Harry potter : Forgotten Lord

The next couple of weeks quickly flew by for Harry as the end of year exams quickly approached, the small group spending most of their free time in their secret study area.

They had still yet to decide on the colour scheme of the room, but it was clear that Daphne was working her hardest to win them over to her idea. Harry had eventually agreed that it would look good after she had sketched up a couple of preliminary designs, as long as it was tasteful and not too old fashioned.

But so far the back wall was going be storage space, filled with shelves and cupboards. In the centre of the room they were going to have a black rug, with a series of sofas and armchairs, plus a couple of tea tables for food and drinks. All in all, it was going to look amazing once it was completed.

During all of this he was giving them extra help in revising for charms and transfiguration, either helping to explain the theory behind it, or advising them how to do a specific spell.

Of course, he didn't do it for them; he just advised them since he obviously couldn't do the exam for them. He was also helping to guide them through various meditation techniques, so that his friends could take the first steps to learning the mind arts. This would benefit them for many years to come.

The short, but shocking conversation about Professor Snape and the aging headmaster having the rare ability to read your mind went over as well as could be expected, causing Tracy and Padma to become very much interested in learning the mind arts.

Of course, in Padma's case, it was a foregone conclusion once she learned that it would allow her to better retain her precious knowledge, meaning she would only have to read a book a couple of times to have close to total perfect recall of it. That would win any true Ravenclaw over to the idea, no matter how difficult the journey to proficiency.

He had yet to talk to Penny about her own progress in learning the skill, but he knew she was doing well, since she was meditating far more in recent weeks. Obviously she was making inroads in the skill. Plus she seemed calmer and less emotional overall, that suggested she was gaining control of her emotions.

All this also reminded him that he needed to spend a day or two within his codex, just sorting out his knowledge and filing it away in the right sections in his own 'mind library.' Like anything else it needed to be maintained to remain effective, and cleared of the inevitable 'junk information' that always accumulated.

Considering the all important task, he decided to do his mental sorting just before his end of year exams so that he could spot any holes in his knowledge base. The task would also help to clear his mind, mentally refreshing him, which would hopefully ensure that he got better results in the exams. Additionally, he had yet to finalize his housing arrangements for the summer.

Thinking about the upcoming summer holidays, his excitement rose at the idea of having a summer to truly enjoy himself, one without the abusive, hateful Dursleys ruining it for him.

He was sorely tempted to try to hire a couple of tutors for the summer so that he could push ahead with his magical studies, but undoubtedly they would ask questions about where his guardians were, which made the idea untenable if he wished to keep his newly attained independence and freedom from being taken away. So, unfortunately for him, he would have to rely solely on books and self-study.

He also wondered if he could go overseas for a couple of weeks, just to see the wider world rather than just reading about it from various books, since he had never been on holiday before. Again, realistically, he knew that there was no way an 11 year old boy would be allowed to travel the world without adult supervision.

It would just be too suspicious. Attracting that kind of attention was the last thing he could afford right now. Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't travel, it didn't stop him from wondering where he would go if he actually had a choice, Egypt perhaps? Italy? Greece? There were so many appealing options; he didn't know where he would start even if he could.

He sighed at this line of thinking... sometimes he really did hate being only 11 years old, when he was far more mature than his age would normally suggest.

He also wondered if he was 17 whether Professor Snape would still act like a childish bully towards him, knowing that Harry could put him in his place if he went too far. Once again he wished that he was older than he was. The unsavoury potion master was becoming an increasing headache of late; regularly trying his considerable patience.

The worst part was that the man was routinely breaking the law, and yet he couldn't do anything about it. While he was more than willing to endure the man's verbal jabs, since the man's words were amusing in how pathetic they were, he needed to find a way to stop the potion master's regular assaults on his mind.

Turning his mind to the problem at hand, he was certain that there was some type of rule that existed that could be exploited in this situation. After all, Hogwarts had been open for over a thousand years, so surely there had been a situation just like this in that long history.

So all in all he was in a rather mixed mood, as the spring term ended and the summer holiday began.

...

The final game of the quidditch season had ended just as he had predicted, and had brought him a good 20 galleons from the various small bets he had made and won with the Ravenclaw team losing to the Gryffindor lions.

While he was naturally disappointed that his own house team had lost, the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion, anyone with an ounce of objectivity could have seen that result coming a mile off.

The main reason was that most of the Ravenclaw quidditch team had spent their limited free time revising and studying for exams rather than training, whilst the Gryffindors on the other hand had spent their time training rather than revising.

The simple truth was that it was the metaphorical house of books versus the house of sports. You didn't have to be a genius to see how that was going to end up. Despite the fact that he was disappointed that his house's team had lost, he didn't feel at all guilty for betting against his house team.

It just proved many of his theories. Besides, gold was gold, and he wasn't going to waste a chance to get more of it, no matter the sum. If his fellow ravens actually made some effort to actively train, rather than just compete out of simple obligation and peer pressure, then he would bet on them. But if they were going to only make a light-hearted effort, he didn't see the point in throwing away good money on a pointless bet.

On another note, he didn't expect Ravenclaw's chances of winning to change next year either, not with two highly experienced seventh year players leaving the squad for good when they graduated. But it did present him with an opportunity he could exploit, since it would open up a couple of slots on the team's rotation.

Naturally, he wanted to try his hand at the game, to see what the big deal was about for himself, rather than watching from the stands as the 'cool' kids played. His main reason for wanting to play quidditch was simple, quidditch players were popular even if they lost the game and they were even more popular if they won.

That popularity was easily converted into more influence and respect around the school, and they quickly became favourites with the professors. And all this ultimately meant more power, and he wanted power, he wanted respect, and he wanted influence.

He knew that he wasn't the most popular first year; especially since he had given almost his entire year group the cold shoulder due to their laziness and immature attitude that was so common for his age group. Sure, everyone knew that he was smart, if not the smartest student in their year, but he was smart enough to realize that brains only got you so far in life.

Being popular and likeable was a much bigger factor in achieving success. If he became a successful quidditch player then it would help grow his personal influence within Ravenclaw, as well as in the school as a whole, even if he was only a partly successful one.

Considering the two open slots on the team rota, he could try out for either the seeker or chaser position with good chances. Both openings were equally appealing for a number of different reasons. He felt the seeker position fit him best though, as it offered the most reward for his efforts, but it would also be the most sought after position.

Plus he knew he could handle the seeker position, he had already successfully chased down the flying key whilst being chased in turn by hundreds of other keys on the third floor whose sole propose was to cause him bodily harm, thus proving he had the ability to seek, even under acute pressure.

It sounded like the ideal position for him. If that fell through he could always try out for the position of chaser, but the seeker position would be his ultimate goal, since it was so high profile. The seeker was pretty much the deciding factor in most amateur games after all. This gave him another objective for the summer holidays, practicing his flying.

...

Hey guys I really need some power stones to Elevate the ranking :)

...

if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :

 p atreon.com/loveran