around it, forming some  sort  of grotesque outline of the monster. All of the  creatures  


then started spinning, very slowly, but fast enough to make the ground shake. 
Cracks   began to  appear  in  the   ground around the  creature,  which  spread out 
further and further. Then, the smaller versions of  the monster  began moving around the 
large one, as  if they were  trying to create some sort  of whirlpool, which was not too far 
from the truth. The beasts were moving so fast that the monster had turned into some sort 
of  living black hole, sucking in the  land around it. Entire  trees, bushes, the  floor  and 
mounds of dirt were sucked into the moving pool of monsters  and then devoured by them, 
just  as quickly, by a series  of horrible pokings from the protruding needles beneath their 
eyes. 
 “What   kind  of   animal   is  that?”  yelled   Harry,   holding  onto   a   tree   that   was 
beginning to be sucked into the monster.
“It’s a Surmanger!” yelled  Malfoy back, telepathically. “It’s a rare  desert  beast 
that creates  black hole-like ground all around it, sucking in everything. The smaller ones  
eat the things it  sucks  in, and the larger on softens  the ground, so it is  easier to bring in 
and devour. It’s like some sort of horribly well oiled machine!”
“You’ve got that right!” said Harry, jumping off of the tree that he was previously 
hanging onto. It was sucked right into the belly of the monster, and eaten almost instantly. 
It was amazing, to see the smaller creatures  peck at their victims so fast that it looked as 
though it was being disintegrated rather than eaten. 
The Surmanger had now eaten most  of the magical forest,  and Harry could see 
some of the Great Hall’s tiled floor appearing beneath the grass  that was being sucked up, 
though not for  very long since  it was brought in just as quickly. Professor  Flitwick had 
now revealed himself. He was flying around the room, moving unconscious kids high into 
the air so that they wouldn’t be sucked in and eaten. Harry decided to follow that line  of 
thinking, and transformed his back into wings. He took to the air, away from the ground 
that was being quickly devoured.
“Stupefy!” yelled Harry, aiming right for the monster. The red beam shot right at 
it, but then, right before  it was about to hit, the beast ate the ray of  light as if it  were  a 
bush.   “That   thing   can   eat   light!”
“Matter, energy, it all tastes the same,” telepathized Malfoy the monster. Now, all of the 
forest had been consumed, and he was working on the  actual Great Hall, sucking in the 
floor, ceiling and walls. Harry had to really struggle to stay in the air and not be eaten. He 
had to distract Malfoy somehow, to try and buy some time to think of something.
“Hey Malfoy!” yelled  Harry in  his  mind. “How come  you’re  only one  animal 
now?  I thought  you   Polymagi   could  combine   your  animal’s   DNA  to   create   a  super 
powerful monster.”
“We can,” said Malfoy back, not appearing to have slowed down in his  rate of 
consummation. “But this creature is powerful enough on its  own; it doesn’t need any other 
parts to make it better. Just by itself, it is invincible.” 
Suddenly, one wall  broke  out of its  connection with the others  and flew over 
towards  to  monster,  revealing the  outside  world,  and  some  of  the  Hogwarts  grounds. 
Flitwick had to do some quick moving to have the floating students dodge the flying wall. 
A second later, that entire wall was eaten, and the next three were on their way out. Harry 
didn’t see how he was going to win this one. 
Harry did a few air tricks, just to try and put off the inevitable a little bit longer. 


All the walls of the  room were gone, along with the floor. Malfoy was now working on 
eating the magically free-floating ceiling, which would be gone within seconds. Once that 
was finally devoured, Harry found himself outside  on the grounds. Malfoy had eaten the 
entire Great Hall, and he showed no sign of slowing. 
“Alright Harry,” snickered Malfoy. “I think I’ve done enough damage. It’s time to 
end this  duel!” Abruptly, the  moving smaller  versions  of  the  monster stopped  in their 
tracks. Each of them appeared to be standing upright, like a soldier, with their spikes in the 
air. Then, they started furiously shaking the tips of their heads from side to side, and their 
spikes… fell off! 
“What are you doing?” asked Harry.
“Underneath those   spikes  are  powerful  vacuum-like  holes,”  explained Malfoy. 
“It’s time  to suck you up Harry!” Indeed, where  the spikes  used to  be, there  was now a 
small black hole on each of the smaller monsters. They all began moving in their circular 
pattern again, only this time, it was not the earth being sucked in, it was the air.
Harry instantly felt the new force pulling on him, and it was incredible. It was as 
if he were being lassoed from all directions, and each one  was being pulled by a sumo 
wrestler. He could feel  the  air being sucked in all around him, along with a few  clouds 
above him. It was becoming hard to breathe. It didn’t take Harry very long to succumb to 
the beast.
Harry  couldn’t  take   it  anymore.   Even  in   just   the   few   seconds   he   had  been 
struggling against  Malfoy’s  new version  of  his   monster,  he  felt   as  though he had run 
several  marathons. He just… couldn’t fly any more, and he  stopped flapping his wings. 
Instantly, he began being sucked into the beast, faster and faster, until he was just about to 
be devoured….
“Draco  Malfoy is  the  winner!” announced Professor  Flitwick, quickly moving 
Harry out of danger. He used his wand to move him high up in the sky, along with the rest 
of  the  kids, out of  the  monster’s reach. “Please, Mr. Malfoy, you may transform back 
now!”
 “Yes professor,” Harry heard Malfoy say. The Surmanger began spinning all over, 
so fast that it was starting to shrink. Once it was about the size of a person, it slowed down 
and Malfoy was revealed, back in his normal form, his  arms  and legs  spread out on the 
ground. 
 “Superb transformation,” commented professor Flitwick. “But, next time, would 
you please not destroy the entire room?”
“I shall certainly try professor,” smiled Malfoy, though he looked as though he 
were   in  pain.  His  hands  we  on  his  stomach,  and he  was  looking a  little  pale.  Harry 
wondered if all or even some of what he ate was retained in his human stomach.
“Good job Malfoy,” said Harry, offering him  his  hand just  as  a  cool  end-of-
summer breeze blew by. He took it and they shook. “You are a worthy opponent, that’s for 
sure.”
 “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a better show of  sportsmanship in my entire  life 
than what I just saw now,” came a voice. Harry looked over and saw Dumbledore walking 
over to them.
“Professor!” exclaimed Harry. “What are you doing here?”
“I never miss a Dueling Club meeting,” he said. “I just  came  down to watch the 


last part of the match. It seems as though I was the only person who thought to do that.”
“Everyone else was too afraid of getting eaten to come down,” grinned Harry.
“When did you get back from the Ministry?” asked Malfoy, looking a little better. 
“As a matter of fact, I just got here. This duel is the first part of Hogwarts I have 
seen all day. Though, I see  this  part has been destroyed.” He  surveyed the  area quickly, 
with a frown on his  face. “We’re going to have to rebuild this  entire room… and quickly 
too!”
 “Professor,” whispered Harry. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait, Harry. There is much to do.”
“I’m not sure if this can, professor.”
“Well then,” sighed Dumbledore, “tell me quick. There is much to be rebuilt, and 
many children to be revived.”
“During the  match,” began Harry, making sure  that Malfoy was out of hearing 
range. He was over helping Professor Flitwick enervate the unconscious kids. “During the 
match, I think someone used the Imperius Curse on some of the second years.” 
To this, Dumbledore rose an eyebrow. 
“What makes you think that?” he asked curiously.
“Well, at one point during the duel, Chris and Joe  attacked Hermione. They were 
trying to  steal  her bracelet. But, when I asked them about  it  afterwards, they said they 
didn’t  really  remember  doing  it   but  did  have a  sensation  of   not  being  in  control  of 
themselves. Either they were very convincing, or it really happened. I think the latter is 
true in this situation.”
“What would they want her Bracelet for?” asked Dumbledore slowly. Harry didn’t 
know what to say. Should he tell him that he knew about the Immortal Potion, and all about 
the Sorcerer’s Stone and the Ring of the Ancients that he had? 
“I have no idea,” lied Harry, playing it safe. He didn’t’ know what information he 
was supposed to know and what he shouldn’t know. He’d just  play dumb and safe for a 
while….
“Well, it is  very easy to find out whether an illegal spell was used or not. All we 
need to do is take a trip down to the Ministry, and go to our suspect’s files. In there are all 
the spells  they’ve ever used. If someone has the Imperius Curse recorded inside, they are 
the culprit.”
“Well, I don’t think you’ll have to search for very long,” said Harry. “Neville did 
it. I’m sure of it.”
“What makes you so sure?” questioned Dumbledore, crossing his arms.
“Well, for one, he is a Death Eater. He attacked me before, and he is Voldemort’s 
personal  slave. I think that’s  about  all  the  evidence  anyone  would need. Why  are  you 
letting him stay at Hogwarts anyway? He’s a Death Eater! You should toss him away!”
“Yes,  I  know   that   that   would be   the  most   logical   course   of   action,”  sighed 
Dumbledore. “But, Neville, deep down, is a good kid. I’m sure that if we give him enough 
time and support, we can win him back.”
“If you think so, professor,” said Harry, not sharing his belief at this time.
“Harry!” yelled Hermione, running over to him. “I just got up! You didn’t win!”
“I’ll leave you two now,” smiled Dumbledore, patting him on the  shoulder, and 
walking off to Professor Flitwick who still looked in a state of perfect happiness over the 


excitement of the match. 
“Yeah, Draco beat me this time,” sighed Harry. 
“Draco?” asked Hermione,  scrunching her  face  a  little.  “That’s the  first  time 
you’ve ever called him that.”
“Yeah, well, first  time for  everything,” grinned Harry, walking off,  for the first 
time in his life, actually feeling happy that he had lost.


Chapter 12- Too Many Voldemorts
It took the  entire  next week, and a few days into October to finally rebuild the 
Great Hall. The house elves  were working overtime, and they could not be happier. Every 
day Harry walked by, he saw at least a hundred of them, bucket in one hand, some  sort  of 
magical tool in the other, and a smile  on their face. Sharing their enthusiasm was Malfoy. 
Everywhere, all that people talked about was his  mighty victory over Harry. Some knew 
the two of them were friends now, some  didn’t. It didn’t matter to them, no one stopped 
praising Malfoy for his magnificent transformation and wishing that they had seen it.
However, once the week got closer to Friday, the school-wide talk turned from 
the Dueling Club to the Wizard Duel Card Game Club. From what Harry had been hearing, 
there  would be many more  people attending this  week’s  meeting than the  handful that 
came  to  the  last  one. Despite  all the  hype, it  wasn’t really the  meeting that Harry was 
looking forward to, but the meeting afterwards, with Cho. 
“Come on Harry!” called Ron, about an hour before the club would meet. “I want 
to get down there early, so we can have some time to practice.”
“Alright, alright,” said Harry, rolling off of his  bed, and onto the floor. He put his 
book down, and walked over to Ron, who was busy adding a few final touches  to his deck. 
They walked down to  the common room  together, where both of them met a very angry 
looking Hermione. 
“Where do you think you’re going, Harry?” she demanded, her arms crossed and a 
single foot stomping.
“Um, to the Wizard Duel Club Meeting,” said Harry, as if it were very obvious.
“Not this time,” she said seriously.
“What do you mean?” asked Ron.
“You’re not skipping this Prefect’s Meeting!” barked Hermione. “It’s the first one 
of the year, and it’s a very important one.” 
Harry groaned.
“Oh come on Hermione,” he sighed. “Not today….”
“Harry,”  she  said, “with privileges  come  responsibilities.  This  is  one  of  your 
responsibilities. You have to attend these meetings, so come on.”
“But I’ll miss the Wizard Duel meeting!”
“If you hurry up I’m  sure  you’ll  have time  for  both,” said Hermione  quickly, 
checking her watch. “But come on, we have to hurry now! Let’s go!” 
“Fine,” sighed Harry, allowing Hermione  to  drag him out of the room. “See you 
later Ron! Don’t wait up for me….”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” grinned Ron as they stepped out of the room. “Have fun!”
“So what exactly  do  we  do   at  these   meetings?”  asked  Harry  as   they  started 
walking.
 “You never did read your manual, did you?” asked Hermione, shaking her head. 
Seeing Harry do the same, she  continued. “Well, I’ll  never know how you got to be  a 
Prefect. I mean, sure you’re grades are okay and all but-”
“Can you just tell me about the meetings?”
“Well, we do lots of stuff really,” she explained. “We talk about things to change 
around the school to make it better, give the opinions of our house classmates  on issues, 


nominate new prefects for next year, and more. It’s really quite fun!”
“I’m sure,” said Harry, rolling his eyes, just as they were passing the newly made 
Great Hall.
“Wow, the house elves  really did a great job on it,” smiled Hermione with her 
arms on her sides. She stopped for a minute to just look around. “And to think, they did all 
this… with pay!”
“Yeah, that’s great  Hermione,” said Harry, not sharing her enthusiasm for equal 
elf rights. “But don’t we have to go to the meeting?”
“Look at how  beautiful  they made the  ceiling!”  gasped Hermione,  not  paying 
attention to Harry. “And the walls, and the floor! Oh my! Just look at how well they did it, I 
can’t believe they were paid to do this! Oh and look at-”
“Hermione!” yelled Harry, bringing her out of  her catatonic state. “You dragged 
me away from the Wizard Duel meeting, and after that, we had better go now.”
“Alright,” said Hermione, taking one last look and then walking back. 
She lead the rest  of the way, still  making a comment  every now and then about 
house elves and such. By the time they reached the room, Harry was really wishing he was 
with Ron at the club meeting.
“Be sure  to put your prefect badge on,” said Hermione, fixing hers so that it was 
perfectly   straight.   “If  you   walk  through   the   door   without   one   on,   you’ll   be   blown 
backwards fifty feet.”
“Wow,” said Harry, taking his  out  of  his  pocket  and attaching  it  to  his  robe, 
resisting the urge just to try out the trap anyways. He didn’t really like wearing all the time 
like  Hermione  did. Though he liked the  honor of being a Prefect,  Harry wasn’t sure  he 
enjoyed all the  power he had over the other students, especially those  others  who were 
worthy of his position.
Once  Hermione was satisfied with how Harry’s  badge looked, she  opened the 
door and revealed the inside. To Harry’s surprise, it wasn’t elaborate at all. There were no 
posters, banners, fountains or anything in the room. All the was were several school desk 
chairs set out before two slightly larger chairs, with the words ‘Head Boy’ engraved onto 
one, and ‘Head Girl’ engraved onto the  other. As soon as the  two of them entered, all 
twenty heads turned towards them.
“Ah, I’m happy to see  that Harry Potter has finally decided to join us,” said the 
Head Boy, Joe  Bob. He  gave a weak smile,  and waved his  arm in the direction of  the 
chairs.
 “Time to sit  down, Harry,” said Hermione, nudging him in the side. The two of 
them took the only two chairs left.
“Now that were  are all here,” said the Head Girl, Dora, “and since it is  the first 
meeting of the year, I think we should all introduce ourselves, so that we can refer to each 
other by name and not just by house and year. So, let us begin with a roll call.”
“I will call out your grade, then house, then name,” continued Joe Bob. “When 
you are called, simply say: ‘Here,’ I don’t want any ‘presents’ or other such nonsense, got 
it? Alright. Let us begin with,” he opened up a small scroll that was on the floor next to his 
chair, “Fifth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Aniruddha Gollapalli.”
“Here,”  said a tall, Indian boy whom Harry thought he had seen  before  in  the 
common room.


“Fifth Year Prefect  for Gryffindor House, Megan Williams.”
“Here.”
“Fifth Year Prefect  for Ravenclaw House, Zac Peeples.”
“Here.”
“Fifth Year Prefect  for Ravenclaw House, Holly Smith.”
“Here”
“Fifth Year Prefect  for Hufflepuff House, Andrew Arena.”
“Here.”
“Fifth Year Prefect  for Hufflepuff House, Andrea Anera.”
“Here.”
“Fifth Year Prefect  for Slytherin House, Geoff Halliday.”
“Here.”
“Fifth Year Prefect  for Slytherin House, Kush Raj.”
“Here.”
“Sixth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Harry Potter.”
“Here,”   said  Harry  quickly, slouching  in  his   chair.  This  roll  call  was  taking 
forever.
 “Sixth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Hermione Granger.”
“Here,” said Hermione loudly and proudly.
“Sixth Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Paulo Calvacanti.”
“Here.”
“Sixth Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Lisa Turpin.”
“Here.”
“Sixth Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Ernie Macmillan.”
“Here.”
“Sixth Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Hannah Abbot.”
“Here.”
“Sixth Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Draco Malfoy.”
“Here,”   said  Malfoy,  about   as  enthusiastically  as   Harry.  For  a  fraction  of   a 
second, Harry wished he were in Slytherin, so he could sit there next to Malfoy and have a 
good time, instead of sitting here next to uptight Hermione.
“Sixth Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Pansy Parkinson.”
“Here.”
“Seventh Year Prefect, and Head Boy, for Gryffindor House, Joe Bob BobJoe…. 
Here!” said the Head Boy, chuckling to himself. Harry rolled his eyes.
“Seventh Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Casey Wilson.”
“Here.”
“Seventh Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Felix Malinkevich.”
“Here.”
“Seventh Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Montana Sweet.”
“Here.”
“Seventh Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Shane Joyce.”
“Here.”
“Seventh Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Tricia McMillan.”
“Here.”


“Seventh Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Max Kashdan.”
“Here.”
“Seventh Year Prefect, and Head Girl, for Slytherin House, Dora TheExplorer.”
“Here,” said the girl next to him.
“Excellent,” said Joe Bob, putting the scroll away. “Everyone is here.”
“Now, down to business,” said Dora. “We have much to discuss….”
“Ah yes, we have hundreds of topics,” added Joe  Bob, hitting the armrest  of this 
chair  with his  hand and staring blankly at  the  crowd of  students. Then, after  waiting a 
second or  two, he  gave a  small  cough that echoed throughout  the  room.  “So…  does 
anyone have anything to talk about, because I sure as heck don’t.” 
The Sixth Year Ravenclaw Prefect, Paulo, raised his hand.
“Yes!” said Joe Bob, pointing at him. “What is it?” 
Paulo stood up.
“I was just wondering,” he said quite loudly, “how does this  school intend to deal 
with the letters  from  You-Know-Who, sent to us just a matter of weeks ago? Is the body 
of professors  planning some sort  of show of aggression to their senders, or are we going 
to take the passive side of the imbroglio and merely allow time to nurse this wound?”
“Well, that is   a very god  question,  Paulo,” said Joe  Bob, clearing his  throat. 
“There  are  many things  that are planned for  the  letters, most  of  which have happened 
already. Watch and you shall see.” 
He reached into his pocket, and took out his  letter from Voldemort. Harry was 
shocked to see that he still had it, and even more so that it appeared as though it had been 
opened. 
 “You can make it into an elephant!” He threw the letter out in front of him so that 
it hovered in the air, and shot a magical beam at it. The letter instantly turned into a two 
dimensional version of an elephant, and gave a roar. There was some scattered laughing.
“Or even an owl,” he said, magicking the letter again, and turning the elephant into 
an origami version of an owl. It gave a hoot and flew around rather awkwardly. “Look! A 
letter that carries letters!” There was a bit more laughter this time.
“And  don’t   underestimate   the   letter’s   power   as   a   mode   of   transportation,” 
continued Joe  Bob, hitting the owl with yet another beam, and making it into a spaceship 
which he jumped into and flew about the room in. “Yeehaw!” This time, everyone except 
Harry laughed. He just didn’t see how Joe Bob could take such a serious  situation like this 
and twist it into some sort of comedic act.
“And last but not least,” said Joe Bob, jumping out of the paper ship and into his 
chair “the letter’s  natural power as fire fuel.” He conjured a hovering fire, and made the 
ship fly right into it, causing a small but impressive show of fireworks  to appear. To this, 
everyone except Harry stood up and cheered. 
“So as  you can see, Paulo,” concluded Joe  Bob, making the fire  disappear and 
putting the ashes from the letter into a small trashcan by making a magical dustpan appear. 
“There are many things  to do with the letter, though I most highly recommend the  last 
one.”
 “Why didn’t you stand up, Harry?” asked Hermione when everyone sat down.
“I don’t know,” said Harry, staring at Joe Bob. “There’s just something about him 
that strikes me as… odd.”


“How so?” asked Hermione. 
“Like how he still  has his  letter, and how he made what should have been a very 
serious question’s answer into a funny show.”
“Oh Harry,” said Hermione, “you really have to lighten up. I mean, most of the 
kids kept their letters  just for show, and comedy is  a god way to escape fear. I think what 
Joe Bob did was commendable almost.”
“Whatever,” said Harry, turning his attention back to the Head Boy and Girl. They 
were answering another question that someone else had asked and Harry had missed. Then, 
just  when Harry was beginning to understand what the question was, he saw the trashcan 
that Joe Bob had put the ashes of the letter in glow a faint blue. The ashes slowly then rose 
out of the bin, and went under Joe Bob’s chair where they materialized back into the letter. 
Harry rubbed his  eyes and shook his head, just to be sure that what he just saw happen had 
actually occurred. He looked around furiously, to see if anyone else  had notice, but they 
were all nodding and commenting on the current topic. Harry looked at Joe Bob, and saw a 
small smile on his face… he had brought his letter back.
“Is there a problem, Harry?” asked Joe  Bob, turning to look at him. “You were 
looking around the room like a madman… is  everything alright?”
“Well…” said Harry, his minds racing. Should he say he saw him bring back his 
letter? “No… everything’s fine.”
“That was certainly a fun and interesting meeting,” said Hermione as everyone 
was standing up and getting ready to leave. 
“Yeah, sure,” said Harry, not really paying attention to her. He checked his watch. 
Good; if he hurried, he could still make it in time for the Wizard Duel club meeting. “I’ve 
got to go, Hermione. See you later!”
“Fine, go have fun at your little kiddy game club,” called Hermione after him.
“Oh, you know you had fun cheering me on at the last meeting, Hermione,” Harry 
yelled back at her.
“Err… well, see you later Harry!”
Harry ran towards  the  room where  the  club would meet. As  he got  closer, he 
removed his Prefect  Badge, and put it down into the dark depths of his pocket. He didn’t 
want anyone there thinking they had to go easy on him because if they beat him in a match 
he’d take away points from their house. Shortly after, Harry arrived at the room where Ak 
and Ron were in the middle of a match to show everyone how the game was played. 
“-and now I attack with my last Bewitched Tea Cup!” said Ron. They were using 
the holographic table for the demonstration, and Harry saw Ron’s cup spill some hot tea 
onto Ak’s deck. “And since my five teacups have a power of five each, you have to discard 
the top twenty-five cards of your deck! Take that Ak!”
“A good move,” said Ak as Harry sat down. He was amazed to see that there were 
at least  seventy people in the room this  time. The space was almost entirely filled, and 
Harry had to work his way through the crowd for a front row seat. “But not good enough.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ron. “I have twenty cards in my deck and five fighters 
out in play. You, on the other hand,  have four cards in your deck with no fighters out. Next 
turn, when my cups attack again, you’re dead! There’s no way you can win.”
“Ha, you shall see,” said Ak, allowing the table to give him his card. “For my first  


action, I shall play the Increase Time Spell which gives me an additional action during my 
turn. I now have a total of three actions  to use instead of two.
“And now, I shall  play… Voldemort!” Ak threw the card out onto  the field, and 
when it materialized, there were a few shrieks of terror and surprise, though not too many. 
After all, most  of the people here came from hearing about Harry’s victory over Ak, and 
knew from that that Voldemort was a card. “And you should know his  special ability, Ron. 
When he comes  into play, all of your cards are discarded.”
“No!” yelled Ron, seeing his five teacups shatter and explode. A nice little effect. 
“Now you have nothing to defend you from his power,” grinned Ak.
“Nice  try,” said Ron. “It’s not like he can even attack this  turn! You just  played 
him, and you can only attack at the beginning of your turn.”
“I already knew that,” said Ak. “And to fix that problem, I will play, the Quick-
Attack Spell!” Ak placed the spell onto Voldemort, and little winged shoes appeared on his 
feet. “Now I can attack you.”
“Once last thing, Ak,” said Ron. “I have twenty cards, and Vold- er, You-Know-
Who only has a power of ten. I won’t lose this turn.”
“Ron you fool,” yelled Ak, looking a little annoyed. “I’ve had this  all planned out. 
I know that little thing, and to resolve it, I will play Unholy Strength Curse. It doubles one 
of my fighter’s power for a single turn. Now he has sufficient power.”
“So I…” 
“Lose!” yelled Ak, having his Voldemort attack Ron and making his  deck vanish. 
All the holographic cards on the table disappeared and the decks  were released from their 
holders. “Good game Ron.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect  to win against you anyways,” sighed Ron, taking his  deck 
out of the slot, not really sounding as though he truly believed in what he just said.
“Now!” said Ak to the  rest of the  people there. “Now that you all know how to 
play, it is time for the club tournament to begin! It will be a single elimination tournament, 
each of you will face one other, and the winner will go on.”
“Like how the Dueling Club used to do it!” piped a little  voice from somewhere 
in the crowd. Harry thought is  sounded like Joe.
“Yes, but not exactly,” said Ak. “You see, if I put all of your names  into a hat, and 
read them all out, it would take far too long and this meeting wouldn’t be over until next 
week. So, to make all of our lives easier, I and the rest of my fellow heads of the club have 
already put all of your names up on this chart.” He waved his hand in the direction of a wall 
of the room. On it was a massive chart that had everyone’s name in individual boxes  at the 
bottom. Connecting every consecutive two boxes was a single line, and another line went 
up that was perpendicular to that one. Connected to that line was another box which began 
the whole process  over again, connecting every two consecutive boxes, until it went all the 
way up to  the top to a single  box where  the winner’s  name would be put. It was like  a 
pyramid going up, made out of lines and boxes.
“You will fight the  person in the box that is connected to yours,” continued Ak. 
“Whoever wins will have their name magically put  in the  box above your two, and the 
process  will  begin again until there  is  only one champion. Those  who lose  are free  to 
roam the playing area and watch. The holographic table  will only be used for  the  final 
match. Are you ready to begin?”


“Yeah!” yelled the crowd excitedly. 
Ak smiled.
“Excellent. Just  go over to  the wall, check  the chart, and see  who you have to 
face. Good luck to you all!”
Harry, along with everyone else  in the room, ran over to  the massive chart  and 
checked who his first opponent was. It was some kid who he had never heard of, and would 
therefore be hard to find. Luckily, the kid found him first. Sometimes, it came in handy to 
be popular.
“Are you, Harry Potter?” he asked. The kid was around three feet tall, and his head 
was about twice as large as his incredibly skinny body. It looked as though one good wind 
would knock him over and cause him to break.
“Uh, yeah. That’s me.” 
The kid stuck out his  tongue in quite an odd way, and scrunched his  eyes  closed 
and made some sort of squeaking noise  which seemed to come  out from his spine rather 
than his mouth.
“Great! Let’s play!” he squealed.
It was an incredibly easy game. The kid took forever to get a fighter out into play, 
and when he finally did manage to put send out a house elf, Harry already had ten other 
fighters  ready to go, and the kid had around five cards left in his deck. The house elf was 
quickly made history, and the kid’s deck count was zero.
“Good game!” screeched the kid as he gathered up all his cards and mushed them 
together into one giant pile.
“Yeah… sure,” said Harry, walking away slowly, back to the chart on the wall to 
see  who his next  match would be against. He saw that it would be against someone  he 
knew, Seamus  for a  change, and he  looked around the  mass  of  people for  him. After 
searching for a second, he saw that Seamus was readily engaged in a match that looked like 
a win for him. To kill some time, Harry decided to talk to Ak about some new strategies. 
He looked around for him, and saw, like himself, that he had beaten his opponent already 
and was just waiting around for his next victim to finish his current game.
“Hey Ak!” called Harry, stepping over a few kids to make his way to him. 
“What’s up Harry? You beat your opponent already too?”
“Yeah, he was pretty easy.” 
There was a few second of silence as they both surveyed the playing field.
“I can’t believe how many people came here,” said Ak, biting his bottom lip and 
nodding his head. “Sixty-four in all. The perfect number for a tournament.”
“I saw you in the practice game earlier,” said Harry, trying to find out some things 
about  Ak’s  strategy, just  in case  it  came down to the two of them again. “It looks  like 
you’ve changed your strategy quite a bit. No more Cloning Chambers or Flobberworms.”
“Yeah, I’ve completely changed my deck around,” sighed Ak, rocking back and 
forth, his cape billowing. “I found my weaknesses  from playing against you last time and 
decided  to  change my tactics. Now,  instead of  playing with Flobberworms,  I just  use 
Voldemorts.”
“What’s so great about that card?” asked Harry. “I mean, it’s good and rare, but to 
base a whole deck around it….”


“Oh,” grinned Ak, “you shall see Harry… you shall see.”
“Hey Harry!” called Seamus. “We’ve got to play now!”
“Alright,” said Harry, turning around, and feeling  a little  disappointed  that  he 
didn’t find out more about Ak’s deck. “I’m coming.” 
Compared  to   his  last   match,  this  one  was   downright   difficult.  Harry  had  to 
actually  think  before   he played some   cards,  though not  very hard. Seamus  was just  a 
slightly better version of  the kid Harry played last  time, they both had about the  same 
quality cards. A few hard ones  here  and there, but nothing Harry couldn’t deal with by 
playing a few Killing Curses or Stupefies. It was over pretty quickly.
“Good game,” said Harry as his phoenix delivered the last blow to Seamus’ deck.
“Yeah yeah,” he growled back, looking down at the ground and gathering up his 
scattered  cards. Harry shrugged, stood up, and walked over to  the chart  which already 
showed that he was the winner of the last match.
“Three more to go,” said Harry to himself as he looked at the chart and saw that 
he was in the quarterfinals. According to the table, his next opponent was some other kid, 
Susej Tsirch. “Weird name.” He looked around for a weird looking kid to match the name, 
but saw no one.
“Are you Harry Potter?” whispered a kid behind Harry. He turned around, and saw 
another student that looked almost exactly like his first  opponent. But this one was a little 
bit taller, a ghostly pale all over, shivering slightly, and appeared to be on the verge of 
tears. He was also holding a small box which Harry assumed contained his cards.
“Yeah,” said Harry, eyeing him suspiciously, and trying not to speak too loud. It 
seemed as though even if he talked too much the kid would explode into a million pieces. 
“Are you okay?” To this  comment, the kid dropped his box of cards, and they spilled all 
over. He scrunched his eyes up and made his hands into fists.
“Why… does…  everyone… ask… me…  if…  I’m… okay?” he  whispered. He 
began shaking furiously all over, and Harry wondered if he was going to go into a spasm. 
Just when Harry was about to call for help, the kid threw his hands into the air and ran out 
of the room, screaming and running over everyone’s heads. 
“Wow,” said Harry as everyone returned to their games after that little moment of 
insanity. “These new kids are really weird.” He turned back to the chart, and saw that it had 
declared him the  winner. Harry’s name moved up into the next box and showed his next 
opponent.
“Aylar,” hissed Harry. “That little cheater and card counterfeiter is going to pay.” 
Harry scanned the  room for  any sign of where he was, and caught sight of him off in a 
corner. Harry stepped over a few people and cards to make his way over to him, just in 
time for the match’s end. 
“Another ten points  of damage to you,” smiled Aylar, finishing off his opponent. 
Now, Harry saw that he had put the money he made from selling cards to use. He had rings 
all up and down all of his  fingers  that shone all the colors  of the rainbow. His robe was 
made of a thin and silvery cloth that looked finer than silk, but harder the steel as it made a 
clanking noise  when it  touched the  floor.  His  hair  was  done  up in a  very interesting 
fashion: it  was highlighted gold all  over, and he had his  bangs come  down to cover one 
eye. He looked more like he was the evil mastermind of a horrible company than a second 


year student.
“You ready to play, Aylar?” asked Harry, still scanning him. 
“It depends, are you ready to be my next victim, Harry?” smiled Aylar, moving his 
hand in a circular motion and having all the cards float up to it. He pushed his old opponent 
aside magically and beckoned Harry to sit.
“Nice rings,” said Harry, sitting down and shuffling his deck. 
“I couldn’t say the same for-” said Aylar, before he actually looked at Harry’s. He 
stopped shuffling his cards, and became entranced with Harry’s rings. He didn’t move at 
all, he didn’t even blink. 
“What?” asked Harry after Aylar’s staring was beginning to creep him out.
“Wha- oh! Nothing…” said Aylar, shaking his head an coming back to reality. Did 
he know what Harry’s Ring was? “But where on Earth… where did you get that ring?”
“You mean this clear one?” asked Harry, setting his deck down.
“No no!” hissed Aylar, waving his arm. “The other one… the skull one.”
“Oh, I… uh… picked it up in a shop,” said Harry, drawing his opening hand and 
trying to enjoy the moment in which he had something Aylar wanted and could not have, 
no matter how many cards he counterfeited.
“What shop did you-”
“Can we just get  on with the game,” interrupted Harry. “This is match is in the 
semifinals after all.”
“Yeah, alright,” said Aylar, setting his  deck down, and summoning his  opening 
cards to his hand telekinetically. “Let’s get started.”
“And you can go first.”
“No, you go first.”
“No, you.”
“No, you.”
“No, you!”
“No, you!”
“No, YOU!”
“Fine!” said Aylar, putting his hands up into the air. “I’ll go first…. That will make 
you lose  faster.” He laughed and made the top card of his deck float to his hand. “And for 
my first action,” Harry noticed that there was a group of people gathering around them, “I 
will play… heh, how about this? Harry Potter!” Aylar threw his card onto the playing field, 
and indeed it was a Harry Potter card.
“I’m a card!?” gasped Harry. “Let me see  that!” He picked the card up off of the 
ground, and read it  over. “Well, at least  I’m a pretty  good card… though this  one  is  a 
counterfeit version.” He slapped the card back onto the ground, and squinted at Aylar. He 
merely shrugged.
“Enh,” said Aylar. “Most of my cards  are  fake but… so  are  most of  the  kid’s 
here.”   He   straightened  his   card  out,   placed   it  back  on   the   ground,  and  returned  to 
examining his hand. “And for my next action, I will play a Merfolk.” He set the card down, 
and Harry wished they  were playing on the  holographic table  so he  could see  himself 
interact with Aylar’s other cards. “Your turn.”
“I know,” said Harry, drawing his card, and looking at his  hand. An Electo Poli 
spell, a Stupefy, another Stupefy, a phoenix, a house elf, and a Hippogriff. Not too bad, not 


great either though. “I’m going to play a phoenix for my first action, and for my second, I 
will Stupefy myself!” Harry put the cards out.
“What do you mean, Stupefy yourself?” asked Aylar, playing with his rings.
“I mean I’m going to Stupefy your Harry Potter card,” said Harry, throwing the 
Stupefy spell card onto him. “And he can’t attack me next turn and kill my phoenix.”
“Nice  move,” said Aylar, beginning his  turn. “You’ve played the best  of all my 
opponents  so far… not that that’s saying much.” He looked around the crowd around them 
and glared at his previous opponents  who all hid their faces. “Anyway, I will of course  not 
attack your phoenix with my Merfolk since  its  power is  much higher. But, I will, for my 
first action, play Call of the Ocean.”
“What’s that do?” asked Harry. 
“It’s pretty nice, actually,” smirked Aylar. “I discard one Merfolk in play to search 
my deck for five other Merfolk and put them into play.” He tapped the one he had in play 
with his finger and it flew over to Aylar’s discard pile. Once he did that, he made his deck 
glow bright, and five new Merfolk cards shot out from inside and into play. Harry noticed 
that each one had an ‘A’ in the bottom left  hand corner. “Now, I will play Grablulk, The 
Legendary Merchieftan. He doubles all of my Merfolk’s power, but it comes  at a slight 
drawback. Every time  one of my Merfolk go to my discard pile, I have to discard cards 
equal to its power.”
“Sounds pretty bad,” said Harry, beginning his turn.
“Not really, it  usually helps  more  than it  hurts. Especially  when I get  lots  of 
Merfolk into play.”
“Whatever,” said Harry, drawing his  card. It was  another  Electo  Poli. He  was 
beginning to  feel  a little nervous; he wasn’t getting anything really good that could help 
him. “I’m going to Stupefy your Harry Potter again,” Harry felt so awkward saying that, 
“and then I’m going to play my Hippogriff.” He put the cards down, and ended his turn, not 
in a much better situation now then he was at the beginning. 
“Alright then,” said Aylar, grinning. “Prepare to be destroyed, Harry. For my first  
action, I’m going to play Song of the Seas, which doubles the amount of Merfolk I have in 
play, and if I have a Grablulk in play, it quadruples my number. So, I now have twenty four 
Merfolk  in play,  even though  the  copied  Grablulk don’t retain their  special  abilities.” 
Aylar  slammed   the   card  down  on   the  table,   and  twenty  four  blank  cards   magically 
appeared. Harry raised an eyebrow upon seeing them appear. “That’s a little bit of my own 
magic. It makes it easier to remember how many I have.”
“Great,” said Harry, feeling like  he  did at the  last  match when he  was facing 
thousands of Flobberworms. Where was Voldemort when he needed him?
“And then,” continued Aylar, “I am going to  play Aqua Nero. It deals  damage, 
divided however I like it, to your fighters, based on my fighters’ total power, if they are 
Merfolk. Since their total power is forty, I will deal twenty to your Hippogriff, and twenty 
to your phoenix, killing them both.” He put the card down, and Harry discarded his  two 
fighters. Things were definitely not going well. “Your turn Harry.”
“Great,” he sighed, drawing his card. If he didn’t get a fighter, he was in trouble. 
He  needed something  to  block the  damage that  was  going to  come   to  him from  the 
Merfolk. Harry breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw that he got another house elf… 
a very small sigh of relief. He played it quickly and then drew another card, with the hopes 


of  getting Voldemort, but he instead got another Electo  Poli. Harry ended his turn in a 
very bad position.
“I expected better from  you Harry,” sighed Aylar as  he drew his  card. “I really 
did… but, oh well. First off, I’ll attack your house elf with all of my fighters, killing it, 
leaving you fighter-less. Then, I’m going to play the Ocean card. It transforms the playing 
field into a massive sea, and increases  all of my Merfolk’s  power by one. Lastly, I will 
draw a card, and ask you to give up Harry.”
“Why should I?” he asked, feeling as though he should, but not really wanting to.
“Because,” whispered Aylar, leaning in, “if you don’t, you will receive a very bad 
defeat that could embarrass you.”
“More so  than giving up?” asked Harry. “I don’t think so…  besides, I can still 
win.”
 “Whatever,” said Aylar, leaning back.
Harry started t his deck. He had to get something good… he had to! But, the only 
thing that could help him in this situation was Voldemort. As much as he hated even saying 
it, he needed that card! Harry closed his eyes, and reached for  the top card. He drew it, 
turned it around, and opened his eyes.
“Another Electo Poli,” sighed Harry, putting it into his hand. “I really have to get 
rid of a few of those.” Next turn, he was dead. He had no fighters left to block the damage, 
and it would all go to his deck. Unless  he could destroy all of Aylar’s Merfolk this turn, he 
was doomed. But, there was no way to do that-
Suddenly, Harry took  a  closer  look  at  the  four  Electo   Polis  in  his  hand. He 
noticed, that in  addition to dealing two damage to  a fighter or a  player’s  deck, it  had 
another special ability.
“If the battlefield is  currently water,” read Harry off the card, “then Electo Poli 
deals  two damage to  all of your opponent’s fighters  instead of  just  one.” Harry thought 
about this for a second. “Aylar, the Ocean car makes the battlefield water, right?”
“Yeah,” he said, tapping his fingers on the floor and looking very impatient. 
“Of course!”  said  Harry  to  himself.   “Water   conducts   electricity!  Thank  you 
Electo Poli!” Harry took  one out  of his  hand, and set  it  down into  play. “For my first 
action, I will play Electo Poli! And since the battlefield is water, it deals two damage to all 
of your cards, Aylar! That means all of your little Merfolk with a power of two are gone!”
He raised an eyebrow.
“So, you killed my Merfolk,” said Aylar, discarding them. 
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” questioned Harry.
“What?” asked Aylar is  if he knew what it was.
“Your Grablulk’s ability, it makes it  so that if I kill a Merfolk, your deck takes 
damage equal to its power. So you take… eighty damage.”
“So!?”  yelled  Aylar,  discarding  eighty  cards  from   his   deck.  “That’s   still  not 
enough to defeat me, I have a hundred card deck!”
“Yes,” grinned Harry, “but… I’m going to  play another Electo  Poli  which kills  
your Grablulks too! Now, Aylar, you are defeated!”
Aylar just stared at Harry for a second, as if in a state of disbelief. 
“You…beat… me?” he gasped, looking at Harry still, then turning to his cards.
“Yep,” said Harry. “I guess that shows… cheaters never win.”


“But I-”
“Try  getting  some  real   cards,  Aylar,”  spat  Harry, gathering up  his  deck,  and 
walking away quickly from that horrible cheater, back to the chart to see who he  would 
face in the final match, though he didn’t have much doubt about who it was going to be. 
“Ak,” said Harry to himself, seeing that that was whom he was going to fight. He 
turned around and saw that the group of students that were watching his and Aylar’s match 
were  now migrating over to the last  few seconds  of Ak’s. Apparently, the chart was so 
confident in Ak’s victory, it had already paired him up with Harry for the final. 
Harry pushed his way through a few kids and got to the front of the  pack. There, 
he saw who Ak’s victim was.
“-and you take… twenty damage, Ron,” smiled Ak, finishing Ron off. “And since 
you have only ten cards left in your deck, I win.”
The crowd surrounding the  match burst into applause, it must have been a very 
good match. Harry wished he could have seen it. Ron and Ak shook hands, and they both 
gathered up their cards. 
“Good game,” said Ron, looking pleased with himself even though he had lost.
“You fared much better this time than in the exhibition match,” said Ak, shuffling 
his deck back together. “But… not good enough.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll get you when we play again.”
“Ak!” called  Harry suddenly, trying to  sound  superior.  The crowd of students 
turned to him, and became silent. “It’s time.”
“Alright then,” he said, standing up. “Let’s  go.” He waved a hand toward to the 
holographic-image-generating table. He began walking over to it, and the group of students 
followed. But, before  Harry went over there, he wanted any sort  of helpful information 
that he could get.
“Hey Ron,” he whispered quickly.
“Yeah?” he said, organizing the last few scattered cards.
“How’s his deck?” To this, Ron let out a big sigh.
“It’s really bad.”
“Bad?” asked Harry. “Bad as in… good, right?”
“Bad as in evil.”
“Evil? How so?” 
Just as Ron opened his mouth to answer, Ak’s voice rang through the room.
“Harry!” he bellowed. “Are you ready?”
“Fine, I’m coming,” called Harry back, not feeling too  confident. As he walked 
towards the  table, the  crowd of  students  parted for  him, making a path for  him to  go 
through. It was as if he had a shield around him that pushed everyone away from him. 
When Harry got to the table, he pulled out the chair opposite of Ak and sat down, 
staring at Ak’s smiling face. He was shuffling his  deck, wearing a very distinct and evil 
grin. Apparently, he was trying to intimidate Harry, and psyche him out or something. But, 
it wasn’t his expression that was affecting Harry, it was the group of students  watching 
them that was. There were so many of them, and they were all compacted into a very small 
space, all staring right at them… observing their every move. It was like Harry was under a 
microscope, and hundreds of scientists were trying to look in it at the same time.
Despite  all of these distractions, Harry quickly shuffled his deck and put it into 


the slot in the table. He saw Ak do the same, and the battle began. The table dealt Harry his 
five starting cards. 
“Not too  bad,” said Harry to  himself, eyeing his  starting hand. “A Hippogriff, a 
Stupefy Spell, an Electo Poli, a Phoenix, and an Engorgio Spell.”
“Now, let’s see  who goes  first,” said Ak, tapping the table with his wand. A large 
and shiny coin appeared in the  middle of the table. It looked like  a larger version of  a 
Galleon. “Do you want wizard or ministry?”
“Huh?” asked Harry, very confused. “What are you talking about?”
“You know,” sighed Ak. “It’s like the Muggle version of heads and tails. There’s a 
wizard head on one side of a Galleon, and a picture of the Ministry of Magic on the other. 
Which side do you want?”
“Wizard  side,”   said  Harry.  “You  know   about  heads   and tails,  eh?   Are   you  a 
Muggle-born, Ak?”
“Well… yeah,” said Ak, not looking as though he  were  very comfortable  about 
talking about that issue. “You want wizard… okay!” He tapped the holographic coin, and it 
flew into the air, spun around a few times  and then landed back on the  table  in Harry’s 
favor.
 “It is wizards,” sighed Ak, “you go first.” The galleon disappeared, and the game 
began. The table dealt Harry his card.
“A Lumos Spell,” said Harry to himself as the card appeared before him. After a 
few seconds  of  consideration, he  figured out what he  was going to play. “For my first 
action, I’ll play a phoenix.” Harry grabbed the holographic phoenix, and placed it out on 
the field. The usual burst  of  lights  came and the  small  holographic  fiery bird appeared, 
flapping its wings and singing every now and then. 
“Next, I  will  play my  Hippogriff.”  Harry  did  the  same  thing he  did with the 
phoenix, and the very small version of the Hippogriff appeared, flying around the phoenix, 
and trying to get it to play. “Your turn.”
“Very well,” said Ak, getting his card. “Time for the first  step on the journey 
towards your defeat, Harry. For my first action, I will play Grindelwald, the Dark Wizard.” 
Ak dragged the card out onto the table and the  small Grindelwald appeared. He looked a 
lot like Voldemort, around the same height and build. However, instead of being white all 
over, he  was rather… bumpy. He had scabs, scars, boils, and blisters  all over his  skin, 
nearly covering all of his body. In fact, the only thing that was entirely visible was one eye 
that had red veins popping out all over. He looked more like something you’d expect to 
find in a toilet after you’ve thrown up in it than anything else.
“Wow,” said Harry, “I guess  this game has been around for  a while. Grindelwald 
died in 1945.…”
“Yeah,” said Ak, throwing off Harry’s comment. “Grindelwald is  a very vicious 
card. At any time, I can discard one of  my fighters  in play to  return a fighter  from my 
discard pile or my hand to play. It fits  Grindelwald well, he was known for  getting rid of 
old and obsolete followers in exchange for new ones.”
“Great….”
“Now, for my second action, I’m going to play… the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Ak put 
the card into play, and a blood-red and shiny Stone appeared. 
“Now what does that do?” 


Ak gave Harry a very wide grin.
“The two cards I have in play now, Harry, make one of the greatest combinations 
in the entire  game. You see, the Sorcerer’s Stone’s ability is, whenever one of my fighters  
would be discarded, I instead return it to my hand. Now, Grindelwald’s ability’s cost is  that 
I discard one  of  my fighters, but the Sorcerer’s  Stone  prevents my fighters  from being 
discarded. So, basically, I can put any number of fighters from my discard pile or hand into 
play during my turn.”
Harry’s mind was spinning. How could that good of a combo exist? Now, Harry 
would be unable to discard any of Ak’s fighters… how could he possibly win?
“That’s… good,” said Harry, unable to think of anything else.
“Your turn,” smiled Ak.
“Okay,” gasped Harry. “Well, since Grindelwald’s power is higher than either my 
phoenix’s or my Hippogriff’s, I’m not going to attack this turn.” Ak nodded, and the table 
gave Harry his card. Harry did a silent cheer.
“Yes!” he said to  himself happily. “A Korosucide  Spell! It discards one random 
card that my opponent has in play. Hopefully it will be the Sorcerer’s Stone….”
“Are you going to do anything?” asked Ak impatiently, leaning back in his chair. 
Harry shook himself back into reality. He had been staring at the holographic card for a 
while and didn’t even notice it.
“Yeah. For my first action, I will play… Korosucide!” Harry dragged the card into 
play and saw that it had an effect  on Ak. He immediately sat up and put his hands on the 
table, knowing that it  was a potential threat. Just as he did, the effect  of the Korosucide 
Spell took place. A small mushroom cloud appeared… right over the Sorcerer’s Stone, 
just as Harry had wanted.
“No!” yelled Ak. “You discarded it!”
“Sure did,” grinned Harry, watching the Sorcerer’s Stone’s  glow fade, and then 
move over to the discard pile. “And now  I am going to  play an Engorgio Spell on  my 
phoenix, doubling its  power from  eight to  sixteen, one  more  than Grindelwald’s! Next 
turn, when I attack, he’s dead! How’s that for a comeback, Ak?”
Ak didn’t say anything. He  just  let  the table give  him  his  card… and then he 
smiled. 
 “What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing,” said Ak, letting his face become  neutral again. “For my first action, I 
will play an Apoyiosi Spell on Grindelwald here. That spell makes all damage that goes  to 
him, come to  me instead. So, he’s safe  at least. Next, I’ll play… a Summoning Charm, 
which lets me draw five cards.” 
“Some nice moves,” said Harry, beginning to feel as though he was taking control 
of the board. “But, I don’t think they’re good enough, Ak.”
“Whatever.”
“It’s my turn now,” announced Harry, “and I will begin by attacking Grindelwald 
with my phoenix. Since it had the Apoyiosi  Spell  on it,  you take sixteen damage, Ak.” 
Harry watched as  the  top sixteen cards  of his deck went to the discard pile  and couldn’t 
help but smile. He let the table give him his  card: another Stupefy. Those wouldn’t be any 
good right now, though. Ak wouldn’t dare attack with Grindelwald anyways.
“For my first action, I’ll draw a card,” said Harry, not having anything better to do. 


The table  dealt  him  his  card:  a Merging Spell. Now, he  could  combine  his  souped-up 
phoenix and Hippogriff into a superior creature. “For my last action, I’ll combine my two 
fighters into one, using the Merging Spell!” 
Harry flicked the  card into  play, and watched as  his  two minions  became one. 
They both shone  a bright silver, and then flowed together, like  liquid metal. It became 
harder, and took shape. Color started coming back to the creature, and it gave off a single, 
bright   light.  What   was   revealed  was   a   very  interesting  beast.   It   had  the   body  of   a 
Hippogriff, but the wings and head of a phoenix. It didn’t look like it could really hold its  
own in the wild, but it was more than a match for Ak in this game. 
“Your turn,” said Harry mockingly. Just three attacks with his new fighter, and the 
game was over. Harry could taste victory. Ak just sighed, and took his card.
“First, I’ll  play another  Summoning Charm,” said Ak, getting five more  cards. 
“Then, I’ll play a Banishing Charm.”
“What does that do?” asked Harry curiously.
“Well, I flip a coin,” said Ak, tapping the table with his wand and making the same, 
large Galleon appear again. “If it’s  wizards, then you have to  discard all but one card in 
your hand. If its Ministry, then I have to discard all but one card in my hand.”
“Sound like fun,” said Harry, not having anything really spectacular to lose.
“Let’s go!” cried Ak, flipping the coin. It shot up in the air again, spun around, and 
then landed. Once again, in Harry’s favor. “Oh no! Ministry!” 
Harry let a small chuckle get out as he watched all but one of the cards  in Ak’s 
hands soar over to his discard pile. Harry heard the same from the crowd around him… 
Ak’s   luck   was   definitely   somewhere   else   today.   First   Harry   went   first,   then   the 
Korosucide Spell worked perfectly, and now he lost almost his entire hand! 
“Too bad,” said Harry. “But, it’s my turn now. Of course, I will attack Grindelwald 
with my new Hippo-Phoenix, making you lose twenty cards, Ak.”
“Yeah yeah,” he sighed, “I know.”
“Next, I’ll take my card.” The table shot it at Harry: a Fotia Poli. “Excellent. Now 
I can end this match even sooner.” 
“How so?”
“I’m playing Fotia Poli now,” smiled Harry. “In case you don’t know, it makes you 
discard the  top five cards  of your deck, unless  you have three  or  more  fighters  in play, 
which you obviously don’t.”
“Yeah yeah, I know what it does,” hissed Ak, watching five more cards leave his 
deck. 
 “Now, I’ll just draw another card,” said Harry happily. He could have jumped for 
joy when he saw what it was: another Engorgio Spell. Next turn, he was going to double his 
Hippo-Phoenix’s power, and finish off Ak. 
“My turn,” announced Ak with a very appropriate sad tone to his voice. He took 
his card, and retained his  neutral face. Harry couldn’t tell if what he drew was going to 
help him or not by his expression, he’d just have to wait and see.
“I’m going to play,” he announced, “the Kamikaze Spell!”
“What does that do?”
“Yet again, I flip a coin,” said Ak, making the Galleon appear again. “If it’s wizard 
side, you discard all but one card of your deck, if it’s Ministry side, I discard all but one 


card of my deck.”
“Sounds pretty risky,” said Harry, suddenly getting a small pang of nervousness.
“Yeah, and it comes at a cost too,” sighed Ak. “I have to discard all of my fighters  
in play… so bye bye Grindelwald.” Harry laughed out  loud as Grindelwald exploded in a 
pussy mess, and then hovered on over to Ak’s ever growing discard pile.
“You’d better hope you get Wizard side up,” said Harry, not wanting at all for that 
to happen.
“Believe  me,” said Ak, tapping the  coin with his  wand, “I am.” The coin, once 
again, flew into the air, spun around, and landed with a burst of laughter and shock from the 
crowd and Harry.
“Ministry side!” exclaimed Harry, nearly falling over in his  chair. “Ak! What’s 
going on with you today?”
“I… don’t… know…” said Ak through gritted teeth as he watch almost all of his 
cards fly on over to the pile of garbage. “I’ll end my turn early this time.”
“Whatever!” said Harry ecstatically, throwing his  hands into the air. He couldn’t 
believe it. He was going to beat Ak… again! “I’ll just  attack you with my Hippo-Phoenix 
and-”
 “Not so fast!” yelled Ak suddenly.
“What?” said Harry. “I’m attacking you with my fighter. The game’s over! I win!”
“Not really…” said Ak with a really horrible grin on his face. 
“What are you talking about?” asked Harry, beginning to get a little annoyed. “You 
have no cards in your deck! I have won!”
“No, Harry,”  said  Ak quietly.  “The  battle  has  just   begun. For   you  see,  I  am 
playing… Hell’s Concoction.”
“How can you play that?” yelled Harry. “It’s not even your turn!”
“But that’s  just  it,”  smiled Ak. “Hell’s  Concoction  only activates  under  three 
distinct conditions: one, it  has to be in your hand; two, you have to  have only used one 
action during your previous turn; and three, you have to have only one card in your deck.”
“Well,” said Harry, feeling a little nervous, “what does it do?” 
Ak’s grin became so wide, Harry thought it was going to fall off his face.
“First of all, it changes the game around so that it’s my turn. Then, it returns all of 
the cards in my discard pile to my hand, except for ten. Those go back to my deck.”
“What!?” yelled Harry among gasps of shock and surprise  from the crowd. “No 
card can be that powerful!”
“Hell’s  Concoction  is  the  potion  that brought You-Know-Who  back from  the 
dead,” whispered Ak, letting the table give him all but ten of his cards back. “Giving me a 
few cards is nothing compared to that.”
“That’s…not… fair…” whimpered Harry.
“Life’s never fair,” snarled Ak. “Anyway, back to the game. It’s my turn and I’ll 
start off my playing an Increase Time Spell. Now I have three actions. For one of them, I’ll 
play another Sorcerer’s  Stone, and for another I’ll play another Grindelwald.”
Ak threw  the  two cards  out on the battlefield,  really enjoying Harry’s face  of 
terror. 
 “And now I will play another Increase Time Spell, and using one of those new two 
actions, I’ll play a Voldemort.” There were a few screams, but not from seeing Voldemort 


appear on the field, just from  hearing Ak say the name. “Oh, and by the way, Voldemort 
kills your little  Hippo-Phoenix with his ability.”
“Yeah, I know,” spat Harry, watching his  fighter  die and then move on into  his 
discard pile.
“Now,   using   Grindelwald’s   ability,   I’ll   discard   Voldemort,   to   put   another 
Voldemort from my hand into play! But, thanks to Mr. Sorcerer Stone over here, the one I 
discarded stays in play.” The other Voldemort appeared next to the other one, and the two 
glared at each other, as if trying to prove that only one of them was the real one.
“What!” yelled Harry suddenly. “You have two Voldemorts!” Ak smiled.
“I have more than two Harry… I’ll ‘discard’ the two I have in play now to play two 
more Voldemorts! What are you going to do now!?” 
Two more  Voldemort’s  materialized on the  field, and it  was far  too  many for 
Harry. He might have been able to  deal  with one… maybe even two, but four…? How 
could  anyone  beat  that?  The four  Voldemort’s  appeared  to   be  furious  at  each  other. 
Apparently, they did not like the idea of there being more than one of themselves.
“And now… Harry… it’s time for you to lose.”
“How so?” questioned Harry, feeling like he wanted to tear out all of his hair.
“I shall  play…  The Dark Mark  card!”  Ak slammed it  down on  the  table,  and 
Voldemort’s  symbol, the  skull with the snake going through the  mouth appeared a foot 
above  the   table,   spinning  around  and  giving  off   green  smoke.   Some  of  the  younger 
students screamed and squealed at the sight of it.
“What does it do?” demanded Harry nervously.
“Shh!” said Ak. “What and see!” 
Harry looked at the table, and saw that the four Voldemorts  were  looking at the 
Dark Mark, fascinated with its being there.
“What are they doing?”
“They are performing the Dark Mark’s ability,” whispered Ak, watching them. “It 
is only activated when there are four Voldemorts in play.”
“But what does  it do?” asked Harry again.
“Oh, it deals one thousand damage to you,” said Ak as if it were nothing.
“One thousand damage!” yelled Harry.
“Shh!” said Ak again. Now, the four Voldemorts  were  walking over to the  Dark 
Mark and they spread out around it, making a square if they were connected. Each of them 
raised their wands to the Mark, and a red beam shot out of each, hitting it. It glowed red, 
getting darker and darker every second, until it was suck a dark red it was almost black. 
Then, suddenly, the Dark Mark exploded. But, this wasn’t a normal explosion with 
gas and smoke, this explosion made skulls, skeletons, spirits, eyes, body parts, everything 
fly out  of  the  Mark, each thing giving off  unearthly screams. Now, the  older  students 
joined the younger ones in giving yelps and hiding.
The   explosion  filled   the  entire   table,   and  it   continued   for   a  while.   But,  it 
eventually did clear, and when it did, all of Harry’s deck was in the  discard pile, and the 
four Voldemort’s had their arms crossed and were smiling.
“I… lost…” said Harry to himself.
“Yes… yes you did,” said Ak, grinning.
Just then the crowd around the table burst into applause and cheers. Apparently, 


they had all loved Ak’s spectacular comeback and wanted to show him just how much they 
liked it, especially since Harry had beaten him last time.
“Hooray for Ak!” they all yelled, patting him on the back and cheering him on. 
The students gathered around him until the inevitable came, and Ak was lifted on top of all 
of their shoulders, smiling and cheering along with them. The group of students, with Ak 
on top as if he had scored the winning touchdown for a football game, marched around the 
room a few times and then left, leaving Harry all alone, except for his cards… and Ron.
“You played well,” said Ron, patting Harry on the back.
“Yeah yeah, whatever,” said Harry quickly, taking his  deck out of  the  slot  and 
beginning to  feel   really terrible.  Losing  the  Dueling Tournament or  the  Wizard Duel 
Tournament wasn’t so bad if it  was only one, but both? Two big losses  on top of  each 
other? It was enough to depress  even the happiest of men. “I’ll beat him next time.”
“Sure you will,” said Ron, walking his friend out of the deserted room. “It was a 
great game though, a really spectacular comeback. I mean, no one… no one ever expected 
him to play that-”
“Okay Ron!” said Harry, putting his hand up in front of Ron’s mouth.
“Yeah, sorry,” said Ron, clearing his  throat  and continuing to walk out  of the 
room.
 “There you are!” came  a very nice voice from  just ahead. Harry looked up, and 
saw Cho in front of them. “I thought you’d never come out of that room! I looked all over 
for you in that  crowd that just  came  by! But, here  you are, so…  are  you ready to  go 
Harry?”


Chapter 13- Extreme Quidditch
Harry looked up at Cho and immediately, his spirits rose. She was the only thing 
that could truly cheer him up after miserably losing the final match. She  alone  had the 
power to make his spirit dance.
“Well…?” she said again, looking ravishing. She looked more like a goddess  than 
a human; she gave off some sort of aura of wonderfulness wherever she went. Tonight, she 
was   wearing  a   very  tight   silvery  shirt   that  was   encrusted   with  what  appeared   to   be 
thousands of little  diamonds. Her pants were  actually rather plain in comparison to her 
top; blue bellbottoms with a few flower patches on them, and her hair was not done up in 
any particular manner, just down and looking long. But, Harry didn’t mind at all. For all he 
cared, she could have worn a paper bag and she still would have been the most beautiful 
creature on Earth.
“Hello! Earth to Harry!” said Cho, waving her hand on front of Harry’s face. Harry 
quickly shook himself  back into the  real world, still  wondering how someone  like  her 
could possible like him.
“Oh yeah, I’m ready to go,” said Harry quickly, beaming. 
“Excellent,” smiled Cho. 
“I’ll see you later, Ron,” said Harry hastily, running up to Cho and blindly waving 
to his friend.
“Yeah, see  you,” said Ron back, sprinting off  in  the  direction  of  what  Harry 
thought was where Ak and his group of new fans went. 
“I’ll be  right  back Cho,”  said Harry. “I just  have to  change out  of my school 
clothes quickly.”
“Alright,” she said, her arms crossed. “I’ll be right here when you come back.”
“I’ll be back before  you know it,” said Harry, running off as fast as he could, all 
the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. 
“Hey, tough luck there  Harry,” said Chris  when Harry arrived. He and just a few 
others were there. Except for a few occasions, this  was the emptiest Harry had ever seen 
the Common Room. “Too bad about your game.”
“Yeah yeah,” said Harry, throwing him off, and sprinting to his  dorm room. He 
quickly tossed of his black school robe, and threw it on his bed. He ran over to the mirror, 
tidied up his hair to the  best of his  ability, and went back downstairs. He opened up the 
door that lead to the rest of the school, and heaved a sigh.
“Oh no, not now!” yelled  Harry to himself.  He  looked in front  of him, to  the 
staircases  that were usually laid out in some sort of logical pattern. But tonight, they were 
feeling adventurous, and now… now there  was no rhyme or reason to their layout. Some 
stairs were twisting and turning, looping around others; some  were flipped left or right, 
and others  were even totally upside down. “Now how am I going to get back to Cho in 
time?”
 Harry looked around desperately for a staircase that was walkable and found one 
that headed off in a direction that he had never been to  before.  Harry ran down it, and 
arrived at a very old looking and decrepit door. He opened it quickly, and found himself in 
a dark corridor. But, there was a dim light at the end, and it was the only path that he could 
take, so Harry ran down it, not having a clue where he was going. 


He soon arrived at the end of the tunnel, and it was lit by a single, flickering light 
bulb that appeared as  though it was going to burn out any second. In front  of  him, there 
were three tunnels, each with a wooden sign above it.
“Headmaster, Death, and Main Corridor,” read Harry. “Well, I don’t think I’ll take 
the Death hallway, and Headmaster  seems  like one  for  Dumbledore,  so I’ll  take  Main 
Corridor. Maybe that will take me where I want to go.” 
Harry ran down the slightly brighter tunnel, but not for long, and ended up right 
where the sign had said: The Main Corridor, where the rest of the hallways in the school 
spread out from.
“Good, I can find my way from here,” said Harry to himself. He looked behind 
him to  see the tunnel that had brought him here, but where he came out, there was now 
only a wall. “What!? I could’ve sworn that it was here a second ago.”
Harry examined the wall, but couldn’t find a single opening in it. He put his hand 
up to the wall, and nearly yelled  out in surprise. His  hand went right through the solid 
brick! It was a interesting feeling and sight having your hand move through the wall as if it 
were made out of liquid.
“I wonder how many of  these  little  passageways there  are  in this  place,” said 
Harry to himself, happy that he had found one of Hogwart’s many secrets. “I’ll explore it 
later, got to go see Cho now.”
“Absolutely  not!”  came  a  very loud voice  that made  Harry jump. At first,  he 
thought it  was from  someone  who was reading his  his  mind and telling him not  to  go. 
Then, he saw that is was coming from one of the rooms in the hall. Harry crept up next to 
the one that the voice was coming out of and listened through the slightly opened door. 
“Sir,” came  another voice, much quieter. It sounded very familiar. “You should 
keep your voice down, a student may hear you.”
“Nonsense,” came  the  first  voice, slightly quieter  this  time. This  one was also 
familiar, even more so. “All of them are busy praising the new Ak kid for his victory over 
Harry.”
 Just   when  Harry  heard  his  name   said,  he   immediately  knew   who  that  voice 
belonged to and was surprised he didn’t recognize it  sooner. It was Dumbledore! But… 
how did he know Ak had beaten him? He wasn’t at the room when the club was meeting.
“But, you still haven’t gotten it yet, have you?” came the other voice.
“No,” said Dumbledore. “You-Know-Who has evaded me quite well, and I have 
been unable to get the Item from him. But I will get it eventually.”
What was Dumbledore talking about? What did Voldemort have… and why was he 
referring to him as ‘You-Know-Who’? Harry thought that Dumbledore of all people would 
call Voldemort by his real name.
“So he still has the Legendary Ingredient?”
“I’m afraid so,” sighed Dumbledore.
So it was true! Dumbledore  was trying to  get the Ingredients  for  the Immortal 
Potion away from Voldemort so he couldn’t make it. But, evidently Voldemort already had 
one, so the wizarding world was in trouble right now.
“Well…. Yeehaw,” said the other voice. Just from  that one  word, Harry figured 
out  who the  other  voice  was. It was Professor  Quirrell. Well, at least he knew for sure 
now that this Quirrell was definitely on the good side.


“Anyway,” said Dumbledore, “we both have lots of work to do, I think we should 
cut this meeting short and go back to our labors.”
“Agreed,” said Quirrell. Harry heard them starting to walk out, and began to panic. 
How could he hide? Then he remembered his  Animagus Invisibility Ring! Harry quickly 
transformed his entire  body into the Gryffin, just when the two of them walked out. Harry 
froze  for a second when he saw them exit into the hall, and stand right in front of him. 
Even though he knew he was invisible, it was still  eerie to have them both right there, and 
not see him. He still felt as though he was going to be caught. Harry held his breath, could 
feel his heart pounding in his chest, and tried not move at all.
“See you later, Headmaster,” said Quirrell.
“Yes, indeed,” said Dumbledore. Then, he  looked in Harry’s direction. “Wait a 
minute…”  Harry’s  heart  was  beating a  mile  a second, Dumbledore  was  walking  right 
towards him!
“What is that?” he said again, this  time looking directly at Harry. He bent over and 
put  out  his  arm out,  extending it  right at him. Harry  closed his  eyes,  waiting for  the 
inevitable…. He could feel  his  entire  body going cold already, awaiting the  impact  of 
Dumbledore’s hand on his face.
“Ack!” yelled  Dumbledore,  peeling  something  off   of  the  wall  and holding  it 
between his fingers. “Bugs on the castle walls! I need to get Filch to clean this place more 
thoroughly.”
Harry breathed the biggest sigh of  relief  that he  had ever done in his life. He 
opened his eyes and waited until both Dumbledore and Quirrell were out of sight, and then 
a little while longer, just to be safe, until he finally turned back into his normal form. 
“Oh man,” said Harry, checking his watch. “I have to get back to Cho!” Harry ran 
as fast as he could all the way back to where she was waiting for him outside the Wizard 
Duel Club room.
“There you are!” yelled Cho. “What took you so long!?”
“Staircase trouble,” panted Harry, out of breath.
“Well, we’ve got to really hurry now! Let’s go!”
   “Alright,” said Harry when he  finally caught  his  breath, “where are  we going 
tonight?” As soon as these words left  his mouth, Harry felt a small pang of guilt. So far, it 
had been Cho who had been planning all of their little  excursions; he had never helped in 
any way. But, Cho didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, she was smiling.
“Oh… some place I think we’ll both enjoy,” she said as they reached the doors  to 
exit the school. Harry quickly ran ahead and opened the door for her and presented the way 
with his arms.
“What are you doing?” asked Cho when she saw Harry.
“Um… holding the  door  for  you,” said Harry,  getting up from  his  bent  over 
position.
“Well… don’t,” said Cho, looking quite serious.
“Uh, why not?” asked Harry, letting the door close behind him.
“Well… err…” stuttered Cho. “Well, I just don’t think it’s right that you think 
you have to treat me differently just because we are different… well, you know.”
“Yeah,” said Harry quickly, not really knowing what to think. Shouldn’t he treat 
her differently? Cho walked forward and opened the door herself, Harry followed behind. 


