Chapter 23: Friendship Rings
The next morning the mood at the Gryffindor table was a bit somber. Granted that losing forty-five points wasn’t a huge amount, but to lose it on one go overnight did have people at the other tables wondering what had happened. A bit of whispering and looks toward Ron from the Slytherin table was a good indication that they’d had a good idea of what had happened.
Up at the head table. “Minerva, your house seems to be down some points this morning,” Professor Sprout observed as the owls were coming in.
“I was informed by Mr Folly that there was a discipline problem with some of the first years last night. He didn’t elaborate,” McGonagall offered. “Probably just as well that they chose to leave me out of the loop as it seems to be three individuals who lost the points. From all three of the current Gryffindor student leaders. Oh my, a phoenix?! Delivering a package.”
Back at the Gryffindor table and phoenix of all birds had just swooped in with a package for Aerie.
“Philomena?” Aurora asked.
“Fennik,” Aerie guessed to be rewarded by head bobbing. “Looks like I guessed right. So what do you have for me?” Aerie opened up the package inside to find two small rings and a note. “It says they are Pinkie Promise rings for you and your sister from another mother. They are self-adjusting to fit any size and come with novelty spells, a prank setting that makes ring and finger vanish. Plus, they won’t interfere with magic.”
“Sister from another mother?” Hermione asked.
“Dad was a busy lad,” Aerie teased causing a fair amount of snickering among those who’d heard. For that matter just because Aerie was joking didn’t mean it wasn’t true. “The second ring is for Aurora.” Aerie handed one of the small ring boxes over to her and opened up the one she still had. The ring inside was deceptively small. It sported a single ruby and finely detailed knotwork designs on it. On the underside could be seen writing in the Akkadian script.
“Oh, I bet that would look good on my-ah!” Fred was just in the process of attempting to snatch the ring when Fennik flew up and drove him off.
“Mr Weasley, interfering with the mail is a serious offense,” Idda scolded as Professor McGonagall started over, and Fennik chose to perch on Aerie’s head.
Aerie chose to put on her ring before anyone else got any ideas, and Aurora did the same. Both chose the left pinkie.
“Would someone care to explain what just happened over here?” Professor McGonagall inquired. She eyeballed Fennik who bobbed her head playfully.
“Fred Weasley tried to take Aerie’s ring that she just got,” Idda informed her. “Our little delivery Phoenix took exception.”
“I see,” Professor McGonagall said in a dry emotionless tone.
“This is Fennik, she’s bonded to Nova Silverwood,” Aerie explained. “These are Akkadian friendship rings.”
“Hey, there’s a little chain so they can be worn as pendants,” Aurora announced.
“Hey, cute,” Aerie replied.
“Why is Nova Silverwood sending you friendship rings?” Professor McGonagall asked.
“She’s like a second or third cousin to my mom, and Aurora, as it turns out, has Akkadian ancestry,” Aerie explained, took a morsel of meat from her plate, and offered it up to Fennik, who seemed to forget all about her antagonism towards Fred.
“Ah, I see. Perhaps we should talk later,” McGonagall replied and turned her attention to Fred. “Detention, see me in my office after classes tomorrow.”
“But?”
“You don’t antagonize a phoenix, Mr Weasley.”
“It’s just a bird.”
“Fennik is fully capable of dumping you anywhere she wants,” Aerie offered.
“She’s not wrong, and I doubt if the school wards could prevent her from doing it,” McGonagall cautioned. Now get back in your seat and there better not be any more trouble.” And with that, she returned to the head table.
As for Aerie and Aurora, they were dying for some free time when no one would be looking for them. Unfortunately the first free time they got that week, they were summoned by Professor McGonagall.
“Professor McGonagall?” Aerie asked as she knocked on the door.
“Come on in,” McGonagall called.
Aerie opened the door and entered followed by Aurora.
“Come, sit down, and don’t worry, you aren't in trouble.”
“I can’t imagine why not, we’re nearly as bad as the Weasley Twins,” Aerie teased as she shut the door behind her. They were seated a moment later.
