120 — Assessments
Twilight’s knowledge of book-walking, as applied to paintings, was shared with the professors and Guard. As a result, Wednesday night, paintings were quickly re-arranged to allow direct transfer between the four dormitories’ common rooms and the Great Hall.
“Ah, darnit!” said Apple Bloom. “Now everybody knows about our secret.” She shook her head wryly. They watched as the painting in the common room were being rearranged and labelled as to their new, linked destinations.
“Well, we knew the secret would get out sooner or later,” said Sweetie Belle, helpfully.
“Ah know, but I’d hoped we’d make it till summer!”
Sweetie Belle sighed. “Yeah, I know. And next year they’ll probably figure out a way to block that except in emergencies.”
“It was fun, though, wasn’t it?” said Scootaloo. They all had to agree with that sentiment.
As soon as the Professors were finished in the dorms, they left to organize paintings all across Hogwarts to go between the Great Hall and the classes. And then the library and owlery were added. The Great Hall was now Grand Central Station for the students. Every student leaving or entering a dorm went through there, first and last.
The corridors were almost empty, except for patrolling prefects and their Guard ponies, as a result. And with Guards at all the House entrances, sneaking out that way for privacy or a rendezvous was impossible.
۸-~-۸
Despite the advantages the paintings provided in moving around the castle quickly and safely, it was still very awkward being restricted to only moving as a group, the Gryffindor’s quickly discovered. It was one thing to wait for your friends before leaving for the Great Hall, and quite another to have to wait for the slowest member of your class to get ready before anyone could move on. Getting up in the mornings turned into a group effort at efficiency.
Thursday morning breakfast was a bit of a surprise when they entered the Great Hall saw the House Points’ Tubes. The school discovered that Gryffindor had somehow acquired one hundred and twenty points and Slytherin had gained twenty. Which, of course, led to much speculation and gossip.
Hedwyg delivered a message from Harry’s mum, during the parliament of owls, that the points taken from Ron and Harry three weeks before had been done in error, and were now adjusted to something a bit more proper.
Harry and Ron had not been trying to prank Malfoy and Parkinson, the letter pointed out. Their remaining point loss was to reflect that they had been out after curfew, nothing more, nothing less. That they should have told their Head of House about the dragon wasn’t punished, as Hagrid should have told the Headmaster, himself! And Hagrid’s transgression, him being a “responsible” adult, clearly out-weighed theirs. They had been, after all, following an adult’s lead.
Harry snickered. It was obvious his mum had been more than a little disturbed at Professor McGonagall’s excessive reaction last month. Too bad she couldn’t have stayed an extra day. But she was busy. Equestria and the Portal were apparently creating a lot of work for her.
No doubt the Heads of House would inform everyone else later about the adjustments. In the meantime, Harry and Ron were glad to read that they were no longer being held responsible for putting Slytherin ahead in House points. Now it was once more Gryffindor first and Slytherin second.
The Slytherins were clearly not as pleased as the rest of the school.
And Professor McGonagall, he was sure, had to be conflicted. True, she had been taken to task by his mum and her decision modified, but now her House was the point leader. It was impossible to tell if Professor Snape was upset or not. He always seemed to sport a sneer when he looked at the Gryffindor table, anyway. Maybe it was a bit more sneery-er?
A big surprise was to see Sirius Black, escorted by three ponies, storm into the Great Hall at lunch, clearly upset. He hurried straight over to where Harry was seated. “Harry!” he cried. He snatched the boy into a hug, and then held him at arms-length. He looked the boy up and down critically. “You’re not hurt, are you?” he said with narrowed eyes. He cast a furious look at the Head Table, singling out the Headmaster first, then looked over to Professor McGonagall.
Sweetie Belle, understanding the wizard’s anxiety, scooted over to make room for him at the table. They spent most of the rest of lunch time explaining what had happened. And why. Most of the Gryffindors at this end of table listened in, as did some of the Hufflepuffs who were close enough to eavesdrop.
