Pamela remained with him for a time. Though she shooed the other Gryffindors away first. "Alright now, enough gawking with your mouths open." She put her hands on her hips, giving them a look that reminded Harry forcibly of Professor Mcgonagall. "You'll be doing plenty of that come class time tomorrow, I'm sure." She narrowed her eyes. There was a burst of wind that seemed to come from nowhere, making most of the students shiver, and causing the fire to flicker wildly. "Off with you now!"

Unsurprisingly, the common room emptied fairly quickly. Pamela evidently wasn't particularly bothered when it came to scaring students away. She turned back to him, all smiles again. "Now that's taken care of, let's-" She broke off suddenly and pointed a finger at one of the stairwells. "Shoo!" A spark of something zipped out of her fingertip and landed in the stairwell, where it seemed to burst into dazzling light.  The sound of hurried footsteps emanated from the stairwell briefly, then vanished. Pamela just huffed. "Nosy little tetches, they are."

Harry blinked. "They seem alright to me." 

Pamela rolled her eyes. "You've only just met them kiddo. Hang around the house for a while and then tell me that." She shook her head. "Never mind that. I'm sure you'll learn plenty about Gryffindor without my help." Then she turned again. "Leave now or I brick it up! And I guarantee you won't be getting out of it in a hurry!" Someone shot back up the staircase, causing Pamela to sigh. "See what I mean?"

Harry couldn't help laughing. Soundless though it was, it still brought an answering grin to her face. "So the first thing I learn about my house is that they're nosey?"

Pamela's smile widened. "All right, I'll grant you it isn't exactly a great trait, but forewarned is forearmed no?" Her smile faltered a little. "I'm glad to see Mahalestro found something for you."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it works great!" Then he frowned. "I don't know how much use it'll be with casting spells though. All my books have words you have to say."

Pamela's next statement was a bit more encouraging. "Not all spells are spoken. And none of them actually have to be." She frowned slightly. "Mind, it's a difficult thing for even the best of wizards to pull off usually, but if you could do it..." She trailed off meaningfully.

Harry nodded. "If I could, it'd be great!" He frowned. "But wouldn't it be really hard for me to learn?"

Pamela pursed her lips. "I suppose so. But anything worth knowing takes effort. Very little means anything when it's easy to do." She frowned and looked more closely at him. "What's that in your robe?"

"Oh!" Harry carefully reached into his robes, gently picking up the snidget. It let out a sleepy sounding chirp as it came out into the open air.

Pamela blinked and drifted in closer. "Well would you look at that! Where did he come from?"

Harry shrugged. "Dunno. It was in my owl's cage when I woke up this morning. Professor Ambervale doesn't have any idea either."

Pamela frowned. "What are you going to name it?"

Harry shrugged again. "I don't know if I should. Professor Ambervale says there's a familiar bond already, but he needs to check it out with the ministry first. I might not be able to keep it." He grinned as the snidget chirped again and flew up to perch on his shoulder. "I really hope I can though."

Pamela's lips twitched. "Well...with Mahalestro on the case, I think there's a fairly good chance." The snidget chirped at her. Pamela grinned. "He's certainly a cute little guy." She reached out with a finger and gently rubbed at the top of the bird's head. The snidget closed its eyes and let out a little trill. Pamela giggled.

Harry tried to stifle a yawn, but it didn't fool Pamela in the slightest. "Time for you to get to bed, I think. Let's face it, you've had quite a day." She gestured at the staircase. "Go on up. Your dormitory has your name on it." Then she grinned. "Don't worry. I'll come by tomorrow and help you find your way to breakfast. Wouldn't want you to get hopelessly lost on your first day here would we?"

Harry grinned and held up a hand to the snidget. It promptly hopped on and allowed him to return it to his pocket. "Thanks, Pamela. You know for the clothes and...well, everything."

For her part, Pamela just grinned. "There's nothing you need to thank me for kiddo. You're worth it." And with that, she melted like smoke and vanished through a wall.

Harry swallowed hard and stood there for a moment. Finally though, he turned and went up the stairs. Finding the door with his name on it, he pushed the door open and entered. All conversation ceased the instant he entered. Harry wondered idly if he was going to get stared at by everyone he met.

Finally, a red head in one corner said, "So...you're him then?" He swallowed a little. "Harry Potter."

Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Yes, he's me."  He spotted Hedwig sitting on the headboard of the only unoccupied bed and went over to it. "Hey girl." The owl fluttered down to land on his shoulder and nibbled at his ear affectionately. He stroked her head. "We've had some day, haven't we?" The owl gave a low hoot in reply.

The other boys watched them for a moment. Eventually the redhead broke the silence. "So what's with the fancy quill? Too good to just talk to us?"

Harry glared at him. "Hardly. It's more a matter of can, than will." The letters that sprung from the quill were an odd cold blue color. They hung there for a few seconds then cracked apart with a sound that made the other boys flinch. "Good Night." With that he slid back on the bed and snapped the curtains shut. The quill barely managed to make it inside in time.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, then one of the boys said sullenly, "Way to go Weasley."

The redhead shrugged. "If he's too stuck up to talk, it's not my fault." He said loftily.

Harry clasped his hands together angrily. I will not hit him on my first night here. I will not hit him on my first night here. I will not-

Weasley however, wasn't finished. "Mind, an attitude like that isn't going to go well around Gryffindor. No one really likes a snob anyway."

