Harry Potter and the Cracked Reservoir
Chapter 17: Blessed Weekend
By Musings of Apathy
Chapter 17: Blessed Weekend
Thank you to my Beta’s Donalddeutsch, Cateagle and Sparky40sw.
"Hello Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," Harry said, giving his attention to the transfiguration professor. He continued, "I wanted to discuss the captaincy with you, Professor."
The Headmaster’s eyes twinkled at the hands of Harry and Ginny, unabashedly clasped in front of the authority figures.
"Hello Mister Potter, Miss Weasley," greeted the stern Deputy-Headmistress.
"Good evening, Harry, Miss Weasley," smiled the Headmaster.
"And what are your ideas on the captaincy of our house team, Mister Potter?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"I believe it should be Ron, Ma’am," Harry replied politely.
"And I thought that you might want the job," she said with a smile, "Give me the reasons for Mr. Weasley to have it."
"Well, as keeper," Harry reasoned, "he watches over the whole game better than any other position, he is a true fanatic about Quidditch, he has fierce loyalty for the Chudley Cannons and he has an excellent strategic mind."
"Alright, I understand all of your arguments but the Cannons part," she returned. "Explain."
"He doesn’t give up when the chips are down," Harry explained. "The Cannons are not what you would call a winning team, yet he never loses confidence that their next win is just around the corner. He would not give up and would project a confidence to the team around him."
"Well, that sounds like a good argument," McGonagall said. "Would you ask Mister Weasley to come to my office tomorrow at ten to discuss this."
"Certainly," said Ginny, beaming. She was proud of her brother and loved her boyfriend even more for giving Ron this opportunity.
"Harry," Professor Dumbledore said, moving the conversation to why Harry had been called up in the first place, "I was wondering if you have any plans for your excellent club again this year."
"Nothing solid, sir," said Harry. "It did help me and a few others to learn better, but I really wanted to give the new DADA teacher a chance before going behind her back on this."
"Harry," said the Headmaster with a truly dangerous twinkle in his eyes, "I would like you to discuss it with Professor Nymphadora over the weekend, as I believe her to not be opposed to the idea."
"I will, sir," Harry said with his own dangerous glint, "But on another note, sir, I pray to not lose our Headmaster early to an untimely death."
"How is it that this has come up?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Well, if he says that name aloud again, Professor Tonks just might make an example of him and then make sure that her first name is feared more that Moldieshorts’s own."
Professor Dumbledore smiled at the new name for an old dark lord.
"Sometimes we must have fun with our friends," the Headmaster said. "Surely you understand that."
"Of course, Professor," said Harry, "Why, beautiful Ginny here informed me weeks ago that her brothers have invented a new family activity since I’m now dating Ginny."
"Oh?" the Headmaster queried.
"Yep," Harry affirmed, "they’re all pranking me to find out who the best prankster is. Not only am I the victim but also the judge."
"Oh?" said Professor McGonagall, "And have any of these…pranks happened yet?"
"Yeah," chuckled Harry.
Ginny smiled, "Percy came back to the family, much to my mother’s delight, and showed he was a Weasley by making Harry’s boxer shorts ice cold for the day."
"And how did you conquer that, Mister Potter?" his Professor asked.
"Well, in the muggle world they would say that I went ‘commando’," Harry said shyly and blushed a deep red.
The Professor, not familiar with this term, raised her eyebrows.
Harry leaned in to the professor and stammered, "I…well…I uh…went without, you see."
Ginny had apparently heard this as well as she got shy and did her impression of a tomato.
Oh my, thought Ginny, I didn’t need that visual in my head again. But…mmm…might as well enjoy it while it’s there.
"Ginny," Harry said bending down next to her ear as she sat on a sofa in the common room Saturday morning. He kissed her cheek before continuing, "Wanna go for a walk?"
She smiled at him, "Sure, Mister Potter. But don’t think that you can get away with that little kiss."
Harry raised his eyebrows in alarm. Ron and Hermione in the love seat, looked up at their friends and siblings with curiosity.
"I, after all, expect more of you, mister," she said sternly, "both in quantity and quality," she finished with a smirk that was…oh too fun.
Harry responded, "Well quantity I plan to rectify, but I am afraid that for quality, I will need to engage a tutor."
