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A month and a half at Hogwarts had flown by in an instant for Potter. As before, he spent most of his free time in the Wishing Room and on the Quidditch pitch. This year, however, Harry decided to study much more diligently than in previous years. This was due to the problems that arose because of the new subjects: ancient Runes and numerology were very difficult for Potter, and Tom Riddle could not help him in his studies, as he did not know anything about these subjects - he had studied divination and the care of magical creatures in his time.
Without the help of the diary, Potter's grades in these subjects were at an incredibly low level. However, if Harry had made any progress with the study of ancient Runes, things with numerology were very poor. Potter didn't understand a word in class, and Hermione Granger, who understood the subject perfectly well, helped him with his homework. But neither she nor Professor Vector managed to explain anything to Potter so that he understood something. Due to this failure, Harry gathered his resolve to approach Dumbledore and ask to take another subject instead of numerology.
With the ancient Runes, the problem arose from entirely different factors. Potter, having learnt that Runes could be used to invent his own spells without even really learning the discipline, set out to discover. The fact that the theory of creating your own spells is the subject of the seventh year did not stop him, and he began to study the literature on the subject. However, even the most talented third-year student who devotes all his free time to studying spells would not be able to cope with the topic of ancient Runes in the seventh year without prior preparation. So while all the students were studying the Runes Algiz (elk) and Ansuz (god), Potter was trying to modify the spells he knew by combining a dozen Runes.
And all these experiments Potter conducted without the slightest understanding of the theory of spell creation. One day Harry was telling Finch-Fletchley and Macmillan about his progress in studying Runes.
- Hi, Ernie, Justin. Listen, do you want to hear about the weird thing about creating your own spells using ancient Runes?
- Runes again? Harry, you're annoying, go and learn some fun spells, we have to pass them next class," Justin said.
- Come on, let him tell me, I'm interested," Ernie said.
- Look. Let's say someone created some kind of spell. Like... Hmmm... Oh, Lumos. It was created at some point, right? So, how did all the wands know that a spell had been invented? Here's a man created this Lumos, uses his wand to use it, and then for some reason he breaks his wand and buys himself a new one. And so the new acquisition allows this wizard to use his spell in peace. Is that how the wands knew that someone had invented this spell? Maybe through the wizard? But after all, history records many moments when someone with a new wand used a spell read in a book, which were invented in ancient times by a long-dead wizard. And here's the question - how does a magic wand distinguish a spell from an ordinary set of letters?
- Well, how?
- I don't know," Potter admitted.
Ernie chuckled stupidly, and Finch-Fletchley threw his arms out to the sides and said:
- 'Oh! Thank you, Harry! I don't know how we'd live without that information! Next time you'd better make Professor Babbling happy with your stories, I think she'll be more interested.
There had been a change in the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, new hunters were needed to replace the graduating Priss and Appleby and Jones. Cedric held tryouts, including Potter and Finch-Fletchley, to test the hunters' ability to dodge bludgers. The new Hufflepuff hunters were: Susan Bones, who dodged bludgers with flair and made great passes and had improved a lot from last year; Bill Scotkins, a talented freshman who was a great quaffle shooter, and Ginny Weasley, who scored seventeen goals out of eighteen shots. Overall, Diggory was pleased with the new team and recognised that they had a pretty good chance of the cup this year. It was decided to hold training sessions twice a week until the rookies got the hang of it.
A few days after the first training session, the Element brought Harry a letter with just a few words written in it, "Very funny Harry, I can barely contain myself from bursting out laughing!". Oh well, that's alright, we'll laugh together at the end of July!" The letter was obviously from Tonks, Harry had sent her an alarm clock as a birthday present, alluding to the incident on the first of September. Judging by the letter, Nymphadora didn't appreciate the joke, or on the contrary, she did and was planning to pull something similar for Potter's birthday.
In October, Harry and Justin, Ron and Hermione went to Hogsmeade together and had a great time. At first they didn't want to let Potter out, Professor Steble had interfered and talked about special orders, but thanks to Dumbledore's patronage and a signed permission slip from the Tonkses, Harry was still able to go to the magical village, though in the company of a special chaperone.
- It's a good thing you got the Tonkses to sign the permission before Sirius Black escaped from prison," Finch-Fletchley remarked upon his return.
He was absolutely right. Back in the summer, a week after Black had escaped, Andromeda Tonks had come up to Potter and started a dialogue with him about Hogsmeade, about whether Harry should visit it at all... And so on and so forth. Potter, who had already been warned by Moody, thwarted all attempts by the elder Tonks to "revoke" the signature on the permit and defended his right to visit Hogsmeade.
* * *
Potter's help with the ancient Runes came from an unexpected direction. A couple of days before the first Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Slytherin, Fred and George came up to Harry after practice.
- Hi Harry, are you ready to kick Slytherin's arse? - said one of the twins.
- Of course we are! They can't even use their new brooms! What have you got? Why don't we beat the Slytherins and you beat the Claws?