“I  thought  your  game  may go  late,  so  I didn’t  want to  rent  a  broom   since  I 
wouldn’t know what time to tell him to come,” said Cho when they were outside.
“So, how are we going to get there?” asked Harry.
“With our  own brooms,”  said  Cho, moving to  the  side, and revealing Harry’s 
Firebolt and Cho’s… Firebolt?
“I didn’t know you had a Firebolt too!” said Harry, running towards his broom that 
was hovering slightly off of the ground.
“Well, I recently came into a large sum of money,” smiled Cho, “and I couldn’t 
think of a better way to  spend it then on a Firebolt. Now maybe I can keep up with you 
when we play again.”
“Oh, you kept up with me  fine  last  time,” said Harry, mounting his  broom. “In 
fact, if it wasn’t for Ak’s knowledge of the rules, we would’ve lost.”
“Oh Harry…” said Cho, mounting her broom and flying up with him. “You keep 
putting yourself down, you’re even better than you think.”
“So where are we going anyways,” asked Harry now that they were both in the air. 
“Just follow me,” said Cho, shooting off far ahead of Harry, her voice trailing. 
Harry grinned and flew forward with a massive burst of speed. 
“You can’t catch me!” giggled Cho, still ahead of him. She was a really good flier, 
and the Firebolt only enhanced her natural ability. Harry had to catch up to her somehow…
. 
 He got an idea. Harry transformed the top of his back into massive Gryffin wings 
and flapped them madly, easily and quickly overtaking Cho. Once he got right next to her, 
she gazed at his wings, and then let out a scream.
“AAAHHH!” she yelled. “Harry! What’s  going on!” She began flying erratically 
from side to side and she lost her grip. 
“Cho!” yelled  Harry, spinning around  and flying down  to  her.  She  was falling 
faster now, getting closer and closer  to the ground… could Harry make it  in time?  He 
flew down faster, putting so much energy into making the broom go forward that he felt as 
though he were running. He could just barely get her now… he had to just think of her as a 
Snitch! 
 With this new thought in mind, Harry grabbed onto Cho’s shoe and held onto her 
tightly.
 “I’ve got you!” he yelled down to her.
“Harry!” she yelled to him. “Don’t let go!”
“I won’t!” yelled Harry back. He gripped his broom now with his  legs, and held 
onto her with both of his hands now. Even though Cho was far from big, she was still  not 
the lightest  thing in the  world and was  getting harder to  hold onto. He had to think of 
something quickly!
“Cho!” Harry yelled down to her. “I’m going to let go!”
“What!?” she screamed back. “I told you not to let go! Don’t let go!”
“Don’t worry…” Harry said back, letting go of one leg.
“No Harry! No!”
“Don’t worry,” said Harry. “I’ll-”
 Just then, Harry’s grip finally loosened, and he let go of Cho’s other leg.
“Harry!” she yelled as she started falling again.


This time, Harry was prepared. He shot down, right passed Cho, and then stopped 
in midair, just below her. An instant later, Cho fell down, right onto Harry’s broom, less 
than a foot above the ground.
“Harry!” she yelled, brushing her hair back.
“Yeah?”
“Nice catch,” she grinned. 
“Thanks,” said Harry, flying back up next to Cho’s hovering broom.
“But, never do it again.”
“Sure thing,” said Harry, stopping next to her broom, and letting her get onto it.
“But you did scare me with those wings there.”
“I thought you knew I was an Animagus,” said Harry when they were back on their 
way. “After all, most of the school does from watching that Quidditch game.”
“Well,” sighed Cho, “I guess  I missed that match, and no one ever told me my 
boyfriend could become a bird.”
“Well, a gryffin actually.”
“Even better,” grinned Cho. 
The two of  them flew  on at  a regular pace, they didn’t want any more  falling 
accidents. Most of the way, Cho stared at Harry’s wings. Though, he couldn’t blame her: 
they were rather beautiful after all.
“We’re almost there,” Cho said a few minutes later. Harry looked around to see if 
he recognized where he was. There were lights and buildings everywhere, but Harry didn’t 
identify anything.
“Where are we?”
“On the outskirts  of Hogsmeade,” said Cho. “The ‘less formal’ part of the town…. 
Oh! There’s  where  we want to  be!” Harry looked where  Cho pointed, and saw a  large 
circular building that looked like a slightly smaller version of a Muggle stadium.
“What’s in there?”
“The greatest game in the world,” said Cho looking quite happy.
“Better than Quidditch?” asked Harry, slightly appalled. 
“Oh yes,” said Cho. “Definitely. Follow me inside, I’ve got reservations.”
“Alright,” said Harry, wondering  what  game  could be  possibly  be  better   than 
Quidditch. 
Cho did a fancy swerve down towards the ground, and Harry followed. They flew 
past the buildings and lights, and right above the heads of the mass  of people below them, 
not to mention some other brooms flying by. Harry was amazed that all of this was hidden 
from the Muggle world. It must have taken some very powerful spells to pull it all off.
After  just a few seconds  of soaring through the small  city, Cho stopped at the 
entrance of the stadium, and Harry did the same. 
“We can keep out brooms here,” said Cho, propping hers up against a large wall 
that had some  other  brooms  on it, though no other Firebolts.  Just  when the  tip of her 
broom  touched  the  wall, a small hand erupted  out of it  and grabbed the handle of  the 
broom, holding it securely in place.
“Those aren’t real hands, are they?” asked Harry tentatively. 
“Oh no,” said Cho. “It’s just an enchantment, though a very secure one. But come 
on and put yours up, we’ve got to get going!”


“Alright,” said Harry, letting a hand grab his broom too. “Lead the way!”
Cho led Harry through a massive, semi-oval shaped opening in the side of  the 
stadium. Harry saw that he and Cho were not alone going through, there were hundreds of 
other people all walking through the door as well, all talking excitedly.
“Where are we going?” asked Harry, trying to follow Cho through the throng of 
people, none of which he recognized from Hogwarts. All of them looked as though they 
were eighteen or twenty year olds, previous students, but not quite yet adults. Also, each 
of   them  appeared  to   be  punks:  varying colors   of   spiked  hair  with  black  jackets  and 
sunglasses. Kind of like more extreme versions of Bill Weasley.
“To our seats,” said Cho, grabbing hold of Harry’s hand and leading him into the 
heart of the stadium that was filled with even more people, only slightly more organized 
into  lines   before   three  goblin  cashiers.  She  pulled him  along a  bit  more,  passed  the 
goblins, and through another massive, semi-oval shaped door. 
The room that Harry entered  now was completely  different  from  the  previous 
ones. There were  hundreds, of  not  thousands of  small, skinny cylindrical  posts  with a 
different colored sphere on top, popping up every few feet  that seemed to fill  acres  of 
floor. But, the most surprising thing about the room was that there was not a single person 
in sight.
 “What is this room?” Harry asked.
“It’s the Portkey Room,” said Cho, seeming as though she was looking around for 
something in particular. “From here, you are taken to your seat by touching the correct 
sphere.”
 “Well, which one is ours?”
“This one!” exclaimed Cho, pointing to a golden one that was right up front. “Top 
notch seats! I’ve had them reserved for a while, just for this  occasion. Touch it with me 
and we’ll be taken there.”
Harry and Cho reached their arms out towards the golden sphere and touched it at 
the same time. Just when they did, Harry felt  the usual Portkey Transportation feeling. It 
was as if there was a hook, just behind his  navel, that tugged him into the sphere, a black 
oblivion forming all around him. 
The nothingness lasted for only a second. An instant later, Harry found himself in 
a small, white room with one entire wall made of glass. Outside of the clear wall, Harry 
could see the entire playing field. On one side, there were three hoops of varying height, 
and the same on the other side. The field seemed very familiar….
“Wait a minute, Cho,” said Harry. “This is just a Quidditch field.”
“Well, not really,” she said. 
“How so?”
“You’ll see,” said Cho. “Sit down, Harry.” She waved an arm to  four large and 
comfortable looking red chairs that were lined up next to each other. Harry sat down in 
one, and he could still see the entire field. These really were good seats.
“How much longer until the game starts?” asked Harry, bouncing up and down in 
his chair, wondering what it was going to be like
“Well,   thanks   to   your   delays,”   said   Cho   sarcastically,   checking   her   watch, 
“about… right now!”
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” boomed a voice that was only rivaled in volume 


by the giants. Even though the actual announcer was nowhere near him, the sound still blew 
Harry backwards into his  chair. “WELCOME TO THE FIRST MATCH OF THE YEAR IN 
EXTREME QUIDDITCH!”
“Extreme Quidditch?” asked Harry, his ears  ringing already.
“Yeah, it’s really cool,” said Cho on the edge of her seat.
“PLEASE   WELCOME   THE   VISITING   TEAM…   THE   LONDON 
LACERATORS!” 
The crowd around the playing field burst into a mass of applause and boos as eight 
players flew out on the field, waving their arms madly and doing fancy midair tricks. Harry 
noticed   that   all   of  their   brooms  were  severely   damaged,  bandaged  up  all   over   with 
splinters  sticking out  and cracks everywhere. Each of the players  were  wearing massive 
gloves  and hockey masks, prevented Harry from  seeing their faces. But, through their 
black and metallic  uniforms, Harry could see  that  their arms  were  heavily scarred and 
bruised all over.
“Why are there eight players?” asked Harry, noticing that there was one more than 
usual.
 “Well, there’s the normal seven players,” said Cho, leaning closer to Harry so he 
could hear them, “and then there’s a Placer. At first, he plays as a mixture of a Chaser and 
a Beater, but then, when a player dies, he takes over that player’s previous position.” 
“Dies?” gulped Harry.
“Oh yeah,” nodded Cho. “In Extreme Quidditch, players do tend to do that. Most 
teams  would like  to have three  or four Placers, you know, so that they can replace their 
other teammates  after the first one dies.”
“Sounds horrid,” shuddered Harry.
“It’s great,” said Cho, turning her attention back towards the field.
“AND NOW… THE HOME TEAM! THE HOGSMEADE HELL-RAISERS!” 
Eight more  players  flew out onto the  field, wearing the same  gloves  and masks 
and the same quality brooms, only these ones were wearing red uniforms  instead of black. 
Again, the stadium erupted into applause, only adding the already off-the-charts  amount of 
noise that was going on. 
“PLAYERS! TO   YOUR  POSITIONS!”  thundered  the   announcer.   The   sixteen 
players  shot over to their spots: the Keepers to the goals, the Chasers  lined up in front of 
each other, the Beaters  were above them, the Seeker was above them, and then the Placer 
was out flying around the field, ready for anything. Even though Harry couldn’t see their 
faces, he could tell that the players were spitting and screaming at each other by the fluids 
pouring out of their masks. 
“RELEASE THE BALLS!”
In the  middle  of  the  field, a  small  hole  opened up and the  Quaffle, then  the 
Bludgers, then the Snitch shot out.
“Well, other  than the  Placers  and the extreme  amount of  violence,  the  actual 
game is  not so different than regular Quidditch,” observed Harry.
“NOW! SET THE FIELD!” 
All  of  a  sudden,  dozens  of   smaller  holes  appeared in the  ground  along with 
another much larger one. Massive flames  that went high above the  stadium’s  top poured 
out of the smaller holes, and a chained down Hungarian Horntail popped out of the larger 


one, gave an ear  shattering  roar, and then beginning to  spew  more  flames  all  around, 
making the air nothing more than one giant inferno.
“Okay,” squeaked Harry, slouching back in his chair from fear, “maybe it is a little 
different than regular Quidditch.”
“READY!…” boomed the announcer. “SET!… GO!
The effect of the announcer’s words was instantaneous. All of the players shot off 
in every direction, though mostly towards each other. Two of the Chasers on the London 
team  immediately went  for  two Chasers  from  the  Hogsmeade  team. They  crashed  in 
midair, and there was a fantastic  boom  and burst of fire. The announcer said something, 
but even his  insanely loud voice was drowned out by the crowd that was now in an ecstatic 
frenzy. 
 “AND HOGSMEADE MAKES THE FIRST GOAL! ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY 
TO ZERO!”
“One hundred and fifty to zero!” exclaimed Harry. “But… they only scored one 
goal!”
 “Yeah, but the rules  are  a bit different for Extreme Quidditch,” explained Cho, 
looking through the window. “Goals are worth one hundred and fifty points and the Snitch 
is only worth ten, but it still ends the game.”
“Why did they switch the points around?”
“Because if they kept the score for the Snitch the same,” continued Cho, “all the 
players  on the opposing teams would instantly go for their  opponent’s  Seekers, and the 
Placers  would be used up almost immediately.”
“Oh… ok,” said Harry, much happier that he was watching the game rather than 
playing in it.
Harry made attempts to see where the Quaffle currently was, but between the fire, 
smoke and dragon breath, it was impossible to see anything, except-
“AAAHHH!” yelled Harry and Cho together. One of the  players  on the London 
team had just crashed into their window. His face and hands were pressed up against the 
glass so hard that blood was coming out. But, he quickly pushed himself off and pulled his 
mask back down over his face.
“Sorry,” he mouthed to the two of them as he flew away, back into the game. The 
Hungarian Horntail  shot  a gigantic ball of fire, molten rock and smoke right at him that 
knocked him out of the sky and then down to the ground. The London Placer quickly took 
his place, and the dragon gave a smile.
“You know Harry…” said Cho, scooting over closer to him. “You know what all 
this fire, blood, violence and dragons makes me want to do?”
“What?” asked Harry, scooting in closer as well.
“It makes me want to…” said Cho, closing her eyes. “Kiss you.” 
Cho moved in for the kill, and her target was Harry’s lips. But, this was one attack 
Harry did not want to avoid. He brought his face a little closer to hers  as well. He could 
feel their heads coming closer and closer together… then their mouths touched.
“Why thank you!” came a voice suddenly.  
“That’s an odd thing to say,” said Cho.
“Uh… I didn’t say it,” said Harry, wondering what was going on. He opened his 
eyes and saw in front of him not Cho’s face, but a very massive and very round head.


“Ah!”   yelled   Cho,   scurrying   back.   “What   are   you   doing!?”
“Getting in on your little love-in,” piped the creature, smiling and battering his eyebrows. 
He looked almost exactly like the kid Harry had to fight at the Wizard Duel club meeting; 
big head and small body, only this  one’s  head was even bigger, and his  body was  even 
smaller.  He  had a tiny black jacket on, and what appeared to be extremely small wings 
popping out of his back. 
“What are you doing here!?” screamed Cho. “I reserved this box for Harry and me 
weeks ago!”
“Ahem,” squeaked another creature that looked identical to  the other that came 
into view from behind one of the other  chairs. “We also reserved this place weeks  ago. 
You can check our tickets.” He handed Cho two small pieces  of paper and she ripped them 
out  of his tiny hand. After a quick examination, she  handed them  back to him, looking 
venomous.
“And after all,” said the first one, “there are four chairs here after all!”
“Yeah,” sighed Cho, falling back into her chair and crossing her arms. “I suppose 
so.” The two creatures  smiled at each other with their enormous mouths and sat down in 
the two chairs  next to Harry.
“I just love… fire,” said one of the creatures, conjuring a bag of popcorn.
“And I love Quidditch!” squealed the one that was closest to Harry. 
“Will you keep it down?” yelled Harry, putting a finger to his lips. 
“Hey!” piped the one that was in the chair next to Harry. “Nice ring!”
“Yeah,” said Harry, quickly hiding his hand from sight. But, the creature followed 
his hand into the cushion of the chair. “Thanks.”
“How much you want for it?” interjected the other one immediately, jumping off 
of his chair and walking in front of Harry. He reached into his pocket, and took out a large 
sum of money. “I have hundreds of galleons….”
“No,” said Harry firmly. “It’s not for sale.”
“Are you sure?” asked the creature again, grinning and pushing the money further 
towards Harry’s face so far that it was in danger of going up his nose.
“Yes,” said Harry sternly, pushing the money back.
“Why not?” asked the other one curiously.
“It’s a… family heirloom,” said Harry quickly. “It has great sentimental value.”
The creatures eyed him inquisitively with their massive eyes for a second. Then, 
the one that had been offering him money put it all away, shrugged, and walked back to his 
seat, talking quietly with his friend.
“Is that really an heirloom?” Cho asked Harry.
“I don’t know,” shrugged Harry back. “For all I know, it could very well be.”
“What, did you buy it?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool,” said Cho. “You’ll have to take me to the shop sometime. It’s a really nice 
ring, maybe they have more of them.”
“Maybe,”  sighed  Harry, highly doubting  that  there   would  be  another  like  his 
anywhere. 
“AND  LOOK   AT  THAT DRAGON   GO!”  continued  the   announcer.  “THAT’S 
THREE GUYS HE’S TAKEN DOWN TODAY!” 


Harry returned to watching the game that now had several less  people playing in it 
than before. Harry tried  to make out some  of the players  on the  field, but it was even 
harder now than before, since  there were  fewer of them and they were more  spread out, 
except for the ones that were engaged in individual fights.
“OH NO! AND THE HOGSMEADE SEEKER IS DOWN!…. WAIT A MINUTE! 
NO! HE WAS JUST GOING DOWN TO GET THE SNITCH! HOGSMEADE WINS ONE 
HUNDRED AND SIXTY TO ZERO!”
The announcer said something else, but it was quickly drowned out by the roaring 
crowd. Amidst the lowering flames  and the leaving dragon, fans from the stands leapt out 
of their seats  and down onto the field, congratulating their team by suffocating them with 
their bodies.
“Well that was a short game,” said the little person next to Harry, sounding a little 
annoyed and disappointed.
“Yeah, too bad,” said Cho mockingly. “Why don’t you two leave now… go on! 
Shoo!” She waved her arms  furiously in the direction of the Portkey that brought them 
there.
 “Nah,” said the one father away. “We’re going to stay here  for a while, until the 
crowd calms down and we won’t get hurt if we try to leave.”
“Great,” sighed Cho. She leaned in closer  to  Harry and whispered, “Now we’ll 
never get any time together.”
“Why don’t we just  go somewhere  else?” whispered Harry back, looking at the 
two little things run face-first into the window and then drop to the floor giggling.
“No, most  of the places are  closed  by now, and the ones  that are open are just 
low-life taverns.”
“How about we go back to Hogwarts, then?” suggested Harry. “Maybe, if we’re 
lucky, no one’s out in the  halls  now. But, if there are some, we could just do this some 
other time.”
“Sounds better  than nothing,” groaned Cho, standing up. She  turned to the  two 
little creatures. “Boys… it has been a pleasure, but I’m afraid we have to go now. See you 
later.”
 “Bye bye!” they called back, banging their massive heads on the window.
“Freaks,”  muttered   Harry  as  he   walked  over   to   the   Portkey  with  Cho.  They 
touched the sphere together and were brought back to the same, giant room that had all the 
transports to the seats in it. Harry expected to see many people leaving now, but there was 
not a person in sight.
“Where is everyone?” Harry asked as they started walking out.
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t everyone leaving now?” continued Harry as they passed the goblin cashiers, 
two of which were asleep. “I mean, the game’s over.”
“Nah,” said Cho, shaking her head. “Now, the fun’s just  starting. The crowd will 
party with the winning team for hours.”
“So why aren’t we down there?” 
Cho looked at him.
“Trust me… you don’t want to be there.”
“Cho,” asked Harry when they exited the stadium through the huge open space, 


“how do you know so much about this Extreme Quidditch? Have you come to these games 
before?”
“Only once,” she said, “to test it out. My friends, however, have been coming for 
a few months now.”
“Do they like it?”
“Well, they more like the fact that prisoners are getting their just punishments.”
“What?’ asked Harry, confused. “What does Extreme Quidditch have to do with 
prisoners?” 
Cho stopped in her tracks.
“It has everything to do with prisoners!” she exclaimed. “Who do you think those 
people are playing on the teams?”
“Crazy people?” shrugged Harry.
“No. They’re all  prisoners,” said Cho. “Ever since  Azkaban was  destroyed, the 
Ministry   has   been  trying  to   find  out  new  ways   to  punish  criminals.   It   wasn’t  until 
Dumbledore suggested Extreme Quidditch that there has been a real good solution.”
“Dumbledore suggested it!” yelled Harry. 
“Oh yeah,” said Cho. “It’s an ingenious thought, really. It punishes  prisoners  by 
making practically putting them on death row every game, it  gives entertainment  to the 
people, and it brings in revenue for the Wizarding Government.”
“So Extreme Quidditch is still relatively new?” asked Harry, continuing to walk.
“Well, its only been around since the beginning of summer, so yes, I guess  that 
constitutes as new.” 
They had finally arrived outside the stadium and were at the wall were they hung 
up their brooms. Cho reached up and took hers down quite easily. As soon as she touched 
her broom, the hand holding onto it let go immediately.
“Go on,” she said, mounting her broom. “Get yours now.”
“Alright,” said Harry, reaching up to his. He grabbed onto the tip of the broom and 
tried to bring it down. But, no matter how hard he tried to pull the broom off of the wall, 
the hand would simply not let go.
“Err…. Get  down!” yelled  Harry, trying to tear it off  of the wall now. He was 
shaking the broom  furiously, almost in danger of breaking it. However, the  hand was not 
budging a bit.
“What’s wrong?” asked Cho, flying up a little
“My… broom… won’t… come off!” yelled Harry, still trying.
“Oh come on,” grinned Cho. “It’s not that hard.”
“Yes… it… is! It just won’t-”
Suddenly, Harry heard a very high pitched shriek ring out around Harry and Cho. 
He quickly let go of the broom, and looked around.
“What was that?” asked Cho, landing back on the ground.
“I don’t know,” said Harry quietly, taking out his wand. 
The shriek raised its  ugly head again and Harry covered his ears. This  time, it 
sounded much closer and was followed by a softer sound, like a cat landing on the ground.
“I think someone’s here,” whispered Harry, looking all around. 
“Oh no…” said Cho, sounding nervous.
Once again, the shriek rang out and it was as if it came from  right behind Harry. 


He quickly turned around, and behind him he saw one of the little people that was in the 
box with him and Cho. They were the ones making the sound.
“Ack! Not you!” yelled Harry, putting his wand away and covering his ears. “Stop 
making that noise!”
The creature  gave a smile, but this  time, its  mouth was filled with sharp fangs 
rather than normal teeth. It spread out its  arms and flew right at Harry, utilizing its  wings. 
The thing was much stronger than it looked; it pushed Harry over right on the ground and 
pinned him there.
“What are you doing!?” yelled Harry, fumbling for his wand.
“What…? Don’t you recognize me Harry?” grinned the creature. It put one of its  
tiny arms up to its face and then… pulled it right off, as if it were a mask. But, once Harry 
saw what was under the  mask, the fact  that he had worn a mask before  didn‘t matter. He 
tried to yell for help, but all he could do was say the name of the  person whose face he 
saw.
 “Wormtail…”


Chapter 14- Surprises
“That’s  right   Harry!”  yelled   Wormtail.   It  was   an  eerie   sight.   The  thing  had 
Wormtail’s  head, but the tiniest body in the world, not to mention fairy-like wings. Even 
though it  was  subduing Harry at the  moment, he  still  had to try hard not  to laugh. But, 
despite its  comical look, Harry still had to do something.
“Cho!” Harry yelled. “Fly away and get help!”
“I’m trying!” she replied. “But this one isn’t letting me go!”
Harry looked  over and saw that she was being pinned down by the other little 
person that shared their box. He had also taken his mask off, but Harry didn’t recognize 
who he really was.
“What do you want, Wormtail?” asked Harry through gritted teeth.
“You know what I want,” he said, making the rest  of his  body grow back to its 
normal  size. “I want your Ring! Well,  actually, I don’t want it…  my master does, for 
another one of his  beautiful plans. Remember, Harry, in the stands I offered you money 
for it, but you declined. Now, I’m afraid I’ll just have to take it.”
“Oh  yeah,”   said   Harry.   “What  are   you   going   to   do?   You  can’t   hurt   me… 
remember? I saved your life. Any spell  you use on me will just be reflected back onto 
you.” 
 To this, Wormtail just grinned.
“Yes, that is  true,” said Wormtail, reaching into his  pocket for something. “But, 
that shield can only protect  you from  magic. There’s  nothing preventing me from using 
Muggle tools  against you.” From his pocket, he took out a small dagger.
“Fine! Fine!” said Harry, trying to quickly make a plan in his mind.  “I’ll give you 
the Ring, but leave Cho alone!”
“Hmm…” thought Wormtail. “I think… not.”
“What!?” yelled Harry, his plan suddenly being flushed down the drain. Wormtail 
grabbed hold of Harry’s hand, the one with the rings on it.
“I think I’ll keep the girl… and just cut the ring off!” 
“NO!”
Wormtail brought the knife back to get some momentum on it and then brought it 
forward, aiming right for Harry’s finger.
An instant before the cold, sharp metal came in contact with Harry’s flesh, he did 
the only thing he could think off. Harry did the fastest Gryffin transformation he ever did 
in his life. Wormtail missed his now invisible paw. 
With his increased Gryffin strength, Harry flipped Wormtail over onto the hard 
pavement. He ran over to Cho who was still  pinned on the ground by the now fully grown 
Death Eater. Harry head-butted him off of her and threw her onto his own back. 
“Cho!” Harry yelled, quickly transforming his head into his normal form. “Hit the 
hand holding my broom  with some  sort  of  spell  and get  it  off!  Wormtail   must  have 
enchanted it or something!”
“Alright,” she said, looking a little shaken. She took her wand out and aimed it at 
the hand holding onto Harry’s broom. “Siragus!” 
There  was a small  explosion on the wall, and when the  smoke cleared, the hand 
was severely damaged, more  than enough for Harry to easily pluck his  broom  off of it. 


Harry transformed his head back into the gryffin form, and flew high into the air, well out 
of the way of the magical beams that Wormtail and his cohort were shooting at them.
“Here, you can get on your broom now,” said Harry after they had been flying for 
a little while, only transforming his mouth this time. 
“No,” said Cho, breathing deeply. “I think I’d rather just ride you home the rest of 
the way.” 
She put her arms around his mane, and gripped tightly.
Even though Cho couldn’t tell through Harry’s transformed gryffin mouth, he had 
the biggest smile on his face that he had ever had in his life.
“I really had fun tonight, Harry,” said Cho once they reached Hogwarts. Harry had 
purposely taken a longer route back to the castle, with the hopes of having an empty castle 
to   themselves.   But,   with  the   later   curfew  instituted   my   Dumbledore,  children   were 
crawling throughout the halls everywhere. The two of them didn’t want to take too much of 
a risk, so they decided to call  it  a night. They stopped at the hallways coming out of the 
Great Hall that led to the four houses’ common rooms.
“Even though falling off the  broom  wasn’t too  hot, those two idiots  taking our 
room, and then that whole attacking thing at the end totally wrecked it,” continued Cho, 
“flying home on you made up for it.”
“Any time,” smiled Harry.
“Let’s try to do this again sometime… that is, without all the bad parts,” said Cho 
as she bent down a little and gave Harry a kiss.
“I think that’s a great idea,” grinned Harry.
“See you later,” said Cho, walking back to the Ravenclaw Common Room.
“See you,” said Harry waving good-bye. After she walked out of sight, Harry did a 
few spins out of pure happiness  and then started on his way back to the Gryffindor Room.
As he was walking, thoughts  were buzzing in Harry’s mind. All that he had seen, 
heard and experienced this night was coming back to him. Dumbledore confirming Harry’s 
suspicions  that Voldemort  was after  the  Ingredients  for  the  Immortal Potion, Cho, the 
Extreme  Quidditch  match,  Cho,   Dumbledore  establishing  a   very  violent   method   for 
exterminating criminals, Cho, and Wormtail attacking him and demanding the Ring, and 
last but definitely not least, Cho… again.
So… Voldemort  was taking more  desperate  measures  to  get  Harry’s Ring. He 
wasn’t just coming into his dreams anymore, now he was all out attacking him in a public 
place. Harry had to be careful, especially when field trip time came around.
“Speaking of which,” said Harry to himself when he had reached the door to the 
common room. “The field trip’s not too far away now… only about two months…. Wizard 
Duel.” The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open after hearing the password that Harry had 
insisted upon. When he walked in, he saw that Ron and Hermione, along with only about 
one or two others, were the only ones  still up. They were sitting in the two massive chairs 
that were  before the  fire, but Harry noticed that the chairs  were  pushed closer together 
now than they usually were.
“Hey there you two,” called Harry to them when he walked in.
“Oh, hello Harry,” said Ron back, turning around. “You’re back kind of quick. Did 
you have a fun night?”


“Oh…nothing too out of the ordinary,” said Harry back, pulling up a chair next to 
them. “A little Quidditch match, a lot of fire, and even a cameo appearance by Wormtail. 
Yeah, it was fun.”
“Wormtail was there?” said Hermione concernedly. 
“Yeah,  him  and  another  Death   Eater,”   said   Harry,  sitting  down.  “They were 
disguised as little fairly-like creatures  with big heads.”
“What were they doing there?” asked Ron.
“What do you think?” said Harry sarcastically, holding up his hand and pointing to 
his skull ring. “They want this… or at least, Voldemort does.”
“So he does know about the Ring… not good,” said Hermione.
“Yeah, but that’s not all he knows about,” sighed Harry.
“Why, what else does he know?”
“Well,” said Harry, scooting in even closer to them and checking around to make 
sure that the others in the room were nowhere near hearing distance of the three of them. 
“When I was walking back from my room to meet Cho, I accidentally found myself in this 
part of the castle that I’d never seen before. From there, I managed to get out into the main 
hallway and I heard Dumbledore talking to Quirrell.”
“Quirrell?” asked Ron, scrunching his face a little. 
“Yeah,   Quirrell,”   continued   Harry.   “Anyway,  Dumbledore   said   to   him   that 
Voldemort already has one of the Ingredients, and he’s failed to get it from him.”
“He said Voldemort’s got one!?” exclaimed Hermione.
“Yeah,” said Harry, remembering that Dumbledore referred to Voldemort as You-
Know-Who and not by his real name.
“Well,” said Hermione, trying to find something to be cheerful about, “he’s only 
got  one. I have one  too,  the  Bracelet;  and Dumbledore  has the  other,  the  Watch; and 
Professor  McGonagall has  the  Sorcerer’s  Stone; and you, Harry, have the  Ring. So, as 
long as things stay the same as they are now, we’re in no trouble.”
“Yeah… if things stay the way they are,” sighed Ron.
“Oh come on Ron!” said Hermione, hitting him on the arm. “Try and look on the 
bright side of life.”
“Anyway,” said Harry, trying to follow Hermione’s advice and change the subject, 
“what are you two doing down here anyway?”
To this, Hermione and Ron looked at each other and grinned. 
“Oh Harry…” said Hermione. “You know we’d never pass up a chance to hear how 
it went with you and Cho.”
The weeks  went by, and the excitement for the  field trip was building to almost 
the point of  explosion. All that anyone was talking about, except for the  first  years  of 
course,  was  the  trip.  Even Harry, Malfoy, Ron, and  Hermione  were  drawn into  a few 
conversations. From these, they figured out that it would actually be a very exciting time. 
Students would form groups of five, and along with a guide, they could go anywhere they 
wanted inside the pyramid. In fact, the only bad part about the trip was that it  started the 
day after  Christmas. Even though this didn’t affect  Harry too much, students that would 
like  to see  their families  over the  winter holidays were a little hurt. But, their  pain was 
short-lived. Once  they  remembered  why they would  not  be  seeing their  families   this 


holiday, they practically forgot all about them. 
Despite all of this excitement, December twenty-fifth rolled around, much faster 
than  Harry expected  it to.  As  usual, and it  was  practically  a tradition  now, Harry  was 
awoken by a forcefully thrown present from Ron, right on his face. 
“Arg!” groaned Harry from the impact. This year, he had perfected his aim and had 
hit Harry’s face with a corner of the box. “Stop doing that!”
“Sorry,” said Ron, not very apologetically. “Force of habit.”
Harry sat up and pulled his glasses  on over his face, letting the world come into 
focus  around him. He saw that Ron was at the end of his bed, piling his presents up in one 
massive stack. Seamus and Dean were getting right down to the point and tearing the paper 
off of their gifts, revealing the goodies  hidden within. Harry looked down at Neville’s bed 
and was unsurprised to see  that he wasn’t there, and neither were his presents. He was 
probably spending his Christmas  with Voldemort…. In fact, that’s probably where  he had 
spent the nights for the past two months, no one had seen him anywhere but classes  since 
the last Dueling Club meeting.
“Come on Harry!” yelled Ron again, making his gigantic stack of piles float in the 
air in front of him as he walked behind them. “Hermione wants us to open them together… 
again.”
 “Yeah, that’s so bad,” said Harry, climbing out of bed and waddling over to his 
gifts. He gave a big yawn and put the same spell on his that Ron did to the presents he got. 
He  magically   lifted   them   up,  too  tired   to   carry  them   manually.  He   followed  Ron 
downstairs  to  the common  room  which was filled with students, all  taking  part in the 
holiday cheer.
“Hey Harry!” called Mike, swinging a massive mug of Butterbeer from side  to 
side,  looking  almost   intoxicated.  “Come  and join  our fun!” He  waved  his   arm  in  the 
direction of  Akshay, Joe  and Chris, each of whom was doing the  same, only their arms 
were around each other’s  necks, and they were swaying from side to side, each drunkenly 
singing a different song.
“No, that’s okay,” said Harry, squinting an eye.
“I didn’t think that stuff was so strong,” said Ron, looking over in their direction.
“For some… I guess it is.”
  The two of them walked over to the same corner that they went to last year, with 
Hermione already there, with her small pile of presents too. 
“What took you so long?” she demanded.
“Harry slept in again,” said Ron, setting his  pile down and walking over to her. 
“Like usual.”
“Hey, it’s  not my fault you take so long to wake me  up,” grinned Harry, sitting 
down next to them with his stack nearby.
“Yeah  yeah,   sure,”   Ron   said,   already  working   on   his  first   gift,  along   with 
Hermione who was furiously opening hers.
Harry went along with the crowd and started on his presents. He opened the first  
one, the usual: a cake from Mrs. Weasley, along with a new sweater for him that was just 
his size. There were a few other things from Mrs. Figg, Hagrid, Sirius, and even Lupin this 
time. But, the one Harry was most looking forward to opening was the one from Fred and 
George.


“I’ve never  gotten  a  present  from   just  the  two  of  them  before,”   said  Harry, 
holding the gift up to his ear and shaking it. 
“Well, they’ve never had anything to really give before  now,” said Ron, looking 
over his pile of wrappings  and empty boxes to  see  if there was anything else  left to  be 
opened.
 Harry set  the present down and grabbed the ribbon. He pulled it off, and the gift 
opened itself, like another one of their magical toys. Once it was fully open, a note shot 
up right at Harry’s face. He grabbed it and read it to himself:
Dear Harry,
We know how much you love these  things, and you’re not alone. These packs of 
cards are still the fastest  selling and hottest items  at our store. We would have given you 
more, but at the time  when we sent the present, there  weren’t many of them left. Don’t 
worry, though, we’ll make up for it soon.
See you later,
Fred and George
“Hmm…” said Harry sarcastically to himself. “I wonder what it could be now?” 
He opened the small box, tore past the next layer of packaging and revealed his present.
“What is it?” asked Ron, peering over.
“Wizard  Duel  card  packs!” grinned  Harry,  picking up  the  four  packages  and 
showing them to Ron.
“Only four packages?” said Ron.
“Yeah, well, it’s four more than I would have normally gotten,” said Harry, setting 
three  of them down so he could begin by opening one of them. He pulled the thin, shiny 
paper apart, and started shuffling through the cards inside, to get to the end quickly and see  
what his rare one would be. When Harry saw what it was, he dropped the other cards in the 
pack on the floor, and his mouth fell open.
“What!” yelled Ron, seeing Harry’s expression. “What did you get?”
“I got…” gasped Harry, turning the  card around so  they could see  it. “I got… 
Dumbledore!”
“Dumbledore!”  exclaimed  Ron  and Hermione.  Ron  quickly  grabbed  it  out  of 
Harry’s hand and looked at it with an awestruck expression on his face. 
“Wow!” he said, reading it over. “This thing is  even better than Voldemort… and 
its even rarer too!”
“Well  I would certainly hope  so,” said Hermione, trying her best not to look 
interested.   Harry   grabbed   the   card   out   of   Ron’s   hand  and   looked   at   it.   It   showed 
Dumbledore in a very interesting situation: he was in a long and flowing blue robe and was 
dancing around, making it billow out every now and then. Like Voldemort’s card, this  one 
was also holographic; the image was popping out of the card.
“Well… aren’t you going to open your other packs?” asked Hermione after Harry 
spent the next several seconds drooling over his new card.
“What…? Oh! Yeah!” Harry quickly shoved his  Dumbledore  card into his deck, 


and grabbed one of his  other packs. He tore the  packaging right off  and looked through 
them until he got to the rare one. 
“Oh… my… god…” whispered Harry.
“What?” asked Ron.
“Look at this!” yelled Harry, showing him the card.
“Another Dumbledore!” yelled Ron, looking as if he was an a state of disbelief.
“Wow Harry,” said Hermione. “I don’t know much about the game, but I’d say the 
odds of getting two Dumbledores  is pretty high.”
“Yeah, come one Harry,” said Ron. “Open your next pack! Who knows… maybe 
you’ll get another Dumbledore.”
“Yeah right,” said Harry, still  in a state of shock as he put his next Dumbledore 
into his deck and opened his next pack. “Imagine if I did get another-” Harry stopped. He 
got to the rare card in his pack and could have fainted right there.
“Another Dumbledore?” sighed Ron.
“Yeah,” gasped Harry, showing it to them. 
Ron grunted.
“Man, I can’t believe you!”
Harry quickly opened his last pack and just threw all the non-rare cards in the air, 
to get to it faster. As expected, there was another dancing Dumbledore, right there  before 
him. Harry quickly turned it to show his two friends, and then collapsed on the floor. 
“Geez Harry,” said Ron, crawling over to him. “First you’re made Prefect, then 
you’re   Gryffindor  Quidditch  team  captain,  then  you’re  the  Dueling Club captain  and 
champion, then you get Cho, then you get a near perfect O.W.L score, and now… now you 
have four Dumbledores.”
“Yeah,” said Harry, thinking just how lucky he really was. “But… I didn’t beat Ak 
at the Wizard Duel club.” 
Ron shook his head and snapped his fingers.
“Well, I guess you’re just a failure,” he grinned.
“Yeah, I am really pathetic,” smiled Harry, sitting up and putting his last two new 
cards into his deck.
“Come on you two,” said Hermione. “We should get packed up a little… we are 
leaving tomorrow after all.”
After a few more laughs on how bad Harry was at everything, the three of them 
cleaned up their massive mess and trudged back to their rooms, where they packed their 
bags in preparation of the trip.
Harry, along with most of the rest of the school, didn’t get much sleep that night. 
Even after the lights went out, it still  took several hours for him to finally fall asleep, and 
when he did he might as well not have seeing as he woke up only a few minutes later. 
This  time,  Harry didn’t want to  be woken  up  by  Ron’s  shakings, so  he  set  a 
magical alarm for the first time in his  life. Harry set  it so that only he could hear it, and 
woke up before  anyone else. He grabbed the small trunk that he had packed the day before 
and walked downstairs  when the  sun was  just  beginning to  rise   outside.  Harry took  a 
moment to look at the beautiful sight, and when he turned around to peer out the glass, he 
felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and sighed when he saw who it was.


“Good morning Dobby,” he groaned.
“Sir!” he piped. “This is your last chance! You is must leaving with me now!”
“No Dobby!” yelled Harry, loudly enough to  scare  Dobby a little,  but quietly 
enough so that he wouldn’t wake anyone else up. “I am going on the field trip and nothing 
bad is going to happen!”
“Please sir! If-”
“NO!” yelled Harry, much louder this time. “No. Please… just let me go.”
“Oh sir…” he sighed. “You is going to be wishing you had not gone….”
“Don’t count on it Dobby,” said Harry, picking up his trunk again and leaving the 
common room. “I’ll see you in a few days.”
“I is doubting it,” he squeaked a moment before he disappeared.
Harry walked all the way down to  the  Great  Hall, keeping a close  eye  out  for 
Dobby the whole time. When he arrived down in the room, Harry was surprised by seeing 
a few others down there, including Joe.
“What are you doing down here so early?” Harry asked, sitting down.
“Meh couldn’t sleep,” he groaned, leaning one side of his face on his hand. “Too 
excited.”
“I know what you mean,” said Harry, lying back in his chair and trying to work in a 
few minutes of rest before they left. But, his moment of peace didn’t last very long. Just a 
little while later, the rest of the school came pouring down into the room.
“Hey!” called Ron when he and Hermione arrived down. “You’re up before  me for 
once!”
 “First time for everything,” yawned Harry, getting himself up from his little nap.
“How much longer until we go?” asked Ron, sitting down and checking his watch.
“It should only be a few minutes now,” said Hermione. “Dumbledore is supposed 
to make an announcement-”
“Hello students!” Dumbledore suddenly spoke. “Hello! Good morning to you all. 
Are you ready for a field trip?”
“YEAH!” everyone yelled. Harry looked around and saw that now, all the second 
years  and above were in the  room. That place sure  filled up quickly when people were 
excited.
 “Well…”  he continued, sounding  a little  less  enthusiastic.  “I  have  a very  big 
surprise for you all then.”
“What is it?” screamed Joe and Mike together, still acting a little  drunk from the 
Butterbeer.
“Well… you see, I’m afraid the trip has been cancelled.”


Chapter 15- Hufflepuff’s New Seeker
At first, the Hall seemed to be in a state  of shock. Everyone was just staring at 
Dumbledore, as  if waiting for him to change his  announcement, and say that he was only 
joking, and the trip was still on. But… no such statement came.
“WHAT!?” yelled Chris  suddenly, breaking the silence. The Great Hall filled with 
very loud chatter, and everyone saying pretty much the same thing.
“What does he mean the trip’s off!?
“How can he do that!?”
“Can he do that!?”
“Now I won’t see any pyramids….”
“Please…   please…”  continued  Dumbledore,   putting  his  arms   out   and barely 
beginning to cease  the talk. “I apologize profusely for the lateness of this announcement, 
but I would not have cancelled the trip if it was not for extreme circumstances. I have to 
say, that if we left for this trip now, there is little chance that any of you would come back 
alive.”
 That shut up the chatter. Everyone trusted his  word, and if he said they were in 
danger, then they were all definitely in danger. There was no room for argument.
“However,” said Dumbledore, now putting a single finger  up, “while the  trip is 
cancelled now, it may only be postponed for later. As of now, the field trip is scheduled 
for late May. I ask you all to return here at that time in the same position you are now, and 
please, no revolts. So, now, would you please all check the schedule for the next week as 
you will be here now, and not away. I thank you all for your cooperation.”
And with  that, Dumbledore  walked down from  his  giant chair  without  saying 
another word. As soon as he got down from the podium, the mass of students in the room 
burst into a giant group of talking once again. This time, though, Harry was a part of it.
“I think I’m going to  go  talk to  Dumbledore  about this,”  he said to  Ron and 
Hermione quickly as he sat up, barely hearable above the rest of the conversations. “So I 
can see what’s behind this cancellation.”
“I’m coming too!” said Ron, jumping up.
“Me too!” called Hermione.
“Alright,” said Harry quietly. “I have the Invisibility Ring, and Ron can transform 
into the chameleon. But Hermione…” Harry dug into his packed trunk and grabbed the 
Invisibility Cloak out, throwing it to her. “You have to wear this.”
She nodded, and the three of them ran past the rest of the students, some of which 
were   already leaving  back  to  their  common  rooms,  wearing  dismal  and  disappointed 
expressions. Harry, Ron and Hermione  forced their  way through some  of  the kids and 
eventually caught up to Dumbledore who was quickly gliding along the floor down a hall.
“Dumbledore!” yelled Harry, jumping over another short student to get to him. 
“Yes?” he asked, turning around and sounding rushed.
“Well… I was- that is…” stumbled Harry. “What’s going on with the trip?”
“Ah yes,” sighed Dumbledore. “Well, you heard my announcement, didn’t you? 
Something bad came up, and we had to cancel it.”
“The cancellation… it didn’t have anything to do with a house elf named Dobby, 
did it?” asked Harry, hoping that it wasn’t his fault the trip was off.


“Dobby?” inquired Dumbledore. “No… he had nothing to do with it. Should he?”
“No, not at all,” said Harry, quickly throwing off that subject. “But, what was it 
exactly that made you call off the trip so suddenly?”
“Harry…” said Dumbledore, sounding almost a little  weak. “As much as  I trust 
and adore  you, I am afraid that I cannot  tell  you, and I hope that you will respect  that 
decision.”
“Yes, of course,” said Harry, covering himself  up from  the  cold and feeling a 
little disappointed that he hadn’t gotten more information.
“Now, I’m afraid I must be off, Harry,” said Dumbledore quickly, turning around. 
“The two of us have business that we must attend to.”
“We do?” stumbled Harry, turning around and seeing that Ron and Hermione were 
nowhere to be seen, just as they should be. “I mean- I do?”
“Oh yes,” he continued, not turning around, and putting an arm in the air. “I have a 
very important meeting to go to, and you have a very important Quidditch match. The new 
schedule says so.”
“Thanks you for telling me, professor,”  said Harry. But, Dumbledore  must have 
not  heard him. He  didn’t turn  around and just  kept  walking. Then, he said to  himself, 
“But… I think your  meeting is  more  important than my match. Come  on guys… let’s 
follow him.”
“Alright,” said Ron and Hermione together.
Harry grinned and made sure his  Animagus Invisibility Ring was on securely. He 
brought it  up a little  higher on his  finger and then quickly transformed into the gryffin, 
though no one,  not  even Ron or  Hermione, saw  him  do  it. He  slowly walked behind 
Dumbledore, trying not to breathe, hoping that Ron and Hermione were still with him. As 
unhurried as Harry thought he was going, he was unused to the Gryffin’s  walking speed, 
which was quite  fast  and quickly caught up with Dumbledore. He  followed him  into a 
classroom and quickly hid in a corner when he shut the door.
“Are   you   guys   in   the   room?”   Harry   called   out   telepathically   to   Ron   and 
Hermione.
“Yeah,” they both said.
“Right next to you,” added Hermione.
“Alright, follow me.”
Once the  three  of them were safe and secure, Harry took a look around, to  see 
who else  was in the room. He was surprised to see that, along with Dumbledore, every 
teacher in the school was in there. They were all sitting around a large, circular table, and 
they all had the same, bored expression on their faces.
“What is it Dumbledore?” asked an annoyed looking Quirrell. 
“Yes,”   said   Flitwick,   “some   of   us   were   especially   looking   forward  to   our 
chaperoning positions.”
“On the contrary,” interjected Snape, “some of us were not….”
“I will answer all of your questions,” said Dumbledore, sitting down and putting 
his hands in the air. “First of all… I am sorry to you all as well. I would not have stopped 
the trip if it was not completely necessary.”
“But  what  was  this   thing that   happened  that  made   it  completely   necessary?” 
demanded Quirrell.


“I  think we  all   know   the   answer  to   that,”  said  Dumbledore,   looking  around. 
“Voldemort was spotted around the pyramid, obviously expecting us. Who knows what he 
had in mind.”
“So you think he would have dared to attack us?” asked Flitwick.
“Even with you there?” said McGonagall.
“I believe,” said Dumbledore, “that Voldemort is desperate enough to attack even 
me. Though, I fear, that will no longer be an overstatement, as he is  becoming more  and 
more powerful by the day.”
For a few moments, no one spoke. There was nothing anyone could really say in 
response to that. 
“I can’t take it anymore!” yelled Professor  McGonagall suddenly, slamming her 
fist on the table.
“What is it Minerva?” asked Dumbledore.
“Oh, Albus,” she sighed. “I should have given this  to you long ago.” Amidst the 
eyes  of  everyone, she reached into  her pocket, and took out  the  Sorcerer’s  Stone. “At 
first, I wasn’t sure… but now, with all that’s going on, I know that you should be the one to 
protect it and not me.”
“Minerva…” gasped Dumbledore, in shock of seeing the Stone right there before 
him on the table. All the other teachers were staring it as well, practically drooling over it. 
“How did you… get this?”
“Did you make it?” asked Flitwick, moving in for a closer look.
“Oh, no,” sighed McGonagall. “This is Perenelle Flamel’s Stone.”
“Perenelle Flamel?” inquired Dumbledore, picking up the Stone an examining it. 
“How did you ever get it from her?”
“Well, I didn’t get it directly from her. I got it from… Harry Potter.”
“Harry Potter!?” exclaimed almost  everyone in the room. Harry had to try hard 
not to say anything, especially ‘here’ or ‘present’.
“How on Earth did he get it?” asked Flitwick.
“In Perenelle’s will,” continued McGonagall, “it said to give the Stone to whoever 
bother to show up at the  funeral. Harry and his  cousin were the only ones who came, so 
they got it, and then he gave it to me for safekeeping.”
“And now you’re giving it to me…” said Dumbledore, setting it down on the table.
“Yes.”
“Well… I thank you for doing so,” said Dumbledore, putting the Stone into his 
pocket.. “I can assure  you, it is safe with me.” He patted his pocket  he put it in and stood 
up. “Now that you all know what is going on, I will ask you to leave, so we can all get back 
to business that I’m sure we all have to do.”
With that, the rest of the teachers  stood up, gazing transfixedly at Dumbledore’s  
pocket, wanting to get one last glimpse of the Stone. Once they realized their efforts  were 
in vain, they left quickly and the room was empty, except for Dumbledore and Quirrell. 
“I  can’t  believe  Harry  Potter   had the   Sorcerer’s  Stone,”   whispered  Quirrell, 
walking closer to Dumbledore. 
“I know…” said Dumbledore, taking the Stone out of his pocket and examining it 
again. Quirrell came in even closer to look at it. “Not good at all….”
Why   wasn’t   that   good?   Harry   thought.   He   knew   that   he   should   have   told 


Dumbledore  or McGonagall immediately after he got it, but was it really so  bad that he 
waited?
 “Now,” said Quirrell, “please tell  me, Dumbledore. What is  the real reason you 
cancelled the trip?” To this, Dumbledore grinned and returned the Sorcerer’s  Stone back 
to his pocket.
“I think that I have found it on my own.”
“What’s he talking about?” asked Ron telepathically.
“Shh!” yelled Hermione. “Don’t talk! Who knows, he  may still be  able to hear 
you.”
 “Yeah yeah, alright.”
“You mean you’ve found it, without the help?” asked Quirrell, sounding amazed.
“Yes,” said Dumbledore, looking around in a suspicious  manner. “But I’m afraid 
we may have to continue this conversation at a later time and place.” 
Quirrell eyed him dubiously, and then an expression of understanding appeared.
“Oh… okay,” he sighed, sounding as if he wanted to hear more. “See you later.”
“Yes,  goodbye,”  said  Dumbledore,   walking out  of  the   room  quickly, almost 
immediately followed by Quirrell who took one last look around before exiting. Once the 
coast was clear, Ron and Harry transformed back, and Hermione took the cloak off.
“Nice going, Ron!” she yelled, jabbing him in the side with her elbow.
“Hey!” he shouted. “What did I do?”
“Dumbledore heard you talking,” said Harry, getting off  his arms and knees  and 
standing up. “He must have sensed it somehow.”
“How do you know that’s the reason he left?”
“Oh  yeah,  it   just  so  happens   that   everything  was   going   fine   until   you  said 
something,” said Hermione sarcastically, crossing her arms.
“Oh… yeah.”
“It’s okay, Hermione,” said Harry, opening the door. “We’ll find out more later.”
“I hope so,” she pouted, exiting with him.
“But I still  wonder-” said Harry, just before  he  was cut off  by a screaming and 
running Ak. 
“Harry! Ron!” he yelled at  them, broom  in  hand and his  Quidditch  robes   on. 
“Where the heck have you been!? The game is going to start any second!”
“Oh yeah,” said Harry, looking at his watch and remembering that their match had 
been moved ahead. “See you later Hermione!”
“I’ll watch you in the stands!” she yelled to them as they sprinted away with Ak.
“Where have you two been?” he asked Ron and Harry again as they were running.
“What house are we playing?” asked Harry, changing the subject.
“Hufflepuff,” said Ak when they arrived at the Gryffindor changing room. 
“Oh come  on!” said Ron, changing into  his  robes. “Why’d you have to call  us 
down when we’re playing THEM?”
“They’re not easy enough that we don’t need a Seeker and a Keeper,” said Ak, his 
arms on his sides. 
“That’s debatable,” mumbled Harry, pulling off his socks.
“Anyways,” said Ak, sitting down on a bench. “I’ll tell you guys first since you’re 
two of the most avid members. The Wizard Duel Club won’t be meeting anymore, at least 


until the end of the year.”
“What!?” yelled Ron and Harry together, almost falling over.
“It’s a protest against the cancellation of the trip,” said Ak. “It’s the best thing we 
could think of.”
“But canceling the club won’t bring back the trip!” yelled Ron, almost in tears.
“I’m sorry Ron,” sighed Ak, “but it’s just something we’ve got to do.”
“Heh, it’s too bad you had to cancel it now,” snickered Harry. “Especially since I 
was really going to cream you the next time we played.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Well, me and Harry will still play it every day!” said Ron, continuing to change. 
“Aren’t we Harry?”
“Definitely,”  he  said, putting the  last  few  finishing touched  on  his   Quidditch 
robes. “There we go! All set!”
“Me too!” said Ron quickly after.
“Uh… Ron?” said Harry.
“Yeah?”
“Tell me if I’m wrong, but last time I checked, underwear is supposed to be worn 
underneath your pants.”
“Not today!”
“Alright, whatever…” said Harry, grabbing his broom.
“Excellent  time!” said Ak,  walking out  with the two of them. “We  have three 
seconds to spare!” He threw open the doors  that led to the Quidditch field and the rest of 
the team was there waiting, all lined up.
“Where have you been?” demanded Mike. “I could have learned another thousand 
or so Kanji while I was waiting if I’d known you were going to take so long.”
“Yeah,” snapped Akshay. “You guys took longer to get here  than downloading a 
terabyte-size file off of a 3KB bandwidth server with a 28.8KBPS modem!”
“HEY!”  yelled   Joe   suddenly.  “You wear  your  underwear on  the   outside   too! 
ROCK ON!” He jumped up and gave Ron a high five. Harry just groaned.
“Yeah, you know it’s cool,” said Chris, showing off his backwards pants as well.
“Maybe I should have chosen the losing team at the tryout instead,” moaned Harry 
to himself as the beginning announcements for the game began.
“And now let’s  welcome  the  Gryffindor team!” yelled Blaise Zabini, though not 
nearly  as   loud  as  the  Extreme  Quidditch commentator  had. In fact, compared to  that 
announcer’s voice, Blaise’s was as soft and quiet as a pillow or a fluffy bunny.
“Well, that’s our cue! Good luck team!” said Harry as he and his teammates  flew 
out onto the field, getting into their positions. Harry soared down to the middle, to shake 
hands with the Hufflepuff team’s captain.
“Hello again Justin,” said Harry, offering his arm. “Lovely day for  a game, isn’t 
it?”
 “Don’t get cocky this time,” grinned Justin, shaking Harry’s hand. “Now our team 
is better than ever. We’ve even got a new Seeker.”
“Oh? Is he better than you were?”
“Much,” said Justin, releasing Harry’s hand. “He’ll crush you.”
“Heh, who is it?” asked Harry, getting ready to fly away. “Ernie Macmillan?”


“Well… it isn’t not Ernie,” said Justin flying back.
“Ernie!” yelled Harry, nearly falling off of his broom. “Hah! What a joke!”
“Teams!”   yelled   Madam   Hooch   suddenly,   cutting   off   Harry   and   Justin’s 
‘conversation’. “Get ready!” With that, she opened the box of balls  in front of her and let 
the Bludgers  fly into the air followed by the Snitch that Harry got to glimpse for only a 
second before it flew out of sight.
“Get set…”  she  grabbed the  Quaffle  out  of  the box, and held it in a throwing 
position, getting ready to start the match. Joe, Mike, and Akshay looked ready for it, and 
the Hufflepuff Chasers looked almost intimidated by their ferocious appearance.
“Go!” yelled Blaise, Madam Hooch immediately heaving the Quaffle into the air, 
starting the match. 
“And they’re off!” yelled Blaise as Joe went right for the big red ball, grabbing it 
before  Harry even saw him move. Once  the  ball  was in his  possession, the  game was 
practically over. All Harry had to do was sit back and watch his three magnificent Chasers 
work the Quaffle, and then catch the Snitch when he got the chance.
“And Gryffindor scores!” yelled Blaise, not announcing biasedly. Since Slytherin 
wasn’t playing, he’d might as well sound happy for Gryffindor. “And then they score  again! 
Twenty to nothing for Gryffindor! Go team!”
Harry grinned to himself. Even if his  team wore their underwear on the outside, 
they were still excellent players. He saw them weaving through the Hufflepuff team as if 
they were just stationary stones  in their path. But, through all of their movement, he saw a 
Hufflepuff team member moving much the same way. But, none of them were that good…
. Harry flew  a little  closer  to  try  and  investigate. He  could just   barely make  out  the 
person’s face and the little gold thing in front of him….
“Wait a minute!” yelled Harry. “That’s the Snitch!” Not wasting any time to think 
about  the situation, Harry blasted forward on his  broom,  right  in the  direction  of  the 
person and the glint of gold in front of him. Faster and faster Harry went, getting closer to 
it every second.
“Hah! Thought you’d finally start playing now did you!” yelled the player chasing 
the Snitch. Harry recognized the voice as belonging to Ernie Macmillan, the team’s  new 
Seeker, but didn’t recognize his features at all.
Ernie’s  hair was done in a very unusual way. It was dyed a jet black all over and 
was down in thick dreadlocks, with a few gold streaks here and there. His face was also 
completely different: now, his eyes were now longer a light blue but a deep red, and Harry 
may have imagined it, but it looked as though he had two of his teeth replaced with fangs. 
The last piece of him Harry could see  were his  hands, and they looked as they belonged 
more to some sort of horrible monster than to a boy. His fingernails were long and black, 
and the deep red veins  were  practically popping out  of his  skin. Plus, his skin all over, 
especially  his face and arms, was a light white, but not the wonderful light white that the 
moon sometimes is, this  white was more  like the color  of puss  that would seep out of a 
popped blister.
“What have you done to yourself?” gasped Harry, keeping one eye on him and the 
other on the Snitch that was slowly but surely getting further ahead of them. 
“None of your business!” yelled Ernie, grinning  and lashing out his foot, trying to 
kick Harry off of his broom. Harry did a quick spin, avoiding it.


“What the heck are you trying to do!?” screamed Harry at him. “Kill me!?”
Ernie just smiled.
“I was only going to put you out of commission, but sure. If you want to die, I’d 
be more than happy to be the bringer of your demise.”
“You’re  a Death Eater  now,” said Harry  slowly  to  him, suddenly realizing it. 
“Aren’t you?”
“Whatever  made  you  think that?”  smirked  Ernie,  going slightly  faster.  Harry 
abruptly realized that even though he was on the superior  broom, he was having a tough 
time keeping up with Ernie.
“You look like Neville,” spat Harry. “Only you look more like a vampire, whereas 
Neville looks like a Japanese cartoon.”
“Ah yes, Neville,” sighed Ernie, doing a quick little magnificent spin. “One of the 
few non-prefect Death Eaters.”
“Non-prefect?” questioned Harry. “What do you mean?”
“Oh come   on, Harry, surely  you’ve  noticed  it. Almost  all  the prefects  in the 
school are Death Eaters. I mean, sure some of them hide it better than me, but I can’t help 
but flaunt my new powers.  Recruiting prefects is exactly what my master wants, they are 
the best of the best at the school, and that is what he desires:  the best of the best.”
“If he only wanted the best, why did he send a letter to everyone in the school at 
the beginning of the year?” asked Harry, watching the Snitch quickly zoom out of sight.
“For two reasons,” explained Ernie, making a sharp turn to try and find the Snitch 
again, “one: he didn’t know who the prefects were at the beginning of the year; and two, my 
master does  not want new recruits  to think he  discriminates  like that. Believe it or not, 
some prefects wouldn’t join unless  their inferior friends were guaranteed the chance to as 
well. Imagine that? They actually WANT to be around lesser minds….”
“You’re disgusting,” hissed Harry.
“Yes, well, joining has given me that advantage over you on the Quidditch field at 
least.” Ernie took one hand off of his  broom and pointed to his eye. “You see this? These 
new eyes of mine don’t just look cool, they also serve a purpose. They can home in on and 
track anything I set them to. All I need to do is describe  the Snitch and voila! I can see  it 
even if it was behind a brick wall.”
“You got  new eyes?” asked Harry, feeling  as  though their victory was slowly 
slipping away.
“Yes,”   murmured   Ernie,   looking  around  the   field.  “Sure,   the   operation   was 
horrible, hurt more than anything in my life. But, my master doesn’t believe in anesthetic, 
so I had to bear it. But now, it was worth it. I can beat anyone and my master is  happy.”
“You’re pathetic,” spat Harry, hearing Blaise announce that their team had scored 
another ten points. He had obviously missed some other announcements while talking with 
Ernie as he said the score was now one hundred and forty to nothing. “Doing things just to 
please Voldemort….”
“Well, it  doesn’t matter what you think, Harry. Right  now, your  life  is  worth 
nothing since  in the end, you will be destroyed, and I along with my master and his army, 
shall be victorious. Also, in the short term area, I will win this game.”
“Oh yeah, how so?”
“Because,” he said softly, raising his arm up, “I am holding the Snitch.”


“WHAT!?” yelled  Harry, looking at  the  small, winged, golden ball  in  Ernie’s 
grotesque hand. 
“Ha ha!” yelled Ernie, throwing the ball at Harry. “Tricked you!” With that, he 
flew away, at speeds faster than Harry had ever seen before. Just as he was about to try and 
catch  up  with  him, the   fake   Snitch   that   Ernie  had  thrown  exploded  in  Harry’s   face, 
releasing some sort of itchy powder.
“Oh great, Scratchy Snitches,” groaned Harry, resisting the urge to rub his face. “I 
have  got  to  tell  Fred  and  George  to  stop  making those.”   This   was   no  longer  just  a 
Quidditch match, this was war. 
“And that’s a penalty to Hufflepuff for using a foreign object during the match!” 
yelled Blaise. Everyone on the field, except Ernie and Harry, flew over to their foul shot 
positions. Harry grabbed his wand from out of his pocket, and took aim.
“Stupefy!” he   yelled,  watching the  red  beam  shoot  out  and  miss   Ernie  by  a 
millimeter, though surprising him.
“And  there’s   a   penalty   to   Gryffindor   for   using   magic   during   the   match!” 
announced Blaise, signaling the teams to get away from the Hufflepuff goals, and fly over 
to the Gryffindor ones, to make their foul shot there.
“You want to play dirty, eh Harry!?” yelled Ernie from across the field, taking his 
wand out. “Well then, prepare to  get dirty! Terre Monter!” Ernie aimed his  wand at the 
ground below Harry and the greenish-yellow beam hit it there. At first, nothing happened, 
but then, when Blaise  announced another penalty, making the  teams  once  again switch 
sides,  a  monstrous  beast  composed  completely  of  dirt,  mud  and sand rose   from   the 
ground, right in front of Harry.”
It was horrible sight at over sixty feet tall. The monster’s arms and legs were the 
size of tree  trunks and it had no head; only two massive, black eyes  on its  bulging chest. 
All over, the  dirt was constantly flowing everywhere, as if  it were composed of muddy 
rivers. A horrid, teeth-filled  mouth suddenly appeared beneath its  eyes,  and it gave an 
unearthly roar, making everyone in the stands cheer, scream, yell  and run all at the same 
time. 
 The beast took a massive swing at Harry with one of its  arms. Harry flew out of 
the way, just in time to avoid a very grimy grave, and causing a small earthquake when its 
arm finally did hit the ground.
“I see  you’ve gone one  step ahead on what we’ve been learning in Herbology!” 
yelled Harry to  Ernie  as  the monster  took another swing at him. Blaise  was  the  only 
person left in the crowd, and he was announcing penalties left and right, finally making the 
teams give up, and go over to join either Ernie or Harry in the battle. 
“What   should   we   go?”   gasped   Chris,   flying   over   next   to   Harry   as   Blaise 
announced another penalty to Hufflepuff for not  taking a penalty shot. Harry just  hoped 
that everyone that left went to get the professors’ help.
“Don’t worry, Harry,” said Ak just as Harry was about to suggest that they all run 
away. “I’ll take of earth-boy here, you just make sure that Ernie kid pays for this!”
“Got it!” yelled Harry, spinning his wand around. “Akshay! Joe! Mike! Chris! Ron! 
Come with me, I’ll need your help to take down the other team.” Just saying those words 
filled Harry with an exhilaration like no other. He was commanding people into battle… 
and he liked it.


“Yeah!” they all said together flying up to him.
“Now  go!” yelled  Ak, taking his  wand out.  “Mer  Monter!” Ak  aimed  for   the 
ground right in front  of the  earth monster, who Harry and his two fighters  were flying 
around at the moment. As soon as the light-blue beam touched the ground, a massive body 
of water appeared, and out from it, a water monster appeared. 
It erupted from  the middle of the newly created lake, like  a giant wave that just 
didn’t crash down. It quickly took form and looked almost exactly like the earth one did, 
only this  monster was  made out  of  flowing water rather  than fluid dirt. The two beasts 
immediately saw each other, and instantly began fighting it out, leaving the team open to 
attack. 
 “Chris! Ron! Joe!” yelled Harry just when they were about to fly around the two 
monsters. “You guys go around the  left  side! Mike  and Akshay, you take  the right! I’ll 
come up the middle!”
“Yes sir!” the five of them called back. Chris, Ron and Joe swerved off to the left, 
went through the two fighting beasts, and then up the  other side, taking the Hufflepuff 
team  by surprise.   Simultaneously,  Mike   and Akshay flew   down  to  the  right,  then  up 
quickly, right below two unsuspecting Hufflepuff Chasers.
“Ernie!” yelled Harry, seeing that his team was more than a match for the rest of 
the Hufflepuffs. “You and me… let’s go!”
“Very  well  then,”  said  Ernie,  moving in  closer,   away  from  his   losing  team. 
“Saber!” He held his wand out in front of him, and a black beam rose out of the top, like a 
sword. Though it was very dark, it seemed lighter than the blackest black Harry could think 
of.
 “What’s that spell?” yelled Harry to him, getting ready to unleash an attack.
“It’s the Sword Spell,” yelled Ernie back. “One of the oldest  spells ever created. 
Traditionally, two wizards would only use that spell during the match, and it would be like 
a swordfight. But, I’d rather just cut you up. Notice  how black mine is… the color of the 
sword reflects  the heart of its user. The darker, the more evil.”
Harry just had to try the spell now. He held his  wand out in front of him, and 
summoned the sword from within. To his surprise, a blazing white beam did not come out, 
but rather a light gray one.
“Ha ha!” laughed Ernie. “So Mr. Harry Potter isn’t so perfect after all!”
“Well,” yelled Harry to him through gritted teeth, wondering what could make his 
sword darker, “at least I’ll have a perfect  record against you, I’ll beat you at this, and then 
I’ll beat you at the Quidditch match.”
“AAARRRGGG!” yelled  Ernie,  gripping his  wand with  both  of  his  hands  and 
holding it over his head as he charged right at Harry, getting ready to bring it down on him 
with all the strength he had. As he got closer, Harry got in a defensive position, trying to 
be ready for anything. “TAKE THIS!”
He brought the sword down onto Harry when he was only feet  away from  him. 
But, Harry was ready. He  held his  sword up in a shielding position, and the  only thing 
Ernie hit when he brought it down was Harry’s beam. 
“You’re stronger than I thought…” groaned Ernie, trying to push Harry’s  sword 
down with his by pushing harder. As much as Harry knew he had to keep his  sword there, 
he didn’t think he could hold it there much longer.


“I can’t  say the  same   about  you,” groaned  Harry  back, trying  to  sound  more 
powerful than he actually was. Now, Ernie’s strength was really starting to get to him. He 
could feel  his muscles  hurting all over and sweat was dripping down his  forehead like a 
faucet. His brain was screaming at him to let go… but he couldn’t!
Harry looked over in the direction of the two monsters  for help, but Ak was busy 
assisting   his   water   beast.   The   pressure   being   put   on   him   by   Ernie   was   almost 
overwhelming. Akshay, Mike, Chris, and Joe  were all  too far away to be heard. No one 
could   help   Harry   until   it   was   too   late.   The   pressure   wasn’t   almost   overwhelming 
anymore…   now  it  was  overwhelming! Harry  had  to   let  go! He  gave  into  his   brain’s 
demands and let his arms weaken.
Then, just as Harry was expecting to see Ernie’s black sword fall down upon him 
and cut him into two, the most  wonderful thing in the world happened. Out of nowhere, a 
Bludger hit Ernie right in the face. 
The effect of the impact was instantaneous. Ernie mumbled something to himself, 
his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell all the way down to the sandy ground, along 
with his sword. Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness this is still a Quidditch match,” he said to himself.
“And that’s a penalty to Gryffindor for-”
“Oh will you shut it already Blaise!” yelled Harry to him, flying over to see  his 
team. Blaise became quiet, and he saw that  the entire  Hufflepuff team had joined their 
Seeker on the ground. Unfortunately, so did Ron, Akshay, Joe and Mike. Only Chris  and 
Ak were still  up, and they looked as though they were in  really bad shape. Chris  had hex 
marks all over him, his right arm and leg were moving spastically, and he looked as though 
he was going to fall off of his broom… which is exactly what he did a second later.
“Ak!” yelled Harry, looking over at the two monsters  that were still duking it out, 
and keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch so he could end this highly unorthodox match. 
“How’s it going!?” 
“Not good!” he yelled back, looking about the same as Chris  did. “A few of the 
Hufflepuffs hit me along with this dirt beast here. Speaking of which, he-”
But, Harry never heard Ak’s last line. Just then, his water monster delivered the 
final blow to its opponent, causing him to stumble around for a second, then beginning to 
fall over, right where Harry and Ak were.
Suddenly, the thing seemed a lot taller than Harry originally thought it was, seeing 
as it was about to collapse on top of him. Harry flew as fast as he could out of the way, but 
it was no use. A second later, he was on the ground, feeling his entire  body being crushed 
all over by the intense weight of the monster. Only his head was sticking out from it.
“Ak!” gasped Harry, trying to reach his wand.
“Yeah…” he moaned back just as the  dirt forming the monster stopped flowing 
and remained motionless… like it should, beginning to fall back to the ground.
“Are you under this thing too?”
“Yeah…” he gasped back again, sounding as if he were in immense pain, which 
was perfectly understandable. Harry, though, still had work to do. He had to find the Snitch 
so he could officially end this anarchic match. He scanned the ground around him for any 
sign  of it…  and suddenly found it! But, when he  saw where  it  was, Harry groaned to 
himself and tried to smack his own head. 


