"If I have for any reason ever doubted your abilities to achieve at your OWL level examinations, then I apologize for any doubts that I've had."
Minerva held the papers up to present them to Harry and Hermione on their first day back at Hogwarts and the two students exchanged a wide smile, pretty pleased with what they accomplished all things considered. In fact, their eyes glowed with what would considered triumph as the two now NEWT level students exchanged an expression of delight.
For Harry this was the second such triumph recently, having mastered the Patronus Charm in a couple of lessons from Lupin. Lupin was impressed but Harry wondered how much it would hold up against an actually Dementor. As for the form, well Harry decided to keep that under wraps for now, although it was a form that surprised Lupin.
Harry took the paper, the Outstandings were all across the board, pretty much as he predicted. Hermione watched, completely smiling.
"It was a rigorous process and no one would have faulted you if you took the final three years at normal speed," Minerva responded with a smile. She watched the pair of them and their reactions, this was a rather great deal if she might say so herself.
"I'm glad we met and exceeded expectations," Harry commented and Hermione nodded by his side, she was as glad as well. The two of them earned those OWLs, no question about it.
"Indeed, Mr. Potter," Minerva agreed, a smile crossing her face, she was rather proud of her two students. "So all that we need to do is to figure out the NEWT level courses that you will be joining. Although I do expect that the two of you have some idea what you wish to study."
"We have already selected them," Hermione responded in an excited voice and Harry let her have her moment. There was times where she shined. "We're going for Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Study of Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Potions, and Herbology."
"Is this correct?" Minerva asked, making sure that this was alright with Harry and the wizard's expression twisted into a smile. Some of those lessons also had side options but they would have to speak to each individual teacher to get more information on those.
"Yes, it is correct, Professor," Harry responded and Minerva made a note of it, jotting down the courses on a piece of paper.
"Just one moment and I will get your timetable."
Harry and Hermione sat around in her office waiting, both of them rather excited about crossing a milestone. In the back of Harry's mind, he was looking forward to becoming a fully qualified wizard in one more year, the time ticked down and he bubbled with excitement, positively waiting for it to happen. Pretty soon he would be out of this place and would not be saddened by it at all.
One more year, that was the time where they would be out of this place.
"Now, once again I have spoken for the board of governors, and they still wish you to attend the classes with your peers, even if you are at a higher level," Minerva informed them, shrugging her shoulders. There was a moment where she did not get the logic with the Board of Governors, but she supposed that there would be a stampede of people wanting to take the fast track out of Hogwarts.
That might upset the balance, if people tried to escape their education earlier than normal. And many who tried might fail unlike Harry and Hermione.
"We understand, believe me," Harry said before a smile crossed his face. It didn't matter for he and Hermione would be out of there, although Harry admitted that he was likely more excited about this prospect that Hermione was.
"So here is your schedule, it is up to date, as you can see," Minerva stated, allowing Harry and Hermione a moment to look over it. The two students nodded and smiled as they looked over the schedule. All of the classes were in the right order and Hermione's face spread with an ear to ear grin.
"That's perfect."
"I figure it would be," McGonagall replied with a wide smile, as she crossed her arms, the schedule waving in her hands. "The two of you are dismissed unless you have any further problems."
There was no further problems, so Harry and Hermione left.
Harry was excited for several reasons, even though he was always excited when he met Kara and Faora on the dream scape. Still there was a reason where his excitement heightened up to a brand new level. The dark haired wizard could not believe it but it was the time for him to learn a power that he was waiting for a very long time to learn. It had come and the wizard could not believe it.
"Flight, perhaps the most useful of our powers, because it allows us to get from Point A to Point B quickly and most importantly, a far more interesting way to travel than teleportation and far less likely to get yourself caught in a barbed wire fence because of a miscalculation," Faora lectured as she watched her brother hover above the ground, along with Kara. He was a complete natural and she could hardly believe it. Kara smiled, she was glad as well.
"Flight really is an awesome power," Kara chimed in and there was a nod by Faora and Harry in agreement.
"Magic users are capable of it, or so I've heard," Harry remarked and Faora watched him. "Without a broomstick, you know."
Faora placed a hand upon her chin to ponder what her brother told her.
"Perhaps they are but their brand of flight is jerky and unwieldy," Faora told him as she reached forward and cupped her brother's cheek. "Our type of flying is much more refined and dare I say it, sophisticated."
"You dare say it," Harry agreed and Faora watched him with a bright smile as they rocked back a little bit. The dark haired girl knew that her brother was capable of much.
"What their flight amounts to is self-levitation, whilst ours is a more natural process," Faora added as she watched Harry hover above the ground, a smile on her face at his progress. "If they actually refine it somewhat, they are extremely powerful and should be commended with their efforts, I would imagine."
Kara watched Harry; she could not wait to fly in wide open spaces, in areas that were much larger than the training simulator area that she used back home on Krypton. In fact, given the ability of the dream scape, she kicked herself up into the air and began to fly next to Harry, the two of them circling around, flying beside each other.
Harry smiled as Kara flew beside him. Her hand was right beside his, even if she could not touch it. Still it was about as close as they were going to get and that built up the tension between the two of them.
"You didn't think that I was going to sit this one out, did you?"
"I didn't think you would sit it out, no, obviously not."
Harry smiled as Kara was on one side of him and Faora was on the other side of them, the three of them flew around, circling a whirlwind around them. They picked up speed as the trio accelerated in the dream scape.
"Fly backwards!" Faora shouted to Harry and he raised an eyebrow in confusion before he responded in a questioning tone.
"Fly backwards?"
"Yeah you heard me," Faora told him with a smile, she knew that Har-Zod was going to be in a situation where he might have to go backwards.
The good thing was that Wood trained Harry for those hostile situations where he would have to kick it into reverse so to speak. The wizard pushed himself to the boundaries a little bit and nearly flew hard into the wall before bouncing back, and circling around.
"This can get dizzying!" Harry yelled and Faora crackled a shadow of a smile.
"Well that's supposed to be the point," Faora responded with a shrug of her shoulders as Harry continued to circle around them in a loop. "It's something that allows you to adapt, to keep you on your toes."
Harry thought that there was some kind of merit and the three of them flew backwards together. It was rather disorientating to say the very least but the trio felt their stomachs turn and twitch as they moved around.
"Now, let's do it with our eyes closed!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Kara, Harry, and Faora did so, having to tap into their other senses. The sense of hearing was actually useful to navigate around treacherous obstacles without vision and they did it to great effect. The trio made their way around, circling around, again and again, where they would stop, it would be a while before they even knew.
"So, your sisters, have they exhibited any powers? Kara asked as they flew around for a little bit, leaving a whooshing noise behind them.
"No, they haven't yet," Harry admitted as he closed his eyes.
"Give it time, they'll have some low level Kryptonian abilities," Faora remarked before she thought about it. "Given the nature of their birth and they illness they had, I'm thinking that their conception was a low-level miracle, although not to the extent to that yours was, perhaps."