“Perish the thought,” McGonagall said in an almost sarcastic tone as the two girls sat down in the available seats.
“I wanted to ask you about the incident on your first day of Broom riding.”
“You mean about what happened with Neville, I gather?” Aurora inquired just as Fennik popped in and landed on Aerie’s shoulder. She stretched out her wings, dropped her head, and hissed at the door. Moonie jumped up on McGonagall’s desk a moment later, her ears down flat.
“Neville kicked off and lost control of his broom,” Aerie stated. She then made an odd little hand gesture which was followed by the door swinging open. “Why Professor Quirrel, is there something you need?”
“Quirinus,” Professor McGonagall stated. She sounded just a bit annoyed. “Is it your habit to listen in at doors? You are Professor Quirrel, are you not? And not one of my students using a Polyjuice potion?”
“I – I was ju-just about to knock.”
“Indeed.”
“Ji-jinxing a broom is a very serious matter.”
“I’m sure it is,” Aerie offered. For a brief moment, her aura rippled visibly as little blue flames and Quirrel jolted back as though he’d been physically struck. “Professor McGonagall had heard about our Friendship rings, and was about to give us some life advice, weren’t you, Professor McGonagall?”
McGonagall hesitated for a brief moment. “Yes, I was going to give them advice. I only asked about Neville to break the ice.”
“Oh, I, I see. You, won’t, won’t be needing my assistance then?”
“Professor, when I need your assistance, I’ll let you know.”
Quirrel nodded his head and closed the door. Aerie reached up to pet Fennik and whispered, “Be a dear and dump him in the lake.”
Fennik made a chirp, jumped vanished, and then the sound of a double pop out in the hall was heard. She reappeared a couple of moments later and landed on Aurora’s shoulder now quite pleased with herself.
“It wasn't a vampire he ran across, I think, and Neville did not push off from the ground,” Aerie offered now that she needn’t fear being overheard. “By any chance have you talked to Madam Hooch recently?”
“Well of course I… You’re meaning about something other than just Neville’s incident aren’t you, and I hate to say it,” Professor McGonagall paused.
“He’s gone. There is a Muggle – Auror joint task force tracking a unicorn killer. I’ve been advised because they think it may be related to You know who.”
“Oh my. Well, the fact that a phoenix doesn’t like Professor Quirrel is troubling. Her response to him was far worse than that nip in Fred’s direction.”
“Is it enthrallment, do you think?” Aurora asked.
“I fear it’s far, far worse than that,” Aerie offered.
“I fear you may be right,” Professor McGonagall stated. “That smell, like death.”
“If this is in any way related to You know who, I fear there is little that can be done,” Aerie said. Sure, she already knew, but how was she to explain it to Professor McGonagall?
“That blue fire, what is that, do you think?”
Aerie let out a sigh. “The truth?” McGonagall nodded. “I’ve Kitsune ancestry. Also known as Celestial Foxes. Creatures, beings, on the side of light, mostly, who can take on human form. Granted that even Celestial foxes are prone to corruption. That’s why I have my Moonie. Truth is, she’s not exactly a cat. She’s the avatar of the Goddess Luna. She’s Selena. She keeps me from losing my way. I’ve had opportunities to talk to Nova Silverwood about the fox fire. The fire erupts like that as an unconscious reaction to corruption. It reacts to Professor Quirrel. Can’t say I’ve had that issue with anyone else. Not even when Snape… The worst part, I don’t know if there is anything we can do for or about Quirrel, and should you confront him, it could end disastrously. I looked up possession and enthrallment, but wizard kind is not… kind to such persons.”
“I’ll confess that even with my knowledge and experience, even I’m at a bit of a loss,” McGonagall offered. She also knew that Quirrel had received an injury from being hit by a shutter. It was circumstantial, but the evidence was mounting.
“Incidentally…” McGonagall’s tone had changed indicating she wanted to change the subject. “The way you opened the door, I saw you doing that at Hermione’s house. Just so you understand, it’s considered wandless magic.”
