Chapter 9

The next morning found Harry returning to the cinema, to prepare for the guests he would receive that day. He'd had breakfast with Hermione and Neville and greeted his other friends first, though. He didn't want them wondering where he'd disappeared off to, after all. When he was ready, he made his way to the infirmary.

He knocked politely and waited for Madam Pomfrey to greet him at the door. "Ah, Mister Black. You have good timing. The girls' parents have just arrived and wished to thank you as well." She said as she let him in and led them to the, now uncovered, girls. They wore sad, but grateful smiles as they saw him and two of the three started tearing up at seeing him.

"Mister P… Black." One of the parents said, correcting themselves, when they remembered that they had been told he preferred to be called that. By Poppy. Two minutes prior. "Thank you for saving our little girl! We can't thank you enough!"

There was a chorus of thanks and then they proceeded to shake his hand and hug him. Fortunately only the mothers hugged him. He was never a fan of such close proximity to people he didn't know, but smiled and took the praise humbly, even as he wished this could be over. He didn't do it for the thanks.

He greeted the girls next and they thanked him too, all three breaking into tears. Two of the girls pulled him into hugs and cried on his shoulder for a bit. The other one, the one that cast a spell on him seemed to be in shock still. She'd been under the spell long enough to have affected her greatly. As a result she hadn't completely accepted that it was over.

She'd only been forced to do one thing, spell Harry, but everything she wanted to do to save herself was denied to her. She felt like a prisoner in her own body. She had lived every day in fear, knowing that she'd eventually meet the man, who had done this to her, and while she never saw his face, his voice in her head was a constant reminder that she'd have to do whatever he told her when the day came.

Harry recognized that something was wrong, but couldn't know her mind. Not without violating her once more by entering her mind uninvited, and he'd never been able to master Legilimency. He'd have to trust Poppy to take care of the girl and arrange whatever she needed. He still felt like he should try though.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me, yeah?" he offered.

She nodded again as fresh tears fell and finally closed her eyes as she lay down and turned around, not to be seen so fragile, by the boy who had saved her, even if he only thought he had helped them return to the castle. To her, he had been the one to arrange her freedom. The one to save her from the fate that she knew would have happened.

Harry leaned forward and whispered to her, "He will never be able to touch anyone ever again. I'll make sure of it, okay?"

She just broke down in sobs and her mother started comforting her with a sad smile at Harry. "Thank you." She mouthed at him one more time. Then Harry left.

He went to his project room and shut himself in for half an hour, while he sorted his thoughts. The room was sound-proof and completely quiet, so it was perfect to sort through his memories and calm himself down. The worst thing going through his head right now was, what if this had been happening last time? What if it had happened to Hermione and she just didn't know, because someone had modified her memories?

He kept on trying to contain his emotions, but the thought wouldn't leave him alone. It started eating at him until he finally couldn't handle it anymore and yelled his frustration into the ceiling. A bunch of the newly installed chairs ripped from the floor as Harry's magic lashed out at the room around him and was torn to pieces with the sound of ripping fabric and breaking wood and plastic.

Then the debris was hurled at the walls and some of the curtains tore and broke from their railings, falling to the ground in shredded heaps. He stood there breathing hard as his frustrations found an outlet on the room around him. This somehow made him feel better and he took a moment to breath and calm himself again, slowly finding his centre and settling into it.

"Harry?" a voice asked. Harry winced and shut his eyes. This wasn't something he had wanted someone to see.

"Yes, Aunty Min?" Harry asked.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I was just venting my frustration." Harry said. "I know the whole world isn't like this, but placing someone under mind-control for weeks? That girl will never be the same again. What had she done to deserve that?!"

"There will always be monsters in the world, Harry. You, above all, should know that." She said as she conjured a chair behind him and sat him down before kneeling in front of him. "You are a good boy, though. It shouldn't make sense to people like us. If it did, we'd be at risk of becoming like them."

"The powerful often find themselves unable to distinguish between right and wrong, because they feel entitled. Purebloods like to use that as an excuse to cause harm." another new voice said.

"How many of you are here?" Harry asked. He was not happy that Dumbledore had seen his outburst.

"You asked the professors to meet you here." Snape's voice said. He had been impressed by the boy's violence in defence of the girls he had rescued. He couldn't worry that Harry would become like Voldemort anymore. The tears on his face and the sheer destruction they had come upon when they entered the auditorium was both impressive and saddening.

"You mustn't lose hope, Mister Black." Pomona Sprout said. "There will always be those who stand against such dark men. We must encourage that until it becomes the norm. For those who don't want to change there are other options, like imprisonment, or re-education."

"Or simply putting them down." Filius Flitwick said. "I understand your frustration, Mister Black. There is a reason that I try to encourage awe and wonder in the possibilities of magic. It helps people realise what a gift it is, rather than a right to abuse." As he said it, he lifted his wand and the curtains started righting themselves.

Dumbledore also lifted his own wand and the broken debris started righting themselves forming together into unbroken chairs and holders, which started returning to their original positions.

All the while, McGonagall just crouched by Harry and held his hand as he finally found his calm.

"Sorry you had to see that Aunty Min." Harry said.

