| Jarvey
Join Date: May 2008 Location: Leicester, UK
Posts: 567
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Krysta Hedwig
Sixth Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Kye Black
Magical Creatures | 
Chapter 6, part two)
That night after they’d gone to bed Ron and Harry stayed awake for hours admiring and playing with his gifts and eating the remainders of the sweets their fellow dorm-mates had given him. Ron couldn’t stop examining and admiring the Quidditch set whilst Harry couldn’t take his eyes off the Arinella.
“Hey! What was in those packages you got in the mail?” asked Ron. Harry suddenly realised he’d completely forgotten them.
“Oh! I left them in the kitchen, hang on…” he dashed downstairs in the dark and retrieved the two packages and three envelopes.
“Got them.” Announced Harry coming back into the room. He began to tear open the first envelope and smiled when he saw it was from Dumbledore.
Dear Harry,
Well done. You’ve made it to fifteen, quite an achievement given the circumstances.
I understand there are problems with your family. I will try to sort these out for you, but given the situation and your feelings on the matter I’m sure that come next summer, some other arrangements can be made. You are not a little boy any more Harry, and I understand that. However considering the adventure you and your friends usually get up to during the school year, I shall wait until next year to make any arrangements. We never know what may happen in the near future.
My last to you, Harry is a warning. I know of the events a fortnight ago. I also understand that you are well protected in the meantime, however I do ask you to be careful. Voldemort has returned, dear boy, and with him he may bring other forces of darkness we do not understand.
I shall see you at Hogwarts,
yours,
Albus Dumbledore
“Well it’s nice to know he’s thinking of you.” Said Ron.
“Yes. But…” started Harry, then trailed off.
“What?” said Ron, his mouth full of chocolate.
“He obviously knows about this person who’s protecting me.”
“The one who sent all the letters?”
“Yeah. Do you think he knows who it is?” asked Harry. Ron shrugged.
“He pretty much knows everything that’s going on.” Said Ron, and Harry nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Ask him. Write back and ask him.” Suggested Ron. Harry thought about it and thought he might do so tomorrow. “Come on, open the others!” Harry tore open the second envelope and nearly gagged on the jelly he was eating.
“What’s up?” asked Ron. Harry passed him the letter and Ron read it aloud.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday. Seeing you reach fifteen is very special to me. I have vowed to protect you and that is what I shall continue to do. I have to admit, however, that you do a good job of looking after yourself with a little help from your friends.
I wanted to explain better to you about the money than I did in the scroll I left you. You must have been surprised when you saw it. Don’t get too excited, it is not all yours. I promised Mr Weasley that his kindness shall be rewarded and so half of the money deposited in your vault is to go to him and his family. (I left instructions with the head Goblin). Ron gasped and nearly dropped the letter. As he continued reading, his voice began to shake. I have written to Mr Weasley and explained this, though maybe you should show him this letter too, as I feel he will not believe what he reads. He is a humble man.
Lastly, my dear boy, I have sent you something that should have been yours years ago. However you were young and were not ready. I have been watching you Harry Potter and I believe you are ready. In the black package with this letter is enclosed something which once belonged to your Mother. I understand that you never inherited anything from her. Before she died, your Mother gave it to me for safekeeping. I think she knew, Harry. I think that is why she asked us to prepare. But that I shall explain when the time is right. Keep it well, keep it safe, treasure it and it shall protect you.
Love ever.
K.H.
Ron looked up in astonishment.
“It can’t be, though.” He could barely speak.
“Well it says so, right there in ink. Half of that pile of galleons is yours. And they signed it this time.” Ron looked about to faint, his hands were trembling.
“ ‘K.H.’ it says. I wonder who it could be. What about the package? Something that belonged to your Mother.”
Harry picked up the package, his hands trembling also. Ron was still white as a sheet. He pulled off the black paper packaging and found something wrapped well in a velvet cloth. Ron gasped and Harry stared in wonder when he uncovered a stunning, silver pendant on a gold chain. It was approximately 6cm (2 inches) in length and 3cm wide. It was silver ivy twisting around a shield. In the centre of the shield was a powerful but elegant dragon made of blue gold. When Harry turned it over he found a strange inscription on the back in a dialect he could not understand. He turned it back over and studied it more closely. Above the shield were three silver stars in a triangle.