Harry couldn’t find it in himself to worry about what they learned. The gossips would make up gossip, regardless of the truth.
“Hagrid got a dragon’s egg to hatch!” he said admiringly. He shook his head.
And continued to shake his head in disbelief a moment later. “You smuggled a dragon out of Hogwarts in the middle of the night? And no one knew?” He chuckled. “Merlin! Your father would be beside himself if he could have pulled that off himself! He’d be so proud of you if he were here.”
Then they explained what had happened in detention, Tuesday night.
That got Harry a steady look, and then Sirius took a look around the Hall at the Guards.
He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye and smirked. “No prank the Marauders ever pulled off can compare to getting Hogwarts invaded by hundreds of well-armed ponies! And you didn’t even get in trouble for it! Marvellous!” He grinned at Harry.
“We usually got detention for our pranks.”
He leaned close to Harry and whispered, “Do you think the Princesses are going to annex Hogwarts? Wouldn’t that be a stick up the old families’ arses!”
Harry blushed bright red. “No!” he exclaimed loudly, surprised. Realizing how he had the undivided attention of a score or two of students, he slumped down. “Mum already told me this is just until we go home,” he half-whispered back. “She’s worried the non-magicals will get upset if she did that.”
“But, still, you shouldn’t have been forced into the forest at night,” Sirius said angrily, and scowled. His mercurial emotions were evident as he turned and darkly glared up at a certain wizard and witch at the Head Table.
It made him warm inside to see Sirius reacting so strongly. And over him! He had learned to expect that from his mum and the fillies, but that there were others who felt that way was almost unbelievable to him. He cherished every second that the wizard was with them.
He had to smirk, seeing the look in Sirius’ eyes when lunch was over and he saw the Headmaster start to stand. From his expression, Harry knew that both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall would have been in for some serious (!) pranking if the wizard had still been a student. As it was, he was sure the wizard was going to be tearing a strip off both of them and nailing it to his wall at home as a trophy.
He certainly felt like doing the same when he thought about the chain of events and how badly the professors had handled everything. But, then again, what could you expect from wizards? Common sense? If only he could remember those spells, he’d make sure they never did anything so stupid, again. If they recovered enough return to the school, that is.
He wondered, if he dared to ask, would Sirius let him see the memories of his conversations with the two in his pensieve?
He was very disappointed with his father’s other friend, Professor Lupin, however. The wizard hadn’t been nearly as upset, or demonstrative, as Sirius. He hadn’t even come to visit Harry in the Hospital Wing on Wednesday. He just frowned unhappily and looked sad.
Thursday and Friday after the ponies arrived were a bit tense for the wizards and witches, Harry noticed, especially after the demonstration on the lawn. Still, this was a school, and the students’ priorities quickly shifted back to oncoming exams. The Fifth and Seventh years were soon too wrapped up in their studies to notice the ponies that were guiding them, and they absentmindedly followed their escorts.
The restoration of Gryffindor’s lead in House Points should have restored most of the school’s good nature towards Harry. Unfortunately, everyone knew he was responsible for the presence of the pony Guards. And their restriction to being escorted everywhere. If he had not panicked, none of this would have happened.
The wizards and witches who were dating were especially put out and unhappy with the situation. Naturally, and not consciously, they took out their frustrations on their friends. Who, in turn, tended to view Harry with severe disapproval. The dating couples did blame Harry, directly, for their now chronic lack of privacy. Most were not shy, nor quiet, about publicly denouncing him, at first. It wasn’t as bad as it had been, but it was still quite evident.
So, for Harry, things didn’t really improve very much. Other students still resented his very presence.
“Relax, Harry,” Scootaloo said, dropping beside him in the library.
They were both ponies. In fact, as usual, all the animagi Firsties were. The petting, stroking, and ear scritching kept him calm, but only his fellow Gryffindor Firsties were inclined to do so. Everyone else gravitated to the other ponies in the room. He was definitely feeling shunned. Which only made him appreciate his friends more.
