Harry Potter and The Last Goodnight

title: harry potter and the last goodnight (01)
author name: spazzoid3

author email: spazzoid3@yahoo.com
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp lupin werewolves burrow oc
rating: r
spoilers: ss/ps, cos, poa, gof, fb, ootp
summary: this post-ootp fanfic covers harry's 6th year. harry is struggling between
childhood and manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his raging horomones
aren't helping the mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts,
but inside the walls of the school the battle lines are drawn. the students are forced to
choose between good and evil. in this romance/angsty fic mixed with a little bit of
darkness, harry finds out what it's really like to be a best friend, a true love, and a part of
a family. in return, he must pay the ultimate price to save them.
disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by jk
rowling, various publishers including but not limited to bloomsbury books, scholastic
books and raincoast books, and warner bros., inc. no money is being made and no
copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
author notes: this is just my guess at what happens with the house of black. please do
not flame me saying that it is in the hands of someone else. if you have any questions,
comments, critiques, or simply want to bug me to update, you can email me, im me (aol
sn: spazzoid3), or leave me an owl. also, feel free to check out my website, spazzoid's
den. enjoy and review! ^_^
chapter one: manhood and a mutt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
harry potter did not bother to wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead as he turned off
the lawnmower and hastily pushed it towards the dursleys' open garage door. the garage
itself was empty. no doubt dudley was off in his second cruiser, having crashed his first
car the day after he'd received his license.
much to dudley's dismay, harry was unimpressed by muggle transportation. a shiny
volkswagen was nothing compared to flying on his firebolt, which had been sent to him a
few days after his return to number four privet drive. he couldn't ride it in the muggle
world, but had enjoyed cleaning it now that it was back with him. the broom's return
reminded him of his easier days of quidditch and studying. sometimes harry liked to be
reminded of those days and he thought of them fondly; they were memories of someone
else's life.
he had felt like a different person ever since he stumbled out of dumbledore's office on
that sad and tragic night. he could recall the meeting as though it had taken place the
night before, not four weeks ago: dumbledore's explanation, his burden of guilt, his
admission of the truth and of the prophecy. and somehow, dumbledore's love for harry
comforted him in the most miserable and furious moments alone on privet drive. and it
was love - he knew it was - because dumbledore had shed a tear over him.
indeed, he was never completely alone. even after he'd put the lawnmower away, he
could see aunt petunia's head stick out the kitchen window. she was peering closely at
him with those beady eyes of hers. he did not acknowledge her supervision and walked
back out onto the lawn, stretching with his arms held high over his head.
he began doing chores for the dursleys as a sort of reparation for the many new privileges
he'd enjoyed over the past few weeks. he had been allowed to use the telephone, and both
hermione and ron called him many times during holiday. in fact, ron loved using the
phone that mr. weasley had installed in the garage at the burrow, and he called harry
nearly every other day with nothing to talk about. and usually halfway through the
conversation mr. weasley would take the phone away from ron and begin asking him
questions about the mysteriousness of muggle artifacts.
harry had also been allowed to watch television, which he did every morning, but it was
only to watch the news as he had the previous summer, only this time he could be on the
couch instead of hiding in the flower bed. the dursleys were not used to his presence in
their den, but didn't question him about only watching the news. aunt petunia would fold
and unfold her hands nervously in her lap every morning. harry could tell she wanted to
ask him about what was going on with voldemort's return, but the proud and stubborn
parts of her would not allow herself to accept the dark lord's existence.
dudley had even let harry use his punching bag in the basement, along with his pair of old
boxing gloves. this had proved the best privilege of all, because harry had a lot of anger
bubbling inside of him, and the best way for him to get it out without shouting at the wall
until he was hoarse was by beating the hell out of the punching bag.
his fierce workouts had improved him physically. he was now sporting broader shoulders
with a few bicep lines that subtly stuck out when his t-shirts were too small. the yard
work had also given him a more masculine physique and calloused hands, and there had
been a few occasions when he had seen dudley's girlfriends glance twice at him. he
supposed that the new wardrobe had helped as well - aunt petunia had taken him
shopping for muggle clothes one day after she'd received a disturbing piece of mail. harry
suspected that the order may have had something to do with it, especially after tonks had
asked him if his aunt's little shopping spree had cheered him up a bit.
he'd lied to her, of course, and said that the new clothes had made him quite happy and
that he even saw a twinge of jealousy in his cousin's eyes. harry, however, did not care
whether the clothes were stylish or whether or not they fit him. clothes were trivial, and
no matter what he wore, it would not bring sirius back.
at the thought of his late godfather, he quickly sprang back out into the yard, getting
down on his hands and knees to remove some stubborn weeds that had managed to
escape the wrath of the lawnmower. if he could have used his wand, he'd have been able
to massacre the weeds with no problem.
a car drove past harry, and the bald-headed man inside raised a hand to wave at him.
harry waved back. it was odd to be acknowledged at the dursleys home. they had
convinced the entire neighborhood that he was a troubled student at st. brutus's secure
center for incurably criminal boys. but after aunt petunia had bought him the new clothes
and he was allowed to step out of the house without his uncle yelling at him, the
neighbors seemed to accept him and had an attitude of friendliness towards him. no one
was more surprised by this than harry.
after pulling up the weeds and throwing them into the trash in the garage, harry checked
his digital watch - another item from aunt petunia's generous shopping binge. it was five
to two, and he knew that mrs. figg would be expecting him for afternoon tea shortly.
harry wiped his dirty hands on his jeans and walked down the driveway to the sidewalk,
where he saw a giant dog bounding towards him. he soon realized that the dog was
trailing someone behind it. a young woman, with dark, curly hair, was quietly cursing at
the overgrown sheep dog as it spotted a squirrel and took off to the other side of the
street. she had managed to gain control over the dog before it could pull into the street.
she groaned as she pulled the dog back onto the sidewalk.
harry grinned and thought about offering her a hand, but decided against it. he was afraid
that if he was late, mrs. figg would call the entire order out to privet drive to look for him.
as the dog passed, he glanced up at its walker.
"hullo," she said brightly. her voice was hiding a bit of a very attractive irish accent. harry
could see her hands' quivering grip as she tried to maintain her control over the dog. he
now recognized the mutt as piers polkiss's puppy, though he wasn't much of a puppy
anymore. he didn't recognize the young lady, however, and from her rather good looks he
decided that she was probably not a blood relative of the beefy and repulsive polkiss
family.
"hi," harry replied. forgetting himself, he opened his mouth to offer help to her, but she
continued past him without another word, the dog now bounding towards the dursleys'
freshly cut yard. harry could see her slim figure slip along with the dog, her curls
bouncing behind her.
harry quickly closed his mouth. that was his problem all along. always wanting to help
people. always wanting to save the day. to save anyone who needed saving - even to save
those who didn't.
a new bubble of anger rose in his stomach and he had half a mind to march back to the
dursleys and take his aggression out on the punching bag, but he was already in front of
mrs. figg's house on wisteria walk. plus, he had the suspicious feeling that she'd already
spotted him. there seemed to be at least one member of the order on guard at all times,
just as there had been last summer.
he trudged up the driveway and opened the side screen door, not bothering to knock.
"harry, dear, is that you?"
"it's me," he mumbled, letting the door slam behind him. he walked into the kitchen,
which reeked of cabbage, and resisted the urge to plug his nose. "listen, mrs. figg, i can't
stay long..."
his voice trailed off. mrs. figg was standing at the sink, washing dishes the muggle way,
wearing the same slippers harry had always seen her wear. a familiar face with smiling
eyes waved to him from the kitchen table.
"hello, harry," lupin greeted. he looked healthy - harry was vaguely aware that it had been
almost a week since a new moon, which meant he'd had time to recover from his last
transformation.
"welcome back," harry said, and took only three strides to the table where lupin stood up
and held out his hand for harry to shake.
there was an awkward pause when harry was about to sit down and lupin reached out and
gave him a hug. harry pushed his shame and embarrassment into the pit of his stomach
and attempted to return the gesture, but he couldn't do it. he stood stonily with no
expression, fighting to show no sign whatsoever of what he was feeling.
lupin didn't seem to notice and gestured for harry to sit down. grateful for the end of the
uncomfortable hug, he plopped down into a chair and lupin did the same. mrs. figg
bustled into the cupboard and pulled out a package of cookies that looked like they'd
come from a muggle grocery store, but harry couldn't be sure.
lupin hungrily took a cookie and ate it in nearly one bite. harry didn't have much of an
appetite and merely watched him. his hair was a tad grayer than the last time harry had
seen him, but he was a lot less hairy. his light brown eyes were shining brightly. "you
look good, professor lupin," he said.
"please, harry. i think it is time to end the formalities. call me remus," professor lupin
replied, smiling, although harry found himself doubting that he would ever be at ease
calling professor lupin remus. "and i thank you for the compliment. i feel good, for the
first time since..." he glanced at harry's scar, and then went back to munching another
cookie. "well, for awhile."
harry did not meet his eyes and thought of shoving a cookie in his mouth only because
then he wouldn't have to speak. he could feel lupin searching him for any sign of emotion
- any sign of weakness. harry would not give it to him.
"you look different."
harry looked up inquisitively. "i'm sorry?"
"you look like..."
lupin's pause made harry's head spin. if he was going to say "james," harry had half a
mind to reach across the table and slug him in the face. couldn't he sense the absolute
heartbreak inside of harry? couldn't he see how hard everything was for him? how day-
to-day activity was treacherous? how he threw himself into work merely for the
distraction of the pain he suffered every time he looked in the mirror?