“It’s beautiful.” Gasped Harry. His fingers trembled. He was holding something that had belonged to his Mother and he could barely speak. Ron moved over to Harry’s bed and studied the pendent more closely.
“Wow.” Was all he could manage. “Hey, what about that scroll? The one from the bank.”
Harry searched for it. In the hype over the witch he had forgotten all about it. He found it and pulled it open.
Harry,
I will explain everything at a later date. There is much to explain.
Be careful,
K.H.
“That it?” asked Ron. Harry nodded turning it over to ensure there was nothing on the back. He threw it back into his trunk and carefully wrapped his Mother’s pendant back in the velvet cloth. He tucked it into the Arinella case and locked the box, tying the key-chain to his wrist. Ron went back to his own bed and Harry looked at the remaining package. When he saw the writing on the envelope his heart leapt into his mouth. He tore at the envelope desperately and skinned the letter inside in a panic.
My Dear Boy,
I am writing to you because you must be going out of your mind. You made a foolish mistake, but a friend tells me that we are all only human, and she is right.
Do not reply this letter. I took a great risk in sending it.
Firstly I am all right, just about. The death eaters destroyed my hideout. I think Wormtail had something to do with this, I am sure the dark Lord has no interest in me. I escaped only when my friend came to my rescue. I should have guessed they’d be watching, so you see we both made a fatal error.
I asked my friend to protect you, though I get the feeling she has been doing that since you were born. You do not need to fear now. You could have no better shield from evil, and I know you shall be safe. I’d like to say you had a lucky escape the other week, but I think more than luck was on your side.
I know you have a lot of questions to ask, and I can only promise that they shall be answered when the time is right. The world is changing again, Harry and we must prepare for it.
I’m sorry if you feel I am playing games, but it is for your best that not all your questions are answered at once. This shall become clear in time, but for now you shall have to trust me.
Stay Safe, Harry Potter.
Sirius.
PS - Happy Birthday. Hope you like it.
This was the best Birthday present Harry could have had. Sirius was safe. What was more was that he knew his mysterious protector and the person who had filled his vault with galleons was a friend of his Godfather’s. Harry felt relaxed for the first time since the rebirth of Voldemort.
Harry explained the contents of the letter to Ron who looked even more astonished than he had before.
“Well, you know several things now. Our mysterious protector and cash supply has the initials K.H., it’s a woman, and they’re friends with Sirius. I’d be feeling a bit happier if I were you, Harry.” Harry did. He felt wonderful. And suddenly very, very tired. He yawned and noticed the Sirius’ present sitting on the bed. He pulled off the brown paper and pulled out what looked like a quill and some parchment. Harry frowned in surprise and a little disappointment. Ron saw the look on his face.
“Well if he’s in hiding he might find it hard, to y’know, get stuff.” Harry nodded, realising Ron was right. It was a very nice quill after all. The stem of the feather was obviously from a very large bird and it was coated with a shiny black and red terrapin-shell pattern marbled up the column. The tip was particularly firm and sharp.
“It’s a very nice quill. Top of the range.” Said Ron coming over to inspect it. To Harry’s astonishment the quill lifted itself into the air and began to write.
‘Top of the range’
They stared at it.
“You know what that is, don’t you?” said Ron as the quill began writing his words again. “That’s a dictator, like dad’s got.”
“Cool.” Said Harry and the quill continued to scribble away. Harry tapped it with his wand.
“Stop” he commanded and the quill obediently lay still on the parchment. “That is really cool. I wish I could thank him. This will be really useful in class.”
“Can’t use ‘em in class. School rules.” Ron told him, and Harry looked disappointed.
“Still, something like this is bound to come in very handy.” Said Harry his eyes gleaming.
The next morning Harry and Ron showed Hermione the letter from Sirius and the letter from ‘K.H.’, whoever she was. Hermione seemed thoughtful and slightly suspicious.
“It’s all rather strange if you ask me.”
“Oh course its strange Hermione. It just wouldn’t be Harry’s life if it wasn’t.” all three of them laughed.