Harry inclined his head with a nod; that was the most likely explanation. They continued to go through several motions of the flight, he enjoyed the liberation because it gave him some time to think about what was happening.
By its earliest impressions NEWT level work was a bit harder than the standard work that Hogwarts students got during the first five years. Finally at the type of level that Harry would have expected beginner's to get for an accredited school of magic. But yet, that was the type of work that the advanced students were getting. It was around this time where Harry believed that he lost touch with pretty much everything, and just decided to go with the flow, wherever that might take him.
"If the twins start developing powers, we can help them," Kara offered as she closed her eyes. "Although it will be much easier if they start developing them after we leave the dream scape area and into the real world but you can't really predetermine these things."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Wish I had a time table for it, but hey, it could be sooner than we think," Kara added, shrugging her shoulders.
There was an "I hope" mentally added to that inflection, at least that's what Harry heard as she flew around.
"Don't worry, it won't be too long until it happens," Faora chimed in as the trio touched down on the ground. "And your real journey begins."
Harry had to agree that she had a point, what they were doing in here would be considered preparation work, but this….this was the real deal. The young wizard could hardly believe the strides that had been made although there were plenty more to go. That was the key to this training, Harry tapped into his powers one at the time.
Super hearing was a challenge but all he had to do was find a way to isolate the sounds.
X-Ray vision, it was all about focus and he did have a lot of that. Harry was all about focus, that was something that he had in spades, that much was for sure.
Heat vision was another power that was all about focus and again, he was all about focus. Also that one was about taking great care to use it, because he could cause people great injury. The number one rule was to never cause any harm. Unless of course one meant to cause harm, which in that case, cause lots of harm.
Super breath, well that was about control and the gusts that he used to blow things over.
Super strength, well that was developing, although there were ways to control it to the point where he would be able to get everything that he needed to do done and out of the way.
Flight was the power that Harry looked the most forward to.
"So, all of this has been prep work I take it," Harry concluded and Faora responded by wrapping her arms around Harry's neck, and leaning forward, giving him a kiss.
"Har-Zod, you have made great strides," she said after she pulled away. "But your journey has merely only begun."
Harry smiled, there would be plenty of time to inspire great change in the world. He would be long lived, especially when one coupled in his Kryptonian abilities along with the magical ones. The same ones that were mutually shared by Faora and Kara, it would allow them to retain their powers underneath any sun, mainly because they could do a filtering spell, turning any sunlight into yellow.
"Rest of your life begins soon."
Harry faded from the dream scape on this statement.
"Ravenclaw is a team to be taking serious, and you lot aren't taking them seriously!""
"Oliver, we are serious, about taking them seriously, seriously mate, you need to know how serious we are about being serious, seriously," one of the Weasley twins responded with a grin on his face but Wood turned towards him.
"I mean, this situation is about as serious as Sirius Black in a serious situation that is serious," the second Weasley twin added. "I mean have you ever seen a serious situation where Sirius Black was anything but serious, I mean, seriously?"
"That was a bit too serious," Harry added as the twins nodded.
"Look, after we nearly lost to Hufflepuff last time…."
"Yeah, and I sacrificed one Nimbus thank you very much, Wood," Harry responded as three Chasers looked rather serious at this point.
"Oliver, don't worry, if Harry can somehow catch the snitch without a broom, it's in the bag,' Katie chimed in as she watched her team captain. She appreciated his dedication, although there were times where she really wished that he'd pull the stick from his ass.
"It's never in the bag, don't you know that?" Wood asked as Harry turned around, exchanging an exasperated look with the team mates.
It was the same thing every time, the same exact same thing every damn time, Wood lost his mind over the smallest of things. It was the obsession that he had with Quidditch, it threatened to tear him apart. Harry was a fan of the game as much as the next person but there were times where he thought that Wood took it a bit too far.
"Oliver, don't worry, the only times we lost were due to…circumstances beyond our control," Angelina stated as she wondered if they should somehow slip a sedative potion into Wood's food every time that they went out there. Although that might only calm him down slightly.
"We know Chang is good…."
"Is she good?" Harry asked.
"Didn't you see the Ravenclaw match with Slytherin?" Wood asked as he looked at Harry.
"Oliver, I have things to do, I can't be bothered to watch Quidditch matches that I'm not involved with," Harry replied as he waved his hand dismissively, he already devoted enough of his life to this sport, which was only a way to pass the time and get him some exercise, that didn't involve climbing stairs. Plus fresh air that did not have dragon dung mixed in it, as was the case for Herbology.
Wood looked like Harry mortally offended his mother.
"What would you like me to do, Wood?" Harry asked, throwing the ball into the Quidditch team captain's face.
"I don't know, but you need to step up your game and make sure that Chang isn't a problem," Wood retorted.
"And how would you expect me to do that?" Harry asked as he tried to figure out what Wood wanted. "You're already eating up about twenty eight hours out of the day for my training."
"Harry, you're one of the smartest students in Hogwarts, surely you could figure something out," Wood stated as he watched the young wizard.
Harry frowned, before a smile popped onto his face.
"Uh oh," Alicia whispered as she saw the look on Harry's face.
"Uh oh, what do you mean uh oh?" Angelina asked.
"You know what," Katie stated and Angelina got it but the twins and Oliver were out of the loop.
The Chasers all agreed, they had to get a piece of that before Harry left Hogwarts. They knew that he took the class load he did for a reason and he would be out of there in a little under a year.
'Poor Cho, she won't be able to walk, much less ride a broom,' Katie thought as she watched Harry walk off. 'Wish it was me, oh my time will come.'
The fact that Harry was screwing several attractive women on a daily basis, including most of the female teaching staff was not something that went unnoticed by the three Chasers or really much of the rest of the school. It was a wonder no one else picked up on this fact but then again, Dumbledore tended to live in his own world more often than not.
"Remember, the Quidditch Match against Ravenclaw is tomorrow, I want you all to give it one hundred and ten percent."
"Technically, it's impossible to give less than a hundred percent," one of the Weasley twins stated, as he watched Wood but the team leader ignored him.
Harry walked forward towards the school with a purpose, meeting Astoria there.
"So what's up with him?" Astoria asked as she watched Harry.
"Oh he's worried about the game against Ravenclaw," Harry remarked shrugging his shoulders, which caused Astoria to frown slightly.
"Well, Chang….she's halfway decent, better than the Seeker that they had when you played them the first time, at least that's what Daphne said," Astoria said as she leaned against the wall and sighed. "Wood needs to be sedated heavily."
'I'm sure he's just passionate," Harry told her although the young Slytherin second year had a point. "How are your grades?"