The Snitch was in Ernie’s hand.


Chapter 16- Three Dimensional  Dueling
It wasn’t much longer before a group of professors  came down from  the school 
and helped everyone  out of  their  horrible  situations. They cleaned up the leftover dirt 
from  the  earth monster and banished the water one back to  the  sea.  Madam Pomfrey 
brought all fourteen players to the Hospital Wing; all the  way Blaise was prancing about 
and singing about Hufflepuff’s ten point victory. Apparently, he had taken less of a liking 
to Gryffindor  after  Harry told  him to shut  up. Things  only got worse  when Professor 
McGonagall  said she was going to take one  hundred points  away from  each house for 
appalling and expulsion-worthy behavior due to their spur of the moment fight.
But,   it   wasn’t   all   bad.  From   their  work   together,  Harry’s   team   now   had  a 
magnificent camaraderie and Harry felt as though he was part of a family when around the 
six of them, especially when he was all bandaged up like a mummy and sharing a small 
hospital bed with one of  his teammates. His  relations  especially improved with Ak, now 
reaching the point of almost a Ron, Hermione, or even a Malfoy friendship. 
Also, the  news  of  the  match spread like  wildfire  around the school  and even 
though Harry’s team lost, they were still crowned as the winners for beating Hufflepuff in 
the duel that took place. Harry’s reputation was back to  its  usual insanely high standard 
that it used to be before he lost to Malfoy in the club and Ak in the card game match. 
The unusual Quidditch match additionally turned students  attention momentarily 
away from the  cancelled field trip, though not for  long. They needed something else  to 
distract their minds… and they were going to get it. Thanks to the new schedule, another 
Dueling Club meeting was scheduled for the end of the week, and everyone in the school, 
especially Harry, was looking forward to it. Though… he was also  concerned. What if 
someone tried to steal Hermione’s Bracelet again? What if Voldemort got it?
“Shouldn’t you just leave it in your room?” Harry asked her before  they left  the 
common room  that day, a few minutes before that meeting was going to start. She rubbed 
the Bracelet and glared at him.
“No,” she said forcefully.
“Why not?”
“Because…” she said, sounding as if she were trying to make something up on the 
top of their head. “Because… if I leave it in my room,  it will be even easier to steal! 
Someone could just open up my drawer and take it out.”
“But, why don’t  you  just  put  a  charm  on the  drawer,  then? Like  Harry  did?” 
suggested Ron, polishing up his wand a bit.
“Oh yeah, you saw what happened when Harry put the supposedly good charm on 
it,” retorted Hermione. “Neville took it as easily from it as if it was a normal drawer.”
“But… with the proper precautions-”
“Oh my! Look at he time!” yelled Hermione suddenly, looking at her non-existent 
watch. “We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry!” 
Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged.
“Women and their jewelry,” whispered Ron to Harry as  they stepped out of the 
room. “Don’t come between the two.” Harry laughed out loud and Hermione  gave him a 
piercing gaze again. He just cleared his throat, looked up, and they continued walking.
It wasn’t much longer before  they arrived at  the  Great  Hall, most  of  the  club 


already there, as usual. But, there wasn’t any sign of Professor Flitwick yet.
“Harry!” Cho called to him when he arrived.
“Hello Cho!” said Harry back, stepping away from Ron and Hermione and over to 
her. “How are you?”
“Fine as long as you’re around,” she said back, tossing her hair and causing a few 
giggles  from the younger students in the crowd. “Anyways, do you know what’s going to 
happen for this duel?”
“Sure do,” said Harry, feeling proud of himself. This time, Professor Flitwick had 
visited him when he was in the Hospital Wing, while Harry was trying to figure  out the 
best spell  to use to make his  bedpan fly out and land on Ernie’s head. They talked about 
and discussed how  the  next  meeting should be run, and they both agreed  that  the  new 
guerrilla tactics  way of fighting was a huge success. So, Harry just decided to improve on 
an already good thing.
“Oh really? So, what’s this one going to be like?” 
“Well, it was really inspired by our date,” grinned Harry, kicking the floor.
“Oh no! You’re not going to light the floor on fire or bring out dragons, are you?” 
“What?” said Harry, a little confused. “No. I was inspired by the end of our date, 
when I flew you home.”
“Oh… that part of it.”
“Anyways, I thought everyone here would like to experience flight, so we decided 
to make this a three dimensional guerrilla duel. Instead of only being able to move left and 
right and forward and backwards, now we’ll  all  be able  to  move up and down as  well, 
literally adding a whole new dimension to the game.”
“Sounds  like fun!” exclaimed Cho, just  as  tiny Professor  Flitwick appeared in 
front of the doors, looking almost out of breath.
“Sorry I’m late,” he apologized quickly.  “But  this  trip  cancellation  has  really 
screwed up everyone’s schedules here.” Once the word ‘trip’ left his mouth, a giant groan 
escaped from every person in the crowd. “Oh come on! It’s not that bad. All you have to do 
is  wait a few  more months  and you’ll go  anyways. But, now  let’s  forget  all about that 
pyramid nonsense and have a good dueling match!” 
Everyone in the crowd cheered, though the field trip was still  on their minds… 
and would be for quite a while. 
“Anyways, your captain and I have quite  a good match planned for you today! 
Come in and let’s get started!” With that, he magically opened the doors to the Great Hall, 
revealing a completely empty room, just  like  it  was at  the last club meeting. Only this 
time, on one side  of the  room  there  were  twenty magical skateboards, each a different 
color.
 “For this  duel!” announced Flitwick, closing the massive  doors  when everyone 
was inside. “We shall once again be practicing our guerrilla tactics, but this time it shall be 
even more  exciting.” He  waved an arm  over  to  the  side  of  the  room  with  all of  the 
skateboards. “You see  here, over at this  wall, there  are twenty Soaring Skateboards, each 
of  which  might   I  add  is   different  from  every  other,   and  is   imported   directly   from 
Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Each of you will take one and duel on it. If you fall off  of 
your board or if you touch the ground at all, you shall be instantly teleported to me, in a 
small, clear room where you can observe the rest of the duel but not participate in it.” He 


pointed a finger to a top corner of  the room  where  there was an almost invisible room 
hanging above everything.
“Now,” he continued, “if you’d all please, take a board.” He waved his arm in the 
direction of the assorted skateboards and the  group of students  ran over to them, picking 
their favorite. Harry saw that Neville grabbed the one  to  the far right, a pure black board 
with two big, red eyes on the top that occasional blinked; and Ernie took the one next to it, 
one  that had flames  painted on it  that actually moved and roared. They high fived each 
other and Harry felt almost  sick. He chose one that had a picture of white stars on a blue 
background, and Mike took the  one  next to  his: a white one with black and red Japanese 
characters  all over it. He smiled and began rubbing the board, drooling all over it. Malfoy 
went for  one with a green, hissing snake on it, but Ron, however, was  trampled by the 
running crow, and was left  with the only one available  when everyone  else  had chosen 
theirs: a pink one with a picture of a smiling bunny on the top. Harry burst out laughing 
when he saw Ron get on it.
“Shut up Harry,” he  said  to  him, trying to get  his  balance, which wasn‘t  very 
difficult, seeing as it had no wheels. 
“Now, I know there are some of you here that have never used these before,” said 
Professor  Flitwick, putting his  hands up. “But, it  is  very easy, much easier than using a 
broomstick. All you have to do is first, step on it. Then, to get it started, say ‘up’.”
Everyone got in a line and stepped up onto their boards. Almost in unison, they all 
yelled the same word.
“UP!”
Immediately, the entire  club rose  to  the  air, about a foot  off the  ground. For 
some, though, even that was too much, and they fell off.
“Now now!” said Professor  Flitwick, helping a few kids back on. “That’s what the 
safety is for, to help you stay on when you go higher. To set  the safety, just say ‘safety’, 
and then a number from  one to ten afterwards, depending on how secure you want to be. 
Now, when you’d normally use these things, you would use the ten setting, of course. But, 
it  is  nearly  impossible  to  knock  anyone  off  at that  setting, so  we’ll all  just   use   five 
instead.”
“Safety   five!”   yelled  everyone   again,  almost   immediately   after  Flitwick  had 
finished talking. Harry felt  the board getting tighter on his feet, as if glue had just been 
poured between his shoes  and the top of the board, making it nearly impossible to move 
his legs. But, Harry found, if he tried hard enough, he could still pull them right off.
“Controlling the boards  is  even easier,” continued Flitwick. “Once the safety is 
on, the board makes kind of a small telepathic connection with your brain. All you need to 
do is  think that you want to go left, right, forward, backward, up or down and you will. Go 
ahead! Try it out!”
In his  mind,  Harry  just   thought  of   going forward,  the   word,  along  with the 
sensation it  usually gives. Before  he had even completed  half of his  thought, the board 
shot   forward, at speeds  rivaling a  broomstick. Harry looked behind him  and  saw that 
everyone was now very spread out. Some were up, left, right, and one, Joe, collided with 
the wall.
 “Meh okay!” he announced to the not-really-caring crowd, giving double thumbs 
up, rubbing his back, and then going forward. 


“Alright then!” said  Professor  Flitwick  happily, doing a small  spin  in the  air. 
“Spread out and I will set up a few obstacles!” He took out his wand, muttered a spell, and 
out of the tip flew hundreds of multicolored beams, flowing off in every direction. Each 
beam formed its  own random shaped obstacle: some  were  cylinders, come  were  walls, 
others were even shaped like people, but they all were hovering in the air, moving around a 
bit, like an army of balloons. They covered most  of the air, making it like the forest  they 
dueled in last time. The barriers would make good places to hide… maybe even too good.
“Hermione,” said Harry  telepathically  to  her, using his  Animagus  abilities.  “I 
think you should come a little  closer to me… just in case  someone  tries  to steal  your 
Bracelet again. We can stay together for a little while and if nothing happens, we can split 
up again.”
“Alright,” she said back, not looking at him and flying a bit closer.
“Hey Harry!” Malfoy called to  him telepathically. “Is it going to come  down to 
me and you again?”
“You know it,” Harry called  back. “Unless  Neville  or  Ernie takes  care  of  you 
first.”
 “Hah! Those   two!”  laughed  Malfoy,  maintaining  a  straight   face   on  his  body. 
“They’re barely up to the point that I was at last year.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Remember those spells  I used on you last year, the ones where I grew four arms, 
made the field an inferno, and made you feel like a hundred dementors were around?”
“Yeah,” shuddered Harry, remembering all too well.
“Well, believe it or not, those are very advanced spells. The stuff that You-Know-
Who has taught those two is not even up to that level yet.”
“So you mean, if that’s what you knew last year, now you have an insanely massive 
arsenal of dark magic spells at your disposal?” 
“You’re lucky you have me as a friend and not an enemy,” chuckled Malfoy back.
“And  now,”  announced  Flitwick,  breaking  up  their  conversation,  “for  a  final 
touch!” He muttered another spell and aimed right at the ground. A massive pool of fire 
overflowed out of the tip of his wand and right onto the floor of the Great Hall, turning it 
into a giant sea of flames and molten lava. Everyone went another ten feet higher up, just 
to escape the heat.
“Harry!” Cho yelled to him from not too far away. “I thought you said you weren’t 
going to light the ground on fire!”
“It’s just  a little  addition to  the  playing field, to  remind you not  to touch the 
ground,” Professor  Flitwick said, flying around it  and making sure  it  was  hot  enough. 
“Now, I don’t think any of you will forget!” He flew over to his little safety box in the top 
corner of the room. “Are you all ready to begin? On your marks… get set… go!”
Harry  immediately shot  off,  aiming for  a large, nearby floating wall.  He  hid 
behind it, and waited for Hermione. He didn’t have to wait too long for her to show up; she 
came over and flew right next to him.
“Do you  really  think someone’s  going to  try  and steal  it  again?” she   asked, 
holding onto her Bracelet as if it was the most valuable item in the world, which it almost 
was.
 “I  don’t  know…”  said  Harry,  quickly  peering  over  the  side   of  the   wall  and 


watching a small  fight going on  between Justin and Ginny. She  easily beat him with a 
single spell, and he collapsed to the fiery ground where he was teleported to the safe room 
with Flitwick.
“Well… what are we going to do?” she asked impatiently. 
“Just wait here for a while,” said Harry, looking back.
“Oh   come   on!”   she   whined.   “I   want   to   go   out   there   and   fight!”
“Who are you and what have you down with Hermione?” Harry asked. Hermione was never 
that assertive.
“I don’t know…” she sighed, flying around a bit. “Just being up here… right in the 
middle of a meeting… I just want to fight!”
“Well, if nothing happens for a little while, we can go out.”
“Fine…”
“SURPRISE!” yelled Ernie and Neville suddenly, popping out of nowhere in front 
of Harry and Hermione. They both had wide and evil grins on their faces, and their wands 
were in attack position. The two of them came up so quickly, Harry had no time to react to 
their surprise attacks. 
“Pagos!” they bother yelled together, Neville aiming for Harry and Ernie aiming 
for Hermione. An icy blue beam erupted from their wands, hitting them both and making 
Harry feel as though his entire body was no more than a big ice cube.
“What do you want?” yelled Harry, surprised that he could still use his mouth. 
“I think we both all know the answer to that,” spat Neville, coming a little closer 
to Harry and eyeing Hermione’s Bracelet.
“You can’t have it!” Harry yelling, knowing well that he couldn’t do anything to 
stop them. 
“Oh yeah?” said Ernie mockingly, hovering closer to Hermione. “Why not?”
“Because it’s  hers!” yelled someone else. The four of them looked up, and saw 
Malfoy suddenly drop down from above right down onto Ernie and Neville. He did a fancy 
turn in the air, hitting Neville’s face with his board, and then punching Ernie’s nose with 
his fist while his body was still horizontal. The two of them spat blood in the air, and Harry 
saw their eyes roll back into their head as they started falling to the floor.
“Malfoy!” yelled  Harry and Hermione  together, still  frozen. “You saved us… 
again!”
 “Yeah, well, I don’t want You-Know-Who to get the Bracelet any more  than you 
do,” he admitted, performing the counter curse  on the two of them. Harry felt  the blood 
start flowing in the body below his head again, and he could move.
“Thanks for saving us, Malfoy,” said Harry, moving around in the air a bit. “But, 
you do know, we are still in a duel, right?”
“Yeah, I know. But, friendships  and beating Voldemort  are things that are  more 
important   than winning  a  silly  duel.  Besides…  everyone  knows   I’m  better   than  you 
anyway.”
“Yeah  right!”   yelled   Harry.   “I  beat   you   last   year   at   the   final  tournament!”
“But I beat you at the last meeting.”
“Yeah, well I-”
“Enough!” yelled Hermione, putting her hands out and signaling for the two boys 
to stop bickering. “This is  more than just a duel now. Voldemort has a strong presence 


here, and we have to try and be wary of it. If it wasn’t for you, Malfoy, he could be making 
the Immortal Potion right now.”
“No he couldn’t,” said Harry. “I still have the Ring!”
“That’s beside  the point!” she said, shaking her head and arms. “Let’s just take it 
slow and make sure that no one else  tries  to get the Bracelet, okay? Then, when it comes  
down to the three of us, we’ll know everything’s okay and we can just duel.”
“Sounds more like a way to guarantee that you make it to the end rather than a way 
to help protect the Bracelet,” snickered Malfoy, flying over Hermione’s head. “Why don’t 
you just give one of us the Bracelet?”
“No,” hissed Hermione. “Let’s just get back in the game, and see what happens.”
“Fine,” shrugged Harry.  He   peered  over  the   large  wall  that  they  were  hiding 
behind again to  see  if the  coast  was clear. It pretty much was; except  for Joe  who was 
flying around aimlessly, wand out, and looking for a fight. “The coast is clear… except for 
underwear on the outside boy.”
“Alright, we’ll go out as a group,” announced Malfoy. “Follow me.”
He quickly hovered to the  head of the two and went out slowly, with Harry and 
Hermione   following behind. Not  wanting to  feel   as   though  he  was  following  behind 
Malfoy, Harry shot off to the right of him, and yelled at Joe.
“Ha ha!” he yelled at him, taking out his wand. “I see you!”
“Now you don’t!” grinned Joe, tapping himself with his  wand and disappearing 
suddenly. Harry stopped in midair.
“Woah, where’d he go?”
“He turned himself invisible,” said Malfoy, looking around. 
“But  Invisibility  Charms  are   far  too   advanced  for   Second  Years!”  exclaimed 
Hermione, looking around nervously.
“Joe!” Harry yelled. “Come on out and fight!”
“Harry!” yelled Hermione, looking as though she were struggling with some sort 
of invisible force. “Something’s got my Bracelet!”
Harry looked over at her, but he was too late. By the time she was in his sights, 
the Bracelet  had been forced off of her arm, and was zipping around the room, flying at 
insane speeds.
“Ah!” gasped Hermione. “Hurry and get it!”
Harry didn’t even give time to respond. He shot off right after the Bracelet  that 
was zooming around in midair and giving everything he  got  to  try and catch  up to  it. 
Despite the fact that the Bracelet was enchanted, it was quite slow and it wasn’t too much 
longer before  Harry was right behind it. He extended his arms as much as he could, to try 
and grab it. When he could just feel the cold metal touch the tips of his fingers, he grabbed 
hold of it, stopping it right where it was. 
Harry gripped the bracelet  as  hard as he could, so much that the encrusted gems 
on it  were digging into his  flesh, almost to the point of bleeding. But, it  seemed every 
second, the force  pulling on the other side of Bracelet  was getting stronger. So, knowing 
he was fighting a losing battle, Harry did the only thing he could do: let go.
As soon as his fingers  let  loose  of it, the Bracelet flew  high into to the air, not 
being held onto by anything. Harry watched it soar up to its maximum height, then begin to 
fall. 


“Malfoy!” Harry yelled to him, seeing that he was closer to the falling item. “Get 
the Bracelet!” 
Malfoy nodded and flew right at it, trying to estimate about where it would fall to. 
He stopped when he was just above the fiery ground, arms up and hands open, ready to 
catch it. The Bracelet  fell, faster and faster towards his wide open palms, until suddenly, 
an instant before he would have caught it, another force  flew by and whisked it off to the 
side. 
 Malfoy, a little  shaken from  not  catching it, shot  after  the  Bracelet  again, not 
letting it get more than a few feet away from him. He extended his arms out, ready to grab 
it, when just then, the Bracelet was ‘thrown’ by the invisible force  through the air, where it 
was then caught by another force  that was well out of  Malfoy’s range that started flying 
away with it. It was as if there were invisible people  all over, playing a very serious  game 
of keep away….
“That’s it!” yelled Harry out loud. “Invisible people! Malfoy!”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking a little tired.
“Do you know any spells that can turn invisible people visible again?”
“Sure do,” Malfoy grinned, understanding. He ripped his wand out of his pocket 
and aimed it in the general direction of everywhere. “Pasvoir!”
A small, almost invisible orb appeared at the tip of his wand that quickly grew to 
the size  of a basketball, then a human, then an elephant, then unimaginable size, almost 
filling the  entire  room. It gave off some  sort  of electric  wave as  it  expanded, bringing 
everything that used to be invisible back to the real world.
Harry looked around for signs of anyone, and didn’t have to look very hard. Flying 
all around them was the  rest  of  his Quidditch team, excluding Ak. Joe, Mike, Chris and 
Akshay were all hovering about, throwing the Bracelet  to each other and keeping it well 
out of the way of Harry or Malfoy. Apparently, they hadn’t yet realized that they were no 
longer invisible and that Harry and Malfoy could see them perfectly.
Just as  Mike received the Bracelet  from  Joe, Harry shot  at him, faster than he 
ever had before. Mike turned to him, still  thinking he was invisible, and merely threw it to 
Chris, thinking that Harry would just now turn his attention to the other ‘invisible’ force. 
But, Harry did not such thing. He just kept going straight for Mike and grabbed him by the 
neck.
 “What do you think you’re doing?” spat Harry, lifting him up slightly.
“What do you think we’re  doing?” grinned Mike, not having a bit  of a look of 
surprise  or  fear on  his  face. Harry took a  closer  look at  him, and saw that there  was 
something very different about him… his eyes. He had no pupils, irises, nothing. All there 
was were two white circles. They were definitely not acting on their own… someone else 
was controlling them, like last time.
But, Harry had a more pressing issue. He could ponder over what was controlling 
them  later. Right  now, he had to  get  the  Bracelet  back before  one  of  them took  it  to 
Voldemort.
He  used  a  stupefy  spell  on  Mike   and watched him  fall  fairly quickly to  the 
flaming ground, then be teleported to Flitwick’s  safety room  which now had more  than 
half of the entire club inside it.
Harry looked at the  remaining three  children, each of  whom  seemed  to  have 


realized that they were no longer invisible. They threw the Bracelet  one last time, to Joe, 
who shot across the field with it, trying to reach an open window in the side of the Great 
Hall and escape through it. Harry flew off right after him, to try and catch up, but Malfoy 
got to him first. He  grabbed Joe  by the leg and used some  sort  of Dark Spell that turned 
his entire body to Stone when he touched Joe  with his  wand. The transformation of flesh 
to Stone started at Joe’s  feet, and worked its way up to his head rather slowly.
Just as his arm was about to become a rock, Joe used every ounce of strength he 
had and threw the Bracelet  to Akshay. He shot off after  it, getting ready to catch it, but 
Harry was faster with his wand.
“Accio   Bracelet!”   he   yelled,   aiming   right   for   it.  The   Bracelet   immediately 
changed its direction and began soaring right over to Harry’s hand. He caught it in his palm 
and held onto it tight. This, however, did not stop Akshay’s desire to get it. He gave a hiss, 
showed off his teeth, and flew right at Harry, arms and hands extended out.
Harry just gave a sigh and shot a Stupefy Spell right at Akshay, hitting him long 
before  he would have gotten to Harry. The spell immediately knocked him out and he fell 
to the floor unconscious.
Now, the only one left was Chris, and he didn’t look as though he was in any hurry 
to try and attack Harry or Malfoy. He just spun around and shot off. But, he wasn’t as fast 
as either of  his opponents, and Harry quickly grabbed hold of  him. Malfoy arrived soon 
after.
 “Let go of me!” he yelled, trying to shake Harry’s magically enhanced grip off. 
“Not until you tell  us who has possessed you!” yelled Malfoy, looking as though 
he was trying as hard as he could to resist the urge to use  some sort  of torture spell on 
him.
 “Fine!” yelled Chris, stopping his shaking. “I’ll tell you who it was.” 
Just then, his face gave a quick, spastic shake and his eyes  turned back to normal.
“Well…?” asked Harry, still not letting go.
“Well what?” asked Chris, looking a little  dazed.
“Who was controlling you!?” demanded Malfoy, gritting his teeth.
“What?” asked Chris, rubbing his forehead. “What are you talking about?”
“It seems as though whoever was controlling him has just stopped,” said Malfoy, 
looking around, as if trying to see a ghost or something that may have popped out of his 
head.
 “What? Someone was controlling me?”
“Did  you recognize  the  spell   used on him?” asked Harry, ignoring Chris  and 
letting go of his leg. Just like  last time, whoever had been controlling them removed the 
spell just before they were about to be told the answer to their question.
“Yeah, but it’s  not  one any of the kids  here would know,” said Malfoy, looking 
like he was thinking hard. “It’s one that I’ve only heard of… one that You-Know-Who only 
teaches to his most  elite members. It’s  an advanced version of  the Imperius Curse. It is  
completely unresistable, that is, once  it is  cast  on you, you can’t get it  off, now matter 
what. In  addition  to   that, it   also   puts  some   of   your  strength  into  the  person  you’re 
controlling. That would explain why they were  all  able to  put an Invisibility Charm on 
themselves.”
“So, who here could have put it on them?”


“No one we know,” said Malfoy, looking down. “Especially not Neville or Ernie. 
Not only did the person who put the curse on them know the extremely advanced spell, but 
they were powerful enough to put it on four people at once.”
“Excuse me!” interjected Chris suddenly. “But, what’s going on here?”
“Oh yeah, that reminds me,” said Harry. “We’re having a duel Chris, and I’m afraid 
you’ve lost. Stupefy!” 
Before  Chris  even realized what was going to  happen, the  red beam shot  out  of 
Harry’s wand and hit him, sending him to the fiery ground. 
“Now let’s  find Hermione and give her the  Bracelet  back,” said Harry. Malfoy 
nodded, and they started off again in search of her. They checked behind the wall where 
the three  of them were hiding previously and sure enough, she was there, biting her nails 
and hovering from side to side, pacing in midair.
“Hermione, we’ve got it back!” announced Harry, holding it  up to show her. She 
immediately looked over and her eyes grew wide with a hungry look.
“Gimme that!” she yelled, shooting over to  him, ripping the Bracelet  out of his 
hands and quickly putting it back on her arm. 
“Ahh,” she said, slipping it back on. “That’s better.”
“Well,” sighed Harry, looking around just  to  be sure. “I guess  you were right, 
Hermione. It has come down to just the three of us.”
“NOT EXACTLY!” yelled Neville, one again, coming out of nowhere right on top 
of  the three of them.  He fell  onto Malfoy’s shoulders  and squeezed his  legs around his 
neck. He pointed his wand right at Malfoy’s chest from his new position.
“Petrificus Totalus!” he yelled. Malfoy’s body immediately went stiff and he fell 
to the ground, was gobbled up by the flames, and then sent to the safety room. 
“NO!” yelled Harry. 
“I  know,”   sighed   Neville   sarcastically.   “It  was   a   crude   spell…   but   hey,   it 
worked… didn’t it?”
“Stupefy!” yelled Harry, shooting backwards a little  and aiming right for Neville. 
The spell blasted from his wand, but too late; he easily dodged it. 
“Hah! You’ll need better than that to defeat me!” yelled Neville, zooming around. 
“Something like that may have beaten Ernie, but not me. I’m a year ahead of him.”
“Yeah, but you’re still a million years behind me!” yelled Harry, going backwards 
even more, so he would have time to avoid anything that Neville shot at him. 
“Think so?” asked Neville, stroking his wand a bit. “Then take this! Onino Hebi!”
A massive, flaming snake erupted out of Neville’s wand. It gave an ear shattering 
hiss  and showed off it’s mouthful of fangs that was dripping with a light-green venom. It’s 
eyes  were the only thing besides  its  teeth that were not on fire, and they were pure black 
and never blinking. Once they caught sight of Harry, they didn’t move.
The snake lashed out at Harry, like some sort of horrible fire whip. Harry backed 
away just in time to miss  it’s  deadly bite, but the snake did not look any less determined. It 
merely doubled its length and tried again. Harry was quickly running out of space to back 
up into. He had to think of something else….
“Tri Oplo!” yelled Harry quickly, having an idea and aiming right for its head. The 
three spheres hit, and the snake gave a painful hiss. Harry took this opportunity to quickly 
dash across the field and stop right behind Neville. 


“What do you think you’re doing!?” he spat as the  snake recovered from the  hit 
and turned around to find its victim.
“Let’s see how loyal your snake is!” yelled Harry, giving Neville a hard push. The 
snake immediately turned its  attention to  this  new source  of  movement and lashed out 
right at its new target. Harry quickly hovered backwards, out of the way of its attack. 
“AAAHHH!” yelled Neville as the snake tore a piece  of his flesh off. Just as the 
snake reared back, to get ready for another bite, Harry decided to show a little mercy.
“Stupefy!” he  yelled,  hitting the  distracted  Neville.  As  soon  as  the  spell   hit, 
Neville  went limp and his snake disappeared. Harry watched him fall  all the way down to 
the ground, then disappear. 
“Well,” sighed Harry to himself, “at least now I don’t have to fight Malfoy.”
Harry scanned the area for anyone else, to see if anyone was left to fight. Maybe 
he had just won the duel and he didn’t even know it!
“Fucillius!” came a voice from not too far away. Evidently, there were still others  
on the field. Harry quickly, but stealthily flew over to investigate. He grabbed onto a pear-
shaped obstacle and peered over it. There, he saw Hermione engaged in a duel with not 
one, not two, but three others! It was her against Ak, Tci and Aylar, and she didn’t look as 
though she was going to win.
“Stupefy!” yelled Aylar, delivering the final blow. Hermione collapsed and fell to 
the ground. But, instead of starting to fight each other as Harry would have expected them 
to, the three  of them just  hovered there, as if waiting for someone else  to come along. 
What was going on? Harry decided not to question it right now and to just take advantage 
of the opportunity of all three of them being sitting ducks.
“Siragus!” he yelled, creeping up over the top of the obstacle and aiming right for 
the middle of the  three.  Before  any of  them  realized  what was going on, there  was a 
massive explosion in midair, right where Harry had aimed for. When the dust cleared soon 
after, Harry saw that Aylar and Ak were gone. Only Tci was left,  and he looked in bad 
shape.
 “What were you doing?” Harry asked him as he flew down. “You’re not supposed 
to  have  teams  in   this.   Why  didn’t  the  three   of  you  fight   each  other  after  you  beat 
Hermione?” 
Tci just gave him a dazed look. Blood was all over his  face, as was ash and dust. 
Evidently, the explosion had hit him directly since he was in the middle of the three, and 
done the most damage to him.
“We can’t… do… each other…” he gasped, looking as though he might fall any 
second, which is exactly what he did an instant later. 
“Oh  well,”  Harry  shrugged  to  himself.  He  remembered  that  he,  Malfoy,  and 
Hermione had kind of been a team before, and that maybe Aylar, Tci, and Ak were doing 
the same. They were, after all, three  of the best fighters  there. But, Harry, Hermione and 
Malfoy had promised to fight each other when everyone else had been defeated….
Suddenly, Harry felt a tap on his  shoulder. He turned around and saw a grinning 
Ak behind him, with his  wand pointing directly at Harry’s chest. Before  he had time  to 
react, Ak used a Stupefy on him and Harry’s world turned black all around him as he fell 
down towards the fiery ground.
For once, neither himself or Malfoy had won the duel.


Chapter 17- The Geb Pyramid
A while after the duel was finally over, Harry learned from  talking with Ak that 
his Siragus Spell had knocked out Tci and Aylar, but not him. He only got a little ash from 
it, and he hid behind an obstacle, waiting for just  the right time  to pop out and surprise 
Harry. Since there were no more duelers left after him, Ak had won.
Harry also learned that during the duel, students from all over the school had been 
watching them through clear glass enchanted to look like the Great Hall’s walls. Almost 
everyone, including every professor, had come  down to watch the match, to try and lift up 
their spirit’s  a little bit more from the trip’s cancellation, which everyone was slowly but 
surely getting over. 
Despite all of this new knowledge Harry gained, he still had no clue who had been 
controlling the four boys during the match. Harry dared not talk about it with anyone else 
except for Malfoy, Hermione, and Ron. The fewer people that knew about the fact that he 
and Hermione both had ingredients to the Immortal potion on their arm, the better. Harry 
was almost tempted to tell  Ak, but their friendship was still  in the  developmental stage, 
and trust was still not a set thing. Harry decided against it, and it was probably because he 
only discussed it with such a small amount of people that he didn’t find out anything new.
The weeks  went by quickly, and then the weeks  soon turned into months. Harry 
was surprised at how fast school seemed to be going by, especially since nothing exciting 
was going on. There were not more Gryffindor Quidditch matches planned until the end of 
the year since they had lost their previous  one. Though, since Slytherin slaughtered both 
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff in their matches, it was confirmed that Gryffindor would be in 
the finals, though only by a little. Also, there were no more  Dueling Club meetings, not 
until the final one at the end of the year in front of everyone.
There   were   no   more   Wizard   Duel   meetings   either.   Despite   the   fact   that 
Dumbledore  was not  going to make the  trip’s  date  any earlier, Ak didn’t budge  on  his 
decision. Everyone was going crazy, wanting to  have a good tournament. This  seemed to 
lower most of the student’s want to play it every day, in fact, Harry believed that the only 
two people in the school that played every day were himself and Ron, though Ak yelled at 
them each time, to try and get them to stick with him. 
Prefect  meetings were just the absolute lowest point of Harry’s day. The rest of 
them were almost as boring and useless as the first one. They did nothing expect talk about 
possible  prefects  for  next  year from  the fourth years, and changing the  school  dinner 
menu. Harry suspected  that  they were no more  than recruiting grounds for new Death 
Eaters. Each meeting, it seemed as though more and more still had their letters with them, 
and they showed no sign of throwing them out. 
In fact, the only thing somewhat exciting that happened (besides  a most peculiar 
incident in Transfiguration where everyone spontaneously grew an extra arm) was Harry’s 
next  date  with Cho. This  time,  he  wanted to  have a  violent-free  and  Voldemort-free 
excursion, so he took the liberty of planning it. He made reservations at a place called the 
Collateral Café in Hogsmeade, a place where you didn‘t have to pay for your meal if you 
left  quickly enough, but you had to  give the  waiter something of yours before  you sat 
down. So, if you didn’t pay, the restaurant would be able to keep the thing you gave them. 


It was very interesting to see some of the wonderful items  that the restaurant had 
collected over the years  that  were  hung on the wall, and seeing people  all over eating, 
some without a shoe, a shirt, or some  that even gave away their  hairpieces. At first, the 
waiter wanted Harry’s Ring, but the thought of giving it away was more than Harry could 
bare, so he gave him his glasses instead. It was a wonderful meal there, especially since 
Wormtail didn’t show up at the end, trying to cut off Harry’s fingers.
Despite  this  one  evening of fun, the rest  of the  next few months  was downright 
boring, and Harry, along with the  rest  of  the  school,  was ecstatic  when the day finally 
came that they would all leave for their field trip to the Egyptian Pyramid.
Once   again,  Harry   woke   up   before   anyone   else   in   his   room   and  sprinted 
downstairs excitedly with his packed trunk. All the way down to the Great Hall, Harry kept 
one  eye open for Dobby, to try and not be surprised by him if he attempted to stop him 
from going on the trip again. But, Dobby must have given up on that effort, for Harry never 
saw so  much as a sock of him by the  time  he finally got  to the  biggest single room in 
Hogwarts.
Harry quickly sat down at the Gryffindor table, his legs bouncing anxiously. There 
were   about   ten   other   students   down  there   now,  each   waiting  for   the   same   thing: 
Dumbledore’s announcement that the trip was on. 
As the Hall began filling up at quite an alarming rate, almost ten or twenty more 
students every minute now, Harry could feel  the tension in the room  building, and his 
excitement growing. If Dumbledore dared to cancel this trip, he would surely not live long 
enough to regret it.
“Hey Harry,” yawned Ron when he finally arrived down, carrying his  small bag. 
“You’re up early.”
“Too excited to sleep.”
“Enh,” grunted Ron, sitting down. “I don’t know what everyone’s so excited about 
this  trip for. I went to  the  Egyptian Pyramids before, and you’ve seen one  you’ve seen 
them all.”
“Yes, but you’re the only one here that’s seen one,” yawned Harry back.
It wasn’t too much longer before  Hermione  and Malfoy arrived, along with the 
rest of the second years and up. Harry waved to the sleepy-looking Malfoy, wishing that he 
could join them at the Gryffindor table.
“Good morning students!” called Dumbledore in far too cheery of a voice for the 
ungodly hour that they were all up. “Are you all ready to go?”
“Yeah,” grunted, yawned, and belched the mass of students. 
“Well, before we leave, I have an announcement,” continued Dumbledore, putting 
his hands down. “Just one small one… I’m afraid… the trip has been cancelled.”
No one said anything. They just froze there, mouths opened wide and eyes  glazed 
over. The hall was quieter than the most silent silence in the world. 
“Just kidding!” laughed Dumbledore, giving a weak cough. 
“That’s not funny!” yelled most of the students  back, recovering from their state 
of almost-fainting.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” apologized Dumbledore. “But, I couldn’t resist. You all need to 
learn how to take a joke. 
“Anyways, I do have an actual  announcement. We will be  leaving for the  Geb 


Pyramid momentarily. The Hogwarts Express will be taking us there and I need all of the 
seventh year prefects  to escort their house’s third years  out of the main door, and to the 
train, and all the sixth year prefects  to escort  their house’s second years out of the main 
door, and to the train. I would also like it if they would remain with their students on the 
Express so that they can keep an eye on them, and they do not fall out of the window.”
“How can they fall out of the windows?” asked Ron.
“Well, we can’t cross water on a train, now can we?” said Hermione.
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Oh come on, Ron,” said Harry, realizing what must happen. “We’re going to fly 
there, aren’t we, Hermione?”
“Well yeah.”
“Heh,” laughed Ron quickly. “I could just picture Joe falling out of it.”
“And now,” announced Dumbledore, putting his  hands together  and sounding as 
though he was wrapping up. “To the train!”
“Yay!” yelled all of the  students as  they all jumped up and ran out of the door, 
causing some major blockage and crowding.
“Aren’t you going to help your second years?” Hermione  asked Harry as they 
waited patiently to leave. They didn’t want to be any part in that massive jumble.
“Nah, they can figure it out for themselves.”
Harry looked behind him and saw that they crowding was quickly clearing up. The 
three  of them sat up and walked out of the door, following the massive group to the main 
Hogwarts door. There, right in front of them was the Hogwarts Express, just as it usually 
looked, except without the tracks beneath it. How could that thing possibly fly?
Harry  decided to  not  question  it, just  to   accept  it, and  get  on that  train.  He 
climbed aboard and sat down with Ron and Hermione in their usual compartment. 
“Come  on, Harry,” nagged Hermione. “Live up to  the  prefect  name! Check on 
your little ones!”
“No.”
“Come on…”
“No.”
“Come on…”
“No!”
“Come on… please?”
“Fine!” sighed Harry angrily, standing up. “I’ll see them!”
“Thank you.”
Harry walked out of their compartment and down the train’s hall, looking through 
every open door, to see  where they were sitting. He didn’t have to look for long. All five 
of them were in one compartment.
“Go go go!” they were all chanting. Harry peeked inside and saw  that Joe  had 
already managed to put half of himself through the  window that was barely opened. His 
head and torso were outside and his wriggling legs were still in.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Harry demanded, stepping inside. 
“Seeing how far he can go through,” said Akshay.
“It’s only been a few seconds and he’s already halfway through,” announce Mike.
“Yeehaw!” yelled Chris. “Maybe he’ll fall out in the ocean if we’re lucky!”


“Meh will send you a postcard!” barked Joe from outside.
“Don’t you think that’s a little… stupid?” asked Harry.
“Don’t worry,” said Aylar, looking like he was enjoying this. “I’ll protect him.”
“Fine,” said Harry, leaving as Mike was giggling and drawing Kanji on Joe’s  pants. 
Harry just gave a sigh and closed the compartment door, hearing more  chants. He looked 
around, to try and find his  way back, when he  saw a most unusual compartment door. 
Instead of being wood like all the others, this one was a light gold and had a plaque on it 
that read ‘Private’.
Harry, knowing that curiosity had not killed that cat but rather an overfilled litter 
box, decided to investigate a bit more. He crept over the door and put his  ear up to it, to 
see if he could hear anything. 
Then, just as he thought he could hear something through the door, it swung open 
and Harry stumbled onto the ground.
“Harry!” said the person who had opened the door. Harry looked up quickly from 
his point on the ground and saw Dumbledore  looming above him. “What are  you doing 
here? Shouldn’t you be in a compartment?”
“Um…” stuttered Harry, trying to think of  something quick. “I uh… had…  a 
question for you….”
“Well?” asked Dumbledore, kind of impatiently.
“Well… um… won’t Muggles  see  this thing flying in the sky?” he asked. Harry 
was impressed that he came up with a decently good question right there on the spot.
“That was not too difficult of a problem to solve,” said Dumbledore, closing the 
compartment door behind him to Harry couldn’t see in. “We merely enchanted it to look 
like a flock of birds flying above to anyone that caught a glimpse of it.”
“But why go through all that trouble to disguise the train?” asked Harry, standing 
up and feeling more confident with his questioning now. “Couldn’t you just Apparate all of 
there or something?”
“Oh yes, we very well could have Apparated you all, or even used Floo Powder,” 
said Dumbledore. “But, Harry, life is  more  about the journey than the  actual destination. 
Life isn’t about arriving at death, but enjoying the paths you take and its many twists  and 
turns. So, I say enjoy the clouds floating by and the birds singing as we fly along. You’ll 
miss all that when you are able to Apparate.”
“I see,” said Harry, not really getting it. “Thank you, professor.”
“Anytime,” said Dumbledore. “And Harry… one last thing.”
“What is it?”
“Stay away from this door,” he grinned.
“Of course,” bowed Harry as  Dumbledore quickly slipped back into his private 
compartment. Once the door was completely shut, Harry ran back to his corridor, wanting 
to get this trip underway. 
“Oh! Welcome back, Harry!” said Ron when he opened the door. To his surprise, 
there were now three more people in the tiny room, Malfoy, Ginny, and Cho.
“What are you three doing in here?” asked Harry, taking the only available seat.
“What, are we not welcome?” asked Malfoy. 
“No, it’s just that, usually on me, Ron and Hermione sit here.”
“Well, I  don’t  want  to  spend any  more  time  with  those  two  bumbling idiots 


Crabbe and Goyle than I have to,” grunted Malfoy.
“And I missed  my Dracie-Poo!” squeaked Ginny, giving Malfoy  a kiss.  Their 
relationship was much more bearable now, and Harry found that he didn’t cringe at all.
“Me too,” said Cho. “Only… Harry instead.”
“Great,” said Harry. “Now we have all three couples in one room.”
Just then, the train gave a lurch forward, and stated moving. Very slowly at first, 
then faster and faster, much more quick than its  usual speed. Faster and faster it went, until 
they were  only a few hundred feet from the Forbidden Forest. Then, just when the  train 
was about to collide with the trees, it magically jumped up into the air and flew high above 
them, right alongside the clouds. 
Dumbledore  had been right. It was a very enjoyable trip on the train. The six of 
them   laughed  and talked  together,  forgetting  all  about  Hogwarts   and schoolwork and 
everything bad in their life. They were having such a good time, that none of them wanted 
to get off the train what felt  like only a minute later (but was actually around two hours) 
that they arrived.
“Come on!” announced Dumbledore, walking up and down the halls. “We’re there, 
it’s time to get off!”
“I guess  I’d better  go check on my little  second years,” said Harry, standing up. 
“I’ll meet you all outside.”
With that, he left  the compartment and sought after the five terrors. He opened 
their compartment, and inside were five laughing children, with Joe  in the middle, covered 
in multicolored characters.
“Meh fell out three times!” he squealed, putting up four fingers  and looking like 
he could use a week in the Hospital Wing.
“Um… good for you,” said Harry, rolling his eyes. “Come on. It’s time to leave.”
After a few whines of disagreement, Harry convinced the  five of them to come 
out. They, along with the  rest  of the passengers  on the train, exited quickly and arrived 
outside.
 The first difference Harry noticed about this  new setting was the heat. He thought 
that a bright Quidditch match day was hot, but that was nothing compared to this. Harry’s 
head was already covered in sweat. He immediately took off his heavy, black robe, along 
with his tie. Harry had to resist the urge to remove his final shirt, which was wet all over.
The sun was also much more  intense here. It hit  the sand, reflecting right  into 
Harry’s  eyes, practically blinding him. All  around, everything was lighter,  almost white 
from the powerful rays. Harry tapped his  glasses  with his wand and they magically turned 
darker, keeping out some of the sun.
“Another wonderful  Egyptian day,” commented Ron who just  got  off  he  train, 
holding his hand above his eyes
“Ah yes, nice  and warm,” said Malfoy, squinting and coming out with his  arm 
around Ginny’s neck. He turned to her. “My my Ginny, you look awfully hot in that robe… 
may I take it off for you?”
“I’m still getting used to you, Malfoy,” said Ron. “Don’t blow it.”
“Attention students!” announced Dumbledore, getting ahead of the massive group 
of students. He was floating in the air a little, so that everyone could see  him. “Follow me 


to the Geb Pyramid!”
Harry looked ahead for the  first  time,  and saw before  him one of the largest 
structures  he had ever seen. It was at least twice  as  large as Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes 
Inc., and it was made entirely out of massive, stone bricks. 
“Please,  follow  me   inside   and  you will  all  be  divided up into  groups  and be 
allowed to explore the  pyramid freely,” he continued, trying to get  the attention of over 
four hundred sweaty and anxious kids.
He waved his arm, signaling to them to follow. Harry got back into his  group of 
six, and  they, along  with  the   hundreds  of  others  treaded  across  the  hot  desert  sand, 
removing more and more articles  of clothing as they went along. Harry looked around as 
they moved forward and saw that there  was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. 
Except for the train, the mass of students, and the pyramid, sand was all that there was.
The group walked up closer to the pyramid, so much that Harry saw that the bricks 
that were  making it  up were  even bigger than Hagrid, almost  five  times  his  size. They 
walked all the way up to  a single, massive  stone, the only one  that was going vertical 
instead of horizontal. 
“Now,” said Dumbledore when the group had caught up to him. “This block here is 
exactly like Platform 9 ¾. All you need to do is walk right through it to get inside.”
Dumbledore immediately stepped through the giant Stone, as if it were a normal 
door, melting right  through it  like  water. When it appeared as  though he did it without 
being hurt at all, the rest  of the students traveled through as well. Even though Harry was 
used to things like that by now, it was still extremely eerie, seeing dozens of kids  flow 
through the solid brick, disappearing onto the other  side. Harry soon joined them on the 
other side as well, walking through the solid brick as if it were air.
What was on the other side  surprised Harry so much, he stopped in his  tracks. 
Instead of appearing in a musty and dark tunnel inside the pyramid, he found himself in the 
middle of a very nice room, furnished almost exactly like a very large version of a hotel 
lobby, except where there would be benches and chairs, there were beds and cots instead. 
Next to a small window in the wall (which had a small office behind it) there was a single, 
ordinary looking door that read ‘To The Inside of the Pyramid’. A man appeared in the 
window next to the door.
“Why hello Dumbledore!” he said in a cheery voice. He was dressed like a hotel 
bellboy and sounded like one too. “We’ve been expecting you.”
“Hello Mark,” said Dumbledore back, stepping through a few children that were 
gazing at the marvelous paintings on the walls to get to him. “Is your guide ready to tell us 
a little bit about this place?”
“He most certainly is,” said Mark, spinning around in his  chair. “Hey Bob! The 
group’s  here!” He spun back to face  Dumbledore and the group. “Bob will be with you 
shortly.”
“How is  he going to get to us?” asked Hermione  quietly. “There’s no doors  or 
anything coming out of the office.”
Hermione’s  question was immediately answered as  Bob all of a sudden popped 
out of the  wall next to the window. Bob was evidently not a human, but a ghost.  He was 
dressed very nicely, all done up in a suit and tie. He also had no hair at all, unless  you 
counted the two little translucent puffs above his ears.


“Why hello  everyone!”  he  said  loudly, clapping his  hands  together  and flying 
around the room. “I’m so happy you could come to visit the Geb Pyramid, it’s really the 
best one in all of Egypt; that’s why I’ve chosen to live here for the past two thousand and 
six years. I know more about this place than the people who built it!”
“Well   then,   why   don’t   you   give   us   a   little   introduction   to   it?”   suggested 
Dumbledore.
“That sounds like a splendid idea,” said Bob, bringing a chair up with him so he 
could sit down in it. “Well, first  of all, no one  knows exactly when the Geb Pyramid was 
built. We  do, however, know how and why it  was built. It was originally constructed by 
Ancient Egyptian Wizards who, using some of their primitive magic, floated these massive 
blocks of Stone that make up this pyramid up on ramps.
“Now,  why  it  was  constructed  is  a completely different  story.  The Egyptians 
wanted  a  place  where   heroes   could  go  to  test   their   speed, courage,  intelligence  and 
strength. And, once  they passed  the  test,  could be immortalized for  all eternity.  This 
pyramid is that place. 
“However, so many people tried their  luck at this  place, the death toll  rose  to 
unbelievable numbers. The Pharaoh ordered his  best  wizards to hide  this  pyramid from 
view, and erase it from ever existing. But, using modern magical techniques, we have been 
able  to  break  those  primitive  charms  and allow   all  wizards  and witches  to  enjoy  its  
splendor.
“Now, if you all would please divide up into groups of five, you will be assigned a 
guide, and we can get on our way taking in some of that splendor.”
The somewhat organized group now broke up into chaos. 
“Will you be in my group?”
“You want to be in my group?”
“Hey you! You’re in my group!”
That was all that could be heard for a while. But, Harry had to join in it, to figure 
out who was going to be with him.
“Let’s see… me, Hermione, Ron, Malfoy, Ginny, and Cho,” said Harry. “Oh no! 
That’s six!”
“But, I don’t see Cho anywhere,” said Ron, looking around.
“What? She was here just a minute ago.” 
Harry looked around too, but she was nowhere in sight.
“She probably went off with some of her other friends,” said Malfoy. 
“But-”
“Let her go,” said Hermione. “You two need a little time apart.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. She should spend some time with her other friends.”
“Well, now we’re  a group of  five!” announced Malfoy, putting his  arm  around 
Ginny again.
“Um… no you’re not,” said Bob the ghost who suddenly flew over them.
“No, we are,” said Ginny. “Me, Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron. That’s five!”
“Yes, but I’m afraid we have a strict  rule here  at the Geb Pyramid School Tours,” 
said Bob apologetically. “You can’t have two people from the  same family in the  same 
group.”
 “What? Why not?” demanded Hermione.


“Because if something were to happen to your group, we want the family to still 
have one child, now don’t we,” said Bob, glaring at her. “One of you two Weasleys  has got 
to go.”
 “How do you know Ron’s last name?” asked Harry.
“The Weasleys visited us three Summers ago,” said Bob lazily. “On their Egyptian 
tour and I never forget a face.”
“Fine fine,” said Ginny, putting her hands up, I’ll leave.”
“No Ginny!” begged Malfoy. “Please stay!”
“Come  on, Malfoy,”  she  said. “Harry and Cho are  spending some  time  apart, 
maybe we should have a few hours to ourselves.”
“But those  few  hours   are  like  knives  in my heart,”  said  Malfoy  clutching  his 
chest.
 “Oh come on, you,” she giggled. “I haven’t spent much time with my other friends 
lately. I’ll meet you back here at night.”
“Oh fine… be  gone  if  you must,” said Malfoy sadly and softly, falling to his 
knees. Ginny just a gave a small laugh and started working her way through the crowd. 
“Now we need another person,” said Ron, looking around.
“Hey Harry!” called Ak, stepping into their  little  assembly. “You think I could 
join you? Almost everyone else’s  group is full.”
“Sure,” said Harry. “We needed another person anyways.”
“Thanks,” said Ak, sounding almost out of breath. 
“Does   everyone   have  a   group   now?”   asked   Dumbledore,   flying   a  bit   above 
everyone, just to make sure. 
“Yes!” yelled everyone in the giant crowd.
“Excellent. Now, you will all be given a guide. Either one of your professors  or 
one of the special Geb Pyramid guides will arrive at your group shortly. Please treat your 
guide with respect… especially if he or she is your professor.”
“I hope we don’t get Snape,” said Ron.
“I hope we don’t get Trelawney,” sighed Harry
The five of them waited… and waited… and waited… but no guide came to them. 
Harry saw other groups receive their teachers and leaders, but no one came to their group 
of five. Just when Harry thought they were going to have no one, Dumbledore  came over 
to   them.
“Hello professor!” said Harry to him. “Are you going to be our guide?”
“What? Oh, no. No, I’m sorry, Harry,” he said to them. “I’m afraid that your group 
will not have a guide.”
“What!?” yelled the five of them together.
“But… we need a guide!” yelled Hermione. “How else  will we get the most from 
this trip? Who will tell us what the carvings mean? Who will keep us away from the cursed 
rooms? What will happen if we get hurt?”
“I  am  very sorry,”  apologized  Dumbledore.  “But, I  must  have  miscounted  or 
something and left one too many professors at Hogwarts to watch over the first years.”
“But… who will guide us?”
“Well… Ron knows a lot about this place,” suggested Dumbledore. “Let him lead 
you along!”


“Well… I did take the  tour  before,” said Ron, turning a little  red. “I suppose  I 
could show you all around.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Dumbledore, hitting him on the back. “You’ll be fine!” 
With that, he walked back to the group his was guiding. 
“Can you really show us  around the  pyramid?” asked Hermione, looking scared 
that she may not get the most out of this trip.
“Probably not…” muttered Ron.
“Alright students!” announced Dumbledore, hovering up a bit. “You are all free  to 
go now. Be sure to stay with your guides and don’t trail too far from them, you don‘t want 
to end up taking the Hero‘s Test now do you? Lastly, remember to return to this  room by 
ten at  night. This is  where  you will  all  sleep tonight… I trust  you all  brought sleeping 
bags.”
 “Yes!”
“No…”
“Do rocks count?”
“Excellent!” continued Dumbledore, not paying attention to any negative answers. 
“Now… go!”
There was a mad rush for the door as all the groups ran directly for it. Harry and 
the rest of his group, though, decided to wait a minute, until everyone else was gone. That 
didn’t take very long; in a matter of seconds, the entire room was cleared.
“Shall we?” asked Harry, waving an arm towards the door.
“Yes  we  shall,”  said  Malfoy,  running up to  it,  throwing  it   open, and running 
through. 
“Wait up for us!” yelled Harry, running after him along with the rest of his group. 
He  burst  through the  door,  and bumped right into  Malfoy  who was  crawling along the 
extremely narrow corridor, right behind the rest of the hundreds of students.
“Oh man,” grunted Harry, feeling a little claustrophobic. “Why are these hallways 
so narrow?”
“The builders  didn’t see  a reason to make them wider,” said Ron who was last in 
line of the five of hem. “They expected to have only one hero going through at a time… 
this entire place is like an anthill.”
They crept along the corridor, not too  far behind the rest  of  the students. Right 
now, there wasn’t much to see, just rocks on the walls. But, after a few minutes  of walking 
slowly, they came to a fork in the path. All of the students were going down the right path, 
and the left one was blocked off by a velvet rope.
“So… which way do we go?” asked Malfoy when they got to the split. 
“Isn’t it obvious?” said Hermione. “The path that’s not blocked off obviously.”
“Oh come  on!”  yelled  Malfoy, leaning on  the  rope.  “Where’s   your  sense   of 
adventure?”
“It’s down the path that everyone  else  is going,” she said, trying to creep by Harry and 
Malfoy who were in front of her.
“Don’t you want to learn everything you can about this place?”
“Well, yeah and everything I want to know is down this way.”
“Ron?” asked Malfoy. It was weird hearing him not referring to him as ‘Weasley’. 
“You’ve been down that path before. Anything down there you can’t read in a book?”


“No, not really.”
“Well then!” grinned Malfoy. “I’m sold!” He touched the rope with his wand and it 
disappeared. “Let’s go!” He started walking down the path less taken, but no one followed 
him.
 “Come on!” he beckoned when he was about twenty feet down the dark corridor.
“Let me through!” said Ak, pushing his way past Harry. “I’m going down that way! 
Wait  for  me, Malfoy!” He  ran down the corridor with him, disappearing into the dark 
tunnel. Harry shrugged his shoulders and walked down it too, quickly followed by Ron.
“You know, we could get in trouble for this!” yelled Hermione down to them.
“Not if anyone sees  us,” said Harry back, following the barely visible outline of 
Malfoy and Ak. He heard Hermione sigh and start walking along with them.
They marched  down the  hall, with the  lights  getting dimmer and dimmer  with 
every step. Finally, they were in complete darkness, so much that it didn’t matter if Harry 
closed his eyes or not, he could still see same. 
“Lumos!” he yelled, hoping that the stick he was holding onto was his wand. The 
usual bright beam shot out of the tip, giving Harry a thin beam with which to find his way 
to move along. Harry saw Malfoy and Ak do the same, and heard Ron too. It was creepy to 
see three rays of light moving along the gloomy and pitch black hallway.
“Oh man!” Harry suddenly heard Malfoy yell. “You guys have got to see this!”
“What!?”   yelled   Harry,   quickening   his   pace.   “What   is   it?”
“Just come over here and I’ll show you!”
Harry ran ahead, trying to not run into  the  owners  of the two beams in front of 
him. He quickly reached Malfoy and Ak.
“What? What did you find?” Harry asked, catching his breath.
“Look  at  this  cool  artifact!”  said  Malfoy, shining his  beam  on some   sort   of 
golden object. But, the beam was not even close  to being big enough to show the entire 
thing. They needed more light.
“Malfoy,” said Harry, “do you know any spells that can give us more light?”
Even through the darkness, Harry could sense that he grinned.
“Harry… what do you think?”
“Well, use it!”
“Alright… Solelium Lumos!” From the tip of his wand, a flood of light erupted 
out, as if the entire sun had just appeared right in front of them. The entire  room was even 
brighter than the outside desert, and Harry had to intensify the darkness  of his glasses  just 
to bring his vision to normal brightness.
But, what was revealed to them was worth all of the brightness and any other pain 
that they had ever experienced in their lives. As high up as Harry could see, there  was 
nothing but golden artifacts. It was a gigantic pile of golden objects, each encrusted with 
gems, rubies, emeralds, everything that shined. Harry felt his jaw hit the floor and then get 
wet in his puddle of drool.
“Oh… my… god….” gasped Ak and Ron together, eyeing the insanely huge pile. 
Before them was more money than in the entire world. 
“So, Hermione,” said Malfoy, turning around. “Was it worth it to break the rules 
to see this treasure?…. Hermione? Hey, where is  Granger?”
“What?” said Harry, quickly turning his attention away from the unimaginable pile 


of wealth. 
“She’s not here,” said Malfoy.
Harry looked behind him, and saw Ak, Ron and Malfoy, but there was no sign of 
Hermione. She was nowhere to be seen.
Hermione was gone.


Chapter 18- The Hero’s Tests
“HERMIONE!”  yelled  Harry   and  Ron  together,  quickly  followed   by Ak and 
Malfoy who tore  their  eyes  away from  the pile  of  wealth. Harry ran up and down the 
corridor, yelling her name, but he couldn’t find her.
“Where is she?” demanded Ron, looking frantically all over. 
“HERMIONE!” yelled Harry at the top of his lungs one last time. But, once again, 
she did not show up. The only thing that answered his call was his echo.
“How could she have left?” asked Ak, touching the stones  all over, checking for 
secret passages.
“She was right behind me the entire time,” said Ron, joining Ak.
“Malfoy, did you see her at all?” asked Harry, taking one final look down the hall. 
Malfoy didn’t answer him. “Malfoy, did you ?” 
Harry turned around, and had to resist screaming in surprise. Where Malfoy was 
only a few  seconds  earlier,  there  was now no one. Harry could hear his  heart  beating 
frantically in his chest. Where did they go?
“Ron…” asked Harry impishly. “Malfoy’s gone now too…”
There was no response.
Harry turned around, dreading what he was going to see. Sure enough, there was 
no Ron behind him, only Ak.
“Ak! Where’s Ron and Malfoy!” asked Harry worriedly, now almost on the verge 
of tears. Fear was overwhelming him to the point of absolute terror.
“I don’t know,” whimpered Ak, darting his eyes  up and down the  hall. “Ron was 
right next to me a second ago, then he just… disappeared.”
“I don’t like  this, Ak,” said Harry quietly, not letting him leave his  sight, not 
wanting him to disappear as well. “How could they all just disappear?”
“Maybe this  treasure is cursed or something,” suggested Ak, backing away slowly 
from the pile of gold that they had all sprinted towards  only moments ago. But, that was 
back when they all were here.
“Alright, I have an idea,” said Ak, trying to keep his  voice calm. “I’m going to go 
back to the main group and tell the teachers what happened. Maybe they can help.”
“No!” yelled Harry. “We’ll get expelled for taking the wrong path!”
“It’s better than being killed or trapped in this pyramid forever,” said Ak. 
“I supposed you’re right… but hurry back!”
“I will!” said Ak, beginning to run down the dark corridor. 
“Wait!” yelled Harry to him, reconsidering being alone. “Ak, wait!”
It was too late. Ak was alright well out of sight, far into the deep darkness  on the 
other side of the hall. 
Harry was all alone.
It’s very interesting, how when you’re alone, you pay much more attention to the 
small noises and movements all around you. The dripping of the water on the walls, from 
the moist  stones  was like  gongs  in  Harry’s ears, and the occasional  movement of  the 
golden objects made a massive shadow appear on the wall, making Harry draw out his wand 
and  coil  back  in   fear.  Worst  of  all,  it   seemed  as   though  the  light   that  Malfoy  had 
summoned was slowly going out.


“Wait a minute!” said Harry to himself. “The light is getting dimmer!” It was as if 
a cloud was passing over the sun, a very dark and thick cloud. What used to be brighter than 
the desert outside was now only as bright as a cave, and getting darker with every second. 
Harry  slowly  backed away  from   the  darkening  room,  but found himself  only 
entering the pitch black corridor from which he came. Only a few seconds later, Harry was 
engulfed by the  darkness. He was drowning in a pool of night, it  was devouring him all 
around.
 Harry’s heart was beating so fat and hard he thought it would explode out of his 
chest. He could feel its  beats echo all the way up to his head, making the sweat in his hair 
and on his forehead throb, and drip down. Any second now, Harry expected some  sort of 
hellish beat to come up from behind and tear him to pieces.
Just then, Harry heard a noise  and closed  his eyes, preparing for some sort of 
sharp and pointy impact. But, instead, Harry fell… into the floor! Some sort of trap door 
opened up below him and Harry fell right through it. 
It was like some sort of horrible slide, still pitch black but hard and metallic all 
around, twisting  and turning  in  every  possible   direction.  Most  of   the   stones  weren’t 
smoothed out, and they tore through Harry’s light shirt that he had on, giving him cuts  and 
lacerations all over, adding a bit of blood color to the stones. 
“OUCH!” yelled Harry. The slide  part of the trip had ended and he  landed, head 
first, onto another stony ground. Harry rubbed his head and saw that he was now one some 
sort of stone bridge, crossing over a massive pit that filled up the entire floor of the small 
room, a pit that appeared to have no bottom. 
“Harry!” came a familiar voice. He looked on the other  side of the  bridge, and 
right there, standing was Hermione, Malfoy, Ron and Ak! 
“Hey!” Harry yelled to them, his  spirits  soaring upon seeing them as he stood up. 
“How did you guys get over there?”
“Run across!” Hermione yelled.
“What? No, not now,” yelled Harry back. He looked behind him for a way out, but 
the slide that he had come down had mysteriously vanished. “How do we get out of here?”
“Run across the bridge!” yelled Malfoy, cupping his hands over his mouth.
“Why don’t you come over here?”
“Trust us!” yelled Ron. “Just run over as fast as you can!”
“Nah, I’m kind of tired,” said Harry, the fear that he had just finished experiencing 
took a toll on his body. “Think I’ll just stroll across.” 
Harry took a step forward.
“No Harry!” yelled Ak. “Run-”
Suddenly, where there was once just a bridge, there was now a blade filled torture 
machine. The  bottomless   pit  all around the  bridge erupted into  flames, and above  the 
bridge there  were  swinging pendulums, but these  were  not  ball  pendulums, these  were 
gigantic, swinging knives and blades, the size of a guillotine’s. There were at least ten of 
them, each a few feet away from the other, wavering at random intervals.
“Woah!” yelled Harry, stopping dead in his tracks, inches away from being sliced 
in half by the first blade. “You didn’t tell me these things were going to come up!”
“If you had just run across like we told you to,” said Malfoy, “then you would be 
with us. Now, they are all not swinging in a pattern anymore.”


“So what can I do?” gasped Harry, feeling the wind of the blade whoosh by him, 
practically blowing him over. 
“I guess you just got to go by each separately,” shrugged Hermione. “Carefully.”
“What!?” wheezed Harry. “There has to be an easier way to do this!”
“I don’t think there is…” sighed Malfoy. “You’ve just got to run.”
“Why run,” grinned Harry, getting an idea, “when you can fly?” He transformed 
his  shoulders  into  his  magnificent  Gryffin wings and jumped off  of  the  Stone  bridge, 
quickly flew past the swinging blades, not even coming within feet  of one. He did a little 
somersault in the air and landed right next to his other four group members. 
“Having wings comes  in handy,” said Harry, transforming his  shoulders  back to 
normal. “Saves you from having to get sliced in half…. By the way, what is this place?”
“This is where we all fell  down to,” said Hermione, throwing her hands into the 
air. Now, the swinging blades  and fire  was gone, only the innocent looking regular Stone 
bridge was left. “A trap door opened up under each of us, quickly bringing us down here.”
“So, what is… here?”
“This is  the first  test  that the heroes  wanting to test their skills  take,” continued 
Hermione. “According to  that Bob the  ghost  guy, this is  the  speed test. There are  three 
more, a courage, intelligence, and strength one.”
“So, how do we get to  the next test?” asked Harry, looking at where  they were, 
which was completely door-less.
“That’s what we want to know,” said Malfoy, looking around. Harry turned his 
head up, to see  if there was any way out. Then saw there, right above their heads, was a 
rather small hole in the wall, but large enough for someone to fit through.
“Up there!” said Harry, pointing to his find. “Maybe we have to go through that 
hole.”
 “Sounds like the best idea so far,” said Ak. 
“But how do we get up there?” asked Hermione. 
“Ahem,” coughed Harry, sprouting his wings again. “I can fly you all up. Grab on.”
Harry put out his  arms and Hermione grabbed hold of them. Ron grabbed hold of 
her waist, Ak grabbed hold of him, and Malfoy grabbed hold of him. This wasn’t going to 
be a light load.
“One… two… three… go!” said Harry, heaving them all up. He got barely a foot  
off of the ground when it became almost unbearable, it was like trying to pull a full grown 
oak tree out of the ground. His human form simply would not do .
Harry morphed into the  rest of his  Gryffin form, and immediately felt renewed 
strength flow through him. What used to be heavier than an elephant was now lighter than a 
feather. He easily lifted the four of them  up to  the hole  in the  ceiling, and got the first 
glimpse of the next test.
“What’s it like, Harry?” asked Hermione, Ron and Malfoy telepathically together.
“You don’t want to know,” gasped Harry. He lifted them up quickly now, so they 
could see what lay before them as well. Once they were all up, he let them go and wonder 
how in the world they were going to get passed this task.
Before  them lay an ocean of lava and fire. It stretched out  to the sides  as  far as 
the eye could see, though it was relatively narrow, someone could practically jump right 
over it, if they could jump about thirty feet. Harry’s first  thought was just to  fly over it 


again, but floating above the flowing lava was a massive fire that erupted every now and 
then, getting  larger  and hotter  every  time. If  Harry flew  over that  thing,  he’d quickly 
become roast gryffin.
“How are we supposed to cross  this?” asked Harry, returning to his normal form.
“Let me try something,” said Malfoy, licking his  lips  and pulling up his  sleeves. 
He aimed his wand at the molten lava. “Glacius!”
A massive, white  beam burst out from Malfoy’s  wand, hitting the  lava. But, as 
powerful as  the spell was, it had barely any effect. Only the exact  spot that Malfoy hit 
changed to ice, and it stayed like that for only a second before it melted.
“Well, that’s the best freezing spell I know,” sighed Malfoy, stepping back. 
“So… what do we do?” asked Ak, turning to them. His  doing that hurt Harry’s 
sprits. If Malfoy couldn’t do anything and Ak couldn’t do anything, what chance did they 
have?
 “Well,” said Hermione, “we can’t go over it, we definitely can’t go around it, and 
we can’t go under it…”
“So we’ve got to go through it,” said Ron seriously, eyeing the river of fire as if it 
were some sort of opponent.
“What?” asked Harry. “What are you talking about?”
“We’ve got to swim across it,” he said backing up slowly, looking like he wanted 
a running start.
“What? Ron, no!” gasped Hermione, running over to try and stop him. But, she 
was too  late.  Ron had already sprinted  off,  all  the  way to  the  edge  of  the  stone   that 
separated the surface from the lava. When he reached that point, he gave no hesitation. He 
only jumped.
“RON!” yelled the four of them together as he jumped right into the pool of lava. 
His  arms   waving  wildly, and  his   mouth screaming, Ron fell  into   the  sea  of   fire  and 
plummeted all the way to the bottom, going under it and disappearing from sight.
“RON! NO!” yelled Harry, going to  the  edge of  the  stone  and trying to see  if 
there  was any sign of  his  best  friend. He  looked all  around,  but to  no  avail. He  had 
disappeared into the sea of liquid heat. Harry bowed his head down.
“I’m okay!” came a voice suddenly.
“What…?” asked Harry, looking up.
“It’s me, Ron! I’m okay!”
Harry looked into the lava… the voice was coming from inside it!
“How  can  you  possibly  be   okay!?”  demanded  Malfoy.  “Your skin  should  be 
melting off of your bones! How can you possibly be okay!?”
“The lava and fire are not real,” said Ron, sounding perfectly okay. “Just jump on 
in, you’ll be fine.”
The four of them looked at each other, wondering whether or not to believe him. 
Was it really Ron? Was he really alright? Was it some sort of trick?
“I get it now!” said Hermione suddenly. “This is the test of courage! This one sees  
if   you   are   brave   enough  to   make   the   ultimate   sacrifice   when   there   are   no   other 
possibilities, if you would be willing to give up your life in battle.”
“Couldn’t they just have somebody ask us  is  we were brave, instead of  having 
this?” asked Ak, not looking as though he was in any hurry to try his luck.