"you look like a man," lupin stated.
"er..." harry didn't know quite what to say. he didn't know if he should feel flattered or
thankful. feelings were his problem in the first place. "i... well, i..."
lupin held up a hand to silence him. "i know it has only been four weeks, but you've
grown. in many different ways." he searched harry again, staring from the tip of his
unruly hair to his toes sticking out of his sandals. "i daresay you are a man, harry."
"oh remus, you stop that now," mrs. figg scolded. she returned from the stove with a pot
of tea and the daily prophet. mrs. figg always gave harry her copy to read at night. "he is
not a man yet."
"manhood is not a title one gives to someone else," professor lupin said. "manhood is
simply there. it's visible. i can see it in your eyes. it's the way you carry yourself, harry."
harry turned away. at first flattered by the comment, he did not want to feel like a man. he
didn't know how he could possibly look like a man when he felt so childish on the inside.
he felt like a little boy.
"he doesn't need to be hearing that right now. filling his head with such gall..." but when
mrs. figg turned away, still muttering to herself, lupin winked at him.
and for a moment, harry thought that maybe he could be at ease with professor lupin
again. he was still a friend, and he had gone through a considerable amount of pain, just
as harry had. he could trust lupin. he always had.
"so what have you been up to?" harry asked, nonchalantly.
"i visited with hagrid for a time. he's got a handful of trouble in that forest, all right. he's
such an affectionate old chap." harry did not hide his smile. he had seen hagrid's half-
brother, grawp, firsthand, and experienced some of the damage a sixteen-foot,
substandard giant could do. "madam maxime has been with him for most of the summer.
the two of them wanted to go back to the mountains again, to see what could be repaired
with the other giants, but dumbledore wouldn't let them." lupin's eyes grew dark. "i'm
afraid it's too late for them."
"and after hagrid's and collecting some potion from the most generous severus snape,"
lupin paused to snort, "i went back to the grimmauld place. we only had a few days
before narcissa malfoy would be using every sort of magic to find the house of black,
with help from kreacher, of course. we had to clear the place out."
harry's stomach flip-flopped. what he wouldn't give to strangle that house elf. but when
his rage subsided, what lupin was saying started to sink in. he was glad he would never
have to return to number twelve, grimmauld place. the memory of sirius was fresh there,
in the house of black. "malfoy's mum?" harry questioned. "i don't understand."
"well, with... with sirius truly gone..."
harry heard a small gulping noise, and he was quite sure it had come from him.
"it is only a matter of time before the house turns against the order and reveals itself to
the true owner, who would, indeed, be narcissa malfoy, sirius's cousin. of course, in all
probability, it could also go to bellatrix lestrange, but she is on the run, and it would be
quite foolish of her to attempt to use the house. we were hoping that it would somehow
end up in molly's care, but it appears the house has already made its decision..."
harry's fury was boiling inside of him. he felt he soon would explode. he wanted to throw
a tantrum. he wanted to scream at lupin to stops speaking of these people: sirius,
kreacher, the malfoys, or bellatrix. he couldn't take another word. if he heard anymore, he
thought that surely he would explode from the inside and his heart would crack.
"i think that's quite enough for one day, remus," mrs. figg said. "the boy doesn't need to
hear everything."
"he is not a boy, he is a man..."
"that is not for you to decide!" mrs. figg cried, strands of hair falling loose from her
hairnet.
clearly taken aback by mrs. figg's outburst, lupin stopped his tale of the past month. "he
asked, so i answered."
harry wasn't sure if he wanted to know everything. he didn't know if he wanted to be left
in the dark. everything in his life was clouded by uncertainty. perhaps it really was a
mistake for him to drop by mrs. figg's this afternoon.
the kitchen fell into silence, and though it was awkward, harry did not interrupt it because
he no longer wanted to speak. he stared blankly out the window and watched as the
young woman who he'd met on the way to mrs. figg's house ran passed, the dog pulling
her behind him.
"poor mutt," lupin said, following harry's gaze. "i suspect he's been tied up since the day
after those muggles brought him home. it's about time he had a walk."
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves burrow oc owl
rating: r
summary: chapter two - an owl for uncle vernon: a letter, a phone call, and a way out.
(post ootp - harry's 6th year) harry is struggling between childhood and manhood. he
blames himself for sirius's death and his raging horomones aren't helping the mourning
period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts, but inside the walls of the
school the battle lines are drawn. the students are forced to choose between good and
evil. in this fic, harry finds out what it's really like to be a best friend, a true love, and a
part of a family.
author notes: i do not have any idea how the real o.w.l. results work, or how the classes
go for n.e.w.t.s or anything (and t might really stand for troll). this is just my own
interpretation. as usual, review, send owls. enjoy.
chapter two: an owl for uncle vernon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
dinner at the dursleys was outright boring, in harry's opinion. he was now allowed to join
his aunt and uncle at the table due to dudley's constant evening absence. for every other
meal of the day he had to eat in the kitchen, standing over the sink. aunt petunia would
fuss about him, threatening his life if he spilled on the carpet. but dudley almost never
came home for dinner, and spent his time riding around with his gang until the early
hours of the morning. harry wondered if dear dudders was aware of his replacement at the
dinner table.
in contrast to meals at the sink, harry was invisible at the kitchen table. when his aunt and
uncle did speak, they spoke only to each other and did not even look at him. it was fine
with harry. he didn't have to be polite and ask them to pass this or that, and he even got to
sit down properly.
tonight was no exception. mr. dursley was sitting at the table, reading his newspaper and
chewing loudly. harry wished that he could read the daily prophet as he ate, but knew it
was out of the question. he also had the newest installment of the quibbler that luna
lovegood had sent him, which he hadn't had time to read yet between yard work and
boxing.
aunt petunia sat at the table looking bored and indifferent. she scooped up her peas with
her fork one by one and slipped them into her mouth. every once in a while her eyes
would pass over harry, and he would see something that resembled a mother's anxiety. but
he was quite sure that the concern was only because she forgot he wasn't dudley. the look
would vanish as quickly as it had appeared before he could dwell on it. he couldn't help
but enjoy the atmosphere of rebellion he felt whenever he sat in dudley's chair.
he was just about to reach for his second helping of kidney pie when there was a great
hoot from outside the back window. a small, brown barn owl was hovering in the air,
pecking at the glass.
aunt petunia screamed. uncle vernon looked up from his paper and turned to the back
window, horrified.
"boy, i warned you last time..."
but before he could yell any further, harry got up from his seat and sprinted outside,
where he untied the parchment envelope from the owl's leg. he gestured up to his room
where hedwig was usually perched. he hoped the owl would get the message as he turned
on his heel and walked back into the dining room.
"i told you boy, no more owls in my house!"
"technically, the owl wasn't in the house," harry replied. uncle vernon didn't object. he
was staring at the envelope in harry's hand.
"that's got my name on it," he snarled. "boy, why has that letter got my name on it? do
you know what would happen if people saw my name on it?"
harry looked down at the mail in disbelief. who would be writing to his uncle?
mr. and mrs. vernon dursley - care of harry potter
number four privet drive
little whinging, surrey
when harry flipped the letter over to open it, there was a stamp that said:
top secret information
those who open this letter and are not the addressee will be hexed immediately.
he recognized the seal of the ministry of magic in wax, holding the letter shut. afraid he
would get hexed because the letter was not technically addressed to him, harry handed
the letter over to his uncle. "i think you should open it."
uncle vernon turned very pale and eye harry curiously. "what is the meaning of this?"
harry shrugged. "i don't know, but it's addressed to you, so you'd better open it."
after a few minutes of debating with aunt petunia, harry's uncle took a deep breath and
ripped open the envelope, bracing himself for the worst. when nothing happened, harry
breathed a sigh of relief. he briefly wondered what he had done wrong now that his aunt
and uncle would receive a letter from the ministry.
but after reading the letter several times over, uncle vernon turned to harry looking very
confused. "boy, did you take some kind of... some sort of... tests?"
harry's eyes lit up with the realization that what he had just received were the results of
his o.w.l. examinations. he snatched the letter as fast as he'd ever taken the snitch from
malfoy and took a moment to pray before reading.
dear harry potter and guardians,
enclosed are the results from the ordinary wizarding level (o.w.l.) examinations. please
read them over carefully as they will be very vital to your future at hogwarts. upon
receiving the results, please consult the n.e.w.t. programs form also included in this letter
and fill it out to the best of your knowledge. send it back to your head of house and
expect a list of school supplies the week before the next term. any protests or complaints
can be lodged with griselda marchbanks of the wizarding examinations authority.
the grading scale works as follows: o is outstanding, e is exceeds expectations, a is
acceptable, p is poor, d is dreadful, and t is terrible. anything lower than an a is a failing
grade.
harry was momentarily glad that t did not stand for troll as fred and george had told him,
but his anxiety only increased. he tried to remember what mcgonagall had told him about
becoming an auror. he needed to take five n.e.w.t. classes all together. professor
mcgonagall had only told him four subjects he needed to take and they were defense
against the dark arts, transfiguration, charms, and potions. but if he wanted to take the
n.e.w.t. classes, he would need certain grades in his o.w.l.s. if only harry could remember
more clearly. he thought he needed at least an e in transfiguration and an o in potions.
fat chance, he thought bitterly. he was positive there was no way he had received an
outstanding grade in potions, and if he didn't have an o, then snape wouldn't accept him
into the program.
as he turned the piece of parchment over to reveal his grades, harry realized his hands
were shaking. if he couldn't be an auror, what else would he do?
class theory practical overall
charms o e e
transfiguration e o o
herbology e a a
defense against dark arts o o o
care of magical creatures e o o
astronomy e a e
divination - p p
history of magic d - d
potions e o o
harry couldn't believe what he was reading. at the bottom of the slip of parchment, next to
potions, was an o. he'd gotten an outstanding o.w.l. in potions! he'd forgotten where he
was and began jumping up and down in the middle of the dursleys' dining room.