"No need to apologise." she replied instantly. "It was cathartic to see it done. I find myself torn between going to the security cells to make sure those men can never do something like that again myself, and staying here to support you."

"From your statement, I'm assuming the offenders didn't just disappear, like we were led to believe?" Snape asked.

"Marauders security wolves were on standby, during the event." Harry said. "I couldn't risk those in charge getting away with it."

"If you find you need the services of someone who has mastered legilimency, don't hesitate to ask." Snape surprised him by offering.

Dumbledore, unable to stick his nose into Marauders business, said nothing, but continued to repair the room with the other Heads of House. Fortunately they had shown up first. Harry wouldn't want the entire staff of Hogwarts knowing about this.

When everything was repaired, though, Dumbledore asked, "I hear you have something to show us?"

Harry took a deep breath, before responding. "That's right. This is a cinema. For those of you who don't know, it's a muggle invention, with the purpose of showing films for both education and entertainment. I have worked out how to emulate both the effects of the normal cinema and that is what I have called you here for."

"You've invented some way to use muggle technology in Hogwarts?" Flitwick asked.

"It uses a concept I learned with the family magics, with a couple of innovations I had to come up with, using a combination of both science and magic." Harry said. He summoned the trays he had placed behind the counter in the reception area, where he planned to set up a couple of conveniences, like fresh popcorn stands and confectionary sales along with some options for drinks.

Bottled sodas and microwave popcorn was the best he could do right now. Fortunately microwave popcorn wasn't difficult to pop with magic, and he soon had a couple of containers of freshly popped corn in containers he transfigured from the bags themselves. He asked the Professors to help themselves and take a seat, leaving the summoned stuff out for them to look through as he went to go greet the rest of the professors he had invited. Nearly all of them did show up.

When everyone was nearly ready, Harry started the same crystals from the previous day up, seeing as how he had seen it already. He wanted to watch the professors as the movie played, to gauge their responses. As the trailers played the professors started taking seats and when they were over, the movie started and he lowered the lights on the sides until they were completely dark, leaving only the steps and isles illuminated enough for someone to follow back to the exit, should they need to leave to the conveniently located bathrooms, nearby.

The room even had a ventilation system for fresh air, which was kept at a comfortable temperature.

By the time the movie ended, the older ladies all had gentle smiles on their faces, while the men smiled at the adventure. Snape didn't show one emotion or another.

"What a wonderful experience!" Flitwick exclaimed. "We must make this available to the students. If we can show them films depicting the acts of heroes in a way that make them want to emulate them, it could only be good for morale."

"And the potential for rewarding or disciplining students by either giving them access or denying them said access, would be a wonderful way to encourage them to perform well." McGonagall added. It's what Harry had been driving at with the house points system being broken, after all.

"I also intend to set up a space for things like a confectionary stand, with drinks and popped corn and sweets. If you want, we can put the house elves in charge and only charge the cost of the products." Harry said. "This isn't meant as a way to make money, really. I actually couldn't charge for the right to watch the movies, since that would infringe on copyright laws."

"Copyright laws?" Flitwick asked.

"Muggles made this film." Harry said. "They spent money producing it and they make money from it, by selling seats in cinemas and copies of the films to make a profit. If I made money and didn't pay a percentage of the earnings to the company that produced it, they'd be missing out on the profits and it would be tantamount to theft."

"What a novel idea." Flitwick said. "We don't have such laws, but I can see how the system would work."

"That's beside the point." Harry said. "We'll not be selling this, so we should be safe."

"Technically, you are spreading the concept to the magical world and more people might end up going to muggle cinemas and spend money on gaining access to similar entertainment." Dumbledore theorised. "You're potentially increasing their client base."

"There is that I suppose." Harry allowed. "Anyway, I don't intend to run this operation forever, so I'd need to teach someone how to use the device I have set up for the presentations. We'll also need to consider having screening evenings, so that you professors can view the films and decide if it is safe to watch for the different year groups. There are some films in the muggle world, not intended for younger audiences with suggested age restrictions."

"I'm assuming you come by these films by means of your family magic?" Snape asked.

"You assume correctly, Professor Snape." Harry said. "As such, I'm the only one that can get more films for the cinemas."

"You intend to make more?" McGonagall asked.

"It would be a good idea." Harry said. "If we allow only older audiences to watch certain films, we'd need to be able to offer the younger ones something to watch while the older students have the choice of both. It is only fair."

"Good plan, Mister Black." Flitwick said. "You have my vote to continue as planned, so long as we get to join them for the entertainment."

"And this 'screening' you mentioned will give the Professors the opportunity to watch the films without needing to keep an eye on the students." Dumbledore said with a happy smile. He could see the staff having a bit more free time and having staff meetings during these presentations, while the students are happily entertained and busy, with the prefects keeping an eye. "You have my vote too." he said.

"We'll need to consider the logistics and security, but I can't see this having a negative impact on the student body." Sprout said. "You have my vote too and well done, young man!"

"Besides a sudden influx of flying carpets becoming more popular." Snape said. "I'm not against this."