Clasping his hands tighter, Harry saw red. In that one instant, he felt a wave of something zip through him. There was sound rather like breaking glass, though there was a hollow ring to it. He heard a thudding sound and a loud, "OW!" from Weasley. From the sound of it, his bed hangings had fallen on him, along with several drawers from a nearby armoire.

Harry heard some very colorful words coming from the bed next to him. They were followed by a loud, "Let me go!" and the sounds of a struggle.

"No! It's your own fault anyway!" Whoever it was was almost panting with effort. There was a loud grunt and a thud. Weasley had apparently been forced back onto his bed. "You're the one what insulted him."

Weasley growled. "Gryffindor doesn't need a snob lording his family's money over us! One in the school's bad enough!" Then he lunged past them into Harry's bed.

His head had just made it past the curtains when Hedwig, puffed up to twice her size in outrage, dived at him from the headboard with a screech of fury. Weasley flailed back as she gave him a sharp peck on the forehead and raked her talons across his face, leaving several deep cuts. 

Between Weasley's screams, Hedwig's screeches, and the other boys shouts as they tried to get her off him, Harry was surprised the entire castle didn't wake up.

He was less surprised that the racket brought someone at a run. The door to the dormitory burst open as a voice thundered, "What in the name of Merlin is going on up here?!" It was the female Gryffindor prefect, looking very irritated. She took in the situation at a glance. Then she pointed her wand at Weasley and muttered something, sending out a rush of strange reddish sparks. Hedwig left off her attack at once, flying back to perch on the top of Harry's bed.

She lowered the wand, and glanced around at the boys. Then she narrowed her eyes at the owl. "What happened?" Weasley started yelling about how it had attacked him, but she cut him off with a gesture. "Not you. Someone less biased." She pointed at one of the boys. "Name?"

He gulped. "Seamus Finnigan." She gave him an expectant look. He swallowed and said. "I think it was just protecting Potter, really." He gestured at the curtains.

The prefect quirked an eyebrow. "Explain."

Seamus gulped. "Weasley insulted him, and Potter, well...I think he just got angry is all. I didn't hear him say any spell, but..." he gestured to the mess on Weasley's bed. "Weasley got mad and tried to go after him, and Potter's owl attacked."

The prefect surveyed the damage for a moment, then gave her wand a flick. "Reparo." The hangings mended themselves in a trice. Another flick of her wand and a muttered spell had the drawers returning to the armoire. Then she pointed it at Weasley and jabbed at the door. "Let's go. Hospital Wing."

Weasley opened his mouth angrily and pointed at Harry's bed. The prefect cut him off before he could speak. "We'll discuss it in the morning, when there's professors about. For now, you need to see the mediwitch, before those cuts have a chance to scar." Weasley paled and finally allowed her to lead him out. She came back a few minutes later, alone. "Now then, Professor Mcgonagall has been informed. She says she will see you three first thing after breakfast, for your side of the story." She stepped over to Harry's bed and knocked lightly on one of the posts. "Potter?"

Harry shuffled over and parted the curtains. "Yes ma'am?"

The prefect blinked at the sight of the quill, but recovered quickly. "Professor Mcgonagall says that you're to see Professor Ambervale as well as her after breakfast." Then her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. "And make sure you eat a proper meal! You look skinny as a rake!"

Harry almost blushed. "Yes ma'am."

She gave him a sharp nod and said, "Now all of you, bed! It's far too late to be up and about." She watched as they scrambled to obey, and then once they were all in their beds, swept out and shut the door firmly behind her.

Harry leaned back onto his pillows with a sigh, watching as Hedwig fluttered through the curtains to settle on the headboard again. Then he reached into his robes and pulled out the snidget, which trilled softly and flew over to nestle down next to the owl. Hedwig simply watched it settle for a moment before giving her wings a small flap, the owl equivalent of a shrug he supposed, and looking back at Harry.

Harry grinned. "You don't really mind all that much, do you girl?"

He felt like laughing when she gave him a look that quite clearly said, "What do you think?"

He settled for a grin. "Alright then. I really hope we can keep him." She gave a low hoot in response. "Goodnight girl." She hooted again and tucked her head under her wing. Harry grinned again and settled back. He was asleep almost instantly.

---

In what felt like no time at all, he was awakened by Pamela. She was hovering about a foot from the bed, and holding what appeared to be a ball of light that was giving off a quiet but insistent ringing. Once she saw he was properly awake she tossed it into the air, where it imploded with a faint popping sound. After a moment, Harry realized that except for Weasley, everyone else was still there, though obviously getting dressed. One of them had their tie in a bad knot, and another of them was struggling to get his robes to cooperate.

"We'll have to get you in the habit of setting an alarm, kiddo. Wouldn't do to miss breakfast, or be late for class for that matter." At the sound of her voice, everyone else jumped, having apparently not noticed her until now. Pamela put her hands on her hips and surveyed them. "Oh for Merlin's sake!" She pointed a finger at them. A flash of light burst from the tip. The tie promptly undid itself and re-tied into a proper knot. The robes suddenly shifted to hang properly. "Much better." Both boys flushed slightly.

Harry yawned. "I didn't think they looked that bad."