Ginny smiled.
"Do you think that I could get that Hufflepuff girl, Anne Paramore, to help?" Harry asked, risking his life with the fiery redhead.
She huffed and got a dangerous glint in her eye, "You’ll do no such thing. You’re mine and I’ll do all of the tutoring that you’ll need."
Harry laughed, getting the desired results. He then gulped at the smoldering look in Ginny’s eyes.
"Besides," Ginny said, "practice makes perfect."
And Harry’s new evil twinkle was back.
"Oh, you are such a task master," Harry lamented.
Later that Saturday, after they returned from their walk and had lunch, Harry was, once again, able to catch Ginny alone.
"Ginny, we need to talk," Harry told her without preamble. "I want to tell you some things because I don’t want secrets between us."
"Okay, Harry," Ginny replied, a little nervous.
"We can tell some to Ron and Hermione," Harry told her, "if you feel that they should know, but in truth, I want us to have some things just to ourselves."
Ginny smiled at him as they walked down the empty corridor near the transfiguration classroom.
"Over the summer," Harry said, "I did a lot of learning in unconventional magics, most things not helpful in the final battle, but good to know," he told her, "One of the things that I learned included a little bit of rune magic. I am not saying that I am now an expert, heck I don’t know as much as a fourth year Ancient Runes student. What I have learned is just specialized. You see, I found a book that dealt with the combining of runes in construction of objects."
"Well, Harry," Ginny answered, "as a fifth year Ancient Runes student, maybe I can understand what you have learned."
Harry hugged her around the shoulder from the side as they continued to walk.
"Let’s go to the library so that I can show you what I’m talking about," Harry said, leading her up the correct staircase.
"Harry this is amazing," Ginny exclaimed. "You took these books and extrapolated a design for the seals?"
He nodded.
"You made the seals," she clarified.
He nodded again, with a grin.
"The seals are for more than just decoration," she continued.
He beamed at her.
"What are they for?" she asked, perplexed.
"Keep going, you’re doing good," Harry said, eager for her to figure it out as he had.
She concentrated on the designs in his notebook. They were a lot easier to figure out there because the different runic groups were isolated in his notes, where they were nearly invisible on the seals themselves.
"Well, this grouping has to do with a connection to the other seals," she said with a frown of concentration.
She ran her finger along the next group represented on the page.
"And this group, according to this, can detect intent of someone touching it," she said with a proud smile, "And this next one controls everything using the intent and input from somewhere else. Oh, you have a controlling seal somewhere, don’t you? What ever this does, you can control it."
"Yes, I can, but I also gave that control to the Headmasters. The control seal is in his office," he said with glee, "Now, the last grouping, what does it do? What do the seals do that they need to be controlled?"
She looked closely at the grouping. She then flipped back and forth amongst the books littering the tabletop.
"Give me a minute," she requested.
"Take all of the time you need. This is quite fun," he said with a smile. "You know, I love looking at you when you’re learning. You’re just so beautiful when you concentrate."
She looked up at him with a smile of thanks on her face.
"Enough of that mister," she said batting his arm, "Just admire quietly while I figure this out."
"No, this can’t be correct," she said with an incredulous face fifteen minutes later. "This isn’t one of the established methods. This is impossible."
"I liked to think of it as improbable," Harry said with a smirk, "Impossible means that it can’t be done. Improbable just means that it hasn’t been done before."
"Oh, improbable is it?" Ginny teased. "So you’ve invented a runic fixed position transportation system and installed it in this school?"
"I have," he said, "with purpose."
She smiled a flirt at him, "and what, pray tell is this ‘purpose’?"
"I needed to have a better way to enter the Chamber of Secrets," Harry told her gently. "The old way is so much of a hassle."
"Oh, so it is more of a hassle than inventing a whole new magic and building how many huge seals?" Ginny scoffed.
"Well, I had to have something to occupy my mind over the summer," Harry reasoned. "I was alone here for twenty-four hours a day and I only sleep for about eight at the long end and exercise and flying only takes a couple of hours a day so that leaves fourteen for practicing magic and reading new books of magic. I was here for what, five weeks? Six? And all of that time I didn’t even have you as my girlfriend so I couldn’t write to you to distract myself."
