Calm down! This behavior is inappropriate in the Great Hall!" Penny was shouting over the crowd of students. This ruckus was quickly noticed by the Professors and Dumbledore raised his wand aloft before firing a Cannon Blast spell to get everyone's attention. Once all eyes were on the Headmaster he began to speak.
"Students I understand the excitement of today's Daily Prophet but this conduct will not be permitted. If you'd like to speak with Mr. Potter you must remain calm and mind your manners. If he is willing to speak about his creation I'm sure we can make some time this morning since it is Sunday." Dumbledore calmly spoke getting several Prefects moving to get their own Housemates back to their tables. Harry noticed that Percy Weasley, the Fifth Year Gryffindor Prefect according to Penny, was physically pulling his younger twin brothers, Fred and George, back to the Gryffindor table while threatening to tell their mother about the twins' behavior.
"What should I do about this? I'll be hounded every second of every day at this rate." Harry asked his two close friends.
"You might want to take the Headmaster up on his offer and just use this time in the Great Hall to get it over with." Penny offered her opinion.
"It would at least get most of them off your back." Tonks nodded in agreement. Harry sighed but accepted his friends' suggestion. Better to rip the band aid off quickly and get it over with. Harry finished his breakfast before making his way up to the Head Table with Penny and Tonks at his side.
"Headmaster, if it's alright with you and the rest of the Professors I'd like to take you up on your offer of answering some questions this morning. I think it might be best to just get this out of the way so that everyone can focus back on their schoolwork sooner." Harry explained getting a few smiles or grins from some of the Professors. Dumbledore nodded with a smile before standing up.
"Students, Mr. Potter has kindly agreed to answer some questions for your curiosity this morning once breakfast is over. If you have a question you'd like to ask during that time the Professors would like you to remain calm and raise your hand and wait to be called upon. This will be kept civil and if anyone gets out of hand their Head of House will see that the student in question is punished accordingly. Thank you for your attention." Dumbledore explained before sitting back down.
"I'll need to go get something to make this explanation easier, Headmaster. Might I have permission to get my item so that in the likely event that the students want their own readings I can quickly provide them?" Harry asked getting a nod from Dumbledore. Harry thanked the old man before leaving the Great Hall with Penny and Tonks. He led his close friends towards his hidden workshop and chuckled at their surprised gasps as he removed the Hiding Stone from the door bringing it back into their focus.
"I so want one of those!" Tonks exclaimed only for Harry to shake his head in mirth.
"You can't put one on your bedroom door and hide from your parents. As soon as they wanted to find you they'd want to find your bedroom by necessity. That would let them force their way pass the Hiding Stone's ability. Like I said it isn't incredibly strong or anything, it just makes things less noticeable." Harry explained getting a pout from Tonks which caused Penny and Harry to laugh slightly. Leading the girls into the workshop Harry quickly grabbed a few thin planks of wood he'd managed to make from wood Hagrid collected from the Forbidden forest. It annoyed him that he still needed to use his wand to use the Cutting Charm with any precision; wandlessly it was always overpowered and sliced the wood through completely. With four small planks chosen Harry set about carving the self-destruction sequence Ollivander had passed on to him. He used some glue to stick the planks onto all four sides of his Test Frame so that the two runic sequences came into physical contact which primed the self-destruction sequence. If anyone attempted to pull the wooden planks off the edge of the stone frame the self-destruction sequence would activate and destroy both sets of runes. A quick spell to instantly dry the glue was provided by Penny and Harry picked up the Test Frame and walked out of his hidden workshop with the girls. Harry had Tonks and Penny put their hands on the Hiding Stone as he placed it back on the door handle. The three watched the stone glow briefly before it stopped and Harry grinned when he noticed that both girls could still notice the door normally.
"Did the two of us touching the stone make it exempt us from its effect?" Penny asked curiously as she looked at the door with the trinket on the handle.
"Yes, the Hiding Stone doesn't affect the one who placed it. Since all three of us placed it on the door you two are now the only other people that will notice this door normally. You won't be able to get in without me unless you knock down the door though. But you'll know where to look for me if you need to find me." Harry explained with a smile. Both girls smiled back at Harry happy that he was willing to bring them into the know about his secret workshop. The trio quickly made their way back to the Great Hall and quickly realized that everyone was still there waiting for Harry to speak.
"You'll do fine Harry, just take a few questions and it'll be over soon." Penny encouraged.
"Yeah, I bet most of them just want to know their own reading, so you'll just have to give them their numbers." Tonks grinned.
"Thanks you two." Harry sighed as he walked to the front of the Great Hall when Dumbledore motioned for him. Standing in front of the whole school was a bit nerve wracking but Harry swallowed his nervousness and began this impromptu presentation.
"You may begin whenever you feel ready, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore gave him the go ahead.
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