money from it, so please Ms. Rowling if you read this
don’t sue me. A comment or two would be welcome
though.
Ron stood in front of the stone gargoyles that guarded the staircase to Professor Dumbledore’s office. Again he found himself wondering about the wisdom of asking for Dumbledore’s help. Why he should take the time to help a student protect a diary seemed to be lost on Ron now. He felt foolish for wasting the headmaster’s time. Ron had considered not going at all. But the warning about being late that Dumbledore had given him had convinced Ron that that would be a poor choice to make.
Well this is just great, he thought to himself. How do I get in when he didn’t give me the password?
“Hello?” he asked. The gargoyle on the left stirred.
“What do you want Weasley?”
“Professor Dumbledore was going to help me with a problem,” Ron answered. “He told me to come to his office to discuss it, but forgot to give me the password.”
“No password, no entrance,” said the gargoyle.
“Is there some way you could tell him I’m here or something?” Ron asked in exasperation. At this, the gargoyle on the right opened its eyes.
“Does it look like we get to move around much to you? We are made of stone if you hadn’t noticed,” it snarled at Ron.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to be a git or anything,” Ron apologized, surprised that he could offend a block of rock.
I thought I only had that kind of effect on Hermione, he said silently to himself. Figuring that Dumbledore had forgotten about the appointment Ron turned to go, and was blinded by a flash of light. Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix appeared before him and dropped a letter into his hands. Ron opened the letter, there were two words written on it, along with Professor Dumbledore’s signature.
“Rock Candy?” Ron said out loud. “What the heck does that mean?” No sooner had the words left his lips than the parchment burst into flames in his hands. Ron dropped the parchment in surprise.
“Bloody Hell!” he yelped, and then turned as he heard the familiar sound of the stone steps turning their way up to Professor Dumbledore’s office.
“Rock Candy, that’s the password?” Ron shook his head as he went up the stairs. He knocked on the door to Dumbledore’s office.
“Come in, Mr. Weasley,” Dumbledore said from inside. Ron entered the office. “Come, sit down while we figure out how to protect this diary of yours Ronald." Ron walked over and sat down on the couch.
“Though I do believe,” continued Dumbledore, “that you could have protected it from snoops without my help. I did not make you a Prefect for nothing last year you know,” Dumbledore finished, looking at Ron over his glasses.
“I know I could have protected it myself, from most people, but I also know that Hermione could get past anything I did. I was hoping you could help me come up with something even she could not beat,” Ron replied. “Sir, I really feel kind of dumb asking you for help with this. I know you have more important things to do. So if you want to cancel this whole thing, I would understand,” he added.
“Ah….yes, Miss Granger….quite a girl would you not agree?” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. He seemed, to not have heard the second part of Ron’s response. Ron looked at him for a second and then just nodded his head.
“Yes, well to your problem,” Dumbledore commented, breaking the silence. “I had this same issue when I wanted to write in a diary. They are over there,” he waved at a pile of five or six books, “and I defy you to figure out how to get at what is in them. I think we shall do the same to yours. I’ll give you a clue as to what I did. I found the secret lay in the diary recognizing that its owner was holding it. So….I created a spell to protect it. Does that help you?” Ron thought for a while. It looked like this lesson was going to happen no matter what he said.
Nothing’s ever easy with Dumbledore is it? the first voice commented.
If it was easy, then we wouldn’t need his help, now shut it. I’m hoping to learn something here tonight, the second voice was back again.
That’s twice now. Who the heck is that? Ron demanded silently.
I’m me, and you, same as the other guy, the second voice replied.
Who’s the other guy? Ron asked.
That would be me, the first voice answered.
Now, I’m really confused. Both of you, whoever you are, shut it for a while, Ron said to the voices.
If you say so, but don’t forget, your wand recognizes you, and other sorcerers’ wands recognize them, the second voice offered before falling silent.
Dumbledore watched Ron carefully. He thought he recognized what was happening in Ron’s head from the expression on his face. It never occurred to him to help Ron out though. Like speaking Parsletongue, the gift either existed or it did not.
