Ginny Weasley and the Sealed Intelligence, Chapter 7: How it Should Have Ended

This is a rewrite of the seventh chapter of Ginny Weasley and the Sealed Intelligence, which is itself a continuation fic of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, which is, in turn, a fanfic of the original Harry Potter. Don't get confused, now.

"One last note," said Professor Lockhart, apparently, "before we begin a hands-on activity. I bet you thought we wouldn't have hands-on activities in this class, because of the system of armies. That is incorrect; though lecture is a worthwhile component of this class, I would not be a worthwhile instructor if it was the only component with which I provided you. I want to keep you all on your toes at all times, so: I am not actually here. About a minute ago, I invisibly left the classroom, in the middle of my lecture, and seamlessly replaced myself with an illusory duplicate delivering a prerecorded message, which should be ending shortly. On my way out, I sealed the classroom doors shut. The cage behind me is Charmed to open when this message ends." The false Lockhart began to flicker, and-

"Prismatis," said the calm voice of Draco Malfoy. A shimmering, multifaceted sphere sprang into existence around the cage.

"Do not panic," said the recording of Professor Lockhart. "The pixies have been enchanted to do no significant damage to anybody or their belongings. What precisely is meant by the word 'significant' is for you to decide. Your objective is to use any and all appropriate tools at your disposal to minimize harm to you and yours. In an indefinite period of time, I will return and resolve the situation. Good luck!" Lockhart vanished before everyone's eyes, a tiny door made of golden metal bars swung open, and everyone watched silently as the shrieking pixies slammed themselves against the inside of the Prismatic Sphere.

"A little help would be appreciated," said Draco through grit teeth. "They're quite a lot stronger than they look."

"Prismatis," said three people simultaneously, and three iterations of the rainbow shield appeared in concentric spheres around Draco's.

He let his disappear, dropping his wand arm to his side and wiping the back of his robe sleeve across his slightly glistening forehead. "My thanks, Miss Patil," he said, nodding curtly in Padma's direction. "Mr. Goldstein," a nod to Anthony; "Miss Greengrass", and to Daphne.

Then Padma dropped her shield, and Draco brought his wand to the ready, preparing to recast the spell around the two remaining Prismatic Spheres.

Ginny looked up to where Harry was sitting in one of the upper rows; he was leaning back in his chair with a wide grin dominating his face, arms crossed. He seemed as if he might begin to whistle at any moment. Beside him, Hermione was waiting patiently for…something. She leaned over to whisper something to Harry, and he shrugged, still smiling.

The rest of the class was staring at the cage, or the ceiling, or twiddling their thumbs. They jumped as Professor Lockhart's voice spoke from the blank monitors on their desks.

"Yes, very well done; bravo to the four of you who have shown you can cast a simple variation on Protego. In the unlikely event that you ever encounter a hostile swarm of Cornish Pixies already behind the bars of a cage charmed to open after set amount of time, you will undoubtedly find victory close at hand. The lesson, however, was on how to deal with them in the open. That lesson will now begin."

Anthony's and Daphne's shimmering shields winked out, and the horde of angry pixies quickly began to spread throught the-

"Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" shouted two voices in concert. Harry and Hermione were both on their feet, wands pointed towards the pixies below, who were now drifting, dazed, back into the cage.

The door to the classroom swung open, and Professor Lockhart strode back into the classroom. "Where did you learn that spell," he asked sharply, eyes narrowed on the two as the last of the pixies entered the cage, the golden-barred door clicking softly shut.

"Colloportus," Draco intoned quietly.

Professor Lockhart ignored him, still focusing on Harry and Hermione. "That spell is not something a second-year would normally know; I—"

"—Invented it to deal with an infestation of Pixies in a village in South America," interrupted Harry, smile beaming beneath his brilliant green eyes. "We know." He held up a thin blue hardback book with stylized letters across the cover.

"I do so love books, Professor," said Hermione earnestly, hands clasped before her. "And Picnicking With Pixies was just such a wildly informative read, really. I don't think I've ever learned so much from one book - did the village leader really gift you the ancient magical Relic of Ahk-Su-Pa in thanks for getting rid of the pixies?"

Professor Lockhart did not answer, lips pressed tightly together. Instead he turned on his heel, exiting the classroom as quickly as he had entered. "Class dismissed," said the monitors as he passed through the doorway.

Ginny waited by the door while students filed out, craning her neck, hoping to catch… "Harry," she squeaked as he stepped out, Harmione on his other side. No squeaking - he's just another student, there's no reason to be intimidated by him! Except for all the hundreds of reasons that there were. She swallowed, and then spoke.

"Can I- do you think I could borrow that book you learned the spell from?"

Harry gave her a grin. "Sure, I have to go check out another copy from the Library anyway, for someone who needs it more than I do. Or, well, exactly as much as I do." He reached into the pouch at his waist, said "Picnicking With Pixies," and when he withdrew his hand he was holding the electric-blue book he'd shown Professor Lockhart a minute earlier.

"I- thanks…" she said, watching him and Hermione set off down the corridor.

She opened the front cover and saw the list of people who had recently taken it out of the Library, Harry's name at the top. Next to each name was the time and date the book was checked out. Ginny blanched. Wait, but that's only an hour before class began! How did he-?