Pamela frowned. "Well no...but it's not as though they have all day. Besides, these uniforms are simple as pie compared to what we wore in my day. The boys at least had it somewhat easy. Theirs just slipped on in pieces for the most part. The girls on the other hand..." She frowned. "I still don't understand why it took Estella Grinderson half an hour to get dressed, even with magic to help her." She paused and tapped her lips for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Mind you, she was a rather vain little thing, so that probably had something to do with it." She surveyed Harry from top to bottom. "Not bad, but it's missing something."

Harry lifted the sleeves, looking over the outfit. "It looks alright to me. What's it missing?"

Pamela grinned. "Oh that's easy. You need your house colors." She put her hands together and started rubbing them the way a baker rolls a ball of dough, spreading them apart as she did so. A ball of red and gold materialized and slowly expanded. When it was roughly half the size of Harry's head, she stopped rubbing and transferred it somehow to one palm. Then she took aim. "Hold still now." Over her shoulder she said, "You lot should cover your eyes or something, the backwash can be a trifle bothersome otherwise." Then she threw it, paying no attention as the boys scrambled to cover their faces.

For a few seconds, it seemed like the dormitory was housing the sun itself. When it finally faded, even the dust seemed to glow red and gold. Harry watched the trails in the air for a moment. Then he sneezed, sending a cloud of shining colors roiling away from him. Pamela frowned and moved her hand in a short twirling motion. A miniature cyclone kicked up in the middle of the room, sucking all the excess colors into it. Then at a shooing motion from Pamela, it swept over to the window and out into the open air, dissipating and leaving the red and gold to be swept away with the wind.

Pamela gave Harry a sheepish smile. "Sorry kiddo, I guess I overdid it a bit." Harry let out a silent chuckle. "But you look much better now, don't you think?"

Harry looked down and grinned. "Yeah. I do." The once dark robes now blazed with color. The sleeves, neck, and hem were now a warm red. The color fanned out a few inches from the edge before fading out. The previously dim embroidery was now a brilliant gold that stood out vividly against the mostly dark fabric.

Pamela gave him a nod. "We'll have to do that with whatever else needs it, but that'll have to be later. Right now, we need to get going, or you might end up missing breakfast." She gestured to the room at large. "Everyone else seems to have gone already." She paused. "Though I think that was mostly because of me." She waved a hand airily. "No matter. Are you ready?" Harry nodded. "Good, let's get a move on." She stopped for a moment. "And Mahalestro said to bring the snidget with you."

At this, the bird in question rose from its perch next to Hedwig, and flew over to Harry's shoulder. It settled there, looking quite pleased with itself. Harry grinned. "Smart bird." The snidget let out a trill.

Pamela's lips twitched into a half smile. "Yes it is. But until everything is all legalized, it would probably be even smarter to keep it out of sight." She wagged a finger at it. "Better not cause a fuss any sooner than we need to." The snidget looked at her for a moment. Then it let out a chirp and zipped into the air and hovered for a moment before settling on Harry's hand. Harry blinked and carefully slipped it into a pocket in his robes. It shifted a bit and then apparently settled down to sleep.

Pamela's eyebrows looked as though they wanted to fly off her forehead. "Definitely a smart bird." Then she shook herself. "Let's go Kiddo. Don't forget your things."

Harry nodded and grabbed his bag. As an afterthought, he stuck in his sketchbook and a few of the drawing quills. Then he followed Pamela out the door.

"Out of the way now! You're holding people up!" a knot of students blocking the open portrait hole hurried through at the shout from Pamela.

Harry could hear them muttering at each other as they left. One of them said, "It's not as if the Fat Lady minds all that much, why should she?" The portrait's occupant harrumphed as they walked out of earshot.

Reminded of something, Harry stopped. "Can we wait just a second?" Pamela raised an eyebrow, but nodded, gliding off to hover at the top of the stairs. Harry turned back around as the portrait closed with a snap. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

It took a moment for her to notice the writing. Upon seeing it however, the portrait's occupant glanced about before finally looking down. "Yes Dearie? Did you forget something in the common room?" She frowned. "Mind, you're supposed to use the password, but I suppose I can let it slide this once."

Harry shook his head. "No ma'am. I just..well...-"

The woman leaned down, throwing her perspective off entirely. "Yes?"

Harry swallowed. "Well, it's just...I was wondering what I should call you is all." The portrait blinked. "Well it's a bit mean to be calling you "The Fat Lady". And I just was just-" The woman cut him off with a wave of her hand and stood.

An odd expression was on her face. "I am Lady Valeria." She paused, the strange expression intensifying. "You may call me Valeria, or simply Val If you prefer."

Harry grinned and nodded. "Thanks Miss Valeria!" He jumped at a small sound from Pamela. "Oh! I'm sorry, I have to go now! It was nice meeting you!"

 She nodded. "Likewise." Then she smiled. "Well go on, get a move on! Breakfast is an important meal you know!" She waved as Harry hurried off to rejoin Pamela.

As they descended the stairs, Pamela said quietly, "That was very good of you Harry. I think you may well be the first student to ever ask her of her name."

Harry blinked and looked up at her. "You mean everyone just calls her "the Fat Lady"? That's just wrong!"