“You know that if any of us had been there, we would have done the exact same thing.”
“Only with more screamin’,” put in Apple Bloom. She was laying on her stomach almost at a right angle to him, Lavender’s hand stroking her neck absentmindedly while she revised her notes. The filly nuzzled his muzzle before turning back to her own notes.
He sighed dejectedly. He found himself using the book-walking spell more now. Mostly to escape the accusatory stares and not that he needed to check his notes against the original material.
Not even the Quidditch team was on his side.
Only the animagi were truly supporting him. They were shunning Harry’s more vocal critics. Given a choice between petting soft, furry, friendly ponies and upbraiding Harry over a loss of privacy, most students kept their mouths shut and merely glared at Harry. The other Gryffindor Firsties had been a bit standoffish, but after an explanation of what had happened with Tirek, they had quickly come to understand the situation. And they didn’t have any dating couples anyway, so they didn’t have a dog in that fight.
Disappearing every evening and staying all night for their meetings with the Unspeakables at the Weasleys’ didn’t help his case, either. Despite the fact that all the animagi went as a group, others still claimed he was getting special treatment. And held that up as one more reason to be unpleasant to Harry.
He felt really guilty about staying at the Weasleys’ home while everyone not an animagi had to stay here. It didn’t help that they could actually play outside in the sun without being watched by dozens of Guards. Or see that the lawns had been turned into a potential battle zone and military encampment.
On the other hand, he got to sleep in a pony pile, once again. He was surprised to note how much he had missed that. Even Ron mentioned how nice it was.
Harry wasn’t sure that trading the obvious presence of the Guards for the sneaky and creepy Unspeakables was an improvement. And spending an hour every evening answering questions such as, “Are your feelings towards Scootaloo different when you’re a wizard than when you’re a pony?” and “When you were a pegasus last summer, how different did that feel from what you feel now?” were tedious in the extreme. Especially because they kept repeating the questions! As if they were going to get different answers depending on if he was a unicorn or a wizard at the time.
But the Weasleys had been delighted that they could go home in the evenings, and thanked him profusely. They especially liked seeing how their extra income to the family had improved The Burrow. New furniture, new paint, and expanded rooms were only a few of the changes they could see.
The three older Weasleys children seemed to view the Unspeakables a bit differently, and had started asking them questions related to their classes. That the answers were extremely insightful had surprised them almost as much as the fact that the Unspeakables had answered at all.
Still, he could hardly wait for the exams to be over.
Oliver Wood was approaching.
Harry looked up.
“Are you gonna make practice,” Oliver said sourly, looking at the animagi. He didn’t care, personally, about the ponies on the lawns or the strict group-only restrictions. No, instead he was getting paranoid about the ponies watching the team practice. All of his top-secret plays were being studied, dissected, and criticized by the pegasi. He just knew they were sharing what they saw with the Slytherins, as he had repeatedly told the team.
Harry’s reassurances that the Guards would never do that were met with stony silence and disapproval. His opinions were suspect, now, it seemed. But at least Wood’s fears could be viewed as reasonable — if you were a paranoid Quidditch team captain and a true game fanatic. It had nothing to do with the Guards now at Hogwarts.
Truthfully, Harry felt that was an improvement over the jealous and offended attitudes shared by the rest of the school.
Harry wished he could convince his mum, and the Headmaster, to let him bring the whole team to the Burrow on Saturday and Sunday for practice. It might make things easier for him, get the team more on his side. But she had already turned it down. And with her firm, ‘No,’ he knew it wasn’t practical to go to the Headmaster.
“As far as we know, just say when.”
“Sunrise on Saturday and noon on Sunday.”
Harry stifled his groan. That was five in the morning! Meaning, he had to get up at four. He reluctantly nodded.