The rest of the professors were very positive and all seemed to unanimously support the idea. Some even asked when the first screening will be and wanted to know how many options Harry had. He suddenly realised that he'd soon need to start writing synopses so that they could choose what they wanted to see next. It would be a simple thing to simply copy the information he could find about the movies, so he sighed and told them that he would be in contact about how and when.

When the professors adjourned, Harry was happily surprised to see his study group had left a message for him, asking to join them when he was done with his presentation. He found them in the Great Hall, all sitting by the Hufflepuff table. It hadn't occurred to Harry, but it made sense that that house wouldn't mind them sitting with them.

He joined them and confirmed in whispers that the cinema seemed to be a success. After lunch, they all asked to see another movie, and Harry had smiled and agreed. He had an idea and went to the infirmary to invite the three ladies, who he knew would be released later today. Madam Pomfrey agreed, grumbling about the fact that she couldn't join them, basically being on duty at all hours.

"I have an idea in the works that might help with that, somewhere down the line." Harry said with a smile. "Don't worry, you'll be able to join soon."

"Thank you, Mister Black. That would be a wonderful change of pace for me." Poppy said formally in front of the three older students. She turned to them and said, "If any of you wish to talk to me, I'll be here. As I understand it, Mister Black has offered you his support as well, so I'll leave you in his capable hands."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey." The girls chorused as they were led out by Harry.

He led them to the cinema and gave them some treats at the reception area, before ushering them in, to where his friends were already seated and waiting. They had left the best seats open for the three that would join them. Right in the middle of one of the rear isles. Harry had fortunately had the idea to include cinemas that showed older movies as well and had one more Disney movie that had been released the previous year to show, knowing that it would be a beautiful tale.

He had the idea to set up a way to copy movies from tape, by setting up a mirror in front of a television, to record things that he could purchase, but that was still in the works and he'd be expanding on his collection soon. He was excited about watching the other two Star Wars films on the big screen as well.

For now, he started the film when everyone was ready and soon Hermione was heard excitedly clapping her hands when she heard the familiar music and saw the opening scene of 'Beauty and the Beast'. She had seen that one, but she loved the story.

When the credits were rolling, there were more happy tears at the wonderful story. It had affected all of them differently. Harry hadn't ever watched the movie. For him the imagination of the creators astounded him. The magic, while a bit farfetched, was well done and gave him a sense of wonder at the possibilities that still lay ahead of him. A world where such a story existed, couldn't be as dark as he had begun to fear.

The girls all had smiles on their faces, happy tears in their eyes. The heroine of the story wasn't just pretty, but had a thirst for knowledge. It was a wonderful example to set and follow. The three girls who had just been released from the infirmary, finally felt better and thanked Harry profusely for allowing them to watch the movie. He graciously accepted it and told them that they could spread the word if they wanted.

He had no doubt that the rumour mill was already hard at work about his upcoming surprise. Better to give them an idea, than for the escalating nature of the rumours to raise expectations too much. Better to give the girls something else to focus on, when people started asking questions, which would inevitably happen.

Harry spent the next week working on another Auditorium, since not all of the student body could fit into one of these cinemas. He also had another idea that he had to focus on for the last two days of the week and ended up making another set of whiteboard communication devices for the Professors and staff. He had called them all together in the infirmary, since he wanted Madam Pomfrey to have one of these too.

When the staff were all gathered, it didn't even occur to Harry that he had basically called a staff meeting on his own. He wasn't even staff.

"Good evening." Harry said as he stood before the staff, seated in chairs before him. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your Thursday evening, but I've got some security issues to discuss and a new toy for everyone here." He said. He smirked when he noted the Headmaster had sat with the rest of the staff and smiled at Harry with that bloody twinkle in his eyes again. Harry was shocked to realise that it wasn't an indication of legilimency, as he had thought.

"How do you make your eyes twinkle like that?" Harry asked bemusedly at the old man, interrupting himself.

"I'm afraid that's a trade secret, Mister Black." Dumbledore smirked at him.

"I suppose I should have seen that coming." Harry allowed, shaking his head.

"Why am I here?" Argus Filch asked, standing off to the side.

"Because as far as I can tell, you're in charge of security in the school and I want to have a word with you when the other staff leaves." Harry replied. Then he turned back to the gathering. "First off, I'm tired of having no way to contact you and have recently come up with a quick and easy new form of communication."

He lifted his hand and a whole bunch of his whiteboards lifted off of a table behind him and flew to their appropriate recipients. He ignored the shocked gasps at his easy display of wandless magic. "This is what I came up with. You'll all note that the Communication Boards, or Comm Boards as my study group call it, have a marker on the side."

He demonstrated the functions and explained how the scrolling function worked, by pulling up the study group's most recent communications and scrolled up and down. "You'll have to work out how you want to describe yourself, but I suggest you drop the Professor and full names. I can just imagine 'Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore' will become a little tedious to write and read every time the Headmaster wants to say something." Harry joked. There were a couple of chuckles at least.

"Now, only the Heads of House, Headmaster and Mister Filch will be able to contact me on these. I don't want to be on the damn thing all day and I already get too many messages as it is. Fortunately, there are group functions, so that those of you who wish it can communicate in smaller groups, but I'll have to modify or add groups for you. The family magic is well protected and any attempts to tamper or discover the magic will destroy it.