“Is it? Non-magicals think of it as a Meta ability. I understand though, I’ll have to curb my use of it outside of school.”
“You’ll need to curb it outside of school entirely.”
“Even if I’m living in a wizard home? I only ask because it’s kind of a subconscious thing, especially at the breakfast table.”
“You don’t live in a wizard home.”
“Actually, I do. The Sussex house is the old Fletchley House, Sussex Street, Unit Zero. That’s why the postal address is around the corner. The main family died out some time back and the house was passed down to the squibs. That’s why it was so difficult for you to find it. It doesn’t show on any of the city maps and won’t be remarked on by anyone who hasn’t a legitimate need to find the place.”
“Well, I’ll be.”
“Justin has magic because the Finch name is also an old wizard family that all but died out as well. Both names are in the list of fallen houses.”
“Still no.”
“And are they detecting Moonie?”
“Your cat?”
“She’s a familiar. She’s Selena. She is literally a magical construct created by Luna Goddess of the Moon.”
“You’re serious?”
“She’s an avatar spell. A guardian spell. A sentient being made entirely of magic. Mrs Silverwood has one too. It’s entirely possible the Ministry may be detecting her as a low-level active spell.”
“In that case, I will see about making sure the house is properly registered as a wizard residence. In that way, small amounts of magic will be ignored because they can’t tell if it’s a competent adult wizard using magic or an underage witch using it.”
“Quirrel is out in the forest now,” Aurora announced sounding disgusted.
“What? Oh…” Aerie let out a sigh and gave her a look.
“Care to clue me in?” McGonagall gave them an inquisitive look.
“That thing you might want to discuss with Madam Hooch,” Aerie offered sheepishly. “Aurora counts as a Princess of Eques due to her bloodline.”
“And that matters because?”
“We met a Doc brown, an Akkadian doctor who comes in to help with the health needs of the English Pegasi. He explained how they do their transformation.”
“I figured it out and I can now transform.”
“Well, that’s rather remarkable. But I get the feeling I’m missing something.”
“She counts as a Princess of Eques, and it’s in the Charter that the laws of Wizarding Britten are founded on that the abode of a Princess of Eques becomes her embassy. That is to say that her unique place of residence becomes parcel to the rule of Eques and Akkadian sovereign territory.”
“Very well, and I am gathering there is some element to this that is a little more than academic.”
“The wards are powered by Akkadian artifacts,” Aurora pointed out. Her tone then took on a rather sheepish nature. “Moments after changing my form I discovered that I’d suddenly had full administrative access to the Wards that protect Hogwarts.”
“What?” McGonagall was nearly speechless.
“Has Professor Dumbledore made any indication that he’s aware of it?” Aerie asked.
“You are serious?”
“Afraid so,” Aurora replied with a sort of half smile. “Madam Hooch is aware of it.”
“She never said anything.”
“The knowledge could potentially put her in danger,” Aerie pointed out. “Aurora's pony form is that of a winged unicorn and there is someone killing unicorns. As for undoing it, that would require either a change in the Charter or… we might be able to fix it by providing her with her own unique residence.
Aerie’s eyes sparkled with an idea, “Aurora, maybe over Christmas we can set you up with a deluxe trunk and see if that can fix it?”
“Those are prohibitively expensive, and against school rules,” McGonagall stated with a palm on her face.
“There wasn’t anything in the letter?” Aerie asked perhaps just a little worried.
“You’ve got one?”
“I’ve access to both the Potter vault and the Black Vault. I’ve got one, charged it to the Black vault. We used the apartment to change on the train. Aside from that, I’ve had no reason to go into it since I got here. Everything I need is accessible from the trunk. The top portion is set up to look like an ordinary trunk.”
“I will admit that it never occurred to me that a new student might actually have access to the funds necessary to purchase something like that,” McGonagall said while putting her hand down and leaning back. “I will say that it has been an interesting day.”
“Hopefully Percy’s return tonight will go a lot smoother.”
“Not a chance, I’m making Bill Bones the new Prefect.”