On the other hoof, he got to fly for at least five hours, assuming Professor McGonagall let them practice until noon. She was constantly riding Wood on preparing for his OWLS, and rarely allowed them to go beyond two days a week plus either Saturday or Sunday. And then they had to schedule around the other teams.
This coming weekend, however, was the last before a game. And they only had to share the pitch with the Slytherins. So, on Saturday, Wood had the morning and Flint, the Slytherin team captain, had the afternoon. They switched on Sunday.
“Make sure you’re on time!” Wood growled before stalking off.
Harry sighed. With the exception of Hermione, everyone at the Weasleys was on the team. So, there was no danger of them being late. They’d probably have to drag Ron from his bed, but his brothers could handle that. And they would. Happily.
He did notice, however, the oddity that was one Hufflepuff witch, de Rippe, if he remembered correctly. He’d seen her around previously, but never really paid attention. Now, however, with such open dislike and hostility around him, he could see that she acted . . . different. And that had finally caught his attention after three weeks. Probably because the incident in the forest had made him a bit paranoid.
While the other non-Gryffindors ignored him or scowled when they saw him in the last three-some weeks, she was usually neutral. That is, her expression was never one of disapproval or scorn. She smiled when others were laughing or enjoying themselves, but when they were hostile towards him she was blank-faced. And she was always to the side and in the animagi’s line-of-sight, despite being in a group, where she could watch what was happening without blocking anyone, or being blocked. She seemed especially interested in him and the fillies, and not so much the others.
And when he looked at her, she looked away and never tried to catch his eye. She did the same with his herd-mates, except Hermione and Ginny. He had caught her out of the corner of his eye watching them, frequently with a puzzled expression. And she swallowed a lot when they were hugging, or just lying beside each other, cuddling.
She gave him something to think about other than his studies and ostracization.
In the classes they had with the Hufflepuffs, she frequently was the closest of her class to him. As she had been all year, he realized, on reflection.
And she was not upset at the rings he had given his herd-mates.
He was beginning to think that there was a bit more to gift giving than he had anticipated. It’s not like he had much experience. But some of the witches in the castle seemed to attach a greater significance to those rings his herd-mates wore than the mere protection they afforded.
They had certainly changed the way they acted toward the Gryffindor Firstie animagi witches. Especially the witches and wizards from old wizard families. It was primarily from the Slytherins, as that House had more families with a traditional attitude. Even Neville had subtly changed how he acted around the five witches, being just a tad bit more formal to them when they were in public.
But de Rippe didn’t seem to care. She didn’t even seem to notice the rings. No more than any of the muggle-born or half-blood wizards did, that is.
However, she had never actually come close enough to touch or pet one of the animagi. Not in the entire year. She always hovered by the study room door, either inside or just outside in the main library.
All-in-all, considering things, she wasn’t acting like the others were. Did she want to meet him and was too shy? She wouldn’t be the first, he knew. His “boy-who-lived” reputation had generated a lot of those. But most had overcome their shyness, by now.
He would discuss things with the others and see if they knew anything he didn’t. In the meantime, he would keep an eye out for her.
She seemed to be the only student in the school who didn’t subscribe to the sudden and swift changes of opinion that swept through Hogwarts, which were always based solely on scandalous and suspect rumours.
۸-~-۸
The weekend shot by him, the Quidditch practices being a wonderful opportunity to ignore the rest of the world and just fly. Then they were in exams.
The exams, as predicted by the older students, were gruelling — long and detailed. They had to use special anti-cheating quills on their papers, and a strict time limit was imposed. Still, Harry found that all the book-walking had made remembering facts and charts rather easier. The worst parts were the hand cramps from all the writing. And the sore muscles from sitting hunched over his desk hours on end.
The exams were worse this year, was the common consensus, after the lower years compared their exams with the older years. The book-walking spell was both a blessing and a curse. It made things much easier to understand, and so the course material covered had been increased. And the exams focused more on understanding the theory behind the spells rather than in simply being able to recite the things learned by rote.