"i don't believe it! i don't believe it!" harry cried. "i've done it!"
"sit down boy!" uncle dursley growled. but harry wasn't listening. he could have kissed
his uncle he was so happy.
sirius. he wanted to tell sirius. he wanted to -
harry realized with a start that sirius wasn't there. there was no one there for him. he felt
emptiness, a huge void inside of him. he was lonely. anger flared up inside of him at his
own stupidity. how could he have forgotten?
he didn't want to feel at all anymore.
harry could barely hear his uncle shouting at him as he fell back into his chair.
somewhere in the distance a phone was ringing, but harry was concentrating so hard on
not getting emotional that he though it was on the television.
"it's for you," uncle vernon spat, and dropped the cordless telephone into harry's lap.
bewildered, harry picked up the phone and tried to bring himself back to reality. forget
about sirius, he thought. forget about the ministry, forget about everyone. don't feel.
"hello?" harry whispered.
"harry?!" it was hermione's voice that greeted him on the other end of the phone. "harry,
you sound dreadful! did you just get your o.w.l. letter?"
harry nodded, but then realized that hermione couldn't see a nod through a phone. "y-yes.
i did."
"oh, how did you do?" hermione squealed. "it can't be all that bad harry."
"no, i... i did fine," harry replied, managing a light laugh that his heart wasn't really in. "i
actually got an outstanding in potions." he barely believed it himself.
"that's excellent, harry! i knew you would be great at potions if you didn't have snape
breathing down your neck."
"how did you do?" he asked, but he was pretty sure he already knew the answers.
"all outstandings," she said. "except for... well, except for..."
"except for what?"
"except for in care of magical creatures."
harry gasped. "but hermione, how on earth...?"
"i was distracted!" hermione cried. "i don't know where i went wrong. i've been replaying
the practical exam over and over in my mind and i..."
"but you did pass it, didn't you?"
"of course," she said. "i got an e, but still..."
"do you know how ron did?" harry interrupted.
"yes, i do." there was silence on the other end of the phone.
"how did he do?"
"he did... well, he did better than fred and george."
somehow, harry did not find that very reassuring. there was commotion in the
background, and he could have sworn he heard ron's voice say, "let me tell him!"
"hermione, is ron there? what's he doing at your house?"
"actually, i'm at the burrow. ouch! ron!" hermione was apparently struggling. he heard ron
curse.
"what are you at the burrow for?" harry questioned, not bothering to hide his jealousy. he
remembered last summer, when both ron and hermione had spent most of the summer
holiday at the grimmauld place, while he was suffering alone at the dursleys. he nearly
had an ulcer from worrying so much.
"that's what we're calling about."
"did something happen?" harry demanded, immediately feeling guilty for his tone. "is
something wrong?"
"no, we were just wondering if you wanted to spend the rest of the summer with us."
"hermione! give me the fellytone!" ron demanded. harry heard hermione cry out as ron's
voice came through clearly on the other end of the phone. "harry, you're not going to
believe this. i got an e in potions!" he said angrily. "i got an e and now i can't take snape's
stupid n.e.w.t. class and i'll never be an auror!"
harry's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. ron had told him in a letter a few days
ago that both he and hermione had decided that they would be taking all the proper
n.e.w.t. classes to become an auror. he had been delighted at first, but the doubt that all
three of them would make the grades had been eating away at him. he heard struggling on
the other end of the phone and hermione was speaking to him again. "it's not over yet,
harry!" hermione cried. "we're going to contest it. mr. weasley has just sent an owl to that
old bat marchbanks at the ministry. and we still haven't talked to snape about it yet."
"talk to snape?" harry asked.
ron was back on the phone. "yeah, hermione's got this crazy idea that he may change his
o.w.l. standard for the class, but i hardly think he'd give me special attention."
harry felt a glimmer of hope somewhere. he felt a closer connection to snape, though he
didn't want to, ever since he'd seen a memory in his pensive. perhaps he could talk to
snape. maybe he could offer to help tutor ron - but he was no better at potions than ron,
especially when he was working in a classroom under snape's nose.
harry sighed. "i'm sure we can fix this." but he didn't quite believe it himself.
"that's not why we're calling. mum and dad had a great idea."
"what is it?" harry asked impatiently. his aunt and uncle were both hunched over his letter
on the table, and uncle vernon was touching it carefully with his fingertips as though it
were going to bite him.
"well, we thought it was about time that you came and stayed at the burrow. are you
ready to leave the dursleys?"
harry glanced up at his aunt and uncle who were still studying his o.w.l. letter. "definitely.
i'm ready."
"and the best part is that everybody's at the burrow right now," ron added.
"well, not everybody," hermione scoffed in the background.
"what do you mean, not everybody?" harry asked.
"percy," hermione answered, her voice angry. "he's not here." there was another struggle,
and harry heard hermione say, "the cord's tangled in my hair, ron!"
"sorry, 'mione. mum and dad want him to come back," ron said, "but fred and george
were against it. they said that they can't trust him and he needs to suffer a little before he
comes home."
harry hadn't thought much of percy after he'd written a nasty letter telling ron to ditch him
as a friend. but now the ministry understood that voldemort was back and they saw some
of the errors of their ways. he still wasn't sure if he was ready to forgive percy. harry
didn't know if he could ever trust him again.
ron sighed into the phone. "well, percy's always been a mindless git. he's practically
living at the office, beckoning to fudge's every need. i can't believe that dad actually has
lunch with that prat everyday."
"but he's apologized a thousand times!" hermione cried. "i mean, he's percy, ron. he's
your brother!"
"yeah, well you didn't get a nasty note telling you that your best friend was an insane
attention-seeker and that you should sever all ties with him."
"we all make mistakes, ron," hermione said.
"anyways, dad talked to fudge and they're going to let us borrow a car to come and pick
you up the day after tomorrow - if that's okay with your aunt and uncle," he added
quickly. harry gazed up at the two of them. they were still staring at the parchment, and
aunt petunia was mouthing the words defense against the dark arts with wide eyes.
"i think they'll be ready to be rid of me." and at those words, uncle vernon looked up gave
harry a nod of approval, not that harry needed it. he would never stay behind anyway.
"wicked," ron replied. "dad's going to show me how to drive a muggle car!"
"that's great," harry replied. there was a pang of jealousy inside of him. he wished that
sirius could have been around to show him how to drive. even uncle vernon had shown
dudley. who would teach him?
and then he scolded himself for thinking of such stupid things. there were a lot of more
important lessons for him to learn than how to drive some idiotic muggle invention. harry
guessed that most wizards didn't even know how to drive. they could ride their
broomsticks or use floo powder or portkeys. if they needed to travel disguised as a
muggle, there was always the underground or a cab. driving an automobile was clearly
not a vital skill he needed in his studies.
but it didn't make him want to learn it any less.
"are you still there, harry?" hermione questioned. it was her turn on the phone again.
"listen, we've got to go; these muggle telephone lines are only secure for so long. we'll be
seeing you the day after tomorrow then, all right?"
"right," harry replied firmly. "bye, hermione."
"bye harry!" both she and ron cried into the phone. it wasn't until he heard a click that he
pressed the "off" button on the cordless and put it down on the dining room table.
"what was that about?" uncle vernon demanded. "that call was far too long. we may have
to make you pay for it in your chores."
harry shrugged indifferently. "ron and mr. weasley are coming to pick me up at noon on
wednesday," he announced.
"good," uncle vernon said. then he seemed to reconsider, eyeing the fireplace. "er, how
were they planning to arrive?"
"they've borrowed a car," harry answered.
uncle vernon looked disgusted. "now what was this? and why was it addressed to us?" he
questioned, holding the letter in his hand and gesturing to aunt petunia.
"it's my o.w.l.s. my ordinary wizarding levels." when the two of them still looked
confused, he tried again. "my grades. i guess they were addressed to you so that the
ministry could make sure that the students are not hiding them from their par - their
guardians."
uncle vernon seemed to accept this. it must have made sense to him, which probably only
perplexed him. nothing about the wizarding world had ever made sense to the dursleys.
"i... i think i'll just head upstairs now," harry said quietly. "to bed."
"you do that," uncle vernon barked. "and i want that garden replanted before you leave on
wednesday!"
"yes sir," harry replied automatically. aunt petunia looked down at the table, almost as if
to suggest that harry finish his dinner. however, before she could say anything, he turned
on his heel and trudged upstairs. if there was anything he wasn't feeling right now, it was
hungry.