“I can’t believe Ron was the bravest of us all to jump in,” said Malfoy.
“Some call it bravery… others insanity,” commented Hermione, walking up to the 
edge of the Stone and trying to get up the courage to dip the tip of her toe in.
“Well, if Ron here could do it, than any of us can,” said Malfoy, rubbing his hands 
together and backing up a bit. “Here goes  nothing!” He closed his eyes and ran as fast as he 
could toward the  sea  of  flames. Once  he reached the edge of the bricks  he leapt in, not 
daring to open his eyes. Just like Ron, he fell  through the lava, making a small splash, and 
disappearing inside of it.
“Malfoy!” yelled Harry, crouching over the dark red sea. “Did you make it?”
“Sure  did!” he  called  back, sounding perfectly  potty. “Come on in,  the  lava’s 
fine!”
 “Well, that’s good enough for me,” said Ak. “See you on the other side you two!” 
Not  even taking a running start,  Ak just  walked up to  the  edge, closed his  eyes, took 
another step out and fell right through, without even making a splash.
“Come on Harry,” whimpered Hermione. “Let’s do it together.”
“Fine, if  it will make you feel  any better,”  said Harry, trying to  sound brave, 
though he felt  that  doing it with someone  else   made him feel  better  than doing it  by 
himself. They walked to the edge together and held hands.
“On the count of three,” said Hermione, swallowing hard and looking down at her 
fiery   fate.   Even   though   both   of   them   knew   it   wasn‘t   real,   it   was   still   extremely 
intimidating. “One… two… three… go!”
Together, they jumped up and into the flaming ocean. Harry had to practically pull 
Hermione off  the edge before  she finally fell in with him. Once Harry touched the lava 
and fire, he cringed and closed his  eyes, his brain expecting some  sort of pain to come. 
But, to his surprise, he felt  nothing. Not even so much as a tingle. It was as if he was just 
falling through air. 
It wasn’t even that long of all fall. Harry and Hermione were barely falling for 
half a second before their feet touched the ground. They ended up in a very small and dark 
room that had a single door with a dim light coming through. 
“Hey!” exclaimed Ron somewhat sarcastically when Hermione and Harry landed 
down there with them. “Hermione! I thought you and I were together!”
“Oh Ron, Harry just needed someone to jump on in with him,” smiled Hermione. 
“Aww…” said Malfoy cutely. “Did widdle  Harry need someone to  jump in the 
lava with him?”
“Shut up Malfoy,” said Harry, pushing him away. 
“Anyways…” said Ak, breaking them up. “Back to the tasks at hand.”
“I assume we go through that door,” said Harry, pointing to the only way out. 
“Thanks for that stunning report Captain Obvious,” grinned Malfoy.
The five of them marched over to the door, having no clue what to expect  next. 
After a bridge  of  swinging blades  and then an ocean of  fire  and lava, what could  you 
expect? They entered the room, the door closed automatically behind them, and they were 
shocked by what was inside.
There  was nothing in the room  except for one, massive, golden throne. Seated 
upon it was a very old and decrepit looking monster. But, through its  long and dangly gray 
hair, wrinkles and colorless  flesh, Harry could tell what it was: a Sphinx.


“Greetings… heroes,” it spoke, very slowly, sounding like a bucket full of dust. “I 
congratulate… you five… on… getting this… far. You are… halfway done… with your… 
tests.”
 “Many thanks,” said Harry, who had experience in dealing with Sphinxes before. 
“But, we’re kind of in a hurry to  get out  of here. You see,  we need to get  back to our 
group. So, if you could just give us the riddle-”
“Ahh,”  coughed  the  Sphinx. “A bunch  of…  quick  minded…  heroes   are   you. 
Well… we’ll see… just how… quick minded… you really… are.”
“Alright!” said Hermione, who looked as through she wanted a crack at the riddle. 
“Tell us your conundrum.”
“Very…well. But… I must… warn you… if you… guess  wrong… than all five… 
of you… shall perish.”
“Oh yeah?” said Malfoy. “How’s an old bird like you going to kill us? I bet we can 
take you down.”
To this, the Sphinx gave a coughing laugh.
“Oh…” he groaned. “I will… not be… the one… to kill you. Dede’ft will.”
“Who’s Dede’ft?” demanded Harry. 
“I am!” hissed a massive snake that suddenly appeared from behind the Sphinx’s 
throne. Even though it was mostly all coiled up, it was still taller than the entire room and 
as thick as a tree trunk. It had two giant red eyes, and black mandibles on either side of its 
mouth that clicked and hissed for it. 
“What did it say?” Hermione asked Harry.
“It said the  he’s  Dede’ft,”  whimpered  Harry. Dede’ft  was  even bigger  than  a 
Basilisk, and those were bad enough already.
“Wait a minute here!” said Ron suddenly. “How come  you’re so old, Mr. Sphinx, 
but Dede’ft here looks like he’s still in his youth of snake hood?”
“Well…” coughed the  Sphinx. “You see… while  I am… the original… Riddle 
Keeper…  Dede’ft…  is   not…  the  original…  snake   guardian.  Every  year…  the  snake 
guardian explodes… bringing forth… a hundred new… baby snakes. The strongest  of… 
the hundred or so… eats the rest… and continues the cycle.”
“So it  ate all of its brothers  and sisters?” gulped Harry, not really looking at the 
massive snake. It was far too frightening of a sight.
“Thank you for  telling them, Sphinx,” hissed Dede’ft. “But, as  much as I liked 
snake meat, that’s not to say I wouldn’t appreciate a little change to human flesh.”
“Well, he may be big, but I bet  one  good spell could still take him down,” said 
Malfoy, not sounding as brave as his words as snake glared at him and spat some  venom 
out.
 “Very… well then,” continued the Sphinx. “If you… think you… are so… bold… 
here is… your riddle: It smells not with its nose, but with its  fork. While it has no digits, it 
can still do work. Once devoured, though, that will be the last thing you shall think, as you 
are slowly eaten, he shall not even blink. What creature is this?”
Right after it stopped speaking, the Sphinx collapsed in its  chair from talking so 
fast. It took in long and deep loud breaths, exhausted.
“What kind of question is that?” demanded Ron.
“That’s the craziest one I’ve ever heard,” said Malfoy.


“Do you… want to… give up?” grinned the Sphinx weakly.
“No way!” yelled Ak, looking as though he was thinking hard.
“What kind of thing smells  with a fork?” asked Hermione to herself, looking in 
almost deeper thought than Ak.
“Well, don’t piano tuners smell  their  tuning forks  after they hit a piano string?” 
asked Ron. “Maybe the creature is a piano tuner!”
“Ron,” sighed Harry. “If you  don’t have anything intelligent  to  say, don’t say 
anything at all.”
“So the monster has no digits, eh?” asked Malfoy.
“Yes… that is… correct.”
“So, what?” said Ron again. “Digits  are numbers, right? Maybe the  creature  is 
stupid and can’t think numbers. Maybe it’s a really stupid creature!”
“No Ron,” said Malfoy. “The answer is not you.”
“Good one,” laughed Harry, nudging Malfoy in the side.
“Thanks.”
Harry returned to thinking. What kind of monster smelled with a fork? Well, he 
certainly couldn’t think of anything that did. Harry moved onto the next clue:  it  has no 
digits. What  did that mean? Harry decided  to  skip over  that one  as  well, to the  more 
unpleasant clue; the one about being eaten.
“So this creature must take a while to devour something, since the clue said you 
will be slowly eaten,” said Harry out loud to himself.
“But there  are  dozens   of  creatures   that  take  long  time   to  digest  food,”  said 
Hermione. “It’s way too vague to start thinking there.”
“Ha ha,” laughed Dede’ft suddenly, curling its  long body around the throne. “The 
fools, they will never figure out the answer.”
What was he talking about? Didn’t he know that Harry could understand him?
Just then it hit Harry. He hadn’t spoken directly to Dede’ft yet, so he didn’t know 
that he was a Parseltongue! He had to take advantage of this situation.
“Oh  Ron!”  complained  Harry  loudly  and sarcastically,  so  that  Dede’ft   could 
overhear them, formulating a plan in his  head. “It’s too  bad we can’t figure out this  really 
hard  riddle!”  Ron  gave him  a  funny  look,  Harry  signaled  to  him  to  just  play along. 
Confused, he merely nodded his head.
“It’s so hard,” said Harry again, loudly enough so that Dede’ft could hear. “It’s too 
bad we don’t have the mind of a snake, like Dede’ft over there, then I’m sure  we could 
figure it out!”
The gigantic snake turned it’s head quickly towards Harry, glaring at him.
“Well,” he hissed, “at least one of them has  a brain. Of course  if those pathetic 
humans had my brain they would have figured out the riddle by now. To a snake, these sort 
of things are easy.”
“Yep,” continued Harry, “snakes are so smart! I bet that Dede’ft over there already 
knows the answer!” 
To this, the snakes gave a chuckle.
“Well of course I know the answer! Sphinx told me it a long time ago, when I was 
still a child. I, of course, love the answer, it’s a small piece of respect for my kind.”
Harry was getting closer now, if only he could get a bit more out of Dede’ft then 


he would unknowingly blurt out the solution. He decided to just cut to the chase.
“It’s too  bad Dede’ft couldn’t just tell  you the  answer,” said Harry for the  last 
time, now having the four others in his group stare at him.
“Oh, the silly child,” hissed Dede’ft, shaking his  head. “Even if I could tell  him 
that the  answer to the riddle was snake, I wouldn’t. I am very hungry; it’s been so long 
since I’ve eaten anything bigger than a rat.”
That was far more than Harry needed to know. Dede’ft had told them the answer! 
It was snake! 
“Of course,” said Harry out loud. “A snake doesn’t have a nose, it smells  with its 
forked tongue! And they don’t have digits… also known as fingers! Digits is another name 
for fingers! Of course  snakes don’t have fingers, they don’t even have arms or legs! And 
the last clue… oh yeah! Snakes eat their food whole, and they stay in their digestive tracks 
for a while, and of course  they wouldn’t even blink! Snakes don’t have eyelids  to  blink 
with!”
 Hermione,  Ron, Malfoy  and Ak were  all  staring at  Harry, wide-eyed and with 
gaping mouths. Hermione ran up to Harry and hugged him.
“You’re a genius!” she yelled.
“What… happened?” asked the Sphinx. “I fell… asleep.”
“I figured out your riddle!” yelled Harry, turning to face the decrepit creature and 
smirking on the inside.
“Well then… what is… your… answer?” demanded the Sphinx.
“The answer is… snake!” yelled Harry.
As soon as the word left his mouth, the Sphinx let  out an ear-piercing screech. It 
jumped up onto its  hind-legs and waved its arms in the air, only increasing its volume and 
frequency. Everyone covered their ears, but it  didn’t help. Relief  only arrived when the 
Sphinx finally stopped screaming and collapsed onto its  throne.
“You are…” gasped the Sphinx, “truly worthy… of the… treasure. Or… at least… 
whatever is… left of… it. Dede’ft! Move… the throne… over… and let… them pass.”
Dede’ft, looking extremely angry that he hadn’t gotten to eat even one of them, 
bowed his head down and pushed the  golden throne over to the wall, revealing a hidden 
passageway underneath.
“You may… go down… to your… next task,” croaked the Sphinx, looking even 
older now than it did before. “And… good luck… to you all.”
“Thank  you,” bowed  Harry. Walking past  the   infuriated  snake  and toward  the 
staircase  that looked even older and more feeble than the Sphinx. The small steps had lost 
all of their color and were  now covered in several inches  of dust. Covering the dust and 
strung across  the hallways leading down was an uncountable number of  cobwebs, with 
spiders that looked like they would gladly take a bite of one of the five.
Bravely, Harry put his foot on the first step and began the treacherous walk down. 
With each step, it got darker, and no two stairs  were the same height. Several times, Harry 
fell  over, ending up with a mouthful of spider webs. By the time they reached the room 
that horrible staircase led to, Harry deeply regretted going out in front. 
“So what task is this one going to be?” asked Harry, spitting out a spider.
“Well, let’s  see  here,” said Hermione. “We already did the  speed and courage 
tests, and I think the last  one was the intelligence  test, so  this  one must be the strength 


test; the final one.”
“Good,” said Ak. “Maybe after this one, we can get out of here.”
“I hope all we have to do for this test is lift a barbell or something,” sighed Ron.
Harry grinned and looked around. Just  like the  other  rooms, except  fro the one 
with the infinitely long fire river, this one  was quite small, about as big as the  common 
room with stone walls, ceiling and floor. But, the thing that set this one apart was the fact 
that there was a floating scale in the middle of the room.
But, this  wasn’t just  any scale. It was  one of  the  old fashioned ones, a golden 
balancing scale. Also, this  one  already had two balanced objects  on it:   on the  left, a 
feather, on the right, a beating human heart.
“How horrible,” said Ak, covering his mouth.
“No it  isn’t,” said Hermione,  walking up to  it. “Don’t you know any Egyptian 
Mythology? This is the scale used in the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony.”
“The what?” asked Malfoy.
“The  Weighing  of   the  Heart  Ceremony,”   said  Hermione,  sounding  annoyed. 
“Whenever an Egyptian died, especially a pharaoh, they would be brought to some sort of 
spiritual judgment room. There, their heart would be weighed against a feather. If it was 
heavier, than they were  supposedly evil, and they had no afterlife. But, if it was lighter, 
then they could enter Heaven.”
“Sounds like  fun,” said Harry, walking up to  the  scale  next to Hermione. “But 
what does that have to do with this test?”
“I dunno,” said Ron, walking up next to him. “Maybe we have to eat the heart or 
something.” He put out his arm, grabbed hold of the heart, and brought it up to his mouth, 
pretending to eat it. 
Then, just as the heart left the scale, the door that they used to get in vanished and 
the room  began shaking furiously, knocking the five of them to the floor. Ron impishly 
placed the heart back on the scale, as if trying to stop whatever was happening.
“Welcome heroes,” boomed a voice that seemed to be coming from all around 
them, “to the final  challenge; the  test  of  your strength. For this, you must  defeat me, 
Amemait, the Devourer!”
“Who’s   Amemait?”  Harry  asked  Hermione,   bouncing all   over  the   room  like 
popcorn.
“Remember how I said if your heart was heavier than the feather, than you would 
have no afterlife?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you would have no afterlife because Amemait would swoop down and eat 
you.”
 “Great…” sighed Harry. Suddenly, the room stopped shaking and the golden scale 
disappeared. Quickly taking its  place was one of the most  horrible creatures  Harry had 
ever seen. 
The beast had the head of a crocodile. It’s teeth looked sharper than nails, though 
they were not as piercing as its human eyes. Going down to its  torso, it had lion skin and 
arms, furry and fuzzy all over. For it’s  waist and below, though, it had hippopotamus-like 
features, especially the tail. All over, however, it had a very feminine appearance, as if it 
were trying to seduce and kill them at the same time. 


“I shall fight each of you individually,” said Amemait, in a rather silky voice. It 
was rather funny, seeing a crocodile  speak with a voice like that. “If all five of  you are 
defeated by me, than you shall all perish. You, the girl… you shall be first.”
“Me?” gasped Hermione, pointing to herself. 
“Yes you!” yelled Amemait, suddenly not sounding so suave.
“Good luck, Hermione,” said Harry, backing up with the rest of the others against 
the wall.
 “Yeah, you’ll need it,” added Malfoy. 
Hermione  and the  Amemait faced each other, each on an opposite  side  of the 
room.  Hermione  brandished her wand, looking fierce, though not so much as Amemait 
was. There they both stood for a few moments, until Hermione made the first move.
“Stupefy!” she yelled. The red beam shot out of her wand, and right for Amemait. 
But,  just   at  the   last   second,  Amemait  shoved  out  her  massive  hippopotamus  blubber, 
making it take up most of her front. The spell hit the  rubbery skin and bounced right off, 
disappearing into the wall.
“Now it’s  my turn!” yelled Amemait. Not giving any more warning, she ran at full 
sprint, which was especially fast considering her size, straight for Hermione. She didn’t 
have any time to react; Amemait hit her, and pressed her much smaller body up against the 
wall. Harry could just picture every bone in her body being broken.
“HERMIONE!” yelled Harry, Ron, Malfoy and Ak together.
After   literally  rubbing  her  into  the  wall  a  bit   more,  and creating  a few  very 
unpleasant   crunching  sounds,   Amemait   backed   off   and  Hermione   fell   to   the   floor, 
defeated and unconscious, no more than a fleshy sack of broken bones.
“Who’s next!?” she demanded, glaring at the four of them.
“I am!” yelled Ron, jumping up.
“No you’re not!” yelled Malfoy, standing up next to him.
“What  are  you  talking  about?  I’m  next!”  said  Ron  sternly.  “I  have  to   defend 
Hermione’s honor!”
“This isn’t  about honor,” spat Malfoy. “This is  about life  and death. Now, you 
could go in there  and wave your wand around and waste some  more time. Time Hermione 
may not have. Or, you could let  me go in there, I could beat that abomination, we can get 
out of here, and then get her to a hospital.”
“Fine,” hissed Ron, sitting back down.
“You! The yellow  haired one!”  yelled Amemait, pointing at Malfoy. “Come! I 
hunger for battle!”
“Not once I’m through with you,” spat Malfoy, walking to where  Hermione  had 
stood. He pushed up his  sleeved and took out his  wand, waiting for her to make the first 
move. “You’re not going to have a stomach to hunger with anymore.”
Malfoy didn’t have to  wait very long for the battle  to  begin. A moment later, 
Amemait came rushing at Malfoy, utilizing the same strategy she had used before. But this 
time was different. This time Malfoy was ready.
“Kooverta Maximus!” he yelled, creating a massive and invisible shield in front of 
himself. Amemait ran right into that instead, hurting herself far more than Malfoy. 
“That was a mean trick!” she yelled, rubbing her head.
“Sometimes  you’ve got to fight ugly to beat ugly people,” laughed Malfoy.


“So, you think I’m ugly do you?” demanded Amemait. “Well, let me show you that 
looks aren’t everything!”
With that, Amemait just disappeared into thin air.
“What?   Where’d   she   go?”   asked   Malfoy,   looking   around   the   small   room. 
“Something that big can’t disappear.”
“MALFOY!” yelled Harry, suddenly seeing her pop back into  the visible world 
again. “Behind you!”
But, it  was too  late. Amemait didn’t waste any time  and quickly put her mouth 
over Malfoy’s wand arm, biting it right off with a loud crunching sound. The arm fell to the 
floor in a bloody mess, with Malfoy screaming and yelling, now laying on his stomach, 
crawling towards his hand. He made a grab for his wand with his other hand, but Amemait 
kicked the arm across  the room, far out of his reach. She put one hippo leg on his  back, 
preventing him from going anywhere.
“Do you give up or do you want me to kill you?” asked Amemait, smiling.
“I…” stuttered Malfoy, looking lost. He had never admitted defeat before, and the 
fact that he almost had to was painful. “I… well… I give up.”
“Excellent   choice,”   said   Amemait,  taking  her  foot   off   of   his   back.   Malfoy 
crawled over to the wall that Hermione was against and tried to  see  if he could help her, 
even if he didn’t have his wand anymore.
“Who shall be by next victim?” asked Amemait, crossing her sharp clawed hands.
“You and me,” said Ron seriously, stepping forward. “Let’s go.”
“Alright then fire-head,” snapped Amemait, walking back to her corner. “Let’s see 
if you’re any better than your friends were.”
Harry sighed and put  his   head into  his  hands.  Ron would be  little  more  than 
walking meat for Amemait. If Hermione and Malfoy couldn’t beat her, what chance did he 
stand? Even though Ron must have known this, he was looking confident, wand out and a 
grin on his face. He had proved back at the lava test that he was brave, stupid yes, but still 
very brave as well.
“YEEARRGG!” belched Amemait, breaking into a full run once again, only this 
him, turning invisible as well. How could Ron possible avoid the invisible tank?
But, Ron did have a plan. He quickly transformed into his  chameleon form  and 
became just as invisible as Amemait was. He must have moved out of the way, because a 
second later, there  was a massive colliding sound, and several large cracks appeared in the 
wall that Ron had been near moments ago.
“Where are you!?” demanded Amemait, turning visible again. “Show yourself or 
else I will- AARRGG!”
Ron suddenly showed himself, but not in a way that Amemait would have liked it. 
He appeared right on top of her crocodile head and was gnawing on her right eye. 
“Way to go Ron!” cheered Harry, amazed that his friend was not unconscious  by 
now. But, that happiness  did not last. As soon as Amemait got herself back together, she 
reached one of her lion hands up to where Ron was and picked him off of her head quite 
easily.
 “Any last words?” asked Amemait slyly as she placed Ron on the ground and held 
him there. She lifted one massive foot in the air right above him and then brought it down 
quickly, crushing Ron’s tiny chameleon body like it was a bug.


“RON! NO!” yelled Harry. Amemait removed her foot from  Ron and revealed a 
small  green puddle that barely resembled a chameleon. It  suddenly began vibrating and 
glowing, and Ron’s human formed appeared. Even though you were not supposed to carry 
over injuries  when you transformed, what he had just suffered was evidently too much fro 
the magic to fix; he still did not look much better than he did in his chameleon form. He 
had blood all over him, not to  mention hundreds  of bruises and internal bleeding spots. 
Harry had to beat Amemait now, three of his friends needed his help.
“You! The one with the glasses!” roared Amemait, pointing a claw at Harry. “I 
wish to fight you next.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” mocked Harry, stepping out, “it might just come 
true.”
 “Oh,” said Amemait, grinning, “if my wish comes  true, you will find yourself in a 
world of pain like none you have ever experienced.” 
“You don’t know what I’ve experienced,” grimaced Harry, taking out his wand and 
remembering  the   times  that  the  Cruciatus   Curse  had  been  put  on  him.  He  glared  at 
Amemait, trying to picture his victory.
Just as Harry imagined how she would look with her crocodile  head severed off, 
Amemait began the battle and suddenly rushed straight at him, in the same manner that she 
had with the past three. But, Harry was ready.
“Parium Terrus!” he yelled, trying to sound confident. A long, thin and hard string 
shout of the tip of his wand, and flew through the air, right at Amemait’s big hippo legs. It 
magically wrapped itself around them, binding her feet together and making her fall flat on 
the ground.
“Saber!” Harry yelled, getting the sword ready to plunge right through Amemait’s 
body, finishing her  once  and for  all. The light-gray sword was fully extended now and 
Harry rushed straight at her, feeling the adrenaline and energy burst that only the thrill that 
that of an oncoming victory could bring. 
He raised the sword up above her massive body and was getting ready to plunge it 
straight through when suddenly she disappeared into thin air, just  like before. Instead of 
going through the soft hide of a lion, the sword’s tip hit the ground with a clang.
“Behind you!” Amemait abruptly yelled, just as Harry was bringing his sword back 
to the normal position. Harry quickly turned around, to try and defend against whatever she 
may do, but all he saw was a clawed paw flying straight at his face.
“AARRGG!” groaned Harry, covering the  bloody gashes  Amemait’s  claws had 
driven into his  face. They were  sharper than swords  and longer than knives. One  of the 
claws had pierced a hole  in Harry’s cheek, and through the pain of the severed nerves and 
flowing blood he could feel the dry air blowing in and out through it.
“I can beat you even with both my feet  tied!” thundered Amemait, grinning and 
striking Harry again on the other side of his  face. This time, the pain was far too intense 
and Harry dropped his wand on the floor. His face was a bloody mess now, little more than 
ground beef.
“Oh, look what I’ve got!” said Amemait mockingly as she picked up Harry’s wand. 
She tapped the binds around her feet  with it and the string disappeared, freeing her legs. 
Using them, she  walked over  to  Harry,  who was know  kneeling on the  ground, blood 
pouring through his  fingers that he was using to cover his face. She grabbed his hair and 


lifted his head up high. She put a single extended claw from her other hand up to the front 
of his neck, ready to slit Harry’s throat.
“I offer you the same choice  as your other friend,” said Amemait, gently rubbing 
the skin of Harry’s neck with her claw, not piercing it, but coming close. “Do you wish for 
me to kill you now or later?”
“Neither,” spat Harry through his cut up face. Along with whatever usually comes  
out with your mouth when you spit, there was quite a bit of blood that seeped in from his 
forehead through his  cheek holes,  along with a few chunky pieces  of flesh that Harry 
could only assume did not belong there.
Harry, having though it was impossible  to do it any faster than he had previously 
done  it  before,  performed the  fastest  human to gryffin transformation that he had ever 
done in his life. Barely a millionth of a second passed before where once  a bloody Harry 
stood, there was now a fully-grown, perfectly healthy looking gryffin, though invisible.
Using the gryffin’s natural strength, Harry easily pushed Amemait over and onto 
the ground, like his tripping spell did before. This took her by surprise  and evidently hurt 
her considerably as well.
“You are no ordinary wizard, boy,” she said, not looking as sure of herself as she 
did before. “But, even a non-ordinary wizard is no match for a god!”
With   that,  she  quickly  disappeared  again  and reappeared  right  behind  Harry, 
hitting him on the back with her huge feet, driving him a few inches into the stony ground. 
It was as if a boulder had just fallen on his back; the pain was intense. So much, that Harry 
was forced to return to his not much better human form. 
“Last chance, boy,” groaned Amemait, once  again grabbing Harry’s head. “Die 
now or later?”
Harry’s mind was racing. He had no more  energy left to transform, and Amemait 
had his wand. He didn’t know how to perform any other magic, besides morphing, without 
a wand, so there was nothing he could do.
“I… give up,” heaved Harry, still breathing hard. Amemait threw his head onto the 
ground quite powerfully.
“Good  choice,”   grinned  Amemait.  “Last   and  probably   least…  you,  the   pale 
skinned one with the black jacket. It’s your turn to face me.”
“It’s all  up to you, Ak,” said Harry quietly, using what little  energy he had left 
after crawling over to Hermione, Ron and Malfoy. If Ak lost, then they would all be dead. 
He had to win… he had to.
“Don’t worry, Harry,” said Ak, removing his jacket  and glaring at Amemait with 
hate all over his face. “I’ve faced worse than this.”
“Hah!” laughed Amemait, getting ready to run straight for Ak. “Let’s see if you’re 
all that you say you are, boy.”
“I’d like to see the same about you,” grinned Ak, getting into his fighting position 
which was very similar to Tci’s. It must be a Durmstrang thing….
“GRAAG!” roared Amemait as she hurled herself at Ak so loudly and fiercely that 
it scared Harry. But, Ak was not affected. He remained calm and cool  and raised his wand, 
aiming right at the beast.
“Amemait Deletrius  Tout!” yelled Ak even more  powerfully than Amemait did. 
His  voice echoed throughout the entire room, shaking the walls and making some bricks 


fall from the ceiling. Amemait stopped dead in her tracks, for surprise at what was going 
on.
 “What spell is that!?” she demanded, looking genuinely frightened. But, Ak didn’t 
answer; for  a second later,  it  began to  take  effect. All over, Amemait glowed a bright 
white, getting brighter every second, until  it began turning colors  that Harry didn’t even 
know existed. Brighter still she grew, belching and screaming as if in intense pain. Finally, 
she reached the brightness peak: beams shot out all over her, filling the entire  room with 
the same  level of  brilliance. Harry closed his eyes, but it  didn’t help. The light was so 
intense that it shone through his eyelids.
Then, suddenly, as  quickly as it  had taken effect, the spell wore off, and all the 
light disappeared, taking with it Amemait. Harry blinked his  eyes  a few times, to make 
sure  that the  darker light wasn’t just playing tricks  on him, but it  was true. Amemait was 
nowhere to be seen in the room.
“Well,” sighed Ak, twirling his  wand and sounding as  if he  thought he just  did 
nothing spectacular. “That was fun.”
“Ak?” asked Harry, in awe of what just happened. Ak beat Amemait with just one 
spell! “What spell did you use on her?”
“It’s a very powerful one,” he said, rocking back and forth on his feet. “It erases  a 
single  object  from the universe. Since  it  would have been near impossible  to  beat  that 
thing using contemporary methods, since  she kept  on teleporting all around, it was my 
only choice.”
Harry started at Ak, seeing him in a new light. How powerful was he, really? What 
other spells  did he know? What else was he keeping from them?
“Ak….” began Harry, his mind buzzing. “What exactly-”
“No time for more questions,” he said, not looking at Harry and walking over to 
Hermione. “We’ve got to heal you guys first.”
“Oh… right!” said Harry, remembering that his friends were hurt and he wasn’t in 
much better condition
“Ennervate!” said Ak softly, pointing his wand at Hermione. She instantly opened 
her eyes and sat up.
“What…?” she sighed. “Did we beat her?”
“Yes,” said Harry, patching up his face. It wasn’t as good a job as Madam Pomfrey 
would have done, but it was good for now. “Amemait is no more.”
“Literally,” added Ak, ennervating Ron and healing Malfoy. Harry just  noticed 
that, along with himself, Malfoy had been staring at Ak the entire time.
“Ak…” he said slowly, standing up after  being healed. “I don’t even know that 
curse, and I know almost every Dark Spell there is.”
“Exactly,” said Ak, brushing himself off and putting his jacket back on. “You know 
ALMOST every Dark Spell. At Durmstrang, we have access  to  thousands  of  Dark Arts 
books, but the really good ones  are restricted, some  even to teachers. That spell was in 
one of those books… so really, I’m not even supposed to know it.”
“Oh,” was all that Malfoy could mutter, still looking as though he were amazed.
“Well, I know it’s  great that you beat Amemait,” said Ron, standing up. “But, we 
have a new problem now. How do we get out of here?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” said Harry lazily. “All we have to do is… is-” 


Harry looked around and discovered that getting out would be no easy feat. The 
door that had entered through had disappeared, and there  didn’t seem to be a sign of any 
other exits or entrances anywhere else.
Then, as  if by command, the golden scale  that had been there  when the five of 
them first entered the room reappeared, in the same exact place that it was before.
“Congratulations on beating the guardian,” came a soothing voice from all around 
them once again. “You are one of the few to have ever done that, beaten Amemait that is. 
Most who pass this test choose the feather version instead.”
“Yeah, that’s great,” said Harry, interrupting. “But, how do we get out of here?”
“Push the feather down,” came the voice. Harry looked at the scale and saw on the 
left side the feather. 
“All I have to do is push the feather down?” asked Harry, astonished.
“Yes,” said the voice.
“Okay!”  said  Harry  happily.  He   skipped   over   to  the   scale,   rubbed  his  hand 
together, and pushed down on the side of  the  scale  that had the feather  on it. But, not 
matter how hard he pushed, the scale would not go down. He put all of his energy into it, 
but it was far from enough.
“Well  then,” gasped Harry, wiping the sweat off of  his  forehead. “I guess  this 
calls  for a little  muscle enhancement!” He took his wand out, muttered the engorgement 
charm, and tapped his arms. Almost instantly, his  biceps grew twenty times  their  regular 
size, increasing his strength by even more.
“Nice guns!” commented Malfoy, grinning and nodding his head.
“Thanks,” grinned Harry back, flexing. “I almost got suspended for bringing these 
in.”
 “Can we just  push the  feather down and get this  over with?” asked Hermione 
impatiently, stomping her foot up and down.
“Fine,” sighed Harry. He rubbed his  hands together again, cracked his knuckles, 
and pushed down on the feather side of the scale. This time, it barely took any effort  to 
push it  all the  way down. When Harry could push it  no more, the  scale glowed a bright 
gold for a second, and a door suddenly appeared in front of them, leading out. 
“Wait a minute here,”  said Harry, thinking this  was  almost too  easy. “Are you 
telling me that if we just pushed the feather down when we first  saw the scale, instead of 
grabbing the heart, then we would have to have never fought that horrible monster?”
“I guess  so,” shrugged Hermione, walking towards  the door. “Since the  feather 
was so heavy, it still tested your strength to see  if you could push it down, even if it wasn’t 
as hard of a task as beating an Egyptian God.”
Harry smacked Ron on the head. With his ultra muscles, it must have really hurt.
“Ow! What did you do that for!?”
“You were  the one that touched the heart  in the first  place,” said Harry, tapping 
his arms  with his  wand and returning them to normal size. “If it wasn’t for  you joking 
around, we could have been out of this pyramid by now!”
“Sorry!” groaned Ron, rubbing his head and wincing.
“Sorry   wouldn’t   have   brought   us   back   from   the   dead   if   Ak  hadn‘t   beaten 
Amemait,” said Harry, feeling weaker at the loss of his muscles. The five of them marched 
themselves  over  to  the  dark door. Just like  the other entranceways, this  one  was very 


shadowy. Only, this room appeared to have no light at all; it was pitch black.
“Hermione?” asked Harry, when they all entered the room  that was shrouded in 
darkness, and feeling a little frightened. “What task is this?”
“This isn’t a task,” she said, though Harry couldn’t see her. “This should be the 
reward room, where  we get  something for  completing the  four  tasks  and then we are 
allowed to exit.”
“I hope our reward is that massive treasure we saw before we started any of these 
stupid tasks,” said Malfoy. Harry had to agree with him. It would be nice to deposit all of 
that into his Gringott’s account. Imagine how many Wizard Duel packs that could buy…
Suddenly,  Harry’s   fantasies   were  cut   off   by  the   door   behind   them   closing, 
destroying any hope of retreat they had should anything bad happen. It was just like in the 
first  hallway, when the light went out. Only, this  time, Harry had four other people with 
him.
 “Hey guys, how are we going to get out of here?” asked Harry, wanting to hear 
their voices  to remind himself that he was not alone.
There was no answer.
“Guys…?” asked Harry, now feeling frightened. 
Once again there was no answer.
He could have sworn he heard breathing… but was it one of his friends… or was 
it some sort of horrible monster, like another Amemait.?
“Guys…?”
There was no answer….
Just then, through the darkness, something jumped out of nowhere, and right onto 
Harry, pinning him down and knocking him unconscious.


Chapter 19- The Guardian Of Immortality
“Harry!”
A sharp voice suddenly rang through Harry’s head. It was so painful, hearing it 
echo around his brain. Harry groaned and pressed hard against his forehead, to try and stop 
some  of  the pain. As he did this, he suddenly realized that his  eyes  were closed. Harry 
quickly opened them, revealing a strange sight.
Himself, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and Ak were each in a room around the same 
size as the past ones they had been in. Except, this time, they were each in a separate cage, 
placed in random spots around the room, like some sort of human zoo. Harry stood up and 
grabbed onto the bars, to see if he could break them down since  they should be quite old. 
But, they must have been enchanted or something, because no matter how hard Harry tried, 
the bars didn’t move.
“Harry!” called Hermione again from her cage, sitting down. “You’re up.”
“Yeah,” yawned Harry back, sitting down too. “Where are we?”
“Don’t know,” Malfoy shrugged.
“And  we  can’t   get   out  of   the  cages   either,”  added  Ak,  examining  his   bars. 
“Someone’s taken our wands.”
Harry, not even thinking of using his wand, reached into his pocket, just to make 
sure. But, sure enough, there was no wand to be found.
“So what are we going to do?” sighed Harry, feeling lost.
Suddenly, a hole   in one  of  the  walls  opened up, right  next  to  a  big  red  dot, 
revealing a door. It  flew  open, and through it walked  an extremely hairy woman, who 
looked as though she hadn’t had a decent shower or haircut for several years. Her bushy 
red hair went all the way down to her waist, and Harry could’ve sworn he saw something 
(or several things) crawling through it. She was quite tall as  well, but very skinny, with 
most of her face  covered by hair. Only her baggy eyes, small  nose, mouth and a small, 
beaded necklace around her neck were visible, and those were almost covered as well. 
But, despite the hair that seemed to be a separate organism from the person, the 
most noticeable feature about the woman was the red glove on her arm. It shone brighter 
than intense rubies, and it was so beautiful, the second Harry saw it, he desired it.
“So,” barked the woman, stopping before  them and crossing her arms, glaring. 
Her voice sounded odd, as  if she hadn’t talked in a while, and wasn’t used to it. But, that 
was probably true. She must have been thousands of years old if she resided in this  place. 
“Why do you want the Gomotornice?”
“What?” asked Malfoy, sounding flabbergasted..
“We don’t even know what that is!” yelled Ak. 
“Yes we do,” sighed Harry. Now, everything was coming together. Bob the Ghost 
said that heroes  tried their luck at the  four challenges  for the treasure at the  end, to be 
immortalized. What  better  way  to  become  immortalized than by making an  Immortal 
Potion?   The  treasure   at   the  end  were   the  five   legendary   ingredients:   the  Ring,  the 
Sorceror’s  Stone,   the   Gomotornice,   the   Havomotornice,   and   the  Bomotornice.   The 
Egyptians had been the ancients that created those items, and they had hidden them in the 
pyramid…..
“We  didn’t know  that  the  Ingredients   were  in  this  pyramid,”  said  Hermione, 


probably realizing the same  thing as  Harry. “And we really didn’t know that you had the 
Gomotornice.”
“Well, whether you knew it or not,” growled the woman, “it is my duty to protect 
it. Ever since  the last  hero passed through the challenges, the Guardians  of  Immortality 
have not allowed anyone else  to create  the potion. So, even though you have passed the 
tests, I cannot allow you to take the Ingredient.”
“That’s okay,” sighed Harry, just wanting to leave. ‘We don’t want to make the 
potion anyways, We just want to get out of here.”
“Just wait a minute here!” yelled Ron suddenly, taking the woman’s attention away 
from Harry and over to him. “Are you telling me that the red glove you’re wearing is the 
Gomotornice?”
“Yes,” she hissed.
“How can we be sure?” asked Ron, stroking his chin. “I mean, what if this is  all an 
act that you are just putting on?”
To this, the woman scrunched up her face at Ron, looking furious. She stomped 
over to Harry’s cage and reached one of her arms in, grabbing hold of Harry’s arm before  
he had a chance to react. The woman ripped the Ring off of Harry’s hand, practically taking 
the finger with it.
Instantly, the  second  the  Ring left  Harry’s  hand, he  felt   weak. It  was  as  if  a 
massive weight had just been dropped on his back, and all of his muscles  had been ripped 
out of his body. He felt like a living bowl of jell-o.
The hairy woman took the Ring and touched it to her glove. Immediately, the map 
popped up into the air, proving that  the  glove was one  of  the  Legendary Items. A few 
seconds later, after all of them  had seen the map, she removed the Ring from her glove 
and threw it on the floor. Harry watched it fall, as if it  were a juicy cheeseburger and he 
had had nothing to eat for the past ten years.
“Now you see that this is the real item?” she said, pointing to her glove.
“How did you know that Harry had the Ring?” asked Hermione, swallowing hard.
“I saw it when I put you all in the cages,” she grinned. “And I know that you have 
the Bracelet, young girl. I used to have that one too, in addition to the Glove, but one day 
as I was making my rounds around the pyramid, that damned guardian snake exploded into 
a hundred littler ones. The snakes overwhelmed me, and I lost the Bracelet. Not knowing I 
had lost  it, I ran away. When I finally realized it was gone, and I returned for  it, it  was 
missing.”
“That must have been when I found it!” exclaimed Ron.
“And,”  continued  the   woman, not  paying  any  attention  to  Ron,  “I  know  that 
Dumbledore has the Legendary Watch.”
“How do you know Dumbledore has the Watch!?” demanded Hermione. “Nobody 
except for me, Ron, and Harry know that!”
“Well, that is  an interesting tale,” she sighed, though she sounded as though she 
enjoyed the company, even if they were all in cells. “You see, just like you five here, I was 
once a Hogwarts student as well.”
“Yes… and!?” yelled Harry, curled up in a corner of his cage, wanting the woman 
to finish her story as  soon as  possible  so he could get out of the cage and get his  Ring 
back. He didn’t care about her stupid tale, all he wanted was the Ring, and he would never 


be happy again until it was slipped back on his finger… never.
“Anyways…” she   continued  after  Harry  interrupted.  “Like  you  as  well,  I too 
wandered off from the main group, probably down the same corridor as well, the one with 
the huge pile of treasure at the end.”
“Is that treasure real?” asked Malfoy suddenly.
“Oh no,” she  said, shaking her head. “It’s only a distraction, to make you stay in 
that place long enough for the spell there  to take effect. It brings you down to the start of 
the tests. So, I fell victim to the trap and worked my way through the tasks, not worrying 
about what may happen, just overjoyed by my own sense  of superiority that I had passed 
the tests that so many others had failed. By the time I reached the final room, the one with 
the treasure in it, I was so full of myself that I wasn’t ready to defend against the Guardian 
of Immortality at that time. He easily defeated me and cursed me to guard this pyramid for 
all eternity, just like he would have had to do, if I had not showed up.”
“That’s   all   well   and   good,”   said   Hermione.   “But,  how   do   you   know   that 
Dumbledore has the Watch?”
“I’ve been in this place for a long time,” she sighed, leaning back. “I’ve had a lot 
of time to think. Out of all the pyramids in Egypt, why do you think Dumbledore chose  to 
tour this one?”
“Because it’s the best one!” said Malfoy, looking quite confused. No one had ever 
told him anything of the Immortality Potion, so he was probably very lost.
“Not really, there are many more impressive pyramids,” said Ron.
“Right you are,” she said, pointing to Ron. “So, why choose this one?”
“I… don’t know,” admitted Hermione.
“Well, I believe the reason that he chose  this  pyramid over all the others  is not 
due  to  what the  children can gather from  this  place,  but what he  can gather  from  this 
place.”
 “Meaning… what?”
“Meaning, Dumbledore wants the treasure that I guard.”
“No way!” yelled Hermione and Ron at the same time.
“Why would he want it?” demanded Ron.
“To keep it away from Voldemort probably,” suggested Hermione.
“Nope,” said the Guardian, shaking her head. “Dumbledore  has been coming to 
this  place  long before  You-Know-Who ever even knew the treasure  existed. The other 
Guardian before  me said that he had to keep several children away from the treasure, all of 
whom were sent through the tasks  by Dumbledore. Of those  several, I was the only one 
who was ever cursed to remain here.”
“Dumbledore told you to go down the wrong path?” asked Ron, sounding as if he 
were asking if that were the punch line to a bad joke.
“Yes,” she hissed. “I got lost and he found me. Instead of leading me back to the 
group, he showed me  down the wrong path, with hopes  that I would get  the treasure  for 
him.”
 “If Dumbledore  wanted it that bad,” said Ron, “why didn’t he just go through the 
four tasks himself? I mean, if a few second years could do it, there’s no reason why he 
couldn’t, and then he’d have it.”
“I don’t really know,” she sighed. “But, I think the spell that brings you to the start 


of the four tasks only works on youth. The Egyptians didn’t want all of their old and wise 
population dieing out by trying their luck at the tests. However, even if he could get to the 
tasks, laziness  would probably prevent him. That and not  wanting to put his  own life  in 
danger.” 
“There’s no way any of that’s true,” said Hermione sternly.
“Yeah,” said Ron. “If Dumbledore  wanted the  treasure, then he’d do it  himself, 
and  he  wouldn’t  want  the  Items   for   any other  reason  than  to  keep  them   away  from 
Voldemort.”
“Oh no?” question the woman. “What makes you think Dumbledore  doesn’t want 
to make the Immortality Potion for himself?”
There were a few seconds of silence, no one knew what to say.
“You’re wrong,” whispered Hermione.
“Am I?” said the Guardian mysteriously. 
“So, you’ve had to guard this  place for… how long?” asked Hermione, obviously 
wanting to change the subject for now.
“Eighteen long years,” she sighed, putting her hands on her legs.
“Wait a minute…” said Ron softly and slowly, as if he had just realized something 
big. “You’re telling me that eighteen years ago, all Hogwarts students came on a field trip 
here, and you’ve been here since.
“Yes,” she said, sounding curious.
“And what year were you in at that time?”
“I was a first year.”
“And you have red hair?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, pointing to the hairy beast on her head.
“What are you getting at here Ron?” asked Hermione, sounding irritated.
“Hermione!” exclaimed Ron. “This woman here, the Guardian of Immortality… 
she’s my sister!”


Chapter 20- Escape From Geb Pyramid
“WHAT!?” yelled everyone, except for Harry, all at once. 
“Ron! You don’t have another sister!” yelled Hermione.
“Oh yes I do!” said Ron, eyeing the woman up and down. “Only she’s been in this 
pyramid for the past eighteen years!”
“What  are  you  talking  about?” demanded the  woman. “I  don’t have  any other 
brothers  except for Bill, Charlie  and Percy, and they’re  all grown up now, not short like 
you.”
 “No Jamie,” said Ron, startling her by addressing her with her real name. “After 
you went missing, mom and dad had four more kids, Fred, George, me and Ginny.”
“How  do  you  know  my  name?”  asked  Jamie,  gasping  and walking backwards 
slowly, away from Ron.
“Because you’re my long-lost sister!” exclaimed Ron.
“I don’t think so,” said Jamie, shaking her head and putting her hands up. “There’s 
no way that’s possible.”
“Oh yeah, ask me a question  about our  family,” grinned Ron. “Anything at all, 
something only a true Weasley would know.”
“Fine then,” said Jamie, looking better. “What are mom and dad’s names?”
“Molly and Arthur,” said Ron lazily. “Next!”
“Okay,” said Jamie, a single drop of sweat going down her face. She thought for a 
second, trying to think of a good question. “Where did they get married?”
“The North Pole,” said Ron again. “Now do you believe me?”
“Not yet,” said Jamie, her confidence fading. “This last question is something that 
only a true Weasley would know. What is the true Weasley Spell?”
“Agricola  Bonas  Est,” said Ron  confidently, folding his  arms. To this,  Jamie 
suddenly burst into tears, ran towards the cage that held Ron, opened it up, and embraced 
him… like a brother.
“You are a Weasley!” she sobbed, hugging him tighter.
“What was that last question all about?” asked Malfoy.
“Don’t ask,” said Ron, his sister finally letting go. “It’s an old Weasley thing.”
“You didn’t even have to go through all those questions,” added Hermione. “You 
could have just figured it out by looking at the hair.”
“Um…” added Ak. “Do you think you could open the rest of the cages?”
“What…?” asked Jamie, her eyes red from the tears. “Oh! Oh yes, of course.”
“One last question though,” said Malfoy as Jamie looked through her keys for the 
one to his cage. “Whatever happened to the other Guardian of Immortality after you took 
over for him?”
“He still  hangs around this  pyramid,” she said, unlocking his cage. “I see  him 
every now and then on my rounds. Being a Guardian is apparently the only life he’s known, 
so he can’t return to the real world.”
“You mean, he’s still in this pyramid?” gasped Hermione as Jamie moved along to 
her cage. 
“Yep.”
“But, what if he tries to get us?”


“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Jamie, unlocking her cage. “He’s a weird guy. 
Whenever he  moves, he  makes  this  really funny clicking noise, so I can tell  when he’s 
coming, and get out of the-”
Suddenly, the room filled with the most  unusual noise. It was like the sound of a 
retractable pen being clicked up and down furiously, only a little softer. Like the clatter of 
a mouse gnawing on a cracker.
“Oh no…” groaned Jamie, looking quickly for the key to Ak’s cage now. “We’ve 
got to get out of here now! He’s coming, and he won’t be too happy to see  that I’ve let you 
go. We haven’t had any visitors for a while and he won’t want to see you five go to waste.”
The clicking noise only got  louder, and the  more  piercing it became, the more 
worried Jamie looked. She was furiously looking through the keys now, trying to find the 
right one. Finally, much longer than it would have taken her without the horrible noise all 
around her, she opened up Ak’s cage, just when the same door  she  had entered through 
opened once again, to reveal a most horrible monster.
It looked more like a centaur than a human, only except for being half horse, it 
was more like a half spider, with four black and hairy legs protruding out from either side. 
The human part of it was relatively the same, except where there should have been a mouth 
there was a set of mandibles, constantly clicking and seething a light green saliva, all in all 
being a very grotesque sight. 
“Jamie…” it hissed through the clicking. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Just…   getting   ready   to   dispose   of   them,”   she   said,   trying   to   smile   and 
nonchalantly moving over to Harry’s  cage with the  keys  behind her back, attempting to 
unlock his cage without arousing attention.
“It looks more like you’re setting them free…” he hissed again, darting his larger 
than usual eyes  around the room.
“No,” said Jamie, shaking her head and fumbling for the correct key, even though 
she couldn’t see which one was going to use. “I’m just…”
“You’re just… what?” his asked again, coming closer to her.
“I’m just…” said Jamie, finding the right  key and inserting it  into  the keyhole, 
unlocking Harry’s cage. “Going to have some fun first.”
“How so?” he asked, sounding intrigued.
“Instead of me killing them, I’m going to let them do my dirty work,” said Jamie, 
trying to sound sinister. “I’ll give them their wands back, and the last one alive gets  to go 
free.”
 “An interesting twist,” hissed the monster. “But, just to make sure your allegiance 
isn’t wavering, I want you to do something first.”
“What?”
“I want you to kill one of them.”
Jamie  glared at the monster and he glared back. Her wand, along with Harry’s, 
Ron’s, Hermione’s, Malfoy’s and Ak’s, was sticking right out of her pocket, and her hand 
was floating right above it, ready to strike. Both of them started at each other, the terrible 
clicking continued. It appeared as though nothing was going to happen, when just then, 
Jamie made a move.
“Avada Kedavra!” she  yelled, aiming right for  the  monster. But,  just  after  the 
‘Avada’ left  her mouth, the monster extended one of his  powerful arms out, and a green 


ray flew out, right at her wand and the ones  in her pocket. The ray seemed to have a life of 
its own, sucking up each wand, and then squirming back, giving all six to the monster.
“Well  well  well,” he  hissed, glaring at Jamie. “It seems   as  though we have a 
mutiny on our hands here.”
“Mutiny!?” yelled Jamie. “What are you talking about? I’m the only one in charge 
here; I’m the only Guardian! You gave the position to me!”
“You never truly stop being a Guardian,” he murmured. “But… in your case, you 
will stop being one.”
He walked over to the door that he entered through, crawling with his eight legs. 
He raised the hand that had no wands in it, made it into a fist… and brought it down right 
on the red button that was next to the door on the wall. It gave off a loud alarm and a voice 
came on that started speaking in Ancient Egyptian. 
“What is it saying?” demanded Jamie. The monster grinned.
“It is saying that the entire pyramid, well, except for this room of course, is being 
flooded with gas.”
“Gas? What’s so bad about that?” asked Hermione.
“By itself, nothing really,” he smiled. He grabbed one of the wands from the six 
he had and made a small fire appear at the tip. “But, when combined with fire, it can make 
this entire pyramid explode.”
It took a second for this to sink in, but when it did, the reaction was immediate.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” yelled Jamie, running in the opposite direction of 
the monster. “He’s going to blow up Geb Pyramid!”
Harry decided to take this  opportunity to start moving again and to get his  Ring 
back. He turned his head in the direction of where he saw it fall when Jamie threw it down, 
but it wasn’t there. Harry fell  to the ground, onto his knees, and began examining every 
stone, but there was no sign of it anywhere. It was as if it had just disappeared.
“Come on Harry!” yelled Ron above the laughing monster. The four of them were 
following Jamie out of the room through a door that she opened on the other side. 
“No! Not now!” yelled Harry back to them, not wanting to do anything until the 
Ring was back on his finger.
“Come on!” groaned Malfoy, running over to Harry and grabbing him. “We’ve got 
to leave  now!” He  pulled on him with all of  his strength and peeled Harry off of the 
ground, dragging him to the rest of the group.
“Oh no you don’t!” yelled the monster, turning his  attention to the  six of them. 
“You’re not leaving unpunished!” He pointed the  wand that he used to summon the fire 
right at Harry, and shot  it out at them again. The flame rushed at them, Harry closed his 
eyes, waiting for the fiery impact… but it never came. He opened his eyes  up, to see why, 
and immediately saw the reason.
Malfoy  had been  hit  instead.  He  let  go  of  Harry,  and  was   flailing  his  arms 
everywhere, now just a human-shaped ball of fire, screaming and rushing everywhere.
“Come   on   Harry!”  yelled  Hermione,  Ron,   Ak  and Jamie   together,   sounding 
extremely serious and anxious. “We have to get out of here now!”
Harry turned to  his  flaming friend, but there  was nothing he could do for  him. 
Without his Ring on, he felt so  weak, there  was no chance he could transform  and try to 
beat the monster. He had to run now and try something later.


The Ring… as  soon as  Harry thought of  it,  he  couldn’t get  it  out of  his  head. 
Malfoy, the gas, fire, explosions… they all didn’t matter now. Harry had to find the Ring! 
It certainly wasn’t in here, he had already looked, maybe someone else  picked it up!
Leaving Malfoy behind, Harry ran over to the rest of the group, entering the dark 
hall   that   lead   out.   As  soon   as   he  caught   up  with   them,   the   smell   of   gas   became 
overwhelming. Harry almost  felt as though he was going to pass out, and since he didn’t 
have his wand, there  wasn’t much he could do about it. He did the best thing he could by 
bringing up the top of his shirt over his mouth and nose.
“What are we going to do about Malfoy!?” demanded Hermione.
“We can’t leave him behind!” yelled Ak.
“But we can’t bring him with us either,” said Ron. “He’ll blow the whole place up 
the second he enters this hall.”
“I’ll take care of it,” said Harry, turning around for a second and walking back to 
the door that lead to the room. Malfoy was still there, on fire, but the monster was not. 
However, Harry didn’t have time to worry about the  beast right now, Malfoy was getting 
closer to them and he had to stop him. Besides, he felt  another force pulling him, telling 
him to run back with his friends as soon as possible….
Harry looked down, to the side of the door, and saw a big button, like the one that 
Jamie  pressed to  open the  door. If he pressed it  again, it would close, keeping them  all 
safe from Malfoy.
“Sorry… friend,” sighed Harry, slamming a fist  against the button. The primitive 
door, that was little more  than a hole  in the  wall, instantly disappeared, along with any 
hope Malfoy had. 
Not having anything more than survival and the Ring on his mind, Harry sprinted 
back to the group, not even thinking about what he had just done. 
“What happened to Malfoy?” asked Hermione through her shirt.
“Don’t worry,” said Harry, constantly darting his  eyes  everywhere, scanning for 
any sign of the Ring. “He’ll be fine.”
“I know a secret  passage out  of here,” said Jamie  who was  at the head of the 
group, holding a cloth over her mouth. “Just follow me and we’ll be back to the main lobby 
soon enough. From there, we can send an alert throughout the rest of the pyramid.”
Not  wanting to  take  their  shirts  off  their  mouths, no  one  said anything, only 
obeyed. It’s not as though they had much time to say anything, though, since they reached 
the next room only a few moments later.
“From here it’s  only about a hundred more feet,” gasped Jamie. “We’ll be out of 
here in just a-”
Suddenly,  there   was   an  explosion  in  the   wall,  sending  dirt,   stone  and  dust 
everywhere. Harry looked up to see  what caused it, and was not too happy when he saw 
what it  was. The monster  that had stolen their wands only minutes  ago was now before 
them, blocking the only door out, all six wands in one hand, forming a superior magical 
device.
 “Leaving so soon?” he hissed, grinning. He waved the wands in the air, making a 
long, thin string appear. Attached to one end was a red ball, one  that didn’t look too nice. 
He tapped the end of the long string with his wand, and it began shrinking at a slow rate, 
getting closer and closer to the red ball.


“That’s a bomb!” yelled Hermione.
“What are you doing!?” demanded Jamie. “You’ll kill all of us!”
“My time is  almost up as  it is,” he sighed, bobbing the ball up and down in his 
hand. “If I’m going down, I’m taking this hellhole and all who dwell inside it with me!”
“You’re insane!” yelled Hermione, looking almost in tears.
“Yes, well, none  of that  will matter in  a few  moments… and besides,  there’s 
nothing you can do about it, without your wands.”
As much as Harry hated to admit it, he  was right. Jamie  and Ak were  useless  
without wands, and himself, Ron and Hermione  were far too tired to transform. All they 
could do was wait, and hope for a miracle.
Just then, as if on command, there was another explosion in the room, this time, 
in the ceiling. After the  dust  and stone  had settled, Harry covered his  eyes  and looked 
over, flabbergasted by what he saw.
It was Dede’ft! Only… he wasn’t looking too well. His  eyes  were massive and 
puffy all over, and his hide was now a swamp green. Also, his skin was literally crawling. 
Little bumps were moving all around in random directions all over.
“Whether   you  passed  the   tests   or   not!”  he   hissed,  though  only   Harry  could 
understand him. “I haven’t eaten for months and I… I… AAAHHH!”
The most disturbing sight ever to befoul Harry’s eyes  suddenly came before him. 
The snake gave one last scream, and opened his mouth so wide, that his lips began to roll 
backwards over his long, thick body, revealing his horrible insides. Only, there weren’t any 
organs   there  anymore,   just   hundreds   upon  hundreds   of   tiny  snakes  that   immediately 
flooded the room, demanding food.
“Food!”
“Food!”
“FOOD!”
“FOOD!” they all hissed, slithering over anyone and anything to get to their goals. 
Fortunately, that goal didn’t seem  to  be Harry or his companions, but rather the  guardian 
that  was  still  holding the  bomb. Tiny snakes  were  slithering  all  over him,  biting him 
everywhere and dragging him down to the ground. He threw the wands and the bomb into 
the air so he could use his hands to try and peel the snakes off of him.
Harry leapt for his wand: the next best thing to  his Ring. In addition to his, he 
caught Ron and Hermione’s, and Ak and Jamie  caught  theirs. Harry quickly tossed  the 
wands to his friends; now they were back in control. 
“Let’s get  out of here!” yelled Jamie, hopping over the snakes and towards the 
door, keeping a close eye on the bomb, whose fuse was now only a about three feet long, 
and getting even shorter by the second. 
But, just when the  five of them began to  cross  over the  slithering carpet below 
them, there was an abrupt eruption in the middle, something threw hundreds of snakes into 
the air from  below, sending them  in every which direction. Harry immediately looked 
over, to see  what it was, and what was there could probably have not been much worse if it 
was Voldemort himself. 
It was a fully grown werewolf, about four times  the size  of any of them, one 
hundred times stronger, and invincible to every spell Harry knew. 
“You’re  telling  me  that old  guardian  was  a  werewolf  too!” yelled  Hermione, 


backing up and brandishing her wand, though it would do little good.
“Yeah,” gasped Jamie, backing up too. “I guess  when Dede’ft made a hole in the 
ceiling, the moonlight came through, transforming him.”
“Who cares how he transformed!” yelled Ron. “All that matters  is that he did and 
now we’ve got to stop him!” With that, Ron ran up to the werewolf that was in a killing 
rage, mutilating all the small snakes  around him, turning them into a pulpy and bloody 
green and red mess.
“Stupefy!” yelled Ron, aiming right for the werewolf. The red spell came out and 
the beam hit him, but it did nothing. All it did was turn the attention of the monster away 
from the serpents  to Ron. He gave an ear shattering growl, and leapt right at him.
“HOMORPHUS!” yelled Ak suddenly, waving his wand furiously in the air, as if 
drawing a picture. The strokes that he drew glowed a bright silver, revealing a circle with a 
star in the middle, and runes drawn at each star point. Evidently, he had been working on 
that spell for a while.
Each rune at every point gave off a different  color  and they each shot off their 
colored beam towards the center of the picture, making a single point of great energy. An 
orb of silver grew at that point, and from it a massive, silver beam erupted, aimed perfectly 
at the werewolf who had pinned himself over Ron, and was now scratching and biting his 
face  and body all over. The beam blasted  him right  off  of  Ron and up against a  wall, 
pushing on him with incredible  amounts of pressure, enough to make him give a howl of 
pain, and create holes and cracks in the wall behind him. 
Then, just  as the werewolf gave another howl, the spell disappeared and he fell 
limp to   the   ground, right  back  into  the  pile   of   snakes  that  turned  from  eating  their 
slaughtered brethren to the old, sleeping monster, the half spider half man one.
“Ak!” yelled Hermione. “How did you perform that spell! It’s the  second most 
complex spell on Earth!”
“No time to explain!” yelled Ak, pointing at the bomb. “Look!”
Harry turned his head over to the bomb, and saw that the fuse was now little more 
than a foot long. If they wanted any chance of survival then they had to run now!
“Ron!” yelled  Hermione,  going  over to  him. He  was  a bloody mess  all over, 
looking in about as good shape as Harry did after his encounter with Amemait. “Are you 
okay? Can you get up?”
“Yeah,” he  managed to heave out, getting to his  feet  fairly quickly. “I can still 
move.”
 “Alright, you guys head out!” yelled Jamie. “I’ll be right behind you!”
“No way!” yelled Ron. “You’re coming with us!”
“I will… I just have one thing that I have to do first.”
She ran over to the unconscious monster and ripped the beaded necklace off of 
her neck, creating a bright flash from her head. She quickly threw the necklace  onto the 
beast’s neck, creating another flash.
“What was that all about?” asked Harry, keeping an eye on the bomb.
“That necklace was the reason I couldn’t leave this place,” said Jamie, signaling 
them to start running. “Whoever wears it can’t go past the exit. The only way to get it off is  
to immediately put it on someone else.”
“That’s nice  but let’s  go!” yelled a seriously bloodied and cut up Ron, jumping 


over the snakes  and sprinting down the hallway. The other four quickly followed behind, 
knowing they didn’t have much time at all left.
“Harry!” heaved Jamie from behind. “One last thing….”
“What?” asked Harry, slowing down a bit.
“I want you to take this,” she said, giving him her Glove. “If Dumbledore sees  me 
with it, he’ll try to take it. But, he won’t have a clue that you have it.”
“Dumbledore doesn’t want it,” sighed Harry, still  not  believing that she  didn’t 
trust them. “But, I’ll take it anyway, to keep it safe.” 
Harry took the Glove from her wand and stuffed it into his pocket, reminding him 
of how badly he wanted the Ring. The only way he could continue going was to constantly 
tell himself that maybe Dumbledore had it, or maybe it was in the lobby.
“We’re nearly there!” announced Jamie when the exit became visible. Harry could 
just  picture  the  fuse in his  head, probably no bigger than a few inches  now. With that 
thought in mind, he ran even faster, as did the rest of them. Seconds later, they reached the 
main room.
“Harry! Ron! Hermione! Ak!” announced Dumbledore, who just happened to be 
right there, as  if expecting them. “Ever since we smelt  gas in the pyramid, we’ve been 
evacuating all the kids and you were among the ones  missing!”
“There’s… a bomb…” choked Harry, out of breath. “We’ve got… to go… now!”
Dumbledore’s eyes widened.
“A bomb?”
“Yes!” yelled Jamie. “We’ve got to go now!”
“J- Jamie?” gasped Dumbledore, staring at her as  if she were a ghost, which she 
must have been to him. 
“We’ll explain later!” yelled Ron, grabbing Dumbledore by the arm. “But we have 
to get on the train!”
“What…?” asked Dumbledore, looking as if he were in a gaze from seeing Jamie. 
“Oh… yes! Train! Bomb! Gas! Let’s go now! Everyone, hold hands!”
The six of them quickly formed a circle, holding shaking and sweating hands. The 
world  around them  turned black  and  spun around,  much  faster  than Harry would have 
expected or liked it. Dumbledore was probably Apparating in a hurry. Then, before another 
thought could pass Harry’s mind, the six of the them were aboard the Hogwarts  Express, 
along with the rest of the students.
“John!” yelled Dumbledore  into the  conductor’s  room. “Get us  out  of here  as 
soon as you can, if not sooner! The pyramid’s going to blow!”
“Can do, Mr. D,” he  said  back  through the  curtain that separated  the  driver’s 
chamber from the rest  of the train. With that, the engine gave a lurch and began moving 
forwards at a rapid rate. But, traditional methods  of moving would not get them to safety 
quickly enough, and the conductor  must have known that, since  a moment later the train 
heaved itself into the sky. 
“Harry,” said Hermione  quietly. “I think I found something that may belong to 
you.” Harry looked over at the hand she was holding up to him, and saw that on it, was his 
prized Ring. But, instead of thanking her, or anything of the sort like that, all Harry could 
say was,
 “Give it to me!” 


“I don’t know,” said Hermione sarcastically, with a trace of sincerity in her voice. 
She stroked the Ring. “I kind of like it….”
“Give it to me!” screamed Harry again, this time much louder. 
“Fine!” said Hermione, ripping it  off of  her hand and offering it to him. Harry 
grabbed it  out of  her fingers  and immediately slipped it  on his. The effect  was instant. 
Power flowed through his body like blood and he felt alive once more. Harry’s mind began 
to work again and he found himself finally being able to think outside of the Ring. The 
memories  of what had happened flowed back to him. 
“OH NO!” yelled  Harry, getting back a memory that wasn’t too pleasant  at all. 
“Malfoy is still in the pyramid!” He looked out the window at the night sky, with the full 
moon shining above the giant pyramid.
Just then, as if it wanted to mock Harry in its  final moments of life and receive 
the last laugh, the Geb Pyramid exploded into a shower of fire and Stone.


Chapter 21- Voldemort Returns
It was almost beautiful, in an extremely sadistic and twisted sort of way. At first, 
the pyramid acted as though it were a volcano, with the top of it blowing up into the air and 
then fire  and smoke  billowing out of the top, with molten rock erupting from the inside 
and flowing out. But, as all that was going on, chunks  of it  were shooting of all over, 
plunging into the growing lake of melted stone around the base. Finally, after only a few 
moments  of all this, the Geb Pyramid just gave up and let the whole thing detonate from 
the inside out, causing the whole structure to collapse on itself, making a massive cloud of 
smoke rise into the air above.
Throughout all this, Harry could only think of one thing: somewhere, in that cloud 
of  dust or in the  pile  of ash and stone  was Malfoy’s  body. He shuttered at the  thought. 
What had he done?
“My  oh  my…”  sighed  Dumbledore  to  himself,  shaking  his  head  slowly  and 
looking out the window. “That’s going to take a lot of work to clean up. We’ll need to get 
memory wipers in here by the hundreds, and quickly too!”
“But… what about Malfoy?” asked Harry quietly, not  daring to remove his eyes 
from the window.
“There is noting we can do for him,” heaved Dumbledore. “All we can do is honor 
his memory by trying to find his body and having a funeral.”
Harry wanted to so badly to beat himself up. How could he have been so… stupid, 
greedy, selfish, and everything else bad? He abandoned his friend and left  him to die in a 
small room by himself… all for a Ring. It didn’t get much worse than that….
“This is all your fault!” screamed Harry in his  mind, directing his  thoughts to the 
Ring. “If it  wasn’t for you, the horrible pyramid would have never been built, and Malfoy 
would be here with us right now!”
But, as hard as Harry tried to be angry at he Ring, he still had no desire to take it 
off. It was like a child who had done something bad. Harry was certainly angry at it  for 
what it did, but was no closer to  disowning it than he ever was or  would be. For this, he 
hated it even more… and yet he didn’t.
“Well,” said Dumbledore, turning his  attention  to Jamie. “It appears that in the 
process this trip, we have both lost and gained a student.”
“Hello to you too, Headmaster,” said Jamie, faking a smile. 
“Jamie,” said Dumbledore, still looking at her with amazement in his eyes, “how 
did you ever survive for so  long in the pyramid by yourself? You were  only a second 
year!”
 “The necklace kept me alive,” she said, looking at Dumbledore distastefully. “As 
long as  you wear it, you cannot be killed by old age or malnourishment. Of course, you 
still fell the pains of both. It has not been an easy eighteen years.”
“I can see,” said Dumbledore, eyeing her up and down. Harry looked at her again, 
literally in a new light. Now that they were out of the dark caverns of the pyramid and in 
the light of  day, he could see  just  how bad she really looked. Her skin was no longer 
peach, but a dark brown, caked all over with mud. The little skin she had was barely enough 
to cover her body; Harry could see most  of her bones. But, still the worst thing was the 
hair. There were grubs and a few other moving things inside it, which Harry guessed Jamie 


must have wanted. Those were probably her only source of food.
“But, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to hear all about those past years when we 
sit down with mom and dad and tell them that you’re okay!” said Ron happily, patting his 
older sister on the back. 
“About that…” said Jamie slowly, removing her  brother’s  arm from  her  back. 
“Maybe we could wait a little while… until the end of the year perhaps, until we announce 
my existence to the rest of the family?”
“Why?” asked Ron. 
“Because I don’t want to be alone when I see them for the first time. If you set up 
something not too conspicuous, like when we get back home to introduce  me again, that 
would be much better. It would soften the blow for both parties.”
“That sounds good,” said Ron, though looking a little disappointed.
“And  we   shall   all   make   sure   not   to   tell   anyone   your   little   secret,”   said 
Dumbledore, zipping up his  lips. “Until you decide  to  show yourself, Jamie, I will allow 
you to stay at Hogwarts and assist Hagrid with his job.”
“Thank you Headmaster,” said Jamie, bowing slightly.
“Not a problem at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go organize the cleanup 
for the mess we just made, and figure out how in the hell I am going to explain this to the 
students.”
With that, he stepped through the small crowd, and made his  way to the private 
compartment again, where  the rest of the teachers were already seated. He shut the door 
behind him and locked it tight.
“Now what do we do?” asked Ak, breaking the small silence.
“I know what you need to do, Jamie,” said Ron, holding his nose. “For God’s sake, 
take a shower!”
“But don’t you like the smell of eighteen layers  of muck, dirt, grime and bug skin 
all over my skin?” asked Jamie  sarcastically. Everyone held their noses  tight and shook 
their heads and she laughed. “Fine then. I’ll see you back at the school.”
She  walked down the  hallway to  the  end  of   the   train,  where  there  were   the 
bathrooms. As she made her way each compartment, Harry heard many loud comments 
about the smell, and a few doors opening, to see what the source was.
“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Madam Pomfrey suddenly when she saw Ron with 
his mangled face and body as she came by with her cart full of goodies. “My dear boy! You 
must come to my emergency room on the train now!”
She  grabbed  his   arm, and  ran  down the  hallway as   well, to  one  of   the   final 
compartments. It had a white door, with a large red cross  on it. She threw Ron inside and 
shut the  door  behind her. Even through the  closed  door at the  back of the  train, Harry 
could   hear   her   yelling   about   how   kids   don’t   take   ‘flesh   wounds’  seriously   enough 
nowadays.
“If you don’t mind,” said Ak, “I think I’ll be off as well. I’m sure my friends were 
wondering where I am.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather come with us?” asked Harry, wondering if now 
Ak qualified as a true friend. But, after what they just did, how could he not be?. “After all 
that we’ve been through?”
“And miss the chance to once again try and beat out Harry Potter  by not saying 


that I defeated an Egyptian God and a werewolf when he failed?” asked Ak mockingly. “I 
hardly think so!”
“Fine,” sighed Harry. “See you later, Ak.”
“Well,   where   should   we   go?”   asked   Hermione   when   Ak   arrived   at   his 
compartment. Harry wanted to say that they should go back to the remains of the pyramid, 
and help look for Malfoy, but he had to get over that. He had to save his sadness  for the 
funeral….
“Why don’t we go check on Ron,” suggested Harry.
“Sounds like a good idea,” responded Hermione. Harry could tell she was fighting 
to hold back her tears, and had been ever since the pyramid crumbled. Even though her and 
Malfoy had never been very close, Hermione still never liked it when anyone got hurt, and 
especially not when they got killed.
They made their way down the  hall, hearing the occasional exclamation of how 
the  pyramid  just   exploded  like   that.  From  what  Harry  heard  in  his   few   moments  of 
listening, it seemed that everyone thought that the pyramid exploding had just been a show, 
a magical holograph. A cool way to end the first day of the trip. None of them believed or 
even thought for a second that it was real.
“What! NO!” Harry heard Ron yell  through the  hospital  compartment. “No! It 
can’t be true!”
Harry rushed inside, to see what was going on and saw Ron lying on the single bed 
in the small room, his hands covering his face. Madam Pomfrey was holding some sort of 
contraption in her hand. It was white and cylindrical and had a red dot at one end. 
“What is it  Ron!?” asked Harry, wondering what could have caused him to react 
like that. “What happened!?”
“I… I…” mumbled Ron incoherently through tears and his face.
“He was bitten by the werewolf,” sighed madam Pomfrey. “I’m afraid that your 
friend Ron now has its  blood flowing in him, and is now one as well.”
“But I thought it just scratched you!” said Hermione.
“I thought so too,” said Ron, sitting up. “But, I guess I couldn’t tell the difference 
between its  claws scratching me and its  teeth biting me. They both hurt just as much.”
“Only the fangs  are the ones  that carry the magic,” said Madam Pomfrey. “If he 
had only scratched you, nothing would have happened. And, by the way, just how and where 
did you meet this werewolf?”
“Long story,” said Harry, shoving her off.  How could Ron be a werewolf? This 
was too weird…. They were becoming just like his father’s old group of friends. They all 
were Animagi, and one of them was a werewolf. Harry hoped that there were no versions 
of Wormtail in their group.
“How am I ever going to lead a normal life?” demanded Ron. “I’m going to have to 
transform every month, just like Lupin… just like Lupin…. Great…! Just great, I’ll end up 
like Lupin; a poor, friendless loner. Just great….”
“Is there anything you can do for him?”
“Of course,”  she  said. “Once  the magical blood was worked is  way throughout 
him entirely, I will be able to perform the Homorphus Spell on him and return him to his 
human form permanently. But, that won’t be until after his first transformation, which will 
not be until around the end of June.”