All four houses took each exam at the same time, to prevent anyone from warning their friends or siblings in other Houses and letting them get an advantage. Then they had to do practicals in Charms, Transfigurations, Herbology, Potions, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Usually on that same day. By the time dinner rolled around, they were mentally exhausted.
Making a pineapple dance had been easy, as had the mouse-into-a-snuffbox. Demonstrating the proper techniques for repotting a Devil’s Snare was a bit more difficult, what with the plant continuously trying to make a break for the outdoors. The ones handled by the animagi were especially robust. Ron’s managed to make it to the door before Professor Sprout could catch it.
Professor Snape’s class had been a bit simpler, they had all done it together. Each student had to brew the Forgetfulness potion while Snape stalked around, grading them on every step. He didn’t offer any comments during the exam, but his sneers were more than enough to get across his feelings of each student he loomed over.
Naturally, they had to do the potion entirely from memory.
In a surprise move, Neville finished his potion without melting his cauldron or ruining the potion! Even Sweetie Belle seemed to have succeeded in brewing the potion correctly. They were all congratulating the two when the changes started. In short order they had an entire First-year class of bipedal ponies in a variety of coat, mane, and tail colours not found in nature — at least nature on Earth. They had the hooves, legs, and tails of ponies with the bodies, hands, and arms of people. They had slight muzzles and large eyes, with unicorn horns just inside their hairline. With very prominent and sensitive pony ears.
The Slytherins were not pleased — well, Draco and his entourage were not pleased. “This is disgusting!” he loudly complained. He was horrified at being a “. . . lesser beast,” as he put it.
And Professor Snape was the scariest anthro-pony any of them could imagine, regardless of his soft-pink and blue colour combination. The blinding sparks bursting from his horn as he raged around the classroom were amazing to see.
He confiscated Sweetie Belle’s cauldron instead of simply vanishing the contents.
Some of the other students seemed a bit intrigued by their new forehead appendage and were attempting to cast lumos with it.
The rest were of mixed thoughts on the matter. The colourful tails and ears on both the girls and boys attracted more than a bit of attention from the upper-year students as the afternoon wore on. There seemed to be a lot of ear-scritching going on by the upper-years.
The animagi discovered that transforming into ponies and back did not change their new look.
The Unspeakables at the Weasleys were quite impressed, and several set off for Hogwarts. The changes finally wore off not too much before nine that evening.
Defence Against the Dark Arts was different from the rest. Professor Quirrell had broken out in green spots, then started violently sneezing during the written part of the exam. Quirrell had complained of hot and cold flashes as Madam Pomfrey had led him off to the Hospital Wing, leaving a Seventh-year Prefect in charge.
If not for the book-walking spell, Harry was sure he would have failed the exam. Most of the spells and techniques mentioned in it were never mentioned in class. Later, as they were finishing up, the Head Boy told them Professor Quirrell had contracted Malignalitaloptereosis while in Hogsmeade the day before. As such, he, Dexter Twycross, would be giving them the practicals immediately after the written portion.
Like the Charms’ and Transfigurations’ practicals, each student would perform the spells in a designated classroom. They would enter through one door, then leave through the other. Those who had completed the exam would not be able to pass on what they knew.
However, unlike their other classes, the students were called up in random order. “An additional step to prevent friends from warning friends,” said the Head Boy. Harry was the second called.
Dexter nodded at him as he came in. “Potter, right? The Body-Binding Curse on that dummy.” He pointed at the manikin at one end of the room.
Harry cast quickly, whipping his wand through the motions as he had so carefully practiced many times.
Dexter walked over and inspected the ropes, tested their tightness, then barely whispered a finite. Nothing happened. He nodded, and did it again, slightly louder. His eyebrows went up and he looked at Harry before turning back to the dummy and repeating himself at a normal tone. It took him five tries, each greater than the one before.
“Excellent, Mr. Potter!” He came back the desk. “Now the Severing Charm on that wooden pole.”
Harry took a deep breath and again cast quickly.