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves burrow oc clock
rating: r
summary: chapter three - back to the burrow: harry returns to the weasleys' home and
finds a surprise. (post ootp - harry's 6th year) harry is struggling between childhood
and manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his raging horomones aren't
helping the mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts, but
inside the walls of the school the battle lines are drawn. the students are forced to choose
between good and evil. in this fic, harry finds out what it's really like to be a best friend, a
true love, and a part of a family.
author notes: once again, i have no idea how the o.w.l. system works or anything about
6th year classes. this is just my own interpretation. if you want to be emailed when i
update, please let me know. you can leave a review or email me personally. thanks for
reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the next day moved rather quickly for harry. he'd spent most of the night before packing
up his things in eager anticipation of returning to the burrow. if there had been one place
that had ever felt like home to him - besides hogwarts - it would have to be the burrow.
and best of all, there were no memories of sirius there.
harry had spent most of the morning working in aunt petunia's garden, weeding out the
dandelions and planting seedlings in their place. she even took him with her to the flower
shop on the other side of town to pick up a special order of wildflowers from bermuda.
harry had the distinct impression he was being watched like a hawk in the store by the
young, yet familiar face of the store clerk. perhaps the rumors of his reputation as a
student of st. brutus's center had now reached the business district.
he found himself studying aunt petunia very closely as she drove back to privet drive. it
didn't look very difficult to shift between gears. in fact, harry thought it was a lot like
riding a broom. you had to step on the clutch before shifting just as you had to grip your
broomstick harder before speeding up. it made sense to him.
the thought of asking aunt petunia to teach him how to drive had crossed his mind, but as
soon as the idea had popped into his head he dismissed it. the very thought was
laughable, and his aunt would have no problem cackling in his face at such an absurd
request.
after he had finished with the garden, he slipped away to mrs. figg's house to say goodbye
and thank her for her company during the summer. lupin had moved on again, and tonks
was on watch duty for the day.
"now don't let what remus told you go to your head," she scolded. "i know you are not a
boy, but you are not yet a man. i know that's not what you want to hear, but it is the truth.
a boy doesn't change into a man overnight. you are in-between, harry. caught between
two worlds. don't let them get the better of you."
"remus doesn't know anything about what it takes to be a man," tonks spat. harry got the
distinct impression that there was more to her anger than just what he'd said to harry.
"he's a lousy one himself. don't listen to him, harry. when you're a man, you'll know. you
won't need him to tell you." then mrs. figg gave him one last pat on the back and shoved
him out the door so fast that harry was wondering whether he had been welcome in her
house at all.
the next day, uncle vernon had taken the day off work rather than leave aunt petunia alone
to meet ron and mr. weasley. dudley, however, was not hanging around. bad things tended
to happen to him whenever the weasleys were involved in picking harry up.
dudley had never talked to harry about the events of the previous summer. there was one
time when they had both arrived home early in the wee hours of the morning that dudley
looked as though he wanted to question harry about the dementors. he was probably still
convinced that it was something harry had done to him. however, he had reconsidered
and pushed harry over into the driveway so hard he'd skinned his arm on the cement.
uncle vernon was pacing the living room, his gaze never wavering from the picture
window. the driveway was empty. every time a car drove by and it wasn't the weasleys,
aunt petunia would make a clicking noise in the back of her throat and check the
grandfather clock near the doorway.
though harry now knew why he had to return to the dursleys every summer, he didn't find
it any more comforting. it was his family blood, used for protection. some sort of ancient
magic that it seemed voldemort didn't even understand. he wanted to ask his aunt about it
so bad that the question was burning on the tip of his tongue every afternoon they spent
alone together.
but he didn't care anymore. his time at the dursleys was over. and harry knew that if he
could be happy anywhere, it would be at the burrow.
a sleek black car pulled into the driveway. uncle vernon looked quite surprised as mr.
weasley stepped out of the car. "well, well, it looks like they're getting a little better at
this." mr. weasley was wearing a very fashionable gray pinstripe suit with a silk purple
tie. ron was wearing a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt as he followed his father to the
front door.
"oh! i've heard of these!" mr. weasley exclaimed. "they're called doorbells - an excellent
alarm system for announcing visitors!" harry quickly ran to the entrance just as he heard
mr. weasley whisper to ron, "am i supposed to push this button once, or a few times to
make sure they hear it?"
harry opened the door. "hello, harry!" mr. weasley greeted. "ready to go, then?"
"just need my trunk and hedwig," harry replied.
"i'll help," ron said and the two of them retreated to the hallway, where harry had his
things packed.
mr. weasley cleared his throat as uncle vernon and aunt petunia approached him carefully.
"how do you do, dursley?"
uncle vernon looked as though he had just smelled something rancid. "fine."
mr. weasley cleared his throat again in the awkward silence. "lovely weather today, isn't
it?"
uncle vernon didn't say anything. harry quickly walked between them with his trunk and
ron followed behind him with hedwig and her cage. "er... we'd better get going."
"righto, harry." mr. weasley said. "goodbye." he glared at harry's aunt and uncle. harry
feared for a moment that there was going to be another episode like when mr. weasley
picked him up for the quidditch world cup, and mr. weasley had demanded that they say
goodbye to harry. but this time, he didn't say anything.
"good - goodbye, harry," aunt petunia said quietly.
harry felt an odd lurch somewhere in his stomach. uncle vernon's face turned very, very
red and then very, very purple. "see you next summer, then," harry replied, and quickly
shut the front door, afraid that his uncle's screaming would disturb the entire
neighborhood.
ron eyed harry nervously as they made their way to the car and put harry's trunk inside.
"that was odd."
harry nodded in agreement. "these past four weeks haven't really been too terrible,
actually."
"you look good, harry," mr. weasley said. "they must have been feeding you properly."
"you look different," ron agreed. "in a good way, of course."
he could feel himself blushing. lupin had said the same thing. "i guess i've just done some
growing up, that's all."
"in more ways than one," mr. weasley added. he sighed and took the car keys out of his
back pocket. "now, i may regret doing this, but ron, i believe it is your turn to drive." a
giant grin broke out on to ron's face. "harry, i suggest you get in the backseat and fasten
your seat belt. tight," he added.
"you have nothing to worry about," ron announced. "i've drove before. it's not a big deal."
"this is a bit different than flying an anglia ," mr. weasley said. "there's no traffic in the
skies. there are, however, a lot of pedestrians and other cars on the road."
"pedestrians?"
"muggles," mr. weasley replied. "you know, people crossing the street."
"right," ron said.
"are we driving all the way to the burrow?" harry questioned. ottery st. catchpole was
quite a ways away from privet drive.
"no, just to london," mr. weasley replied, "if we don't crash first."
the three of them made it to london without incident. ron was feeling very smug with
himself by the end of the drive. mr. weasley asked harry if he'd like to give it a try, but
harry refused. it didn't feel right. he tried to remind himself of how he'd felt when dudley
was out riding around with his friends. a car was nothing compared to flying on his
firebolt.
from the ministry, they traveled by floo powder to the burrow. harry's trunk unbalanced
him and he nearly fell out of the fireplace, but he had managed to collect himself and
moved out of the way before ron arrived with hedwig.
"harry!" hermione cried, rushing over to him and giving him a hug. "how was your
summer?"
"all right," harry said honestly. "how was yours?"
"amazing," hermione replied. "my parents took me to new york for a week. it was one of
the most beautiful cities i've ever seen!"
"who knew dentists were so well-traveled?" ron laughed, wiping some soot off his
shoulders.
"welcome back, harry!" mrs. weasley greeted as she hustled into the room. without
warning, she threw her arms around harry in a fierce hug. harry was thrown off-balance.
mrs. weasley had always treated him like one of her own. when mr. weasley had been in
st. mungo's last year, she pulled him into the room with the "family only" restriction. he
felt awkward about it then, and he still wasn't quite sure about how he felt as a surrogate
member of the already full weasley family.
"now, molly, don't crowd him," mr. weasley scolded.
"sorry, dear. it's just so good to see you. you look wonderful."
"er, thanks," harry replied. an unsettling silence filled the air. everyone was staring at him
again. had he really changed that much? he was just about to make an excuse to leave the
room - anything to get so many pairs of eyes off of him - when the enchanted grandfather
clock in the corner of the room caught his eye.
the clock was a great magical relic. it didn't tell the time, but had nine hands for each
member of the weasley family. there were no numbers, but it had things like "home,"
"school," "work," and "mortal peril" where the numbers would be. harry realized that
every hand but percy's was pointing at "home," which was an odd coincidence. why were
bill and charlie home? but what was even more startling was that he now counted ten
hands on the clock. he had his own hand and it was also pointing at "home."
harry was shocked. home? was the burrow really his home? the only place he'd ever felt
really at home was at hogwarts. but the burrow was ron's home; it wasn't his. and it
wasn't that the weasleys weren't great to him, it was just that he would never really quite
fit in the family full of redheads.
"about the clock, dear..." mrs. weasley said. "i hope you don't mind."
harry smiled. "no, not at all." he was actually feeling flattered that they cared enough.
"yeah, harry's in mortal peril so often anyways," ginny said, joining them in the living
room. harry didn't look at her. he felt ashamed. he didn't want anyone fussing over him.
"well, i'm afraid that you lot are never far behind him," mrs. weasley said sadly. harry
remembered when she was trying to battle a boggart last year at grimmauld place, and
each time she tried to get rid of it, she would see another one of her children dead.
the sad truth was that harry always did put his friends in danger, and that he always felt
the need to rescue them, whether it was in their best interest or not. and a lot of his
friends happened to be members of the weasley family.
hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably. "did you bring your n.e.w.t. form?"
"my what?"
"that form that you got with your o.w.l. letter. we need to sign up for our classes and send
the letters back before the end of the week."
"hermione, i'm sure harry doesn't want to do that right now," ron said.