"If you have any queries, please feel free to direct them to my head of house, Professor McGonagall. Thank you." Harry said with a mischievous look in his eyes, directed at his Aunty Min.

She didn't look upset at all. In fact, she beamed in pride and wanted to hug the boy. This would be an invaluable tool and minimise the need to travel around the school, just to find something out. "I'll be happy to answer what I can or direct any questions to Mister Black, should there be a need."

"That being said, I am going to be informing the 'Screening Group', which is a group that the Heads of House, Headmaster and myself are on, about the upcoming schedule for the newly created Cinemas. If anyone would like to join the group, it would be up to the Heads to inform you of the times. During this time, our caretaker and Head of Security, Mister Filch, will be on duty with another project I have in the works for him." Harry finished. "Thank you. That is all."

There was a sudden influx of questions and Harry smirked at McGonagall, who suddenly realised she had accepted this responsibility. Harry then walked to Filch. "If you'll follow me, Mister Filch?" Harry asked indicating to the door of the infirmary. Filch grumbled but followed Harry. He led the man to an abandoned classroom that was close to his office and led the man in.

"What are we doing here?" the man asked.

"This is the room I'm going to be setting up as your security office." Harry said.

"I'm not the head of security. I'm a bloody janitor." Filch sneered.

"You're also on patrol at night and make sure students aren't running about after curfew." Harry pointed out. "What I intend to do here, tonight, is give you a demonstration of something I've been working on." he said as he pulled two plates of glass from his pocket. "This is a little something I've created for you. It basically functions like a security camera. Do you know what that is?"

"No." Filch said, looking at the plain looking pieces of glass.

"Let me demonstrate." Harry said. He lifted up one of the pieces of glass that was round, "This functions like a camera. It's got a sticking spell on it and will turn invisible once placed against a wall, like this." He took the round piece and placed it on the opposite wall to the black board. There it stuck and vanished.

"This is the projector disc." Harry said, holding out the rectangular disk. "It projects what the round one sees in front of it." Harry went to the black board and placed the disc on the board, where it stuck as well. Then it began to glow for a second, before it projected the view of what the round disc 'saw' a few feet in front of it. It worked on the same illusion magic as the Map and the other displays Harry had made so far.

He stepped to the other side of the room and waved into the round disc that he had placed, knowing that Filch would see him on the wide angle circular projection. "As you can tell, you will be able to place one of these," he said pointing at the invisible round disc, "anywhere, and be able to keep an eye on that location. I'll give you a set of thirty, to begin, and one extra that you can use to monitor the rest wherever you are. Once you've set up all the 'cameras', you'll need to arrange them in front of the last one and keep that projector disc on you."

"I don't understand." Filch said. He'd followed until that point.

"Okay, let me explain." Harry said. "You'll place these round discs around the castle in places where students and people often walk, like at the end of long corridors, so you can see more. Then you will place their projector discs on the board and arrange them so that you can make out where they are and so they don't overlap and things. When you are done, you place the last disc on this wall and it, in turn, will monitor the monitors."

Harry stepped to the door and indicated for Filch to follow, taking the projector disc from the board as he went. "When you are not in the security office, but want to see what's going on, you simply place the disc on a wall, like so." Harry demonstrated, putting the disc on a nearby wall and soon the image of the classroom was shown. "Then you'll be able to watch the others. I'm hoping that this will save you time and the effort of having to run around the school too much.

"I also request that you put one of these discs by every common room, so that you can monitor their comings and goings. Does that make sense?" Harry asked.

Filch had finally caught on. "Why are you doing this?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't like what's been going on in the school. Innocent girls and boys used as toys, never even knowing that their rights were being violated. Can you honestly say you don't care?" Harry asked.

"Of course not!" Finch argued. "But why me?"

"When all your cameras and monitors are set up, I'll set you up with a recording function. I basically invented the magic for that, so nobody will be able to tamper with it. Only you will know how to access and manipulate the recordings to go backwards and look through them. Not even Professor Dumbledore will have that power, without your say-so." Harry said.

"I know you're a squib, but that doesn't bother me. I can easily make this work for you. That does, however, impart a responsibility to you. Do you accept the responsibility, for the convenience and power this would impart onto you?" Harry asked seriously.

"I'll have to think about it." Filch said. How did the boy know? "It does look useful, but I'll have to see how it works out. The board things will come in handy, at least."

"I can accept that." Harry said. He pulled out a cardboard container, wherein the discs and plates were. "You can set these up so long and see what you think." he said handing the box over and opening it to show the man the neatly stacked contents. "Contact me on the board once you have made up your mind. Until then, I won't be setting up the recording function."

"Thank you." Filch finally said. Then he turned and walked off. The man was never the friendly sort. Harry had learned in his other life, that the man resented his lack of magic. Hopefully giving him this power would raise his self-esteem and temper his mood a little. Perhaps Harry should make him the one in charge of the movies as well. It will likely make the students grateful to him and help too.