Pamela's lips twitched into a wry sort of smile. "From the minds of the innocent." She murmured quietly. Then she sobered. "You're right, it is." She said. "But I'm afraid that she's been called that for so long that most people, even the teachers call her that. I don't know when it started. It may have even been because of whomever painted her."

"And no one ever bothers to try to fix it?"

Pamela frowned. "I think it's mostly because she's never worked herself up enough to make a fuss about it. So most people simply take it at face value I suppose."

Harry scowled. "It's still wrong!"  They turned onto another staircase. "It shouldn't matter if she makes a fuss over it or not!"

Pamela's frown increased.  "No it shouldn't. But I'm afraid that sometimes, what's really needed is someone who cares enough to make a difference, and doesn't care for the norm." She smiled at Harry, looking rather proud. "This time that was you. Everything has to start somewhere, and here's hoping that she starts getting the respect she deserves."

Pamela flung an arm out suddenly. "Watch out for this staircase, by the way. It likes to move about when someone's gone too far to get off where they need to be." She made a strange sweeping motion. There was a low grinding sound from the steps, and Harry felt them vibrate.

He blinked as he watched them shift back into the correct direction. "I didn't even feel them moving!"

Pamela nodded, looking somewhat irritated. "Yes, all the staircases like to be subtle about it. Most people don't even notice until it's too late." There was a low thunk as the as the steps reconnected with the lower floor. "It's actually rather simple to make them move back once you know how, but it does take some practice to do it right." She grinned. "And it's not normally taught to students, but that goes without saying."  Harry gave out a silent laugh.

On the floor below, Pamela stopped and held her arm out straight in front of her, facing the staircase. "It's all about how you do it. The arm motion has nothing to do with it, it's all in the gestures." She spread her fingers wide. "Focus on the staircase, and the place you want it to be. Reach out and feel for the power inside the staircase, it's easier if you do it physically at first. Then just make a motion that implies movement, it doesn't matter which direction."

She made a sharp sideways flick with her hand. The staircase immediately slid into motion, quiet as a whisper. She grinned. "There, you see?" Harry nodded. "Now keep in mind that it's easier when you're trying to get them to go somewhere they already want to go. But if it's an emergency, and they can sense it, they'll cooperate as much as they can, unless someone overrides them."

 They reached the next landing, which was leading to open air. They leaned over, and spotting the staircase, Pamela said, "You try this one. Just focus on it going towards the Great Hall, since that's where we're headed. This one obviously can't get there by itself, but it can get in the right direction. Just remember that you only need to focus on where you're going, the stairs will home in on you automatically."

Harry nodded and reached out, splaying his fingers like Pamela had. "Right, the Great Hall." He paused. "How exactly do I reach out and feel for the magic?"

Pamela blinked, then her eyes widened. "Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you! Use your magic to feel for the magic in the staircase. Push out with it and feel it connect with the staircase's magic. As for finding your own magic, you just need to feel around for it inside you. I can't really explain better than that."

Harry frowned but concentrated all the same. Wondering how one "felt" their magic, he started wandering around inside his head. Just when he was ready to give up in frustration, he became aware of a faint buzzing from somewhere in the back of his mind. Honing in on it, the sound becoming stronger as he came closer, he felt something that seemed to be both alien, and comfortable at the same time.

As he came right up on it, he felt the same sensation he had felt when he had first picked up his wand, this time shooting throughout his body. It was then that he realized he had found it. Shooting back to the present, he pushed with the magic, a physical motion accompanying it. He felt an odd stretching sensation, before it suddenly stopped, to be replaced by a deep, heavy humming that seemed to penetrate to his bones.

Right...Great Hall. Focusing hard, he made the same sideways slash Pamela had. Though it wasn't as quiet, the staircase slid into motion, connecting with the landing they were on. Harry grinned and turned to face Pamela. "I did it!"

Pamela wore a strange expression. It looked a mix of pride, pleasure, and something like satisfaction. "Indeed you did. Very well done!" Her expression morphed into what was unmistakably a delighted grin. "Very well done indeed! But we'd better hurry if we want to get to the great hall while they're still serving breakfast!" She made a strange pass with her hand, then grabbed his shoulder. "Brace yourself kiddo!"

Harry had no time to ask why, nor did he need to. The floor suddenly seemed to drop out from under him. After a few terrified seconds, he realized he was sliding down the stairs, which seemed to have morphed into a kind of chute. Just as he was beginning to relax however, he saw the floor of the entrance hall coming up fast. He let out a soundless scream.

He needn't have bothered. Just as they were about to hit, the last section of stairs suddenly arced upwards, sending them careening into free space and breaking their forward momentum. Pamela grabbed his shoulder tightly as they started to come down, and they were suddenly much lighter, causing them to float to the ground, landing softly as a feather.

Pamela shook herself and let out a giggle. "My! Wasn't that fun?" She looked entirely too pleased with herself.

Harry shuddered and slowly straightened up. "Y-yeah, f-fun...s-sure."

At the sight of the shaky lettering, Pamela frowned and took a closer look at Harry's face. "Merlin, you look paler than usual!" Her frown deepened. "Just take a few deep breaths. You'll feel better soon."

Harry did so, and was gratified to find his breathing slowly return to normal. It was then that he noticed the matronly woman standing a few feet away, staring at him.