Ron mulled the thought about his wand over in his mind for a long time. Dumbledore, it appeared, was in no hurry, calmly letting him think for as long as it would take. Ron wandered around the office as he turned the problem over in his mind, stopping at a table with a chessboard on it. It looked like white was winning with five more pieces on the board than black. But that didn’t tell the whole picture; black was the side on the attack while white was scrambling to defend its king.
“Who’s playing?” Ron asked, after a moment. Dumbledore studied him over his glasses.
“I am playing an old friend. He sends me an owl with his move,” Dumbledore replied.
“Which side is he?”
“Black,” Dumbledore answered. Ron looked up in surprise.
“He is perhaps the greatest player in the world,” Dumbledore remarked. “If he were not a Muggle, it would have been his knowledge on the chessboard protecting the stone your first year, not mine.” Ron shook his head at the thought, refocusing on his problem with the diary.
“Well I know that my wand knows me and that if I use another wizard or witch’s wand I don’t get as good a result as with mine.”
“Why don’t you try my wand?” Dumbledore said holding it out for Ron to take. “Go ahead, one you are really good at.”
Ron hesitated a second. To be offered a chance with another wizard’s wand was not something that happened very often. He thought it more likely Hermione would quit nagging him about homework.
Yeah, he smiled, that would never happen. Ron snapped out of his reverie.
“Go on,” said Dumbledore.
Ron closed his hand around Dumbledore’s wand; none of the familiar warmth was there like when he held his own. Ron concentrated hard and with a swish and flick he called out.
“Wingardium Leviosa!” Ron aimed the wand at the sorting hat on the shelf behind Dumbledore. Nothing happened.
“Didn’t even tickle,” the hat chuckled at him.
Surprised, Ron tried again, five times in all and nothing. Dumbledore smiled serenely at him. Ron pulled out his own wand, warmth flowing into his hand.
“Wingardium Leviosa!”
“Wheee!” the hat screeched, as Ron zoomed it around the room.
“My wand will not work for you at all, nor any other witch or wizard. I placed a spell on it so it would only recognize me. I did not wish to lose it in battle and have it turned against me,” Dumbledore commented.
Ron looked thoughtfully at Dumbledore for a minute; he then walked over to the stack of diaries. Dumbledore just watched him. Picking one up Ron opened it to the middle, nothing, he flipped through the book it was empty. He picked up another and got the same result.
“I assure you that they are filled with the details of my life.”
“You used the same spell on the book as you did on your wand,” Ron said.
“Even better….Think,” replied Dumbledore. Ron sat for quite some time, with the voices in his head jabbering back and forth at him. Ron just let them go this time. Finally they came back with an idea he liked. A smile spread across his face.
“I’ve got it. You spelled your wand to recognize only you. You used the same spell on the diary so it will only show you what is written, or whoever you want to see it,” Ron added. Dumbledore smiled. “And you caused the book to only recognize your wand. So that no other wand could erase your protections,” Ron said in a rush. Dumbledore’s eyes radiated with pride.
“Now can you create the spell?” he asked. Ron’s spirit fell as quickly as it had risen.
Create a spell? he thought. Who does he think I am? It’s not like I’m as powerful as he is, or Vold.. You-Know-Who, Ron caught himself. I’m not even as powerful as Harry or as smart as Hermione for that matter. Both of who have not managed to create a new spell. Come to think of it, Dumbledore is the only one I know who has. Dumbledore interrupted his train of thought.
“Mr. Weasley, it is late.” Ron hadn’t noticed that it was dark out now.
“You and I are heading in a direction that I dare say could teach you more in one night than you have learned in the five years and one week you have spent in this school. I am willing to lose a night of sleep if you are.” Ron could not believe his ears. Harry was always the one who got time with Dumbledore.
We’re not going anywhere, the voices yelled in unison at him. Ron nodded.
“Go ahead Professor.”
“Take out your wand, Ronald.” Ron pulled out his wand, holding it in his hand; it seemed to be warmer than he remembered it ever being. “Tell me, what is it you are holding, Ronald?”
“It’s a magic wand,” Ron replied slightly puzzled.