"actually, i did have a few things i wanted to ask you about this year," harry said. there
had been questions brewing in his mind ever since he got his o.w.l. results.
"that's a good idea," mrs. weasley said. "dinner will be ready in a flash. why don't all of
you sit down at the kitchen table and get to work on your letters? fred and george will
take your trunk up to ron's room and i'll go let hedwig out."
ron let out a groan as the three of them went into the kitchen and took a seat at the big
oak table. harry saw that outside, bill, charlie, and ginny, were setting up a large table for
dinner. harry remembered his first time at the burrow, the summer before his second year,
when the entire weasley family had been together for one meal. it had been one of the
most comfortable moments of his life.
ron retrieved his letter from a nearby countertop and plopped into a chair beside harry.
"why is everybody here?" harry asked.
"what do you mean?" ron said, flipping over his results.
"i mean, why are bill and charlie home? does it have something to do with the order?"
ron grinned. "no. it's just because it's summer holiday. that's all."
hermione scoffed. "doesn't it feel rather weird without percy?"
"i'd say it feels very relaxed without that traitor," george spat, apparating in the chair next
to her. he looking very slick a dragon hide coat. he seemed to be growing out his hair like
bill's, as it was rather long compared to fred's.
"he's not a traitor. everybody makes mistakes."
"don't stick up for him, hermione," ron said.
"well somebody ought to!" she cried. "he can't speak for himself when he's not even
welcome in his own home."
"oh he's welcome," george said. "he's welcome to come home and explain himself to me."
"and me," fred added as he entered the kitchen.
"why don't you two go outside and help ginny with the table settings?" mrs. weasley said.
it was more a command than a request, and, quite reluctantly, the twins headed outside
into the backyard. "i'm sorry, harry," mrs. weasley apologized. "things are a bit... fierce
around here lately." and with a sad sigh, she followed the twins outside.
"if anybody should be apologizing, it's percy," ron muttered. "the way he treated mum
and dad... it still gets me riled up." there was a hint of heat in his cheeks as he slammed
his fist on the table. hermione made a clicking sound of disapproval in the back of her
throat, but said nothing.
the screen door opened and slammed shut in the kitchen and ginny walked in. harry
glanced up at her. she looked different too. her hair was longer and curlier - and even
redder, if that was possible. she was taller, and it looked as though her hips had filled out
a little.
she was staring back at harry with a mirrored expression of interest on her face. harry was
suddenly very glad for all those anger management sessions he'd spent boxing in the
dursleys' basement. "hello, harry!" she greeted. "how was your summer holiday?"
"it was fine," he answered, finding his voice. "er, how was yours?"
"uneventful," she replied, eying him up and down. there was a spark in her eyes that he
hadn't noticed before. "well, i just came in to grab some napkins." she held up some
squares of cloth, then headed back out the door.
harry turned back to the table, and ron was grinning madly away. "d'you like ginny?" he
asked. hermione immediately kicked him under the table, but it was too late, the question
had already been asked.
"of course i like ginny," harry replied. "but not... not like that."
"why not?" ron questioned, looking offended. "is she not good enough? pretty enough? i
know she's not cho, but..."
wanting to immediately steer the subject of the conversation away from cho chang, harry
interrupted, "isn't she going out with dean?"
ron laughed. "harry, that was just something she said to get me riled up on the train ride
home," he said. "she didn't really choose dean. it was just a joke."
"shows what you know," hermione declared. ron looked shocked, but before he could say
anything, hermione lifted a hand to silence him. "what kind of questions did you have
about the letter, harry?"
harry thought back to two nights before, when he had re-read his o.w.l. results in his
bedroom. "the form is easy enough to fill out," he said, "but i don't understand. why do
we only sign up for five classes? won't we have loads of free time?"
"we have loads of free time because we have loads of homework," hermione answered.
"twice the homework, twice as difficult. if you thought last year was bad, sixth year is
even worse."
"some people - like fred and george - only take four classes," ron said.
"but if we're going to be aurors," hermione said quietly, "we're going to need at least five
n.e.w.t.s, which means we need five classes. i thought about taking six, but i don't want to
stretch myself too thin."
"oh, what's the point?" ron said helplessly. "i'm not even going to get to take snape's
stupid potions class. maybe it's a sign i should give up."
"do you really want to be an auror, ron?" hermione demanded. "i mean, do you really
want to, or are you just saying that because harry and i want to?"
ron frowned. "what kind of question is that? of course i want to be an auror!"
"then stop whining!" hermione cried. "this will work out, i know it will. but in the
meantime, you should figure out what classes you're going to take."
"yeah, 'cause i'm going to take the same ones as you," harry muttered. "except potions, of
course." it was hard to picture being in potions without ron. snape would have to take him
into the n.e.w.t. class. he had to.
"well, mcgonagall told me that students who aspired to be future aurors needed at least
five classes, and four of them had to be potions, transfiguration, defense against the dark
arts, and charms." hermione produced a quill from somewhere and began checking off
the classes on her form. "oh dear, i guess this comes down to choosing between taking
ancient runes and arithmacy."
"i'm not taking either of those," ron said quickly. "i was thinking more along the lines of
care of magical creatures or something."
"all three of you should take muggle studies," mr. weasley said, entering the room,
leading some chairs outside with his wand. "especially this year." harry watched as the
chairs danced out the door and into place at the huge table, which mrs. weasley was now
filling with food.
"hey, that's a great idea!" ron said. "muggle studies is an easy class - it's an easy good
grade."
"but can we take muggle studies? we've never had that class before," harry said,
frowning.
"sure we can." ron pointed at the form. "it says the only requirement is an o.w.l. we
passed a lot of o.w.l.s. we definitely qualify. and besides, you've lived as a muggle with
the dursleys - you'll have no problem."
harry considered it. any class where a grade was easy sounded too good to be true. but
maybe ron was right. he'd lived as a muggle for the first eleven years of his life; learning
about it all over again wouldn't be that hard. "i'm in," harry said.
"excellent. what do you say, 'mione?" ron asked.
"no way," she replied. "both my parents are muggles. i wouldn't learn a thing."
"that's the beauty of it!" ron said. "just think: an exam you don't have to study for."
"no thanks. i think i'll stick to a real education, thank you very much."
harry looked at his own form and checked off the classes he wanted to take. it would be
odd, not having care of magical creatures with hagrid, or sleeping through a lesson on the
history of magic with the ghostly professor binns. "do you think hagrid will mind we're
not taking his class?" harry asked.
ron shook his head. "it's only a year off. wait 'til seventh."
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves burrow oc birthday
rating: r
summary: chapter four - ginny's ambush: harry spends his birthday in awkward
company. (post ootp - harry's 6th year) harry is struggling between childhood and
manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his raging horomones aren't helping
the mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts, but inside the
walls of the school the battle lines are drawn. the students are forced to choose between
good and evil. in this fic, harry finds out what it's really like to be a best friend, a true
love, and a part of a family.
author notes: this is by no means a harry/ginny fic. please do not stop reading this fic
because of what happens in this chapter. and please do not stop reading this fic because of
what i just said. ^_^ as always, please review, and email me (spazzoid3@yahoo.com) if
you'd like to be notified when i update. and special thanks to denny for her research on
the flavors of skiving snackboxes.
chapter four: ginny's ambush

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the first thing harry noticed about the weasley dining table was that it had an extra place
setting. he thought that maybe it was for percy, but when the family actually gathered
around the meal outside, he was glad to see someone else occupied it.
fleur delacour, the gorgeous fair-haired beauty and graduate of beauxbatons academy,
took the extra seat at the table. she was flashing a magnificent engagement ring on her
left hand. the diamond was large and cut into the shape of a dragon.
bill was sitting next to her, a smile constantly plastered on his face. "she didn't work on
her 'eeenglish' much," ron whispered to harry, "but she sure did learn how to work one
over on bill."
harry thought for sure that the diamond on fleur's finger brought out the veela in her,
because as he ate, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. she was absolutely stunning.
he noticed that she had the same effect on the twins, and that both ginny and hermione
didn't pay much attention when she spoke. they would glare at her when she wasn't
looking, though.
harry told mrs. weasley that the meal was excellent. the family sat around listening to
stories from bill and charlie's adventures. bill worked for the wizarding bank, gringotts,
and charlie worked in africa with dragons. both jobs seemed very exciting to harry, but
both of their tales had convinced him that he still wanted to be an auror. bill admitted that
there was a lot of paperwork with his job and charlie said that even he spent most of his
time recovering from dragon wounds.
as the sun disappeared beneath the western horizon, harry sleepily noticed the shuffle of
plates and food being finished off or wrapped up to be sent into the house. with the
distraction, ron caught harry's attention. "you and gin should go for an after-supper walk,"
he suggested quietly. "to help your digestion."
harry frowned. "just what are you up to, ron? trying to play matchmaker?" he hissed. and
harry knew that walking around with a girl who had previously had a crush on him would
not do anything but make his digestion much more painful.
"harry, dear," mrs. weasley said, "would you mind helping ginny put the table back into
the shed?" she pulled her wand out of her apron pocket and with a mere mutter of a spell
and a flick of her wand, all the food was wrapped tightly in the tablecloth, which mr.
weasley threw over his back like a knapsack and carried into the house.