“See Ron,” said Hermione, sitting down on the bed next to him. “There is hope.”
“Yeah,” added Harry, “and until  then, you’ll be invincible  to almost  every spell 
that there is! Think of the possibilities….”
“Hmm,” sniveled Ron. “I guess  you’re right. Being a werewolf for a month may 
have a few advantages.”
“That’s the spirit!” said Hermione, hitting him on the back. 
“Can we take him back to out normal compartment?” asked Harry. “Or does  he 
need to say here?”
“Oh, I managed to fix those gashes and everything already. He is free to go.”
“Alright,”   said   Harry.   “Come   on   Ron…   Hermione.   Let’s   go   back   to   our 
compartment and wait until we get back to Hogwarts.”
“Okay,” said Ron, looking as though he was over his little trauma. He bounced off 
the bed and hopped right up next to his  two friends, looking as  happy as he usually did, 
which was often far too much. They thanked Madam Pomfrey, and let  her return to her 
duty of selling food, while they returned to  their compartment. When the  door opened, 
Cho and Ginny were already inside, sitting down and waiting.
“There you are!” said Ginny.
“Where have you been?” asked Cho.
“And where’s  Draco?” asked Ginny, peering all  around them. Harry, along with 
Hermione and Ron, heaved a great sigh and collapsed into the available seats. With Ginny 
looking at them in a confused way, Harry took a deep breath, and told her what happened, 
right from the beginning.
It was the worst trip ever on the Hogwarts Express Harry had ever been on. Once 
Harry finished his explanation, Ginny asked once again where Draco was, with a rather 
blank expression on her face. Just as she did, Dumbledore  came over the  speakers, and 
gave the grim announcement that the explosion had not been fake, but very real. 
As soon as  he stopped explaining, a sort  of panic broke out on the entire  train. 
Ginny burst into tears  and all the prefects  were called upon to settle  down their house’s 
younger students. Harry had to grab Joe  the second before he jumped out the window with 
no magical parachute on this  time, and took Mike’s marker away, before he wrote ‘We’re 
All Going To Die!’ in Japanese all over the train.
Once Harry calmed them down, he returned to his  compartment where Hermione 
was gone, tending to the girls, and Cho and Ron were trying to comfort  the traumatized 
and heartbroken Ginny. 
“It’s just… not… fair,” she said spastically through her flooding tears, sounding 
as if she was going to hyperventilate.
“I know, I know,” comforted Cho, stroking her hair. “It’ll be okay….”
It went on like that for the entire  two hour ride. Hermione never came back, and 
Harry had to constantly patrol  the  halls, taking care  of some  students  that we’re going 
crazy, saying they could have died, the ones that the other prefects were too busy to watch. 
Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief when it all was finally over, and the train pulled into 
the Hogwarts station.
“Come   on,” sighed  Cho,  heaving Ginny  up onto  her  shoulder.  She   had cried 
herself into exhaustion, and looked as though she may collapse at any given time. Her face 


was about the same color as her hair, as were her eyes. “Let’s get you to the school, come 
on.”
 “Thanks for helping, Cho,” said Harry, happy that he  at least  didn’t have to deal 
with the mourning Ginny.
“No problem,” she  whispered back. “But I think this  one is  going to need some 
serious counseling.”
“I don’t doubt that,” said Harry, watching Cho carry Ginny off the train. Though, 
he  thought, he  might want to sign up for a little  mental help himself.  No  one  that he 
personally, really knew had ever died when he was old enough to actually understand what 
death meant. Harry didn’t know if he were  in shock right now from it, but if he was, he 
hoped he would stay like that, so he wouldn’t have to deal with it. He didn’t want to accept 
that fact that Malfoy had died.
Just last year, Malfoy’s death would have affected Harry, but in a different way. 
Over the past year, he had grown to appreciate Malfoy as a person, an actual human being; 
and not a bad one at that. He was funny, kind, intelligent, serious when he had to be, and 
meant a lot to many people.
And now he was gone.
Harry shuddered and stepped off the train with the teachers, all the students  had 
already gotten off. He held himself tight. It was so much colder here than in Egypt, very 
much. Even more so since it was very late at night, almost early morning.
His  teeth  chattering,  Harry  walked  up  to   the  main  entrance,  along  with  the 
hundreds  of  other  students,   most  of  which  didn’t   look  too   much  better   than  Harry. 
Dumbledore  quickly  walked  by them,  and  threw   open  the  doors.  The  entire   mass   of 
students ran inside, trying to get warm.
“Everyone to the Great  Hall!” announced Dumbledore, magnifying his  voice  so 
everyone could hear him. “I have a very quick announcement!”
The whole  throng of  kids first  groaned, then turned, rather than going straight, 
into a dark Great Hall. The professors  flew in above them and quickly lit  all of the lights, 
brightening it up so that everyone could take their seats. With a yawn, Harry sat down at 
the Gryffindor table.
“I’m sorry to repeat this,” announced Dumbledore, speaking as he walked up to 
the front, “but, as you know, the Geb Pyramid is gone. We were that last group there, and 
we are the last group to ever see  it. The team of wizards that was sent there to do whatever 
they could confirmed that it is  far beyond repair. However, no Muggles  saw it, and no 
bodies have been found.”
With that last statement, he turned to Harry’s direction and gave a frown. Harry 
nodded his hand in understanding. Malfoy’s body had been disintegrated by the fire, then 
the crumbling rocks. What a way to  go… he wondered if Dumbledore was going to say 
anything about him.
“Tomorrow, I will continue with a few more  announcements about the pyramid,” 
he   said,   lowering   his   voice   slightly,   answering   Harry’s   question.   “But,  for   now,   I 
encourage you all to go to bed, and get a good night’s sleep. You will need it after what 
happened…. Once again, I am deeply sorry that your field trip was cut short, but that is no 
excuse not to get a good night’s sleep. So, off you go!”
The student body once again sat up and walked off to their common rooms. Harry 


didn’t bother to seek out Ron or Hermione, he was far too tired. All he wanted to do was 
collapse into bed, and when he got to his dormitory, that’s exactly what he did.
“Harry!” yelled Ron when he came in. “How can you sleep at a time like this? 
Ginny’s a mess, Malfoy is  dead, and-”
“Ron,” mumbled Harry, not moving an inch. “Please, just shut up.”
“Harry…”
“Oh Ron,” mumbled Harry, turning over. “Not now, I don’t want to talk about what 
happened now!”
“Harry Potter…”
“What?”
“Harry…”
“Ron!” yelled Harry, sitting up and opening his eyes. “Will you stop doing that? 
Can‘t you see that I am tired? T-I-R-E-D spells  tired! Aren‘t you feeling the  same way 
after we passed the hero’s-”
Harry stopped right in the middle of his thought. Instead of Ron peering over him, 
waking him up like  he usually did, Voldemort, in all of  his horrible glory, was standing 
there instead.


Chapter 22- The Headmaster’s Room
“Hello  Harry,”  greeted   Voldemort   through a  thin  smile,  as   if  they  were   old 
friends.
 “We  have to stop meeting like this,” said Harry, looking around. He was in a 
rather large room that he had never been in before, and had probably never been in there 
for good reason. All around him were old statues, stacked on top of each other and thrown 
in random places, both large and small, with cobwebs all over them.
“Aren’t they wonderful?” asked Voldemort, moving his arms in the direction of 
all of  the  statues. “They’re sculptures  of  previous  headmasters,  you know; the greatest 
headmasters  that Hogwarts had ever had.”
“I don’t see Dumbledore anywhere,” spat Harry.
“Humph,” he groaned. “This room  is  reserved for the immortalized versions  of 
only the  headmasters  that are far to  great to be within a fifty  mile  radius  of  that  old 
buffoon. These statues  here are of the many headmasters  that have tired to turn Hogwarts 
into a school for the Dark Arts, but failed in their valiant efforts. Apparently, Dumbledore 
doesn‘t think you children should see them.”
“What do you want,” hissed Harry. He had been through this before  and knew that 
the Voldemort  in front of him wasn’t real, just  a holographic version, a dream, like the 
time he was in the common room with him. 
“I think we both know what it is I want,” he murmured, glaring straight at Harry.
“No, do tell me,” said Harry mockingly. 
“I want the Glove!” he yelled, looking furious. 
“Why didn’t you just get it yourself at the pyramid?”
“I tried,” sighed Voldemort. “I told the previous  guardian to try and get it from 
you, after he had exterminated you six. But, of course, he failed.”
“I’m not going to give it to you,” said Harry sternly, patting his pocket to make 
sure it was still in there. “You can torture me all you like, there’s no way. I know that you 
already have at least one Item, and there’s no way I’m giving you this one.”
“Very well then Harry,” laughed Voldemort. “Very well. I see that you are you are 
a man of  business, Harry. So, I suppose, I will  just have to give you a little  bit more… 
incentive.”
“Like  what?”  asked  Harry  curiously.  But,  Voldemort  just  grinned  and tapped 
himself with his  wand, disappearing into thin air and leaving Harry all alone in the dark, 
creepy, windowless room. 
“Great, now what?” Harry asked himself, looking around. He was wandless, had no 
illumination, and did not know where he was. Harry scanned the  room, for any source  of 
light that would lead him out. 
Then he saw it. Right above an especially large  statue  with six arm, positioned 
almost like a perfect ladder for Harry to climb up and out with, was a hole leading out of 
the room. He walked up to the horrifying statue. It displayed the six armed man, with one 
leg on top of a skull and the other on top of a screaming head. The man was grinning, with 
an eyeball dripping from his mouth. Harry shivered and climbed up his  arms, wishing that 
he  could  have just  had a  normal  night  like  everyone  else.  But  no! He  had to  have a 
conversation with Voldemort.


Harry peered his head through the hole in the ceiling, to see  where he was. It was 
a fairly normal  looking hallway, though one  Harry had never  been in this  one  before. 
Instead of being the usual vibrant colors, it was rather old and looked in bad shape. How 
much of this school had he never been in before?
Harry climbed out  of  the  hole  and stood  up to  look  around. The hall  looked 
exactly like a normal one, only much older and decrepit. Harry brushed himself off  and 
began   walking  down   it,   hoping   he   would   arrive   at   familiar   territory   soon,   before 
Voldemort, or any version of him for that matter, came back.
“AAAHHH!” yelled Harry. Apparently, this hall was older than he thought it was. 
His  leg went right through the floor, creating an awfully loud noise  and making Harry 
stuck between two stories.  He  was all alone, trapped in the middle  of somewhere  he‘d 
never seen before, and Voldemort  could appear at any time  and kill him. This situation 
could not get much worse.
“Meow…” came a soft  cat voice. Harry stopped trying to pull his leg out of the 
hole for  a moment and looked straight ahead. Before him was Miss. Norris, Filch’s cat. 
Wherever she  was, Filch would soon be, reprimanding severely whoever happened to be 
there at the time, which would be Harry in this  case. He had to get out of there… now!
“Did you find someone?” Harry heard Filch say from not from too far away. Any 
minute  now,  he  could  see   Harry…  and what  would  his  excuse   be?  That   Voldemort 
summoned him down here? Filch was going to see him any moment….
“That’s it!” said Harry to himself. “If he can’t see  me, than I won’t get in trouble! 
Thank you Sirius!” Harry remembered that he had the Animagus Invisibility Ring on and 
quickly transformed into  his  gryffin form,  becoming completely  invisible just  as  Filch 
appeared at the end of the hallway with his lit lantern in hand. 
“Do you see  someone?” asked Filch to  his cat again. “Not very likely that any 
student would be down here….”
 He kept walking closer to Harry, moving quite slowly, as if checking every inch 
before  he took a step. The ring may make Harry invisible, but it didn’t make it possible for 
people to walk through him! Unless he got out of the hole quick, Filch was going to bump 
into him and find out he was there.
Harry flapped his  gryffin wings as  hard as he could, though not hard enough to 
make any noise, to try and pull himself out. It was even harder in his Gryffin form, since 
the wings were not the strong part of the  body, the arms were; those were what gave the 
initial push off of the ground. It was like trying to lift a barbell with your pinky. 
“I don’t see  anyone…” whispered Filch, still  getting closer. He was only a few 
feet away from Harry. He had to get out of the hole now!
Harry put all the energy he had into one  final, massive flap of his  wings. That 
brought him right out of the hole and onto the ground nearby. He tried to be as quiet as he 
could about it, but a few  noises  were  inescapable. Filch must  have heard those,  for  it 
seemed that he began to walk faster, and looking even more furious.
“I know there’s  someone  here,” he  mumbled. “He’s  probably got one  of those 
blasted invisibility cloaks on… I’ll get those banned next year.”
Harry kept backing up, to try and get out of the way of the rampaging Filch. Miss. 
Norris  was quickly pacing back in forth in front of him, so he couldn’t risk trying to run 
past. He just had to hope that he didn’t run out of hallway to back up in soon. 


“Blast it!” yelled Filch, stopping where he was. “We must have lost him by now. 
Come  on  Norris,  if  we  hurry  we  can still   get  him  before  he  gets  back  to   the  Main 
Hallway!”
With  that,  Filch and  Miss.  Norris   sprinted  down the  hallway in the  opposite 
direction of Harry, and out of view very quickly. Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief and 
transformed out of his gryffin form. He spun around, to keep going, and then took a step 
forward… and fell into a hole. 
“Woah!” yelled Harry, then covering his  mouth up quickly so that Filch wouldn’t 
hear him. The hole took up the  entire  width of the end of the  hall and was fairly deep. 
Harry fell for several seconds before he hit the damp ground, getting wet all over.
“Oh no,” sighed Harry, looking up at the very far away hole  that he fell  through. 
He was far too tired to transform again, much less  fly all the way back up and expect to 
keep walking the rest of the way back to the common room. He hoped that wherever he 
landed had an exit. “Now where am I?
Harry looked around, and was surprised at what he saw. It was a fairly small area 
that looked like  a Muggle  security room. All over the four walls  were  small  television-
like screens, depicting every single room in Hogwarts. Each was in perfect color and had a 
small label below, telling what each room was. Hanging from the ceiling of the room  in 
the center was a sign that read “The Headmaster’s Room”.
“So it’s  true,” said Harry, in awe of what he was seeing. “Dumbledore really does  
know everything that goes  on in this  place! He can see  any room  in the  entire  castle 
whenever he wants!”
Harry gazed at the walls of screens, in awe of what he was seeing. With this, he 
could spy on anyone at anytime, no one would ever have any privacy anymore  as  long as 
someone was in this room. He saw Ron and Ak asleep in their beds, Hermione reading by 
wand-light in her dark dorm, the house elves  busy preparing tomorrow’s breakfast…. The 
possibilities  of a room like this were endless….
“But,” Harry though, suddenly realizing that all these screens  applied to him as 
well, “Dumbledore can see whatever I’m doing. That means he may know that we have the 
Items! Or worse, he knows whenever we sneak out at night, and what we do. We’ve got to 
be more careful in what we do around here… we could be expelled! Though, I suppose, if 
Dumbledore was going to expel us, he would have done it long ago.”
Trying to stop worrying, Harry once again looked at all the screen. Most of them 
were showing students asleep in their dormitories, teachers asleep in their offices, and the 
rest depicted dark and empty rooms… except for one. Only one of the screens  was not 
almost totally dark, and Harry moved in closer to it, to see what was on it. 
It was showing two people  talking in an office  that looked very familiar, though 
so little of it was shown, Harry couldn’t quite make out which one it was. He looked below 
the screen and saw the  label. It read, ‘Headmaster’s  Office’. Harry turned his  attention 
back to the screen, and suddenly saw who the two people were! Dumbledore and Quirrell! 
“-he is very close,” whispered Quirrell, so softly Harry had to really lean into the 
screen to head. “You-Know-Who already has one, and I think he could even have two by 
now. If he gets the others, then we’re all doomed!”
“Oh no,” whispered. So it was true! Voldemort did have one of the Items already, 
and Quirrell believed that he could even have more. Harry tried to figure out how that all 


worked out:  he had the  Glove and the  Ring, Hermione  had the Bracelet, and Professor 
McGonagall  gave the Stone to  Dumbledore, so Voldemort must  have… the  Watch! He 
stole  it from Dumbledore somehow! But, what other one did he have? 
“I know,” sighed Dumbledore. “I know. He is very close to the others  as well, we 
must begin to use more forceful and blatant tactics. It is the only way.”
“Of course,” said Quirrell. “Let us call  a meeting tomorrow, we shall figure  out 
everything then.”
“Alright,” said Dumbledore, yawning a little. “We shall. Tomorrow then, Jerry.”
“Yes,” he said, opening the door and leaving. “See you later.”
With that, he stepped out of the office and shut the door, walking down the steps. 
Harry  saw   Dumbledore  give   one   last   sigh  and  then  open  the  door   to  his   bedroom, 
disappearing from the view on the screen.
“Dumbledore must know about  my little  nighttime meetings  with Voldemort,” 
said Harry to himself. “He knows that he is close to getting the other Items, and I know it 
too. If things get any worse, I’ll have to give him the rest; just to ensure the world’s safety. 
But, first, I need to go to sleep.”
Harry quickly turned his head around, trying to find a door out, and saw none on 
the walls. But, in the  middle  of  the room  below the sign, there  was another hole  with a 
ladder going down. Harry jumped into it and began climbing.
It was a fairly short trip down, and the ground Harry landed on felt like damp dirt. 
It was extremely dark as well, so much Harry had to use up what little energy he had left to 
transform his eyes, just so he would be able to see here  he was going. If only he had his 
wand instead…
But, just like the ladder, the hallway was not very long. Harry quickly reached the 
end and found himself at a three-way fork in the road, with each path having a sign above 
the entrance, telling where it went.
“Headmaster,” read Harry off  of the sign above the one he had just exited from. 
He turned to the  other three. “Death and Main Corridor…. Hey! I’ve been here  before! 
This is  that secret  passage I found when the staircases changed.”
Happy that at least he was now back in somewhat familiar territory, Harry grinned 
to himself and went down the Main Corridor path, not wanting to go down the Death path, 
the  one  he  just  got  out  of,  or  the  one  that led  him  to  this  fork last  time, unless  the 
staircases were acting up again.
Harry ran down the  corridor, wanting to get back to his  nice, warm bed and let 
everything that had happened in the past hour or so sink in and stop buzzing around in his 
mind. He quickly appeared back in the Main Hallway, stepping through the invisible one-
way door in the wall like last time. 
“There you are!” yelled Filch suddenly, seeing Harry pop out  from  the wall. “I 
knew  it  was someone  with an Invisibility  Cloak! Probably the  one  you got  from  your 
father, eh Potter?”
“Filch?” gasped Harry, amazed that after all he had done, Filch had actually gotten 
him. Both he and Miss. Norris  were wearing the same expression, a smile that only a prize 
catch could bring.
“You’re lucky the headmaster’s asleep,” grinned Filch, grabbing Harry by the ear. 
“He’s usually the one to deal out  my punishments, but since I don’t want to disturb him 


while he’s asleep, I think I’ll just- WHAT?”
Harry, not wanting to hear what horrible task Filch had cooked up for him, used 
every last  ounce of  energy in his  body to transform fully, turning into  the  gryffin  and 
becoming invisible. Harry collapsed right onto the ground.
“What the  hell!?” yelled Filch, looking up and down the  hallway. “I could have 
sworn I saw Potter here  a second ago! But, he  just…  disappeared. He  didn’t have his 
Invisibility Cloak with him anywhere I could see…  eh, Miss  Norris?”
“Meow,” she hissed, staring at Harry who was breathing hard and laying down on 
the ground. She and she alone knew that he was still there.
“It’s late,” said Filch, shaking his  head. “My eyes must be playing tricks on me. 
I’ll continue the search tomorrow. Come on!”
Miss. Norris  hissed at  Harry one last time, knowing he was getting away with 
something when he shouldn’t be, and then ran off to  her master, glancing back at Harry 
every few seconds, still smelling him. When they were well out of hearing range, Harry 
collapsed back into his human form, feeling more tired than he had ever in his life.
“Need… to get… to bed….” Harry managed to gasp out, an instant before he fell 
asleep right there in front of the Great Hall. 
“Harry! Get up!” came a shrill voice belonging to Hermione. She poked him with 
her wand a few times, making Harry grumble, groan, and turn over. “You’ve been out here 
all night!”
“I know…” sighed Harry, rubbing his eyes. All around him, sunlight was flooding 
in through the windows  and Harry had to  cover his  eyes  from being blinded. His  body 
ached all over from sleeping on the hard ground and he felt as though there was still  glue 
all over his eyelids.
“I heard   that   you   were   down  here   from   a  few   early   comers  to   breakfast,” 
explained Hermione, helping Harry back up onto his feet. “You’re lucky no one’s stepped 
on you or told one of the professors.”
“I would have been luckier if I had made it back to my bed,” sighed Harry.
“Come on then!” said Hermione, helping him up. “Let’s go to breakfast.”
“That sounds  like a good idea!” said Harry, suddenly feeling much more hungry 
than tired. He jumped up, right next to Hermione.
“Why  were   you  out   here   anyway?” she  asked  him  as   they  sat  down  at   the 
Gryffindor table, with most of the rest of the school already there. “Did you and Cho have 
an exhausting date or something?”
“No,” said Harry, letting all the  memories  of what happened last night flow back 
into his mind. “You see, it was-”
“Attentions   students!”   said   Dumbledore   just   then,   interrupting   Harry   and 
Hermione. “As I said last night, I have a few more announcements about the trip.”
“Oh no, he’s going to announce that Malfoy died,” cringed Harry.
“I am extremely  sorry to say,” said Dumbledore, shaking his  head, “that while 
most of the school was able to evacuate the pyramid in time, not every was so lucky. I am 
afraid to say that one of our students did not make it back alive. This morning, I want us all 
to lift our glasses to-”
There was a massive, explosive noise just then: the sound of the Great Hall doors  


being thrown open. Everyone in the room swung their heads over and Harry head to keep 
himself from screaming out loud.
It was Malfoy.


Chapter 23- Ransom
Into the room Malfoy limped, his left leg being of no more use than an anvil as he 
dragged it behind him. Malfoy’s condition looked far worse than what Harry’s did after his 
encounter  with  Amemait  and  Ron’s   werewolf  attack  combined.  His   entire   body  was 
covered from  head to toe  in ash, blood, burnt skin, and little  chunks of  stone. The few 
clothes that he still  had on were little  more than rags, and it was as though just looking at 
them was enough weight to make them fall right off. It was a miracle- no, a phenomenon 
that he survived.
“Will someone get the nurse  in here… NOW!” yelled Dumbledore, breaking the 
uneasy silence  that plagued the  Hall as Malfoy slowly worked his  way down the center 
aisle, an expression of blankness on his mangled face.
Immediately, a dozen or so students from assorted houses ran off as fast as they 
could to the Hospital Wing to get madam Pomfrey while the rest just stayed there, in awe 
of what was before them. Malfoy didn’t look as though he was in good enough condition 
to be living right now, much less  walking. 
Almost  as   soon   as  the   students   ran  out   to  get   her,   Madam  Pomfrey   came 
bouncing into the Hall, quickly scooping Malfoy up onto a stretcher that a house elf was 
bringing up behind her. 
“My my my!” she said quietly as she lifted him up. “What has happened to you?”
“Pyramid… go… boom…” groaned Malfoy, clutching his  sides  as she wheeled 
him out  of the Hall, shutting the gigantic doors  behind her and leaving behind the  most 
unpleasant  silence  that  Harry had ever experienced. Everyone in the  Hall  turned their 
speechless faces to Dumbledore, waiting for and wanting him to say something.
“Well then…” he finally continued, looking in just about as  much shock as  they 
did. “May we thank the day that we did not have to raise our glasses to our fellow student 
Draco after all, but rather our heads to see him walk in the Hall!”
“What happened to him!?” demanded a random student, breaking the tension in the 
room. All of a sudden, everyone starting yelling and rambling on about what just happened, 
demanding various pieces of information.
“How did he get hurt so bad!?”
“Did   he   go   in   the   Forbidden   Forest!?
“He said something about the Pyramid…..”
“Was he left behind!?”
“SILENCE!” yelled Dumbledore, giving off an aura of power that did not require 
words to make everyone be quiet. The Hall became as silent as when Malfoy walked in. 
“Now,” he continued, much more calmly, “Mr. Malfoy’s injuries may have looked bad, but 
I can assure  you that they are nothing that Madam Pomfrey can’t fix. I have seen  much 
worse been healed in no time. If any of you are concerned about him still, you may visit 
him. Once he is better, he will be able to give you a count of what happened to him much 
better than I could. Also, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you all that this  is  still a school 
day, so despite what has just happened, you are all still required to go to class, and try to 
do well.”
The silence continued, everyone was still staring at him blankly.
“You may go to classes  now.”


All   of   the   students   in   the   room   scrambled  up  and  the  food   on   the   tables 
disappeared with them, some shoving a few things for later into their pockets and mouths, 
others just leaving it there for the magic to take place.
“Let’s go check on Malfoy quickly,” said Harry as they stood up. “And find out 
how the heck he got back here!”
“That’s what I want to know,” said Hermione, looking as though she was thinking 
hard, trying to  find some  sort of logical way in her mind that Malfoy could have gotten 
back alive, but was unable to.
They ran away from the chaotic crowd and out of the room, sprinting all the way 
up to the Hospital Wing, wanting to see Malfoy before classes  started. 
“No visitors right now!” yelled Madam Pomfrey when they reached the room. She 
was putting up the sheet around Malfoy’s bed, cutting him off from view. Not letting them 
get another word in, she pushed them out of the room hurriedly, wanting to return to her 
patient.
 “Don’t worry,” said Harry when they suddenly found themselves out of the room. 
“I’ll find out  what happened.” He morphed quickly into the  gryffin and nudged the door 
open, ever so slightly so that he could just slip through without arousing any attention.
“Now you just stay put,” said Madam Pomfrey to Malfoy as he laid down on his 
bed. “I need to run down to Professor Snape’s office  and get a few ingredients for a potion 
to grow you a new kidney. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay…” gasped Malfoy as she  exited, walking right by Harry, almost bumping 
into his furry form. Once  she  was out, Harry walked on all fours  over to his mutilated 
friend.
 “Malfoy…” said Harry, transforming back. 
“Potter?” he asked, sounding better. “Is that you?”
“In the fur… well, now in the flesh,” he said. “What happened to you?”
“I managed to escape,” said Malfoy bitterly, not looking at Harry.
“Well I know that,” retorted Harry with the same tone of voice. “But how?”
“Well, after you left me to die in the room with that monster,” spat Malfoy. “I was 
able to put myself out by rolling on the floor and rubbing some dirt all over me. After I 
was fully put out, I opened the same door you went through and worked myself to room 
full of snakes where  I found my wand. Then I ran down the hall leading to the lobby and 
looked out  the  door. I saw the Hogwarts  Express  in the  air, leaving without  me, and a 
second later, the whole  pyramid just collapsed on me, bringing me to the condition I am 
currently in.”
“But how did you manage to get all the way back here, in only a day?”
“I Apparated of course,” said Malfoy lazily, still not making eye contact. 
“What did you say?” asked Harry, obviously misunderstanding Malfoy. 
“I said I Apparated,” said Malfoy louder and more sternly this time. 
“But how…” Harry managed to get out through his amazed mind. “How could you 
possibly be able to Apparate? I mean… it’s illegal!”
“After some  of the  things  I’ve done,” said  Malfoy, “learning to  Apparate  was 
nothing. Beside, it’s not nearly as hard as people make it out to be.”
“What do you mean after the  things you’ve done  it  was  nothing?” asked Harry 
curiously. “What else have you done?”


Malfoy sighed and finally turned to face him. He sat up in the bed and pulled back 
the sleeve on one of his  arms. There, right below the wrist was the Dark Mark, the sign 
that all Death Eater’s bore. 
“You’re a Death Eater?” asked Harry, not taking his eyes off of the mark.
“Have been ever since  I was thirteen,” said Draco, pulling his  sleeve back down. 
“That’s the age of initiation. How else  do you think I’ve been taught and given so  much? 
Been told so much information? Trainees aren’t allowed any of that.”
“So what have you done?” asked Harry, amazed at both the fact that Malfoy was a 
Death Eater and that he hadn’t realized it earlier.
“Can’t say,” said Malfoy, lying back down and turning his head to the side again. 
“It’s time for you to go.”
“Not quite yet, I still-”
Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling that classes  were starting and Harry had to run 
out of there now if he didn’t want to meet an irate McGonagall first thing in the morning.
“I’ll see you later then, Malfoy,” said Harry, transforming into his gryffin form. 
Malfoy didn’t answer. 
Harry walked over to the door on all fours, trying to be as swift as possible, but 
just as he was about to walk back through, Madam Pomfrey appeared before him, carrying 
a pile of odd items  in her hands. They looked like dried leaves, only bigger and yellow. 
Harry froze right where he was.
“Oh! Madam Pomfrey!” yelled Malfoy suddenly. “There’s something there on the 
floor there on the left next to you!”
“What?” she  asked, turning to her side  where  Harry was. “Oh my! you’re  right! 
There is a spot on the floor.”
She reached down with her hand, right to where Harry was in his  gryffin form, 
ready to pick up some large wad of dust that Harry was just so unfortunate to have stopped 
on. Once he felt her hand coming into contact with his fur, he knew it was all over.
“AIEE!” jumping back in surprise  as she  shrieked  from  the  shock of touching 
something when there should have just been air. “What is that!?”
“It was me,” sighed Harry, turning back into his  human form. The door was shut, 
she was standing in front of it. Surrender was the only way out. 
“Harry!” she yelled, catching her breath. “What do you think you’re still doing in 
here? I told you no more visitors and classes  just started!”
“It’s  just  the   way  Potter’s  mind  works…  backwards   and then  upside  down,” 
laughed Malfoy from his bed, grinning. Harry eyed him curiously. He was back to the old 
Malfoy now. Harry had done the  most  horrible  thing one  friend could possibly  do to 
another;   he   murdered  their  trust   and  left   him   to   die   alone  the   most   horrible   death 
imaginable.  And, possibly  worst  of  all, he  didn’t  even apologize  to  him. Now  that he 
thought about it, Harry didn’t really blame him.
“Well you’re lucky I’m in a hurry,” she said, dumping the ingredients  in her arms 
into a massive pot. “I don’t have the time to write you up a detention slip.”
“Thank you,” said Harry, looking at Malfoy. The more he gazed at him, the more 
he saw that he had changed very much. The evilness within was seeping out again.
“I’m not being nice, I’m being busy,” said Madam Pomfrey, not looking at Harry 
and throwing this and that into the pot. “Now run along! Quickly now! You’re late enough 


or class as it is!”
“Yes, Madam Pomfrey,”  said  Harry  quickly, slipping  out  the  door. He  had  a 
feeling that his  and Malfoy’s friendship was over. Preferring to  be unprepared for class, 
rather than later  than he already was, Harry sprinted  to  Transfiguration, almost  fifteen 
minutes late
“Mr. Potter!” Professor McGonagall screeched at him when Harry appeared in 
the room. “You are unreasonably late!”
“Sorry, professor,” said Harry. “I was visiting… an old friend.”
“I don’t want excuses, I want you to be here on time,” she retorted as Harry took 
his seat. “That will be fifteen points from Gryffindor, one for each minute.”
“Why are you so late?” whispered Hermione to him when Professor McGonagall 
returned her attention to teaching rather than Harry. “I waited until the last bell rang then I 
ran out of there.”
“Malfoy is the reason I’m late,” said Harry bitterly.
“Did you two talk for a while?”
“Not really.…”
“Then why did it take you so long to get here?”
“He got me in trouble.”
“Malfoy?”  asked  Hermione,  sounding surprised.  “But I thought  you  two were 
friends now.”
“Not anymore,” sighed Harry. “Not anymore….”
“Hey,” whispered Hermione a few minutes later. “Have you seen Ron anywhere?”
“What?” asked Harry, turning his head all around, expecting to see  the red-haired 
boy next to him. “No, I thought he was right here, next to me.”
“Me too,” said Hermione, looking around again. “Did you see him this morning?”
“No,” said Harry, realizing now that he hadn’t seen Ron all day.
“He didn’t look sick last night or anything….”
“And I didn’t see him in the Hospital Wing if he was anyway.”
“Where on earth is he then?” asked Hermione one final time. 
“I don’t know,” said Harry, beginning to feel  a little  bit  worried. He  knew very 
well how he  could find him: if he  just  went to  the  Headmaster’s  Room, the one  with 
screens  showing everything in every room in the entire castle. But, if he went in that room 
and Dumbledore  happened to be there first,  that could definitely lead to some awkward 
situations and questions.
“Let’s   just  keep   an  eye  out   for  him  for   the  continuation   of   the   day,”  said 
Hermione.
“Alright.”
But, throughout  the  rest  of the  day and the  rest  of  the  classes, Ron made no 
appearance. Not even at his favorite time of the day, lunch, was he there. It was as if he just 
disappeared from Hogwarts.
“Should  we ask  a  teacher?”  suggested  Hermione  when the  day was  over and 
everyone was heading back to their common rooms.
“Not just yet,” said Harry, remembering his  idea of  checking the Headmaster’s 
room. “I have a better idea.”


“Can we just check your room, one last time?” she asked when they stepped into 
the Gryffindor room. 
“Why?” asked Harry.
“Just to make sure  he hasn’t been there all day, sleeping or something. Trying to 
give us a good scare.”
“Fine,” Harry said, actually thinking that was  a reasonable suggestion. This was 
the type of thing Ron may have done for fun. They ran up to the fifth year boys’ room and 
threw open the door, seeing what they had pretty much expected.
“Nope,” said Harry. “No Rons are in here.”
“Wait just a second,” said Hermione, stepping in. “What’s that?”
“What?”
“That!” she said, pointing to Ron’s bed. Harry turned, and saw on his pillow a small note, 
written on a torn piece of parchment. Harry walked over to it and read it off. It was written 
in extremely  beautiful  handwriting in  red  ink  that  dripped ever  so  slightly, giving the 
smallest appearance of blood trickling down.
“To Harry Potter,” Harry read it off quietly, trying to make out the highly stylized 
letters. “If you ever want to see your friend Ron again then you know what to do.”
“What is it?” asked Hermione.
“It’s a ransom note,” said Harry, lowering it down. “Voldemort has Ron.”


Chapter 24- The wNet
“What do you mean?” demanded Hermione,  her  voice  lowered.  “How  do you 
know that? Let’s check the map.”
“Good idea,” said Harry quickly, wondering why they hadn’t done that in the first 
place. He opened up his drawer and took out the Marauder’s Map, the map created by his 
father and his three friends in their time at Hogwarts. It showed every secret passage and 
location of the entire school as well as where everyone currently was.
Harry scanned the map for a dot labeled Ron, but found none.
“He’s not  on  here,” he sighed, folding the  map up and putting it  away into his 
drawer.  “Voldemort  has  probably taken  him  away. In exchange  for  Ron, he  wants  the 
Glove.”
 “How do you know that?” asked Hermione again.
“Voldemort  visited me  in some  sort  of holographic  form  the  other  day,” said 
Harry. “He told me that he wanted the Glove. Somehow, he knows we have it.”
“Well what are we going to do?” asked Hermione. “We can’t give it to him.”
“No we can’t,” said Harry, trying to think of what their options  were. Evidently, 
they were not doing a very good job of keeping the Items secure. One of them had already 
been stolen  and now they  were  in a  horrible  situation  regarding another.  They had to 
somehow change this.
“We have to give it to  Dumbledore,” said Harry finally. “He’ll know what to do 
with it and he can keep it safe.”
“It’s all we can do,” said Hermione, looking very concerned and anxious. 
“Let’s get  there  as fast  as we can,” said Harry, stuffing the ransom  note  in his 
pocket. “Every second we waste is another second that Ron is  in danger.”
With that, they sprinted out  of the dorm  and common room, evading people’s 
questions  as  to why Hermione was in the boy’s  dormitory. Right now, Harry didn’t care 
what horrible rumors they cooked up; all he wanted was to find his best friend.
“Monkey   cakes,”   gasped   Harry,   out   of   breath,   to   the   gargoyle   guarding 
Dumbledore’s  room. It moved out of the way and the two of them ran up the stairs  and 
threw open the door.
“Professor  Dumbledore!”  yelled  Harry when they entered  his  office.  He  was 
sitting right behind his  desk and nearly jumped a foot  in the  air from surprise, throwing 
papers, quills and bottles of ink as well.
“Oh my!” he gasped. “Harry! Miss. Granger! What is it?”
“Someone’s taken Ron!” whimpered Hermione.
“And we think it’s Voldemort,” added Harry, catching his breath.
“What  makes  you  think that?”  asked Dumbledore,  standing up  in  his  pile  of 
clutter, the surprise immediately fading from his face and transforming into an expression 
of urgency and seriousness.
“Because he  wants this,” said Harry, ripping the  magnificent Glove out  of his 
pocket and presenting it to Dumbledore. Before  him, it shone  like a pile  of rubies, as 
bright as the sun, lighting up the room. 
Dumbledore’s eyes widened.
“Do you… know what… that is?” he asked slowly, not taking his bulging eyes  off 


of the brilliant Glove. 
“Yes, and we’ve known for a long time,” sighed Hermione.
“It’s one  of the three Legendary Items,” said Harry, setting it down on his desk. 
Dumbledore’s eyes followed it all the way.
“How do you know that Voldemort wants it?” he asked them, very slowly.
“He’s told me… twice,” said Harry, gritting his teeth.
“How?”
“In my dreams,” sighed Harry. There  were a few moments  of silence. Everyone 
just  stood there, beholding the Glove as if it  were the first fire ever to be seen on Earth, 
and they were all cold cavemen.
“Well then…” heaved Dumbledore, breaking the silence. “What are you going to 
do with it?”
“We want you to have it,” said Harry. Muttering those words was like trying to lift 
an anvil. For some reason, no matter how much Harry didn’t really personally care about 
the Glove and really wanted Dumbledore  to keep it safe, actually saying that he did was 
incredibly difficult.
“So that you can protect it,” added Hermione, “better than we have been.”
“I certainly will,” said Dumbledore seriously, facing the two of them. He picked 
up the Glove and put it in the same drawer as the Watch was in. Harry peered inside as he 
did, wanting to see  if the Watch was still there. To his surprise, it wasn’t. “I can guarantee 
you that as long as I am alive, no other soul shall touch this Glove.” 
Harry was about to open his  mouth to ask where  the  Watch had gone, then he 
remembered he wasn’t supposed to have seen it in the first place. 
“What was that Harry?” asked Dumbledore, seeing his attempted question.
“Nothing…” said Harry. “Nothing.”
“But what about Ron?” demanded Hermione.
“Mr. Weasley?” asked Dumbledore. “Well, if he is within Voldemort’s clutches 
right  now,  our  Aurors  will  find  him  shortly. Since  Voldemort  did not  leave  you any 
specific instructions  on how you were to give him the  Glove, I am assuming he did not 
expect it right away. I’m sure by the time he is found, Mr. Weasley will still be alive.”
“Isn’t there anything else you can do?” swallowed Harry.
“I’m afraid not,” sighed Dumbledore. 
“But what if we try to find him!” suggested Hermione. “We’ve done harder things 
before! I’m sure that if-”
“No,” interrupted Dumbledore, softly but very stern and seriously. “For once in 
my life, I must insist. You two are not to go looking for your friend. Voldemort’s powers 
have increased drastically over the past year, and I’m sure that he would love to show them 
off to you two, and trust me: he can do things that are so horrible and twisted you would 
wish that you were dead.”
“And we’re  supposed to  stay here, while  Ron is  experiencing that?” demanded 
Harry, taking a tone  with the Headmaster that he had never before. Hermione shot a look 
at him that asked him what he thought he was doing.
“I am afraid so,” said Dumbledore. “There s nothing that you two can do for him. I 
will send word out immediately, and he shall be found soon enough. Now, I can put charms 
on you that will prevent you from stepping out of the castle. But, I think I can trust you 


enough so that I don’t. Do we agree?”
“Yes,” said Harry and Hermione together. 
“Very well then,” said Dumbledore, taking a breath. “I ask for you two to leave 
now while I send out the emergency word. I will tell  you their progress  tomorrow. Until 
then, try to sleep.”
“Yes headmaster,” said Hermione respectfully.
“Whatever you say… Dumbledore,” said Harry, thinking that the headmaster was 
not doing everything in his power to save Ron. They stepped out of the room and walked 
down the stairs, arriving back in the main hallway.
“What do you think, Hermione?” asked Harry when they started on their way back. 
“Do you think that Dumbledore- AAAHHH!”
Suddenly, Hermione leapt through the air and pounced right on top of Harry, like 
some  sort  of  leopard or  lion  hunting its  prey. Her  eyes  were  bloodshot  and she  was 
drooling through her teeth.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” demanded Harry, trying to push her off. She 
was much stronger now than ever before. It was as if Harry was trying to push a house off 
of him, a very vicious house.
“Give me the  Ring!” she  yelled, in a voice  that was not  hers. It was deeper and 
very raspy, like a voice that hadn’t been used in years.
“No!” yelled Harry, wondering what he should do and what was going on. “Stop 
Hermione! Stop now!”
Just then, as if she were obeying his command, Hermione let go of his arms and 
legs and stood up, looking perfectly normal. 
“Harry…” she asked, sounding frightened. “What just happened?”
“You attacked me,” said Harry, getting to his  feet  with some  difficulty.  “You 
wanted my Ring.” 
“Why did I stop?”
“Because I asked you to…” said Harry, breathing hard and still  wondering what 
the heck was going on. He decided to try a little experiment. “Hermione! Sit down!”
As if she were a pet dog doing tricks, Hermione sat down as quickly as she could 
and looked at Harry with a blank gaze. What was going on?
“Hermione! Stand up!”
As expected, she stood right up again.
“How are you controlling me?” she asked, looking both horrified and amazed.
“I… don’t know,” said Harry, his mind feeling like Jell-o.
“But I think I do!” said Hermione suddenly, grabbing Harry by the arm. “I think it’s 
because of your Ring!”
“What? My Animagus one?”
“No!” she said, shaking her head. “The Ring of the Ancients! I think that maybe it 
has even more powers, some that we don’t even know about.”
“Well how can we find out  what they are?” asked Harry curiously. “Go back to 
Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom?”
“No, that book didn’t have much more information in it,” said Hermione, stroking 
her chin. 
“The library?”


“No way, they wouldn’t carry information on things like that.”
“Then what?” asked Harry exasperantly.
“Well… we could…. No. No way.”
“What?” questioned Harry, his curiosity only now greater because she didn’t want 
to do it.
 “Well…”  she  continued, lowering  her  voice  slightly.  “Sixth Years  and under 
aren’t even supposed to know about it, it’s only for advanced research. I only know about it 
because I stumbled upon it once in a book.”
“What is it?”
“The wNet,” said Hermione. “The wizard internet.”
“What’s so secret  about that?” asked Harry. When he was at the Dursleys’ years 
ago, he went online every now and then, when Dudley wasn’t around. There wasn’t anything 
too dangerous.
“The wNet and Muggle Internet are almost completely different,” said Hermione, 
wavering her arms. “For one thing, the wNet has been around for thousands of years. Also, 
the wNet is  much more dangerous.”
“How can it be dangerous?”
“Well, you know how there are Muggle hackers?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, they’re nothing compared to wizard hackers. They can program horrible 
traps   and pitfalls,  and  not  to  mention  dark  wizards  to  pop  up all  around you  as  you 
research. Unless you know how to defend yourself very well, you can get badly hurt.”
“As long as it will give us the  information we need, I’m all for it,”  said Harry, 
trying to sound brave.
“Alright,” sighed Hermione. “But let’s  try to go somewhere  private, so that no 
one will see us cast the spell.”
They walked down the practically deserted hallway, in search of any empty room. 
Most  of them were occupied by teachers, having meetings  with each other or  students. 
But, there was no one in the closet!
“Here, the broom closet,” said Hermione, opening the door to the smallest and 
most dilapidated room Harry had ever seen. It was probably one of Filch’s old closets, one 
of his  really old ones. The three brooms that were  in there  had mildew and dust all over, 
with spiders and cobwebs hanging everywhere.
“Well, at least no one will find us here,” sighed Harry, walking in with Hermione 
and brushing all of the stuff out of his way with his  hand. She closed the  door and they 
were all alone; in the pitch black closet. Harry couldn’t help but giggle a little.
“Oh shut  up,” said Hermione. Even through the  darkness, Harry could see  her 
blushing. “Just because Ron’s not here doesn’t mean I’m not with him anymore.”
“Okay,” said Harry, bringing them back to the real world. “How do we get to the 
wNet anyways?”
“It’s a simple spell,” said Hermione, rolling up her sleeves. “wNet Accessium!”
Suddenly, the world around Harry exploded. The small, dark closet  that they were 
in was no more  and the  two of them appeared on an infinite blue plain with some  white 
mist slightly above it, floating around.
“Watch it!” yelled Hermione, putting out her arm in front of Harry as  he took a 


step forward. He looked down and saw that below him a hole had appeared, one that looked 
as though it had no bottom.
“Where did that come from?” gasped Harry.
“See what I told you?” said Hermione. “This place is treacherous. If you had fallen 
down that hole you would probably have spent the next month in the Hospital Wing, not to 
mention having to answer some questions  as to why you were here  anyways. Unless you 
keep all of your eyes out at all times, you’ll wind up dead. Even though we may appear to 
be in a different world, our bodies are still in the closet and they can get hurt.”
“Alright,”  said  Harry  impatiently,  putting  his  hands   up.  “Can  we just  get  the 
information and get out of here?”
“Okay,” smiled Hermione, looking excited. “wNet! I want to search!”
“How may I help you… Hermione Granger?” said a thin screen in a computer-like 
voice that suddenly appeared in front of the two of them. It looked a little like a window, 
only the glass was a light blue, and there was a cartoonish human-like face in the middle. It 
floated about them, almost like a ghost.
“wNet,” continued Hermione, seeing from the expression on Harry’s face that he 
had no idea what was going on, “what information can you give me on the  Ring of  the 
Ancients?”
“Searching… Ring of the Ancients…” whirred the screen. The head spun around 
quickly and a question mark appeared above it. A moment later, the question mark turned 
into a glowing light bulb and the head stopped rotating, and it began talking.
“The Ring of the Ancients was created by the earliest Egyptians.” As it spoke, new 
screens  appeared all around Harry and Hermione, depicting various scenes  of what it was 
talking about. A moving image of some peasants building a pyramid was shown, along with 
another one showing the four Items  and the Sorcerer’s Stone. With almost every word, a 
new screen showed up. “It was made to try and stop so many heroes  from becoming gods 
by making it an extra ingredient in the Immortal Potion. It also-”
“Yeah yeah,” said Harry, waving his arm hurriedly. “We know all that.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us about it?” asked Hermione. “Like, any other 
powers it has besides being an Ingredient?”
“Yes,” said the screen distastefully. Evidently, it didn’t like being interrupted very 
much. “The Ring was forged with a few  additional powers. The Ring’s, along with the 
Watch’s, Bracelet’s and Glove’s wearer will find that he or she cannot bear the thought of 
being without  it. This  is  because  the  power the  Items  give their  bearers  are addictive, 
making the bearers  unable to concentrate  when they are not wearing their Items. Also, if 
the Ring bearer takes the Ring off, and this applies only to the Ring, and another one puts 
it  on, whoever was the  previous wearer  will  become  a slave  to  the  current  one.  Dark 
Wizards   have used  the  Ring of  the   Ancients  for  centuries   to  create   vast   armies   of 
mindless drones.”
“So that’s why I attacked you,” said Hermione, thinking hard. “My desire for it 
was almost overwhelming, so I pinned you down demanding it. Then, when you told me to 
stop, I did because  you were  the current wearer, and I had it  on previously. Right now, 
whatever you tell me to do, I will have to.”
“Sounds like a nice  deal,” grinned Harry, looking at his Ring in a new light. This 
thing   had   built   armies   and   started   wars.   This   small   piece   of   jewelry   had   caused 


civilizations to collapse and then others  to grow under the extreme dictatorship of others. 
How did it ever end up in that old shop in Knockturn Alley?
“Does  it have any other  powers?” asked Hermione, trying to  find the original 
screen with the cartoonish head through the dozens  of others  that were now all  around 
them. 
 “Not too many,” said the head. “It slightly amplifies the wearer’s magical power, 
and increases  their stamina a little. It also changes the temperature of the surroundings if 
someone that has  made the wearer a secret-keeper is  near. The colder it  gets, the more 
serious the secret.”
“Is that all?” asked Harry, wanting to leave the overwhelming amount of screens  
and get back to the real world.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” said Hermione.
“Goodbye… Harry Potter. Goodbye… Hermione Granger,” said the face, bowing 
slightly. When it raised itself back up, all of the other screens  disappeared and the two of 
them were back in the blue-floored oblivion.
“wNet Partius!” said Hermione, waving her wand hand. The world around them 
swirled and spun, bringing them back into reality, and back into the broom closet.
“Now what do we do?” she asked generally, opening the door.
“Well I,” said Harry, checking his watch, “have to go to the last Quidditch practice 
of  the year. You should go to  Madam Pomfrey to  get that curse  that the  Ring gave you 
lifted off of you.”
“What should I tell  her?” she demanded. “That you have the Ring of the Ancients  
and you are able to control me? I don’t think she’ll buy that.”
“Just tell  her you haven’t been feeling yourself. She’ll give you a normal check 
up, find the curse herself, and probably fix it, thinking it’s nothing.”
“I don’t know, it sounds awful risky-”
“Hermione,” said Harry sternly. “I am ordering you to go to Madam Pomfrey and 
tell her what I told you.”
“Okay Harry,” she responded robotically under the power of the curse. Hermione 
immediately walked off in the direction of the Hospital Wing.
“Man, it’s too bad she’s going to lose that curse,” said Harry to himself when she 
was out of sight. “It might have come in handy.”
Harry ran off  to his team’s Quidditch practice.  He tried to avoid the questions 
about where Ron was by immediately changing the subject, but every time one of  them 
asked,  Harry  was  reminded  that  his  friend  was  still   missing.  Finally  worn out  from 
worrying about his  friend, and from the strenuous final practice, Harry collapsed into his 
bed that night, instantly falling asleep.
“Get up, Harry!” 
“Enh…” Harry groaned, pulling the comfortable blanket over his head.
“Come on! You’ll be late for breakfast!”
“Fine fine,” he mumbled, sitting up and putting his  glasses  on. When the world 
came into focus, he nearly fell back onto his pillow. 
Right there in front of him, was Ron.


Chapter 25- The Disguise  Dance 
At first, Harry just looked in awe at his friend, his jaw opened and his eyes  wide. 
How was it  that, only a matter  of  hours  ago, he  was being searched for  by parties  of 
Aurors, and now he was walking around in front  of  him, making his bed and acting as if 
nothing had happened.
“RON!” yelled Harry, surprising himself  at how loud he said it. “What do you 
think you’re doing?”
“I’m getting ready for class,” he said, staring at Harry. “I don’t know what you’re 
doing, but whatever it is, you had better get up now so you can do it.”
“No,” said Harry, shaking his  head furiously. “What are you doing here? You’re 
supposed to be missing!”
“Am I?” he asked curiously.
“Yes!” said Harry dumbfoundedly. “You were  gone all day yesterday! Hermione 
and I were searching everywhere for you!”
“Didn’t I tell  you?” he asked. “I was with Professor  Quirrell  all  day yesterday 
doing some  extra credit. I need it to pass  the class  with slightly-above-average marks. 
Sorry, I thought I told you that.”
“But, you didn’t show up on the Marauder’s  Map!” said Harry, still  in shock of 
what was going on.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Ron, looking at Harry as though he 
was crazy. “If you had looked on the Map, I would have been there. If this is all about me 
missing yesterday’s final practice, I’m sorry, but I have to pass Defense Against the Dark 
Arts.”
 “But… but….” gasped Harry, wanting to wake up from this dream.
“I’ll see  you downstairs  at breakfast,” said Ron distastefully, walking out of the 
room. When he shut the door behind him, Harry just stared blankly at it, his mind trying to 
catch up with what was going on.
“Wait Ron!” he said after a few seconds, throwing his  covers away and jumping 
off of the bed. He still  wanted to know what had really happened and having Ron angry at 
him  would  not  help.  Harry quickly threw  his  school  robes  on  over  his  head and  ran 
downstairs, calling Ron’s name as he went.
“What are you yelling about?” demanded Hermione when Harry arrived in the 
common room. She was sitting in a chair, reading up on today’s lessons.
“Ron’s here!” exclaimed Harry, shaking his hands and arms. 
“What?” she asked, closing the book. 
“He woke me up!”
“Well where did he go?”
“To breakfast I think.”
“What are we waiting for!?” she said, shoving her books into her backpack. “Let’s 
go get him!”
“Wait a minute, Hermione,” said Harry, finally regaining control  of  his  brain. 
“Why don’t we go see Dumbledore first, maybe he knows what’s going on.”
“No,” she said, standing up. Evidently, Madam Pomfrey had fixed her curse from 
the Ring; she wasn’t obeying Harry’s command. “If anyone knows what happens, it’s got to 


be the person that all this has happened to: Ron.”
“He just thinks he was doing some  extra Defense Against the Dark Arts credit all 
day yesterday. Obviously, someone put a spell on him just to think that.”
“Well then what should we do?”
“Dumbledore said he was going to  try and find him,” said Harry. “He must have 
found him, and changed his memory around. He’ll know what’s really going on.”
Not wasting another second with talking, the two of them  ran to Dumbledore’s 
office,  knowing they  didn’t have much time  since   classes  would begin in only a  few 
minutes. 
“Hey!” said Harry, looking at the announcement bulletin board. “There’s a Wizard 
Duel meeting tonight! It’s about time!”
“Maybe I’ll come tonight,” said Hermione softly.
“Really?” asked Harry, amazed at her change of mind.
“Yeah, I played it once with Ron a while ago… it was okay.”
“I  can’t  wait  to  play you  then,”  grinned  Harry  when  they  arrived  at  the  very 
familiar gargoyle guarding Dumbledore’s office. Harry muttered the password and it move 
aside. They ran up into the office, throwing open the door.
“Professor  Dumbledore!” yelled the two of them, running into the room  with so 
much force  that papers flew all over like  birds. Dumbledore  was sitting behind his  desk 
and he fell over in his chair, startling Fawkes and causing some books to fall off of the 
shelves.
 “Stop bursting in one me like that!” said Dumbledore angrily, picking himself up. 
“Would you please knock before you enter!?”
“Sorry professor,” said Harry, watching him pick up the mess magically. “But this 
is just as urgent as yesterday.”
“We’ve found Ron,” said Hermione. “Or, rather, he’s appeared back.”
“I know that,” said Dumbledore, picking up his chair and straightening his hat.
“So where was he all day yesterday?” asked Harry, not wasting any time in asking 
how Dumbledore knew Ron was back, since he understood exactly how he did.
“Didn’t he tell you?” questioned Dumbledore, sitting back down in his chair. “He 
was with Professor Quirrell.”
“That’s what he told us,” said Hermione. “But what really happened?”
“What really happened,” continued Dumbledore, sounding a little agitated, “is that 
your friend Ron Weasley spent all day yesterday doing Defense  Against the  Dark Arts 
extra credit, which might I add, he desperately needed.”
“But,” sputtered  Harry, almost  in disbelief  of  what he  was hearing, “he wasn’t 
anywhere on the Map!”
“What map?” asked Dumbledore, leaning in closer.
“The Marauder’s  Map,” explained Hermione. “It shows every passageway in the 
school, along with where everyone is.” 
Dumbledore’s eyes widened.
“And you have this map… at your disposal?”
“Yes,” said Harry. “Me, Hermione and Ron have had it for the  past three  years. 
Fred and George gave it to me.”
“I think you two should be leaving now,” said Dumbledore quietly.


“But… what about Ron?”
“Ron  is   okay  now,  and  that   is  all   that  matters,”  he  said,  again  very  softly. 
“Voldemort  must  have known Ron was going to  be  doing  work  all  day yesterday and 
decided to pull a bluff. He wanted you two to bring him the Glove even though Ron was 
never in his possession.”
“But,” grunted Harry, just as the bell rang, shocked at what he was hearing, “that 
can’t be the truth; we would have seen him.”
“We’ll talk at another time,” said Dumbledore in a more authoritative voice. He 
stood up and started pushing them out of his room. “Right now, you have to go to class.”
Not wanting to get in an argument with Dumbledore, Harry decided just  to go 
along with what he wanted for now and to leave. Dumbledore  shut the door behind them 
and they made their way down the stairs.
“Do you think Ron really was just with Quirrell all day?” asked Hermione.
“I don’t know…” Harry sighed. “I don’t know.”
It was not one of Harry’s better days at Hogwarts. All day long, he, Hermione and 
Ron discussed what had happened, but Ron still swore that he was with Quirrell all day. In 
Defense  Against the Dark Arts, Harry decided to try and ask Malfoy if he knew anything. 
But, he had changed his seat to one  far away from Harry, back with the other Slytherins. 
Their friendship was now officially over.
In each class, they were  reminded that finals were  only a few weeks  away and 
once  again, they were  on  the  day after  the  Quidditch final  and the  last  Dueling Club 
meeting, the  one that would be in front of the  entire  school. All of  this  going on made 
Harry just want to go to sleep, and when he woke up, it would all be over. The only light at 
the end of the tunnel was that at the end of the day today, there  was going to be a Dueling 
Club meeting. During dinner that night, Harry, Ron and Hermione  were talking excitedly 
about it.
 “I’m still quite new to the game,” said Hermione. “I hope I do okay.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” said Ron.
“Yeah,” added Harry. “Besides, the game is more  based on luck than strategy, and 
we three are very lucky.”
“Attention   students!”   announced   Dumbledore   suddenly,   breaking   the   air   of 
conversation that was all around the Great Hall. It was very unusual, for  him to  make an 
announcement at Dinner. It must be very important.
“I know that many of you,” he continued, “are still disappointed at the unfortunate 
early departure  that we had from  Geb Pyramid. So, it  has  been a unanimous  decision 
amongst the  faculty to bring about another fun activity for  you to take  part in. It is  my 
great honor to announce that the Disguise Dance will be held at the end of this year, after 
the finals are over.”
The Hall broke into a cloud of confused talk. 
“What’s that?”
“Is it like the Yule Ball?”
“Do we put on masks?”
“Students…   students…”   resumed   Dumbledore.   “The   Disguise   Dance   is   a 
privilege  given  to   very few  groups   of  students  at  Hogwarts.  I believe  that  since  this 


school’s founding, there have only been a few dozen of them. 
“The Disguise  Dance was  originally just a way for old headmasters  to find out 
who was causing trouble  at the school. They put a spell  on the  masks so that when you 
wore it, if you lied, it would start turning all sorts  of wild colors. So, at random times 
during the dance, they would ask questions regarding vandalisms and such so that everyone 
could hear, and whoever’s mask turned colors, they knew it was their fault. It was quick, 
legal, and the students didn’t even know what was going on until it was too late. 
“But, everyone had such a good time at the dances that even after they had served 
their purpose, they were held every so often, and students  were allowed to wear any sort 
of costumes  that they wanted. Traditionally, the winning house hosts  and holds the dance, 
so if you want yours  to have that spectacular honor, then I recommend you earn as many 
points as you can.”
“Well, it looks  like Gryffindor will be holding it,” said Ron when everyone in the 
Hall started talking again after Dumbledore finished. “We’ve won the past five years  and it 
doesn’t seem as though we’re going to lose anytime soon.”
“I certainly hope so,” said Hermione. “It sounds like fun!”
“Only you won’t be able to tell who’s who if we’re all wearing costumes,” added 
Harry. “You won’t be able to tell if you’re with your date, or someone else.”
“But that’s half the fun,” said Hermione excitedly. “See if the two of you really 
love each other enough to be able to tell without actually seeing him.”
“Or her,” added Harry.
Harry, along with almost  the rest  of the entire  school, didn’t really pay much 
attention   to  anything  else   said  after  Dumbledore’s   announcement.  They  all  were  so 
excited about this spectacular dance that they were going to be part of that everything else 
seemed almost unimportant. But, when the  time  cam  around for the final Wizard Duel 
Club Meeting, Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke out of  that state of mind and made their 
way down to the Great Hall again.
“Oh man!” exclaimed Ron when the three of them stepped into the room. If Harry 
didn’t know better, he would have thought that there was another meal going on. Almost 
everyone in the entire school was inside the Great Hall, each with a deck of cards, ready to 
go. It was as if there was a flood in the room, only with people instead of water.
“There weren’t even close to  this  many people  at the last meeting,” commented 
Harry, working his way through the crowd and up to where he thought the front was.
“Yeah… it’s  kind of weird isn’t it?” said Hermione. “Why did so much of  the 
school suddenly get into it?”
“Who cares?” asked Ron, a hungry look in his eyes. “They’re all new to the game, 
so I can beat them all!”
“We’ll see about that….”
“Hello everyone!” boomed Ak’s magnified voice over the crowd. He was on a 
slightly boosted platform that put him over the heads of everyone. He looked quite happy 
as well; his club was a big success. “I am glad that you all are here! Now, since there are so 
many of you tonight, it  would be  far too  confusing, awkward, and time  consuming to 
create  a list and match you all up individually. So, what we are going to do is instead have 
you choose  your opponents, and then you duel with him or her. If you lose  the match, 


please move over here,” he waved his arm in the direction of the space behind him that was 
marked off by a magically hovering yellow tape. “Once there are four people left standing, 
we will have a special team duel that should prove to be quite interesting.”
“Can we start now!?” yelled an anxious member. 
Ak grinned.
“You may begin.”
The Great Hall suddenly erupted into a chaotic mass of everyone eagerly talking 
to everyone  else,  trying to find someone  to duel. Couples  of  fighters  scattered off  in 
random directions all over the room, sitting down and facing off. 
“You want to play, Harry?” asked Ron eagerly.
“Are you sure that you want to play me this early?” asked Harry. “That means only 
one of us will be able to continue in the tournament.”
“Well, that way the one who has a chance in the rest will still  get to go, and the 
one who is obviously worse will be able to rest. He wouldn’t have won in the end anyway.”
“Alright,” said Harry, whipping out his deck of cards. “Let’s go!”
The two of them looked around the room, trying to find an open area where they 
could play. At first  glance, it seemed as though the entire floor was covered by students, 
but Ron spotted a small, empty corner.  They stepped over everybody’s heads and made 
their way there, sitting down and beginning the duel.
“You’re going down, Harry,” grinned Ron, shuffling his deck up.
“What are you talking about? You’ve only beaten me a handful of times this entire 
year, and that was before I was good.” 
“That’s just because you keep getting those Dumbledores out,” grimaced Ron. 
“Yeah, they’re pretty powerful cards,” smiled Harry, drawing his opening hand. 
“But I’ll bet they’re even better when they’re all combined into one.”
“Yeah yeah,” said Ron, interrupting Harry’s dream. “Let’s get this game started. 
Since you probably have the advantage here, I’ll go first.”
“Fine with me.”
“For my first  action,” said Ron, beginning the game with a tone of power in his 
voice, “I will play… The Nimbus Two-Thousand!”
Ron threw the card onto  the small playing field. Harry chuckled to himself; so 
Ron was using his Quidditch deck. This was going to be very easy.
“And then,” he continued, “I will play Viktor Krum as it’s rider.” 
The familiar messed up face  of Viktor on his  card made its  way on top of  the 
broom as Ron gently placed it there. 
“Your turn,” he said as if the game was his  after just the two actions. Harry drew 
his card, and looked at his hand of cards. There was a Hungarian Horntail, a Hippogriff, a 
Stupefy, a Merging Spell, a Summoning Charm and he just drew a Dementor.
“For my actions,” said Harry, his fingers  tingling from the anticipation of putting 
down some cards, “I will play a Hungarian Horntail and then a Dementor.” He slapped the 
cards   down in front  of  Ron, wiping  the  grin off  his  face. “Let’s   see  little  Krummy-
Wummy deal with that!”
“He’ll find a way,” muttered Ron, not sounding too confident that he would. “I’m 
not going to attack with Krum, obviously, and I’ll draw my card.” He quickly grabbed the 
top card of his deck and threw it into his hand, glancing it over and then smiling. “For my 


first   action, I will  play Quidditch Field.  It prevents  all  damage  dealt  to  all  Quidditch 
players… and that includes my Krum.”
“Yeah yeah I know what it does,” groaned Harry.
“And!” exclaimed Ron, sounding much happier. “I will play the Snitch too, which 
gives all Quidditch players  extra Power! Now not only is Krum invincible, but he can pack 
a punch too!” 
“We’ll see  about that,” said Harry, hoping for something good as  he drew  his 
card. He breathed a sigh of relief when he  saw what it was: a Korosucide! If Harry was 
lucky, it would destroy the Quidditch Field. “I’m going to play… Korosucide!” Since the 
card that Korosucide  destroyed was random, Harry held the card high above the playing 
field, closed his eyes and let go of it, hoping that it would land on one of Ron’s cards. He 
heard the soft sound if it coming in contact with the ground and Harry opened his eyes.
“Whoops,”   exclaimed   Ron,   grinning.   Harry   looked   down   and   saw   that   the 
Korosucide  card had landed on his  Dementor. He  sighed and put the two cards  in his 
discard pile. Things were not going very well.
“I guess I’ll just Stupefy your Viktor Krum now,” heaved Harry. “Now at least he 
can’t attack my Horntail.”
“For one turn anyways,” grinned Ron as  he drew his  card. “And now, I’ll play 
another  Nimbus  Two-Thousand and then a Ludo Bagman for  its  rider! Now  I have two 
invincible and powerful broomed warriors!”
“Great,” sighed Harry as he drew a Lumos Spell. “I guess I’ll play my Hippogriff, 
and then merge  it with my Hungarian Horntail.” Harry put the  two cards  on top of  each 
other, and tried to imagine what the new beast would look like.
“Good, now I have to only beat one monster instead of two,” said Ron, beginning 
his turn. “First, I’m going to attack your Hungarian-Griff with Krum and Bagman, killing it. 
Then, I’ll put out a Firebolt this time, and make Quigley, from the Ireland team, its rider.”
Harry’s  hope  was quickly  fading as  he moved his   combined creature  into his 
discard pile and looked at Ron’s three invincible fighters. He had no more  fighters in his 
hand to defend against their attacks, so next turn, all their power would go directly to his 
deck and nearly wipe him out. He had to get something good…. Harry drew his card.
“An Engorgio Charm,” moaned Harry, very disappointed. He looked through the 
measly cards in his hand again, to see if there was anything worth using. All that he could 
really use was the Summoning Charm. “I’m going to draw five cards with the Summoning 
Charm.”
 “Whatever,” smirked Ron.
Harry drew his five cards: another Engorgio Charm, a Disarming Charm, a Lumos 
Spell, a Merging Spell and-
“Dumbledore,” said Harry to  himself, looking at  the  wonderful card. He did a 
silent gesture of happiness, and then smiled, ready to beat Ron. “And for my last action, I 
will play Dumbledore!”
“No! Not again!” cried Ron as  the card came  onto  the  floor. He had been the 
victim of Dumbledore’s special ability many times, and now was going to be no different. 
“And now it’s  time for Dumbledore’s  ability to  take  effect, all your cards  are 
belong to me!” Harry made a giant sweeping motion, making his arms like rakes and Ron’s 
cards  like leaves. He brought them all over to his playing side… they were now his. The 


Quidditch Field, the Snitch, the three fighters… all of it.
“Your turn, Ronnie,” winked Harry.
“Just when I was about to win….”
“That’s what Dumbledore does, he’ll take you by surprise and turn everyone you 
know against you,” said Harry sarcastically.
“Oh no!” yelled Ron, looking at the card he just drew. “I didn’t get any fighters! 
Nothing can defend me from your attack next turn! I lost!”
“As usual,” beamed Harry, gathering up his cards  and giving Ron back his. “Sorry 
to take you out of the tournament, though.”
“It’s okay, I probably would have lost eventually anyway. Those Dumbledores  are 
just unbeatable.”
“Pretty  much,” said Harry, nodding his  head and looking around the  room  for 
another person to play. “I don’t know any cards that can beat him.”
“I’ll see  you in the loser’s bin,” sighed Ron as he headed over to the designated 
area where the losers of each match went. There were already several others in there with 
him, and more were coming in by the minute.
“We’ll just see about that.”
“Hey Harry Potter!” yelled  a student that Harry had never seen before.  Harry 
turned around, and before  him was a fourth year Ravenclaw that had a very determined 
look on her freckled face. “You want to play me, or are you afraid?”
“Even though you are definitely very intimidating,” said Harry facetiously, “I think 
I’ll try my luck.”
“Huzzah!” shrieked the child. “Prepare to be defeated!”
Despite  all of her previous bragging, it  was a very easy match. It was only a few 
turns until Harry dominated the field with his Voldemort and then a strategic Dumbledore 
when she had several fighters out. The look on her face when that happened was priceless.
After that match, the loser’s  area was getting very crowded, and the people that 
were still left  available to play wouldn’t go near Harry. He was the champion, and nobody 
wanted to  wreck their chances  at victory by playing him. It  wasn’t nearly as  much fun 
watching the people that were left  play each other than actually playing a game. Luckily 
for Harry, the last four contestants were revealed fairly soon.
“Well it seems  as  though the final four have arrived,” said Ak when the loser’s 
area was so  crowded that the  people had to stand on top  of each other to fit in. Harry 
looked to see who the last four remaining were: himself, Ak, Malfoy surprisingly, and-
“Hermione!” exclaimed Harry when he saw her there  amongst them. “How on 
Earth did you get here!”
“Well, this game isn’t too difficult to strategize with,” she shrugged, “and the rest 
is just luck, which I’ve got plenty of since I’m a beginner.”
“Well I congratulate you three on getting to the final round,” smiled Ak to them. 
“This deciding match will certainly be a fun one, that is guaranteed.” With that, he took his 
wand out of his pocket and tapped the ground with it. There was a small shake all over the 
room and a small hole opened up in front of them, bringing out with it a large table that 
had the  same  surface  as the holographic playing table, only it  was about four times  as 
large, and much higher up.
“All four of us will play here,” he said.


