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Albus Potter and the Deathly Hallows | ||||||
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Category: Post-Hogwarts Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Romance Warnings: Death, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 77 Summary: Albus has his challenges during his first year. Cleopatra is obviously his soulmate, and has brilliant insights into magic, except she cannot do it like anyone else. Albus has to help her while keeping peace between the two brightest and most competitive students at Hogwarts, Scorpius and Rose. It doesn’t help that people are out to get Albus. Harry is not sure he can keep everyone safe. Then you have Ginny and Cleopatra. Hitcount: Story Total: 79316; Chapter Total: 2709 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: Tigger is a character from the Christopher Robin books by A.A. Milne. Cleo saw the Disney movie loosely based on the books, and the song is from the movie. Rose had not seen the movie, but Hermione had the books, and Rose read them. Reviewers and my Beta’s inspired that part of the chapter; thank you Arnel and FriendofMolly |
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Sunday, 10 September, Al taught Cleo the first two charms in the Charms textbook. Cleo could levitate very well, but she did not use any of the words or wand motions that Al used. She just needed to see what Albus did, reading his mind, and then she could do the spell. “Can you see the lines of power?” Cleo asked Albus as she was levitating. Looking through Cleo’s eyes Albus could, and after a little practice he thought he could almost see what Cleo was calling “lines of power.” “I think Professor Umbridge is going to want you to use the wand motions and say the words that are in the book,” Albus said. Cleo had a very hard time controlling her levitation when she used the right wand motions, and had to miniaturize the motions to keep from levitating way too much. She whispered the spell, with almost no wand motion, and had the same problem. She was fine, as long as she could do the spell her way. The only thing of any importance on Monday, September eleventh, occurred after Transfiguration. Professor Appleleaf wanted to talk to Al and Cleo, and they stayed after class. “I’ve noticed that Miss Smith doesn’t seem to do the Transfigurations the same way everybody else does, and Mr. Potter, you seem to be very involved in teaching her,” Professor Appleleaf said. Cleo said, “Potions is like cooking, so it’s easy. Charms is just seeing the power and making your wand get the power and do what you want it to do. As soon as I can see what Albus is doing I can do it easily. “Transfiguration is a lot harder. Not harder to do, but harder to understand. I’m not going into a power or direction dimension, but some sort of weird area where language is important, and it makes a difference what we name things, and things, which are real, have a reality in the world of language and names, and it is all tied to what and how you can transfigure. Besides some of the things that refer to things refer to, oh, Al, I cannot explain it.” Albus said, “It is related to Gamp’s law. I think if we call something food we can make food transfigurations, but if we don’t call it food we cannot. If we are doing magic in another language, and in that language the thing is food, we can do it. It is referential, which is a whole different thing than power.” Professor Appleleaf said, “That is very advanced theory, and my teachers in Switzerland had a hard time explaining it. Do you really have to get into that now?” Al said, “Cleo can see it, she has to see it. She just cannot explain it.” Cleo said, “That’s YOUR JOB, Al. I just DO IT, but it’s really, really strange.” Al said, “I could never explain what is in Cleo’s brain, but seeing it really helps me understand what is going on magically.” Professor Appleleaf asked, “How do you see what is going on inside Cleo’s brain?” Cleo said, “Oh, I let him in. It is real comforting, really. Someone tried to get into my brain in Potions, and I thought I was being RAPED, mentally, and I don’t want ANYONE ELSE messing with my brain, but Albus can ride along on top of my thoughts and even get … I shouldn’t say it. “But it is REALLY GOOD, and I need it to survive Transfiguration.” Professor Appleleaf looked at Albus, who said, “I have some minor skills in Legilimency, but this is a lot more than that. The Sorting Hat said Cleo and I are soulmates, and that has to explain it. We really can almost inhabit each other’s mind, and the ability is getting stronger.” Cleo said, “Al is nice and logical, and I need that, I REALLY NEED THAT, because, oh, Professor Appleleaf, there is so much going on here, and I am learning so much, but it is just totally OVERWHELMING, the new colors and distances and directions, the extra-dimensional colors and smells, the depth of the world, and without Al I don’t know how I would keep from going CRAZY, but