Another small chapter, I hope it answers a few of the questions that have been asked. Remember they don't know what the Room can do. The Grey Lady only told them about the Room of Lost Things. They are going to have to find out on their own.
Comments, suggestions and theories are always welcome.
Thanks for the reviews and support.
Harry's POV
The trio finished their lunch, while the rest of the school talked about the article. There were tons of whispers from all three schools. Harry looked around the room and noted that there were a lot of contemplative faces, like they were wondering if they had been wrong about the boy-wonder all this time. He looked at the other three champions. Cedric was morose, he felt bad about not believing Harry. Fleur was of the opinion that the paper was lying. Viktor could care less; he was the strongest of them all, in his mind.
Harry was a bit put out that gossip was back to him. He had hoped the disappearance of two House Ghosts would have been better fuel for the rumor mill, but alas, he was mistaken. He sighed and made some emergency sandwiches, which he wrapped in napkins and tucked in his TARDIS pocket.
When the trio was done they went back to the Room of Lost Things. Harry, upon entering, asked them to stand back, and when they were flush to the wall, he threw his golden dome over them. He then took out his wand, wanting the extra boost, and circled it above his head and said, "Fix and sort."
A loud series of noise followed as things that were broken and rusty did their best to pull together. Groans and clanking filled the air. Three piles collapsed as repaired thing flew out, and then re-piled into neat rows. Trunks were like new, still spilling out jewels and treasures, clothes repaired to their original states, books were cleaned and the printing renewed. Trinkets, wands and toys were now in good condition. The many pieces of armor that had been broken and dull were once again standing tall and shiny. Not everything could be fixed, stuff that was missing pieces were still broken and laid in a pile off to the side. Only the nearest piles of broken things were refreshed, but it was still a big accomplishment.
"Cleanse," the teen stated, once more circling his wand, and the Dark magic that lingered was washed away. "Whew, that took a bit out of me. Let's look over what was fixed, before I do more, yeah?" the very tired Harry stated as he pulled out a sandwich and nibbled on it. He was starved, even though he just ate. That was the biggest spell he had done, and it only did a tiny part of the room. This was going to take more than one day. It was a good thing he had nowhere to be. He wondered if he should sneak Sirius and the elves in here. It might be a good way to get the man to practice.
"This is what we're going to be able to do, when we've gotten as good as you?" Neville asked in awe. He couldn't wait. Perhaps he could heal his parents with this magic. If he could just wave his wand and then simply say 'heal', they could come home. Tears filled his eyes at the thought.
"Well, there is still the matter of how big your core is, and if you believe you can, but yeah, one day," our hero stated as he meandered to the nearest stack of trunks. "For example, your core it slightly smaller than mine, but Luna's is quite a bit smaller. Sorry, Luna," he added sheepishly.
"It's alright, I know my limits," she said dreamily. She knew she was a normal witch, and that Harry and Neville were prophecy children. Both would have a part to play, if the future didn't change, though Harry's part would always be the same. If the prophecy was true, then only he could defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Then again, with his amnesia the future was more unclear than it had ever been.
"The twins have a larger core than Luna's, but smaller than ours. However, they seem in tune with one another, and if they could harness that, there's nothing they can't accomplish. Hermione, for all she is smart, has an average core, but she has the knowledge to do great things," the dark-haired wizard continued to explain while rummaging through some of the books. "Now, Sirius has a large adult core, but it is stunted because of all his years in Azkaban."
"Sirius?" Neville asked, not sure how Harry knew about Black.
"Yeah, umm, well, I'll tell you later," Harry stammered, reprimanding himself for not watching what he said.
"Don't worry, Harry, it'll all work out in the end," Luna said with a pat on his arm.
"Right," Neville said, dropping the subject. "So, what about Dumbledore's core? His has to be huge," the sandy-haired wizard asked, as he tried another wand that he found, but it didn't feel right, so he chucked it into a pile of examined things.
"The old man is over a hundred years old, his core is humongous, but he will never learn to do what we're doing, because of years of wand training. Oh, he might be able to do a few things wandlessly, but with all those years of suppression, I doubt he will ever be proficient." Harry said, tossing another useless book over his head.
"Harry, please don't treat books like that, even if you feel they are worthless, they're still knowledge," Luna reprimanded, picking up the discarded book and putting it in the pile she was creating.
"Right, sorry. I'll just hand them to you then," he said, properly chastised.
They fell quiet and sorted through the treasures, each having their own thoughts about what to do with it. Harry wanted to take it all and put it in a TARDIS bag, while Luna wanted to give at least the books and jewels to the school. Neville was of two minds; he wanted to keep what was useful and give the rest to charities, like St. Mungo's.