“They’ve got history, I gather?” Aurora asked. McGonagall just nodded.
“Kind of missed our window of opportunity,” Aerie lamented as the two girls headed back up to the dorm having finished giving Professor McGonagall a massive headache.
“Something tells me that if Troll fart, as you have so rightly named him, suspects that either of us might be more than just ordinary students, we don’t dare.”
“Afraid you might be right.”
As for McGonagall, she went in search of Madam Hooch who admitted to her that the reason she’d not said anything was because of what Snape had told her.
“She’s his daughter?”
“Let’s just say that the letter strongly suggested it.”
Quirrel didn’t show for Dinner that night. Not that any of the students paid much attention. In fact, the people at the head table were actually somewhat relieved in that they’d be able to taste their food.
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
1,102 users online
2,070,740 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
do Hogwarts rules even apply to Aurora or Aerie (in her true person).. As to the wards alerting Dumbledore are they se to advise when someone gains access and do they have the same access. IE Aurora it sounds like is an unrestricted Administrator is Dumbledore? Especially since the wards are based upon something they probably don't fully understand or control
11398780
Dumbledore doesn't fully understand the system. He's like an amateur web designer who's capable of using a web scripting engine but doesn't actually understand the language. In this case, as will be revealed later, the nitty gritty of the ward system uses the old Akkadian/old ponish language. It's also canon that he's really bad at communicating.
more clues for a huge puzzle. i love it.
11398805
so in short Aurora or Aerie can lock the Blowhard out of Hogwarts for good. hum this would be a good thing for the School.
11398843
Keep in mind that they need to keep a low profile, at least until they get all the Horcruxes.
11398805 There is that as far as Dumblebdore knowing the level of access Aurora and potentially Aerie have. Also there is the fact Aurora could well have unlimited root level access. Aerie who knows tough as herself that means Nova Silverwood likely has admin access as well. Your point about low profile is well taken though generally i takes another admin to see other admins that are logged in if they know how to look
11398843 Extremely likely
11398861
aww but the pot needs a good stirring or it is going to get stagnant.
and we can not have Dumbledore start to think he has things going his way.
11398864 Depending on what they want to do in someways that level of access might make it easier for them to convince Dumbledore things are going the way he wants. Lot depends on what the wards do and how they do it
11398868
if it was me. (i am talking and thinking like a admin on a server) i run a few gaming servers.
i would edit his account to look like he still has the normal control , but put in a revert control line.
in short that would mean when he logs out every thing he just changed reverts back to normal settings.
and yes i do that to staff on server's so i can watch every thing they do when they first start.
11398874 the big question is how much access and control Dumbledore and any of the teachers have. How much wasn't understood or did they have access to when the wards were made. For that matter does Professor McGonagall really understand Aurora's level of access or thinks she does
11398887
hum do you remember who set the wards up?
i am betting Dumbledore and the teachers are only Moderators if even that.
even i am not sure but if i remember Nova , Twilight and i think Luna set up the wards.
what do they all have in common?
11398909 The Hogwarts wards would've been setup by the founders including Celestia over a thousand years ago. Then tweaked, edited and renewed how many times over the years since then. The artifacts those wards are based upon though are much much older like over 8000yrs based upon other stories
11398919 11398909
You are forgetting about Starswirl. That is if I hold to what I had in my previous Hogwarts crossover, and I kind of am. Starswirl the bearded was there at the founding. It wouldn't be inconceivable to think he'd set everything up. And to keep any one admin from taking over he'd have set it up so that multiple admins would have to agree on any action where one of the admins is restricted or removed.
And I might have just gotten an idea.
11398954 Your right i forgot about Starswirl but he keeps his connection to the school even quieter than Celestia. Administrator access like user access tends to have levels Anywhere from just being able to unlock a user to what is called ROOT which means there are no limits on what you can do with that system
11398954
i was referring to your other story's witch you just confirmed , thank you.
and i so love it when the author gets that light bulb moment from the comments.
11399072
Let's just say that the only one with ROOT access would be Starswirl.