it is REAL GOOD.” Professor Appleleaf asked, “Can you write some of this down, these insights?” Cleo started to get real agitated, and Al could see Cleo’s mind racing about a million different colors and musical scores and harmonies, a much better way to put it than a million different directions, which was too logical, at once. “Calm down, Cleo,” Al said, out loud and mind to mind. “I think I can write down some of the insights that might be useful,” Al said. “I KNEW it was YOUR JOB, Al,” Cleo said, as she was looking at Al with a love and admiration that was so real it was physical. Even Professor Appleleaf could see love so strong that he could just begin to see and sense its presence flowing between Al and Cleo. “Instead of the usual class assignments, Mr. Potter, I want you and Miss Smith to work on writing down what Cleo is experiencing, and what insights you have, as she does the transfigurations,” Professor Appleleaf said. “We can do that,” Al said. When they came out of class Christy Shook was waiting for them. She asked, “Do you think we could practice after class Tuesday and Thursday? I have a room where we can play.” “I would LOVE to practice?” Cleo said. “Who does your arrangements? I’ve had to write and arrange parts for organ practice, and I LOVE IT, making all the different voices do different things.” “We have played off sheet music, but none of us ever really arranged music,” Christy said. “I don’t have any problem if you come up with a new arrangement of a song.” Thursday after dinner Al went up to the head table to talk to Hagrid. “Hello, Professor Hagrid, my name is Albus Potter,” he said. “Ya looks like your father, Albus,” Hagrid said. “When ya comin ta see me?” “How about half past three tomorrow?” Al asked. “We are free that hour.” “Been looking forward ta getting to know ya,” Hagrid said. Friday after classes Al and Rose went to visit Hagrid. Al brought Scorpius along, and Rose brought Cleo along. Well, that’s how it started. Before long Rose and Scorpius were deep in some argument about some incident from the history books, and Al and Cleo were leading the way, Cleo holding on to Al’s hand. “Do you really know Professor Hagrid?” asked Cleo. “He has been friends of our parents since they were in their first year at Hogwarts,” said Al. “He’s kinda huge, but he is a very nice person.” Al knocked on the door to Hagrid’s house, and said “Professor Hagrid, it’s Albus Potter and …” The door flew open, and Hagrid looked down. “And, you don’t say,” he said. “There must be a couple of ands wid you. That ain’t Rose Weasley holdin your hand.” “Professor, this is Cleopatra, Cleo, this is Professor Hagrid,” said Al. “Call me Hagrid,” Hagrid said, “except in class, or up at the castle. I need to be Professor Hagrid up there. But here you can just call me Hagrid. Tea and scones?” “That would be nice,” said Al. By this time Rose and Scorpius had caught up. Their history argument had become a little heated, and delayed them. Hagrid saw them and frowned. Rose said, “Hello, Professor Hagrid. This is Scorpius Malfoy, and before you say anything, he and I are studying with Al and Cleo, and we all are getting good marks, and are friends. “Except when Scorpius is being an insufferable know-it-all.” Scorpius said, “WHO is an insufferable know-it-all?” Albus said, “ROSE, SCORPIUS, stop it!” Rose threw up her hands, and Scorpius rolled his eyes, but the argument seemed to be over. “I’ve heard a couple of stories about you from my father,” said Scorpius, “and I suppose there is some truth to them, but sometimes he wants to paint white as black. I’m sorry if he did anything to hurt you.” “Hrumpf, I’ve heard about you,” said Hagrid. “Not like your father, and your grandfather wern’t any better. Well, if you are a friend of Al and Rose’s, you’d better come in. Tea and scones, anyone.” “Please,” they all said. Al and Rose had heard their parents talk about Hagrid’s cooking. The scones were as hard as rocks, almost impossible to eat. “Professor Hagrid, sir,” asked Cleo. “Who taught you to cook?” “Well, to tell da truth, I sorta learned by myself,” said Hagrid. “I can teach you to make scones that are softer than these,” said Cleo. “These are really hard, I mean, maybe it’s just because we are little, but they are kind of hard to eat.” “You want to teach me?” asked Hagrid. “If you don’t mind, Professor Hagrid, sir, I would love to. I love to cook!” “N just when were you going to do this, Miss…” Hagrid was searching for Cleo’s name. “Cleopatra, but everybody calls me Cleo,” said Cleo. “We could whip up another batch right now, and my friends can learn a little about cooking as well. It’s sort of like Potions.” Cleo looked at the recipe that Hagrid was using. “Are you making it just like this?” Cleo asked. “Well, not exactly,” said Hagrid. “I beat it more, I mean I figure if beating them a little is good beating it more is better.” “Oh, no! Beating it more changes it a lot! You have to beat it the number of times the receipe says, no more