“In a way you are right….and wrong, Ronald. Truly, without you or some other wizard or witch it is just a stick with some magic object in it. Be it; dragon heart string, vella hair, tail hair of a unicorn, or any number of other objects with magical properties. The secret of it is, and no one knows why, the magic object recognizes the magic in you. That is the warmth you feel in your hand. The wand is really just a tool to amplify and direct the magic that has been placed within you. You however, in light of recent events, should be quite aware of the fact that a really powerful wizard or witch does not need a wand to perform magic.”
Professor Dumbledore said all of this in steady even voice, that seemed to be challenging Ron to find something within himself. Ron sat quietly thinking about what Dumbledore had told him. The voices were both quiet. Somehow though, Ron knew they were thinking about what Dumbledore had said too. If they came up with an idea, they would let him know.
“Tell me Ronald, how does your wand know that it should levitate the hat instead of open the lock on the door?”
“I tell it to,” Ron answered.
“Exactly!” Dumbledore replied triumphantly. “So you see, any magic person can create a spell, if they can find the magic that has been placed in them. All the magic you can do now, no matter how difficult the spell, is easy because you see it done, believe it can be done. You stand on the shoulders of genius. That is how progress is made. It is in creating a new spell that advances can be made. The trick is, finding it within yourself to make the advance. Mind you, that is not easy. I myself, and for that matter Voldemort have only come up with a handful or two of new things between us. Usually an advance arises out of a perceived great need.” Ron shivered at the Dark Lord’s name, but forced himself to focus on Dumbledore’s words.
“What was always amazing to me,” Dumbledore said quietly, “was that after I came up with the solution, how simple the problem really was. Think back on your diary and see if you can’t come up with the answer. You know it can be done, even if I haven’t showed you how.”
Ron sat for some time staring at his reflection in the mirror. He wasn’t aware of the conversation the two voices were having in his head, focused instead only on his own voice.
How can I spell my wand to recognize only me? Then use it to spell the diary so that it will only recognize me or spells from my wand and only my wand? Bloody hell! How do I even point my wand at itself to spell it? he asked as he stared at his reflection.
Use the mirror you idiot, the first voice said to him. A smile spread across his face at his own stupidity.
You don’t have to be mean about it you know, Ron said to the voice. Ron stood up and walked to Dumbledore’s desk picking up the mirror.
“The words don’t really matter, do they?” The second voice supplied the words he voiced to Dumbledore, though they were more of a statement than a question. “They really just help to focus the mind, so the wand knows what to amplify,” Ron added looking at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore’s eyes were dancing with pride. It felt really good to see that smile and pride on Dumbledore’s face. Ron had earned that look himself, no help from Hermione or Harry, or anyone else.
I really don’t mind them getting more attention than I do, Ron thought to himself.
But it sure feels good to be first once, the second voice said.
Well after some of the attention we got this week, I’m inclined to let Harry have it, the first voice answered.
Ron took a deep breath, pointed his wand directly at the mirror, closed his eyes and focused his mind on the idea of his wand only recognizing his hand, that no other hand could wield it to perform magic.
“Recognition!” he said firmly. Ron did not see the blue light, stream from his wand, hit the mirror and reflect back. But he did feel it. His wand, if it had seemed warmer to him before, now grew hot. Not enough to burn, but enough that if it stayed that way, he would never need to wear a glove on his wand hand again, no matter how cold it became. Ron opened his eyes, and looked at Professor Dumbledore.
“I think it worked.”
“Give me your wand, and tell me what you felt,” Professor Dumbledore replied.
Ron handed over his wand and explained what he had felt after casting the spell. Dumbledore listened while walking around the office. He held both his own and Ron’s wand in the same hand. Occasionally he would try to cast different spells, easy spells, spells first year students would master in a week. None of them worked, at least not from Ron’s wand. From Dumbledore’s own wand all of the spells worked perfectly.
“Care to try the diary?” asked Dumbledore. Ron picked up the diary, holding it to his chest. Ron pointed his wand at the diary and himself by default, cleared his mind and concentrated on imprinting himself and his wand on the diary.