"Pretty good, top of my year, although I suppose that's something to be proud of," Astoria responded as Harry embraced her and kissed her. Astoria returned the kiss, the two of them, wrapping their arms and legs around each other, as their tongues battled for domination. "And perks like that, it's hard not to….it's hard not to focus to do so."
Harry smiled.
"There's this girl in my year, in Ravenclaw, that….well she's rather odd," Astoria informed him choosing her words carefully. "But she's odd in a good way, I suppose. She sees the world in her own way."
"That's not a bad thing," Harry added but there was a frown that crossed Astoria's face.
"For some people in this world, it's a bad thing, because they upset the status quo."
Harry somehow thought that figured.
"Talk to you later," Astoria concluded as she thought about what she did to the people that tormented poor Luna. They would recover from their injuries, eventually, she did leave them alive so they could remember what it was like to be put through hell. Which in some ways was a fate that was worse than death, if they were unable to sit down without suffering some kind of pain, immense pain was much less kinder than sudden death, the kind of suffering that makes men weep and cry like toddlers.
"See you, Astoria," Harry retorted as he waited for her to head off and he craned his neck for a moment, drawing in a bit of a breath.
Sure enough, Cho Chang appeared on the edge of his vision and a smile crossed Harry's face. It was now time to make his move.
"Oh, hi, Harry," Cho said to him as she stepped towards the emerald eyed sorcerer to greet him. "Penny told me about your OWLs, congratulations. I'm kind of nervous about mine even though it's not until next year."
Cho thought that Harry taking his OWL examinations early was pretty bold, although it showed his intelligence, something that turned her on.
"What are you nervous about?" Harry asked as he watched her. "I'm sure that someone brilliant like you, wouldn't have that many problems with your OWLs."
Cho looked pleased with this assessment given by Harry, even if it was not one that she one hundred percent agreed with. Yet, despite the fact, she pressed on.
"I was having a bit of trouble with my Defence homework and…."
"No problem, come over to my room, I'll be sure to help you out," Harry told her as he waved a hand before he smiled, yep this worked out rather well.
Almost too well but Harry was not about to jinx it.
"I understand it a lot better….you should be a teacher,' Cho said with a smile on her face, as they sat in the room almost an hour later.
"You're too kind but something tells me that's not my calling," Harry answered and Cho frowned.
That most certainly was a pity but she suspected that someone like Harry Potter was going to have a higher calling in life, one that she could not really fathom. The Ravenclaw did wonder about that, although one might suspect that she was a bit desperate about accepting help from a third year student, even if technically speaking he and Hermione Granger were sixth year students.
This entire fast track thing made Cho's head spin. She could never do it and she prided herself as being a person that was rather serious about her studies. Still it was borderline tricky to do what Harry did. The dark haired girl watched Harry.
"Really, Harry, I appreciate that," Cho stated, sliding her robes off. It was a bit hot in the room.
She sat there, a delight. There was a dark curtain of black hair that covered her beautiful face, with luscious red lips that puckered with delight. Her breasts were encased in a white blouse and her breasts strained tightly against the fabric. Harry noticed that a couple of the buttons were unbuttoned and he saw a hint of her generous cleavage. Her shirt rode up a little bit, showing that she had a flat and toned stomach.
His eyes traveled down to her skirt, he noticed that she had a great ass, although the Hogwarts robes did hide a lot. Her legs were shapely and rather tanned, and her shoes now were kicked off, to reveal her feet covered in socks, which Cho promptly yanked off to reveal her elegant, Asian feet, with sexy toes that wiggled.
"It's getting hot in here, isn't it?" Cho asked and Harry smiled.
'Isn't it, though?" Harry asked her as he placed a hand on the small of her back, feeling the smooth flesh that was underneath.
Cho scooted towards him, a smile crossing her face, her dark eyes looking towards him.
"So, I think that I need to thank you," Cho breathed, as she swung one leg over the other and straddled his lap. She shivered as Harry's hand pushed up her leg, stroking her inner thigh and causing her to shiver.
"I'm sure we can come up with an agreement that is acceptable."
Harry pushed his hand up her thigh, until he reached her panties.
The next day, the Quidditch Game with Ravenclaw was won handily by Gryffindor when the seeker had to sit out the game due to the fact that she could not sit on a broomstick. The reserve Ravenclaw had in place was not really that good.
Cho thought that it was worth it to lose.
Dear Harry,
Stress, stress, stress, but hey at least that big presentation is over. I'm sure that you'd be glad to know that I passed with flying colors.
Riddle boy is starting to get on my nerves; although he is rather intelligent. A bit nuts, but hey I guess that's what you get. He could get away with some of these thefts if he doesn't keep leaving riddles behind.
Congratulations on your OWLs….top marks, you must be proud. And only a year, you are insane trying to take a fast track out of there, the workload must be nuts. But I cannot fault you for your dedication. I really cannot fault you for your dedication.
Although it is weird that you have two sets of examinations that spell out to be stereotypical magical creatures, but I guess you chalk that up with you lot not being all that self-aware.
I'm doing fine here, well as fine as I ever will be. Stressing out kind of about the Falcone thing now that I think about it. He keeps giving me a shifty look but he now has a bodyguard. Who is twice my size, I should note. Not that I'd attack him ,the last thing I want is to get knifed before I'm able to drive a car. But it's more of a power play thing.
So how was the second Quidditch match of the season? It must be awesome to fly on a broomstick, out in the open air like that. We have nothing like that here, it should be amazing, shouldn't it?
Amanda's letter that she sent me offered some interesting insight in her opinion of you but I can't obviously say much because it was private.
Anyway, got loads of homework to do, wish I could talk to you even more.
Write back soon,
Barbara.
Harry sat down, reading the letter with a smile on his face, and collected his thoughts for a moment, before he scrawled out a response.
Dear Barbara,
I'm sure you did fine. In fact, I'm sure you did excellent but then again, I would expect nothing less from you. You do strike me as an overachiever of the highest magnitude.
I've had this discussion with Pam, but really, no they're not self-aware at all. They have no idea how absurd they are at times. And surely my dedication is the one thing that they cannot be denied. I've busted my backside trying to get to the place where I am but I supposed that's just as well, isn't it?
Eddie the riddle-meister, well I'm sure that has to do with some deep rooted issue of his. Some kind of guilt complex although I could be way off base because let's face it, psychology is not my area of expertise.
I would tell you to be careful but given that you are the daughter of one of the halfway decent cops in Gotham, you have a target on your back.
Color me intrigued regarding Amanda's letter but I suppose I won't pry. Although I do have my suspicions about her but something is bound to happen pretty soon.
The seeker was barely able to concentrate and fly. Wood was pleased, although I am glad he didn't propose marriage, because that would be awkward.
So talk to you later,
Harry.
Harry finished the letter as Hedwig waited patiently, eating the mouse she had caught on the way over here. The letter to Pamela was next and Harry dove into that one, a smile crossing over his face as always.