"looks like mum's going to play matchmaker for me." ron chuckled and followed
hermione inside, but only after giving him a wink.
harry was startled to suddenly find himself alone in the dark with ginny weasley.
silently, the two of them folded up the large table and hauled it inside the small shed in
the weasley's backyard. harry was glad it was dark, because then she wouldn't notice he
was sweating in the cool night. whether it was from putting the table away or being
around ginny, he wasn't sure.
ginny closed the shed door and locked it with the padlock. the two of them stood in the
quiet darkness for a moment. harry cleared his throat. "well, we'd better get inside." he
took a step towards the house when he suddenly felt ginny clasp his hand and pull her
towards him.
"what's the rush?" she asked coyly. he could see her brown eyes gleaming in the
moonlight.
harry gulped. this was not happening. last year, ginny was very much over her childhood
crush on him. why was she suddenly trying to resurrect it? things were uncomfortable
enough between them already.
"are you afraid of me, harry?" ginny asked, letting go of his hand.
he thought for a moment. "no, just girls in general."
ginny giggled. "that could be a problem."
harry sighed. "look, ginny, i don't know what's going on here, but..." his voice trailed off.
could he really tell his best friend's little sister that he had no feelings for her at all? the
absolute truth, he was almost positive, would hurt ginny. and as much as he wanted her to
be done with him, he didn't want to break her heart.
suddenly, he was very aware of her breathing. she turned towards him, and he could once
again see that spark in her eyes that he'd missed all those years before. and without
warning, without even time to react or move or push her away, she grabbed the sides of
his head and laid her lips on his in a fierce and clumsy kiss.
what the hell is she doing?
after what felt like five minutes in an uncomfortable lip-lock, ginny pulled away from
him. her cheeks were flushed and she was gasping for breath. she was silent for a
moment, and appeared to contemplating something. "harry, you have nothing to worry
about," she said breathlessly, then turned on her heel and sauntered into the house, her red
hair bobbing behind her.
nothing to worry about? if anything, ginny's goodnight kiss gave him a whole new set of
worries.
harry didn't sleep well that night. he kept having visions of ginny sneaking into ron's
room and ambushing him. his insides were churning from the amazing dinner. he guessed
he must have eaten too much, but whatever it was, he didn't fall into a heavy sleep until
sometime after the first rays of light streamed through the windows in ron's bedroom.
when he finally woke up for good, ron's light snores were gone and harry was in his
bedroom alone. he glanced at his new watch. it was already ten-thirty. embarrassed about
sleeping in, he quickly got dressed. he attempted to do something with his hair to make it
lie flat, but it was a hopeless case. he slipped his glasses. this is as good as it's going to
get.
he caught his reflection in ron's full-length mirror. he had to admit that he did look good
in his new muggle clothes. it was nice to have jeans that fit him properly and shirts that
didn't wind down to his knees. he couldn't help but notice how much he looked like his
father, especially after the way his body had changed over the summer. except for her
startling green eyes and the scar on his forehead, he looked exactly like james did when
he was fifteen.
no wonder snape hates me so much, harry thought bitterly.
without taking any more time to ponder his appearance, he quietly slipped out of ron's
bedroom and into the burrow's narrow stairwell. it was eerily quiet in the house. there
was no howling from the ghoul in the attic or explosions from fred and george's bedroom.
he felt a shiver down his spine. maybe something terrible had happened?
but as harry climbed further and further down the stairs, he suddenly came to the
realization that today was his sixteenth birthday. before he hit the bottom landing he
broke into a jog. when he reached the kitchen, he was greeted by glowing faces and the
delicious smell of pancakes and pies.
"surprise!"
mrs. weasley, ron, hermione, ginny, and lupin were gathered around the kitchen table.
there was a stack of presents next to an empty chair at the head of the table.
"happy birthday, harry," mrs. weasley said, getting up from her seat and hugging him
tightly.
"thanks," harry replied automatically. "what's all this for?"
"why, it's the beginning of your all-day birthday party!" mrs. weasley exclaimed. "we all
thought it was about time that you celebrate your birthday with a properly, and not alone
with your wretched aunt and uncle." she hurried over to the stove and picked up a tea
kettle. "it was ginny's idea, actually."
somehow, that didn't surprise harry. he glanced over at her. she smiled sheepishly.
"come and have a seat," lupin said, patting the empty chair next to him. he was looking a
little better than the few days before. harry wondered, briefly, why he was here and then
he realized that everyone just assumed that lupin was to take sirius's place in his life.
harry felt a rush of anger inside of him, but quickly let it go. the weasleys had gone to all
trouble of throwing him a party; he wasn't about to let his temper ruin it.
harry sat down in the vacant seat. "where is everybody else?"
"arthur and charlie went off to the ministry - i daresay that they'll be having a chat with
percy." mrs. weasley bit her lower lip as she filled harry's mug with tea. "fred and george
are gone to their shop in diagon alley," she said with a bit of resentment in her voice.
harry wondered, feeling guilty, if she new yet about where the funds had come from him
for the twins' joke shop, but she didn't give a second glance to harry as she filled remus's
cup. "and bill and fleur have gone off sightseeing."
"i doubt they'll be seeing much other than each other," ron said. ginny stifled a laugh.
"they were here earlier, dear," mrs. weasley said, "but i'm afraid you just slept in too late.
how did you sleep, by the way? ron said that you'd been tossing and turning until
morning."
"er, well, i... i slept all right," harry lied. he didn't know what to say. he tried very hard not
to make eye contact with ginny. it was her fault he couldn't sleep, after all.
he suddenly felt a hand on his arm and looked up. professor lupin was staring at his scar,
concerned. "any... funny dreams lately?" he questioned.
again, harry felt ashamed. his stupid scar. he hated the lines of worry all over lupin's face.
"no, prof - remus. i didn't have any dreams about him. i guess i just ate too much, that's
all."
"oh dear," mrs. weasley said. "well, i hope you're hungry now. we've got poached eggs
and pancakes and a few mince pies." she gestured to the table full of food.
"don't worry mum, i'm starved," ron announced. "i'll eat harry's portion."
not wanting to be rude, and actually feeling emptiness in the pit of his stomach, he raised
his plate and helped himself to some pancakes. "no way, ron. i think i'll be able to eat my
own portion, thank you very much."
mrs. weasley looked pleased as everyone dug into breakfast. harry found that he was
quite hungry, and it did turn out to be a very nice birthday breakfast. remus told some
stories about when he went into a muggle pet store and saw some of the vile treats they
had for dogs. "imagine - bones that claim to whiten a mutt's teeth." mrs. weasley even
talked about how everyone at the ministry loved fred and george's new joke shop. harry
was glad to see she was taking their business venture lightly.
"are we going to get to visit the joke shop before the term starts?" harry asked eagerly.
"i'm afraid not," mrs. weasley answered. "george and fred have run into some problems.
they may not be open for a while."
"what problems?"
"stupid zonko's," ron replied. "they think that fred and george stole their idea for the fake
wands. they were working on a prototype that turned into a rooster while fred and
george's turned into hens." he shook his head in disbelief. "now they're being investigated
by the department of magical law enforcement until further notice."
"they've been spending day and night cleaning up the store to be perfect for the inspection
next month," ginny said.
"but maybe at christmastime, dear," mrs. weasley suggested.
harry couldn't help but smile. so he wouldn't have to spend another lonely christmas at
hogwarts, either. he would have a proper christmas celebration too.
after another cup of tea, harry opened his birthday gifts. he received a giant bag of bertie
blotts every flavor beans from mr. and mrs. weasley, and an "i love new york" t-shirt from
hermione. "it's what all the tourist muggles in america were wearing," she added
excitedly.
ginny gave him a patch in the shape of the gryffindor lion to put on his quidditch bag. ron
got him some of fred and george's skiving snackboxes. he got a few of all four flavors:
fever fudge, fainting fancies, puking pastilles, and nosebleed nougat. "for one of those
days when mcgonagall's voice is just too annoying to handle," ron whispered, avoiding
looks of annoyance from his mother. the twins themselves got him a sweatshirt
supporting the puddlemere united quidditch team, who their old captain, oliver wood,
played for.
there were also a few gifts from owls that had arrived earlier that morning. dobby the
house-elf had given him a scarf with gryffindor colors. apparently he was really
improving on his knitting skills. hagrid had given him a case of honeydukes chocolate,
with an odd letter on the inside.
"what's it say?" ron asked, watching harry with anticipation.
"it says that the other half of my gift is waiting for me at hogwarts. she's waiting for me
at hogwarts." confused, harry read the letter again.
"she?" hermione questioned. "oh no, you don't think it's some kind of animal, do you?"
ron shrugged. "what else could it be? i bet he got you your very own blast-ended skrewt."
they all laughed at the joke, however, harry felt a little uneasy about the idea of hagrid
giving him a pet. but the best gift was from remus. he got harry a small, white, glowing
orb that fit into the palm of his hand. it reminded harry of a miniature crystal ball. "what's
this?"
"hold it up to your eye," remus said.
harry hesitated for a moment, and then lifted the small white orb to his right eye. his
glasses got in the way, so he quickly took them off and used his good eye to peer inside
the globe, as though looking through a telescope. at first, he didn't see anything except
bright light, but then a light gray circle appeared inside of the globe.
"it's a moon guide. it tells you when the full moon is going to be. the darker the circle
gets, the closer to the full moon," remus explained. "and when it gets black, well... that's
the night."
harry grinned. "wicked. thanks, remus." he leaned over and gave remus a hug. and
somehow, it felt natural.
in odd ways, remus did remind harry of sirius. both were built about the same, though
remus was thinner around the full moon. remus had long hair, but it was curly at the ends.
sirius's hair had been straight and jet-black. both of them had dark eyes. but the most
familiar thing about remus was that when he hugged harry, it felt a lot like he was
hugging sirius. and he found comfort in this, though it did make a lump swell in the back
of his throat.