- No problem, they've lost half their squad and we've got everyone in place. They don't stand a chance... That's what we're here for... Do you want to bet something on Hufflepuff winning?
- A bet? - Potter wondered. - Is there a betting shop here?
Well, this was no place for a betting shop. An old castle, quills, parchments, and... A betting shop! Justin's going to be so pleased.
- Not really, Harry, the thing is, Lee Jordan and I have been thinking, and we thought that since there's such a fierce rivalry and interest in Quidditch here, there might be a lot of people willing to bet on their favourite team, and we could make a little money out of it.
- And how did your dean feel about that idea?
- Thanks for reminding me, by the way. Fred? - One twin looked questioningly at the other.
Harry realised that he had been talking to George the whole time. I wish the twins had worn their jumpers all year. At least that way they'd be distinguishable.
- I get it, George," Fred pulled a large piece of old parchment out of his robe pocket, unfolded it, said something, and stared at it. - Filch is asleep, I'd forgotten he could sleep. Snape and McGonagall are walking side by side outside the Gryffindor common room. Obviously looking for us.
George nodded and continued:
- Here's the thing, we're a bit of a mess. Told our little brother about our business, and he told Hermione Granger, the nerdy Hermione Granger, and then....
- The whole world. That is, all the teachers, those who might interfere with us," Fred finished for him.
- It wasn't just the stakes, we shouldn't have slipped her a barf bar a week ago," Fred said.
- Vomit bar? - Potter asked.
- It's a thing you eat and vomit, the original use was to escape from lessons, but since the vomiting doesn't stop, we started using it for other things.
- Slipping it to snitches and Slytherins.
- And it just so happened that all the snitches were from our faculty, and the Slytherins....
- Suddenly!
- Slytherin! And Snape and McGonagall have teamed up for the first time in history and now they're out for our blood, and we've started organising gambling games for money at the wrong time. So we've got to keep this thing under wraps, you know?
- Of course! I'll be like a fish! Like Hagrid's piranha last year. Just can you explain how your bar works, and the betting.
- No problem! - said Fred.
- So, there is a system in which the organisers of bets, that is, the three of us, in any circumstances do not lose anything. Look how it works: it's the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin match right now. You have the better team and they have the better brooms, the odds are about even. So let's say there's an equal amount of money bet on both teams. And just before the match we will announce the odds for each team, about one to ninety-eight, in general it should be a two, but we take some of the money, so we will slightly reduce the odds. That is, the odds are calculated after all the bets have been made, and until then people just bet on a certain team with a floating, variable odds, and we immediately inform them that it can easily change. So whichever team wins, we always make a profit. This also works when there are completely different amounts of money bet on different teams.
- And a draw?
- In case of a draw, all the money is returned to the owners.
- Cool! Who came up with that, you?
- Lee Jordan," Fred grinned. - Too bad we didn't. Usually all the brilliant and cool ideas come to us first....
- But there are exceptions!
- Well, can I bet against my own team? - Potter asked.
- You're not going to throw the match against Slytherin, are you?! - George frowned.
- No, I mean the match in a couple of months when we play Ravenclaw.
- You can't bet against yourself," Fred intervened. - We'd be in danger of dropping the matches, and then McGonagall would rip our heads off in our sleep. I know a man who once made three hundred and twenty-two dollars on something like that.
- Oh, well. I wasn't going to bet against me anyway. What about the barf bar?
- It's simple. Three invisible Runes of our vomit spell, and you're done.
- Runes? - Potter freaked out. - You invented a vomit spell?
- Well, not exactly invented, more like modified an existing version, well this modification is like an invention.
- Cool! Can you show me? No, I mean, can I come with you? Invent something too?
- Can you do it? Do you know any complicated transformations?
- Don't listen to him, of course you can! We're working on a new candy..." George intervened.
- Actually, we should think about it. We'll give you an answer later.
History was unfolding before Potter's eyes - the first time the twins had disagreed with each other. Perhaps now Harry had a way to tell them apart: George was the one who took his side.
- 'All right,' George said. - 'Fred and I will discuss and approach you then. As for help, we're always at your service. Come round any time.
- It's a deal! - said Harry. - You'd better go to Finch-Fletchley with your bets, he's a fan of that.
- Okay, thanks, Harry," George said and headed out of Hogwarts with Fred.
The very next day, Potter learnt from the twins everything he needed to create his own spells. And that very evening he tried to modify a simple Lumos. Unsuccessfully - Harry set his hair on fire and, panicking wildly, was able to put it out immediately. Runes are not a toy for children - as was written in the brief manual on the use of Runes. However, the failure did not stop Potter - he began to study the literature on Runes with redoubled vigour and to conduct experiments only in the presence of a bucket of water.
Before the match, however, his experiments had to be put on hold - Peeves had taken up residence in the Room of Desire, and he had been collecting something there the whole time, chuckling evilly. Potter decided to watch carefully for the next few days. Becoming the victim of a mischievous ghost was definitely not something he was looking forward to.