"You are truly amazing, Harry," she said, "Who else would go to such lengths to be lazy. And you could have written to me just as friends."
"Hey, missy," Harry joked back, "I will have you know that there is a long tradition of difficult inventions to further the lazy tendencies of humans. I am merely carrying on the tradition."
"Tradition of laziness, huh?" she chided.
"Yeah," Harry defended, "most all inventions are geared to making our lives easier, therefore, they are invented to promote laziness."
"Whatever," Ginny said, "let’s put all of this away and go explore your new invention."
"Ginny, are you sure that you want to do this?" Harry asked as they stood on a crest. "You don’t have to go down to the Chamber if you don’t want to."
Ginny took a deep breath, steadying her resolve.
"No, I want to do this. I need to do this," she said with conviction, "Please, Harry. I need you to help me with this."
Harry melted at her pleading face. He could refuse her nothing.
"Of course I’ll help you, Ginny," Harry reassured her, "We have to be touching or you won’t come down with me," he said, offering his hand to hold.
She, instead, threw her arms around his neck and held him close.
Despite his surprise they disappeared without a sound.
"Ginny, open your eyes," Harry said.
Ginny stood, her face buried in Harry’s shoulder, clutching him tightly.
"Ginny…"
She slowly released the clutching force that she was squeezing herself to him with. She pulled back and looked directly into Harry’s eyes, taking strength from the emerald depths.
After a few moments she slowly turned and looked around the Chamber, surprise instantly evident in her eyes.
"Wow, Harry!" she exclaimed. "I don’t remember much, but Harry…this isn’t the Chamber. You’ve taken us to the wrong spot."
Harry chuckled.
"No, Ginny," he said, "I just changed it a lot over the summer. I erased Salazar and Tom’s evil work and turned it into a place that, when I leave, can be used by the school. I erased the darkness."
"H-How?" Ginny stuttered.
"About a hundred hours of my patronus trotting around and banishing the dark feelings and then a lot of practical transfiguration, rough stone into marble and granite, snake statues into lion, raven and badger, and then a special treat I learned when studying magic."
Harry pointed up to the ceiling. Ginny, in turn, looked up and gasped.
"Harry, it’s beautiful," Ginny said, "How?"
Harry beamed at the approval she was giving him.
"When I was learning to control my new magic outburst, the first thing that I did was a Wingardium Leviosa which sent the object rocketing up to the ceiling where it broke through the illusion of the sky and made an impression in the stone roof of the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore showed me where to find the spell that would fix it," he said, proudly. "Well, not fix it, but I had to cast a whole new one."
Ginny looked at Harry in amazement. After a few seconds a smile crept over her face and she threw her arms around his chest and gave him a bear hug.
"Oh, Harry," she said into his chest, "I’m so proud of you. You did so much over the summer."
"Thanks," Harry said, "that means a lot coming from you."
He hugged her back, giving her an appreciative squeeze.
"Harry, what did it look like before?" she asked, dread in her voice. "You know…when you rescued me."
"Well, if you want I can cast a glamour to show you," he said, "…if it won’t disturb you."
She looked, once again, into his emerald eyes, drawing strength from their depths.
"Please," she asked of him.
Harry took out his wand and whispered the incantation, concentrating on his memory of the Chamber before its miraculous transformation. A room the size of the Chamber required more power than normal to be pushed through the spell, but that wasn’t a problem for Harry with his new powers.
Ginny watched as the image of the chamber rolled from the area around them to the very end, all of the previous cheer erased.
Gone were the bright sunshine lit granite floors, replaced by dark rough-hewn rock.
Gone were the school mascot statues. In their place were all original viper statues. Even the Slytherin mascot was transformed into the evil viper visage repeated incessantly.
Returned was the monument of the school founder with the evil plan to transform the school into his dream.
By now Ginny’s courage had been bolstered enough to allow her to appreciate the work that Harry had done.
"Wow, Harry," said Ginny, "You’re getting really good at charms. Will you have to recast the ceiling or did you just cover it up."
"It’s just covered. Have you seen enough?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Yeah," agreed Ginny. "This place gives me the creeps."
"And we didn’t even have the dark magic permeating the walls to add to the feeling," Harry said, giving her a hug.