and no less,” said Cleo. “You put in the dry ingredients and beat it the number of times it says, and then put in the other ingredients, in the order it says.” “I just always threw them in together,” Hagrid said. They went through the rest of the recipe, with Cleo giving advice. When this batch of scones came out of the oven they were soft and moist, beautiful scones. A little jam on hot scones and everyone, including Hagrid, was enjoying some of the best scones they had ever tasted. Before they left they had agreed to meet Hagrid every other Friday afternoon, and during many of those meetings Cleo was going to give a cooking lesson and make all of them something to eat Rose and Cleo went back to Gryffindor Tower, and climbed right up to their dormitory room. Flossie Roberts, one of the girls from the other first year girls’ room, was in the room, along with all of the girls in their room. Cleo immediately started into a passionate exposition of their visit to Professor Hagrid. Rose saw a couple of the other girls start to roll their eyes or otherwise indicate that Cleo was being a little too enthusiastic and pushy. Finally Rose said, “Cleo, calm down. You are like Tigger, bouncing at everybody.” Cleo responded by singing, “The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things …” Rose interjected with, “Cleo, you miss the point of the story. The animals in the Hundred Acre Woods do not like being bounced at all the time.” Cleo looked around, and asked, “Do I bounce at people?” Every girl in the room except Chloe nodded yes. Cleo said in a small voice, “I had to be so quiet and careful at the Malfoy Manor. No one wanted me to run or shout or get excited about anything. I thought it was different here.” Hanna said, “You can be excited without being in everyone’s face all the time.” Patty said, “We want to hear what you have to say, but say it a little quieter.” Flossie said, “Your room is just a lot noisier than our room.” Patty said, “We all really like you, Cleo. Just maybe a little less of you at times.” Cleo said, “I’m sorry. I’m just the biggest, fattest, loudest. I don’t know how to behave. I just didn’t have any friends at the Malfoys’, and everything is overwhelming.” Christy said, “You are not fat, Cleopatra Smith, just curvy. Most girls our age wish we had hips, had some shape.” Rose said, “You are fine, Cleo. No one is saying they don’t like you. Just sometime you at a lower volume would be nice.” “You tell them about Professor Hagrid, Rose,” Cleo said. “I’ll stay quiet.” Rose said, “Cleo tried to teach Professor Hagrid to make soft, eatable scones instead of the hard as stone ones he had been making. How did you do that, Cleo?” “He was not following the recipe,” Cleo said, trying hard to speak softly and not bounce. “He beat it too much, and that changes the way the flour reacts to the other ingredients. Plus you need to add the ingredients into the mix at the proper time. Once we did that the scones were fine. It’s just like Potions, really.” Rose said, “You told us, Cleo, without bouncing at us.” Later that night Cleo and Myrtle talked. It turned out that Cleo could see Myrtle when other students could not. Cleo learned that Myrtle had been watching the confrontation. Myrtle said, “Maybe I should be quieter too.” “You have not always been Moaning Myrtle,” Cleo said. “What was your name before you were killed?” “Myrtle Warren,” Myrtle said. “Maybe I can get someone to put ‘Myrtle Warren’ on my bathroom door. I like talking to you, Cleo. You accept me.” “I like talking to you too, Myrtle Warren. Maybe we both need to stop being drama queens.” Cleo said. It was Friday night, after curfew, and for some reason Albus and Scorpius were the only people in their dorm room. Al took out his wand and said, “This was your father’s wand. It is the wand that defeated Tom Riddle.” He showed it to Scorpius. Scorpius waved the wand. He looked at the little gold letters on the handle that said, “Draco Malfoy.” He waved it around again, and did a simple Charm with it. He finally said, “I like this better than my wand.” He handed Albus his wand. Albus waved Scorpius’s wand, and did a couple of spells with it. Then he said, “Let’s trade wands. I will ask my father if it is all right, but this wand is as good as the other one, your father’s wand.” Al sent an owl to his father the next time he could. In it he wrote, Dear Father, When Scorpius and I realized that I had the wand that was his father’s we traded. He likes his father’s wand better than the almost identical one he has been using, and I really don’t see any difference. May I have your permission to trade wands? I know there is a wand out there that will choose me. We just have not found it yet. A.S.Potter. Harry wrote back, You may trade wands. If a wand chooses you, and I can get it for you, I will. You are an unusual wizard, and we may just have to find an unusual wand for you. Your Father, Harry Potter. |
| Reviews 77 |
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