Dear Harry,
Luthorcorp was responsible for hacking down over a dozen forests to put in their factories. And there was plenty of city space to do that that wouldn't kill plants.
Sometimes I swear Lionel Luthor does this just to make people's lives miserable because he gets off on it.
Good job on the first set of stereotypically named magical exams. Hopefully the second set is as good and then you could move into the real world on a more regular basis.
I really hope that the mob hasn't put a hit out on Barbara, although Mini-Falcone looks like he thinks he's untouchable. Maybe you can lend us Astoria to counteract that.
That wasn't a serious request, well mostly.
So, just trying to get through another year at the Academy, workload is about what you expect. I think that once I get through this year, next year should be relatively fine. I won't say it's a blowoff year but it's easier than before, or so I've heard.
Keep your head in there and hopefully we'll be able to get together before too long.
Write back soon.
Pamela.
Harry smiled at the letter.
Dear Pamela,
Luthor is the type of person who does things not because he has to but out of spite. Then again, when you have that much money, someone needs some kind of hobby, I guess.
It was a gift, I'll admit that.
I better hide this letter from Astoria. Although oddly enough, I can see her fitting into Gotham City rather well for some reason, but then again the insanity of that city is not too much removed from that of Hogwarts.
They finally pulled the Dementors by the way. Took them bloody forever. Nym is sticking around for the year, filling in for Lupin when he gets sick. And he gets sick about monthly, around the full moon. That's something that I wonder about. Lucretia makes him a potion every month although she's been sworn to secrecy as to why.
Be careful, just because it seems like it might be a blowoff year, it might be a bit trickier than you thought it might be.
Preparing for sixth year exams already and then one more year until the end, I bet they didn't think that it could be done. Then I can take some time off until the next fall where I begin my college education. With my marks, I can get in anywhere.
Talk to you soon,
Harry.
"Got to get my NEWTs done, but that's only scratching the surface," Penny remarked as she walked towards Hogmeade with Harry. Daphne and Hermione tagged along and Nym did as well, do to still having a role as Harry's bodyguard. Sirius had been discharged officially, with the Prophet finally admitting that the Ministry was wrong. It was a small blurb, out of the way.
Over six months after the fact, Harry should note, right after the coverage of the Sirius Black incident had been fazed out of the papers. Coverage slowed down to a trickle in November and he had long since been considered old news.
"Healer is a high stress job, they want to make sure that you are able to cope with everything," Hermione responded, wondering if she had the merits for such a job. She could get any job in the world with her marks or she could if this world was not a politically minded structure that was a good old boys club.
"Yes and that's without the political minefield that you have to navigate through," Daphne chimed in as the group passed Filch, who looked nasty as usual and rather bitter. Then again, that was Filch's default form. The blonde smirked to the rest of the group as they continued to make their way to Hogsmeade. "But someone with your grades should be able to get something no time at all."
Penny was glad that some people had so much faith in her, because there were a lot of times where it was hard to put a certain amount of faith in herself. Then again, perhaps it was the stress of working hard and trying to balance all of that work. It was an act where she figured that she was a few steps ahead of where she was but at the same time, she slid several steps back.
"Just relax, Penny, it will be over before you know it," Harry told her as he put his arm around her waist.
"I'm glad for the day out in Hogsmeade," she remarked in a calm voice and that was a sentiment that was appreciated.
"So, Astoria and the twins are having a day together," Hermione remarked as she eyed Harry, nervous at the chaotic potential of those three getting together.
"Yes, with Ginny and Luna," Harry added, he had only encountered the odd girl about once or twice in passing. She was what one would call unique, although it was a refreshing change all things considered.
Daphne wondered about Harry's sisters collaborating with Astoria, there was a certain feeling of dread that she could not misplace. Perhaps she was worrying much about nothing but still, her sister tended to be one that was a handful even at the best of times. Her relationship with Harry gave Astoria a certain amount of stability, which she lacked after their father died.
"Well let's hope that the castle is not in ruins," Hermione remarked darkly.
"Let's hope not," Harry added with a smile as they entered Hogsmeade.
Once one got over the fact that it was a completely magical village, with a couple of interesting attractions, it was nothing to write home about. Although the Shrieking Shack was one that Harry found peculiar, as people making a big deal of ghosts was odd to him. Magical people at least, because they saw ghosts on a day to day basis. If it was Muggle people, then Harry would be less surprised.
It was a tourist attraction, Harry suspected.
"So do you think it's really haunted?" Hermione asked as she looked at the Shack.
"Kind of," Harry responded as he used his X-Ray vision to focus on the Shack. He saw broken pieces of furniture, torn and ripped, and claw marks. Along with chocolate wrappers strewn all over the floor, which was a curious sight.
'Curious and curiouser,' Harry thought to himself as he took a long look at everything in the house. 'There's….well that isn't the work of ghosts, I can say that much. What it's the work of, I don't have any idea.'
"Care to clarify that statement," Daphne remarked as Penny separated from the main group to hang out with some of her year mates.
"Well, I think he means that it might be something supernatural but not ghosts," Nym offered with a shrug.
Harry thought that Nym hit the nail on the head more than most would have and he studied the broken furniture, it was shattered and ripped in ways that could not have been done by a spirit. That put Harry on edge certainly and the wizard wondered what they were dealing with. He wondered if anyone actually had been inside.
Or really he wondered where these rumors originated from.
Harry, Nym, Daphne, and Hermione walked down the beaten path towards Hogsmeade, towards the Hog's Head. Why Sirius had told them to meet there and not the Three Broomsticks, they had no idea.
"We are allowed, aren't we?" Daphne asked.
"There's nothing illegal about going in there," Nym commented in a careful voice but she turned her head off to the side. "Of course, it isn't a place that many law abiding citizens hang out. There are many shady dealings going on there. Moody warned me to stay on my guard."
Daphne smiled, the exploits of the legendary Mad-Eye Moody had been that, extremely legendary. He was a notorious crackpot who always looked over his shoulder, although given the number of times that he had been attacked that was just as well. The blonde heard stories through her mother, although Moody had been in semi-retirement since the end of the fall of Voldemort.
Harry entered the pub and almost did not recognize Sirius.
"So, you're back Sirius, and I see you've gotten a shave, a hair cut, and….did you get a flea bath or not?" Nym asked as she watched him with a grin.
"You're about as charming as your mother, Nymphadora," Sirius fired back with a bark like chuckle.
"Whatever you say, Snuffles," Nym retorted which caused Daphne, Hermione, and Harry to laugh.
"You know I should just take my ball and go home," Sirius stated in a mock pouting manner.
"Ah, would you like a Scooby snack instead?" Nym asked which caused Harry to crack a smile.
"As a matter of fact, I would like a Scooby snack….because I found out what were in those things," Sirius remarked as Harry and Hermione gave him a warning look but Daphne looked confused, she felt that she was missing out on some inside joke between all of them.