The top of the pole fell to the ground.
The Head Boy looked at the measuring stick in his hand. “Well. I don’t think we need this,” he said. “Finally, the Smokescreen Spell.”
Swathed in the smoke around him, Harry heard Dexter say. “Excellent! I believe I can safely say that your practicals are deserving of an Outstanding!”
Harry was grinning as he finited the smoke screen.
He was totally unprepared for the stupefy that hit him as the smoke cleared.
۸-_-۸
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So I wonder how fast this idiot will be regretting what is about to be dropped on his head? I hope he enjoys the war he is about to bring onto the grounds of Hogwarts.
... Yes. Let's take violent revenge on the royal boy who got royal guards placed at the palace. Surely that is going to end in a way that isn't flames.
hmmmm
Voly-boy swapped bodys. or a particularly bad case of bullying for the lack of snu-snu.
9620715
9620717
He could be being controlled by Voldemort...or he is an idiot.
Later on, that spell's cousin would become Harry's best friend. At least in normal canon.
Yeah I was expecting that.
Calling it now, Quirrel used a Polyjuice to deflect suspicion and got "sick" to have an alibi. Perhaps he swapped with a confounded student.
He is shown to be adept at logic.
Wonder when Sweetie will discover big head mode.
Argh! Curse you, cliffhanger! Nice chapter, though.
9620733
Can't be Quirrell, his goal is the stone it makes no sense to take an unnecessary risk by going after Harry in such a direct way like this.
9620752
Dumbledore did mention that the whole trials thing was to avoid Voldy's agent taking hostages... so, ten to one it is Voldy, and took Harry hostage for the stone - or for his blood due to him being a unicorn animagus, whatever comes first.
Methinks that Harry's blood will be too spicy for his taste-oh wait, is his protection still active? I doubt it is if Voldy's shard is melding with Harry's.
Alternatively, it is a student with ties to the filth that calls itself 'pureblood' within the Ministry and is seeking retribution on his parent's behalf. Then again, I may be reading too much into it - and it could in fact be the means by which they avoid getting the practical exams spread out to the friends of the students already examined.
9620770
If he was gonna take a hostage he wouldn't have waited so long to do it. He especially wouldn't do it with all the additional security added to the school. If anything he would use the exams as the perfect opportunity to go after the stone not go after the students whom everybody would be focused on.
9620781
That is also true.
In all likelihood is like other posters said - a bully that is too salty to think ahead what he's calling forth in terms of Rapidash's vengeance-er I mean motherly retribution.
9620728
My money is on an idiot. After that demonstration I doubt Voldermort would pull something like this. This student is acting independently and is going to be pissing of a very dangerous hornets nest.
Unless that was part of the exam to teach a lesson about never letting your guard down. I foresee the guards stationed in the classroom to be kicking some ass real soon. Along with a very pissed off god of chaos. If i remember theirs a pair inside and outside the classrooms. Plus if were talking efficiency patrificus / obliviate / body binding curses would also be a few the equestrians would ward their soldiers against. Voldermort/quirrel literally had to tare a ponies leg off to get away lesser spells are probably useless against pony armor.
Also using upgraded owls testing material is illogical. That means an acceptable should be the equivalent of a previous years outstanding since the materials harder. If someone who previously got outstanding takes the new test ... which is harder ... theyd probably get acceptable or below expectations. You could literally be denied a job from someone dummer then you because they have higher owls due to taking a easier test.
9620781
Unless he discovered that the stone is no longer in it's hiding place behind all those safe guards and is using Harry as a last ditch desperation play to flush out the stone, after all not even Twilight would be able to make a move against Voldemort/Harry's captor if it could result in Harry being hit with the Killing Curse.
I'm really starting to suspect that Harry, the rest of the CMC and their friends will not be returning to Hogwarts next year and would instead be learning magic in Equestria.
9620808
True but if Dumbledore doesn't know the stone has been moved I'm not sure how Voldemort would figure it out.