“All against each other?” asked Harry.
“No, we’ll all get into two teams  of two and then play against each other  like 
that.”
 “How will we decide teams?” asked Malfoy, looking at Harry distastefully. 
“How do you want to decide teams?” asked Ak.
“How about… I’m not with Potter.”
“Alright then, it will be you and me Malfoy, against Hermione and Harry.”
“Sounds almost too easy to be true….”
“Everyone in the  losing area,” announced Ak, “you can now come  back to  the 
main hall where you can watch the final match!”
The  massive  crowd  shuffled  it’s  way over  to   the   table   where  the  final   four 
contenders  were  each at a different corner, ready to play. Everyone was so  eager to see  
what was going on that they were pressing up right against Harry, Hermione, Malfoy and 
Ak, pushing them almost onto the table’s surface.
“Harry,” said Ak to everyone, “you know the drill. Put your decks into the slot, 
and your starting hand will appear in front of you.”
“How exactly will this  team game work?” asked Harry, as he slipped his deck into 
the slot along with everyone else.
“It’s very easy. All we do is  take turns by each individual taking a turn and he or 
she can do whatever they want. But, if one person on a team loses, then the  entire  team 
loses. Understand?”
“Yeah,” said the four of them together as their cards appeared in front of them. 
Harry couldn’t  see  Malfoy’s or Ak’s, but he could see  his  and Hermione’s. She had a 
Disarming Spell, a Stupefy, a Meherius  Spell, an Increase Time Spell, and a Lumos. No 
fighters.
 “Hermione!” whispered Harry to her. “Where are your fighters?”
“Don’t have any,” she whispered back.
“Oh great…” sighed Harry, looking at his starting hand: a Hippogriff, a Phoenix, a 
Merging Spell, an Engorgio, and… a Voldemort! Things were starting to look up.
“Now we flip a coin to see who goes  first,” said Ak, taking out a Galleon. “Which 
side do you want, wizard or ministry?”
“What do you think, Hermione?”
“Let’s go with… wizard!”
“Alright!” said Ak, tossing the coin up in the air as everyone’s eyes in the room 
watching it go all the way up, spin around a few times  and then land back down, with the 
wizard side up.
“Okay then, you go first Harry,” said Ak. 
“Hey Potter,” said Malfoy. “Are you feeling lucky after that coin flip?”
“It depends why.”
“How  about  we make  this   match  even  more  interesting,” he  said,  raising his 
eyebrows.
“Well, how about we put a small wager on the match,” he grinned. “The winning 
team gets fifty points added to each member’s house.”
“Seeing as Gryffindor gets  at least fifty points either way,” said Harry, “I’m in.”
“Excellent…” hissed Malfoy.


“Harry, it’s still your turn,” said Ak, sounding like he wanted to get underway. 
“Very well,” grinned Harry, the faces  of all the students pressing in on him as the 
table gave him his card (a Stupefy). “For my first action, I will play Voldemort!” 
Harry slapped the holographic version of the card down on the table and the small 
form of the horrible wizard appeared on the table. His arms were folding and he had a snarl 
on his face, ready to go.
“And then I will use an Engorgio Charm on him, to make him even stronger!” 
proclaimed Harry, feeling that victory was close, even though it was the first turn. 
“Now whose turn is it, Ak?” demanded Malfoy.
“Actually, it’s yours now, then Hermione’s, then mine.”
“Excellent,” hissed Malfoy, drawing his  card. “First,  I’ll use  another Engorgio 
Charm on your Voldemort.” He threw the hologram card next to Harry’s Voldemort and it 
grew even taller, its power increasing.
“What did you do that for?” asked Harry. “Now I’ll just beat you faster!”
“And now,” continued Malfoy, going on as if he hadn’t heard Harry, “I’ll play a 
Voldemort of my own.” Malfoy placed the card down, and the two Voldemort’s faced each 
other. Harry’s bigger one smirked at Malfoy’s, and his just started at Harry’s, giving him 
horrible looks.
“My turn,” announced Hermione  as  she   drew  her  card. Harry  saw  that it  was 
another  Maherius. “I’ll play a Stupefy on your Voldemort, Malfoy.” She gently laid the 
holograph down on the table and a red beam shot out, hitting the Voldemort and giving him 
a  red  glow,  preventing  him  from   attacking…  for  one  turn  anyway. “Then, I’ll  use   a 
Maherius Curse on myself.”
“Hermione!” yelled Harry as the spell hit her deck and she lost five cards. “What 
do you think you’re doing!?”
“Don’t worry…” she smiled. “I got here, didn’t I? My strategy must work.”
“Yeah, but by killing yourself?”
“My turn now,” announced Ak, breaking up Harry and Hermione. “I’m going to 
firstly use yet another Engorgio Spell on your Voldemort there Harry.”
“Be my guest!” said Harry as his Voldemort grew even taller and more powerful.
“Then,” grinned Ak, “I’ll use the Imperius Curse on you Voldemort and bring him 
over to our side.”
“No!” yelled Harry amongst  chatter and some  laughter from  the  crowd as  his 
Voldemort disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared on Ak’s side. That’s why they 
were  making him so  powerful, so they could just  scoop him up and make him theirs. 
Sneaky….
“Your turn, Harry,” smiled Malfoy.
“I know that,” hissed Harry as the table dealt him his  card, angry that he had lost 
his Voldemort. He  had drawn an Increase  Time Spell. That wouldn’t help him very much 
right now. 
“I guess I’ll play my phoenix first,” said Harry, still a little down. The wonderful 
phoenix popped out of the surface, flapping its wings and sending little embers all over. 
“Then I’ll stupefy your more powerful Voldemort, Ak.”
“Playing defensive, are we Potter?” asked Malfoy, getting his card. 
“A good defense is a good offense.”


“Yes, well a good offense is  an even better offense,” he smirked back. “For my 
first  action, I’ll play another Voldemort for you two to deal with, and I believe that kills 
your  little  phoenix  as  well.  Then for  my second, I will put  out  a  Constant  Vigilance 
Potion.”
 “What does  that do?” asked Hermione  as  the  Voldemort  appeared next to  the 
other  two and a bubbling cauldron as well. Harry’s  phoenix collapsed to  the  crowd and 
disappeared to the discard pile.
“Granger, it’s your turn now,” said Malfoy, ignoring her question. 
“Fine. I’ll play a Stupefy on your new Voldemort, Malfoy, saving us for  a turn. 
Then, I’ll play another Maherius Curse on myself!”
“Hermione!”  yelled  Harry  again. “Use  that  on  one   of  their   Voldemorts,   not 
yourself!”
“Don’t worry…”
“Okay, how about I start off by making the number of Voldemorts  on the field an 
even four?” smiled Ak, beginning his turn immediately. The fourth Voldemort appeared on 
the field. With it’s rising, Harry’s hope sank. How could he possibly defend against four 
Voldemorts? It was almost impossible.
“Now, it’s time to win this  match,” said Ak, with a fire  in his  eyes. “I’ll use a 
Merging Spell on all four Voldemorts, creating the most horrible fighting force this earth 
has ever seen!”
As soon as he placed the  Merging Spell on the  table, four holographic  snakes 
appeared  and they slithered across  the surface  of  the  table,  each wrapping themselves 
around a Voldemort. Once they all were holding their victims securely, they slithered back 
to   the   same   spot   and   melted   together,   creating   a   hideous,   multi-colored   blob   of 
Voldemort and snake. It jiggled and flashed colors, then took form. 
The new fighter was the most terrifying thing Harry had ever seen. It stood almost 
three  feet  tall on the table, shadowing over everyone in the room. It’s head looked like 
Voldemort’s only it had snakes where there should have been hair. They all snapped and bit 
at each other, hoping to kill all others  but himself.  The monster  had six arms, three  on 
either side  with long, knife-like  fingers coming off  of  each. There were snakes  popping 
out and hissing all over the monster’s body and they wrapped themselves around its arms, 
occasionally cutting themselves on his sharp fingers. Behind it was a massive, black cape 
that dragged on the floor, adding to its terrifyingness. 
“Four separate  Voldemorts  are definitely a formidable fighting force,” said Ak, 
smiling and licking his lips, eyeing his new fighter. “But, their true power can only be seen 
best when they are combined into the Ultimate Voldemort!”
“It won’t take long to beat you now with this guy,” added Malfoy. “Especially you, 
suicidal Granger.”
“The game’s not over just yet,” mumbled Harry, not feeling too sure  of his  own 
confidence. He waited for the table to deal him his card, wondering what he could possibly 
get that could help him now. When he saw what it was that he got, Harry was overjoyed.
“Voldemort may be strong,” said Harry, “but no matter how strong he gets, he’ll 
still  never  be  a  match  for…  Dumbledore!”  He  threw  the  hologram  on  the   table  and 
watched it  appear, feeling a new source of hope inside him. With Dumbledore’s ability, 
the Ultimate Voldemort would be his and Hermione’s!


“How on Earth did you get a Dumbledore?” demanded Malfoy.
“Probably from Aylar,” said Ak. 
“No way, I got mine the real way,” smirked Harry as he waited for the Ultimate 
Voldemort to disappear and then reappear on their side, but it wasn’t happening.
“What are you waiting for?” asked Malfoy. “Take the rest of your turn!”
“I’m waiting for us to gain control of your Ultimate Voldemort,” said Harry.
“Why would that happen?” asked Ak.
“Because  of   Dumbledore’s  ability!”  said  Harry,  getting  a  little   upset.  “I gain 
control of all my opponent’s fighters when he comes  into play.”
“You idiot!” yelled Malfoy, scaring some of the kids  around him. “What do you 
think the Constant Vigilance Potion does? It prevents any of our fighters from being taken 
control of! Dumbledore’s power is useless!”
“You’re kidding…” sighed Harry, their chances of winning going down the drain.
“Afraid not,” smiled Malfoy.
“Then I guess  I’ll just use my last action to draw a card,” groaned Harry. He got a 
Summoning Spell. Maybe he’d get something better next turn. 
“I think I’ll just forgo my turn,” said Malfoy, “so that Ak can get this game over 
with by attacking with Ultimate Voldemort.”
“It’s not Ak’s turn yet,” said Hermione, getting her card. “And he’s not going to be 
able to attack with his Voldemort anyway, because I am stupefying him!”
“You’re just putting off the inevitable,” said Ak as the red beam hit the Ultimate 
Voldemort. “Not it will just take one more turn to crush you.”
“And then I’ll use  a Disarming Spell on your Constant Vigilance  Potion,” said 
Hermione  with a serious  look on her face. The red beam shot  out and hit the  cauldron, 
shattering it into a million pieces before it disappeared.
“Come on let’s get this over with,” groaned Ak. “I’ll pass my turn like Malfoy.”
“And then I’ll start  mine,” said Harry, getting his  card, another Increase  Time 
Spell. “First I’ll play a Summoning Charm.” Harry watched the five cards  that the table 
dealt to him: another Hippogriff, another Increase Time Spell, and… three  Dumbledores! 
Harry could have dropped dead right then. Three Dumbledores! What were the odds of that 
happening? Probably just about as good as getting four Dumbledores in the first place….
“Come on! Let’s go!” said Malfoy sounding anxious to get the game over with. 
“I’m going to  start  off by playing two Increase Time Spells,” announced Harry, 
now having a total of three actions. “Then I will play three Dumbledores!”
“Three Dumbledores!” yelled  Malfoy  and Ak together. Harry watched as  their 
eyes widened as the three Dumbledores appeared next to the one he already had out. 
“And  now   since   you   don’t   have   the   Constant   Vigilance   Potion   anymore,” 
continued Harry, feeling as  though he was  on a winning streak, “I gain control  of  your 
Ultimate Voldemort too!”
“What are we going to do now, Ak?” asked Malfoy through clenched teeth as their 
Voldemort disappeared and then reappeared on Harry and Hermione’s  side, now under 
their control. 
“Don’t worry, something will turn up.”
“I don’t see how,” grinned Harry. “Your turn now, Malfoy.”
“I know,” he spat as  he got his  card. Malfoy’s face turned from  being disgusted 


and all scrunched up to a grin. “For my first action, I’ll play another Imperius Spell, on 
good old Ultimate Voldemort.”
“Well, it was nice  having him for a while,” said Harry as they lost their massive 
monster. “But at least we still have the four Dumbledores.”
“And now I’ll put out another Constant Vigilance Potion to stop anything like that 
from ever happening again,” said Malfoy, summoning another cauldron.
“Don’t worry,” said Hermione. “This battle won’t be long enough for us to try and 
steal that Ultimate Voldemort again. It’s going to be over very soon.”
“How so?”
“Because I’m going to use a Merging Spell on Harry’s four Dumbledores!”
Instead of four snakes coming out  of the spell, four ghost-like spirits did. They 
each grabbed a hold of a Dumbledore  and flew together, forming the same  giant blob. It 
wiggled  and  jiggled  and flashed  colors,  then  grew   to   the   same  size  as  the  Ultimate 
Voldemort. When the blob turned into the regular form, it  didn’t look all  too  different 
from what a normal Dumbledore would. It didn’t have any extra limbs, it  was just much 
taller, and had a very bright glow all around him.
“And now I’ll use an Engorgio Charm on him, to make him even stronger!” 
“Now our two fighters  are evenly matched,” said Ak, beginning his turn. 
“I don’t think so, Dumbledore will always be more powerful,” said Harry. 
“So, to begin my turn, I’m going to attack with Ultimate Voldemort.”
“But if you attack Ultimate  Dumbledore, they’ll both be discarded,” said Harry. 
“Both Ultimate Voldemort’s and Ultimate Dumbledore’s powers are equal.”
“That’s  why  I’m not  attacking  him,”  said Ak.  “I’m going  to   attack  Hermione 
instead.”
“Oh no! That will practically beat her!” exclaimed Harry.
“Yeah, too bad it won’t beat her now. We‘ll actually have to wait another turn…” 
said Ak as Ultimate Voldemort attacked Hermione’s deck, and brought it down to only two 
cards. This was getting close; if only she hadn’t used those Maherius Curses on herself!
“I’m  going  to  begin  my  turn   by  attacking  the  Ultimate   Voldemort   with  my 
Ultimate  Dumbledore!”  said  Harry,  wanting  to  eliminate  the  threat  that  it   could  beat 
Hermione.
Dumbledore took out his wand from his  pocket and pointed it at Voldemort who 
did the same. For a second, the two giant fighters faced each other, wands out and ready to 
go. Then, a moment later, they both shot the same black beam out of their wands at each 
other, creating a  massive, holographic  explosion  that  filled the  entire  table’s  surface. 
When it cleared, both fighters were down on the ground, and disappeared shortly after.
“Now we’re both fighter-less  and even,” said Harry.
“Yeah, the  only difference  is  that both of the  members  on our team  have more 
than two cards in their deck,” mocked Malfoy.
“Okay okay, I’ll just  play a Hippogriff  and a house elf,”  said Harry lazily, just 
wanting to get something out so that he couldn’t be attacked directly.
“And to try and counter that, I’ll play a Dementor and a Boggart,” said Malfoy. 
“All I have to do is wait a turn, attack with them, and Granger’s gone. We win, even without 
Ultimate Voldemort!”
“Don’t get too cocky,” said Hermione, getting her card. “Because you never know 


when the tables might turn on you.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” said Hermione sternly. “Because for my first  action, I’m going to play an 
Apparition Spell!”
“No!” yelled Malfoy and Ak together.
“What does that do?” asked Harry.
“It switched two player’s decks,” grinned Hermione. “And I’m going to switch my 
one   card deck  with Malfoy’s.”  The two  decks  in the  slots  for  Hermione  and Malfoy 
disappeared in puffs of smoke and then reappear in opposite places. “Now for the finishing 
move! I’m going to use my final action to play a Maherius Curse on Malfoy, defeating him 
and beating his team!”
“No! That can’t be!” yelled Ak and Malfoy together, in disbelief  of their loss. 
Amidst a little  cheering and pats on the back from the crowd, some holographic fireworks 
went off on Harry and Hermione’s side of the table and all the fighters  and items on the 
surface of it disappeared. 
“Nice going, Hermione,” grinned Harry, removing his deck from the table’s slot. 
“So you were planning on doing that all along, by weakening yourself, eh?”
“Yep,” she smiled back. 
“Well, good game Ak… Malfoy,” said Harry to his opponents. Ak bowed back to 
him, but Malfoy only gave him a look of pure venom, ripped his deck out of the slot, and 
stormed out of the room, pushing anyone who was in his way to the side.
“What’s  his  problem?”  asked  Ak, the   people   around   the  table   beginning  to 
disperse.
“He really wanted to beat you, Harry,” said Ginny, walking up with her brother to 
the three of them. “That’s the whole  reason he started playing Wizard Duel again, to get 
revenge on you.”
“I didn’t know you played, Ginny,” said Hermione.
“Yeah… it’s  an okay game. In fact, I was the one  who suggested using it  to get 
back at you, Harry.”
“Oh thanks, Ginny!” said Harry. “Kill our friendship even more.”
“Trust me,” she said, looking at Harry sharply. “You two’s friendship is about as 
killed as it can be right now. Besides, beating you in a little  Wizard Duel game is  better 
than what he was suggesting: a nighttime assassination.” 
“Well then, thank you Ginny,” said Harry as she started walking out of the room. 
“And… one more thing.”
“Yeah?” she asked, turning around.
“Could you tell Malfoy that… I’m sorry?”
“Tell him you’re sorry?” she ask, scrunching her face up a little. “You’re sorry for 
leaving him to die…? Sure, I’ll try, but I’m not making any guarantees.”
“Thanks Ginny,” said Harry. If he could only try and get Malfoy back, there could 
be a chance that he couldn’t go totally over to Voldemort’s side. He was definitely very 
powerful, a little  mentally unstable perhaps, but powerful, and would be a better ally than 
enemy. Harry shivered at the thought of going head to head with Malfoy in a death match, a 
real wizard duel.
“Good job there Harry!” came a familiar voice from behind. Harry turned around, 


and saw Dumbledore standing there, smiling.
“Professor Dumbledore!” exclaimed Harry. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh well, I thought I might as well witness the final Wizard Duel match this year,” 
he smiled, “and I must say I am very happy that I decided to. It was a great match indeed, 
and I much enjoyed seeing myself take on that Ultimate Voldemort.”
“You are a fine card, professor,” grinned Harry.
“Why thank you, Harry. But, I’m afraid I must leave you now; it seems as though 
others are in need of your services more than I.”
“What?” asked Harry, a little  confused. Dumbledore  grinned and pointed a long 
finger behind Harry. He turned around and saw behind him at least fifty students of all ages 
and all houses, each standing there looking at him. For a second, they all were silent, then 
they all broke into talking at the same time.
“Can I have your autograph!?”
“Will you trade your Dumbledore!?”
“Can I look through your deck!?”
Harry just smiled and tried to make them all happy. He was a star, Malfoy was his 
enemy… things were back to the way they used to be.


Chapter 26- The Disastrous Duel
Harry  stayed  at  the  Great  Hall  for   several  hours,   trying to   give  everyone   a 
personalized  card  of   their   choice,  talking  them   out   of  trading his   Dumbledores,   and 
making them stop exalting him as  the greatest player. Even Hermione got a little  fame, 
though Harry noticed she left the room far earlier than he did. 
It was well past midnight when Harry finally returned to his dormitory and woke 
up not too much later, having what felt like about a minute’s rest, ready to begin one of the 
hardest  days  of  his  life.  It was going to  start  with  the  Dueling Club’s  presentation  at 
breakfast and then go into the Quidditch Final that night.
“Man, Harry,” said Ron the next morning at breakfast. “You look… tired.”
“Yeah, all those fans of mine drove me crazy last night,” sighed Harry, collapsing 
into his chair at the Gryffindor table.
“I don’t know why they all wanted your autograph,” said Ron, returning to his 
food. “After all, it was Hermione who won the game.”
“Yeah, only about ten people came  to me  after the  match, but about five times 
more came to you,” whined Hermione.
“Well that’s because I was the one with the Dumbledores,” said Harry.
“But  it   wasn’t   even   you  that   merged  them   together   to   create   the   Ultimate 
Dumbledore,” she continued. “I did that!”
“The kids don’t care about who did the merging,” said Harry lazily. “All they care 
about is who was controlling the fighter… and that was me.”
“Well that’s not very fair,” she moaned again.
“Shh!” said Ron. “Professor  Flitwick’s coming up to the front  of the room. It’s 
almost time to begin the duel!”
“Oh no, not now…” sighed Harry. “I’m so tired….”
“Well you’d better wake up, because it’s time to duel.”
“Attention students! Attention!” announced Professor Flitwick. “Attention please! 
It is time for the Dueling Club to show off their skills to you all!”
It was easy to tell the members of the Dueling Club out of the rest of the students 
in the Hall. While everyone else  was clapping and cheering, their heads were held down 
low, too tired to fight. 
“This will be one of the most interesting matches so far in the history of the club, 
as it will involve all of you in this room.”
“Will it, Harry?” asked Ron amongst excited talk from everyone in the Hall.
“This  was  mostly  his  idea,  not   mine,”  groaned  Harry.  “I  think  it’s   a  little… 
excessive, but it’s what he wanted.”
“If you would,” continued Flitwick, “I would ask for all of you that are members 
of the Club to step up here next to me, and everyone else to just stand up where you are.”
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Dueling Club stood up and walked up to 
the head of the room, and looked out at the rest of the school, all standing up at attention 
to them, with slightly confused expressions, wondering how they could all participate in 
the duel.
“Now, don’t be startled,” said Professor  Flitwick, taking out  his wand. “But you 
are all going to be encased in small, glass boxes and then float up to random points in the 


air in this room.”
“What!?” yelled everyone at once.
“Glassium Boxius Tutemae!” yelled Flitwick. A thousand clear ribbons  erupted 
out  of the  tip of his  wand, flying through the room, touching each person, and forming 
four glass walls around them, putting everyone into small glass boxes, just as  Professor 
Flitwick  had said. It was quite  a spectacular sight, seeing  all  of  them rise  at different 
points  in the air, each containing a different person with a different expression on his or 
her face: excitement, terror, it was all good.
“Now, duelers,” said  Professor  Flitwick, getting the  member’s  attention. “In a 
moment, you are all going to be transported to the top of one of those boxes, where you 
will begin the duel. You may move by jumping from the top of one box to the other, but no 
flying.” He looked at Harry sharply with that last comment, as if it only applied to him… 
which it pretty much did. “As before, if you touch the ground, you lose. So, try not to fall.”
“Anything you say, professor,” grinned Malfoy. Harry wondered what he meant… 
then it hit him. Malfoy could Apparate! He was going to be impossible to beat!”
“On the count of  three, you will all be transported to your starting locations,” 
squeaked Flitwick, hovering in the air, getting ready to watch. “Good luck to you all, and I 
can’t wait to see who the victor shall be! Ready? Good. One… two… three! Go!”
This  time   there  was   no  moment   of   black  oblivion  around  Harry   as  he   was 
transported. All that happened was one second he was facing Professor Flitwick and the 
next he was looking at him from  almost forty feet  in the air while  standing on top of a 
glass box that contained some first year student he had never really seen before.
“Hey there Harry!” he yelled to him from inside the clear box.
“How is it in there?” 
“Oh, it’s nice… a little hard to breathe, but okay I suppose.”
Suddenly, a read beam shot by Harry’s shoulder and nearly shaved the top of his 
school robe. He looked over and saw Joe bouncing up and down on another box, happy that 
he had almost hit Harry.
“Sorry,” said Harry to the kid in the box below him, “but I’ve got to go fight now.”
“Ha ha!” squealed Joe. “Meh almost hit you!”
“Notice the almost in that sentence,” commented Harry, jumping to another box 
closer to Joe. It was quite hard for Harry, leaping from the top of one box to another, and 
trying to keep his balance too. The urge to transform his shoulders into wings to help stay 
stable was almost overwhelming.
“Meh is going to beat you Harry!” squeaked Joe, even though it seemed as though 
he was trying to  back away from  Harry rather than get closer to him. He stopped on one 
box and fired another Stupefy at Harry, but missed as expected.
“You’d better  come up with a new plan if you want to win,” said Harry, getting 
closer  to him with every second. Harry tried not  to look down, he knew that the fear of 
seeing just how high up he really was would be enough to make him fall.
“You know what,” said Joe, in a new, deeper voice that was almost scary. “I think 
you’re  right. It is  time  for a new plan.” With that, he turned around and started leaping 
away on  top  of  the  boxes  with much more  confidence,  almost  as  if  he were  floating 
through the air rather than jumping. There just wasn’t something right about it….
“Hey! Where  are you going!” yelled Harry to him, trying to keep up. Harry pitied 


the people he was stepping on, it must have been very annoying to have people constantly 
stepping on your head, even if it was beneath a thick layer of magical glass. It wasn’t too 
long before Harry caught up with Joe and grabbed his shoulder with his hand.
“Let go  of  me!” he  yelled  in  the  same,  horrible  voice  as  he  turned  his  head 
around. Harry almost jumped back in fear when he saw Joe’s  eyes. They were all white, 
except for a few red veins at the bottom, as if they had rolled right back into his head. Then 
Harry finally understood what was going on… it was the same  as before. Joe  had been 
taken over by someone else!
“I said let go!” he yelled again, shoving Harry down onto the top of another box. 
He did it with such force  that Harry slid off of the box and began falling down to the floor. 
Just as he realized that this  was happening, Harry made a grab for the glass  box and got a 
hold of the top, but just barely. He was holding on with all of his might, looking directly at 
the person in the box. Sadly, it was a Slytherin.
“Fall fall fall!” Harry heard the boy about his age inside the box yell as he tried to 
pull himself back up. It took a minute, but Harry finally got back on top of the box, and 
quickly looked at where Joe was. He noticed that he was not alone, Mike was with him, 
and Chris  was coming in too. The same person must have taken them over again, since the 
same strategy was being utilized, but who could be doing it? 
Harry scanned the room for a sign of anyone that might be able to control  all of 
them at once. Ernie was already in the  loser’s  box and so was Neville. But, Malfoy had 
already told Harry that those  two were incapable of performing the  curse anyways. Who 
else  could possibly be doing it? Suddenly, Harry saw who Chris, Mike, and Joe’s  target 
was: Hermione, the same as before. She was skipping along on the surface of some boxes, 
in the  opposite  direction that they were  coming at her in. If Harry didn’t do something 
quick, they would get her Bracelet.
“Why Hello, Harry,” came Malfoy’s voice from behind.
“I don’t have time  for you right now, Malfoy,” seethed Harry, not  even turning 
around, but running away from him as fast as he could. He could hear Malfoy’s  footsteps 
behind him…. 
Then it suddenly hit him! Why hadn’t he thought of it before? Malfoy must be the 
one  controlling them! He was certainly powerful enough, and knew enough Dark Magic. 
All this time, he must have just been on a mission from Voldemort. If he could just beat 
him, then he wouldn’t have to worry about beating the others… but he had to do it quickly!
“Stupefy!” yelled Harry, quickly spinning around and aiming right for Malfoy. He 
didn’t appear surprised or shocked in the  least. He merely ducked down and avoided the 
beam, grinning at Harry.
“You know what, Potter,” he said. “We both know that it’s going to probably come 
down to the two of us again… why don’t we just settle it here and now?”
“Sounds fine to me,” said Harry. This would go perfectly with his plan… as long 
as he defeated Malfoy quickly, and not the other way around. Going over every spell in his 
mind as fast as he could, Harry quickly selected a starting move.
“Porcini Magus!” he yelled, aiming straight at Malfoy. It was the  same spell that 
Aylar   had   used   on   him   last   year,   and   now,   because   they   had   spent   all   year   in 
Transfiguration learning about transforming others, he could perform it.
The pinkish beam flew through the air, straight at Malfoy, aimed perfectly. It hit 


him  right in the  chest, making a pink glow expand from  there  to  all over his body. It 
brought him down on all fours  and quickly shrunk him down to the size  of a young pig. 
Once he was the correct  dimensions, the rest  of the pig’s body became visible: first  the 
ears, then the curly tail, and the rest  was done almost  instantly. Where Malfoy had been 
only moments before, there was now a cute little piglet.
“I think I win,” grinned Harry, amazed that he had beaten Malfoy so quickly. 
“Not so fast!” came a voice in Harry’s head. It was the Animagus’ telepathic talk, 
and it wasn’t Ron or Hermione’s voice… it was Malfoy’s! 
“What do you mean?” telepathed Harry back to him. “You can’t fight! You’re a 
little pig now!” 
To this, Malfoy merely laughed.
“Don’t you know that you can’t transform a Polymagus like  that?” he said. “All I 
have to do now is  transform back to  my human form!” The small pig flashed a peachy 
color, and an instant later, Malfoy was back in his normal form, his arms folded and having 
a smug look on his face.
“You’re going to have to do better than that, Potter,” he grinned.
Harry was becoming impatient. This was not going along with his plan at all. He 
looked behind him quickly and saw that Joe, Mike, Chris, and now Akshay were only a few 
boxes away from Hermione. Malfoy could wait, he had to help her now!
Not   saying  anything  to   Malfoy,   Harry  spun  around  and  sprinted   off   in   her 
direction, leaping from box to box like stones on a river, not daring to look at the ground 
below, just keeping his eyes on the target. As fast as the four of them were, they were no 
match for Harry in his  Gryffin form. He transformed everything except his  head and the 
wings, looking like some sort of horrible freak, but still being able to outrun any human.
“Get away from  her!” growled Harry to them, being only a few boxes away. The 
four of them turned their faces around and they were definitely a terrifying sight. All of 
them had their eyes rolled back in their heads, and were bearing sinister smiles of victory.
“You three get her!” commanded Joe, in his horrible voice. “I’ll take care of lion-
boy over here.”  Mike, Chris and Akshay continued heading in for  Hermione while  Joe 
took out his wand and aimed it right at Harry.
“Stupe- AAAHHH!” he yelled as Harry suddenly leapt  from  where  he was and 
pounced right on top of him, bringing him down onto a very large box, one that contained 
an especially large student. Harry pinned him down, grabbed his  wand out of his hand with 
his teeth and then threw Joe over the side of the box, making him fall all the way to the 
ground.   When   he   was   just   a   matter   of   inches   away  from   impact,   he   immediately 
disappeared and reappeared at the other end of the room, in a larger version of the glass 
boxes  that contained several students, all  of  whom had been defeated. It was this  duel’s 
version of the loser’s  area.
Now that he was out of the way, Harry turned his attention back to the other three, 
and saw that they were  on the same box as Hermione now, but she was still oblivious to 
them. Chris was taking out his wand, ready to strike. 
Having no time for anything else, Harry put all the strength he had into one leap. 
He brought his part-human, part-Gryffin body as far down as he could, as if charging it up, 
then let it loose into the air, flying over at least twenty boxes and almost fifty feet. Just as 
he was about to fall right on top of Akshay, Harry stopped right where he was in midair.


It was a very odd feeling, as if someone  had just shut off all of the gravity in the 
room. But, just then, Harry realized that not everything else in the room was standing still 
like he was, it was all moving in one direction. He wasn’t floating in midair, he was being 
sucked backwards!
“Ha ha ha, Harry!” laughed Malfoy again in Harry’s mind. “If you thought I was 
tough to beat in my human form… remember me as the Surmanger?”
Harry looked behind him and saw the same horrible beast that he had fought at the 
end of the first  Dueling Club meeting of the  year. Malfoy had once again turned into the 
Surmanger and he  was  sucking up everything in the  room into  his  own mouths. It was 
almost a beautiful sight, seeing all the glass boxes swirling and dancing around him, and if 
Harry’s life hadn’t been at stake, he would have taken more time to enjoy it.
But, Harry remembered, there  was more than his life  at stake here. If Hermione’s 
Bracelet was stolen, and Voldemort got it…  well, Harry didn’t even want to think about 
that. As Harry held on for dear life  to  a clear box that was one  of the further ones  away 
from Malfoy at the moment, he looked around for where she and the three controlled kids 
were. He saw that they were being sucked in as well and were spinning around just as much 
as he was. They had evidently stupefied Hermione, seeing as her eyes were closed and she 
was putting up no fight against their struggles  to  try and pry the Bracelet  off  of her arm. 
But, every time they got close  to her, the Surmanger would pull them in closer  to itself, 
and pull them away from her, making them part of the swirling junk that was being slowly 
eaten. 
 The Surmanger was like   a tornado,  sucking in everything to  its  central  point, 
where   it   was  destroyed. Harry  had  to  find  some  way  to   stop  them   from  getting  the 
Bracelet… but how? He couldn’t fly over to them, or else he’d be instantly transported to 
the loser’s bin. From there, he could do nothing but wait for them to win. Besides  flying, 
there  was no other way to get to them. Before  Harry could do anything, he  had to beat 
Malfoy.
 “Malfoy!”   he   yelled   to   him   in   his   mind.   “Why   are   you   doing   this!?”
“Because I want to win, you idiot!” he yelled back, the Surmanger’s body vibrating slightly 
with every syllable.
“I don’t mean why did you transform,” said Harry back, the thoughts in his minds 
almost  being drowned  out  by  the   insanely  loud  howling  sound of   Malfoy  sucking in 
everything. “I mean why are you trying to get the Bracelet? Do you love Voldemort that 
much!?” 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said back. “But I do know that in a 
matter of minutes, I will win this duel. The Surmanger is invincible! It devours all spells! 
Nothing can harm it!”
Malfoy was beyond reason. He was even more powerful than Harry thought, being 
able to control the three of them and hold his transformation at the same time. He was 
definitely not going to win this  battle by talking, that was for sure. He had to fight. But 
what could he do? As much as Harry hated to admit it, Malfoy was right. He learned from 
their last duel together that the Surmanger was invincible to every spell.
“It has  to have some  weakness,” though Harry, trying to remember every spell 
he’d  ever  learned,  every second  getting  closer   and closer  to  one  of   Malfoy’s  many 
mouths. “But, the only way to beat it is… is by there is no way to beat it! The only way to 


win is to be Malfoy, because he is going to win!”
For second, it was as if  a fuse was going off in Harry’s  mind. There  was a few 
seconds of sizzling, then an explosion. He figured out how he could do it! The only way to 
win was to become Malfoy… and that’s just what he would do!
“ANATA NARU!” Harry yelled as loud as he could. Harry remembered back to 
the beginning of the year, at his first  Spell Invention class when Dumbledore was showing 
off  the  MMSC of  one   of  his   new  spells,  the  spell   that  allows  you  and one  other  to 
exchange bodies. Harry remembered that Dumbledore  mentioned he had even made it an 
unavoidable spell, so not even the mighty Surmanger could defend against it.
A white flash filled the room for a second, then disappeared just as quickly. Then, 
everything in the  room  stopped moving, as  if  frozen  in time.  But, Harry saw that  not 
everything had stopped; there was some smoke coming out of the Surmanger, as if it was a 
spirit of some  sort. Harry looked up and saw that the same thing was happening to him. A 
gas-like  spirit  was flowing out of each of  them and into the  other’s. Harry’s spirit flew 
into Malfoy’s, and Malfoy’s flew into his.
The next thing Harry knew, he was on the ground, looking at every direction at 
once, through dozens of eyes. It was horrible, being able to see  above, below, left, right, 
back and front all at the same time. Harry tried to concentrate on being human again, what 
having only two eyes  was like. An instant later, he was back in his floating human form…
though not his, Malfoy’s.
Harry   looked   himself   over…  yes,  he  was   definitely   Malfoy.  The   spell   had 
worked! He  didn’t really feel  any different, though, just  a little  shorter perhaps. Harry 
looked up, and saw that everything in the room that had been swirling around him earlier 
was now quickly falling to the ground since the force  that had just been pulling on them 
stopped. The boxes, members, everything was  collapsing. Amongst it all, Harry saw… 
himself, only with Malfoy’s spirit inside  of his. The transformation must have taken him 
by such a surprise, that  it  had knocked him out, because Harry saw that his  eyes  were 
closed. 
 “Wait a  minute,” said Harry  out  loud, in  Malfoy’s  voice.  It  was  odd  at  first, 
hearing a different voice come out when you expected the one that you’re used to. But, 
Harry quickly got over it. “If I… er, Malfoy in my body touches the ground, I’ll lose! I’ve 
got to transform back!”
Harry mumbled the spell again, and the room  flashed white. Time stopped for an 
instant and the gas-like sprits exchanged bodies again, returning to their original owners. 
Harry didn’t feel  anything really during the transformation, just a small happiness that he 
was reuniting his original body and soul.
“Woah!” yelled Harry when he suddenly realized that he was back where he was 
and falling through the air. He quickly grabbed a hold a falling box, and climbed on top of 
it, though it would not provide much protection when he hit the  ground. Just to be sure, 
Harry looked down and saw that Malfoy’s  unconscious spirit  had been transferred back 
into his original body and he fell  to the  ground, just like Harry was about to do, and was 
transported away.
The boxes and the people inside hit the floor with a fantastic crash that caused the 
entire room  to shake as if there had been a massive earthquake. Even though none of the 
glass boxes  broke, because they were magic, they still fell over and gave the people inside 


them quite a scare.
“Now we can get that Bracelet!” Harry heard Akshay yell  in the same, horribly 
deep and scratchy voice that Joe had. Remembering why he had traded bodies  with Malfoy 
for that instant in the first  place, Harry reminded himself that he had to stop them from 
stealing Hermione’s Bracelet.
Harry jumped off of the box he had stood on and then onto the floor, ready to run 
over and help her out. But, just  as his  feet  touched the hard surface, he  was  instantly 
transported over to the loser’s  bin. Even though everything had fallen, it still didn’t change 
the rule that you couldn’t touch the ground.
“NO!” yelled Harry, pressing his face up against the glass wall of the loser’s  area. 
After all that he had just overcome, he had been beaten by a single, stupid mistake. All he 
could do now was watch. Akshay, Mike and Chris  were each jumping from fallen box to 
fallen box, working their way to Hermione’s  body that was lying on top of a pile of glass 
boxes and other obstacles. 
“I’ve got  to  get  back out  there!” Harry yelled to the  others in the room. He saw 
that everyone except for the four out in the playing field was in here now.
“No… you lost,” said Seamus.
“Yeah, once you lose, you can’t really go back out,” sighed Ginny.
“No, you don’t understand!” screamed Harry. “I have to get back out there!”
“Why?” asked Justin Finch-Fletchley.
Harry breathed hard. What could he say? He had to stop three  students  under a 
controlling curse  from  stealing Hermione’s  magical Bracelet  so that they can’t give it to 
Voldemort so he can’t control the universe? No… there was no way.
Harry returned to looking through the glass  wall and out on the field. Chris  was 
right at Hermione now and was summoning the Bracelet off of her arm. It flew through the 
air for a second and then right into  his hand. He  grabbed his wand out of his  pocket and 
tapped the Bracelet with it, making it disappear into thin air. 
Voldemort now had the Bracelet.
Harry banged his  head and fists   against the  wall, almost  putting a crack in  it, 
despite  that fact that it was supposed to be indestructible. He saw that Chris, Akshay, and 
Mike each suddenly snapped out of their catatonic phases. Both Akshay and Mike fell  off 
of their boxes from the shock and were teleported to the same room as Harry. Only Chris 
was left, and he was proclaimed the winner of the duel.
Harry banged his  fist on his forehead so hard that he though he put a hole in it. 
Now, his Ring was all  that stood  between life  as they knew it right now and Voldemort 
taking over the world.


Chapter 27- A Tried Tie
“I can’t believe it…” Harry said to himself quietly as the loser’s  area was slowly 
lowered to  the  ground by Professor  Flitwick. “Voldemort has the Watch evidently, he 
must  have somehow stolen the Stone too, and now he has the  Bracelet.  If he  gets  the 
Glove from Dumbledore….”
“Let’s all give a hand to our new Dueling Club champion… Chris Zimmermann!” 
announced a beaming Professor  Flitwick as he made the walls  around the loser’s  room 
disappear, and everyone filed out into the Hall. He was standing next to Chris and holding 
his arm in the air, like a referee  would do with a boxing champion. 
“I must  say,  Chris,”  he continued, “that  I don’t think anyone here  expected  a 
second year to win.”
“All I know is,” said Chris, looking a little confused, “is one second I was about to 
attack someone, and then the next I’m standing on top of a pile of magical glass boxes, 
being proclaimed the winner!”
“Ah yes,” sighed Professor Flitwick happily. “That’s what they all say. Time really 
flies when victory is  at hand.”
Harry took a deep breath. If only that were the  truth… only he knew what had 
really happened, Malfoy had taken control  of him and the other lot  of Gryffindor second 
years. Even though it seemed impossible now that he had shown his true colors in battle, 
Harry had to  try and bring Malfoy back to his side. It was his  only hope of getting the 
Bracelet back.
“Why don’t we have the Dueling Club captain, Harry Potter, come on up here and 
give little Chris here some congratulations,” suggested Flitwick. “I have to go clean up this  
Hall anyway, hopefully no one in the boxes got too hurt.”
“Nice job, Chris,” said Harry, not really paying attention to him and scanning the 
room for Malfoy as he shook Chris’ hand.
“Thanks Harry,” he  said back, still  looking a little  dazed. “But I have to say, it 
doesn’t really feel like I’ve won.”
“Yeah, that’s good,” said Harry, practically ignoring him and spotting Malfoy over 
Chris’  shoulder.  He  was  sitting  on the  floor  behind the  crowd and rubbing  his   head, 
probably still   recovering from  the  battle. After all,  it’s  not  every day that  you switch 
bodies with someone.
“Excuse  me  Chris,”  said Harry, not  looking at him, ducking as   Flitwick flew 
overhead, rapidly fixing up the Great Hall, and making the glass  boxes  around everyone 
disappear. A few other teachers filed in too, to help him out. “But I’ve got something to 
do.”
 “Yeah, no problem Harry. I’ll see you down at the field in a little while.”
Harry walked through the crowd, making his way to Malfoy, trying to decide what 
emotion he should be feeling, and what expression he should be wearing. He didn’t want to 
sound angry, then Malfoy would never come back to his side. But, he didn’t want to sound 
too loving either, then Malfoy would just shove him off. When he finally got right in front 
of him, Harry just said the first thing that came to mind.
“Hello Malfoy,” he said in his  most bland voice  possible. Malfoy looked up at 
him from his  seat on the  floor, and took his hand off of  his head. He stood up, brushed 


himself off, put his hands to his side, and glared at Harry.
“What do you want?” he hissed.
“So…” Harry said, trying to come up with something, “at least I didn’t win, eh?”
“What do you want?” he demanded again.
“I want to know why you had those four second years steal Hermione’s Bracelet 
during the match,” said Harry coolly, trying his hardest not to sound nearly as angry as he 
was feeling.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Malfoy, not even looking at Harry 
and shaking his head. He was looking around the room, in search of something. “But I have 
to go see Ginny now, so… go away.”
“Wait! Malfoy!” Harry called after him as he walked away. 
“LISTEN!” he seethed to Harry, turning around. “I don’t like you anymore Harry! I 
don’t want to talk to you, I don’t even want to be near you! So will you please… just… go 
away!?” He didn’t say anything else, just  turned around, and pushed his way through the 
crowd, trying to find Ginny.
“Oh yeah?” Harry yelled to him, letting some of his anger come out, trying to get 
back at Malfoy, even though he knew he was not very good with comebacks. “Well… yeah, 
you… um… you don’t smell good! Yeah… you know it.”
Harry stormed away, appalled and fuming. Malfoy was his  only hope  of  getting 
the Bracelet back and now it was gone forever. What could he do?
“Hey Harry!” Ron called over to him. “That was a fun match, are you sure you 
don’t want to take credit for coming up with it?”
“Go away Ron,” Harry said to him, not wanting to deal with anything right now.
“What’s your problem?” asked Ron. 
Harry sighed.
“Hermione’s Bracelet was stolen during the match.”
“Who took it?” Ron asked, lowering his voice slightly. 
“Chris.”
“Chris?” questioned Ron. “Him? Well why don’t you just get it back from him!?”
“It’s too  late,” Harry moaned. “He somehow teleported it  to Voldemort during 
that match.”
“But…” stuttered Ron. “Why?”
“It’s the same thing as  in the two previous  duels,” said Harry lazily. “Someone 
else  was controlling them, making them try and steal it for him or her. During a Dueling 
Club match is  the perfect time to make a grab for it. You wouldn’t be able to tell dueling 
from robbery.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Ron, looking confused. “You mean they’ve 
tried to steal her Bracelet before?”
Harry could have hit himself in the  head. But, it hurt enough from  banging it on 
the glass  walls, so he decided against it. He just realized that Ron had never been present 
at the  times  during the other duels  when the second years  had tried to  steal  Hermione’s 
Bracelet, and he had never bothered to tell him afterwards.
“Yeah,” said Harry, trying to make up for two duel’s worth of explanations. “Back 
when Malfoy was our friend, he told me that the curse used on them was a very advanced 
version of the Imperius Curse; a spell that only Voldemort and his close followers know.”


“So then we know who’s been doing it,” said Ron in an obvious tone of  voice. 
“Malfoy controlled them! Especially now.”
“I know…” said Harry, still not really wanting to believe it. “I tried to get him to 
come back to our side and give it back, but he’s not budging.”
“Well, personally I don’t really blame  him,” said Ron quietly, then seeing the 
look on Harry’s face, changed the subject. “I guess  we’ll just  have to  figure out another 
way to get it back.”
“Harry! Ron!” yelled Hermione suddenly, evidently out of her unconscious  state. 
Harry looked over and saw Professor Flitwick leaning over her, he must have just finished 
bringing her back. Now that he had the chance, Harry looked around the rest of the room, 
and observed that the  Great  Hall looked brand new. All the glass boxes  were gone  and 
everyone  that had been inside  them  were  walking around, bearing different expressions: 
some terrified, some  dazed, some  beaming, and others  will still hobbling around. It was a 
good thing Harry defeated Malfoy quickly, or else the room  would have been in the same 
condition that it was after the first duel: dead.
“What is  it?” Ron asked, walking over  to her. Harry followed behind, knowing 
what she was going on about.
“My Bracelet!”  she  exclaimed, jumping up onto  her feet  and  pointing to  her 
empty wrist. “It’s… it’s gone!”
“We know…” sighed Harry, not wanting to think about it any longer. He decided 
just to give it all to Hermione at once. “During the match, Chris was being controlled and 
he stole it and then teleported it to Voldemort. There, that’s what happened.”
“But… I want it back…” she whimpered, staring directly at Harry.
“We’re trying,” said Ron, putting his arm around her.
“Well  we have to try harder!” she  said sternly. “We need to take action! Why 
don’t we tell Dumbledore, he’ll know what to do! I’m sure he can get it back.”
“That sounds  like  a good idea,” said Harry, wondering why he hadn’t thought of 
that. “We can go tell him now.” But, Harry began to think, what if Dumbledore then wanted 
his Ring? Since that is now the only item remaining for Voldemort to acquire besides  the 
Glove, Dumbledore may want it to be more heavily protected. The thought of parting with 
the Ring was far more  than Harry could bear. Maybe they shouldn’t tell  Dumbledore… 
right now anyways.
“You know  guys,”  said  Harry, looking at  his  Ring. “Maybe  we  shouldn’t  tell 
Dumbledore.”
“What!?” exclaimed Ron and Hermione together. “Why not?”
“Well,” said Harry, looking around and seeing that  almost  everyone  else  had 
already left, probably heading down to the Quidditch field early to get a good seat for the 
final match. “You know, Dumbledore has done so much for us, and put up with so much… 
maybe it would be better to just not put yet another burden on him.”
“You’re talking crazy, Harry,” said Ron, looking at him questioningly.
“And besides,” Harry continued, now looking at his  Ring. It was so  beautiful… 
almost  as much- no, just as  much as  Cho. “We have to go to the  Quidditch game soon, 
Ron, and we don’t want to be late for that.”
“I know what’s going on…” said Ron more  seriously than Harry had ever heard 
him  talk before.  “That Ring has taken you over somehow… just  like  that curse  put on 


Chris. It’s not Harry Potter talking, it’s just the stupid Ring.”
“Now cool it you two…” said Hermione, though neither Harry or Ron heard her. 
They were  both staring right at each other, with feelings  of hatred flowing through both 
that neither had ever experienced for the other ever before.
“Maybe you should give me  the  Ring!” yelled Ron. “At least  I wouldn’t put  it 
above the lives of everyone in the world!”
“Are you kidding!” yelled Harry back even louder. His mind was no longer his, the 
Ring had taken over. “With how poor you are, I’m sure you’d just sell it to the first  person 
who offered you a Sickle for it!”
“Why you little!” screamed Ron, tearing his wand out of his pocket and aiming it 
right at Harry. “Stupefy!” he shouted, just as Harry took out his wand and yelled the same 
spell. The two red beams met in midair and exploded into a fiery blaze, blowing them both 
backwards.
“You’re going to pay for that!” yelled Harry, jumping back up onto his feet. “Oh 
wait, I forgot… you can’t!”
“APOYIOSI!”  screamed  Ron,  not  even  bothering  to   give  a  comeback.  Harry 
wasn’t ready for such a powerful spell  from him. There  was an invisible explosion at his 
feet, and Harry was sent flying backwards, until he hit the wall with a tremendous force.
“Hah!” yelled Ron, with a horrible look of  pleasure  on his  face. “It looks  like 
there’s going to be another crack for Flitwick to fix up! Come on Harry, fall down! Let’s 
see if the hole you made is shaped like a lightning bolt, just look your hideous scar!”
Feeling more enraged than ever in his life, Harry exploded into his  Gryffin form, 
and shot down at Ron like a missile. He went so fast, that when Harry collided with Ron, 
they slid all  the way to  the other  side  of the  room on the floor, Ron’s body making a 
terrible squeaking sound all the way.
“Get ready to eat claw, redhead boy!” telepathed Harry as he raised a paw with 
fully extended knife-like claws into the air, ready to bring it down on Ron’s terrified face. 
Just as he was about to begin slashing, Harry felt a force  on his arm, preventing him from 
doing it. Harry looked up, and saw that Hermione had grabbed hold of his  arm and was 
using all of her strength to keep him from using it.
“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing!?” she demanded. Harry glared at 
her with his  Gryffin face. She was stopping him from getting revenge, stopping him from 
finishing his prey, stopping him from… killing his best friend. 
Harry immediately  transformed  back into  his  human form  and stood  up. Ron 
jumped to his feet, brushed himself off, and faced Harry. Hermione  stood in the middle 
between them with a look of appalled shock on her face.
“What do you two think you’re doing?” she asked again, this time, less forcefully.
“I was-” said Ron.
“Shut up!” interrupted Hermione, putting her hand up. “There is  absolutely no 
excuse for what you two did! If it wasn’t for that Disguise Dance coming up, I’d take off 
serious  points  for  what I just saw. To think, after all you two have been through together 
that you would even think about doing what you just did. If I hadn’t stepped in, Harry, you 
may have killed Ron!”
“I… I know,” said Harry quietly, feeling his  sanity being regained, as well as 
control over himself. “The Ring… it just, took me over there for a second.”


“Be that as it may,” continued Hermione, “you still need to learn how to control 
yourself. Even if you were under the Imperius  Curse, I would expect that you two would 
care about each other enough to not even fight then. Now… just to affirm this, I want you 
two to shake hands.”
Knowing that Hermione’s wrath was definitely something to be feared, Harry and 
Ron walked up to each other and shook hands. Even with just that simple act, Harry could 
feel almost  all of the  friendship that had been taken out of  them during the match flow 
back… though not entirely. What had come over them?
“Good,” she said when they let go, sounding satisfied. “Now, Harry, I think we 
should go see  Dumbledore. It is  the  best  course  of  action, I’m sure  that you have to 
agree.”
 “I suppose so…” said Harry, still  not  really wanting to, despite all  that had just 
happened.
Suddenly, the  doors  of   the  Great   Hall  were   thrown open,  causing a  massive 
crashing  noise  that rivaled what he  and Ron  were  making earlier.  Through the  doors, 
Akshay came running in looking quite excited.
“Harry!” he  yelled, when he  reached the  three  of them, sounding a bit  out  of 
breath.
 “What is it?”
“A package just came for you! It’s in the Gryffindor locker room!”
“What is it?” asked Ron.
“We don’t know,” said Akshay, gaining his  breath back. “But it’s  from Fred and 
George Weasley.”
“It’s from  Fred and George?” questioned Harry, wondering what they could have 
possibly sent him. Then, he realized that this could be a great alibi to not see Dumbledore 
right away. “Well, that settles it, we can’t see the headmaster now, he’ll have to wait.”
“I still don’t think that sounds  like  too good of a plan,” said Ron, eyeing Harry 
curiously and suspiciously all over. Evidently, he  wasn’t as quick to forgive about their 
little fight as Harry was. Though, he couldn’t blame him; Harry had said some pretty harsh 
things to him. “How about you and I, Harry, go down and see  what you got, and then you, 
Hermione, go see Dumbledore and tell him what happened?”
“Alright,” agreed Hermione.
“Fine,” said Harry. At least he wouldn’t have to give up his Ring immediately.
“Okay then,” said Ron, looking a good deal happier. “Lead the way, Akshay!”
The four of them  finally exited the  Great Hall and went their  separate  paths: 
Hermione   to   Dumbledore’s   office,   and   Harry,   Ron,   and   Akshay  to   the   Gryffindor 
Quidditch team’s room. It wasn’t too  long before  they arrived there, and Harry saw the 
entire  team huddled around  a single  bench with a  present  on  it, talking excitedly and 
pondering what it could possibly be.
“Hey! Harry’s finally here!” exclaimed Ak. 
“Now he can open it!” said Joe.
“You  mean,  it   was  delivered  here  and  not   to   my   dormitory?”   asked  Harry, 
examining the long and thick package. It was wrapped up in brown paper and tied with a red 
ribbon and bow, just like  a Muggle package would be. The only difference  was that the 
return and send addresses  were  constantly changing colors  and moving all  around the 


package’s surface.
“Yeah,” said Mike. “Weird, huh?”
“Oh man,” said Harry, picking it up. “I pity the owl that had to bring this  one in. 
It’s heavy!”
“Come on!” said Chris, bouncing up and down a little. “Open it already!”
“Don’t you get cocky just because  you won the duel  today,” said Harry to him 
sarcastically, trying to get into the happy mood all around him. “Alright already, I’ll open it 
up.”
 Harry smiled and tore into the package, throwing the wrapping and ribbon into the 
air as a small child would at Christmas. Even though this  was certainly an odd time and 
place  to receive a gift, Harry knew that since  it was from  Fred and George, it  had to be 
good. It took no time for Harry to finally reveal what was inside.
“Oh… my… god…” was all that Harry could say as he started wide-eyed at the 
treasure that lay before him. The entire  team leaned in, oohing and aahing… just as lost  
for words as Harry was.
Fred and George had sent them six brand new Firebolts….
“Well  what are  you waiting for?”  asked Harry, not taking his  eyes  off  of the 
wonderful gift. It was as if the brooms were glowing, giving off an aura of greatness. “Take 
a broom everyone! One for each!”
There  was a mad rush for the Firebolts, as if there wasn’t enough for everyone. 
Ak, Chris, Mike, Akshay, Joe  and Ron each held onto  their new brooms  as if they were 
small infants… small infants made of pure gold and diamonds. For one  of  the first  few 
times  ever, the  entire  Gryffindor changing room  was silent; no one  said a word as they 
practically drooled all over their new weapons, with which they would smite Slytherin.
“Hey look, Harry!” said Ron, pointing to the torn open package. “There’s a note!”
Harry quickly snatched the small piece of parchment and read it out loud:
Harry,
We told you that we’d make up for our lousy Christmas present to you, didn’t we? 
But seriously, we heard about your last match against Hufflepuff, and we don’t want that to 
happen again to you! No more  losing allowed! Supplying your team with a new batch of 
Firebolts  is  the  only way me and George figured this  to  be  possible.  So, with a little 
cheating on inventory here and there, and using a lot of Leprechaun’s Gold to fool Percy 
for a little  while, we managed to  scrape up enough cash to get them for you. Enjoy… 
though not so much that your life is  perfect and you’ll never need to be cheered up by us 
again!
 Don’t lose… please,
Fred and George
“Wow,” said Harry after finishing the letter. That was all he could say, what else  
was there to? Fred and George had just spent an unimaginable  sum of money on him… 
what could you say to something like that?
“I guess business must be going pretty well for them if they can afford to buy us 


these,” said Ron, still eyeing his broom.
“Yeah, and just  think of how badly we’re going to  crush Slytherin now. We’re 
indestructible!”
“Yeah!” yelled everyone together, looking at their brooms still. 
“Well come on everyone!” exclaimed Harry, grabbing his  own Firebolt from his 
locker. “Why don’t you go out now and test out your new brooms!”
“They’re ours…” said Mike to himself.
“Our own Firebolts…” said Ak.
“My own Firebolt…” said Akshay.
“Yeah yeah, that’s  great,” said Harry, looking at his watch and seeing that they 
didn’t have much time before their game would begin. “But even though these new brooms 
are great, they could take a little getting used to. So, let’s all go out and test them.”
There  was  a wild rush  for  the  door  leading to  the  Quidditch Field. Everyone 
wanted to be the first  to fly on the new broom. They didn’t waste any time walking out the 
door; as soon as it was open, they all flew out into the air like planes taking off… though 
more like jets  or rocket ships. Their speed was incredible!
Harry ran out after them, to see how they were  handling the new equipment and 
saw that he had been dead wrong in his previous  statement. As he looked up, holding his 
hand over his eyes  to block out the blinding summer sun, he saw his six teammates  soaring 
through the air as  he  had never seen anyone  else  before.  They moved with such grace, 
agility and speed, you would have thought them to be a professional team, not a bunch of 
second years. All of them were beautiful blurs  in the air, appearing to teleport rather than 
fly. 
 Harry let  them  fly  around  and  get  really  used  to  their  new  brooms  until  the 
stadium started to really fill up. He didn’t want anyone in the stands to tell  Slytherin that 
the entire Gryffindor team was flying on Firebolts! Harry quickly called them all back into 
the changing room, where they all wore the same expression of bliss, and the same hairdo: 
blown backwards.
“Great job, team,” beamed Harry to them all. “Great job. I can’t wait to see how 
quickly we can beat Slytherin.”
“Oh come on!” grinned Ron. “Let’s not beat them too quickly… I want to let them 
suffer for a while.”
“Do whatever you want,” smiled Harry, feeling happier than he  had in quite  a 
while. “Just remember, even though we have different brooms, we’re not a different team. 
I expect you all to still play as a team, but not just any team… the Gryffindor team!”
“Yeah!” cheered everyone, psyched up and ready to go.
“And here’s  the Gryffindor team!” Harry head Zabini announce. That was their 
signal to head on out to the Field. Not wanting to risk losing some of the team energy and 
spirit by saying anything else, Harry kept quiet as they walked out through the doors again, 
entering  a   stadium   full   of   cheers   and  applause.   Even  though  Harry   could   hear   the 
Slytherins  booing, he  didn’t  care.  Watching his  team  slice  through the  air  like  flying 
knives was more than enough to beat them out.
“And what’s this?” Zabini asked. “It seems  as though the entire Gryffindor team is  
flying on… no, it can’t be! They’re all on Firebolts!”
Now the  applause  and  cheering  for  Gryffindor  far  outweighed the  Slytherin’s 


scorns. They knew that victory was at hand.
“And  now,”  continued  Zabini,  not  as   enthusiastically  as   he   usually   sounded, 
probably being  hurt  by the  fact  that  his  house  team  didn’t  stand a  chance. “Let’s  all 
welcome the Slytherin team.”
Even though they were going to be fighting a lost  match, Harry had to admire 
Slytherin’s spirit. Even after seeing that the entire opposing team was on superior brooms, 
they still cheered more loudly than any of the other houses  booed, and the team flew out 
of their room with such energy and vigor, you’d think they were on Firebolts.
“And now will  the captains,” continued Zabini, trying to  sound excited, “Draco 
Malfoy and Harry Potter, please shake hands while Madam Hooch brings out the balls.”
Harry flew up to Malfoy very slowly and saw that he was doing the same. Malfoy 
just glared at him straight in the eyes  as they flew closer together. The closer they got, the 
more Harry could almost feel Malfoy’s hatred and anger radiating out of him. The two of 
them finally met in midair, but no hand shaking took place.
“Don’t   think  that  just   because   you’re   on  better  broom’s   you’ll   win,”  hissed 
Malfoy coldly. “I learned that lesson back in the second year.”
“Come   on   Malfoy,”   sighed   Harry.   “Can’t   we   at   least   shake   hands?”
“Not until you show me.”
“Show you what?”
“Show me… that you’re sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” asked Harry, feeling like he was playing twenty questions.
“What do you think!?” demanded Malfoy. “For leaving me to die in that pyramid, 
you idiot! Once you show me that you are truly sorry for that, then… and only then, will I 
shake your hand.”
“But what can I do?” asked Harry. “What? Do you want me  to bleed for you or 
something?”
“Use your brain,” suggested Malfoy, backing up. “For once in your life.” Before 
Harry could respond, Malfoy was too far away, back with the rest of his  team. Harry just 
sighed, and backed up too, getting ready to begin the match.
“And now,” announced  Zabini  in a  much more  energized  tone  of  voice,  “the 
Quidditch  Final  of  Slytherin  against  Gryffindor  will  begin in…  three…   two… one… 
NOW!”
 Madam Hooch let  loose  the  Quaffle, and it  shot up into the air, signaling the 
beginning of the match. Before anyone blinked, before anyone took a breath, Akshay was 
already on the ball, with Joe and Mike not too far behind.
“And it’s  Gryffindor in possession to begin the match,” continued Blaise, trying 
his best to sound unbiased, though it was hard to not detect a small hiss in his  voice when 
he talked about Gryffindor doing well. “Those Firebolts are really helping out the team… 
you can tell because if they didn’t have them, Slytherin would have crushed them by now.”
There  was  some  cheering  from  the  Slytherin  stands,  though  it  was  not   very 
confident. Harry wanted to go up there and beat Zabini with his broom for his stupidity and 
he probably could. With how well the rest  of his team was playing, Harry was almost not 
necessary, except to catch the Snitch towards the end.
“And Gryffindor scores, making the points stand at ten to nothing.”
“Nice job team!” yelled Harry, though he didn’t doubt for a second that couldn’t 


hear him. At the speeds they were soaring at, Harry would be surprised if they could even 
see him much less understand what he was saying.
“Enjoying your new broom, Ron?” asked Harry, flying over to his friend that was 
doing a few laps around the Gryffindor goals. It’s not like he had anything much better to 
do; just  like Harry, he  was becoming almost  obsolete.  The opposing team  was so busy 
dealing with the Chasers  and Beaters, they couldn’t even think about trying to make their 
own goals!
“Oh man, Harry!” exclaimed Ron, beaming. “I don’t know how I ever flew on that 
old Cleansweep before. This one  makes  you feel like you’re not  even on a broom, just 
flying on your own power.”
“I know,” said Harry. “It’s great. I’ll have to thank Fred and George.”
“You can do that right after you step off the Hogwarts Express,” said Ron, doing 
one final lap around.
“How?”
“Remember Jamie?” asked Ron.
“How   could   I   forget?”
“Well, she’s  been working with Hagrid for the past few weeks, helping him perform  his 
duties. While that’s been going on, I’ve been setting up a little reunion waiting outside on 
the platform. The entire family will be waiting there for her.”
“Wow Ron,” said Harry, amazed that his friend was able to arrange something like 
that.   “How   did   you   manage   to   get   everyone   there?”
“I just told them  all  individually to  come  there  and that I had something great  to show 
him… or her. As long as none of them communicated with each other about it, I’m safe.”
“Won’t they all see  each other when they arrive?”
“Yeah, but by then its too late and Jamie’s already there.”
“Sounds good,” said Harry, suddenly seeing a shimmer of gold at the far other end 
of the field. “And I’ll talk to you later about it… I’ve got to go end this match.”
“See you!” called Ron to  him, though his  words  were quickly drowned out  by 
Harry speeding away, becoming aware again at how great his Firebolt was by everyone else  
getting theirs  and being so happy. Just as Zabini announced that the score was now twenty 
to zero in Gryffindor’s  favor, Harry could actually see  the Snitch… and Malfoy in hot 
pursuit of it!
“Oh no you don’t!” said Harry, zooming off in his  direction. “Get away from my 
Snitch!”
 “I don’t see your name on it,” he said back, not looking at Harry, just at the Snitch 
that he was slowly but surely getting closer to. 
“I’ll tell you what,” said Harry, “how about I’ll let you get the Snitch if you give 
back Hermione’s Bracelet.”
“Are you still  going on about that bloody Bracelet?” asked Malfoy exasperantly, 
sounding almost tired. “Listen… I didn’t take it from her.”
“Like I believe you,” said Harry. “You were the only one in that room with enough 
power and knowledge to take control of the four second years, and make them take it from 
her.”
 “Even though I could do it, I wouldn’t,” said Malfoy back. “I may be a Death Eater, 
but I still don’t want Voldemort to be immortal. Him having that much power would make 


us  all  useless, and he  could dispose  of us all. No, I’d rather have him powerful… yes, 
powerful but still mortal.”
“Then why are you a Death Eater anyway?” asked Harry, trying to delve a bit into 
Malfoy’s  life  and maybe  figure  out  a way to  become  friends   with him  again. Just  by 
talking, too, their bond was returning… not much, but some.
“Do you think I had any choice?” asked Malfoy, still not looking at Harry. 
“What do you mean? Of course, you should have had a choice.”
“Well, if you consider death or being a Death Eater a choice, then yes, I did have 
one. But I was pushed into even that by… well, this  isn’t the  time or place to talk about 
this. Not during a match.”
“Oh come on Malfoy,” said Harry, hearing that his team had just  gotten another 
ten points. “It’s times  like this that are best for talking.”
“Well…” he said, still keep his eyes  on the Snitch. “The only reason I’m a Death 
Eater is because of my dad. As you know, he’s even higher up in the hierarchy of Death 
Eaters than I. Voldemort wants all of his  Death Eater’s family members  to of course join 
as well, so when I was born I was immediately signed up to become one.”
“But why did your dad become a Death Eater?”
“Didn’t you know?” asked Malfoy. “Though… I suppose not. Why would you?”
“Know what?”
“Voldemort is my grandfather.”
Harry   almost   fell   off   of   his   broom   right   there.   Voldemort   was   Malfoy’s 
grandfather? How could that be? Harry wondered if he should tell him that Voldemort was 
his grandfather as well….
“But,” stuttered Harry, “doesn’t that mean that you’re the heir of Slytherin?”
“Oh no,” he  laughed. “It’s  possible  to  remove the  family benefits   and disown 
somebody in your family magically. It strips them of all blood relation to you and leaves 
them with only your DNA. Basically, you are no longer related after using that spell.” 
“But why did he do that?”
“That’s still a mystery,” he sighed.
Harry swallowed. He  probably knew why Voldemort used that spell  on Lucius 
Malfoy. There can only be one heir, and he wanted it to be Lily so she could get James for 
him. Maybe, one day, Harry could tell him that.
“And there’s still one more thing…” said Malfoy quietly, just as Harry heard that 
the score  was now forty to zero.
“What is it?” asked Harry, coming a little closer to him, the team getting another 
ten points.
“It’s…”
“Yeah?”
“It’s…”
“Yeah!?”
“It’s… that the Snitch is  right behind you!”
“What?” said Harry, confused as Malfoy shot right passed and over him, chasing 
after the Snitch that was not too far away. “He was just trying to  distract  me! Why that 
little….” Harry wasted no more time. He shot off right after Malfoy and quickly caught up 
with him, being on the superior broom.