"Do I want to know what he's talking about?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, you don't want to know what he's talking about," Harry confirmed to her and the blonde nodded her head.
"Yes, I imagined so," Daphne answered with a smile crossing her face and Sirius crossed his arms.
"Right let's get down to business," Sirius stated before he smiled, he could not resist himself. Now that he was out of Azkaban, he could not resist himself. "Some serious business….OW!"
"Sorry, it slipped," Nym droned, not sounding sorry at all for the impromptu smack to the back of his head but she sat down along with Daphne, Hermione, and Harry.
"Let's get on track, with the fact that my mother is stasis in a castle that I can't access for another three months," Harry responded and Sirius nodded for a moment. "Is there anything special that I need to do?"
"Just enter the castle, although….there's something that you need to know," Sirius informed him, remembering what James told him all those years ago. "The castle hasn't let every Potter completely inside. James was only been able to get through the front hallway and the chambers underneath."
"That's where my mother is," Harry stated and Sirius responded with a brisk nod.
"Yes, that's where she is," Sirius responded, clasping his hands together.
"Very well," Harry answered, at least he knew what he needed to do. "If I can find her, I'm sure that I can find a way to wake her from her charm induced coma."
"Do you think it will be that easy?" Hermione asked, eyebrows raised and a frown on her face.
Harry only considered the matter for a moment before he turned his head, eyes combing Hermione's face. He slumped his shoulders and smiled.
"I don't think that anything would be that easy. Things are rarely easy at all, if that's something that I learned. But getting inside the castle will put me one step closer to doing what I need to do."
Harry knew one thing and that was that he would be finding out one way or another just how easy liberating his mother was in a few months time. The wizard waited for that happy moment and knew that he would step into a castle that contained a small part of his birth right. If he made it through those front doorways, so much the better, but if he made it past them and into this Castle Peverell, he would be able to reap the benefits, whatever they might be.
"So, what you have been doing with yourself, Sirius?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I've been talking with Remus, although that ridiculous mustache is quite concerning, I'm trying to figure out whether it's sentient or not," Sirius remarked with a shudder.
"Yes, Lupin does have some weird facial hair, it's rather unsettling," Daphne answered clasping her hands together. "Then again, you have room to talk."
"What?" Sirius asked, feigning some level of innocence, even though it did not suit him.
"Did you see your mugshot?" Daphne asked as she surveyed him for his reaction.
"Look, Daphne, there are three photos that never look good under any circumstances," Harry responded as he ticked them off. "School photo, driver's license, mugshot, the case is closed."
"He speaks the truth," Hermione stated with a smile as Sirius began to talk about what he had been up to as of late.
The Quidditch finals passed and well it would be a game for the ages. Slytherin in particular seemed to be about ready to break the all time Hogwarts average for most fouls done in a single game. Harry thought about it, he had never seen so many nasty tactics in one place, at one time. Yet, there was a moment where he reflected back on it and thought that it made the eventual triumph that much sweeter.
This would be his final Quidditch game he suspected and it ended with Draco Malfoy a broken and beaten mess. He tried for a maneuver that was far more dangerous and complex than someone of his minor talent was capable of. Then he crashed and burned rather hard to the ground. They took whatever was left of him to the Hospital Wing.
Despite that crushing defeat, there was a 470-50 victory in favor for Gryffindor and Harry thought that he would retire on that performance, considering that there was going to be no chance that he would ever beat that even though he lived for a million years.
He was in the shower, basking in the moment of triumph, two years and two false starts, but as they said, third time was the charm. He thought that Wood was going to reach a climax there on the field. So Harry cleared out of there quickly, that was not something that he wished to see.
"So, there he is, man of the hour."
Harry turned around and he had to admit, that he liked what he saw. Angelina Johnson stood before him in the shower, a rather slim and transparent towel wrapped around her chocolate frame. Her dark hair hung loosely above her back, the towel wrapped around her nice breasts, going down towards just an inch above her womanhood, with Harry catching a hint of it. Her shapely muscular legs and round ass made her a picture of beauty.
She moved forward, not caring that Harry was completely naked and allowed the towel to drop between them. Angelina wrapped her arms tightly around Harry and pressed her lips onto his mouth with a hungry kiss, grinding up and down his body and he returned the attack.
This might be the last opportunity that she had to do this so she made the most out of it.
"Hey, it's a party, and no one invited us."
Katie Bell stood in the shower, dressed in a thin robe. Her golden blonde hair framed her beautiful face, a pair of thick lovely lips pursed as she held one hand to her hip. She was well endowed as well and had a lovely set of legs that reached down to the ground, with sexy feet.
"That seems wrong, maybe we should rectify it."
Alicia Spinett popped up at this moment, licking her lips and watching Harry, her eyes traveling down his sculpted muscles. She placed her hands on his body, allowing the towel around her to drop. Her chocolate curls were prominent, along with her dark blue eyes.
All three chasers had amazing curves and sexy bodies, along with beautiful faces, so Harry was down with that. Katie moved into his arms, wrapping her slender arms around him as he wrapped his arms around her body. She breathed heavily, with Harry's lips finding his way onto hers. The blonde chaser relaxed into a sensual embrace, with Harry pulling her into an embrace.
Alicia wrapped around him on one side and started to kiss the back of his neck, while Angelina dropped down between his legs, looking at the merchandise that laid in wait between his legs in an appraising manner, licking her lips.
"Oh this will do nicely," Angelina cooed as she eyed him hungrily.
"So, Mum wrote us a letter last night," Ginny informed Hermione, Astoria, Harry, Daphne, Amanda, and Emily that day as the group sat around.
"Yes, and what were the contents?" Daphne asked, as she thought that it was thankful that that it was not a howler. Actually only three people on the planet used a howler any more, especially in a public setting like Hogwarts and one of them was Molly Weasley.
"Ron is responsive, he might be able to attend Hogwarts during his fourth year," Ginny answered, barely able to keep a straight face. "Fingers crossed."
"I'm praying for him," Harry stated in a complete dead pan which caused the girls to break out into laughter.
"Seriously, he could have some serious brain damage, perhaps we shouldn't make fun of him," Hermione responded as she bit down on her lip but shook her head. 'I mean, at this point, it's like going up to a coma patient and kicking them in the head."
"Isn't that the truth?" Amanda asked as she folded her arms. She only encountered Ron Weasley for three minutes and forty seven seconds but that was about three minutes and forty eight seconds longer than was recommended by law. "So did you hear about Ron's old pet?"
"About Pettigrew, yeah I heard about it," Harry responded with a smile on his face.
"He got the Dementor's Kiss and his body burned in Diagon Alley, it was a very public thing," Astoria responded, looking a bit sad that she had to miss out on it. The blonde kept her eyes forward and inclined her head up towards the air. "So, that's the end of him."
"Too bad we can't get Snape," Hermione commented in a dark tone of voice.