9620817
Why do I picture Ellie giving up the love-infused stone to Voldy, only for him to melt like the Witch of the West when taking it?
9620823
Not sure since he's not literally weak against love.
9620817
How do we know Dumbledore doesn't know that the stone is gone?
9620752
Remember, he needs Harry to even get the stone. "Only one who wishes to find the stone - but not use it - can take it from the mirror."
Perhaps old Dumbly Door told the staff in a ploy to draw out Moldy Voldy. Perhaps he forgot that one of the staff was likely to be working with Moldymort.
Perhaps he just let it slip.
9620828
Because there was no mention of that and I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt that he wouldn't have such a major revelation occur off screen.
Sweetie's potions are always a joy to read
I did NOT expect that ending, though
Also sorry to say it but those spiders gotta go. Their a invasive species introduced by a outside influence...hagrid. Their preying on sentient centaurs,unicorns, and god knows what else in their. They have no natural predators in the woods. Yah the centaurs are killing some but in a attrition battle the centaurs are fkd. They need to be eradicated or hunted down to a number where they can be caught and transported to their natural environment.
9620839
They've lived their for 50 years I'm pretty sure the forest has already adjusted to their presence. At this point removing them would probably cause more harm than good.
Awww we missed McGonagals chewing out.
As for the stupefy you couldn't stop the chapter one line earlier so we don't have a cliffhanger?
It'd be amusing if Shape gave both Neville and Sweetie exceeds expectations.
I'm surprised the first years aren't even harsher in their denying pony letting privileges given how Harry's being treated. On the other hoof it seems Ellys main source of love is now the Equestrians.
Harry's being more and more affected by the shard it seems that's not good.
9620794
It might make sense if the grading also adjusts e.g. a poor performance in this year's exams is still enough to get the student a exceeds expectations or outstanding.
I wonder if Twilight could be interested in the potion... also maybe a certain changeling could like to learn 'Obliviate' from Lockhart the next year, not like she could need it with the forgetfulness potion
Aww, I for one think our adorable overlords would be much better leaders then the current establishment.
It's almost as if that's exactly what they're testing for!
That's actually how most specialized professionals tend to be. Doesn't matter if it's a police officer, or a military soldier, or a doctor if you ask them a question (and they're allowed to answer it) they'll usually try their best to explain it to you. The second step to learning is to ask.
Wasn't aware that Devi's Snare was an ambulatory plant. I just thought it hated sunlight and liked to strangle anything that struggles against it.
Well that escalated quickly.
9620845
I think the centaurs would disagree. Im surprised they even let hagrid into the forest. They probably dont know hes responsible for the infestation. They just know him as hogwarts groundskeeper.
Hymn ... fluttershy could get a few of her cockatrice friends to help out. Clear it right up over summer break. Just make sure their all males dont need life finding a way or a different kinda infestation if one goes awol.
If Tom Riddle is behind this, won't he be surprised when he finds the Horcrux that he placed in Harry no longer exists, thanks to Tirek. And depending on how much Dumbledore told Quirrel, Riddle may or may not know that most of the other Horcruxes have also been destroyed, thanks to Twilight Sparkle.
9620831
Well I would not put it past Dumbledore to not publicly react to the stone's disappearance and if I remember right it's been a while since Dumbledore's PoV has really addressed the stone so maybe next chapter we could get a line informing us that he knew that the stone is gone, it's not unreasonable to assume that he put an alarm on the mirror to inform him if the stone was ever removed.
Also it's not out of the realm of possibility that Voldemort did find the stone but was unable to get it because of was submerged in pure liquefied love, that stuff by all rights should be insanely powerful magically and we don't know what it would do to the average person let alone a true sociopath like Voldemort, for all we know Voldemort putting his hand in it could be like putting your hand in boiling sulfuric acid. We do know that love magic is very powerful in both Harry Potter and MLP, in the former it can counter the Killing Curse and in the latter it is what expelled the Changelings from Canterlot so there is no telling what pure liquefied love is capable of.