"well, now that all the gifts have been opened," mrs. weasley said, "why don't you all go
outside and find something to do while i clean this place up."
"i'll help," hermione offered, but mrs. weasley held up a hand to silence her.
"no, dear, it'll only take me a minute. go on now, all of you. the summer holiday won't
last forever." and with a playful shove, ginny and hermione left the kitchen.
"hey, harry, you should get your broom," ron suggested. "we could work on some
quidditch."
"sounds great," harry replied. "i'll run up to my room and get it." he turned and began to
sprint up the stairway to ron's room, when he heard footsteps behind him. he turned to
find remus following him.
"about that moon guide, harry," he said, "there's something else it does. though i didn't
know if it would be wise for everybody to know about it." he glanced down the stairs.
"it's been bewitched to do something else as well. can i see it?"
"sure." harry pulled the orb out of his pocket, where he had put it for safekeeping.
remus took it from him, produced his wand from his pocket, and said quietly, "i solemnly
swear i only want to watch." the orb glowed brighter for a moment, and then he handed it
back to harry. the words he spoke reminded harry of a similar item that lupin had been
associated with: the marauder's map. "now look inside."
harry slipped his glasses off again and peered inside the orb. he gasped. now he could see
remus and himself, standing on the second floor landing of the weasley's staircase.
"wow," harry breathed. "this is amazing. how - how does it work?"
remus slipped his hand along the collar of his shirt and pulled out a chain. there was an
even smaller orb attached to it. "it's sort of a... surveillance item. when i wear this, you
can see me. anytime you're wondering what i'm up to, you can use this."
harry was taken aback. remus must really trust him to give him such a gift. "remus, are
you sure i should have this?"
"the person who had it before you, well, she didn't want it anymore," he said bitterly.
"who?" harry asked. she?
lupin smiled sadly and ignored his question. he took the orb back from harry. "now, to
turn it off, all you need to say is, 'i have seen all there is to be seen.'" remus flicked his
wand again, and the orb seemed to dim. he handed it back to harry with a wink. "it's
another gift from the messengers mooney, wormtail, padfoot, and progs."
harry grinned. "thank you so much, remus. but isn't this sort of, well, an invasion of
privacy?"
"if i'm doing something i don't want you to see, i'll be sure to take the chain off," remus
laughed. "now, i don't think you should go around telling people what i gave you, but i
trust ron and hermione. as for young ginny..."
"don't worry, remus," harry said, his stomach forming knots at the mention of her name.
"this gift is safe with me."
"good. i knew i could count on you. now how about that game of quidditch?"
chapter five: sweet sixteen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
harry and ron practiced their quidditch moves so intensely that even oliver wood would
have been proud. it was only at lunchtime when mrs. weasley stopped them that they had
time to catch their breath.
everyone returned home shortly after lunch. bill, fleur, charlie, and ginny joined harry and
ron in the air. when the twins came back from diagon alley, they got out their clubs, and it
wasn't before long that there was a quidditch match in the weasley's backyard. even
remus and mr. weasley found some old shooting star brooms and took to the skies. mrs.
weasley was refereeing, but hermione sat in a grassy patch near the makeshift hoops,
reading a copy of the daily prophet.
"c'mon, hermione!" ron cried from his position as keeper, not too above her head. "i'm
sure dad would give you a few minutes on his broom. maybe we could even dig out
another one from somewhere in the attic."
"no thank you," she replied. "i think i'll just stay on the ground."
"oh, don't be such a spoil sport, hermione," ron scolded. "i've always wanted to see how
good you'd be at quidditch."
"no thank you," hermione repeated.
"are you scared?" ron taunted. "afraid that i might be better at something than you are?"
"no," hermione said. "in fact, i know that there are things you're better at than i am."
"like what?" ron questioned, genuinely curious, swooping down to hermione's level.
"like making a fool of yourself," she said, pointing at charlie as he hit the quaffle through
one of the hoops ron was supposed to be guarding. he cursed, glaring at hermione.
"hey, ron!" bill called from the other side of the field. "stop flirting and start playing your
position!"
red-faced and at a loss for words, ron retreated to the safety of guarding the hoops. harry,
however, was way up in the air, keeping his eyes peeled for the golden snitch. ginny was
not far behind him. he wondered if she was planning on trying out for the quidditch team
again. she mentioned something last year about one of the vacant chaser spots.
harry couldn't wait to be back on the gryffindor house team. this ruddy quidditch game
was not like one at hogwarts, but he didn't care. it had been so long since he'd been on a
broom that he couldn't think of a better way to spend his birthday.
there was only one injury: george hit bill square in the face with a bludger when he was
watching fleur score a goal to pay him back for teasing ron. after a few laughs from the
game below, harry finally spotted the snitch glinting in the sunlight above the shed.
in a flash, harry took off and gained some speed as he chased after the snitch. he was
vaguely aware of ginny behind him, working her way up to his level. he thought, briefly,
of letting her grab the snitch and take the win. but it was his birthday, and he knew that if
he let her win, ginny would be insulted.
harry was closing in on the snitch. five yards. three yards. four feet. and in a matter of
seconds, his fingers had closed around the wiggling snitch, and the game was over.
ron, fred, bill, and remus cheered as harry soared to the ground. they all patted him on the
back as mr. weasley broke out into a round of for he's a jolly good fellow. charlie tousled
his hair a little and laughed. "lucky catch, hey potter?"
ginny came over to harry and shook his hand. "i thought it was only right to let you catch
it," she said, grinning. "it being your birthday and all."
"sure you did." harry smiled. things didn't feel too awkward now. in fact, he felt a lot
better than he did the day before. maybe it was because it was his birthday, or because
he'd wasted an entire afternoon playing nothing but quidditch, or perhaps because remus
was around. either way, harry didn't care. maybe being an honorary weasley wouldn't be
as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. maybe he did fit in a family somewhere.
after another dinner spent dining outside, mrs. weasley brought out a homemade cake
with why can't'ya blow 'em out? candles, an experimental product from the twins. as hard
as he tried, harry couldn't them out, and was actually quite winded from his endeavor.
ultimately, the candles lit the frosting on fire and mr. weasley managed to save the cake,
although it did taste a bit like charcoal. however, harry enjoyed it nevertheless.
to make up for the cake, fred and george got out some of their weasleys' wildfire whiz-
bangs. the enchanted fireworks paraded through the yard. there was a set of long-tailed
rockets that emitted brilliant pink sparks. everyone sat around "oohing" and "ahhing"
with delight. then somebody brought out the wizard's wireless, a device like a muggle
radio, and turned it on so that the music filled the backyard.
mrs. weasley, looking a bit flushed from after dinner drinks, smiled brightly at harry. "so
harry, are you sweet sixteen and never been kissed?"
"what?"
ron laughed. "no, he's been kissed."
if looks could kill, harry would have been spending the rest of his natural life in azkaban
from the look he shot ron.
"ooh," fleur cooed. "who 'ave you keessed, 'arry?"
the last thing harry wanted on his sixteenth birthday was to be discussing his love life
with her. he shrugged. "well, you kissed me. after the second task."
"oh yeah," ron said. "that's right. hey bill, i got a kiss from fleur long before you did."
bill cast a suspicious look at fleur, but harry could see his eyes were still smiling. "what's
this all about?"
"zat was not a real keess," fleur replied immediately. "it z'was only on ze cheek."
"i suppose," harry agreed. then hermione would have kissed both him and ron loads of
times.
"so who was it, harry?" mrs. weasley questioned. "you've got to tell us."
"well, i... i sort of had a thing with cho chang last year..." his voice trailed off. harry tried
desperately not to look at ginny. there was no way he'd mention that he'd kissed her only
the day before. he was very glad that he hadn't felt the need to confess to ron last night
that ginny had kissed him.
"cho?" fred said suddenly. "you kissed her?"
harry felt george pat him on the back. "impressive. she's absolutely gorgeous, and what a
great pair of... ouch!" mr. weasley had reached over and slapped him on the back of the
head. "i was going to say eyes! i swear!"
everybody at the table laughed. "anybody else, harry dear?" mrs. weasley asked.
mr. weasley stood up as the song on the wireless changed. "molly, i believe this is our
song."
"what are you talking about arthur? you know perfectly well..." but she stopped objecting
as mr. weasley took her by both hands and led her to an open space near the garden. the
two of them began dancing.
harry breathed a sigh of relief. he had a feeling that if mr. weasley knew that ginny had
ambushed him last night and kissed him, there would be nothing he could say that would
stop him from beating the life out of harry.
bill and fleur joined mr. and mrs. weasley, and harry suddenly felt the same anxiety he'd
had at the yule ball during his fourth year at hogwarts. surely, not everyone was going to
pair up. there weren't enough girls. and he couldn't help but notice that he, besides lupin,
was the only guy at the burrow who wasn't related to ginny.
he glanced in ginny's direction, but she was talking animatedly to fred and george while
pointing at the fireworks. there was a sparkling rocket still dancing around in the sunset.
harry caught ron looking in hermione's direction. when she turned to him, he looked
away, a hint of red in his cheeks. ron wasn't the most charming when it came to things of
a romantic nature. hermione looked away, and then ron turned to look back at her. harry
was just about to shout at the two of them to get a room, when ron said hoarsely. "d'you
want to dance, 'mione?"
hermione's head turned, and she held out a hand for him to take. "it's about time you
asked, you stupid prat," she said affectionately. when ron pulled her closer to him, harry
thought he could hear her say, "i've only been waiting since the yule ball."
harry felt a pang of jealousy in his gut, along with some apprehension. seeing hermione
and ron together stirred up feelings inside of him that he didn't know he had. but it also
made him squirm at the thought of being romantic with a girl. having to dance with her,
having to hold her hand. granted, he didn't have much experience, however he had never
been comfortable enough with a girl to really take any romantic gestures in stride.