“But this money. What if it’s a set up? What if you give the money to Mr Weasley and it turns out to be stolen and he’s fired and thrown in Azkaban?”
“Hermione. Always the optimist.” Muttered Ron.
“It’s worth thinking about, Harry.” Insisted Hermione and Harry nodded reluctantly. Hermione was right.
“Besides, you have no proof that this person sending letter to everyone is a friend.”
“But it says so in Sirius’ letter. And the pendant that belonged to his Mother.” Argued Ron.
“Sirius mentioned a friend. How do you know that his friend wasn’t captured and someone is contacting you in her place? How do you know that the pendant really belonged to your Mother, Harry? There is nothing connecting the writer of these mysterious letters with Sirius except that he mentioned a friend who he asked to protect you. You don’t know that his friend and this phantom writer are the same person.”
Harry and Ron looked at each other, both of them wanting to argue with her. The more they thought about what she said, however, the more they realised she could be right. Ron shrugged.
“So what do we do?”
“Harry, you have to keep the money in your vault. You have two letters proving that someone else put it there so you can’t be accused of theft or fraud or whatever.” Hermione explained. Ron looked put out by this.
“It’s just for now, Ron. Until we’re sure.”
“I wish I could talk to Sirius. He would clear this whole thing up. I can’t even write to him to ask him anything.” Hermione looked sympathetic.
“I just think we should be careful. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been deceived by someone we trusted.” Harry nodded and Ron looked upset but compliant.
“So. What are we going to do now?” asked Ron, wearily. Hermione was the first to answer.
“Well I don’t know about you two, but there are only four weeks of holiday left and I for one, still have 6 essays to write.”
The next four weeks were full of countless hours surrounded by books, parchment and inkbottles. With Hermione helping them they got their homework done in good time and were pleased with their efforts. They talked about everything from who the next Defence Against The Dark Arts was going to be, to who the next Gryffindor Quidditch Captain was going to be. They talked quietly about Cedric, when they realised that Hufflepuff were without a Seeker and a Captain, and wondered who would be brave enough to take his place.
Harry thought a bit about Cho and was surprised to find that his feelings had changed a little. He still thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but there had been a change. Maybe, he thought, seeing how close she and Cedric had become before he died, and how sad she was afterwards had made a difference. The way he felt about Cedric’s death and his part in his end made him feel that he could never become close to Cho. He blamed himself too much and as long as that lasted he would never be able to look at Cho without thinking of Cedric. ‘A Seeker love triangle’, he thought to himself glumly.
When they had spoken to Mr. Weasley about the money and shown him all the letters, and he had listened to Hermione’s suggestions, he agreed with them.
“Maybe it is for the best. I can always do with that money, but if I’m going to be arrested the moment I touch it…it’s probably better if we wait until we’re sure. Good thinking, Hermione.” Had been his final decision.
The weeks seemed to fly by. Harry’s new Quidditch set had it’s first outing a week after his birthday. Hermione had insisted that they worked for a week solid before hand, so that they could reward themselves afterwards.
“You’ll appreciate it a lot more if you earn it!” she explained to them as they sulked for three hours straight with a potions textbook in front of them. When they finally did get to play Quidditch they had the time of their lives. All eight of them played, including Hermione, who wasn’t the best flyer, but managed quite well as a keeper. They played three-a-side games and the Quaffle was so beautiful, they all commented on it. It flew through the air like a bullet from a gun, cutting through the air stream like a knife through butter.
Ron did indeed turn out to be a superb keeper and even Ginny was having trouble putting the Quaffle past him. As there was only one beater per team, only one bludger was used at any one time, alternating between the two so that one didn’t get more worn than the other. Charlie turned out to be pretty good as a seeker and Bill’s aim as a chaser wasn’t bad. Except that his broom skills were obviously out of practise, and he fell off more than once. This was particularly funny to George and Fred who, separated for the first time in 6 years, were opposing beaters on the two teams, spending more time hitting the bludger at each other than at the chasers and seekers.
All in all they were having so much fun and the first if September was fast approaching, that before they knew it, it was time to go back to Hogwarts for a brand new term.
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