9620825
Well it's not so much that Voldy is weak against love so much as it as weak against the death-curse woven by Harry's birth-mother's love.
9620851
Well I guess in their own way those two do exceed expectations.
9620871
The shift in biomass alone has to be devastating to the forest. Think about it, these are predators and even after fifty years the oldest hasn’t died yet. Unless cannibalization is common, their impact on the environment can be nothing less than devastating. Even with it, there would be a slow and steady decline. Invasive species are no joke.
9620898
Most spiders are cannibals, so I don't see the Acromantula being way different from the mundane spiders.
And yes, they are a plague which in canon aided Voldy's forces at the end.
oops
Please tell me that Sweetie, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Harry were all exposed to Sweetie's Anthro pony potion, I hope so and maybe she can make it again so that Harry and the girls and the Mane 6 can try being Anthro ponies over in Equestria.
9621017
I did say that the entire first year class took the test at the same time . . . .
Please no Anthro, don't follow that path it leads to unspeakable horror...
9620787
On the other hand, if Voldemort can kill or harm him whilst staying clear of the fallout, he can enjoy the sight of the Equestrians ripping Dumbledore's school apart. Twilight was a hair away from pulling Harry out before, this might be just the thing to get all of these magical ponies to leave. And perhaps they'll even take the staff with them.
9621036
At this rate it is highly likely that Harry and the fillies are not going to be returning to Hogwarts for year two and I would not put it past them to invite their friends (especially Ginny and Hermione) to study magic with them in Equestria instead.
9621048
Yeah, I think Twilight is one epiphany away from founding her own school, in direct competition to Hogwarts. and when that happens, Dumbledore is going to have to work very hard not to have his establishment immediately slide into obsolescence. Might finally get him some proper funding/support from the ministry, instead of 200 sickles a year or whatever pre-inflation budget they're locked to.
9620880
At this juncture, Voldemort wasn't aware of Harry being a horcrux if I recall correctly. Harry was an accidental horcrux.
9620881
Did I forget something at the end of the chapter with the acquisition of the stone? Did someone go b in as she fled?
Or was that the "let's see if you actually remember the whole "defense" point of the test" Stupefy?
It's nothing lethal or even Unforgiveable here, merely a good stun shot.
9621026
oh good I am not too crazy for not being a big fan of anthro...especially if it is used to get around the whole human with pony thing. (not saying this fic is doing that)
9621086
Considering how busy Twilight is with the portal and her other responsibilities, I doubt Twilight would have the time to stark up a whole school in the near future (a few years down the line possibly but not now), I find it more likely that Twilight would either enroll Harry and compony (Hermione, the Weasleys, Myrtle and hopefully by the time it happens Luna Lovegood) In Celestia's School (which would now be able to accept non-unicorns due to the introduction of wands), arrange for skilled professionals to teach them at her castle or set up a self study program for them to use that she can oversee in her spare time. Personally I think the last one would be more fun as it would allow for more CMC mini adventures/misadventures as they learn magic with their friends.
9621129
I was just speculating.
9621167
prey it doesn't, in this path lies madness.
Well, I think this is strike 3 for Dumbledore. I have a feeling that, no matter how this plays out, Twilight is not going to let Harry or the CMC go back to Hogwarts. And if she does, she'll probably insist on making big changes.
Whoever stunned Harry has no idea of the wrath he is about to unleash.
Now comes the question. How will this play out since the stone isn't in the mirror? I mean we may not know how Voldemort knew Harry was lying in the first movie/book(aside from Magic BS) but this time Harry wont be lying about a lack of knowledge on the stone and not having it when the mirror was suppose to do it's thing that makes him have it in canon. Should be interesting.
Snape know the value of stealth transfiguration potion when he see one. I suspect he is secretly compile 'Sweetie Belle's Cookbook Collection' during her years at Hogwarts.