Harry did two more piles and a few bookshelves. They found tons of good stuff, but left it all there for now. Soon it was time for dinner, so the reluctant trio headed to the Great Hall. First Harry waved his hand and cleaned them up, so people wouldn't wonder why they were so dusty. Sitting near Hermione and the twins, they talked about the article that Rita wrote.
"Harry, when did you talk to Skeeter? And how did you get her to write the truth?" Hermione asked as she served herself some beef Wellington. The book said to keep you calorie intake high, so she was going to start eating more fatty foods. She just prayed it was right; she really didn't want to gain weight.
"She flew in a few days ago, and I just made sure she'd never lie again," was the vague answer.
"How did she fly in? I mean, aren't there wards to prevent that," she asked, looking at her friend and noting he looked a bit worn out. She glanced at Luna and Neville, they too were tired. She narrowed her eyes and wondered what they had been up to.
"No, she didn't come on a broom. What I should've said is that she buzzed in on her tiny wings."
"Oh, you're not making a lick of sense," Hermione huffed.
"Don't worry, Sweet Lady, I will tell you when we're not surrounded," Harry said, with a very saucy smile.
"Don't you try buttering me up, Harry James Potter. We've been friends far too long for that," she stated with a playful glare. "However, I do see your point."
Our hero nodded and started his dinner again. He looked around the Hall and noted that everyone was still talking about the article. There were a lot of sympathetic glances coming his way, which he ignored. The only two people who didn't seem affected in the least were Snape and 'Moody'. He knew it was because they both had a great deal of dislike for him. Snape he sort of understood, the man hated him for just being a Potter. And 'Moody', well Barty Jr. was a Death Eater, so he guessed he could get that as well.
Now that he was watching harder, he could see quite a few of the officials, were looking either mad or introspective. He figured they were all trying to figure out how to get him to come to the first task, when he made it clear that he wasn't going to participate. He was going to have to be firm in his stance.
Dumbledore's POV
"Dumbledore, what are we going to do? If Harry Potter shuns the tournament, there will be chaos at the office," Crouch Sr. stated, banging his fist on the table. He was already getting flak from Fudge. That man was now bending over backwards to get the boy hero on his side. He was in talks with Waters to see if there was any way he could kiss up to the boy. They were even discussing getting Black cleared. Fudge had already rescinded the Kiss on Sight order. Oh, how mad Crouch Sr. was about that. In his mind that man was as guilty as his son. Who he still didn't know where was.
"Do not worry so, Bartemius, all will work out. I do have some ideas on how to get young Harry to cooperate," Albus waved the irate man's concern away. He already had plans in talking Harry into competing. He was sure the boy would listen to him, if he made it clear that there really wasn't any other choice. He had to get Harry to see how important he was to the wizarding world. Maybe, he'd tell him the prophecy, and then the child would understand.
"I do not see why Potter is so important," Snape huffed, cutting up his meat, making screeching noises, because he was pressing so hard on his knife. He really hated that the brat was the topic of conversation, again. "Just last week you were saying he was a glory hound that cheated to get into the tournament. You were going on and on that his condition was faked. Now you want to pander to his every wish," he sneered, disgusted with the lot of them. He would still have to watch his step. He knew just from the looks the boy threw at him that he was still on shaky ground. However, he'd be damned if he was going to coddle the brat.
"It is politics," Barty Sr. said as if that was the answer to everything, which in this case it really was.
Snape just sneered again, and started to eat his chicken.
"There has to be something we can tempt him with," Bagman said, sweat forming on his brow. He was in deep trouble if the boy didn't compete. The goblins were already stating that he could not change his bet and they will not tolerate any late payments.
"I do not see vhy you are so vorried," Karkaroff stated, looking at the nervous man. "The boy is a cheat and a liar. Who care if he shows or not." He waved it all away, hoping the boy wonder did as he said and rejected the games. This would make his school look better and give Viktor a better chance at the cup.
"You are a 'eartless man, 'eadmaster Karkaroff," Maxime said, pointing her ringed finger at the sour man. "Ze boy is suffering from amniezia and you are being petty. Do you fear 'im so much zat you would let 'im suffer?" she demanded, although she really hoped the Boy-Who-Lived didn't compete either.
"Again, I have to state that you are all worrying for nothing. I am sure that I can convince young Harry to be there during the first task. All it will take is a small amount of persuasion," Dumbledore said jovially, as if he had it all under control.
"He had better, or it is going to be your head," Crouch Sr. snarled as he threw down his napkin and left the table.
"Oh, he will," was the ominous reply to the man's retreating back.
Harry's POV
"So, did you guys finish the book?" Harry asked softly, after Crouch Sr. stomped off.
"Oh yes, it was ever so informative. Do you really believe we can do magic like that?" Hermione said, bouncing in place, all thoughts of chastising him forgotten. She had plenty of time to think about it, and came to the conclusion that when she trusted the teachers, he really didn't have faith in her to keep his secrets. It hurt a little, until she remembered that this was not her Harry.