“Recognition!” he said. This time Ron saw the blue light leave his wand, hit the diary spread to himself and back to his wand. Again he felt heat, this time encompassing his wand the diary and himself. Ron looked at Dumbledore.
“It worked,” he said. “I don’t even need you to verify it. I just know.”
Dumbledore was positively beaming. Suddenly there was clapping all around. Ron had not realized it but all the pictures of Hogwart’s former headmasters had been paying close attention to the lesson he was getting and now they were cheering for him. One photo made itself heard above the others, the one of Sirius Black’s great-great-grandfather.
“Bravo Dumbledore, bravo, I think I have not seen such a performance in a very long time. Points, points must be awarded.” Dumbledore raised his eyes over his glasses looking at the photo of Phineas Nigellus.
“Indeed,” said Dumbledore, “this is high praise coming from you. Is it not?” The photo became quiet as it realized what it had said. This student was from a family of Blood Traitors and indeed was a Blood Traitor himself. Ron had never said it out loud, but every being in the school whether it was a ghost, person, or photo knew that Ron was in love with Hermione Granger. A Mudblood, with not one, but two Muggle parents, the only one who didn’t seem to have a clue was Hermione herself.
“Perhaps it is high praise from me. Well earned praise regardless. And perhaps I have learned some things myself in the time I have hung on the walls of your office, Dumbledore,” replied the photo.
“Perhaps….you are correct,” Dumbledore replied. “One hundred one points to Gryffindor, the highest number of points I have ever awarded,” he added.
Ron stood in shock in the middle of the Dumbledore’s office. It took weeks, sometimes months for the whole of a house to earn a hundred points. Now with school in term for only a week Gryffindor was up one hundred points on the other houses because of him.
“Sit down Ron, we still have a few hours left till breakfast. Now tell me. This spell you created, with some guidance, can it be broken?” Dumbledore asked.
“Yes, though I’m not sure how yet. Someone could break it as easily as we created it,” Ron replied.
“Before you leave, give me one way in which a person could get past our spell.”
Ron sat down again. Thinking, first that it was strange to have Dumbledore call him Ron, treat him like an equal, second, that he liked it, and third, about how to break the new spell. That bothered him.
I don’t want it broken, the first voice said.
Didn’t we just spend the whole night figuring out how to keep people out of our diary? Now Dumbledore wants us to break in to it. What was the point of all this? the second voice asked.
The point, Ron said to both of them, was to teach us that we could create a new spell. Dumbledore never really cared about keeping people out of the diary. He used it as an excuse. He took what we perceived as a great need and helped us find the solution. The real question isn’t how to get in the diary.
The question is why did he teach this to us, both voices said together. Ron looked at Dumbeldore, watched him stroking Fawke’s tail feathers.
“Ron, for every spell….except Avada Kedavra, there is a counter spell. And even for the death spell, there is a defense. A great wizard knows and recognizes this,” Dumbeldore remarked, without looking in his direction. With a sigh, Ron replied.
“I’m beginning to understand that. At the moment I can’t come up with a counter spell to Recognition. But I suppose, you would first have to comprehend what the spell I cast was doing. How it worked. Then you could go about trying to remove it or to trick it. One way to trick it might be Polyjuice Potion.”
“Five more points to Gryffindor,” said Professor Dumbledore, he continued. “I think that for anyone other than Voldemort, myself, and now yourself it would take a very long time to figure out some other way around the spell. Most of the professors here, at Hogwarts, would not find the answer. And for Miss Granger….as I told you this summer, she is a witch like the world has not seen in many years. I would advise you to simply trust her. Has she not earned it?” Ron sat quietly staring at the floor.
Ask him, the first voice said.
Ask him what? Ron demanded.
Why he really agreed to help us with the diary, the second voice answered.
“Sir….I asked for help with the diary, and you gave it to me. But that’s not why I’m really here tonight, is it?” Ron’s question was more of a statement. “Why did you show me this path to new magic?” Ron asked quietly. Dumbledore was silent, as he considered the question.
He is finally ready, Dumbledore said to himself.
We told you he was capable, the third voice responded.
Yes, yes you did. Now, can he teach?