Harry heard his board pinging, as it had been doing for a while and pulled it out. He really needed to add a function to tell him who was massaging him. He had to cycle through a couple of displays, until he found the new screening group had become quite populated with questions for him. Snape hadn't said a thing, and Harry suspected the man would seldom be writing on the board.

The most common question was when he planned to open for the first show.

'Harry: I'm planning on opening tomorrow evening after class or dinner, but I still need to speak to the House elves and arrange the snacks.'

'Albus: I'll arrange the treats for the students. The House Elves have already agreed.'

'Minerva: Are you showing the film you showed us in both cinemas?'

'Harry: I don't have two copies of that. I'll be showing Aladdin in one cinema and Beauty and the Beast in the other.'

'Pomona: We've not seen this 'Beauty and the Beast'. Perhaps a screening tonight?'

'Harry: I'll arrange it and start the film for you. The Study Group already watched it over the weekend. It's a nice story. The same people that made Aladdin mad this one.'

'Filius: Perhaps I can help making copies, for situations like this?'

'Harry: Nice try. You're not getting your hands on my family magic that easily.'

'Filius: I wasn't suggesting that. I was merely thinking that with a few charms, you may be able to play the same thing in both locations.'

'Harry: Now that you mention it, I should be able to arrange that. I'll work on it for next time.'

'Albus: I'll arrange the snacks for tonight. See you at 8pm?'

'Harry: Can do.'

Harry put the board away and continued on his way to the library, where the study group was already working.

Minerva was really enjoying the Comm Board. "Albus Dumbledore." She said, tapping the board with the marker, which was how Harry had spelled these. He couldn't leave Filch without the ability to change between the different connections, after all.

'Minerva: These boards are simply marvellous!'

There was a short delay, before Albus responded.

'Albus: I agree with you, Minerva. That boy of yours has been making changes and now he's given us quite the advantage we never had before.'

'Minerva: He is quite innovative, but I'm told the idea was copied from something the muggles already have.'

'Albus: Truly? What an interesting idea. I wonder how they came up with it.'

'Minerva: According to Harry, Hermione Granger's parents told him about some of the things that they are working on. Instant global communication is something they've been capable of for quite a while.'

'Albus: The things muggles will think of to make up for not having magic. It still astounds me to think Harry has plans to go to the moon.'

'Minerva: I'm not happy about it, but I was there for the initial test and everything seemed to work as he had planned. Filius and Rolanda have already booked their seats on the first trip there.'

'Albus: Do you think he'd allow me to go?'

'Minerva: I don't know. You'll have to ask him. Your vow doesn't stop you from accompanying him. You're only bound from taking steps to interfere.'

'Albus: They told you?'

'Minerva: Of course they told me. I'm family.'

'Albus: And I will be forever grateful to you for being there for Harry. Did I ever thank you?'

'Minerva: Every time it comes up.'

'Albus: Does he hate me terribly?'

'Minerva: He thinks you're a fool, but a well-meaning one. Sirius and Remus wouldn't shed a tear at your funeral, but Harry seems to believe there's hope for you. I'm still undecided.'

'Albus: It makes me wonder at the strength of his character. If it was me in his shoes, I might have fallen into a depression and pushed everyone away.'

'Minerva: He was clinically depressed when he came back. Poppy did some research and we've been encouraging Harry to look towards a brighter future. He's well on his way to recovery, but as you saw, he's not there yet.'

'Albus: Is he getting everything he needs? Is there anything I can do?'

'Minerva: Harrys' family are aware of the situation and handling it. Don't stick your nose into it.'

'Albus: Of course, Minerva. I understand. Thank you, again.'

There were many conversations that first night as the new device was put to the test. People soon discovered that they hadn't understood the immense impact that this would have on their lives, until that evening.

The next morning, when everyone was at breakfast, Dumbledore stood up and got the students' attention. "Good morning, students. I would like to take a moment to bring up a subject, which I understand has been discussed throughout the school in the last couple of days.

"Let me confirm some rumours. Harry Black has recently been working on a project, as I'm told he often does, and has created something that I suspect you will all find at least mildly enjoyable." His twinkle betrayed the fact that he was making an understatement. "As a result of his efforts, there will be a demonstration of his new Cinemas this evening before and after dinner."

The muggle-born and half-bloods who knew of them started whispering to their friends in excitement. "Yes, I believe that you will all know what to expect by the time you arrive for the two films that will be shown. I won't be spoiling anything and ask that you don't spoil anything for your fellows, between the two showings, while we adjourn for dinner.

"The important message this morning, however, is that Mister Black has unfortunately succeeded in gaining over one thousand house points over the course of the last two days." Dumbledore said with a smirk.

"WHAT?!" Harry exclaimed, looking at the sandglasses that reflected the point standings.

"Not to worry, Mister Black. We wouldn't want to encourage you to destroy the castle to earn enough deductions, so I have taken the liberty of deducting the points again, the sum of which was an astounding 1450 points." Albus continued. "You do not need to unleash the Weasley boys on the school either. I feel that they find the excuse to cause mayhem much too satisfying to encourage.