"Yeah, well it's more of what you believe than what I do. Let's not talk about it here, okay?" he said, shifting his eyes around to make sure no one had heard them. "We found a room that we can talk in. Let's go there when we're done with dinner. I think you'll like it. There's more books."
"Okay, Harry," she said and then ate faster. She really wanted to discuss the book with him. Maybe, he already could do the things depicted and that was why he had the wicked pocket on all his pants. She went over all the times she had witnessed him doing magic and realized that most of the time it was without a wand. She felt really neglectful for not noticing sooner. She did have a lot on her mind, with trying to figure out how he had lost his memory, and what she could do to help. That and keeping him out of trouble, which she had to admit she didn't accomplish very well.
They finished their dinner in silence and then the five of them followed our hero to the seventh floor. Harry called up the door and they trudged inside. Hermione and the twins were very impressed with the piles of like new things, and the mass of broken stuff, and they wondered where it all came from.
"According to Lady Ravenclaw this it a room of lost things," Harry answered the unasked question.
"Yeah, all of this was broken, then Harry fixed it," Neville said, waving to the gleaming piles of treasure.
"Can we do that?" Hermione asked in awe. She couldn't wait to give it a go.
"That's one of the reasons I brought you here. I want to use this stuff for you practice on. You each pick a pile and use what you learned in the book and try to fix or levitate what you can. It won't be easy, you have to unlearn everything you know and start from the beginning. Also it all depends on your core," Harry said, and then explained what he had told Neville earlier. "I suggest you try with your wand first, then when you've got the hang of it, try without."
"Ohhh, this will be wonderful," Hermione said as she ran to the nearest pile of junk to see what she could do. She took out her wand and waved it over a few items with the spell 'Reparo'. They shook and shuddered, and two of the pieces fixed. She pouted, but was determined to continue.
"You said we could do more if we work together?" the twins asked, holding a private conversation with looks and gestures.
"Yep, it's almost like your cores reach for one another," the dark-haired teen nodded with a huge smile.
"Wicked," they said and wandered to the next pile.
Each person did what they could, while Harry went around and gave them words of encouragement and corrections. He decided that he'd let them flourish or flounder, as the case may be. Neville got half of his pile fixed and mended and was floating items into piles. He made sure to check any wand he found. Luna only did a third of hers, but she was having a blast doing it. The twins were on their second pile, but when they tried to do it separately, they weren't quite a successful. Hermione was having a harder time, she was still trying to unlearn all the rules that she knew were supposed to be true. So Harry gave her the same speech that Luna had given him when she had brought it up. That seemed to help a little.
Soon it was time for curfew and the teens all went to bed, each contemplating on what they had done and how to do it better. They didn't know what to do with all the stuff they were fixing, and they all had different ideas.
Harry was making plans on bringing his friends to see Sirius, and telling him what was what. He knew the man would have a harder time than Hermione did. Maybe.
He gave it up for now and went into his headspace. He pulled out the diadem and asked Data and Spock to check it out to see if it was safe for people to use it. Too much knowledge shoved in someone's head couldn't be good for them. They analyzed it and came to the conclusion that he was correct. It would overwhelm the human mind if they were to use it. Someone like Spock or Worf could utilize it without repercussions, but humans could not.
Data had already tried, but since he was an android, the crown didn't work on him. As a matter of fact, it almost shorted him out. Harry made sure to snatch it off when sparks began to fly. He waved his wand and made sure Data was in top condition. Spock decided that it would be prudent that he not try at this moment. Worf just growled and stated that he had no need of such knowledge.
Harry wondered if he could lessen the flow of information, so that it only gave what you sought instead of everything. For example, if someone wanted to heal someone, they could put the headpiece on and only get that bit of information. Of course, if everyone could do magic the way he did the diadem would be just a pretty headpiece. He would have to think about it. Until then he would keep it in his pocket.
"How goes getting my memory back?" he asked Data.
"We found a small hole in the shield. It appears that the wall is weakening. The opening that we found is just big enough for you to get those small bits of your past. We are setting up an away team now. There is only enough room for a small team of three. I will be going with them to analyze the layout of the white space," the android answered.
"See if you can't find the memory of what happened the night I ran. I have a plan, but it would work better if I had something to back it with. Now that the Bloody Baron is gone I don't have a witness."
"We will endeavor to do just that," Data said, putting the request in the databank.
"Great, thanks. I'm going to hit the hay," Harry stated with a nod to everyone on deck, and with a blink he was in his body and ready to sleep. He had used up a lot of magic today, and was very tired.
As he dreamed about girls, the Enterprise crew was going over plans for the first task and the voyage through the white space. Our hero was going to get the impostor and Snape if it was the last thing he did.