After a long moment, during which she gave him an unnerving once-over, she spoke. "Goodness, you look far too thin!" She swept up to him, and proceeded to look him over more closely. "Right then!" She said it so suddenly that Harry jumped. "You're to come for a full check-up!"

Harry blinked. "I-s-sorry?"

She frowned. "You're to come to the Hospital wing for a check-up. Not today though, as I'm still getting it stocked. I want to see you first thing after breakfast this weekend." With that, she swept off through the doors into the Great Hall, leaving Harry feeling rather like he had just dodged a bullet.

Pamela giggled at the expression on Harry's face. "Forcible, isn't she?" She sobered a bit. "That was Madame Pomfrey, the school Medi-witch. She's like a better version of a muggle school nurse." She flat out frowned. "You'd better do what she says. She's not opposed to hunting students down to get them in there." With that, she turned and made a gesture, causing the doors to fly open. Harry just gulped.

---

Severus frowned and looked up as the doors opened again. His frown morphed into a worse expression as he saw the Potter brat come gliding into the room, followed by one of the castle ghosts. While Potter seemed oblivious to his glare, the ghost was most certainly not. She gave him a frosty look that easily matched his and gave a dismissive flick of her hand.

His attention was diverted to his Snakes a moment later, when a loud cackling and chorus of shouts sprang from the table. A moment later, the cackle sounded again, and Peeves rose from the center of the table, plates and food whirling like a cyclone around him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Severus saw the headmaster rise from his chair. To his slight surprise Minerva had risen as well, though with far more speed than Albus. She had her wand trained on the poltergeist in the blink of an eye. The headmaster was not far behind, though his speed seemed less from age, and more from deliberation.

Neither of them had a chance to cast however.  "Peeves!" The hall seemed to rock on its very foundations under the force of the shout. "What do you think you are doing?!" Severus blinked as he saw that the ghost behind Potter seemed to have tripled in size in her anger, looking as though she were melded with a roiling thundercloud.

Peeves froze mid cackle, the plates and food dropping like stones, and his expression swiftly changing from delight to mortified terror.  "M-Madame!" He stammered. "I-I was j-just-"

The ghost cut him off, looking outright furious. "What have I told you about messing with the meals?" Her voice sounded closer to thunder than anything else at this point, and Severus was certain he saw dust fall from the rafters.

The poltergeist shrank back, hands behind his back. "Err...not to?"

Her voice scaled down into something resembling a hiss as she towered over him. "Precisely. What then were you doing?"

Peeves shrank back. "Um...leaving?"

A rather feral smile slid over the female ghost's face. "Good boy."

The poltergeist fled the Great Hall at high speed. Severus blinked in astonishment. He had never seen Peeves so thoroughly cowed before, even when he was facing the Bloody Baron at his angriest, a sight which could terrify the bravest of men.

The ghost's smile morphed into a far more pleasant example of it's kind, and she seemed to collapse in on herself, shrinking back down to a more normal size, and glided over to the Slytherin table. Stopping in front of the fiasco left by Peeves, she twirled one hand in an upwards spiral. The food and plates spun up into the air, detaching gently from students clothes and hair. They coalesced into a large ball high over their heads. The ghost snapped her fingers, and the object vanished completely. Then she flicked her fingers at the table, and what Severus recognized as a variation of  one of the more potent cleaning spells washed over the students, removing stains from clothing and restoring hair and hairstyles to full muster.

Pamela's smile widened slightly. "Much better." With that, she rose and floated back to Harry, settling down next him at the Gryffindor table, several of the students hastily shuffling over to make room. "That was, of course, Peeves. Pesty little devil."

Harry surveyed the table for a moment, unable to do much more than stare. It was piled high with food, some stacks almost as big as he. It looked a bit daunting.

Pamela saw him staring. She snagged his plate and set it so that it was balanced perfectly on its edge. She grinned at the confused look Harry gave her. "Watch this." She gave the plate a small flick, making it spin like a top. Harry thought he heard a few quiet pops coming from around him, but he couldn't be sure. The plate eventually slowed and stopped, still on its edge, but it was now piled with food. Harry stared at it. Pamela let out a giggle. "Balanced breakfast! There's nothing quite like one, you can believe that!"

Harry grinned as she set the plate down properly in front of him. Then he couldn't help a soundless laugh as she pointed her fingers like a gun and said, "Bang." A silver fork, spoon, and knife seemed to shoot out of them, then as they approached the table, turned into a perfect somersault. They straightened up and bowed before falling to the tabletop, completely inert.

Harry poked one. "They're not really alive, are they?"

Pamela laughed. "Not really, no. They were just temporarily animated. They're perfectly safe." With this assurance, Harry finally picked up the fork and began to eat.

"Severus, I have yet to discover spell that allows one to bore hole in the back of another's head." Snape jerked his attention away from the odd duo at the Gryffindor table, and focused on Professor Ambervale. The counselor smirked. "If you have unearthed one, please do share."

Severus just rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you know one, Mahalestro, or you wouldn't have suggested it." Next to him, Charity Burbage snorted into her tea.

