"Harry? Would you like to share what's so special about this package?" Penny asked him. They were currently in the Hidden Workshop at Hogwarts. Harry had received the large package at breakfast not ten minutes ago. Thankfully today was Saturday so they had no classes. Penny was honestly a mix of confused, concerned, and slightly mirthful. Harry had opened the package and simply stared at it mumbling 'No way' every moment or two after having read the letter that accompanied the package.
"Huh?" Harry shook his head before focusing on Penny.
"What's so special about this package?" Penny asked again with a grin.
"You won't believe this!" Harry broke out into a wide smile. "This is a 'Thank you' gift from the Dwarves. It's Isimun, also called 'Everlasting Iron' by Wizards and Witches. It has similar properties to Adamantite! But with one key difference, Isimun is unchangeable by Magic. It can't be Transfigured, Charmed, or altered through Alchemy! Only the Dwarves know how to make it!" The teen Artificer gushed as he picked up the bar of Isimun and started looking it over.
"If you can't change it then isn't it kind of useless to your Enchanting?" Penny questioned. It seemed like a rare paper weight to her the way Harry described it as unchangeable.
"Not at all!" Harry laughed as he placed the metal bar back down on his work table. "I can still etch Runes onto the Isimun and use it as a focal point for whatever creation I add it to. That'll impart a similar strength and durability to the Item it becomes. Whatever I make with it will be just as unaffected by Magic as the Isimun is."
"Oh, that could definitely be useful then." Penny remarked, now understanding the properties of the metal better.
"Very useful in fact…" Harry suddenly trailed off as his eyes widened. "In fact it could be just what I was missing." The Artificer quickly opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out his journal with all his notes about his Artifact Sword. "If I use the right Runes…a proper sequence…forge around it…the Sylvuan wouldn't be bothered by it…"
"Harry?" Penny was wide eyed at seeing Harry going through his notes so fervently. He repeatedly glanced between the Isimun and the various pages he was flipping through.
"Penny, do you remember what I told you about my prototype and Voldemort's book?" Harry asked the Head Girl suddenly. Penny was startled by the sudden question but recovered quickly.
"You said it fell apart because you pushed it far past its limit, right?" Penny responded as she recalled Harry's studying of some of the dust his prototype had turned into.
"Exactly!" Harry nodded. "I not only burnt out the Array but rendered the metals themselves inert. The loss of all Magic is what made the prototype practically disintegrate."
"What does that have to do with the Isimun?" Penny questioned, not seeing where Harry was going with his line of thought.
"Isimun CAN'T change by Magic once it's formed!" Harry beamed at her. "If I make it the core of my Artifact Sword it'll never be able to lose its Magic! It'll be able to cut through any Magic if I can give it enough power! I need to check the Runic Sequences of my current Array, see what I other Sequences could be used to link them to the Isimun." Harry grabbed three different Runecraft Books and opened them on his work table. Penny couldn't help herself and broke out into a soft smile as she watched Harry get so excited about his project. The blonde watched with fondness as Harry looked through the books and compared his own notes to them.
"I'm completely smitten with you aren't I?" Penny whispered to herself with a small giggle. The Head Girl sat at the desk in the 'study area' of the Hidden Workshop. She had her own studying to do after all. It was her Seventh Year and she wanted to get as many O's on her N.E.W.T.s as possible.
-First Hogsmeade Trip-
"Hey Penny." Harry smiled at his 'date' for the day.
"Good morning, Harry." Penny returned his smile. "What did Tonks have to say about you taking me on a 'date'?" She teased him slightly.
"Only that I now 'Owe her one too' and that 'She should have been first because she knew me longer' if you must know." Harry sighed with a shake of his head. Tonks hadn't let a chance to tease him pass when he and Penny had agreed to go to Hogsmeade together. Her reply letter had included her 'terms' for letting Penny have 'first date'. According to the fun-loving Metamorph, Harry had to take her on a date either on Yule Break or at the earliest chance the following summer.
"Poor Harry, too many girls?" Penny giggled as they walked towards the doors. Argus Filch was checking students off his list of those allowed to go to Hogsmeade before letting them pass.
"I'm still trying to figure out how Tonks ended up getting her way with this 'relationship'." Harry scratched the top of his head.
"Wait until Fleur asks about joining in." Penny remarked with a smirk.
"Why would Fleur want to join?" Harry asked. "We're friends, sure, but she doesn't have romantic feelings for me, does she?"
"Oh Harry, you have A LOT of things to learn about girls." Penny chuckled as they climbed into a carriage together. "But we'll never tell you what they are." She laughed at Harry's flummoxed expression.
"But…then how can I learn?" Harry asked. Penny only smiled pleasantly at him with laughter in her warm brown eyes.
Their date went well, at least Harry thought so. Penny had led him around the Village the first time to show him everything. They'd stopped by Scrivenshaft's, peeked into Zonko's for a bit, gone to Gladrags and had a nice lunch at the Three Broomsticks. The two had left Honeydukes with a smiling Penny holding a box of Honeyduke's Finest Chocolates as a gift from Harry. There next stop had been the 'Most Haunted Building in Britain'. But seeing the 'Shrieking Shack' up close was kind of boring when you knew that it wasn't actually haunted. They both knew the 'secret' of the Shrieking Shack, thanks to Sirius and Remus.
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