"So, for the rumours that have been spreading throughout the Castle. There will be no dragon-back riding or live Death Eater executions in front of the school. Nor will there be a duel between Mister Black and myself. I daresay, such a challenge might prove too much for my tired old bones. Please put those rumours to rest." Dumbledore said. "And enjoy the rest of your day."

"Were there such rumours?" Harry asked.

"Not that I'd heard." Hermione said, shaking her head.

"Me neither." Neville said.

"Do you think that he was using that moment to start those?" Parvati asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Harry said as he narrowed his eyes at the teacher's table, where Dumbledore was twinkling at him again. Harry concentrated for a bit and a flashing neon sign appeared above Dumbledore's head, with an arrow pointing down. 'Dumbass', it read.

Then Harry continued on with the conversation, ignoring the incredulous looks, which soon turned to snickering as everyone, but Dumbledore seemed to notice. It disappeared once or twice as staff tried to dispel it, but it just reappeared, saying 'Idiot' and 'Nincompoop'.

"Mister Black!" McGonagall exclaimed. Dumbledore finally noticed, when it was pointed out to him.

"He started it." Harry called back instantly, not looking up, as Dumbledore tried to dispel it, only to be replaced with, 'Nitwit'.

Shaking his head, Dumbledore decided to get up and inspect the magic more closely, but it moved with him as he moved. Harry was actively keeping the magic up and replacing the sign when it was dispelled, so there was no magic to dispel, really. It wasn't an effect, it was a constant application of an illusion, like his banishment-based flight was constantly applied.

Harry ignored the calls to get his attention and finally got up and walked out of the Great Hall followed by his friends. Once he left the sign disappeared as well, since he wasn't there to apply it. Dumbledore wasn't angry, as much as curious. He had decided to play a prank on the boy after all. It was only fair to expect return-fire. His smile assured everyone that it was just harmless fun and that he accepted it in the manner it was meant. The fact that he couldn't dispel it had caused more rumours though.

The first round of films, played simultaneously and ended almost at the same time with Beauty and the Beast ending slightly before Aladdin. Knowing the running time of the films had helped coordinate things as well and a note was made to keep that in mind in the future. The dreamy looks and smiles all around made Harry's day though. There wasn't one person that didn't enjoy the shows.

Even mister Filch had shown up to stand in an isle and watch. After dinner, while the second showing happened, he pulled Harry aside.

"I'll do it." he said. "It would be useful to be able to prove things with evidence that can't be altered."

"I'll go set you up in the morning." Harry said. "When you're all set, you can show the Headmaster your new capabilities. You might even be able to get a raise for this."

"He doesn't know?" Filch asked.

"Of course not." Harry said. "I came to you first. I didn't want him to foist this on you without giving you a choice. You know how he can get."

Filch seemed to consider him for a moment. Then he nodded and said, "Thank you." Harry could tell the man was grateful for the consideration.

"Not a problem, Mister Filch." Harry said. "I had another proposition for you, if you were interested?"

"What?" Filch asked.

"Would you be interested in running the cinemas?" Harry said. "There are a couple of perks, like the snacks and being able to watch any films you want when the cinema isn't in use."

"But, the magic…" Filch said.

"I can set it up so all you'd have to do is insert the proper movie and soundtracks and press a button." Harry promised. "You'd have to remember to switch the lights off and on for when the movie begins, but that can be tied to another button."

"Why?" Finch asked.

"Because I think you've got a raw deal." Harry admitted. "Surrounded by kids who flaunt what they have and don't take your limitations into consideration. If you did this though, you'd be the man who brings them their entertainment. You'd have some power in their eyes. You're the man in charge."

"What do you get out of it?" Filch asked.

"I get to not have to be here every time a movie needs to be put on." Harry said. "And between you and me, I don't want to teach magical people how this all works, otherwise they'd try and steal my ideas. You're uniquely qualified for the job."

"That's why you gave me access to the security magic too, isn't it?" Filch asked.

"Of course. Imagine what would happen if someone asked you how these things worked and you telling them it's a squib-only secret. Throw what they think is an insult back in their teeth." Harry said.

Filch liked that idea. Power only a squib could wield. "I like that."

"I thought you might." Harry smirked. "I'll stop by your security office tomorrow and call Professor Dumbledore so that you can show him what you can do."

Filch nodded and walked away again. He needed to set up his new office.

By Saturday evening, Harry had finished both setting up the projector rooms for Filch and his recording capabilities. He'd even showed Filch how to use both and given him access to his stores of movies.

'Harry: Headmaster, I have something to show you, if you are available?'

'Albus: You may call me Albus on private communication, Harry. I'm available. Do you want to come to my office?'

'Harry: That will take some getting used to. And I actually need you to get over to Mister Filch's office for what we have to show you.'

'Albus: I'll be there in a couple of minutes.'

When Dumbledore arrived, it was to find both Harry and Filch waiting for him. "Good evening gentlemen. What is it you have to show me?" he asked.

"This way, Headmaster." Filch said, leading the way to the classroom Harry had annexed for him.

Dumbledore followed bemusedly and entered into the classroom, where he saw a desk in front of a large display of illusionary images. "What's this?" he asked.