The counselor simply blinked. "Of course I do. Rather painful and grisly however. Wouldn't recommend it. I remember the last time I saw it in action, poor man-"

Madame Pomfrey raised a hand gently to cut him off, causing both men to grin into their food, though Severus's was less pronounced. "Not at the table if you please, Mahalestro. I'd like to retain an appetite, thank you all the same." She calmly stabbed a sausage with her fork and munched on it for a moment. Reaching for her goblet she said, "I have been meaning to speak with you however."

The counselor blinked. "Oh? About what?"

The Mediwitch snorted before taking a drink. "You did request Mister Potter's files, didn't you?" Without waiting for a response, she passed two sheets of what appeared to be muggle paper to the counselor. "Just came in yesterday evening."

Ambervale took them and glanced them over. He started to set them down, saying, "The rest still in transit, I presume?"

Poppy frowned and took another sip. "No. That's all there is."

The hand froze. "Pardon? This?!"

Severus glanced up at the counselor. It had to be one of the first times he'd ever seen the man looking stunned.

For her part, the mediwitch simply nodded. "Yes. That." She said, mimicking Ambervale's stilted speech and accent nearly flawlessly. "I spent all this morning in contact with his primary school. That really is all they have on him. There's almost no medical history on him at all."

Overhearing this, Charity blinked. "What, not even birth records?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, but then they wouldn't. I have those. He was born in my infirmary after all."

Charity stared at her. "Really? Why?"

Ambervale answered her instead of the mediwitch. "At the time, Voldemort was searching for Potter's everywhere. No muggle hospital could be warded covertly, and Saint Mungo's always under heavy scrutiny. Hogwarts was only viable option."

Madame Pomfrey nodded. "I'm not sure who came to that conclusion first, but I was told about it roughly fifteen minutes before his mother went into labor." She smiled slightly. "Talk about a last minute preparation." She counted her fingers, evidently thinking hard. "That makes him the...sixth child to be born in the castle, I think. I know he's the first in close to a century at least. Well, on the record anyway."

Charity scoffed. "I should think it'd be a bit hard to hide any "unofficial" births."

Ambervale nodded absently, reading the papers more thoroughly. "Yes, one would think so." Charity and Severus stared at him. When he appeared to lose himself in the scant information on the sheets, Madame Pomfrey elbowed him sharply in the side. He blinked. "Hmm? Oh! One would be quite correct too." He paused and took a drink from his goblet. Setting it down he said, "Hogwarts knows when someone is born inside it."

Poppy nodded. "And my predecessor told me her predecessor would end up with a mysterious new file on her desk when it happened." She shrugged. "I never saw it happen until Mister Potter though."

Ambervale pushed his plate away. "Thank you for the files Poppy. I need to get to my office and head off Ministry representatives before they arrive."

Severus barely restrained a groan. "Please, no more secrets Mahalestro. I think you've done enough as it is."

Ambervale grinned. "Where's sense of adventure, Severus?"

"In the Slytherin common room." He said flatly. "Where I will undoubtedly be after classes. You do realize the ruckus this muggle visit is going to stir up amongst the students, don't you?"

The grin didn't so much as twitch. If anything, it grew larger. "Certainly." With that, he was heading down into the throng of students below, papers in hand.

Madame Pomfrey huffed. "I swear, sometimes he's almost as bad as Albus!"

Severus glanced at the headmaster, who was animatedly telling a story to Hagrid that seemed to involve an apple and a biscuit as visual aids. "Now that's impossible." He said.

Beside him, Charity nodded.

---

It was a short time later that Harry was standing outside the Great Hall, feeling properly full for the first time in a long while.

Pamela, who was floating somewhere in the general vicinity of his head, clicked her fingers decisively. "Right then! First things first, we need to get to Professor Mcgonagall's office." She smiled. "That'll be easy. She's just off the Great Hall."

She was in fact rather easy to find. Mostly because they narrowly missed walking straight into her when they turned a corner.

She jumped slightly and adjusted her glasses. "Ah, Mister Potter. I was just coming to fetch you." Then she smiled slightly. "It's nice to see some initiative. Normally getting students to come to my office is like pulling teeth." With that, she pushed a nearby door open, and motioned him inside.

The first thing Harry noticed was that Professor Ambervale was sitting in an armchair near the fire. He was studying a thick folder embossed with some sort of symbol. He closed it when they entered. "Good morning Mister Potter. Shall we get down to business?"

Pamela gave Harry an encouraging smile. "Don't worry about it kiddo. I'll be back after your first class. Can't have you getting lost, can we?" She smiled again and vanished through a wall.

Professor Ambervale watched her go. "Cagey creature." He muttered. Then he rose from his seat and swept over to stand near Professor Mcgonagall's desk, neatly sliding the folder into his sleeves as he did so. Clasping his hands behind his back he said, "I understand there was small altercation last night."

Professor Mcgonagall indicated he should take a seat. Harry did so. "Um . . .I guess that's one way to put it."

Professor Mcgonagall snorted. "Rather one-sided, from the looks of things." She smiled. Harry got the feeling he was seeing a rare event. "I've already heard from the others, and Mister Weasley himself. It's perfectly clear to me what happened." She leaned forward. "Mister Weasley has been healed and the only lasting damage is to his pride."

Ambervale spoke up suddenly. "Accidental magic is not something we are prone to punishing people for. Aside from the fact that it is difficult for eleven year olds to control all the time, it can happen to the best of us." He frowned briefly. "Control is important to learn though. After all, your magic grows with you. Just remember that."