He must, said the first voice.
“Ronald, I have a confession to make. There are two reasons you are a Prefect. One, Harry had more than enough responsibility to be going on with, to carry the burden.” Ron felt the words slapping his face. Confirmation of what he had felt all along hurt terribly.
“And the second sir?” he asked quietly.
“You did not have enough. You needed to grow, because you have a role to play if Harry is to defeat Voldemort.” Ron looked back up at Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded at him. Ron gulped, suddenly very scared.
“What am I supposed to do?” he managed to choke out.
“Your diary, please?” Dumbledore held his hand out asking Ron for it. Ron handed it to him. Dumbledore opened it to a page near the back, pointed his wand at the page and flicked his wrist. Ron could see the page fill with script. Dumbledore placed the diary on his desk and pushed it towards him.
“Harry has told you of the prophecy that was destroyed during the battle at the Ministry last spring?” Ron looked down and read the page.
THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES….BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT… AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES….THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES….
When he finished reading, he looked up at Professor Dumbledore.
“Harry told us about this earlier this summer.”
“And you understand what it means?”
“Yes sir, I do. We all do,” Ron answered.
Dumbledore took the diary again, turned to a new page and again pointed his wand at it. This page also began to fill with text. As he was doing this he spoke.
“For better, or worse, you and your friends destroyed many other prophecies that night. I am able to give you this one….Because, I made the prophecy. This prophecy concerns Voldemort, Harry, and you, Ronald.” Dumbledore handed the diary back to Ron. Ron was shaken.
A prophecy about me? he thought.
Us, don’t you mean? the first voice said.
I don’t really like the one about Harry. I’m not too sure I want to see this, the second voice said.
I agree with him, the first voice added.
I agree with both of you, Ron said.
“You cannot escape it by not reading it Ron. You have claimed your role. It is time you knew what it is,” Dumbledore said quietly to him.
How does he do that? both voices asked in exasperation. Ron took a deep breath and looked at the page.
THE ONE MARKED BY THE DARK LORD…. MARKED AS EQUAL BY HIM….OTHERS WILL COME IF HIS HEART IS TRUE….HE NEED NOT FIGHT ALONE….
ONE OF RED HAIR WILL RISE….POWER APPROACHING THAT OF THE DARK LORD….IN 11 YEARS THE FIRST TO OFFER FRIENDSHIP, IT WILL BE TESTED IMMEDIATELY….CHOOSE WISELY EQUAL AND HE WILL BE YOUR GENERAL, PLANNING YOUR VICTORY….HE CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY TO NEW MAGIC….HIS HEART WILL WAVER ONCE, BUT RETURN TO STAND WITH YOU AND FACE HIS GREATEST FEARS….CHOOSE WISELY EQUAL AND TWO OTHERS WILL FOLLOW….
The weight of the prophecy hit Ron hard.
Me, I’m supposed to teach this to Harry? he thought. How?
The same way Dumbledore taught us, a third voice said.
Bloody Hell! How many of you are there in my head? Ron shouted silently. The new voice ignored him.
The prophecy says we have to teach Harry. So, Dumbledore taught us. We just need to follow the process. Show him it is possible to create new magic. Show him a great need, and the rest is up to Harry.
You sound a lot like Hermione, you know, Ron told the voice.
Seeing as how smart she is, I’ll take that as a compliment, the voice responded.
Hey, you three, there is more to this prophecy you know. It says Harry will have two others, the first voice pointed out to them.
“Professor Dumbledore, who are the other two?” Ron asked.
“I am afraid that I can not reveal that information to you at this time. It could interfere with the prophecy being fulfilled. If that were to happen….it could lead to Harry failing to defeat Voldemort,” Dumbledore answered him.
“Does that mean Harry will defeat him if the prophecy is fulfilled?” Ron asked. Dumbledore sighed deeply and shook his head.
“No, he could still fail, even if everything in the prophecy comes true.” Ron looked at his Headmaster. Something welled within him that had not existed before.
“Harry won’t fail. I won’t let him,” Ron said firmly, surprised at his own resolve. Dumbledore, it appeared to Ron, was radiating energy.