While  he was riding alongside Malfoy at speeds  unimaginable, Harry looked at 
his arch rival. He saw so many things in those eyes… power, intelligence, cunning… but 
just  as visible was hunger, a sadness. Despite  all that Malfoy had, and was probably going 
to get in his life, they were all ill gotten gains. They all served the purpose of darkness and 
evil, and got man and wizardkind nowhere. If only there was something Harry could do to 
just… cheer him up.
Harry looked ahead, and saw the Snitch, no more than a few feet in front of them, 
keeping a good ways ahead of them, going just as fast. But, if Harry just slowed down a bit, 
Malfoy could easily speed ahead and grab it, winning the game and giving himself and the 
entire Slytherin house glory like they had never experienced in the past six years.
But, he thought again, Malfoy would certainly know that he backed out and let him 
win. That would bring the house glory, yes, but only take away what little Malfoy had left. 
If Harry wanted any hope of every being an ally with him again, he couldn’t let him win… 
but what could he do?
Then it hit him. Harry went over in his mind the numbers again, and it worked out. 
In their first  match against  Ravenclaw, Gryffindor had won with one hundred and sixty 
points. Then, in their match against Hufflepuff, they had lost  with one hundred and forty 
points, giving them a total of three hundred points. Now, Slytherin had beaten Hufflepuff 
in  their   first   match   with  a   whopping  two  hundred   and  seventy  points,   and  creamed 
Ravenclaw   with  two   hundred  and  thirty,   giving  them   a   total   of   five   hundred.   Since 
Gryffindor now had fifty points, their team had a grand total of three hundred and fifty, so 
if Harry caught the  Snitch, they would have five hundred… the  same as Slytherin! There 
would be a tie! Harry, giving up his house’s and his own honor to give an equal amount to 
an enemy’s… if that didn’t make Malfoy finally believe that Harry was  sorry, nothing 
would.
 Harry instantly shot forward on his  broom, beating Malfoy to the Snitch. Harry 
was no more than an inch away from it, his hand already going for it when Zabini made 
another announcement.
“And Gryffindor scores another ten points.”
“NO!” yelled Harry. But, it was too late. His  fingers  were already clasped around 
the Snitch, and the game was over. Gryffindor had won, and Malfoy was now gone forever.


Chapter 28- The Costumes Come Off
“No!” yelled Harry again, though he could barely hear himself over the screaming 
from the crowd. “No! I didn’t want to catch it then! I don’t want to win! I don’t want to win! 
Malfoy… please.”
“Go away Potter,”  he hissed, flying slowly down to  the  rest  of his  team. “Go 
away.”
 “No! I wanted to tie! Malfoy… please listen!”
But all of Harry’s yelling was in vain. He was beckoned down to the ground by his 
fellow teammates and they didn’t want to hear anything that Harry had to say about trying 
to tie. All they wanted to do was to march right up to the Gryffindor common room and 
party all night long. 
“And  Gryffindor   wins,”   announced   Zabini   in   an   especially   monotone   and 
dispirited voice as Harry’s team carried him on their heads and shoulders  all the way up to 
their room. “Final score: two hundred and ten to zero.” 
Harry’s group grew as they went along, more and more Gryffindors  were joining 
them, congratulating Harry on his quick catch of the Snitch, the expertise of the rest of his 
team, and asking where  the  Firebolts  came from. But Harry didn’t want to hear any of it. 
He wanted to  be set  down and then run off to the  Slytherin common room, to try and 
explain to Malfoy what happened. With things they way they were right now, the Bracelet, 
along  with  the   other   Items,  were  Voldemort’s.  Not  only  did  that   mean  that   he   was 
dangerously close  to completing the potion, but also the last two Ingredients  he needed 
were at Hogwarts. The entire school was in trouble! They were all in danger of an attack!
“Let’s have another three  cheers  for our awesome  Quidditch team!” announced 
Joe Bob, the Head Boy, when they finally arrived at the common room. “Hip hip!”
“Hooray!” cheered everyone.
“Hip hip!”
“Hooray!”
“HIP HIP!”
“HOORAY!”
“Yes, that’s very nice,” said Harry, wanting to make a quick exit. “But you see-”
“Can we come in?” interrupted a few assorted Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, 
standing outside the open door to the common room. They had evidently followed them 
here, wanting to join in on the party.
“Absolutely not!” exclaimed Joe Bob, slamming the door in their faces. 
“I think we should put up some more security than just that,” said Megan, the fifth 
year prefect.
“I believe you’re right,” grinned Joe Bob, taking out his wand. He pointed it at the 
door. “Exclusio Everyone!” The entire door flashed white and glowed a bright yellow for a 
moment until it returned back to its normal colors. “That ensure  that no one else  comes 
in… or goes out for that matter.”
“Mandatory party all  night!” screamed about  half  of  the  people   in  the  room, 
suddenly bursting into a loud, crazy crowd of people. Large tables  that were full of food 
appeared out  of  nowhere. Gryffindor banners, red and gold streamers  and sparkles  fell 
from the  ceiling. Music  was coming from everywhere  at once, resulting in some  of the 


loudest  Harry had ever heard, and then, propped up on a very tall, marble  pedestal in the 
middle  of  the  room  was  the  Quidditch Cup that  someone  else  on the  team  must  have 
brought up already. From that point on, Harry had no hope of talking to Malfoy.
“Oh no!” said Hermione in a worried tone of voice. “I was going to try and fit in 
some extra studying tonight! Exams are in a week!”
“I know,” sighed Harry, barely hearable above the  intense noise  going on in the 
room. “I was going to try and talk to Malfoy… but now there’s no hope of that happening.”
“Why would you want to do that?” she asked, the both of them slowly moving as 
far away as  possible  from  the crowd, which wasn’t very far  at all seeing as  the entire 
Gryffindor house was gathered there at once.
“He’s our only link to what’s going on with Voldemort,” whispered Harry, having 
to lean in so close just to be hearable that his lips were a matter of millimeters away from 
her ear. “If anyone could get your Bracelet  back, it’s him… especially since he was the 
one who stole  it in the first place.”
“Well then what are you waiting for!?” demanded Hermione, her eyes  widening 
and her tone getting more imperative at the mentioning of her Bracelet. “Go talk!”
“I can’t…” groaned Harry. “Remember? Joe Bob sealed the door shut. I’ll have to 
wait until tomorrow  to say even a word, and then I’ll have less  luck than now… and my 
luck is  slim to none.”
“Well then just go to bed,” she suggested. “The sooner you do, the sooner you can 
get up and talk to him. Besides, you’ve had a long and hard day… the Dueling Club, then 
the Quidditch final; you need your rest.”
“That’s about the best thing I’ve heard all day,” said Harry, suddenly feeling quite 
sleepy. “And I’ve heard ‘You won the Quidditch Final.’” 
The last thing Harry saw before  he trudged upstairs into his dormitory was Joe, 
wearing only his underwear and colorful drawings all over his body, swinging some sort of 
towel around his head from the top of the pedestal that the Cup was on, and then jumping 
off   into   the   crowd,   being   carried   from  person   to   person,   grunting   random   phrases 
unnecessarily loud. Harry just sighed and walked the rest of the way up to his room.
“What a day,” he sighed, his face collapsing into his pillow. “What a day….”
Despite  all of Harry’s expectations, he  did not make any progress  with Malfoy 
the next morning at breakfast. Harry attempted to walk over to the Slytherin table, but each 
time he did, Malfoy shot  him the most horribly terrifying look imaginable, saying more 
than the words ever could, ‘If you dare even come  close  to me, I’ll kill you… no, torture 
you until you want me to kill you.’ Harry swallowed hard, returning to his seat, hoping that 
maybe another day would be better.
But that better day never came. Harry was so overcome by dozens of Gryffindors, 
constantly begging him to  give them house  points  for  meaningless  tasks  such as  “very 
white teeth”,  or “especially red tongue,” in hopes of winning the House Cup again, so that 
they could be in charge of the Disguise Dance. Whenever Harry did get the chance to look 
at Malfoy, he just turned away and walked faster in the opposite  direction… things were 
not going very well at all. 
However, the last week of school went on and everyone was trying as hard as they 
could to squeeze out every last point to their house that they could get, so that they would 


be able to host the Disguise Dance. It was really sad, how prefects were constantly taking 
away points from other houses for just as stupid things as they were giving them away to 
their own house. The point fluxuation was incredible, and Harry was really beginning to 
wish he hadn’t turned his second Quidditch match into a duel; they had lost so many points 
for doing that. 
But, what was really turning the tide away from Gryffindor’s favor were the new 
Slytherins from Durmstrang. In every class, at least one of them was the first to put their 
hand in the air to answer a question, especially in Potions  and Defense Against The Dark 
Arts. Worst of all, they always got  it  right! They were  really starting to  show  off how 
much Durmstrang pays attention  to  the  Dark Arts, and it was putting Slytherin greatly 
ahead of the other houses.
Amidst all of that, though, preparation for final exams was going on. Harry was 
cramming in every available moment he had, wanting to try and do as well this year as he 
did on the O.W.L.s last year. Expecting it to be a very hard exam, Harry spent nights in the 
library with Hermione (along with many other students), and sneaking off to the wNet as 
well to get a little  extra information. When it  actually came  time  for the  tests, though, 
Harry was fairly disappointed… they were quite easy!
The   Transfiguration   test   was  actually  fun.  To  pass,  all  they   had  to   do   was 
successfully transform  someone  into the  animal of  their choice, and then hold it for at 
least ten minutes. While Harry was sure Ron didn’t especially enjoy being a turtle, he was 
just as sure that watching him crawl around the room slowly, trying to reach a small puddle 
in the corner was great fun.
If Harry hadn’t known better,  he  would have though that  the  Care of  Magical 
Creature’s  and Herbology’s exam were  the same one. For Herbology’s, they had to take 
care of a living clod of dirt for the entire class  period, and whoever’s was above normal in 
how healthy it was at the end passed. Then, for Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid brought 
in some living clods of dirt, and they had to take care of them for the entire class as well. 
Since  they  had  never  learned  about  living  dirt   in  Care  of   Magical  Creatures,  Hagrid 
assumed they knew nothing about them, and wanted them to  draw on other knowledge of 
other   animals  to  figure  out   how to  deal  with them.  But,  since  everyone  had them  in 
Herbology, in was an incredibly easy test, and everybody passed with flying colors, much 
to Hagrid’s dismay.
Charm’s  test  was even better than Transfiguration’s. For that one, everyone was 
sealed in a small room, with a holographic opponent. As long as you beat your opponent, 
you passed the test. It was simple enough for everyone to do, especially since most of the 
class  was in the Dueling Club and knew good tactics, and that the opponent’s were about as 
fast as a doorknob and had the same amount of brains.
After the  exciting Charm’s exam, History of Magic  was a real downer. It was a 
boring old test: sit down and write in the answers. Even though it was long and boring, it 
was still no more difficult than the others, and Harry was overjoyed when the bell finally 
rang and class was over.
Defense  Against the Dark Arts  was a welcome  change from  History of Magic. 
Though  not  as   much   fun  as   Charm’s   or  Transfiguration’s   exams,   it   was   still   okay. 
Professor  Quirrell  took them all up, one by one, and presented to them three choices  of 
people. After giving a long description of each, he asked which one was most probably the 


best to stay away from. It was very hard, all three choices  were incredibly similar, except 
for a few things here  and there. Harry had to really think before giving his  answer, which 
happened to be correct.
Potions  was its  usual self as  Professor  Snape gave them double kill:  a written 
exam, and a hands-on test. Harry had to rush through the way-too-long packet just so he 
would have enough time  to  be able  to  start  the  hands-on part of  the test. Luckily, he 
finished brewing his potion before the end of class, being beaten in speed by Hermione, 
and the new Slytherins… including Tci. Snape took this  opportunity to  give his house  an 
extra ten points for each person, since they made their potions  so fast and perfectly. Just 
because Snape was slightly nicer to Harry didn’t mean that he still didn’t favor his house.
Spell Invention was by far the  hardest. Professor  Dumbledore  gave them each 
different spell’s MMSC, and they had to simplify it to as few lines  of code as they could. 
It was very strenuous, trying to take out what you could, but leave in enough so that it 
would work, and then going back and changing everything when you took out even a little 
bit. Harry was relieved when he passed his in and Dumbledore smiled, saying he did a fine 
job. He also asked Harry to come in a little closer, and he said to him that Hermione had 
told   him   that   the   Bracelet   had   been   stolen,   and   about   his   and   Ron’s   little   fight. 
Dumbledore  assured Harry that he believed the Ring would be in no safer  place  than on 
Harry’s finger, and let  him keep it, as long as no more  fights  took place. Harry thanked 
him profusely and left the class  to go to his last exam: Divination.
“You told Dumbledore  about mine and Ron’s fight?” Harry asked Hermione as 
they left the class.
“Well… yeah,” she said. “I thought that he probably knew about it already, and not 
telling him would only make him want to take it away from you more, since  you weren’t 
being honest. I’m sure he’d never want to see anything like that ever happen again.” 
“He’s not the only one,” said Harry and Ron at the same time. 
“Well I have to go to my Arithmancy final,” sighed Hermione when they came to 
a break in the hallway. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck then,” said Harry.
“Aren’t you going to wish us luck with our Divination exam?” asked Ron.
“Are you kidding?” grunted Hermione. “A banana could probably pass that test.”
“A banana?” asked Ron and Harry together, walking to the Divination classroom. 
“Why a banana? Why not a monkey, or a cat? Something… normal?”
“That’s   Hermione   for   you,”   said   Harry   when   they   reached   the   Divination 
classroom. “Definitely not normal.”
“That’s for sure,” said Ron as he and Harry climbed the ladder up and into it. 
“Welcome students!” announced Professor Trelawney, floating about the room in 
a ghost-like manner. “I am very pleased to see  you all here, not skipping out on the last 
exam of the day. I’m sure that you all will be happy you are here, for the test will be one 
that I’m sure you shall enjoy.”
“Yeah… I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, if in order to pass it I have to leave and never come 
back,” said Ron quietly.
“One by one,” she continued, not  hearing Ron, “I will beckon you back into my 
room,  out  of the  ear  and eye  range of everyone  else.  There, you shall  read your own 
fortune.”


“Read our own fortune?” squealed Lavender.
“How exciting!” squeaked Parvati.
“Indeed…” said Trelawney. “Now, since I want you all to have as much time as 
you need, we will begin. Harry Potter! You are first.”
“Me?” asked Harry, pointing to himself and standing up.
“I don’t see  any other Harry Potters, unless you count that extremely fuzzy man 
over there in the corner planting some lovely flowers.”
“Hey, how  ya doin’?”  said  the  man. He  was  dressed  in  a red  shirt   with blue 
overalls that weren’t buttoned. He was indeed, very hairy, and he was planting flowers in a 
mound of dirt on the carpet. When did he arrive?
“Do you get it?” asked Professor Trelawney, looking as though she may explode. 
“He’s hairy… and he’s a potter…. Harry Potter!”
“Yeah yeah…” sighed Harry amongst some scattered polite laughter. “Can we get 
on with the test, professor?”
“Oh, most certainly yes,” she said, opening up the curtain to her back room. “This 
way!”
 Harry took one last  look at Ron who gave him a double thumbs up as he walked 
through the curtain, and Professor Trelawney let it  fall back down, cutting off the small, 
dark room they were now currently in from the  other. There was a single, small, square 
table in the room with two chairs  at opposite ends. Harry assumed that was where he had 
to go, so he sat down in the closest chair.
“Good afternoon, Harry,” she said, sitting down in the  other. “I have most been 
looking forward to giving you your exam.”
“Why is that?”
“Don’t you remember?” she  asked. “Last year, my Advanced O.W.L. test?  You 
were the only one who passed it, and you did it with well over one thousand percent! You 
were amazing, a true Seer.”
“Yeah… I remember,” said Harry, slouching down in his chair and remembering 
how he had been able to predict the entire movie last year, only because he and Dudley had 
watched it so often.
“Now, I’d love to see  your predicting ability in some  more  action,”  she  said, 
sounding very excited and pulling out a deck of cards from her pocket. “So I want you to 
predict your future with these Wizard Duel cards.”
“Alright,”   said   Harry,   taking   the   deck   from   her   and  hoping   that   he   would 
remember how to do this properly. He didn’t want her to investigate what happened at last 
year’s test  by a failure this time. But, since  they had gone over how to do it correctly so 
many times in class, it wasn’t as hard as Harry thought it would.
“First,” said Harry, speaking out loud as he dealt the cards, “I’ll deal out the who, 
what, when, and where cards face-down.” Harry took the top four cards, and placed them 
upside down on the table next to each other, so that what they were was not visible. “Then, 
I place out  the why and how cards, taken from  the bottom of  the deck.” Harry quickly 
grabbed the bottom two cards, and slapped them down next to the other four.
“And now?”
“And now I flip over the who card,” said Harry, curious  to know what his fortune 
was going to be. Even though he knew it was going to be wrong, it could be fun anyways. 


He  just   hoped he remembered  the  hundreds  of  card interpretations  that they  learned. 
Running over in his  mind everything he had learned in Divination during the year, Harry 
flipped over the first card and nearly fell over in shock.
“The who card is  a… Harry Potter,” he said, amazed.
“Oh my,” said Professor Trelawney. “This really is a self prediction.”
“Yeah…” wondered Harry. So far, this reading was going fairly well.
“Now what do you do?”
“Oh… yeah,” he said, snapping back into reality. “Now, I flip over the what card.”
“Get on with it,” she said again, sounding very excited.
Harry turned it over, revealing the actual card. It was a werewolf. Now, what did a 
werewolf represent…? Oh yeah! That was one  of the easy ones. A werewolf card meant 
change.
 “The who card is me,” said Harry, trying to recap everything, “and the what card is 
a werewolf, meaning change. So, am I going to change something?”
“You tell me,” said Trelawney. “It’s your final exam”
“Oh yeah,” sighed Harry, remembering where he was. For a Divination exam, this 
was getting fairly exciting. His  hand reached down to  the when card and flipped it over 
quickly. It turned out to be a Disarming Spell.
“And what does a Disarming Spell symbolize?” she asked, trying to test Harry.
“Quickly or soon,” said Harry. “Because it is  usually one of the first spells  used 
in battle, and one of the faster beams, though not as fast as the Korosucide curse  which 
symbolizes  something happening within the next few days, or even within the hour. So, 
since this  is  the when card, this event is  not too far away from now, though not within the 
next week or so.”
“Very good,” she smiled. “And now the next one, the where card?”
Harry quickly flipped the card over, revealing a house elf.
“A house elf?” said Harry.
“A house elf….” said Trelawney.
“It symbolizes the world, or people as a whole,” said Harry, digging back into his 
mind  for   the   information  she   had  given  them.  “Since  most  people  believe   in   their 
enslavement, it represents  all of humanity.”
“So what have we got so far?”
“Well,” said Harry, getting ready to summarize everything up again, “the who card 
is me, the what card is a werewolf, the when card is a Disarming Spell, and then where card 
is a house elf. So, I am going to change… the world, not too long from now.”
“Now   let’s   see   just   how  and  why  you’re   going  to   do   this,”  said  professor 
Trelawney, looking very excited,  more  so  than Harry  had ever seen, except  after  the 
Advanced O.W.L. exam last year.
“Alright,” said Harry, turning over the how card. 
It was Dumbledore. 
“Dumbledore….”
“Dumbledore?” said Harry, wondering how this prediction was working out. “He’s 
my how card? All of this is going to happen with Dumbledore’s help?”
“The why card!” exclaimed Professor  Trelawney. “The why! Come  now, flip it 
over! Let’s see why all of this is going to happen!”


“Okay,” said Harry, almost feeling a bit nervous. His  arm was shaking slightly as 
his hand made way for the final upside down card. He flipped it over and almost collapsed 
out of his chair.
“You-Know-Who…” said Professor  Trelawney, staring  at  the  Voldemort  card 
that Harry just flipped over. 
“It’s Voldemort!” exclaimed Harry.
“Ah!” yelled Trelawney, covering her ears. “Don’t say the name!”
“Sorry,” said Harry,  remembering that  basically  everyone  except  for  himself, 
Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore was terrified of hearing Voldemort’s name. 
“Well Harry? What does it all mean?”
“Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath before  he gave the  final summary of what 
was on  the  table.  “I,  taken from  the Harry Potter  card, am going to  change, from  the 
werewolf, the  world, as symbolized by the house  elf, not  too  far from  now, which the 
Disarming Spell  represented. All of  this  will happen because of  Volde- er, You-Know-
Who, and Dumbledore will help make it all happen. So with the help of Dumbledore, I am 
going to change the world because of Voldemort, and not too long from now.”
“Excellent job, Harry,” said Professor Trelawney, beaming. “You have passed this 
exam with flying colors.”
“Thank you professor,” said Harry, shuffling all of the cards on the table back into 
the deck and then standing up, his mind spinning.
“Oh, and one last thing,” she said as Harry was about to leave the room.
“Yes?”
“Do tell me if the prediction comes  true. If it  does, then I believe you may have the true 
aura and talent of a real Seer, and qualify for some Advanced Divination classes.”
“Of course, Professor Trelawney,” said Harry, grimacing at the thought of more 
Divination. “Though, if it does  come true you should know since whatever it is will change 
the entire world.”
“We shall see…” she said, walking out with him to bring in the next student. “We 
shall certainly see. Oh, and by the way, you are free to leave now, Harry.”
“Thank you.”
“Ron Weasley!” she announced, stepping back into the main room with Harry. “It 
is now your turn.”
“How is it?” Ron as Harry as he walked up to the room Harry just exited from.
“Just  like everything else  in Divination,” said Harry, wanting to throw off the 
prediction he just made. “Make it up and you’ll be fine.”
“Oh good,” said Ron as he entered the small room with Trelawney. Harry wished 
him  a quiet good luck and then left  the  room, wanting to  get out  of  there  as  soon as 
possible. That was the last  time he’d have to be in that room for an entire  year! Nice… 
very nice. With those happy thought in mind, Harry slowly walked back to  the common 
room, taking his time, the entire year behind him. All that was left to do was to go to the 
Disguise Dance… and that was definitely not work!
After the very long and slow walk, Harry opened the door to the room, and was 
surprised to see  that there  were  actually quite a few people in there, running around and 
looking extremely worried. They were slamming into each other, yelling, ripping their hair 
out, and all red in the face.


“What is  it?” Harry asked the closest  one he could find. It was one of the new 
Gryffindors, Trenholm, a first year. Their exams didn’t take as long as Harry’s, so it’s no 
wonder a lot of the lower class  students were there.
“It’s Slytherin!” he exclaimed, looking even angrier  after mentioning the name. 
“They’re two hundred points  ahead of us and there’s  only a few minutes to go before the 
end of class and the decision of who is going to host the Disguise Dance will happen!”
“Hey Harry!” yelled another first  year, walking over. “You’re  a prefect,  aren’t 
you?”
 “Yeah…”sighed Harry, seeing where this was going. 
“Hurry!”   said   Trenholm.   “Give   us   two   hundred   points   for   something!”
“What!?” demanded Harry. “I can’t give you that many!”
“Why not?” asked the second one.
“The professors  keep track of each house point addition and subtraction made. If I 
give or take away too  much for no good reason, I can have my prefect  title  taken away 
from me!”
“Well, then give us five points forty times!” he said again, sounding desperate.
“Do something!” ordered  yet another, walking over to Harry. “We’ve only got a 
few more minutes left until-”
“Attention students!” came Dumbledore’s  voice  out of  every wall in the entire 
school. It was only the  second time  in Harry’s life  that an announcement had ever been 
made like that. “I am happy to  announce that the finals  are  now officially over, and the 
points for the houses stand as follows.”
“Oh no!” yelled everyone in the room except for Harry. “It’s too late!”
“In fourth place, with six hundred and five points, Ravenclaw. In third place with 
six hundred and ninety points, Gryffindor. In second place with seven hundred and forty 
five points, Hufflepuff. And, in first place, with eight hundred and ninety points, Slytherin. 
Congratulations Slytherin, you will be hosting the Disguise Dance tomorrow evening, and 
it shall be decorated in your colors. I am proud of you all for doing so well, and keep up 
the good work next year. Who knows when another Disguise Dance may pop up again. This 
is your headmaster, Dumbledore, over and out.”
“Oh man…” sighed Trenholm.
“I can’t believe we didn’t win!”
“The one year we actually had to win… we didn’t!”
“And third place… that’s the lowest ever!”
“Oh come on guys,” said Harry, trying to cheer them up, though he felt pretty low 
as well. “It’s not so bad. Think of it this way, now we don’t have to go through the trouble 
of setting up the dance.”
“Oh come  on Harry…” sighed another one. “We may be younger than you, but 
we’re not stupid.”
It wasn’t too  much longer before  the rest  of Gryffindor house  came  back from 
their exams, each wearing the same expression of gloom and depression. Everybody had 
expected to win no problem, just  like  the past  five  years. Losing was  something they 
weren’t prepared for, especially losing to Slytherin. It got even worse as some Slytherins 
flaunted their victory, grinning at members  of the  other houses  as  they made their way 


down to the Great Hall, to set up the Dance and make it however they wanted.
But, Harry got over it  and tried to help everyone else  in his dorm room too. Ak 
was quick to get over it as well, most of his friends were in Slytherin anyway, so with two 
people trying to help, Ron, Seamus and Dean were all in as high spirits  as they would have 
been had Gryffindor won; especially when it came time to make the costumes. The five of 
them had great fun creating them all night long, and they came out looking very nice. It’s 
not as if they would have been able to spend so much time on them had they won, and had 
to help decorate the room instead.
Ron’s costume was very creepy looking. It was a black all over suit and pants with 
extra spider-like  arms coming off the  sides. He also  created a mask that looked exactly 
like  a  spider’s  head. When he  put everything on,  Ron appeared  to  be  another one  of 
Aragog’s offspring from the Forbidden Forest.
Harry’s disguise  was very nice, and much more complex. He created a centaur 
uniform, complete  with working hind legs. It took all  of  the transfiguration and charms 
skills  he had to create it, but it was worth it. As Harry walked around in it, Ron kept saying 
that he looked exactly like Firenze, a centaur from the Forbidden Forest that they had met 
in their first year.
Ak’s costume  was a little  disappointing. For all that Harry thought Ak knew, he 
showed no sign of it in his design. He created a full body suit that was gray all over. Then, 
after he  slipped that  on, he just  put a hockey mask on over  his  head and said he  was 
finished. After a few good laughs, he said that he and some of his friends were going as the 
same costume, and when they stood together, it would appear as  though they are all the 
same  person, since  the  gray costumes  would blend together.  Harry just  shrugged, and 
made his way downstairs with everyone else, to show off his disguise.
After a few hours of everyone gathering together in the common room, showing 
off their costumes, bragging about how easy they thought the  exams  were, and trying to 
cheer  each  other   up,  it  was  finally  time   for   the   actual   dance   to   begin.  All  at   once, 
everybody made their way down to the Great Hall, anxiously awaiting the time to enter and 
start the fun.
But, Harry didn’t much mind waiting. It gave him time  to  look  around and see 
students’ from other houses  costumes. There were dementors, banshees, fairies, unicorns, 
ogres, trolls, ghosts, regular masks, and even some dressed up as other wizards. Hermione 
was wearing a neat Dumbledore  costume that she  whipped up, and Harry wouldn’t have 
been able to  tell  that it was her if she hadn’t specifically told him back at the common 
room. Harry was wondering if he’d be able to find Cho out of everybody else, or if anyone 
would be able to find their dates for that matter. It was going to be an interesting night, that 
was for sure.
Just then, before  Harry could give it another thought, the doors  to the Great Hall 
swung open, revealing the inside. He, along with the rest of the school, ran into the room, 
eager to see how it was decorated.
At first, Harry thought he had stepped into the wrong room. The entire Great Hall 
was pitch black, just as dark as  the hallway at the pyramid. The only source  of light was 
that coming in from  the entrance  door, and that was slowly closing behind the massive 
group of students. When it was shut all the way, it was so dark, Harry couldn’t see his hand 


if it was right in front of his eyes. What was going on?
Just then, in a blinding light of all the shades of green and silver colors, the Great 
Hall exploded into  a  massive, illuminated room.  Dozens  of  silver  and green  colored, 
rotating spheres hung from the ceiling, spinning around and making the walls and floor of 
the room look like the Slytherin common room. Snake banners hung from every spot on 
the walls, and even the floor was painted the house’s  colors. Despite the fact that it was a 
Slytherin-saturated  room,  it  was  still  an awesome  sight,  and made  only better  by the 
extremely varied costumes  that everyone was wearing, and the food that was set up at 
tables (that had green and silver with black snake tablecloths) all over.
A moment later, music began magically playing from every wall in the room and 
the dance officially began. Everyone started dancing in their own way to the beat, browsing 
what there  was to eat, and talking with friends… or at least, who they thought were there 
friends. It was impossible to tell who was who!
“Hermione?  Is  that   you?”  Harry   asked  someone  near   him   in   a  Dumbledore 
costume.
“Yeah,  it’s  me,”   she  responded.  Then,  Harry   looked   down  and  saw  her   cat, 
Crookshanks rubbing up against her leg, purring.
“Oh  good,”   said   Harry,  a   bit   confused.  “But,  Hermione,   why  did  you   bring 
Crookshanks?”
“Well, he simply wouldn’t stop giving me this  terribly sad face  until I told him 
that he could come along,” she admitted with a small  sigh. Then, turning to her cat and 
seeing the happy look on his face, she brightened up.
“Have you seen Ron anywhere?”
“Well, no. But, I do know he’s dressed up as a spider.”
“Ron? A spider?” she said, sounding as if she didn’t believe him. “He’d better not 
look in a mirror or else  he’s going to scream.”
“Have you seen Cho?”
“No… I haven’t seen  her yet,”  said  Hermione,  now scanning the  room  for  a 
spider. “But, I see Ron. Good luck finding her, Harry.”
“Thanks,” he said as she walked passed him, pushing her way through the intensely 
packed room.  Harry turned his  attention back to  looking for  Cho, staring at everyone 
around him, as if peering into their soul and seeing if it matched Cho’s. Even though Harry 
didn’t see her right away, he did see someone in an incredibly realistic house elf suit.
“Hey, nice costume you’ve got there,” said Harry, eyeing the perfectly re-created 
skin, and the various, non-matching clothes all over. “But you’ve got it a little bit wrong… 
house elves don’t wear clothes.”
“But they is  wearing clothes  if their  name is  Dobby,” it  squeaked, taking Harry 
back in surprise. This wasn’t a costume, it was a real elf!
“Dobby?” Harry asked. “Is that you?”
“Yes it is, sir.”
“What are you doing here?”
“All of the elves is having tonight off,” he squealed, not looking especially happy, 
though not sad either. It was quite a neutral attitude. “Some of them is  still not  wanting 
freedom, so  Dumbledore  is  giving them  one  last  chance  to  be  able  to changing their 
minds.”


“So then who is  going to clean up and supply new food and drinks?”
“The professors,” grinned Dobby slightly.
“Ah, I see,” said Harry. It was just like last year at Christmas. All the house elves 
were given time off, and the professors  took their place. The only difference was that this 
year, Snape was back in the faculty.  Harry would give anything to see him in a chef’s hat 
and apron.
“What did I tell  you, Dobby? I said nothing bad would happen to me if I returned 
to Hogwarts, and once again, I was right.”
“Oh Harry Potter…” he sighed, looking extremely sad. “If only I could say.”
“What? Say what?”
“I is not saying!” he squeaked, sounding very serious. “Even though you is  very 
important to us elves, masters is even more  important, and I isn’t betraying my master by 
telling! No, no, no! Bad Dobby! Not even thinking about that!”
“Calm down, Dobby,” said Harry, trying to stop him before  he  tried  to  punish 
himself again. “You don’t have a master anymore, remember? You’re a free  elf.”
“Oh Harry Potter…” he sighed again, his eyes filled with tears. “I is  still  having a 
master.”
 “Who then? Who is your master?” 
“Harry… is that you?” came a voice from behind. Harry turned around, and before 
him  stood the most  wondrous  creature  he had ever seen in his  entire  life.  Before  even 
looking at her face, or any other part of her body for that matter, Harry could tell  it  was 
Cho, just by the aura she was putting out. 
Her costume was absolutely stunning. It was a perfectly white dress that seemed 
to flow like water as she  swayed from  side to side. Behind her were  beautiful, feather 
wings that extended out just enough to  make her look like an angel. She didn’t need the 
glowing halo above her  head, or  the  small golden harp in her hand, or  even the entire 
costume for that matter. Even without all that, she was even more wonderful than an angel.
“Y- yeah,” stuttered Harry, still enthralled by her beauty. “It’s… me.”
“Oh well good,” she smiled. “I wasn’t sure if you were the front or back end of the 
centaur. You did such a great job on your costume, it’s hard to tell that it’s you up front, 
and not one of the ones from the Forbidden Forest.”
“Oh, this?” said Harry, pointing to his  disguise. “Bah, this  little  centaur thing is 
nothing compared to yours. Cho… you look absolutely stunning.”
“Why thank you,” she  said, beaming, her  blinding, invisible  aura growing even 
brighter. “This is  a very nice song they’re playing right now, want to join in and dance?”
“That would be perfect,” said Harry, grabbing Cho by the  arms and joining the 
massive crowd, swinging and swaying quickly to  the rhythm. This was easily one  of the 
greatest nights of his life.
The Dance went on well into the night and then past midnight, but it didn’t matter 
to Harry. To him, time was standing still  as he and Cho were together. It was wonderful 
being with her, and looking at the stupendous disguises  that everyone was wearing. Harry 
had only seen the tip of  the  iceberg  before.  There  were hundreds  of  other  students  in 
costume, and each was different. It was very interesting to  see  what kinds  of costumes  
each person had chosen. 


Harry saw that Ginny was dressed up as a broomstick and Malfoy was wearing a 
Snitch costume. The two of them were inseparable that night. Malfoy kept whispering into 
her ear, and Harry was dying to know what he was telling her. Was he asking her opinion 
on how to get some more  revenge on Harry? Was he telling her where the Bracelet  was? 
As  he  was  moving around with Cho on  the  dance  floor,  Harry tried  to  steer  in  their 
direction, but every time they got closer, the two of them moved away just as fast, as if 
they were  avoiding them… which they probably were. Harry just  hoped Malfoy wasn’t 
trying to turn Ginny against him.
“I’ll be right back, Harry,” said Cho after they had sat  down at one of the tables 
after an exceptionally fast-paced song. “I’m starving… you want me to get you something 
to eat too?”
“No thanks,” said Harry, feeling far too happy to eat. “Maybe later.”
Cho smiled and disappeared into the crowd, making her way to the opposite end 
of the room. Harry sighed deeply, and slouched down into his chair, looking at everyone 
else still keeping it up on the dance floor. How long was this party going to go on for?
“Finally,” said Malfoy, coming out of nowhere in the crowd right up in front of 
Harry. He was standing next to Ginny, who looked as though she was in tears. “Finally 
you’re alone Potter. Come on, it’s time to go!”
“What are you talking about?” spat Harry, standing up. “What have you done to 
Ginny.”
 “There’s no time to explain,” he said, waving his arms. “I’m not going to leave you 
to die like you did with me; I’m better than that, I’m better than you. So, it’s time to leave! 
Now Potter!”
“I’m  not  going anywhere  until  you  tell  me  why  Ginny’s  crying!”  said  Harry, 
sternly.
 “Attention everyone!” said the Head Boy, Joe  Bob, rising up slightly from  the 
ground, just enough to be above the heads of everyone. He was dressed up as a king, with a 
crown, jewelry, a long, slowing cloak everything he needed to look superior to everyone 
else. “It’s now the time you’ve all been waiting for!”
“You idiot!” seethed Malfoy through clenched teeth. “Now it’s too late!”
“Everyone… take off your disguises, and see who you’ve been with!”
But, just then, all of the lights went out in the room, leaving it  completely pitch 
black.  There  were  a  few  screams  of  surprise,  and Harry  could  feel  people  scurrying 
around, trying to  figure out what happened as they bumped into each other. Then, a hand 
grabbed hold of Harry’s arm and began pulling him through the crowd, as if he were some 
sort of plow, and the students in the room were snow. 
“Come on, Potter!” said Malfoy. Evidently, he was the one pulling him.
“Where are you taking me!?” demanded Harry.
“Some place safe,” said Ginny, sounding as  if she  was trying her hardest not to 
cry.
 “What are you talking about?” asked Harry. “The lights  just went out! It’s  not 
anything that we have to run away from.”
“Just shut up, and go faster!” yelled Malfoy above the  continuing screams  from 
the people all around them. “We only have time to save one.”
“What do you mean?”


“He’d get  suspicious  if we tried to  sneak everybody out, so we can only save 
ourselves, and one other,” said Ginny, now sounding even sadder. “You are that one other.”
“Okay, will you please explain to me what’s going on!?” screamed Harry, wanting 
clarification of what was happening. He ripped Malfoy’s hand off of his arm, and hoped he 
was still standing in front of him, though he couldn’t tell since it was so dark. “Who’s ‘he’? 
Why would you want to sneak everyone out.
“Listen! There’s no time!” exclaimed Malfoy, sounding a little  worried. “You’ll 
understand everything in just a few… oh no! It’s time!”
“Time? Time for what?” asked Harry. But, he didn’t have to wait long to find out. 
Once  again, in a blinding flash, the lights in the room came back on, making everything 
visible once again, and a few sighs of relief were heard. Harry saw that Malfoy had pulled 
him quite a distance; they were now in front of the door that exited the room.
But, Harry’s  attention quickly turned away from  the door and up to the  ceiling. 
There, above everyone’s heads were seven figures. The six new Slytherins, with Ak in the 
center  of the five and Tci next to  him, were  hovering between two other figures on the 
side of their group. Those two were clad all in black, except for an extremely tiny slits  in 
their masks for them to see through.
 After everybody stopped screaming, and realized that the  lights  were  back on, 
they all turned their heads up to the floating figures. The eight of them let out deep, almost 
terrifying laughs, laughs  that made your blood turn to ice  and put a stop on your brain. 
They reached their  hands up to  their  faces,  and each  of  them  ripped off  their  masks 
simultaneously, revealing who they were. But, they were not Hogwarts students.
They were Voldemort and his Death Eaters.


Chapter 29- The Terrifying Truth
At first, no one said anything. Though, what could you say when the master of evil 
reveals himself alongside his minions at your school  dance? Everybody was frozen with 
shock. Even Harry, who had dealt with Voldemort multiple times  before  was speechless. 
This time, he wasn’t a harmless dream. He was real now… and in Hogwarts.
Then, what should have been excited  talk and giggling that the  person you had 
been with all night really was or wasn’t your best friend or date was replaced by horrible 
screams  of unimaginable terror. Everyone in the room thought that they were going to die 
and there was only one way to escape: run; and that’s just what they did. Everybody started 
running around and slamming into each other, in the end, getting nowhere.
“SILENCE!” thundered Voldemort, in his horrifying, deep, snake-like voice  that 
echoed throughout the entire  room. All the people that had been running now stopped in 
their tracks, breathing hard, sweating, crying, whimpering and shaking. This was the  first 
time almost all of them had ever actually seen Voldemort. “As long as a certain person in 
this room cooperates with me tonight, most of you will leave here alive.”
Harry looked up at Voldemort and his followers to his side. He was in the middle, 
Wormtail was on his right, another Death Eater next to him, three others Harry had never 
seen before  were on the left, at the far left end was Neville  and at the far right end was 
Ernie. Each of  them was wearing the  same, almost  satanic  smile of  victory. So, all this 
year, the  new Slytherins  were really Death Eaters, and Tci was also  a Death Eater… for 
two years! But, worst of all, Ak had really been Voldemort… all year long! And Harry had 
been friends  with him….  It was enough to  make him sick  to  his  stomach. Harry  just 
wanted to throw up, and then wake up tomorrow with this having never happened.
But, what Harry noticed most about Voldemort now was that he was wearing a few 
accessories. Around his neck was the Sorcerer’s Stone on a golden chain, and on his hand 
was the red Glove, the blue Watch… and the yellow Bracelet! So he did already have it! 
But, how did he  have the Glove? Harry gave it  to  Dumbledore…  his  security must be 
terrible! Worse than Harry’s! The only thing Voldemort didn’t have was the Ring.
“Harry Potter!” he hissed, pointing a knife-like finger at Harry. “It is up to you 
whether the rest of the school lives or dies tonight.”
“How so?” asked Harry, trying to sound confident. All of the eyes in the school 
were  on him, pleading to  do whatever Voldemort  wanted him to do. To make it  worse, 
since his was the only voice in the entire hall, it made him sound very small, and all alone.
“All you have to do is  give me  the Ring,” he continued, floating down from  his 
high position right to where Harry was, with the rest of his followers. As they made their 
way down, the students parted to the side, not wanting to be the one to get in their way. He 
stopped right in front of Harry, barely even a foot away. He gave a sickening smile. “Then, 
if you do, perhaps only a few of them will die… and you’ll even get to choose which.”
“What do you think you’re  doing here?” demanded Harry, trying to  buy some 
time. “You know that Dumbledore will be here any second, and then you will be dead!”
“Ahh, my little adversary,” he said, still grinning, “Dumbledore is now down in the 
kitchens along with all the other professors. By the time he knows I am here, it will be too 
late.  You  see,  for  every  dance   this   school  has  ever  had  for  the  past  six   years,   the 
chaperones  have always included Death Eaters. However, I have conveniently told them all 


to deny the invitation to chaperone this  time, so that I may come. As for the other usual 
adults that come, they have been… disposed of.”
“What are you doing here?” demanded Harry again, shaking with hatred.
“Ah, that is  a very interesting tale indeed. You see, Lord Voldemort always plans 
ahead… always. This plan began two years  ago, it was originally another backup plan, just 
in case a different plan of mine failed. But, this one soon showed that it was superior over 
the other in simplicity, ease, and getting what I wanted. So, I killed the other plan and made 
this one my priority.”
“So then this was your backup plan,” said Harry, trying not to show his fear. “The 
one you were talking about last year… just around this same time.”
“Oh no!” laughed Voldemort, sounding like a bubbling lava pit. “My dear boy, you 
must not take me for a fool! An evil Lord, yes… but a fool, most certainly not! Ever since 
you were born I’ve had another plan ready to go, just in case my others  fail. Even if this  
one does, which it most certainly will not, I will still get you.”
“So how did this  plan begin two years ago?” asked Harry, trying his best to stall. 
“That’s what you said, didn’t you?”
“Yes it  is,” he  hissed, glaring at Harry, as  if seeing through his  little  plan. “It 
began with my dear friend Sata Nick here to my right, or as you know him, Tci. He played 
a very important role  in this  wonderful  plan. That night you tried to steal Dumbledore’s 
phoenix was the same night Sata had to sneak into the headmaster’s office  and re-program 
the Hogwart’s  Quill to include us  five on the list for  next year. Yes, you see, at first  I 
thought my plan was in jeopardy when you saw Sata, but he was a resourceful man, and fed 
you a lie that you easily bought.”
“What’s  the Hogwart’s  Quill?” asked Harry, seeing an opportunity to  stall  even 
more.
 “My lord!” exclaimed Voldemort, looking shocked. “Do they teach you nothing 
here   nowadays?   Back  in   my   day,   the   Hogwart’s   Quill   was   common   knowledge   to 
everyone! But, anyways, it  is  a magical quill of  course. Every day, it sends  out a signal 
around the entire world that only magical children are sensitive to. It reads that they exist 
and then records  their name. Then, once they reach the age of eleven, if they are still on 
the list, a letter  is sent to them, asking if they want to  come  to Hogwarts. So, unless me 
and my four associates’ names here were on that list, the plan would have failed long ago.”
“And what a shame that would have been,” mumbled Harry.
“Ah yes,” sighed Voldemort, “there have been many times that I thought this plan 
wasn’t going to work. I remember after the first Dueling Club meeting, how Sata sent me a 
report on what happened.”
“Why? What happened then?” asked Harry, trying to remember anything unusual 
that had happened during their first meeting last year.
“You mean you don’t remember?” questioned Dumbledore, raising his voice ever 
so slightly. “I would have thought that you would have remembered it very well, especially 
since it happened to you as well.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Remember Priori  Incantatem?” he asked, grinning and leaning in closer.  “The 
reason you escaped from me two years ago?”
Oh  yeah,   Harry   remembered   now.   Priori   Incantatem   was   a   rare   event   that 


happened when two wizards dueled with their wands and the cores  inside the wands were 
from the exact same animal. In Harry and Voldemort’s case, it had been Fawkes. Both of 
their wands had a feather from him, and when they dueled two years ago, Priori Incantatem 
occurred. A golden beam connected the two wands, and every spell Voldemort  had ever 
cast came out in reverse order.
“Yeah, I remember that.”
“Well then, you should also remember that it happened during your first  dueling 
club meeting.”
“What?” said Harry. “No way!”
“Oh yes…” he hissed. “In the duel between Tci and Aylar.”
Harry could have hit himself in the head with his foot. Of course! During their 
duel, the wand’s spells  connected in midair and formed one long, golden beam They flew 
up into the air, and then there was a massive explosion. Harry had been so distracted by the 
explosion that he never thought to question why it had happened.
“Ah yes, now you remember…” he mumbled, turning to the side. 
“But…” stuttered  Harry. “Why would that  have jeopardized your plan? I mean, 
even if the two of  them  did share  the  same  wand core, why would that have made  me 
thought you were involved?”
“Ah, so you do not know, then?” said Voldemort with a trace of pleasure in his 
voice. “You see, whenever a new Death Eater joins me, I cut off a bit of my flesh and add it 
to the core of their wand. Not only does  it make them more powerful, but it also prevents 
them from fighting with each other. Whenever they try to, Priori Incantatem happens, and 
negates their attacks.”
“I still don’t get it… why would that have been a threat to your plan?”
“Oh for god’s sake!” exclaimed Voldemort, shaking his head. “Can’t you put two 
and two together? If you had known that little fact, then you would have found out that both 
Tci and Aylar are Death Eaters!”
“What?” stammered Harry. “Aylar is a… Death Eater?”
“Well  of course!” he yelled, glaring at Harry, his  eyes  flaming. “What did you 
think? Someone that powerful has to be!”
“But… I thought he was Dumbledore’s son….” said Harry, looking around for any 
sign of Aylar. He saw him standing right behind Voldemort, wearing the same gray and 
hockey mask costume  as  the  Slytherins were before  they ripped them off. He walked up 
next to the other Death Eaters and removed his mask. Now, much more noticeable than it 
was when he wore his disguise was the giant grin he was bearing. 
“Well,   more   or   less   he   is,”   said   Voldemort.   “Aylar   was   not   born   in   the 
‘traditional’ method; Dumbledore  is  too  old. No, he was  created using  very advanced 
magic, stuff I am barely even able to perform, even at my advanced state. I combined my 
blood with Dumbledore’s  and then implanted that into a forced  volunteer female Death 
Eater. I can tell you, when he was born, Aylar already had the brain power of a first year, 
and now he knows more than most graduated students.”
“Dumbledore?” grunted Harry. “How did you get his blood? Did rob a blood bank 
or something? Or did you just get one of his old shaving blades?”
“I suppose you could say that…” he grinned. Harry was beginning to get worried 
now; the  conversation was dying down. If he  didn’t think of something quick, then they 


would have to fight.
“So… I see that you have all the Legendary Items,” said Harry, instantly realizing 
that it was a mistake to say a second after he said it.
“Why yes, thank you for reminding me,” he grinned. “I have all of them… except 
for one. I’ll be needing your Ring now.”
“Why didn’t you just take the Glove when we were in the pyramid?” asked Harry 
extremely quickly, desperate to stall. “I mean, you could have killed us all then and gotten 
the Glove. No one else would have known the difference.”
“Ah yes,” said Voldemort, stopping his movement closer towards Harry. “That is a 
very good question. You see, even though I could have gotten the  Glove, it  wasn’t my 
greatest  priority  at the time. The flooding of  gas  in the  pyramid took me  by surprise, 
completely ruined my plan for the pyramid. So, I had to play it safe and let you guys lead 
me out of there. If I had killed you then, I would have been trapped inside the Pyramid, 
doomed to die along with it. That’s why I needed to save you from the werewolf guardian 
by using the Homorphus Charm. It was one of the hardest things for me to ever do, save 
your friend’s life. But, if you had found out later I had the power to perform the charm and 
then didn’t, you would have questioned me, and that  was something I couldn’t take the 
chance for.”
“After all, what’s the point of becoming immortal if you’re not alive to enjoy it?”
“Ah yes, and now it’s time  to begin enjoying it!” exclaimed Voldemort, looking 
hungrily at Harry’s Ring. “Now, I’m going to make this as simple as possible, Harry. Either 
give me the Ring and a minimum amount of people will have to die tonight, or refuse and 
face the horrible consequences. What is your decision?”
Harry’s mind was racing? What should he do? Should he give Voldemort the Ring 
and   pray  for   a   miracle?  No!   Even  now,  the   thought   of  parting  with   the   Ring   was 
overwhelming, giving Harry a burst of weakness and painful sadness all over just from the 
thought. But, if he took the risk of not giving it to him, someone was going to pay, and it 
probably wasn’t going to even be Harry. But, if he gave it to him, all would be lost. So no, 
no matter what the consequences were going to be, Harry couldn’t give him the Ring.
“No way!” yelled Harry. “I’m not going to give it to you!”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” smiled Voldemort, saliva dripping through his teeth. 
“It will make tonight so much more interesting.” 
Still keeping his eyes on Harry, Voldemort reached his long arm into the crowd 
of students behind him and grabbed a random person. He wrapped his arm around the front 
of her neck, and brought her to his front. He pointed the tip of his wand to the top of her 
blonde-hair covered head, with his other hand and squeezed her neck tighter with his other, 
giving her no chance  of escape. Her eyes  all red and her cheeks  wet from  crying, she 
struggled against his powerful grip, though it was all in vain. 
“You let her go…” said Harry through cringed teeth. Even though he didn’t know 
who this pretty girl was, the last thing he wanted was for her to die. She had her whole life 
ahead of her, it was not supposed to end tonight.
“Now Harry,” said Voldemort, pressing his wand up against her head even more 
powerfully. “It will be up to you whether little… oh, were are my manners? Excuse me, 
little girl? What’s your name?”
“P- Prancy,” she stuttered, the tears  from her closed eyes flowing down into her 


mouth. Harry suddenly realized that this was Parvati and Padma’s little sister.
“Ah, Prancy,” said Voldemort. “Now, how old are you?”
“Twelve,” she said, bursting into tears again.
“Oh yes, what a fun age that is,” grinned Voldemort, now turning his head away 
from her and towards Harry. “So, Mr. Potter, do you wand little twelve year old Prancy 
here to live to be thirteen?”
“Let her go,” seethed Harry, fuming with anger. “This is between me and you.”
“I’m going to ask you one  more time,” said Voldemort, sounding annoyed. “Are 
you going to give me the Ring?”
Harry looked at the ground, trying to go over his choices  in his head. He could 
risk an attack on him by grabbing the wand out of his pocket and then launching a surprise 
attack at Voldemort. But, then what? The worst Harry could do was knock out Voldemort, 
and then his  Death Eaters  would take over and kill everyone, not to mention get the Ring 
too. No, that was definitely not the best choice. Harry was stuck between a rock and a hard 
place and doomed no matter which choice he decided upon.
“Are you going to give it to me… Harry?” asked Voldemort in his nicest voice.
“No,” said Harry, keeping his head down, knowing he would not be able  to bear 
the look in Prancy’s face if he saw it.
“Pity,” sighed Voldemort. There  was a flash of green light, and a second later, 
Prancy’s body hit the  ground, dead. There were shrieks  and screams  of horror and Harry 
looked at the ceiling, not wanting to gaze into Prancy’s lifeless  eyes.
“Now why did you make me have to do that?” demanded Voldemort in his softest  
voice.  “You  do  know  I  am  going  to   get  the  Ring no  matter  what, so   the  same  final 
destination is  going to be reached, but now, because of your idiotic  decision, Prancy will 
not be there when it comes.”
“You’re… inhuman.”
“How very correct you are,” said Voldemort, taking it as a compliment. “How do 
you think I could be in this such advanced state of being if I were still human.”
“Some call it advanced… others call it pathetic.”
“So, you think I am pathetic?” hissed Voldemort, looking very annoyed. “Well, let 
me show you just how pathetic I really am! PLUSIUS AVADA KEDAVRA!”
It was the most  horrifying sight Harry had ever seen. Voldemort turned around, 
and shot out of his wand some sort of horrible, black spray that killed whoever it came in 
contact with. He blasted the entire  front row of students, making dozens of students give 
off one final scream before their lifeless bodes hit the ground.
“STOP!” Harry screamed. “STOP NOW!”
“Excellent…” seethed Voldemort, stopping his slaughter and turning around to 
meet  Harry face  to  face  again. Behind him, Harry saw friends, family, boyfriends  and 
girlfriends rush toward the recently killed. They bent over them, not knowing how to deal 
with what happened. Some cried into their bodies, others  just hung their over them, pale 
with blank expressions, unable to comprehend what just happened.
“You’re not even inhuman…” hissed Harry, filled with so much rage, anger, and 
hatred that he was shaking all over, the  hairs  were  standing up all over his  body. “Being 
inhuman is something far too advanced for you.”
“Are you going to give me the  Ring now?” asked Voldemort, crossing his  arms 


and completely ignoring Harry and all the people behind him.
“Go to Hell you freak…” spat Harry.
“That is it!” yelled Voldemort, finally losing his very short temper. “I am tired of 
waiting for immortality!”
He ran towards Harry and picked him up by the arm. Tearing his way through the 
crowd, and stepping on top of the corpses, he stomped towards one of the food tables  and 
slammed Harry down on the floor next to it with such force that all the bowls, cups and 
plates flew into the air and then crashed down on the floor next to him. Voldemort’s eyes  
practically giving off  heat  from  the  amount  of  fire  glowing inside  them, he  slammed 
Harry’s hand with the Ring on it down on the table and held it there so hard that it began to 
go numb.
“Say goodbye to your Ring, as well as your hand!” yelled Voldemort, bringing his 
wand up over his head with the hand that wasn’t holding Harry’s arm down. “Excallibus!” 
The massive and scarily sharp sword erupted out of the tip of his wand, shining in the light 
from the room. He was going to cut Harry’s hand off!
Suddenly, just  when Voldemort  was about  to bring the  sword down on Harry’s 
hand, a deafening alarm went off, like a Muggle school’s  fire alarm, only about twenty 
times  louder. Voldemort dropped the sword and let  go of Harry’s hand to cover his  ears, 
and everyone  else  in the  room  did the  same, including Harry. Where  was that horrible 
alarm coming from?
Then Harry saw it: all the way at the other end of the  room, where  he  had just 
been, right next to the exit door of the Great Hall was a small box that turned the school 
alarm on and off, and next to that was a very scared looking Joe. He had turned on the 
alarm!
 “Siragus!” yelled Voldemort  as  loud as  he could, which was not  even hearable 
above  the  insanely loud alarm. Right where  Joe  was,  there  was  an intense  explosion, 
destroying the alarm and sending him flying into the air and landing face-first on the hard 
floor. He was either unconscious… or dead.
“That idiotic  child!” screamed Voldemort, looking furious. “Now  Dumbledore 
will be here any second!”
Voldemort could not have been more right. Not even a moment later, the doors  to 
the Great Hall flew open and in flew Dumbledore, still in his slightly burnt cooking outfit. 
There were a few shrieks  of happiness in the crowd, though not many, and Harry couldn’t 
help but crack a smile  when he saw him soaring over the heads of everyone, landing right 
in front of Voldemort and Harry
“And just what do you think you’re  doing?” demanded Dumbledore, looking at 
Voldemort with such power in his eyes and face that he looked fifty years younger. Harry 
had never seen him so furious, nor had he ever seen Voldemort look scared. Dumbledore 
ripped his wand out of his pocket and pointed it right at him, looking not very merciful.
“But- but master!” exclaimed Voldemort, dropping to his  knees  and putting his 
hands out to his sides. “I was just… I was just….”
“Silence!” yelled Dumbledore, fire practically come out of his mouth. “You have 
defied me for the last time! I simply cannot believe that you would betray me and try to 
get the Ring for yourself!”
Harry’s mind suddenly deflated. What was going on? What did Voldemort mean 


by ‘master’? What was Dumbledore  talking about:  Voldemort defying him? Wanting the 
Ring for himself? What was going on!?
“Excuse me… professor?” asked Harry, in a very confused voice. “W- what does 
Voldemort mean by… master?”
“Oh Harry…” sighed Dumbledore, putting his wand down and letting Voldemort 
tremble for a little while. “I am very sorry. Very, very sorry indeed.”
“Sorry? Sorry for what?”
“I am sorry for leading such a bright and talented young wizard like you down the 
wrong path.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Harry, beginning to feel a little worried.
“Oh Harry,” he sighed again, most of the ferocity gone from his  face. He looked 
at Harry, with such a sad face, it almost hurt Harry to look at him. “Oh Harry… you see, 
it’s always been this way.”
“What has?”
“You see, Harry… I am Voldemort’s master.”


Chapter 30- The Truth Gets  Worse
It was as if he had used the Cruciatus Curse  on Harry’s very soul. Harry quickly 
felt  his  entire  body freeze,  go numb, and then start  to  twitch  from  the  overwhelming 
amount of emotions  that were  running through him right now. Those  words  alone had 
more  power  than Voldemort’s  Avada Kedavra  curse,  and were   infinitely  times   more 
painful. How could it be possible…? It wasn’t! There was no way!
“Th- that’s impossible,” stuttered Harry after a few moments  of nervous silence 
throughout the entire room. “Th- there’s n- no way that your h- his master… there’s just… 
no way that can be p- possible.”
“I can assure you that it  is,” said Dumbledore, losing his  sympathetic  voice and 
turning into a much deeper, stern, and terrifying voice. “I have been his master ever since 
he began rising to  power. But, no matter  what has happened from  that point on, I have 
always been greater than he.”
“Ha ha ha…” laughed Harry, trying to believe  that  this  was  just  some  sort  of 
horrible joke. “You really got me this time Dumbledore…. Ha ha ha….”
“This is no joke.”
“B- but…” stuttered Harry again, still  feeling as though he  were in a state  of 
complete  shock. “You can’t be his  master, there’s no way. You two are supposed to  be 
sworn enemies, not part of the same team. He’s pure evil and you… you’re the complete 
opposite. You’re the greatest wizard in the world.”
“I know,” said Dumbledore, his tone now almost exactly like Voldemort’s, though 
without the distinct hiss. “It has been very tough, trying to lead a perfect life. By far the 
hardest thing I have ever done. Sometimes, I must even go out of my way, or take away a 
little from my cause just to show even more to the world that I am good.”
“But… why?” asked Harry, almost feeling as though he were going to burst into 
tears. Dumbledore, the  man whom he had regarded almost as a father, a great man and a 
powerful wizard was really no more than a common thief or murderer. The only difference 
was that Dumbledore commanded Voldemort to do it for him, instead of actually doing it 
himself. It was too horrible to even think of.
“Oh,  Harry…”  he  sighed,  still  in  the   new  voice.   “You are  far  too  young  to 
understand. I have experienced things that you are probably unable to even imagine. Things 
at both end of the spectrum: good, bad and everything in between.”
“And?” said Harry, finding himself unable to say anymore than that one word.
“Well, Harry, despite what you may be thinking right now, I am not evil. In fact, 
the real me is little different from the one you know.”
“I… doubt… that…” breathed Harry, still trying to overcome the serious blow his 
mind and spirit had taken. Just saying more than one word was almost exhausting.
“No, it’s  really  true.   You  see,  the  only  difference  between  the   Dumbledore 
before  you now, and the  one  Hermione  came  to  see  just  a few  days  ago  is   a single 
principle. The ends justify the means, Harry. They really do.”
“Oh yeah, and… that’s not… evil at all.”
“Not when the  ends  are  so glorious  and wonderful that bliss  beyond a perfect 
utopia would inhabit the soul of every person on the planet!” he exclaimed, sounding quite 
serious, and almost a little angry. “Harry, like I said before, you still  have so much left to 


see… you have not seen what I have yet.”
“And what… is it that… you see?”
“It is not what I see,” said Dumbledore, raising his pitch slightly. “It is  what I have 
seen, and what you shall hopefully not see  someday. Harry, years and years ago, before 
even Tom Riddle’s father or  mother was born, back when I was a young lad, if you can 
believe that, I was given a chance. A chance to see the world as it would be in two possible 
scenarios:  one of  the future  as  it  will be if things continue as they are, and another if 
someone intervenes. The first  glimpse I got was of Earth, not too far from  now. Muggles 
and wizards were at constant war with each other, and the casualties are overwhelming on 
either side, both refusing to surrender until the other has been annihilated. 
“I looked even further into the future in that timeline, and I saw Earth… dead. The 
planet was literally dead. It was no more  than yet another rock revolving around the Sun, 
lifeless, gray, and never to support life ever again. 
“Then, I gazed into a different timeline. This one is  based on if someone was to 
change the  future for the better,  and the  difference  was amazing. There  were  no more 
wizards and Muggles, there was only one race, with the benefits  of each. Everybody lived 
in perfect and never ending happiness, living for the benefits  of enjoying life, not for their 
own personal pleasures. 
“In this timeline, I looked even further yet. The production was astounding. Every 
planet in the solar system was colonized and everywhere the people  were spreading their 
peaceful  messages  to alien worlds, forever  expanding their wonderful utopian  empire, 
making the lives of everyone they came in contact with in the entire universe better.”
Dumbledore  stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, as if trying his best 
not to cry. He looked overcome with anticipation for the future, but it all meant nothing to 
Harry. All that mattered was the Dumbledore was with Voldemort, and he was no better 
than any other Death Eater.
“Now,  Harry, do you know how  the  second of  these  two timelines  would be 
achieved?”
“No,” said Harry firmly.
“Well, neither did I,” said Dumbledore, pulling a chair out from the blank-faced 
and gaping-mouthed crowd. He spun it  around and sat  down on it, facing Harry. “So, I 
asked the person who allowed me to take this  wonderful glance  at the future, and do you 
know what he told me?”
“No,” said Harry again, his mind still trying to collect  itself.
“Well, he  told me  that in the second timeline, an all powerful being made the 
people  of  Earth act  that  way, living in a society based on peace and love. Without his 
influence, there  would have never been the second timeline, and the  first, and far less 
appealing one, would have come true. Now, one last question Harry, do you know who the 
person told me the divine force  was?”
“I can only guess….”
“It was me, Harry,” said Dumbledore, smiling and pointing to his  chest. “It was 
me….  Imagine, being able to  know  that you  are  going to  one  day be  responsible  for 
changing the course  of life  on Earth from  ultimate  annihilation to  universal  utopia? At 
first, understandably, I was a trifle overwhelmed. But, as the years went by, I became more 
aware of my mission in life and took it by the horns, wanting it to happen no matter what.” 


“So why didn’t you just  tell the  people that?” asked Harry, trying to understand 
exactly what was going on here. “Why did you have to take the violent and terrifying path? 
Why make Voldemort your ally when you could have done it yourself?”
“Oh Harry… I tried to spread my message peacefully,” sighed Dumbledore, “but 
it didn’t work! People are stupid like that… they respond perfectly to acts  of terror, but 
are deaf when it comes  to messages of peace. Finally realizing that, I took up Voldemort 
as  my ally  when he   was   still  a  student  at  school,   realizing  his  potential.  He   caused 
disasters, I cleaned them up, and my power grew to where I am today. Yes, had it  never 
been for Voldemort, I would probably still  be teaching Transfiguration now, though I may 
have left long ago, or even died. Who knows and who wants to? That’s what I have to say.”
“So your entire life,” said Harry, the gears moving in his brain again, “you’ve done 
nothing but acts that would get you closer towards your goal of become all powerful.”
“Well, more or less. As I said earlier, putting on a face for the public that my only 
goal is  to keep Hogwarts  peaceful, I have had to  perform many acts  that subtract some 
from my final goal, but firm the public’s belief in me. As I can see  by your and everyone 
else  in this  room’s  expressions, I did a very good job of hiding my true goal. However, 
sometimes, I do get  lucky and a  few of my intentions  that  were really to enhance  my 
power are interpreted as acts  of kindness.”
“Such as?” asked Harry, trying to shake off some  of  his shock. Even though the 
one  person he  thought would always be on the  side of  good was now showing his  true 
colors  as Voldemort’s  master, he still had to try to think logically. If something bad was 
going to happen, he wanted to be ready. 
“Oh, well the best one is  my love  of Muggle-borns,” said Dumbledore. Harry 
tried not to look at his eyes as he talked, all the times he had looked into them before and 
seen hope, kindness and mercy… now all he would see was greed and terribleness. Harry 
couldn’t bare the  thought. Even though the horrible  truth was now revealed, Harry still 
didn’t want to believe it.
“How can that possibly help you gain power?”
“Oh my!” exclaimed Dumbledore. “They are one of the most necessary things in 
my path to  immortality. haven’t you noticed, Harry, that except  for  a few  exceptions, 
Muggle-borns tend to be far more powerful than Pure-bloods?”
Harry ran over every Muggle-born he  knew, and compared them  to the  Pure-
bloods. Hermione, yeah, she was definitely above average. Then Ron… not the brightest 
bulb in the room. For the most part, he was right.
“You,   Voldemort,   and   even   myself   are   all   Muggle-borns,   Harry,”   said 
Dumbledore. Harry’s ears  perked up when he said that he was a Muggle-born. Harry had 
never really thought about it… what were Dumbledore’s parents? You never really wonder 
about those things when it comes  to older people. “You see, for a Muggle-born to have 
any magic at all, the magical blood inside the wizard parent must be above average, to be 
able to fill an entire child, even though they are only giving half. This ensures that the child 
will be even more  powerful than either  parent, and even more so when both parents  are 
Muggles, and they have a wizard son or  daughter. However, the power you are  given at 
birth can only take you so far. That is where I come into their lives.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh come on, Harry!” exclaimed Dumbledore, throwing his  hands into the  air. 


“You are  a  Prefect,  probably  going  to  be  Head  Boy, Quidditch  captain  of  an  almost 
undefeated team, the school-renounced champion and official captain of the Dueling Club, 
not to mention fourteen O.W.L.s, two years ago’s Triwizard Tournament Champion, savior 
of  the school  from the  Chamber of Secrets, and the boy who defeated Voldemort after 
getting through an intense series of tests during his first year, all to protect the Sorcerer’s 
Stone. You must have set a record there.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Use   your  brain,  Potter!”  he  said,  pointing to  his   head.  “You don’t  honestly 
believe that you could have accomplished all of that without a little… ‘help’ every now and 
then, do you?”
“What are you talking about?” spat Harry, now wondering if everything that had 
happened in his  life  up to now had just been a part of Dumbledore’s plan to make him 
more powerful so he would be an eventual ally.
“I am saying that while you are an exceptional boy by yourself, I have often given 
you a slight unfair advantage. Why do you think I gave you the Invisibility Cloak and told 
you how the Mirror of Erised works in your first year? Why do you think I went along with 
Lucius  Malfoy’s plan to have me leave my position as  headmaster  in the  second year? 
Why do you think I told Voldemort  to make Barty Crouch Jr give you a little help every 
now  and then during  the  Triwizard Tournament?  What  made me  suggest  to  Professor 
Trelawney to use Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Who do you think suggested to Ernie 
to turn the  Quidditch match into a duel? Who put a Dumbledore  card in each of  your 
packs? I did it all so you would have the opportunity to make yourself more powerful, to 
experience more and grow even greater with each and every challenge.”
“But what about Quidditch and the Dueling Club?” asked Harry, infuriated that his 
speculation was true. “What did you have to do with them?”
“Harry… come on! I know you think that your Quidditch team is good and all, but 
do  you really  think it  stood  a chance  against  other, better  trained, more  experienced 
teams? Do you really believe that your group of second years is as good as you saw them 
play by themselves?” 
“Yes,” fumed  Harry, not   sure  whether  he  felt  more  angry at  Dumbledore,  or 
disappointed in him.
“Well then maybe I was wrong for choosing to help you,” he said glaring at Harry. 
“But, anyways, I had Voldemort, disguised  as Ak of course, control  half of the second 
years, Chris and Joe, while  I took the other half, Mike and Akshay. With us controlling 
them, they were  unstoppable, and you were  victorious  in every match… except for that 
one  against Hufflepuff. We had to remove our control from them then, or else  you may 
have wondered how they could perform so poorly in the Dueling Club, but then be great 
during your small match against Ernie and his group.”
“So it was you who controlled  the  four second years  during the Dueling Club 
matches!” exclaimed Harry, his  brain back in its  fully functioning form. “Somehow, you 
must have turned invisible and entered into the arenas. There, you took them over and tried 
to steal Hermione’s Bracelet… and you succeeded.”
“Very good,” said Dumbledore, grinning. “That’s why you lost the club meetings 
this  year. I was so busy trying to  control those  second years, I didn’t have time  to worry 
about helping you out. But, good thinking there Harry, maybe I was correct  in picking you 


to help after all. Once you put your mind to it, you’re actually quite a bright boy.”
“But, there’s still one more thing amiss here,” said Harry, trying to find some sort 
of flaw in Dumbledore’s master plan. “How come  during your little  secret meetings with 
Quirrell, you said ‘You-Know-Who’ has the Items  if he was your ally? Wouldn’t you be 
happy that he had them, and not concerned?”
“How do you know about  that?” demanded Dumbledore, standing up from  the 
chair and staring wide-eyed at Harry. “How did you know about the meetings Quirrell and I 
had?”
 “I listened in on them,” said Harry smugly, folding his arms. “All I had to do was 
transform into my Gryffin, and then the Animagus Invisibility Ring that you gave me would 
do the rest.”
“I knew it was a mistake to give that to you!” yelled Dumbledore. “But, I had to. 
What if Sirius came to visit, and he saw that you didn’t have it? He would begin to suspect 
me, and I couldn’t have that.”
“But why did you call Voldemort You-Know-Who?” asked Harry again.
“We weren’t calling Voldemort You-Know-Who!” yelled Dumbledore,  looking 
more ferocious than Harry had ever seen him before. “We were calling you, Harry Potter, 
You-Know-Who!”
“What!?” yelled Harry, not understanding. “Why were you calling me that?”
“Just in case someone  heard us,” he hissed. “Like I’ve been saying, I have taken 
absolutely no chances  during my entire  life  to reveal my true goal. Even in private, I am 
still unable to talk about it directly. I am barely safe talking and planning in my head….”
“Well it’s a good thing, for you anyways, that you weren’t using real names,” said 
Harry. “If you had, I would have figured you out months ago.”
“Now do you see how hard my life has been?”
“Yes,” said Harry, but then, he wondered. “But, why didn’t you just do what you 
are doing now long ago? Why not proclaim to the world your true goal, kill me, and then 
make off with the Legendary Items and make yourself the ultimate being?”
“Oh,”  laughed  Dumbledore   heartily,   immediately   snapping  out   of  his  anger. 
“Harry… there is  a good reason why I did not kill you long, long ago. But, the answer is 
much to complicated and long for tonight. I’m afraid it will have to wait for another day.”
“Okay then,” said Harry, a little confused. “But, still, why didn’t you just tell the 
world your goal long ago and start it no mater what? You could have already began your 
ultra-Utopia by now if you had.”
“Because, Harry,” said Dumbledore in his most kind and soft voice, “I cannot.”
“Why is that?”
“Well there are two reasons. First  of all, I am unable to get the Ingredients  all by 
myself. You see, the spell that takes  you down to the Hero’s  Tests only works on youth, 
and as you can see  I am not as young as I used to be. When I finally decided to seriously 
begin my quest, I was too old to do it on my own. So, I used you kids to do it for me; to go 
down and pass the relatively easy test, then deliver the treasure to me.”
“What’s the other reason?”
“Because I cannot begin my reign of bliss until you join me.”
“What makes  that true  now?” demanded Harry. “You have the three  Ingredients, 
the Sorcerer’s Stone, and soon enough you’ll have my Ring. Take the Items and be off!”