Harry nodded. "Yes sir."

Mcgonagall suddenly became sterner. "Your owl on the other hand, is another matter. Do try to keep her from attacking others." She held up a hand when Ambervale started to say something. "By all accounts she was defending you, an admirable trait in a familiar. But she must be taught the difference between a truly dangerous situation and a schoolboy tussle. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll have to ban her from the dorms when others are about."

Harry nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Ambervale snorted. "By all accounts, Mister Weasley was making full body lunge. Just as well the owl intervened."

Professor Mcgonagall gave a funny little cough, which sounded as though it might have been hiding a laugh. "Yes, well . . . " She trailed off.

Ambervale rolled his eyes. "Benefit of the doubt is best applied here." He glanced at an odd looking device on the wall. It had no visible numbers, but instead had a number of images at random intervals. It must have made sense to him however, because he said, "We should be moving on. The representatives should be at my office any moment."

Professor Mcgonagall blinked. "Representatives? What are you up to now, Mahalestro?"

Ambervale just smiled as he held the door open for Harry. "You shall see soon enough Minerva."

The deputy Headmistress shook her head. "It better not be something that throws the student body for a loop again. The visiting muggles was enough."

As he stepped out the door, Ambervale raised an eyebrow. "That is up to them, not me. But while is a rather special surprise, it's not on that scale."

"If you say so." She said. The door closed behind them by itself.

Harry looked up at the counselor as they walked. "Visiting muggles sir?"

The man blinked. "Well, yes. I made the announcement before breakfast." He shook his head. "Caused quite a stir actually."

"We got there a little late. Pamela was showing me how to make the stairs behave."

Ambervale's eyebrows rose towards his hairline. "Really now? And how did you do?" He looked quite interested.

"I managed to get one to turn. Not as quiet as she could, though."

The eyebrows went higher. "Noise control simply requires practice. Stairs are tricky at the best of times." They rounded a corner and came across a bright red door.

Ambervale made a gesture at it, causing it to open with a gentle click. "This is my office." He smiled slightly. "Finding it's easy enough, but finding everything else . . ." He stifled a laugh at the slightly worried expression Harry's face. "Never fear, I'll walk to your first class." When Harry looked relieved, he really did laugh.

---

Nearly twenty minutes later however, the counselor was looking decidedly less jovial. "Walking you to first class, assuming representatives show up in time for it."

Harry had been taking the opportunity to look around the office. It was filled with some of the most interesting things he'd seen yet. There was another one of the odd devices on the wall; Harry assumed it was a clock of some kind, though it was larger than the one in Professor Mcgonagall's office.

Ambervale confirmed his assumption. Looking at it, he said, "Unless clock is wrong, they should have arrived twenty minutes ago."

Harry blinked as he spotted a rather large and odd-looking battleaxe hanging by a chair near the door. Then he looked at the professor. "How can you tell sir?"

The counselor blinked at him and glanced back at the clock. Just as he opened his mouth, there was a knock at the door. "I'll show you later." He said. Raising his voice he said, "Come in!"

A tall and skinny wizard came into the office, followed by a short and somewhat stumpy witch. The man had a face that reminded Harry very strongly of a fish. The oversized glasses he wore didn't help the impression. The witch on the other hand, resembled nothing so much as a toad.

Ambervale raised an eyebrow at them. "Let the department fit the looks." He muttered it so quietly; Harry was the only one who heard it. Harry decided it was just as well he couldn't speak, as he wasn't sure he'd have been able to keep from laughing.

The wizard smiled rather widely, somewhat enhancing the resemblance to a fish. "Professor Ambervale, It's good to see you again. I apologize for the delay, the Floo system rerouted us to Albania for some reason. I believe you contacted us in regards to a certain special animal?" He had a surprisingly deep voice for someone so thin.

Ambervale nodded. "Have a seat Elmis, Dolores." He gestured the wizard into the seat next to Harry.

The witch however, simply shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm here to observe." She had a high girlish voice that took Harry by surprise. He had been expecting a croak. "This is supposed to be my first field visit."

The wizard, Elmis, nodded. "She recently joined the department. This is one of her training visits."

Ambervale shrugged. "All the same, take seat. This could take some time."

She nodded and gingerly sat in the seat near the door, casting a wary look at the battleaxe. Harry suddenly noticed that there didn't seem to be anything holding it up.

He was distracted from her as the wizard held out a hand to Harry. "Good Morning. You must be Mister Potter. Professor Ambervale mentioned you in his message to us last night. My name is Elmis Servadore. I am the head of the Department for the regulation and control of magical creatures."

Harry shook the proffered hand. "Pleased to meet you sir."

The man blinked at the sudden appearance of the quill. Then he shook it off. Indicating the woman in the chair near the door, he said, "That's my new junior head, Dolores Umbridge." The witch inclined her head. Harry gave her a return nod.

Servadore clapped his hands. "Now then, Professor Ambervale said that you encountered a very rare creature recently."

Harry nodded. "Yes sir. Or well, they said it's rare. I had no idea."

All three of the adults smiled. Servadore nodded. "No, I don't doubt that. Did you bring it with you then?"

Harry nodded. "Yes sir. It's in here." He reached into his robes and gently touched the snidget. It promptly hopped out of the pocket and into his palm. The little golden bird trilled as it came into the air.