“Ron, my boy, I think unless you have other questions, you should go get some breakfast.” Ron looked out the window, they had worked through the night.
“Professor, you said there was no counter spell or blocking spell for Avada Kedavra, but there was a defense. What is it?”
“Put a solid object between you and the curse. The energy of the curse will be spent on the object. It will be blown apart but it can be pulled back together again and again….If, you are fast enough,” replied Dumbledore.
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Ron, that does not mean you cannot come up with the correct counter spell,” Dumbledore said to him. “Eventually someone will, you know. The problem is, you only get one chance at it. I found it much wiser to put objects in front of me than to take a chance that I was wrong.” Dumbledore smiled at him again.
“I think I would tend to agree with you on that, sir,” Ron replied as he got up to leave.
“I’m going to trust her, sir.” Dumbledore looked at him puzzled. Ron held up the diary. “That she will not read it, at least until I tell her she can.”
“That is a wise decision, Ronald,” Dumbledore replied.
“Sir, move your queen’s bishop. Take the black knight,” Ron said and he left before Professor Dumbledore could say anything more.
Dumbledore sat in his office exhausted, staring at the chessboard, playing out the scenario Ron had given him. A smile crept on his face. His partner always left him an avenue, trying to help Dumbledore improve at the game. He had been studying his next move for two days now. Ron had found it in a few hours.
Quite possibly, he thought, I have never given a lesson as important as that one. Good luck my boy, we are all depending on you.
You do realize, teaching is the easy part of his task? the first voice asked.
Yes, Dumbledore replied.
“Five points to Gryffindor,” he said, before heading to his bedroom. “He earned them.”
Ron raced to the Great Hall. He was too excited to sleep, that would have to wait until he had talked to Harry and Hermione. Skidding through the doors he looked around.
“Not here, where are they? Blimey, only five minutes left for breakfast,” he mumbled to himself.
Ron grabbed some toast and pumpkin juice, wolfed them down and tore out of the hall heading to the Gryffindor common room. Passing the giant hourglass house point counters, he saw a huge crowd gathered round, still no Harry or Hermione though. Ron smiled at the totals. Gryffindor had 151 points, next highest was Ravenclaw with 45, then Slytherin with 40 and Hullelpuff was last with 39. As he raced by Ron could hear the students trying to figure out what had happened. No house had ever totaled more than 50 points in the first week. Neville spotted him as he started up the steps.
“Ron, Ron did you see?” he yelled.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it later, where are Harry and Hermione?” Ron hollered back.
“Not sure,” Neville yelled, as Ron headed around the corner coming to a stop in front of the fat lady.
“Pumpernickel,” he gasped out of breath. The portrait swung open. Harry and Hermione were not in the common room either.
Bugger, where are they? I’ve got to find them. How? How? How? The Marauders Map! he thought. Ron sprinted up to the dorm room and dashing to Harry’s trunk, he hesitated.
Come on, he’ll understand, the three voices yelled at him.
“There it is,” he said to quietly. Ron pulled out his wand, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
“Names, everywhere how do I find them in this mess,” he asked. Ron stopped and calmed himself. The map had never before been used like this. Concentrating deeply, he placed his wand over the map.
“Show, Harry and Hermione!”
“Hey, Ron, here we are, over here.” Ron opened his eyes, following the sound of their voices coming from the map. He found them in the corner on the rock by the lake. Ginny was there too.
“Cool….twice in one day, though I suppose the first doesn’t really count as Dumbledore did it before me,” Ron said out loud. “Mischief managed!” he said waving his wand over the map. He then stuffed it in his pocket with the diary.
Wait, we're not ready for her to see that yet, the voices yelled in a panic. Ron pulled the diary out again and ripped out the page with the second prophecy on it. He ran back down the stairs, headed for the lake.
The three of them looked at Ron as he lay on his back on the rock trying to catch his breath.
“Where the bloody hell have you been?” Harry asked. Ginny glared at Harry for his foul language.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
“We waited up for you till midnight,” Hermione said. “Then just figured we would see you in the morning, but you were still gone when we headed to breakfast.” Ron sat up.