"Damn straight, too bad we couldn't get Snape," Amanda stated, angry at what Snape tried to do to Rose and Emily, while less hostile than her sister, nodded her head up and down.
The problem was that Snape was slippery as a snake, he was a member of the Slytherin house for a reason. He was not going to just go out in public when there was a very high price on his head. Andromeda increased the price as well and he could not show his face any more without having someone gun for his head. Not to mention more than a few Aurors might want to bring Snape in, the hard way. He had not made many friends during his time as Potions Professor at Hogwarts.
Harry almost felt sorry for him except for the fact he did not. He would finish what he started with Snape's arm if he saw the greasy piece of dragon dung ever again.
A lot of the worse impulses of Slytherin house had been cut down, at the very least Lucretia had been a better head of house than Snape was. There were no other Hogwarts alumni that were in Slytherin, so she got the role and did the best she could given some of the baggage she inherited.
"At least Professor Malfoy isn't anything like Professor Snape," Hermione offered them and Harry's expression darted towards her.
"I should hope not," Harry responded, he could verify that Lucretia Malfoy was nothing like Snape. For one thing, she used shampoo once in a while, which Harry found to be an extremely attractive trait. "She is great and actually is able to explain the information she knows."
"And you're sleeping with her," Astoria added, not bothering to sugarcoat it.
"And her grade average has gone up across the board," Harry concluded as if he had not heard Astoria. "And Slytherin and Gryffindor relations are cool and not hostile. So she's doing a great job."
"Also, you're sleeping with her," Astoria repeated herself as she watched him.
Hermione smiled. "Then again, who isn't Harry sleeping with right now?"
"Especially with the teachers," Ginny chimed in with a smirk.
"There's always Trelawney, Harry hasn't tapped that one," Amanda stated with a grin.
"Nor will I," Harry commented, he did have some standards after all.
"But Mister Potter, I'd like to see your inner eye," Daphne stated in a false misty voice which caused the twins and Ginny to laugh and even Hermione to crack a smile. While they had not taken a class with the Divination teacher, they've heard things. "Come now lad, I have been crystal gazing and I have seen Uranus."
"You're kidding me, right?" Astoria asked as she sighed. "You actually made a Uranus joke."
"She did," Ginny stated, that was actually it was amusing, shaking her head from one side to the other.
Harry smiled, he was glad that they were finding some level of amusement with what was happening.
"So you keeping Hermione in line so she doesn't pop a brain cell because of the exams," Daphne stated as she smiled but Hermione mockingly glared at her.
"Yes, I am," Harry commented as he turned his attention towards the twins. "So are you two ready for your second year exams?"
"Of course we are, first year was a piece of cake," Amanda responded as she remembered her marks. Emily did slightly better than Amanda did.
"It wasn't that bad," Emily contributed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well that's a glowing assessment if I ever heard one," Harry summed up as he looked at the twins. "You know, if you ever need help, you know where to find me."
"Oh we do," Amanda stated, she knew what she'd like to do with Harry, although she was going to wait until exams were over. It would be her reward to herself. She knew Emily would want to do it too, although she needed to coax the girl into it.
Sixth year exams were an interesting challenge to Harry, although he felt that he did well enough. Even Hermione finally conceded that she did not fail everything, despite the fact she studied her brains out. That had been something that Harry worked to condition Hermione out of for in the past three years, although he had a feeling that she would have a relapse during NEWT year. Harry and Hermione already did preparation for their seventh year work for next year.
January 1st, they would be out of here, with their NEWTs, and by that time, Harry might have access to the castle. He hoped that he could prepare himself for more endeavors, although there were people sending him information about jobs at the Ministry. The wizard decided that being one cog in a broken wheel just wasn't for him.
He did have a few meetings with Amelia Bones over the past several months and would be having one more before he made it out of the school for the school year. He had shared classes with her niece as well and Susan seemed to be a driven and someone who was too nice for her own good. The type of girl that the system would eat up, chew up and spit out in no time but Harry hoped that she made it given the hard work and dedication that she showed. She was the epitome of everything that it meant to be a Hufflepuff.
Harry walked his way back to his room, having finally read through the Hogwarts library for the second time. The strange thing about the library was that there were books that only seemed to exist under certain circumstances. That was the price of a sentient library, Harry imagined.
With that thought out of his mind, Harry twisted his doorknob, and opened the door to reveal his sisters sitting on the bed. Amanda wore a green robe that matched the eyes that Harry and the twins inherited from their mother and shared with their aunt. Emily wore a blue robe and looked more nervous than Amanda did, who looked excited.
"Amanda, Emily," Harry remarked as he set down.
"Hi, Harry, we just found out how we did on our exams," Amanda stated in an excited voice, as her robe shifted, to reveal a hint of her creamy thighs.
"Let's see it then," Harry said as he kept his eyes on Amanda and the red head handed Harry the papers.
The wizard smiled as he read through the papers that she gave him, she passed the examinations with flying colors, as did Emily. In fact, they got the top marks in their year, which was something that was pretty good, and the wizard smiled.
"I guess doing well in exams excels in our family," Emily responded as she shifted for a moment.
Amanda, being a little bit bolder than her sister, shifted towards Harry. "So, dear brother, I think that this mandates a reward. We've been seeing what you've been doing with our aunt and a few other girls. I've….it's been a challenge holding myself back and not giving in my base instincts, but damn it, I want you, I really want you."
Amanda threw her arms around Harry as he felt her curves pressed against him.
"Well, someone's being direct," Harry commented as a smile crossed over his face.
"I know, but you can't deny how much you want this," Amanda stated as she straddled his lap and leaned forward. Harry saw down the front of her robes and saw her impressive breasts. Like always, magic lead to a faster maturation process. "It's….it's your brotherly duty to show your poor sisters the ropes in the ways of love."
She smiled, a bit more nervously, although Harry suspected that this was a coy little act. He tilted his sister down onto the bed and captured the nape of her neck in a kiss. Amanda breathed heavily, feeling her brother's talented mouth work her over.
His hands stripped her of her robe.
"I'll…." Emily stated but Harry looked towards her.
"Just watch and feel free to join in when you're ready," Harry responded, stripping Amanda of her robes and quite liking what he saw.
"Figure out the sound of the cricket chirping."
There were a lot of noises that Faora set up in the dream scape, so finding a cricket chirping among them was going to be a challenge. However, it was a challenge that Harry was going to jump at and seize. The wizard stepped forward, craning his ear and he edged his way through the clearing, finding the noises getting louder and more prominent as he kept searching.
The wizard tapped his hand on the ground and craned his ear a little bit before he heard the cricket chirping in the distance and picked it up.
Faora smiled as did Kara in an appraising manner.
"Use your heat vision to carve your signature into the rocks," Faora told him and Harry did as she said. It was a bit tricky to focus it even at the best of times but Harry managed to do it with flying colors, carving the letters of his name in the structure around him. He drew in the breath he had and bounced back.