Servadore leaned forward, looking awestruck. "Great Merlin!" he breathed. "It really is a golden snidget!" He held out his hand. "May I?"

Harry nodded and held out the bird to him.

He took it gently and started examining it. "Thank you."

Umbridge was looking decidedly less awestruck. "Just how did you come across this Snidget, Mister Potter?" She sounded remarkably clinical.

Harry decided immediately that he didn't like her. "I didn't come across it really. It came across me, more or less."

"More or less?" Her eyes had narrowed, making her look more toad-like than ever.

Harry shrugged. "I'd been leaving my window open for my owl to hunt, and when I woke up the day before yesterday, it was sitting in the cage with her."

Umbridge was looking more and more suspicious. "Owls are very territorial over their owners, Mister Potter. I rather doubt she'd simply allow it to roost in her cage."

Harry shrugged, feeling slightly annoyed. "I don't think Hedwig minds it all that much actually. She let it sleep right next to her on the headboard last night."

Umbridge blinked. Before she could respond however, Servadore spoke. "Oh stop fussing Delores! It's not as though he could have stolen it! The closest snidget sanctuary is miles from any well-inhabited neighborhood. He'd have had to travel quite a distance."

Umbridge subsided, looking rather mutinous. Then she flinched and cast a badly concealed look upwards. Harry noticed suddenly that the battle-axe seemed to be hanging lower down than he remembered it. Umbridge blanched slightly and surreptitiously moved her chair a few inches away from it. To Harry's astonishment, the battle-axe soundlessly slid along the wall with it.

Umbridge whimpered. Harry thought he saw a smirk on Professor Ambervale's face, but it was gone before he could be sure. Servadore either didn't notice anything amiss, or he pretended not to.

Instead, he held the snidget in front of Harry and drew his wand. He gave it a flourishing swish. A thin, bright golden line appeared between boy and bird. Harry realized abruptly that the man had cast the same spell Professor Ambervale had on the train, or a variant at least.

"Stronger than yesterday." Ambervale commented.

Umbridge stopped trying to slide along the wall for a moment. "What?"

Ambervale jerked his head at the line still glowing in midair. "I cast familiar recognition spell when it was first shown to me yesterday. Bond is already stronger."

Servadore held the snidget out to Harry, who accepted it. They all watched the little bird hop up the sleeve of Harry's robes to perch on his shoulder. Finally he said, "I think that settles it."

Everyone looked at him. The wizard looked strangely solemn. Then he broke into a grin. "Stand up straight please, and try not to flinch, or the bonding spell may not take properly."

Umbridge gasped, inadvertently scooting the chair again. The axe promptly moved with it. Still attempting to move away from it, she gave a rather fake sounding cough, and said, "You can't be serious!"

"Either take a cough drop or be silent!" Ambervale snapped. "And stop scooting about! The axe is anchored to the chair. Wherever one goes, the other does too."

Without turning around, and completely ignoring Ambervale's outburst, Servadore said, "I'm quite serious Dolores. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We have no idea what effects could be caused by having a snidget as a familiar. It's the chance for a fascinating learning experience, and I for one am not about to pass it up."

Umbridge flushed. It was not a pleasant image. "What in Merlin's name do you plan to say the Minister of Magic about all this?!"

Tracing his wand in a strange pattern in the air, Servadore smiled. "Well for one, I have no desire to cause trouble with a familiar bond that's obviously so well attuned. And what I just told you. There's plenty we don't know about these creatures, and we finally have a chance to find out some of it. " He frowned for a moment. "Though I doubt it'll come to him. He has enough to deal with."

To Harry, he said, "Hold as still as you can please." When Harry nodded, he waved the wand in another strange pattern. What followed was a long string of convoluted sounding words. Harry gave up trying to understand them after what he thought might have been the fifth word.

The last word however, was quite clear. "Yeowa!" A downward slash of the wand accompanied the shout. The air shimmered for a moment, then seemed to wrap around Harry and the snidget. An unseen weight pressed on them for a moment. Then the air around them flashed a shimmering gold, and the weight vanished.

Servadore wiped his forehead and stood back. "That should do it." He flicked his wand and the gold line appeared again, though this time there was noticeable streak of silver shot through it. Servadore nodded. "And it did. Congratulations Mister Potter. You are now its true and proper owner." He paused and glanced at him. "Have you thought of a name for him?"

Harry started to shake his head. Then something came into his head. He grinned. "Yes actually. Whimsy. After all, he came to me on his own whim."

Servadore laughed. "Rather appropriate!" He leaned down and gave Harry a firm handshake. "Very well, Whimsy it is. I'll be sure to put it on the records of ownership. You'll get a copy of those in a few day's time." Ushering a sputtering Dolores Umbridge out the door, he said, "Congratulations once again, and I hope you do well with him." With that, he was gone.

Ambervale raised an eyebrow. Little woman, big complex." He muttered. Then he turned to Harry. "Whimsy eh?" Harry nodded. Ambervale regarded him for a moment. Then he smiled. "Appropriate indeed. All creatures are bound by their whims, and theirs alone. Only they may truly affect their lives." Then he folded his arms. "That said, it is my whim that we get you to first class. Professor Flitwick should forgive you, twenty minutes late or not."