"This, Headmaster, is our new security system." Filch said. Harry had decided that it would be best if he made the presentation. "These displays show what is currently happening in the school."

"Did you make this, Mister Black?" he asked, inspecting the full colour displays showing some students chatting as they walked. There was no sound.

"I set this up for Mister Filch." Harry confirmed.

"The purpose of which is?" Dumbledore asked.

"This way, we can confirm what is currently happening. If something happens and I don't see it, I can also go back a while and see it again." Filch said, pressing a button on his desk freezing the images and then another, one left from that button to start going backwards. "There are different speeds of going back, so I don't have to stand here all day." He said as he pressed the next button and it started going twice as fast. The next did twice that and so on.

"Apparently there will be a week's worth of going backwards." Filch said.

"Until I can produce more of the recording media that we use." Harry confirmed. "Then we'll be able to stock up as far as we want to."

"What is your recording medium?" Dumbledore asked, noting that Filch had frozen the image of him walking down a passageway and scratching his beard.

"That is a secret, Headmaster." Finch said. "If nobody but me knows, nobody can try and tamper with evidence. As Mister Black puts it, this is squib-only magic."

Dumbledore considered this. It was truly a useful tool, one he'd love having access to himself, but it was likely that this was something Harry would claim was family magic, so he had no right to interfere. It was his school though, and he had rights here. "How do I know that this is being used responsibly?"

"Are you worried that there are monitors in the girls' bathrooms or something?" Harry asked.

"No, I know you wouldn't do something like that, even though I suspect you'd be able to if you wanted." Dumbledore qualified. "I'm more interested in knowing that you're not watching duplicate feeds in another location."

"Why?" Harry countered. "I have other methods to know what is going on in the castle. Much like the Heads of House know what is going on in their common rooms. You'll note that there are no feeds from inside the common rooms, for people's privacy."

Dumbledore looked at the feeds fast forward, when Argus pressed a button on the other side of the line of buttons until it caught up with real-time. "I can see that this would be useful to you, Mister Filch. I don't see that you are invading anyone's privacy since the hallways are public anyway." He turned and looked at his new Head of Security. "Very well. You have my blessing to continue using this. Let's hope the board of governors don't find out about it until it has proven its usefulness. I doubt that they would support this."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Filch said, resolving not to let anyone see him using the projection disc which he intended to carry with him at all times.

"This is a wonderful advancement, Mister Black." Dumbledore complimented as he watched all the halls of his school displayed on one wall of illusionary projections.

"It's a muggle advancement." Harry said. "They've got security cameras everywhere these days. One day soon, a wizard will be caught on camera doing something that people shouldn't see and it will go on the internet. Then we're all likely to need to come out of hiding." he said with a smile.

"This is no matter to be happy about, Mister Black." Dumbledore said as a new worry suddenly appeared in his cluttered head.

"Of course it is." Harry scoffed. "It's not the sixteenth century anymore. People don't burn people at the stake anymore. We just need to get out ahead of it. Give them reason to trust and need us, you know."

"Please tell me that this isn't one of your long-term goals?" Dumbledore pleaded.

"Not yet." Harry admitted. "But if someone doesn't plan for the inevitable, who will?"

Harry left the two in the security office with that thought.

Sunday was spent setting up the idea he had had to transmit the same movie from one cinema to the other, so that the entire school could watch the same thing at the same time. It meant another piece of glass that needed to be put in place on both sides, but with his experience, it was simple enough. The sound was a bit more difficult, as he needed to adjust the volume, since the volume halved on both sides for some reason. He decided to look into it later and added a slider with a simple amplification spell on it for Filch to use.

Then he set up another projector platform in the first booth and connected it to the second cinema as well, so that Filch could run both cinemas from one booth. He even added a new feed, so that Filch could confirm that both were playing what they were supposed to.

The success of the Cinemas and putting Filch in charge, left Harry with some time on his hands, so he started planning his next project. It had been on his mind since he put up the first Cinema. He now had a way to transport audio the way he could transport video or both at once. What he was thinking was a new form of communication that would take advantage of the audio portion only. Like a telephone.

The idea would be, that he would make devices that could 'dial' each other, but he had no idea how to make the pairings work. His current form of communication worked on permanent pairings. Every one of the Comm Boards used multiple connected flaws which were synchronised with all the others. Then he would make or break connections to set up groups and so forth.

A connected pair of flaws allowed them to synchronize the boards and then replicate what it showed. For only two people out of a group to be connected, he needed to break the connected flaws between those two flaws and the rest and pair their use with the command words he set to activate them, being each other's, or the groups', names. He'd used a rune to buffer the messages waiting to still come in and to absorb the messages, and their magic, when the board was changed to a different one. Every flaw needed said buffering rune to be able to do this, otherwise they would be cleared every time when the connection is broken to show another flaw's buffer.

Harry didn't know that he was basically using some principles of programming to make these things work, and since he didn't know anything about the subject, he needed to come up with everything on his own. He had an idea, but he didn't know of a magic that could retro-actively pair things over large distances.

He was sitting in the common room, considering this, when he heard footsteps from the girls' staircase. It was Luna, and it appeared that she was sleepwalking. Finally. Something to distract him from his dilemma. He watched her as she walked to the common room door, smiling and nodding to someone only she could see in whatever dream she was having.