"Better than I could do," Kara commented with a smile, the first she practiced with heat vision in the simulator, she started a fire. She got better but it was a power that required a lot of control and focus. One little slip up could mean that there would be a major screw up.
Faora was smiling.
"Use your X-Ray vision to find me three jagged rocks," Faora told him, not mentioning that one of the jagged rocks was hidden by a lead casing. That would be a test for Har-Zod's resourcefulness to see if he was able to pinpoint them with some degree of accuracy.
To his credit, he did as he was told. He found two rocks and frowned as he found the third one after transfiguring the lead into a substance that he could see through. The wizard smiled as he pointed it out.
"Should have figured that lead was a dead giveaway," Harry remarked in an off handed voice and Faora shrugged her shoulders.
"I guess one could say that," the Kryptonian agreed before she pointed forward. "Use your super breath to clear the path, without the dust touching any part of the ground."
Harry controlled his lung capacity, taking a huge breath but he blew the super breath out and the dust kicked in the air, clearing up everything. The wizard smiled as the dust dispersed and everything fluttered in the air, before he vanished it.
"Well, interesting tactic," Faora commented as she waved her hand and a rather huge mountain dropped on top of Harry but he blocked it. "To test your strength and reflexes, naturally."
"Naturally," Harry fired back with a grunt as Kara watched him lift several thousand tons off of him. It was nothing but a paper clip to him. Though it was kind of hard to gauge real weight next to simulated weight.
"Well you've passed that test, now it's time for one last test, the flight test," Faora stated as she waited for Harry to kick into the air. The wizard prepared to launch himself forward, cracking a cyclone in the air. "Backwards!"
Harry did as he was instructed; he was getting a bit better at this.
"Forwards!" Faora stated and she waited for him to fly a bit more. Her eyes followed his progress, a smile crossing her face. She was proud out how well his powers were coming together, but only the rudimentary parts of his training were over. "Diagonal."
Harry flew cross to the side and she snapped out a few more directions before snapping her fingers.
"Very good, you may stop," Faora said and Harry dropped down. She gave him a kiss in congratulations and Harry returned it.
Kara watched them frowning and closing her eyes. The word "soon" repeated in her head like a mantra. Soon she would be able to touch Harry and oh yes, she would be touching him. She knew that she would make up for lost time, and would do something that Faora promised her would happen even before they left Krypton.
Her urges only intensified the moment that she spotted Harry and the blonde could hardly believe what he could do to her. Faora shared some intense dreams with her and needless to say, they left Kara extremely wet and extremely horny.
'Soon.'
That was something that she reminded herself, soon she would have her reward, soon she would have Harry. It was something that burned through her like an itch so bad that she needed to scratch it.
"Our time grows short once again but you have made amazing strides, even though your journey has merely begun," Faora explained to Harry, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "And soon, we'll be able to do much more in the real world."
"Much more,' Kara stated with a grin as she drank in Harry's body. The blonde could hardly wait to jump him.
Faora gave Kara only a vague idea of the time table that they had although there was a chance that they would be out of the box rather soon.
Harry faded out of the scene.
"My aunt thinks rather highly of you," Susan said as the two hung out outside the entry hall of Hogwarts as the Hogwarts Express was about to leave for the year but not for another couple hours and not before Harry met with Amelia.
"Well your aunt is a rather strong witch and someone who works far harder then she should," Harry answered before he eyed Susan, the young red head inhaling and exhaling as she saw Harry's gaze on her but she said nothing. "It's almost like she's married to her job."
"Well that's because she is," Susan stated before she dropped her voice a little bit. "I don't want to tell you anything and I'm sure she doesn't want anyone to know, but she was engaged to be married to her Hogwarts sweetheart almost fifteen years ago."
Ginny, who had been half listening to the conversation, decided to be the one to ask that one question. "What happened?"
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or one of his followers killed him," Susan responded, but that was not the only member of her family that was killed. Several of her cousins were killed, along with an older brother and a couple of uncles. Her parents died a couple years ago after a mugging in Diagon Alley gone wrong. It was such big news, as petty crime was not something that was big in the Wizarding World.
Magical going after Muggles, sure that was common place but magicals going after each other for a mugging in a magical street that was something that was completely and utterly odd.
"Sorry to hear about that," Harry told her in an honest voice and Susan nodded, smiling despite that fact.
"Well she's long since gotten over it, although she's immersed herself in her work," Susan offered, pleased with the confidence that her aunt did earn that spot every step of the way. The redhead had a smile on her face when she thought about that.
"Harry, just making sure you're okay with seeing the twins home on the train," Rose stated as she walked over.
"I'm not sure if Petunia and Vernon are going to be too happy about this," Harry told her but he shrugged none the same.
"It will only be until this evening, less than two hours, I'm sure Petunia and Vernon are going to have to suck it up," Rose responded, as she eyed Harry.
"Sure, I'll make sure Amanda and Emily find their way home," Harry remarked, after all he did feel that his two younger sisters were his responsibility.
"Thanks Harry, I'll see you at home," Rose stated as she hugged him tightly.
Ginny smirked at these words. "Yeah, that was subtle."
Susan looked confused. "What was subtle?"
Ginny shook her head, only one thought crossing her mind.
'Poor little naïve Hufflepuff.'
Hermione popped up, with Astoria and Daphne following her from behind, with Neville following closely behind. The girls greeted Harry with hugs kisses, and Neville greeted Harry with a firm handshake.
"You'd never guess what happened to Professor Lupin," Hermione remarked as she watched Harry.
"Someone drugged him and shaved off his pornstache," Harry commented and Hermione watched him, putting her hands on her hips and scowling for a moment at him not taking the situation seriously. "What it was a logical assumption with what happened!"
"He's got that right," Ginny responded with a smile.
Susan wondered if this was some inside joke that she was missing out on with this group.
Hermione sighed as she kept crossing her arms.
"Well word is that Lupin's a werewolf….he left last night," Astoria chimed in before she shared the next bit of news for them. "You want to know what spiteful little troll started these rumors."
"His name wouldn't happen to be Draco Malfoy, would it?" Ginny asked and Astoria nodded her head.
"Right in one, his name was Draco Malfoy," Astoria remarked as she turned her head around. Lupin, despite his questionable facial hair, was a pretty good teacher but it was the nature of the Defense Against the Dark Arts job.
Harry somehow thought that Draco wasn't someone who would find out something like this on his own. There was someone who fed him this information, somehow out of spite. His mind tried to connect the pieces.
Draco did not have the ability to think unless his father told him something, so Harry picked up one link on the chain of succession.
Lucius would have had to have some kind of inside track, a source that could bring him information about Lupin. Someone who knew about him and that someone would have to hold a grudge against him to ruin his life.
Sirius mentioned that Snape held a grudge against Lupin, Sirius, and James during their time at Hogwarts. So Harry was putting the pieces together.