“I’m   afraid   there’s   more   to   the   Immortal   Potion   than   just   that,”   sighed 
Dumbledore.
“No there isn’t!” said Harry. “Hermione read to us how to make it in some sort of 
ancient book. All it  said was that you needed the  Items, the Stone and the  Ring and then 
voila! You’re immortal.”
“Yes, that is  true… but remember? When Hermione read out of the book she said 
that  she  couldn’t  read the  rest  because   it  was  smudged,  remember  that?  I purposely 
smudged that part out, in the off chance that someone may get a hold of the book. You see, 
I never do take any chances at all, do I?”
“What did the part you smudged say?”
“The most important part  of the  potion!” said Dumbledore, finally sitting back 
down. “Back when all three items used to be in Geb Pyramid, the guardian was one of the 
immortal gods: Anubis, the god of the underworld. Only he was able to brew the potion for 
the heroes  that passed the test. If anyone else  that was less  powerful  than him  tried to 
concoct it, they would instantly turn into a pile of ash and never receive immortality. Even 
in my extremely powerful state of being now, I am still not as great as Anubis was.”
“So how will me joining you give you more power?” asked Harry. “It’s not like I 
can just surrender all of my magical energy to you.”
“Ah… but that is  where you are  wrong!” exclaimed Dumbledore, looking rather 
excited. “You see, Harry Potter, there are not three Unforgivable Curses… oh no… there 
are four.”
“Four? What is the fourth?”
“The fourth spell is one that is so terrible, that most dark wizards are even scared 
to use it. But, it is  the only way a wizard of my energy can possibly raise  his power any 
higher.”
 “What is the spell!?” demanded Harry again.
“The Soul  Sucking Spell,” hissed  Dumbledore, grinning. “It removes  the  soul 
from   any living  organism,  much  in  the   way a  dementor’s  kiss  does.  But, instead  of 
destroying it, the spell instead brings it inside the body of the caster, where it is absorbed 
by him, adding to his  power that of the victim’s. Unfortunately, unless  the victim’s power 
is above or relatively close  to yours, you actually lose energy, so much at a time that it is 
possible to die. So this is one spell that you must be very careful to use. You can‘t just go 
around using it on everyone. That is why I instituted my Violent Policies.”
“Violent Policies?” asked Harry. “What are those?”
“Oh don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?” said Dumbledore, staring Harry in the 
eye. Now, there was no glimmer or shine in them, just the blank, white and black spheres  
that everyone else in the world had. “Extreme Quidditch? Blood-thirst increasing Soaring 
Skateboards? Letting you kids use any spells  you wanted at last  year’s  Charms  O.W.L? 
Instituting Necromancy, Curses, and Time Travel as new classes  next year? It’s all a part of 
subliminally putting in the back of the minds of youth everywhere to go out and duel to get 
more  powerful  so   that   I can  absorb  them.  Even though  I figured  absorbing  you  and 
Voldemort would probably be enough, it certainly wouldn‘t hurt to get in a few others here 
and there, now would it?” 
“So that’s what you’re going to eventually do to Voldemort,” said Harry through 
his clenched teeth. “Suck his  soul  out and make him permanently a part of you and it’s 


what you would do to me if I joined you.”
“It is the only way for me to achieve god-like powers,” he shrugged. 
“One last  question…” said Harry, the  amount of new information his  mind had 
received tonight was enough to make it explode already, but there was one more thing still 
bugging him. “Why not just use the Sorcerers Stone to begin with? It makes you immortal, 
and you don’t have to go through the whole hassle  and ordeal that the Immortal Potion 
requires.”
“Oh Harry, you are  too  much!” laughed Dumbledore, slapping his  knee. “Even 
though the Sorcerer’s  Stone  gives  you immortality, it  does  not give you the  increased 
power that the Immortal potion does. No, I need the potion… and that reminds me of why 
I came here. I still need your Ring, Harry.”
Harry swallowed hard, knowing now that all questions  and stalling had come to an 
end, and it was time to face  whatever Dumbledore  and Voldemort had in store  for him. 
Dumbledore stood up, and Voldemort walked over to him, arms folded and grinning. All of 
the Death Eaters  pushed their way through the crowd, and made their way behind their two 
masters.
 “Before  I   ask  you   for   it,   though,”  said   Dumbledore,   actually  looking   quite 
impressive with his  small army behind and to the side  of him, “I actually have a question 
for you, Harry.”
“What is  it?” he demanded, spitting on the ground, aiming for Dumbledore  and 
missing.
 “Why on Earth did you not come running to me saying that you knew there were 
Death Eaters  in the  school  besides  Neville?” he  asked, shaking his  head in amazement. 
“You knew Ernie  was  one, as  well  as many prefects, and I’m sure  you had many other 
suspicions… why didn’t you tell me about them?”
“Because I thought about what you told me, that they still  had hope,” said Harry, 
trying to sound more brave than he was feeling. “I thought that if I told you about the rest, 
they would be expelled and that would be that. But, if I let them stay, maybe they would 
see the light…. Evidently, I was wrong.”
Harry glared at Neville and Ernie whose grins took up most of their faces. It was 
sickening to see them standing next to each other like that, showing off their dark marks 
as if they were five year olds and they were cool temporary tattoos. 
“Evidently…” said Voldemort, smiling at Harry.
“You be quiet!” exclaimed Dumbledore  to him, putting his  hand up in front  of 
Voldemort’s face. “You know I wasn’t planning for tonight to be the night I tell all of this, 
but because of you stupidity, it has to be.”
“I am sorry master,” he said humbly, bowing his head.
“Not as  sorry as you will be after I’m through with you,” hissed Dumbledore, 
putting his hand down. “Now, Harry, there is one last thing I want to tell you before  I ask 
you to hand over the Ring.”
“What is it?” asked Harry, knowing his time was short to think of something. But, 
what could he do? He would have been incredibly lucky if he had beaten just  Voldemort, 
but with Dumbledore too… and the Death Eaters? The odds were not looking good. 
“You know, all this  time there has been one other person who has known my true 
goal other than myself and Voldemort.”


“Who? The Death Eaters?”
“Them?” asked Dumbledore, almost smiling and pointing to the group of students 
and adults  behind him. “Oh no! None of them know that I am their master’s master. Ever 
since they joined him, they have regarded me as their number one enemy… next to you of 
course. I’m sure that this  is  all new news to them tonight, though they are all more  than 
willing to accept it, lest they lose their heads.”
“Then who?” asked Harry, knowing that his time  left with his  Ring was short. It 
was very sad indeed… like driving your child to college, knowing that the further you got, 
the less  time you had with him or her. It was the same way for Harry… only he would 
never see or wear the Ring again for the rest of his life.
“You,” grinned Dumbledore, pointing a finger right at Harry.
“Me!?” exclaimed Harry. This was more than he could take! How could he have 
possibly known Dumbledore’s true goal? How did he know that he was really Voldemort’s 
master? How could he have known any of this!? “There’s no way!”
“I’m afraid that there is,” he said, still smiling. “You see, like I said before, I never 
take chances,  Harry. Absolutely never! Even with all  the precautions  I’ve taken, there’s 
still the chance that someone may still find out. So, I did the only thing I could do to make 
absolutely  sure no one I didn’t want to  would ever find out…. I made you my secret-
keeper.”
 “You  made   me  a   secret-keeper!?”  screamed  Harry.  Then,  he  stopped  for   a 
moment  and  realized   that   it   was   true!   When   he   was   in   the   wNet   with  Hermione, 
researching the Ring, what had the screen had told them of some of the other powers that 
the Ring had: It slightly amplifies  the wearer’s magical power, and increases  their stamina 
a little. It also changes the temperature of the surroundings if someone that has made the 
wearer a secret-keeper is  near. The colder  it  gets, the more  serious  the secret! Harry 
suddenly realized that whenever Dumbledore had been near him, he had felt cold, though 
he had always blamed it on the  temperature or  wind, or  just taking it for  granted. How 
could he  have been so  stupid!? “But, then I would have known all of  this! I could have 
stopped   all   this   from   happening!”
“Yes, you could of,” said Dumbledore, “had you been awake when I performed the spell on 
you… or capable of understanding what I was saying.”
“What do you mean?” demanded Harry. “When did you do it?”
“I did it approximately ten seconds after Voldemort was defeated by you after he 
killed your parents on that famous night. I ran inside and heard you crying, wondering what 
had happened. Surely if Voldemort had attacked, you must be dead! But, I peered into your 
crib and saw you there, bawling your eyes out before  you fell asleep moments later from 
exhaustion. Then, I realized that you were the solution to all of my problems! If you grew 
up with the secret  in your mind, you would pay it no heed when you got older, having had it 
all your life. Knowing this, I immediately performed the spell  and then ran away, feeling 
quite happy with myself.”
“What  are   you talking about?” demanded  Harry. “Sirius  said he  was  the  first 
person to  visit the house  after my parents were killed! How could you have been there 
before him?”
“Because I was there  the whole time,” grinned Dumbledore. “Who do you think 
was the one that told Voldemort to attack you and your family in the first place? It was me 


Harry… I told him to do it.”
Harry’s mind suddenly went blank. Everything that Dumbledore had just told him 
in the past hour or so no longer mattered. All the other families’ and people’s  deaths  he 
was responsible  for didn’t matter. Now it was personal… it was his  fault that he had no 
parents! It was his fault that he a scar! It was his fault for… everything!
“YOU MONSTER!” yelled Harry, putting all of his anger, sorrow and hatred into 
those  two words. He grabbed for  his  wand, but Dumbledore was faster. He  mumbled a 
spell, and Harry’s arm froze in place. He was no longer in control of the arm; it was forced 
back into a neutral position by his side, away from his wand. 
“Now… that’s better,” said Dumbledore, Harry now glaring at him, seeing him for 
the monster that he really was… no, monster was too kind a word for this creature. He was 
just some sort of horribly twisted organism that somehow arrived on this  planet happening 
to look like a human. “It is time for me to ask you, Harry…. You can either join me and 
become part of me and experience power, love and peace like you have never before, or I 
can kill you and I will become immortal by using somebody else.”
“Go to Hell you piece of trash,” spat Harry, this time hitting Dumbledore.
“Very well then!” exclaimed Dumbledore, fire  suddenly roaring in his dead eyes. 
“I will become  a god without you! Let me  show you the  power that I have already!” He 
raised his hand up into the sky, and snapped his fingers, making the sound echo throughout 
the entire room like a bell.
Suddenly,   not   even   a   moment   after   the   snapping   sound   stopped   echoing, 
everybody in the room, all the students and Death Eaters  turned their heads toward Harry. 
Their eyes  rolled back in their head as if they were being controlled by somebody else, 
and then they removed their wands from their pockets. Harry swallowed hard, seeing over 
a thousand wands aimed directly at him.


Chapter 31- Harry Potter Against The World 
“How did you do that?” gasped Harry, staring in awe at Dumbledore’s instant army 
of  hundreds  of people. They were little  more  than living zombies, staring at Harry with 
their blank eyes, ready to strike at a second’s notice  in response  to their master’s whim. 
“You can’t possibly be controlling all of them at once like that.”
“Well, you are  partly correct, Harry,” grinned Dumbledore. “It is  not  I that is 
controlling them… nor is it Voldemort, or any of the Death Eaters before you.”
“Then who is?”
“You have played the Wizard Duel card game, haven’t you, Harry?”
“Yeah, so? What does that have to do with anything?”
“That game is yet another one of my secret plans to gain more power,” he smiled. 
“In each and every card, there  is  a small, undetectable  spell. It is  so  small that just  by 
playing the game a few times, it does  not work. You must play the game several times  for 
it to take full effect.”
“What does the spell do?” demanded Harry.
“Isn’t it obvious? It lets the creator of the cards control whoever was playing with 
them, as long as  they were sure  to  put the  weakened spell  into the card.” He grinned, 
showing off his  superior  thinking. “So, every time you play a game, you are  becoming 
more   and  more  under  control.  That is  why I had Ak institute  the  club and try  to  get 
everybody to join, and had Aylar make cards for the Death Eaters  to use, they would still 
be able to play and not get noticed, but not be affected by the spell. Now, since the entire 
school likes the game, the entire school is under my power.”
“So then why am I not one of your puppets?” asked Harry, suddenly realizing that 
he should be part of the controlled collective and not able to think on his own. “Why am I 
able to control myself while everyone else can’t?”
“Well, there  are  two reasons   why,” he  grunted, sounding disappointed that he 
wasn’t controlling Harry right now. “First, you used the older cards with Ron, ones  that 
didn’t have the spell put into them. They were safe to play with. Also, there is a drawback 
to using the spell that I did. If you play the game a lot, like you and Weasley did, then you 
build up an immunity to it, making me unable to control you. That’s why I had Ak cancel 
the Wizard Duel game meetings after the cancellation of the field trip. If he continued to 
have them  every week, then the  entire  student body would build up an immunity to  my 
spell, making all of my efforts useless.”
“So then why is Ron still one of your slaves?” asked Harry, assuming that he was. 
But, just then, his best friend burst through the crowd and appeared next to Voldemort and 
the other  Death Eaters. He was looking almost rabid. His  costume was torn  up and his 
eyes  were bloodshot, the veins were popping out all over his body. A mixture of foam and 
saliva was dripping through his clenched teeth that were looking especially sharp.
“Ron!” exclaimed Harry. “You weren’t affected by the card game! You’re okay… 
kind of!”
“I didn’t take  my  werewolf  potion  tonight!  I  was supposed to  right  after  the 
dance,” he seethed, not  paying any attention to Harry except  for  looking at him  with a 
hungry expression. “And it’s a full moon! Watch out before I… AAARRRGGG!”
Suddenly, Ron grew  three times  his  size and exploded his costume off, shooting 


shreds of it all over the room. Gray and black fur instantly grew all over his body, covering 
every surface  and his  arms,  legs,  stomach, everything gained at least  fifty times  their 
original muscle  amount. Knife-like  claws  shot  out  of his  feet  and hands, and his  head 
turned into that of a wolf’s, the long snout, sharp ears, and teeth that looked like blades. 
He   threw  his   arms  and  head  up into  the   air,   giving an  unearthly  growl   that   echoed 
throughout the entire school, making the blood of everyone that heard it curdle.
“GET  HIM!”  screamed   Dumbledore  at  the   top  of   his   lungs.  Not  wasting   a 
moment, everyone in the room leapt  at the transformed Ron, shooting various spells  at 
him in vain. Each time one of them came near him, Ron merely whacked them with his 
fist, sending them flying across  the room and into the  wall. But, there were so many of 
them  that he  was being almost overwhelming by them  as  they clung to his  arms, head, 
body, everything. It was as if Ron was swimming in a sea of people, but more along the 
lines of drowning.
“What  are  you  fools  waiting for!?”  demanded  Dumbledore,  asking the  Death 
Eaters and Voldemort that were just standing back, watching the rest of the students in the 
room attacking Ron. “Get Harry! Get him now!”
“Yes master!” they all  yelled, leaping towards Harry. Ernie, Neville  and Aylar 
were the first three to do so, and Harry reacted instantly, taking out his wand.
“Just pretend it’s  a Dueling Club match…” Harry thought to himself, wondering 
how he was going to beat three of the best fighters in the school. “Like one from last year, 
when it was a one on three match… it’s just a duel, just another easy match.”
“Any last words, Harry?” asked Neville in the middle of the three, closing in on 
him with his wand out, same as the other two. 
“Yeah,” said Harry, feeling more enraged now than he ever had before  in his life. 
“Siragus!”
The spell took them by surprise and delayed their reaction time. Before  any of 
the three  of them realized what was going to happen, the  explosion already took place, 
sending them flying up into the air.
“Stupefy!” yelled Harry, aiming for Neville as he fell from his spot in the air. The 
red flash hit him, but did nothing. Neville, along with Aylar and Ernie, landed on his  feet 
on the ground, like a cat would. 
“Don’t you think that I am more powerful than that?” demanded Neville, staring at 
Harry with an amazed expression. “The Stupefication Spell has no effect on me anymore, I 
am more powerful than it can possibly be. It is the same for all of us.”
“Then why don’t you just  Avada Kedavra me and get it over with?” asked Harry, 
wondering how on Earth he was going to defeat three  almost invincible opponents. “Just 
one shot and game over, you win.”
“You don’t know how much we would like to do that,” said Ernie, glaring at Harry.
“But, we still have to follow orders,” added Aylar.
“Yeah, and the orders  are to not kill you no matter what,” finished up Neville.
Harry sighed to himself and considered his options. No spells less powerful than 
the Stupefying Spell would work, and that took away a great many options, most of them. 
Amongst  the  only  spells  that  Harry  knew  that  were   more   powerful   than  it   were   the 
Unforgivable Curses… but he couldn’t use those on them! Even if they were pure evil, he 
still didn’t want them dead.


But,  did  he?  Harry  thought.  The three  people  before   him  were   followers  of 
someone who killed his parents. Not only did that mean they approved of what he did, but 
they glorified it, probably even laughed about it in private meetings! Nobody’s lives meant 
anything to them, so why should their own!? It was time to teach them all a lesson none of 
them would ever forget!
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” yelled Harry as loud and with as much power as he could. 
Amazed that he was able to cast the spell, the infamous green light flashed, and not even a 
moment later, Neville collapsed onto the floor, dead.
“You… killed him,” said Aylar in a flat yet amazed voice, looking down at his 
fallen comrade. “You really did do it….”
“Yeah!” exclaimed Harry, the exhilaration of  battle  flowing through him along 
with his  blood and adrenaline. “And you’re next! CRUCIO!” This time, there  was a black 
flash of light, and Aylar’s body exploded into no more than a home for pain.
“AAAHHH!” he screamed, having probably never experienced the curse  before. 
Being a Death Eater from  birth, he was probably never given the initiation. Harry knew 
what he was going through, though, unlike himself, Aylar deserved it. 
Leaving Aylar collapsed  on  the  ground, still  screaming, the  spell  still  going 
through him, Harry shot a look at Ernie, the final of the three left. He piped a little scream 
and jumped back.
“Woah woah woah…” he said, putting out his arms. “How about we just talk about 
this, okay Harry?”
“Time for  talking is  over!” Harry yelled, stomping up to Ernie and stepping on 
Aylar as he got closer to him. He pointed his wand directly at his head.
“Here!” exclaimed Ernie, looking terrified. He  dropped his  wand on the floor. 
“I’ll set my wand down on the ground as a sign of my good faith. Listen, if we team up, we 
can take out Voldemort… together!”
“Bad move,” whispered Harry. Ernie’s  eyes  grew wide, realizing what was about 
to happen to him. “KOROSUCIDE!”
Ernie’s body instantly exploded into millions of tiny pieces, the biggest being no 
larger than the tip of a pencil. They all fell  to the floor, creating a small pile. A second 
later. Harry heard Aylar finally stop fidgeting. He was dead now as well, his brain unable to 
take anymore pain.
All three Death Eaters were now gone. Harry had done it… he really had! He had 
beaten three superior Death Eaters! Like it was nothing! No wonder Dumbledore  wanted 
him as an ally. All it took was a little death spell and-
Suddenly, Harry stopped and realized what he had just  done. He  had just  killed 
three  people…. Sure,  they were  not innocent  by any means, and the  crimes  they had 
performed were probably worthy of  death, but it  wasn’t his  place to decide. Harry had 
acted  no  better   than Voldemort  or  Dumbledore  himself.  He   had acted  out   on  some 
primitive instinct  of revenge, and three human lives was the price. Harry fell down to his 
knees. What had he done… what had he done?
“Hey!” yelled the Death Eater Sata, or as Harry had known him for the past two 
years: Tci. “Hey! Wormtail! Khan! Lestrange! Nott! Get over here! Potter’s  beaten the 
three new Death Eaters!”
“Impossible!” exclaimed Wormtail, running over with the other three who stood 


before  Harry looking dumbfounded. “Those three were the top of the still-student-Death 
Eaters!”
 “Evidently,”   hissed  Lestrange,  “Potter   is  more   powerful  than  we   previously 
imagined him to be.”
“Well he doesn’t appear to be very powerful right now,” commented Nott. “The 
way he’s sitting there on his knees… almost pathetic.”
“Harry!” yelled Wormtail, walking up and bending over so that the two of them 
were face to face. “Why aren’t you fighting!? What’s going on!?”
“I killed them…” whispered Harry very softly, not blinking. “I killed them….”
“I believe the boy is in shock from defeating his opponents,” hissed Khan. 
“Well,” said Wormtail, standing back up, “our master said to  bring him to him 
alive, so let’s just get him over there now.”
The four of them surrounded Harry and hit him with a Levitation Spell, hovering 
him over to Voldemort who was busy observing the continuing fight between Ron and the 
students  under the  spell  of  the  cards. Ron appeared to  be winning, around the  sea  of 
students  that  were  still   climbing  all  over  him  and  attacking him  was  another  ring  of 
unconscious   kids, either  slashed up and bloody, or  just  from  impact  against  the  wall, 
ceiling or floor. Harry wasn’t sure which pile was bigger, though Ron was looking a little 
tired. He  was  thankful, however, that Ron was  here. It  would have been impossible  to 
defeat all of those students on his own.
“Master,” said Wormtail, making Voldemort turn around. Harry saw that he was 
no longer  wearing the Items. The Stone  necklace, Glove, Watch, and Bracelet  were  all 
gone. Evidently, Dumbledore had taken them all back. “Potter has defeated the three most 
powerful still-student-Death Eaters.”
“Has he?” asked Voldemort  lazily, looking only minimally impressed. But, what 
Harry noticed more  than his expression was Crookshanks. He  was still here! The ginger 
cat was walking around behind Voldemort, pacing, as if waiting for something.
“Yes, and what should we do?” asked Lestrange. 
“Oh… I don’t know,” sighed Voldemort, waving an arm. “Don’t kill him but… hurt 
him a little I suppose.” Crookshanks suddenly stopped pacing and turned its  head towards 
Voldemort, now slowly walking towards him.
At the prospect of a new fight coming on, Harry snapped out  of his  catatonic 
phase and back into reality. He had killed the three young Death Eaters, but life  had to go 
on. If Harry didn’t defend himself, then he was going to end up just like they did.
“With pleasure…” seethed Wormtail as he gave a sinister smile. All five Death 
Eaters  removed their  Levitation Charms from  him and let Harry fall to the hard ground. 
All of them except Wormtail put their wands away, and he aimed it right at Harry’s chest. 
“Now… which spell should I use first?”
Just then, when Harry was expecting some sort of horrible pain to enrapture his 
entire  body, driving him nearly to insanity, Crookshanks leapt  through the air and right 
onto Wormtail’s head, pinning him to the ground.
“What the!?” yelled Khan, taking out his  wand and aiming it at Crookshanks. Just 
as he was about to shoot a spell out, Crookshanks flipped Wormtail over so that he laid on 
top of the cat, and not the other way around. He was using Wormtail as a human shield!
“Avada Kedavra!” yelled Khan, before he realized that Crookshanks had turned the 


tables  on him. A moment later, he realized his mistake, but it  was too late. The Killing 
Curse  hit Wormtail, slaying him instantly. What was Crookshanks  doing? He was acting 
like no cat Harry had ever seen!
Then, Harry realized that Crookshanks wasn’t a cat. From underneath the dead 
Wormtail,   Arabella   Figg   appeared,   replacing   the   ginger   creature.   She   had   been 
Crookshanks all along! Not wasting any time, Arabella aimed her wand at Lestrange.
“Inconscientus!” she  yelled. There  was  a yellow  flash, and he fell  over on the 
ground, not  quite  dead,  he was  still  breathing, but  definitely  unconscious.  Having  the 
element of surprise on her side, she quickly performed it on Nott as well before he had a 
chance to react.
“Avada Kedavra!” yelled Harry, aiming for the last one, Khan, seeing that he was 
about to attack Mrs. Figg. His body, along with his wand, fell to the floor with a squishy 
crash. Both never to be used again.
“What are  you doing here!?” demanded Harry, jumping to  his  feet. “How long 
have you been Crookshanks!? Why were you Crookshanks!? What’s going one!?”
“Hold on! Hold on!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been the cat that you call Crookshanks 
for the past three  years, Harry. I was originally assigned to  protect  you when Sirius was 
reported escaped from  Azkaban and it  wasn’t known that he was actually innocent. And, 
even though you no longer need protection from him, I thought it would be a good idea for 
me to stay… just in case. I think it’s a good thing I did. If I hadn’t shown up just now, who 
knows what would’ve happened to you just then.”
“So that’s why Crookshanks was never there during the day last year,” said Harry, 
feeling extremely weak and tired from performing so many difficult  spells. Even saying 
that last sentence  was draining. “You were  busy teaching during the day and couldn’t be 
both professor and cat at once. That’s also why you attacked Scabbers too! Sirius  must 
have told you the true story, and you wanted him dead just as much as he did.”
“Precisely,” she beamed. 
“Well  well well…” applauded Voldemort  sarcastically. Both of  them  suddenly 
remembered that he was still  there. “Aren’t you the bright one, Harry? And to think… I 
wanted to kill you? Why do that when I could have your superior brain?”
“Expelliarmus!” yelled Mrs. Figg, not wasting any time. 
“Avada Kedavra!” yelled Voldemort back in response, just as fast.
As expected, the two spells  met in midair. Arabella’s red beam, and Voldemort’s 
green   one  melded  together   into  one,   muddy colored   ray  that  joined   the   two  wands 
together. Both of them were  putting all of  their energy into  trying to  make  their spell 
overtake the other, though neither was looking to be winning. Their power appeared to be 
almost equal, and Harry was sure that if Mrs. Figg kept it up for a little  longer, she could 
win!
 “Arabella!” said Voldemort in a hissing voice, his  arm shaking slightly from the 
effort he was putting into concentrating on his  spell. “When will you ever learn that the 
student has finally become superior to the master and that I will beat you?”
Mrs. Figg didn’t say anything. She just  concentrated every last ounce of energy 
that she had on keeping her spell in the game, and it seemed as though she needed to  be 
doing   that.   Her   hand   that   was   holding   onto   the   wand   was   shaking   far   more   than 
Voldemort’s, and now Harry saw that maybe her chances  of winning weren’t as great as he 


had originally thought. The connecting beam suddenly began to grow more and more green 
from its darker state. The red part of it was dimming, until it became a light green all over, 
showing that  Voldemort’s  Killing Curse  was winning. A brighter and brighter  green is 
glowed, until it was now only one spell, the Avada Kedavra curse. 
Voldemort had won the duel.
The   green  light  flashed  around  Mrs.  Figg,  and  giving  one  last   scream,   she 
collapsed to the ground, dead; another one of Voldemort’s victims. 
“NO!” yelled Harry, seeing one  of the greatest teachers, protectors, and friends 
he had ever had fall down to the floor  with a loud thud. Her wand rolled out of her limp 
fingers, across the floor, and right up to the tips of Harry’s feet.
“Well well…” hissed Voldemort, putting his  wand down. “It appears as  though I 
was correct, as usual. She was foolish to think that she could stand against me and win. So 
many foolish people, Harry, so little time.”
“Shut up,” fumed Harry, not knowing what else to say. What else could he say?
“Ooh, talking big now are we?” grinned Voldemort. “Maybe I should put a little 
stop to your chatter once and for all.”
“Go ahead,” seethed Harry, shaking with rage. “Why don’t you stupefy or disarm 
me? I know that Dumbledore  doesn’t want you to kill me, but there’s nothing to stop you 
from rendering me unconscious. Go ahead, do it!”
“Very well  then, Harry,” he  smiled, showing all  of his  perfectly white, fanged 
teeth.  “But  just   remember  this…  you  brought  it  upon  yourself   for  me  to  fight  you! 
Stupefy!”
The  red  beam  exploded  froth  from  Voldemort’s  wand, right  at  Harry’s  face. 
Instinctively, Harry shut his  eyes  awaiting the coming impact of the spell, then the world 
to turn black around him, and fall  backwards  on the  floor  with a thud. But… no such 
experience  came. The world around Harry only stayed black because his eyes  were still 
shut, and he immediately opened them up, wondering what was going on.
Before  him laid Voldemort, collapsed on the ground. Harry quickly scanned the 
room, for any sign of who could have attacked him, but saw no one. The only explanation 
was that the Stupefy Spell had somehow, remarkably, bounced off of Harry, and back to 
Voldemort, hitting him with his own spell and knocking him out. But…how on Earth could 
that be possible?
Instantly, the answer came to Harry.
Colin Creevey.
Last year, that small boy had sacrificed his life  for Harry, jumping in the way of 
Voldemort’s  Killing Curse just before  it had hit Harry. Instead of him dying, Colin had, 
and with his spirit departing the Earth, the same protection his mother had given him when 
she sacrificed herself had been given to him again. Colin’s love for Harry was far more 
powerful than any of Voldemort’s curses, and now Harry was going to show him once and 
for all!
 Feeling a great  surge  of  power flowing through him, Harry marched up to the 
fallen Voldemort. His  bony body was  still  breathing, still  alive, but only just. Even his 
Stupefy Spell was more powerful  than many wizard’s greater spells, due to his  insanely 
high magical energy level.
Remembering all  of the  deaths that the  beast before  him had been responsible 


for, Harry took out his wand ready to end his terrible life. Voldemort had killed countless  
innocent  people, torn families  apart, destroyed Harry’s life,  and then sealed the  bill  by 
killing Prancy, Arabella, and dozens of other students  tonight. Now, he was going to pay 
for everything he had done! He was going to pay! He wasn’t a human like Neville, Ernie, 
and Aylar used to be… he was a monster… undeserving of life. Killing him would be no 
worse than swatting a mosquito.
“AVADA KEDA-” screamed Harry, louder than he ever had in his life. But, just as 
the final syllable was about to escape his mouth, Voldemort disappeared into thin air. He 
erupted into a living flame and turned into a pile of ash, disappearing in the same way that 
all of his  Death Eaters  did. “Come back here! Get back here you coward and fight! Get 
what you deserve  and have had coming  to  you  all your life!  Get  back here  and fight 
Voldemort! Get back here now!”
“I have a better  idea,” whispered Dumbledore  from  behind. Harry spun around, 
and saw the old man behind him, his arms behind his back, walking closer. “How about I let 
Voldemort go away for now, and you fight me instead?”
“Me… fight you…?” swallowed Harry, not really sure what to think. Even though 
the two of them were  on opposite  sides  now, and Harry should be able to fight him, he 
didn’t know if he could.
“Yes, I know that the chances of  you winning are… zero, so I will, for  the last 
time may I add, ask you for the Ring. Give it to me now, and I shall spare you a humiliating 
defeat, along with your death.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to kill me,” said Harry, wondering what he 
could  do.  He  looked  all   over  the   room  for   anything that  may help him.  The pile  of 
unconscious  students   was  growing, and with every  new student  thrown  onto  it,  Ron’s 
energy was going down. Even though there were only about twenty kids still attacking Ron, 
he looked as though he was still having a tough time. His slashing movements  were long 
and dreary, and when he did hit them, it was as if they were being rammed with a Nerf ball. 
Ron would be of no help to him now, and there was no one and nothing else  in the room 
that could help him. All that Harry had was himself…  that’s  all he had to  face  the most 
powerful wizard in the world with.
“I am going to ask you for the final time,”  said Dumbledore  sternly, ignoring 
Harry’s question and extending his arm out. “Give me the Ring or face the consequences.”
“The only way you’re going to  get  the  Ring is  to  cut  it  off  of  my cold, dead 
finger,” spat Harry, wanting to at least sound tough before he died.
“If that is  what you want,” said Dumbledore, taking a deep breath, standing up 
straight, and taking out his wand. “So be it!” 
“Wait a minute!” yelled Harry, suddenly realizing something. “You can’t hurt me! 
I have Colin’s protection! Since you were the one who told Voldemort to come and try to 
kill me last year, not only is  Voldemort  unable to hurt me, but you too! I have protection 
from you both!”
Remembering from his first  year at school that Harry’s shield of love that Colin 
gave him also had offensive powers if he touched someone that he had protection against, 
Harry ran full throttle  at Dumbledore and pressed his hands against his  face, expecting it 
to boil and turn to ash, just like the old Professor Quirrell did when Harry touched him.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” asked a very confused Dumbledore. He used 


his wand to blast Harry off of his face and several feet across the room. 
“But, that should have killed you!” exclaimed Harry, wondering what went wrong. 
Dumbledore  showed no signs  of being hurt, in fact, he looked just  as healthy as ever… 
only much more annoyed. “I don’t understand….”
“There is a lot  you do not  yet  understand!” yelled Dumbledore, aiming his wand 
right at Harry. “Inconscientus!” 
Harry  quickly  rolled  out  of   the   way to  avoid  the  yellow  beam,  immediately 
turning his mind from why his shield wasn’t working properly to fighting Dumbledore. He 
quickly transformed his  shoulders  into his gryffin wings and took to the air, knowing he 
stood a better chance if he had more room to avoid the spells.
“Avada Kedavra!” yelled Harry, desperate to exterminate Dumbledore  as quickly 
and efficiently as possible before  the battle turned more into his favor. 
There was a green flash that filled the room and Harry was amazed that his  spell 
had hit its  target. Harry looked at Dumbledore, waiting for him to fall to the ground, the 
battle to be over. But, Dumbledore  showed no such sign. He  merely wiped his nose and 
Harry saw some blood on the hand he used to wipe it with.
“Well, I must congratulate you, Harry,” said Dumbledore, wiping his hand on his 
robe. “You gave me a nosebleed… well done.”
Harry was shocked. The most powerful spell he knew, the one that killed instantly 
only gave Dumbledore  a nosebleed…. He  didn’t stand a chance. How could he possibly 
stand against someone that strong. Knowing that he couldn’t possibly be victorious in his 
human form, Harry transformed into  the  full  gryffin and gave a roar, hoping to  maybe 
scare Dumbledore a bit, though it looked like it didn’t work.
“So… you want to  turn this  from  a duel  into a  monster  fight do you?” asked 
Dumbledore, licking his lips. “Well then, Harry Potter, prepare to be defeated even worse 
than you would have been!”
With that, Dumbledore closed his eyes, threw out his  arms, and let  the  animal 
form  consume  him, take him over. Instantly, the  new  Dumbledore  appeared  in animal 
form, and it was the most terrifying animal Harry had ever seen.
At fist, Harry just  thought it  was  a giant Black Phoenix, which was essentially 
what it was. But, then he noticed the razor-sharp teeth, the snakes  coming out of the head, 
and the scorpion tail and claws that it had as well. All of that mixed in with a one hundred 
foot  long  and  fifty  foot  wide  black  skeleton  of  a   phoenix  made   for   one   horrifying 
monster. Harry realized that Dumbledore  wasn’t just  a normal Animagus… he  was like 
Malfoy, a Polymagus, and he had created the perfect, most terrible monster the world had 
ever seen.
“Do you like it?” asked Dumbledore in Harry’s mind. He was snapping his teeth, 
claws, snake mouths and poison-filled needle tail all over the place as he spoke. “I’m not 
exactly sure what to call it, but it is powerful, that’s for sure!”
Knowing that he didn’t stand a chance, and knowing that he was going to be killed 
instantly, and knowing that Dumbledore would wipe the floor with him, Harry summoned 
up all the courage that he possessed and flew straight at Dumbledore, bearing all of  his 
teeth, ready to tear into the bony and gassy flesh.
But, just as he was about to bite down on whatever it was the Black Phoenix skin 
was made out of, one  of Dumbledore’s  claws whacked Harry straight across  the body, 


sending him flying through the air and straight into the wall. From his position, Harry slid 
down the surface of the wall, making a single, long crack in it as he went. When he finally 
collapsed on the floor, Harry felt as though every bone in his body was broken.
“Give up?” laughed Dumbledore, bending down and looking right at Harry in the 
face with his phoenix eyes.
“You... wish…” gasped Harry, trying to bear the pain, though it was far easier said 
than done. Knowing that if he transformed back into his human form most of the damage 
would be repaired, Harry called upon every ounce of energy that he had, and morphed back 
into his even weaker, but healthy, human body.
“Have you had enough of fighting in animal forms?”
“I… don’t know… have you?”
“Oh Harry, you make it seem as though I enjoy this,” sighed Dumbledore. “But, 
truth be told, I don’t. I would love it so much if people would just believe what I told them 
long ago, and I wouldn’t have to do it this way. But, like I said before, humans are stupid 
like that.”
“Yeah,  I’m  surprised   no  one   would embrace  you  as  the  universal  dictator… 
especially if they saw you like this.”
“Come  now, Harry,” said Dumbledore  in a fairly cheery voice, considering the 
circumstances. He quickly turned back into his human form, shrinking over forty feet  in 
less  than a second. It was quite  a spectacular sight. “You are weak, practically dead, you 
cannot possibly fight anymore. Please, just give me the Ring and it will all be over.”
“I’ll never give it to you… you traitor.”
“You do realize, then, that I will have to cut off your hand.”
“Go ahead,” seethed Harry. “Make my day.”
“So be it…” sighed Dumbledore, making the  same sword Voldemort had called 
upon pop out of the tip of his wand. He started walking up to Harry, holding it as if he were 
ready to slice up a piece of meat.
Harry closed his eyes and banged his head against the wall. It was over… it was all 
over. No one was going to come and save him this time. Dumbledore was going to take the 
Ring, absorb him and Voldemort’s souls, and then become a universal dictator… and who 
knows what he could do with those  powers? But, no one could stop him. Not  Harry, not 
even Voldemort. The only thing that could stop him was if Dumbledore decided to change 
his mind, and there was no chance of that happening…. Unless… unless  someone  else 
changed his mind for him! That was it!
“ANATA NARU!” screamed Harry, ripping his wand out of his pocket, and taking 
Dumbledore  completely by surprise. If he  wasn’t going to  change his  mind by himself, 
Harry was going to do it for him! He was going to use Dumbledore’s  incredible power to 
destroy the Items and put a stop to this once and for all!
Just  like  in  his  duel  with Malfoy, it  looked  as  though time   around them  had 
frozen,   and   a   black,   gassy   cloud   began  coming   out   of   each   of   them.   The   clouds 
materialized above  their  heads  and then  switched places,  flowing back into  the  other 
person’s   body.   The   next   thing   Harry   knew,   he   was   staring   at   himself…   through 
Dumbledore’s eyes! The spell had worked! He had become Dumbledore! 
“No!” exclaimed Dumbledore in Harry’s body. “Look what you have done!”
“And look  at what I’m going to  do to  your Items!” yelled Harry, feeling more 


powerful in Dumbledore’s  body than he ever had in his own. He ripped the  Sorcerer’s  
Stone necklace off of his neck and held in in front of him with one arm, pointing his wand 
at it with the other. Harry finally decided on a spell to use to destroy it, got ready to say 
it… but then couldn’t.
Harry tried again. He thought of the Explosion Spell in his mind, got ready to use 
it… but then, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t say the words to summon the spell! 
It was as if his lips had been sewn together! He couldn’t speak the words!
“What’s going on!?” Harry demanded to Dumbledore. “Why can’t I destroy it!?”
“You fool,” he hissed, standing up and holding his side. “Don’t you know that the 
Anata Naru Spell  only lets  you switch bodies  with someone…  not  minds? You aren’t 
going to be able to do anything in my body that I wouldn’t have wanted to do.”
“But,” stuttered Harry, in shock that his plan was not going to work, “how come I 
was able to do whatever I wanted in Malfoy’s body?”
“You weren’t,” said Dumbledore, not used to the youthful voice and body yet. “It 
just so happened that you were able to turn Draco back into his human form because deep 
down, in an almost invisible amount, he wanted you to win. Despite how much he denied it, 
the two of you still were, and probably will always be, friends… deep down of course… 
very  deep  down. But,  with me,  no  matter  how   deep  down  you  check,  you  will   find 
absolutely no desire to destroy the Items.”
Now   Harry  was   stuck.   He   couldn’t   stay   in   Dumbledore’s   body   because  he 
wouldn’t be able to do anything that Dumbledore wouldn’t want to do… which is  basically 
everything that he did want to do! But, he couldn’t trade bodies back. The instant he did, 
Dumbledore  would cast another spell on him and he would win. Harry had to think of an 
alternative method… but what? What could he possibly do? He was stuck between a rock 
and a hard place, and there  was a man-eating bush in the  middle. Harry went over in his 
mind every single spell, charm, hex and curse that he knew… but to no avail.
Harry stood there, looking at everything in the room, hoping to find the answer 
when suddenly his eyes  grew wide. He could feel  his heart beating in his  chest… and a 
light bulb went off in his head! He knew what to do! 
He knew how he could win!
“I think I’ll be taking that  Ring now!” Harry yelled, grabbing onto Dumbledore 
with one  arm, and then bringing the hand with the sword still in it  up in the  air, ready to 
slice down.
“No! You wouldn’t!” exclaimed Dumbledore. “Not to your own body!”
Not   listening  to  him,  Harry  brought   the   sword  down on  Dumbledore’s  arm, 
cutting the hand with the Ring on it off. The dead hand fell to the ground, made a soft and 
squishy sound, and then began letting out a pool of blood all around it.
“AARRGG!”  yelled  Dumbledore  in  Harry’s   body, gripping  onto  his  stub and 
falling to his knees from the pain. Still trying to ignore him for now, Harry picked up the 
hand, and pulled the Skull Ring off. After giving it a quick kiss, he slipped it on his finger, 
instantly  feeling  reborn. If  Harry  had  thought  he  felt  more   powerful  than  he  used  to 
before, it was nothing compared to how he felt  now! Harry felt as though he had already 
made and drank one hundred Immortality Potions! He was on top of the world, and no one 
could beat him!
But no! Harry had to remind himself that that was not part of the plan! The Ring 


could not stay on his hand… he had to put it back now, give it back to his old self. But he 
couldn’t… the  feeling  that  the  Ring gave him; it  was…  incredible! But  Harry  had to 
remind himself, this wasn’t his body… this wasn’t his body!
Using every but of willpower that he possessed, Harry quickly tore  the Ring off 
of  his finger and threw it  back onto  Dumbledore’s  other hand. Though, he didn’t realize 
that he got it back; he was still busy crying and gripping onto his bleeding stub.
“ANA… TA…. NA… RU,” gasped Harry, feeling incredibly worn out from giving 
up the Ring. But, the knowledge that it would all soon be over got him through it. Once 
again, time  appeared to  freeze,  and the  same   black clouds   popped  out  of  Harry  and 
Dumbledore, floating back to their original bodies  just as quickly as they had switched in 
the first place.
Almost instantly, Harry was back in his  old body… and in immense  pain! It was 
only matched by last year, when he had caught the Snitch then hidden spikes had popped 
out  of it, impaling themselves  through his hand. But, Harry knew that the  hard part was 
over, it was all the home stretch now… the final sprint! Knowing that, he pushed the pain 
aside, and glared at Dumbledore.
“Now what purpose did that just  serve?” he demanded, looking a bit woozy from 
changing bodies.
“Don’t  you know?” asked Harry, standing up and tasting victory. “Whoever is 
currently wearing the Ring has the ability to control the bodies and minds of everyone else  
that has ever worn it. And, approximately fifteen seconds ago I believe, you wore the Ring, 
meaning I control you now.”
“What…?” gasped Dumbledore, looking in shock. “No! That’s impossible!”
“I’m afraid it isn’t!” grinned Harry, feeling more  powerful now than he ever did, 
even in Dumbledore’s body. “Now! Destroy the Stone!”
“NOO!” screamed Dumbledore, his body and mouth operating independently of 
each other. While his  mouth was screaming no and begging Harry to stop, his arms were 
doing  something  completely   different.  His   left   arm   picked  up  the   Sorcerer’s   Stone 
necklace, held it in front of  himself,  and his  right arm  held the  wand aimed right  at it, 
ready to blow it to pieces… which is exactly what it did less than a second later.
“NO!” yelled Dumbledore again, seeing the precious Stone explode into millions 
of tiny specs  that slowly fell to the floor, forming a tiny pile. “Please, Harry, stop! Stop 
while there’s  still  hope! The Sorcerer’s  Stone can be replaced but the other Items… they 
cannot!”
 “Silence!” yelled  Harry, never  feeling  more  sure  of  anything  else  in  his   life. 
“Now! Destroy the Bracelet!”
“No! Harry! Stop! NO!” 
But, despite  all of Dumbledore’s  protest, he ripped the  Bracelet off  of his  arm, 
held it in front of himself in the same way that he did with the Stone and then blew it to 
smithereens with his wand, destroying with it any hope Dumbledore now had of becoming 
an all-powerful being.
“Now, destroy the Watch,” said Harry, wanting to be rid of everything, just to be 
perfectly safe.
“Harry… stop…” said Dumbledore, sounding much less  demanding and assertive 
now. He  took the  Watch off  of  his  arm, held it  in front  of himself  and then made  it 


explode into a shower of blue specs  that landed on top of some of the other tiny remains 
of the others on the floor.
“Now…” said Harry, taking a deep breath. “The Glove.”
“Harry… please,” said Dumbledore, now crying as  he peeled off the final Item 
from  his  arm. Bursting into tears, he held the Glove  in front  of him  and blew  it away, 
finally, and once and for all, stopping any chance he would ever have.
“I hope you’re happy now,” said Dumbledore, looking at Harry as someone would 
look at a man who just stole  every possession he ever owned, killed his wife and kids, and 
then ripped his leg off. “You just destroyed any hope humanity ever had at a perfect utopia, 
where everyone lives in peace with each other! I hope you’re happy, Harry! I really do!”
“Peace  cannot  be achieved through war,” said Harry, trying to make one, final 
point. “Now, Dumbledore, one last command… BE GONE!”
“I’ll get  you Harry!” he screamed, pointing his  wand at himself. “You just  wait! 
No matter where you are, or where you will be, you’ll never be safe because I-”
But, Harry didn’t hear anymore than that. At that instant, Dumbledore burst into 
flames and turned into a small pile of ash on the floor, disappearing in the same way as all 
of his minions did, leaving the room, and the side of good forever.
“Well…” said Harry to himself, looking around and realizing he was still the only 
conscious person in the room. “We won…”
And, after smiling just one more time, Harry closed his eyes and fainted.


Chapter 32- Harry’s Final  Trial
Harry had no idea how long it was from when he collapsed on the floor  in the 
Great  Hall  to  when he  woke  up on  a  cot,  half naked in  the   same   exact  spot. It  was 
impossible  to  see  the  floor  in the  massive  room  since  it was covered with small  beds 
everywhere, each with its own student laying on top of it, in varying states of health. Some 
were  all bandaged up like  mummies, others  only had a few scratches.  Harry looked and 
saw that his arm had been reattached. He flexed the fingers a few times, just  to be sure, 
and it worked perfectly. Laying back down on the cot, Harry’s last thought before he fell 
asleep again was if now, with Dumbledore having showed whom he  was truly allianced 
with, if good still had a chance over evil.
“Harry!” came a soft voice what felt like not too much later. “Harry… get up!” 
After mumbling a few incoherent words, Harry sat up in his bed, rubbed his eyes, 
put on his  glasses, and saw Professor McGonagall sitting down on his bed, with Ron on 
one side of her and Hermione and Cho on the other. All of them still had bandages on in 
random spots and Harry saw that most of the room  had been cleared out. None of them 
were smiling, though, and Harry didn’t blame them. What was there to smile  about when 
the one person you always though would be your leader, ally, and most importantly friend 
turned his back and you, and then punched you when you weren’t looking?
“Well,  it  seems   as   though  big   heroes   need   big   amounts   of   sleep,”   sighed 
Professor  McGonagall, smiling for only the briefest  of moments, then returning to her 
solemn face. “You were the last to fall in that battle and the last to wake up.”
“At first, we weren’t sure if you were going to,” choked Cho.
“You gave us quite a scare,” added Hermione.
“Yes, well… at least everything is okay now,” said Ron, looking down.
“No, Ron,” said Harry, standing up despite the pain in every bone and muscle in 
his body. “No… everything is not okay and it will never be okay ever again.”
“You’re right,” sighed Professor McGonagall, not moving her face slightly away 
from  Harry. “Nothing will  ever be  okay again, Harry. Now that  Dumbledore  is… gone 
shall I say? Well, now I’m not sure what is going to happen.”
“I just don’t get it,” heaved Harry, wanting to tear all of his hair off of his head. “I 
just don’t get it! How could he… all this  time? Every time he smiled at me, every time he 
even looked at me… how could I have known that behind that mask he was wearing there 
was another, totally different person?”
“You couldn’t have,” groaned the professor again, rubbing her legs and standing 
up. “No one ever expected anything like this. No one….”
“But I should have!” exclaimed Harry, getting pangs of  guilt. “Last year, at the 
Charms O.W.L. exam, I should have known something was up when we were  allowed to 
use killing curses! I should have known something wasn’t quite right when I heard he was 
the one that instituted Extreme Quidditch! It’s all my fault!”
“It’s not your fault,” said Cho, walking over to Harry and putting her arm around 
him. “It’s not yours, mine, Ron, Hermione’s, it’s nobody’s fault! The only person that is 
responsible for what happened is Dumbledore himself.”
“Well, him, You-Know-Who, and  Quirrell,” added Professor  McGonagall. “At 


least one of those three is gone. Quirrell fled last night, never to come back.”
“Those  three  aside,” continued Cho. “Who was  the  one  who made them  come 
over to  his side  in the  first  place? Dumbledore. He is  the source  of  everything that has 
happened ever since  You-Know-Who’s  rise   to  power,  and he  will  continue  to  be  the 
source. The only way to stop evil once and for all is to beat him.”
“And  just   how   are   we   going   to   do   that,   Miss.   Chang?”   asked   Professor 
McGonagall. “Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the world. Even if every person 
in this school  teamed up against him, I still don’t think we’d win. Plus, he’s still got all of 
his followers to deal with.”
“Don’t worry,” said Harry. “As long as I have my Ring, Dumbledore  is under my 
power.”
 “If only that were true, Harry,” moaned McGonagall.
“What do you mean?” he demanded. “That’s how I beat him this time and it’s how 
I’m going to beat him again!”
“Harry… don’t you know that there is  a cure for  the spell that the Ring puts  on 
you?” she asked in an obvious tone  of voice. “How do you think we cured Miss. Granger 
here? I’m sure that by now, Dumbledore has already healed himself of the curse.”
“How do you know about that incident with Hermione?” asked Harry.
“Pomfrey always informs  the  professors  of  unusual conditions,” she  explained. 
“At first, she didn’t even know what it was that was wrong with her. She asked me, and I 
knew what must  have happened. So, you see,  if even I know of  the  cure, I am positive 
Dumbledore does as well.”
“So then…  have  we  lost  already?” asked Harry. “Before  the  battle  has  even 
begun?”
 “I don’t know…” she sighed, checking her watch “I don’t know. But, I do know 
that I still have much work to  do, this  school  is  in desperate need of  repair after  what 
happened. I hope you will excuse me and that I will see  you all tomorrow at breakfast… 
the last one you will have this year?”
“Of  course,   professor,”   said   the   four   of   them   together.   Not   even  smiling, 
Professor  McGonagall made her away across  the dilapidated Great Hall and through the 
door, each step echoing throughout  the hall. As soon as she walked through it, another 
rather large chunk of the top of the archway fell to the floor. She cursed loudly and then 
stomped off back to wherever she was going.
“Wow Harry,” said Ron after  a long silence. “I can’t believe you actually beat 
Dumbledore.”
“I’m not  sure if that’s  the  best  thing to brag about,” said Harry, glaring at his 
friend. “It’s kind of along the same line as you practically killing the entire school… only 
worse.”
 “Yeah, I was a machine, wasn’t I?” said Ron, looking a little  proud of  himself. 
“But,  I  didn’t   kill   anyone,  only  hurt   them   all.   Voldemort  was   the   one   that   did  the 
murdering.  Though, I’ve  decided   to  not   stay   a  werewolf   anymore.   Madam   Pomfrey 
performed the Homorphus Spell on me earlier today.”
“Why not?” asked Harry. “Being able  to  turn into that monster could come  in 
handy. After all, if you hadn’t transformed during the dance, I would have lost at the very 
beginning. There was no way I could have stood up against all of those  kids at once like 


you did.”
“Oh don’t get me wrong,” added Ron. “I loved the surge of power I got when I 
turned into the beast, being able to destroy wave after wave of students as if it was nothing, 
but that’s  part of the  reason why I decided against  it. I don’t really want to  go around 
killing people. Also, I’ve already got a chameleon in me, and I don’t know if there  would 
have been enough room for the wolf after all.”
The four of them had a good laugh, for the first time in what seemed like forever.
“We’ll I’ve got to go take some  follow-up medicine,” said Ron. “I guess  I’ll see 
you tomorrow guys.”
“And I have to go quickly write a letter to my parents, telling them that they don’t 
have to pick me up tomorrow, since I’ll be spending the summer at Ron’s house.”
“Ohh…”   said   Harry,   battering   his   eyelashes.   “How   romantic!”
“Shut up!” grinned Hermione, punching Harry in the shoulder and leaving the room. Harry 
and Cho were now the only ones left in it… they were all alone. 
“Well, Cho,” said Harry, looking outside the window and seeing that the sun was 
beginning to set. “It’s getting late. I guess it’s time to go to bed.”
“Actually… Harry,” said Cho in a slightly timid voice. 
“Yeah?”
“I was wondering…” she smiled, curling her hair with a finger. “After all, this is 
our last night together. I’ve graduated already, and you’ll still  be a student next year. So, 
since  this  is  the  final time we’ll be with each other, for a while… and I have my dorm 
room all to myself tonight…. Why don’t we do something… special?” 
Harry  swallowed hard,  knowing exactly what she  was  talking  about. His  first 
instinct was to jump at the opportunity, agree, and then go with her. But, then he thought…
. After all that happened, how could he even think about it? How could he celebrate what 
happened? It would be as if he was going to throw a birthday party the day after his best 
friend died. After just wading in those thoughts, Harry knew he  couldn’t. He so wanted 
to… but he just… couldn’t. It would just be wrong.
“Oh, Cho…” sighed Harry, feeling all torn up inside. “Believe me when I say this. 
I would give anything to, but considering all that has happened…. I just… can’t. I’m sorry, 
Cho. I really am.”
“Oh… well, that’s okay Harry,” she said, looking a little surprised and even a little 
hurt. “I guess… I’ll see you later then.” 
“Yeah, I guess  so,” sighed Harry, staring down at the floor, and listening to the 
sound of her footsteps  as they got softer and softer as she walked away from him, out the 
door, and then down the hall, probably out of his life forever.
Just then, a new  emotion  began to  boil  up inside  of  Harry. It wasn’t anger, it 
wasn’t sadness, it wasn’t like  anything he  had ever experienced  before.  It was extreme 
hate.  Hate  beyond  anything  Harry  could  have  ever   possibly  imagined. Just   from   the 
unimaginable  amounts  of  hate  flowing through Harry,  he  could feel  his  heart  beating 
faster, his teeth salivating, his  body shaking, and his  eyes  glowing. Dumbledore  had cost  
him everything… everything. He had taken away everyone he had ever loved in his life, his 
dad, his mom, and now Cho.
“DUMBLEDORE!” screamed Harry at the top of his  lungs, so  loud that more 
chunks fell  from  the  ceiling. “Mark my words! You are  going to pay! Do you hear me!? 


YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!”
Harry wasn’t exactly sure how he fell asleep that night. All he remembered doing 
was walking into his dorm, seeing three  of the six beds occupied, and then two that were 
never  to  be   filled  again.  He  sighed to  himself  and  fell   into  his  pillow, letting  sleep 
overtake him, overtake him as swiftly and powerfully as he hoped to overtake Dumbledore 
someday… someday soon.
But, no matter how he did it, Harry did fall asleep, and woke up bright and early 
the next morning, feeling infinitely refreshed. With Ron and Hermione by his side, Harry 
walked  down  to   the  Great   Hall  that  looked  in  much better  condition  than  it   did  the 
previous  night. Almost  everything was back in working order, looking clean, and some 
house  elves  were   even working  on it  right  now, polishing walls  and wearing massive 
smiles. What happened last night didn’t affect them… outside of giving them more work 
to do. Harry envied their naiveness, how he wished he could just forget what happened, or 
even better, have it so that it never happened at all.
“Welcome   students,”   announced   Professor   McGonagall,   now   the   new 
Headmaster, a few minutes  into the  meal once  everyone was down there. Harry noticed 
that there  were considerably fewer students  there  than usual. Harry hoped that they were 
still in the Hospital Wing and not in a coffin. “While I am not exactly sure how to explain 
to you what happened last night,” she stopped as  there  was a sudden crack of thunder 
outside  and a lightning flash filled the sky. Rain began pouring down on the  school  in 
buckets. Evidently, even the weather was angry and sad about what had happened, and Harry 
didn’t blame it in the least, “since most of you were under a powerful controlling spell, but 
I will say this, even though you all probably know it by now. Your previous Headmaster, 
Professor Albus Dumbledore, is  no longer with us.”
“That’s because he’s a dirty traitor!” yelled one of the students, standing up and 
showing that he  had his arm in a sling. “He’s been You-Know-Who’s  master all of this 
time!” Suddenly, most of the people in the Hall began joining in with the student, yelling 
random, horrible phrases.
“Yeah!”
“Dumbledore stinks!”
“Down   with   Dumbledore!”
“He’s even slimier than You-Know-Who!”
“Now now!” announced McGonagall, trying to calm down the crowd a little. “I see 
that you all do know what really happened. I guess  news really does  travel fast  in this 
school. Seeing as  you all  already understand the  situation, I will not  go into  any more 
detail about it. I do not want to take the risk of offending anyone’s beliefs, and will play it 
safe by letting you talk about it amongst yourselves, and having us professors deal with it.
“Now, I have two more announcements,” she continued, another flash of lightning 
and crack of thunder exploding outside. “First, I regret to inform the Slytherin House that 
you  are  no  longer  the  House  Cup winners.  After  removing the  points  that the  illegal 
students gave your house, and adding many points to certain people that deserve it beyond 
what points can be give,” she looked at Harry, and applauded him with her eyes. He  just 
kept staring at the floor, “Gryffindor is  the new House Cup winner!”
There was some scattered applause and cheering from the members  of the house, 


but nothing nearly as  enthusiastic  as  it  usually was. Harry didn’t even open his  mouth. 
There   was  no   reason   to  celebrate,   and  there   would  be   none   until   Dumbledore  was 
defeated. Now Harry could truly understand why there was such a massive celebration the 
day that Voldemort was finally vanquished.
“I am afraid that my next announcement is not nearly as cheerful as my previous 
one,” she  announced, sounding quite  grim, and  Harry had  a feeling he knew  what was 
coming. “As in Hogwart’s tradition, it is now my sorrowful duty to announce all those who 
are  unfortunate  enough not  to  be with  us  right  now. I must  now announce  to  you  all 
everybody who died last night in the horrible attack on our school.”
The entire Hall was quieter than Harry had ever thought it could possibly be. Even 
the house  elves stopped working for a moment, and a single mouse that was scurrying 
across  the floor froze, as if not wanting to spoil the sacred moment. 
“Prancy   Patil,   Stewart   Ackerly,   Joe   Coppellotti,   Paulo   Calvacanti,   Mandy 
Brocklehurst,   Neville   Longbottom,   Ernie   Macmillan,   Aylar   Dumbledore,   Trenholm 
Archibald,   Rusty   Johnson,   Eleanor   Branstone,   Akshay  Dayal,   Susan   Bones,   Morag 
MacDougal, Chris  Zimmermann, Mike  Baronowski, Vikram Kumar, Malcolm  Baddock, 
Justin Finch-Fletchley, Blaise Zabini, Terry Boot,  Owen Cauldwell, Hannah Abbott, and 
Pawan Kodandopani are all dead. This is by far the most  casualties Hogwarts has ever had 
in all of its years, and I ask you all to raise  your glasses  to all of them at once, honoring 
them all in the same spirit….To everyone!”
“To  everyone!” repeated everybody in the  Hall,  raising their  glasses  and then 
taking the finals sips, finishing the last of their drinks, ending the year.
The   rest   of   breakfast   was   quite   uneventful,   considering   everything   that   had 
happened. The entire  school  finished  packing up their things  and then made  their  way 
outside, which had cleared up considerably. As Harry walked out of the school  with Ron 
and Hermione, each of them carrying several cases of stuff, the sun shone brightly and the 
birds were singing. It was very serene and beautiful, and Harry tried to take it all in as he 
walked down with his  friends to the Hogwarts Express  and sat down in their usual seats, 
ready to  go. It wasn’t too much longer before  the train got on its  way; the inside of the 
school was not a very happy place, and everyone for once, was eager to leave it for a little 
while.
 “So,” said Ron a ways into  the trip, breaking the silence  that had overtaken the 
three  of them for the past hour or so, “what do you think the next year’s going to be like, 
Harry?”
 Harry’s first reaction was to say that they were all doomed, that it was going to be 
their worst  year ever, and they’d be incredibly lucky if they all even lived through it. But, 
then he looked outside the window on the train, and saw how wonderful everything looked 
now that the sun had come out. Less  than a few hours ago, it had been pouring rain, with no 
sign of stopping. But now… now it was one of the most beautiful days Harry had seen. 
“Well, nobody knows for sure,” said Harry.
“Except Professor Trelawney,” interjected Ron, smiling.
“Oh yes, except for  her,” continued Harry, grinning. “But, I can say this: every 
cloud has a silver lining… if you know where to look.”
Both Ron and Hermione nodded their heads and beamed at Harry’s response. It 


was one of the most positive things they had heard all day and it cheered all of them up. 
Maybe Dumbledore  had a silver lining… maybe. Harry just first  had to find out where to 
look for it.
Just then, the  train gave off a long hiss, pulled to a stop, and Harry realized that 
they had arrived at the  station. Wondering how the trip could have ended that fast, Harry, 
Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of the students stepped off of the train, and walked 
up to their families.
“Hey Ron!” exclaimed Fred upon seeing his  little  brother step off of  the train. 
“What gives? I thought you said only me and George had to come!”
“Yeah!” said Percy, looking quite furious. “I thought it was very important! I am 
missing extremely valuable work time!”
“And I had to Apparate in from Romania!” announced Charlie.
“And I had to come in from Egypt!” said an angry-looking Bill.
“Ron?” asked Mr. Weasley, stepping forward and looking very confused. “What’s 
going on here?”
“And you’d better have a good explanation!” fumed Mrs. Weasley, waving a finger 
at her son. Ron just grinned to them all, and Harry and Hermione stepped aside, to let this 
be more of a Weasley-only affair.
“Mom… dad… Percy, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Ginny, and anyone else I may 
have forgotten,” said Ron, smiling from  ear to ear. “I am very pleased to announced the 
arrival of… Jamie Weasley.”
At that moment, Ron bowed, and Jamie, extremely timidly, walked down the steps 
of the train, and in front of her entire family. She was cleaned up very nicely: her skin was 
no longer brown and muddy, but a very nice peach. Her clothes  were just like everyone 
else’s, and her hair was no longer the size of an ape. It was straight and beautiful and only 
came  down to  right below her neck. Her face was as red as  her hair, and everyone was 
staring at her, wide-eyed and mouths gaping open.
“Hello everybody,” she said so quietly it was barely audible.
“Jamie…?” said Mr. Weasley in about the same tone  of  voice. “Is it…  really 
you?”
 “Yes daddy,” said giggled.
“Jamie!” exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, now in tears and running up to her full-grown 
daughter. She embraced her like Harry had never seen anyone else  do before. She cried 
deeply into her shoulder and everyone else in the family joined in, being too overcome 
with happiness to say anything.”
“Hey Harry!” came Dudley’s voice from behind. Harry turned around and saw his 
cousin, much taller now than he was at the end of Summer. Behind him stood his parents, 
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, looking no different, especially in their expressions  of 
being annoyed, angry, and bored all at the same time. “Sorry to intrude on your little love-
in there, but are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” said Harry, feeling more  cheerful now than he ever remembered feeling. 
He picked up his bags  and began walking over towards his family… when suddenly, he 
thought of something.
“Wait a minute!” said Harry quickly, dropping his bags. “I’ve got one last thing to 
do!” Hearing sighs from his Uncle and Aunt, Harry sprinted as fast as he could to the other 


end of the train station that led out into a giant meadow surrounded by a massive lake. 
Harry ran up to the lake, and using every ounce  of willpower and determination  in his 
body, he ripped the Ring off of his  finger, looked at it one last time, and then threw it as 
far as he could into the body of water, hearing it’s incredibly faint plop as it hit the water 
far away.
That being done, Harry walked back to his bags, picked them up, and smiled.
“Yes Dudley,” said Harry, taking a deep breath. “Now… now I am ready to go.”
Epilogue
Wow, two books down! One more to go! I can’t believe I actually did it… wow. 
This Book Six is  just ONE page shorter than Book Five was… ARG! Maybe I’ll fix that 
someday when I’m not swamped with other work, which will probably be… someday…. 
But, first, I must  say that this  book would not  have been possible  if I had not  had the 
support from all of  you fans out there, you know who you are. You kept me going. and 
finally  made   me   produce  this  story.  Thanks  guys, thanks  for  you ideas, suggestions, 
everything. Thanks.
Now… please don’t hate me! I know I made Dumbledore  the bad guy now, but 
please don’t hate me for it! Many fans were asking me if I would have an explanation for 
the “glitter of triumph” in his eye at the end of Book Four, and I didn’t buy any of those 
other theories that because Voldemort used certain blood in the potion, blah blah blah now 
he’s human, blah blah blah. Alas! Do not fear! Book Seven shall explain EVERYTHING, 
and bring all that has happened together. You’ll see what Dumbledore’s real deal is…
Also, I know that an incredible amount of people  died in this  book, both people 
that were close  to Harry and the  plot of the series  and others  who were always kind of 
just…  there. This  book  was  also  (hopefully)  a little   scarier  than the  others, with the 
pyramid and stuff, and trust me, the Seventh One will just be even more terrifying….
Whoops, I’d better stop there before  I give anything away! But, like last time, this 
book has changed an INCREDIBLE amount from  start to finish. At the beginning, there 
was no  card  game,  only one Item  (the Ring), no missing  Weasley sister,  no Disguise 
Dance, and Dumbledore didn’t even turn evil at the end! Yeah… it was pretty bad the first 
time through. It took me forever to edit all that stuff in and make the story still flow. But, 
in the end, I think it turned out pretty okay.
Yet again, after reading this Book Six and the Fifth Book, you probably still have 


some  unanswered questions. Why couldn’t they kill Harry? Why did Dumbledore  want 
Harry’s  parents  dead? What IS Voldemort’s  final backup plan? Fear not! All these  and 
much… MUCH more shall be revealed in the Seventh and Final Book. But please, don’t 
forget, I am still  in the planning phase for  Book Seven, and I only have a basic plot  and 
good ending written up for it  that I think shall be almost  exactly what J.K. Rowling is  
planning to have. Any extra things that you guys would like to see  in it, or ideas you have 
that could make it better are very welcome. You can either e-mail me them, tell me in the 
forum, or tell me on AIM. See you online!
-HarryWriter