Harry got up and followed her, to ensure she didn't hurt herself. He waved at the location where he knew the camera disc was, in-case Filch was monitoring and mimed sleeping and walking before pointing at Luna, hoping his meaning was clear. Then he continued following her. He couldn't make out what she was saying, but it seemed she was calmly chatting about something, just walking with her dream-companion.

They walked all over the school. She never made one misstep, even skipping merrily over the trick steps on the stairs as she went. At some point Filch had headed them off and Harry had indicated for him to stay quiet and explained the situation, quietly. It was supposed to be very bad to wake someone while they were sleep-walking. Filch took out his tablet and started writing something as he walked away. Most likely updating McGonagall about the students out of bed. The Heads of House were obviously told about the new security system, otherwise Filch couldn't report anything he saw through the system.

Harry continued to follow the girl and she eventually returned to the common room. But she didn't head back to bed. Instead she sat on a couch and continued her nonsensical non-conversation. Harry sat down as well and went back to his thoughts. How would he make those pairings?

So far he'd been using letters, words and symbols as his 'flaws' for the pairings. He made it simple for himself, by using combinations, like Harry/Hermione, for the 'flaw' that connected their private board communication. If he wanted to mass-produce something and sell it to people he didn't know, that would simply not work. The most important part of anything he sold would need to be the protection magic, so he couldn't spend mass amounts of energy spelling thousands upon thousands of connections, just so that all the devices could contact each other.

"Harry Potter." Luna's voice said and Harry looked up, to see her looking at him. "Were you keeping me company?"

"I was in the common room, when you went for a walk." Harry said. "Does that happen often?"

"Only sometimes." Luna said. "You really don't need to worry about me. I'm capable of waking up if it's necessary."

"Oh, okay." Harry said. "If I see you going for a walk again, I might decide to join you anyway, if you don't mind. You find the most interesting places."

"The castle is interesting." Luna said.

"Yeah, but you walked me all the way to the dungeons on a route I've never taken. It was strange how quickly we got there actually. I might decide to take that path from now on." Harry said. "Are you going to bed now?"

"I was thinking of sitting by the fire for a bit." Luna said, looking at the fire. "I like to watch how the fire constantly changes. You could look at a fire for an hour and never see the same pattern twice."

"I suppose it's just the nature of fire." Harry said. "It's a force of nature. It is always unpredictable, even caged."

"Not always." Luna said. "Apparently, when someone uses the Floo, the fire looks the same on both sides. I think it has to do with how the Floo Network works. It's all centrally managed you know."

"I didn't know that." Harry said, bemusedly. "But then, I've never been on two sides of a Floo connection at the same time to see."

"You should try it." Luna suggested, like she was talking about personal experience. "You never know how useful it could be to be in two places at once."

"How would I even attempt such a thing?" Harry asked, looking at the fire as if the answer to his questions lay there, even as something she said tickled his brain.

"I'm sure you could find a way." Luna said.

It was true. Off the top of his head, he could call Sirius on the mirror while looking at a Floo connection from two locations. He could do the same with his newly created security system too. "You might just be right." Harry admitted after the thought.

"What were you thinking about when I showed up?" Luna asked.

"How to connect a lot of things together over distance and still be able to differentiate between connections without a hefty process like connecting every single one at the same time." Harry admitted.

"So, like the Floo Network?" Luna asked.

"No, not like the Floo… Network! That's it!" Harry exclaimed as he got up and went to her to lift her up in an exuberant hug. Of course that would work. He didn't need to connect all the devices together, all he needed to do was connect them to a central location or device! "You're brilliant, Luna!"

"Daddy sometimes says the same thing." Luna said with a smile he couldn't see as he spun her around. "Of course, he says it when I'm talking about features for the Quibbler. Do you read it?" she asked as he set her down.

"If my plan works out, I'll become a lifetime subscriber." Harry promised as he set down again with the smile still plastered on his face. With this idea, he knew he could do it. He just needed to figure out the application.

"So, I was able to help?" Luna asked.

"You'll have to wait and see." Harry said smiling at her. Then a thought hit him and he asked, "Would you mind telling me who you were talking to, while you were walking?"

"You heard that?" Luna asked a small frown appearing on her face.

"I heard you talking, but I couldn't make out what you were saying." Harry said. "It seemed like a friendly conversation, though."

"It was." Luna said, turning back to the fire, but not elaborating.

"Sorry if it's personal. I didn't mean to intrude." Harry apologised.

"I don't blame you for asking." Luna said. Then she just sat back and continued staring at the fire.

Apparently their conversation was over, though. She sat there for another couple of minutes, before abruptly getting up and walking back to the girls' dorm. Harry was only slightly disturbed to see her talking to whoever she had been earlier, in the same tone as when she was sleepwalking. Was she still asleep?

He shook himself and decided to rather get to bed than think of it any longer. The idea that she was never awake, but had that conversation with him, bothered him for some reason. Like the person she had been speaking to was just standing there, watching them and allowing Luna to have a conversation with him for a while.