"Snape," Harry stated as Daphne nodded.
"We're on the same wavelength with that one," Daphne agreed but while they should be able to nail Lucius for talking with a known fugitive, there was some piece to the puzzle missing. Something that they could not piece together completely and that piece of knowledge was Snape's whereabouts were still unknown "Snape wanted the job as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Which means he's still out there," Harry commented dryly but Hermione decided to drop the other piece of information that she nearly forgot until now.
"I overheard Lavender telling Parvati that Trelawney went funny the other day," Hermione responded and Harry and Ginny both raised eyebrows. "Well funnier than usual at least. She said something about the Dark Lord's most faithful servant rejoining him, it was a prophecy. He was chained but those chains were broken."
Harry put the pieces together in his hand. Snape may have been chained because Dumbledore vouched for him. There were rumors that he was a Death Eater, although they were only just that rumors and innuendo. Rumors that pretty much everyone and their dog kind of verified to be true at one point or another.
"That's interesting," Harry wondered, although he doubted that a random statement by a known crackpot would have much validity in things, something about that he doubted. Call him crazy, but he really doubted those words.
Nym turned up, tabling that conversation for a moment.
"Amelia wants to see you, it will only take about five minutes," Nym stated.
"I wonder if she's going to inform you about the thing at the Ministry," Neville chimed in and Harry's eyes snapped towards Neville who shrugged. "It's a pureblood thing, done at the age of fourteen, it isn't mandatory, but it's recommended. It's about certification to be on the Wizengamot, and after a four week course, you take an exam."
"I suppose you can take the exam without the four week course," Harry said but Neville shrugged.
Amelia was waiting for Harry after he and Nym only walked a short way.
"Mr. Potter, we meet once again," Amelia commented before she made some small talk. "I trust you have had a productive school year."
"Another year of examinations done, only my NEWTs to go," Harry remarked as he watched Amelia.
Amelia nodded, she was of two minds about Harry Potter and his future role for the Wizarding World. On one hand, she would hate to see such a brilliant mind slip away like she suspected he intended to do. Given what she was able to dig up about his past in the Muggle World, he sat on several impressive offers from some of the top Muggle educational institutions. Therefore, Amelia was not a fool, she knew that Harry Potter would be gone eventually.
On the other hand, she also understood that perhaps his mind would be wasted in a backwards world like theirs. Amelia closed her eyes and thought rather carefully about this.
"Well I wish you the best of luck,' Amelia added, not bothering to ask Harry what his plans were. "The Ministry wishes to invite you to take your public certification exam for the Wizengamot, where you will be able to hold a vote via owl until the age of seventeen or opt to put a proxy in that position. All you need to do is pass your examination."
Amelia paused as she had Harry's full and divided attention.
"There is a pamphlet full of the latest magical laws," Amelia stated, holding Harry a rather dusty pamphlet that looked to be about thirty or so years old, perhaps older.
"So all I need to study that and pass the exam," Harry responded as he eyed it.
"Or you can elect to take a four week course, it's taught by Dolores Umbridge," Amelia informed him and Harry's eyes widened.
"I'll stick with the pamphlet," Harry responded quickly which caused a slight smile to cross over Amelia's face.
"Many do when they hear that part," Amelia commented, wondering what Fudge was thinking about this. Then again, putting Fudge and thinking in the same sentence, without the words "never is" sandwiched in between was an exercise in futility. "See you on August 28th."
"I'll be there with bells on," Harry told her with a smile as he gave her a customary kiss on the hand.
Amelia wished he would stop doing that, it was giving her some impure thoughts that interfered with her work.
"So, Harry, are you interested in the Quidditch World Cup?" Sersi asked over the communication mirror as Harry was back on the Hogwarts Express, with Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Amanda, and Emily sitting with him on the train.
"Depends on why you're asking?" Harry asked, wondering where she was going with it.
"Well, Gringotts came in possession of some top box tickets when one of our clients defaulted on a loan with us," Sersi informed him. "Although he still owes us a lot of loans, we won't feed his liver to the dragon on account of him giving us these seats."
"I didn't know goblins were fans of Quidditch," Harry remarked as he watched Sersi who smirked.
"We don't really like it, not violent enough," Sersi commented lightly as she offered a little smirk. "But, it might be an interesting study, if you and four other people could head over to the game. I'll happily hand over the passes to you….if you get me out of this bank and take me with you."
"Are you asking me out on a date, Princess?" Harry asked and Sersi flushed for a moment.
"My Lord, I merely wish to increase client-goblin relations," Sersi responded but Harry thought that he detected a bit of denial. "This offer expires on August 24th, that's the day before the cup, so swing by the bank to pick them up. Or don't, but we still have some business to go over. And I'm sure if you need more tickets, I can squeeze some out of our….defaulting client. He has some connections that could get us prime seats."
"Will do," Harry responded as he clicked it off. "So Hermione, you still hate Quidditch?"
"Only when you're not in it," Hermione responded as she watched Harry with a smile.
"Well you like camping, don't you?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Only if it's done the fun way," Hermione responded before she eyed Harry. "You know, no magic."
"I know," Harry agreed with her, as he thought it over in his mind.
He figured that he could take Hermione, Amanda, and Emily to the Quidditch World Cup, maybe Rose as well. And if he needed more passes, well he had a hook up ready to go. The Greengrasses and Ginny had their tickets all ready.
X-X-X
The pod clicked open and the blue eyes of Faora slowly opened. She took a few moments to come back to life, mentally shaking off the cobwebs and stepped forward.
The underground cavern was where she was asleep and she pulled out the tracking module where she would find Kara's ship. Her ship managed to somehow land gracefully and bury itself in a dam.
Faora stepped forward, in dark battle armor, which would shield her from most physical attacks.
She picked up high levels of green rock radiation, a high quantity of which could kill her. She activated the shielding on her armor and stepped down through the tunnel.
She managed to find a way into the dam, where Kara's ship was submerged. Grabbing onto it, Faora tried to remove it without upsetting the dam. Thankfully, magic kept everything in place so she could pull Kara and her ship apart.
No one could enter this cavern unless she, Har-Zod, or Kara brought them down here. So no hapless humans would be able to find it. She pulled out one of the crystals from her ship and she had to allow it to charge for thirty hours. It would be the perfect place to begin the next stage of her brother's training.
The stasis field on Kara's ship would safely allow her out in about that time. Faora used her heat vision to write a note in the wall, in case Kara woke up before she came back.
Kara,
Gone to pick up my brother. Will try not to wear him out too much so you can have a piece of him. No promises.
Faora.
Faora stepped off, exiting into the Smallville. She saw a sign in the distance.
'Smallville; Meteor Capital of the World.'
'Tourist trap,' she thought shaking her head as she prepared for a nice flight to pick her brother up so the next stage of his training could be started.