“I was with Dumbledore all night.” The others looked at him.
“All night, what did you do to get in that much trouble?” Ginny asked.
“I wasn’t in trouble,” Ron snapped in reply. “I told you, I asked him for help with something. He spent last night teaching me what I asked for help with.” The others looked more confused than ever.
“Look,” Ron began, “the night Dumbledore told me I could invite Harry to stay for the summer, I asked him for help with a problem. He told me to come to his office the first Friday of term and he would help me. Well, it was just a ploy, last night I found out what he really wanted from me,” he continued, as he pulled the page he had torn out of the diary from his pocket and handed it to Harry.
“The night the prophecy was destroyed, the one about Harry and Voldemort,” Ron said. The others gaped up at him in surprise. Harry and Hermione had been using the name Voldemort without fear for a long time. Ginny, always called the Dark Lord, Tom. But Ron, until now, had always referred to him as You-Know-Who. Ron ignored their stares.
“Well there was another prophecy that was destroyed too. It is on that sheet of parchment.” Hermione snatched the parchment from Harry and read it out loud.
THE ONE MARKED BY THE DARK LORD…. MARKED AS EQUAL BY HIM….OTHERS WILL COME IF HIS HEART IS TRUE….HE NEED NOT FIGHT ALONE….
ONE OF RED HAIR WILL RISE….POWER APPROACHING THAT OF THE DARK LORD….IN 11 YEARS THE FIRST TO OFFER FRIENDSHIP, IT WILL BE TESTED IMMEDIATELY….CHOOSE WISELY EQUAL AND HE WILL BE YOUR GENERAL, PLANNING YOUR VICTORY….HE CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY TO NEW MAGIC….HIS HEART WILL WAVER ONCE, BUT RETURN TO STAND WITH YOU AND FACE HIS GREATEST FEARS….CHOOSE WISELY EQUAL AND TWO OTHERS WILL FOLLOW….
Harry looked at Ron.
“It’s about you,” he said.
“Actually, it’s about both of you, and two others,” Hermione interjected.
“What’s the rest of the prophecy, Ron?” Ginny asked.
“Dumbledore wouldn’t give it to me,” Ron answered. “He said it could adversely affect the prophecy if the wrong people knew about it, that it might not come true.”
“How are you supposed to do this Ronald?” Hermione asked. “If you fail, Harry might die, others will die.” She sounded terrified. Ginny, though she appeared to be very angry, also looked to be near tears.
“He showed you how, didn’t he? Dumbledore taught you so you could teach me.” Harry smiled at his best friend, his brother. “You have to teach me what I need to know so others can at least defend themselves against Voldemort.” Ron nodded at him.
“How?” Harry asked.
“By showing you that it can be done, that you can find the new magic you need in yourself, if the need is great enough,” Ron answered.
It took the whole day, but by the time they went to bed that night, Hermione was able to perform the Recognition charm, and the Show charm Ron had used on the Marauder’s Map. Harry and Ginny were close also. What was more important was Ron had been able to make Harry understand what it would take.
He had actually been able to teach Hermione and Ginny too. None of them had created a new spell, but Ron realized that he wouldn’t have to work alone with Harry. Hermione and Ginny could help him.
That must have been another lesson we got last night. No one really accomplishes anything by themselves, do they? the first voice said to Ron.
No, Ron answered, it will take all of us helping Harry, to defeat Voldemort.
Authors note:
Let me address the issue of the Recognition charm, not much of a name for a spell, is it? I thought so too for a long time, until I examined my own writing.
“The words don’t really matter, do they?” The second voice supplied the words he voiced to Dumbledore, though they were more of a statement than a question. “They really just help to focus the mind, so the wand knows what to amplify.”
Any number of times, we see wizards and witches perform a spell without saying anything. This comes after much practice and training. If Ron is going to create a new spell and needs to focus his mind to do it, I believe, he is going to think in the language that is most natural to him, not Latin or some Old English Dialect. I think anyone who has learned a second language will understand what I mean. How long did it take you to think in the new language and stop translating everything back to your first language?