"women," remus said, plopping into ron's vacant seat next to harry. "who needs 'em?"
"exactly what i say, remus," charlie agreed, sitting on harry's other side. "can't live with
them, better off without them."
harry grinned. the two of them were reading his mind. he just couldn't believe that all the
effort one needed to put into a romantic relationship was really worth the outcome. "so
bill and fleur are really getting married, huh?"
"yeah, probably this time next year," charlie replied, leaning back in his chair with his
arms crossed behind his head. "marriage. the mere thought makes me want to run away.
lifelong bachelorhood sounds like a good thing to me."
lupin laughed. harry had never really thought about being married before. hell, he didn't
even know if he'd live to be seventeen, let alone to get married.
"it's a waste of a man's time," remus growled. "you spend day and night thinking of them,
being with them, and in the end, you end up alone and poor." harry laughed, but he had
the sneaking suspicion that remus was speaking from experience.
"take it from us, harry," charlie said, "you don't need to be in love to be happy."
harry watched the couples dance. bill was twirling fleur with flair. mr. and mrs. weasley
looked like they were attempting to tango. hermione seemed to be leading a flat-footed
ron to the music. "but ron's not in love."
"no, he's not in love," charlie answered. "but look at him. he's totally whipped."
***
the end of the summer holiday moved quickly for harry since he'd been staying at the
burrow. remus visited him off and on, though harry suspected it had as much to do with
giving messages about the order of the phoenix to mr. and mrs. weasley as it had to do
with visiting him. he did enjoy the company, however.
there was not much news about voldemort. harry got the impression that he was lying low
again, waiting to spring his death eaters out of azkaban now that the dementors had
deserted the wizarding prison. there was one night when mr. and mrs. weasley, as well as
bill and charlie, had gone out and fleur was left at home to "baby-zit," as she put it. harry
was almost positive that there was a meeting of the order. he wondered where the meeting
was, or maybe even if he would be able to spy in on it with remus's birthday gift.
however, he didn't bother trying because he knew that remus wouldn't be so careless as to
leave it on during a meeting.
but sirius would have been, harry thought with a sad smile.
after receiving their letters of school supplies from hogwarts, they had all taken a trip to
diagon alley to buy school supplies, and harry got to see the outside of weasleys'
wizarding wheezes, located at number ninety-three. it was painted a brilliant shade of red
that matched the twins' hair. there was a sign on the door that said "closed: by order of the
department of magical law enforcement."
and before harry had time to catch his breath, the morning when they had to catch the
hogwarts express rolled around. mrs. weasley opened the door to ron's bedroom and
yelled at them to wake up and get some breakfast before they missed the train.
there was a lot of commotion at the window, and harry rolled over to see ron reaching for
a hooting pigwidgeon, who could barely contain his excitement as ron untied a letter
from the owl's foot. "knock it off, pig," ron muttered sleepily. "blimey, my hands don't
work this early in the morning."
harry consulted his watch on the bed table beside him. "actually, it's not that early. it's
already ten o'clock."
"ten o'clock?!" ron cried. "i've still got to pack my broom!" he dismissed pigwidgeon
with an owl treat and took off downstairs in his pajamas.
harry quickly dressed and made his bed. he searched ron's room for anything that might
be his, but most of clutter was ron's. harry couldn't imagine having enough possessions
that he had to leave some of them behind while he went to hogwarts.
with a small amount of sentiment, harry said goodbye to ron's bedroom and pulled his
trunk downstairs. he went to the kitchen windowsill and collected hedwig. she had
enjoyed the free roaming at the burrow and was a little reluctant to get back in her cage.
but harry assured her that he was only taking her to hogwarts, where she'd be free to hunt
all night again.
harry took a seat at the kitchen table and grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it, then
helped himself to a glass of orange juice. hermione sat down in the seat next to him.
"good morning," she said brightly. harry thought that the first day back at hogwarts was
her favorite day of the year - except for the first day of exam week.
"morning," he replied, eagerly eating his toast.
"all set?" she questioned. harry nodded. "where's ron?"
harry gestured outside to where ron was sprinting outside of the shed in the backyard,
carrying his broomstick. he was still wearing his pajamas when he rounded back into the
house.
"he's running a bit behind schedule," harry replied, grinning.
somehow, harry, hermione, ginny, ron, and mrs. weasley managed to make it out of the
house and to king's cross station with only five minutes to spare. they had squeezed all of
their belongings onto two trolleys. ron was steering one, harry the other. they loitered
between platforms nine and ten for a moment, until mrs. weasley whispered, "all right,
ron, you go first with hermione." she gave both of them a hug.
as inconspicuously as possible, ron and hermione both ran at the pillar that stood between
the two platforms and disappeared inside. mrs. weasley leaned over and gave ginny a
kiss. "have a good year, gin," she whispered. "be sure to write. i'll see you at christmas."
then she turned to harry. "and you too dear. don't be afraid to send and owl now and then.
and be good," she added. she slipped harry a kiss on his cheek and told them to go ahead.
"need a hand with the cart?" ginny asked.
"no, i've got it," he replied. harry took a deep breath. "ready?" ginny nodded. the two of
them took off at top speed towards the pillar, when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye,
harry saw a woman take a step in his path. he quickly swerved to the side, his shoulder
brushing against the hard brick wall and ripping his shirt.
"are you all right?" ginny asked.
harry felt the tear in his shirt. there was only a scrape, nothing major. "i'm fine. do you
think she saw us?"
ginny shrugged. "it doesn't matter. mum will take care of it if she did. c'mon, or we won't
be able to get a seat."
and without a second thought, harry and ginny pushed the trolley to one of the baggage
handlers, who slipped the trunks onto the train. harry and ginny met up with hermione
and ron, who were already sitting in a compartment in the back of the train with neville
longbottom.
"hello harry! hello ginny!" neville greeted as he slid over in his seat to make some room
for them. "how was your holiday?"
"it was great," harry replied automatically. "how was yours?"
"excellent," neville said, his eyes lighting up. "as a reward for bravery for - well, for last
year," he said nervously, "gran took me all over europe to see some of the strangest plants
that exist. we took a tour of the desert plants of arabia and we even went over to china to
see the great wall of fungi. which, well, technically isn't a plant, but it was great fun."
"that's nice, neville," ginny said. "what else did you..."
"oh, i almost forgot!" ron interrupted. he took a piece of parchment out of his pocket.
harry recognized it as the letter he'd received this morning. he unfolded it and handed it to
hermione. "i got this from mcgonagall. she said that i'm supposed to meet with snape in
his office after the feast tonight."
"sounds like fun," harry muttered.
"yeah, i'm really looking forward to it," he replied sarcastically. "i bet he's looking
forward to laughing in my face too."
"ron, you don't know that he's going to say no," hermione said.
"oh yes i do," ron replied. "there's no way snape is going to bend the rules and let me take
his n.e.w.t. class because i didn't get an outstanding grade."
"you're trying to get into professor snape's class?" neville questioned. "why?"
ron sighed. "because, well, i've been thinking about becoming an auror, and the only way
the ministry will accept you is if you test well on the n.e.w.t. exam in potions."
"oh yeah, i've thought about becoming auror too," neville said.
stunned, ron nearly choked on his own air supply. "don't tell me you got an outstanding
o.w.l. in potions, neville, or i'll throw myself onto these train tracks."
"oh no, of course not. i barely passed," he replied. "but gran says that sometimes the
ministry will train people who don't have n.e.w.t. experience in potions.
"i think that snape is a terrible teacher for only taking students who have received an
outstanding on their o.w.l.s," hermione said. "everybody has their strengths and their
weaknesses."
"i don't mind," neville said. "i wanted to take herbology anyway. professor sprout says
that i show some real promise."
harry wasn't surprised. herbology had always been neville's best subject. ron turned to
him, his eyes cast down on the floor. "er, the letter says something else as well..."
"what else did mcgonagall say?" harry questioned. he didn't like the like the expression
on ron's face, or the way he cheeks were slightly red, or the way he wouldn't look harry in
the eyes.
suddenly, a head popped into their compartment. it was seamus finnigan, a fellow sixth-
year. "are we interrupting anything?"
"no, not at all," ron replied brightly. harry frowned. what else did the letter say? and why
didn't ron want to tell him?
"who's we?" hermione asked.
"i wanted to introduce you to me little cousin," seamus said. he entered the compartment,
tugging on the arm of a girl who didn't look a day over ten years old. she had dark, curly
hair that was cut short. ringlets fell over her face, covering her eyes. she pushed her hair
away to reveal even darker eyes.
"this is ron weasley, his sister ginny, hermione granger, and neville longbottom." seamus
gestured to each one of them. "and this," he said, pointing at harry, "this is harry potter."
harry winced, expecting a flood of "oohs" and "awws" from the little girl. or even worse:
a request to see his scar. but on the contrary, she looked confused. "right. who are you
again?" she asked.
"who are you?" ron questioned, taken aback by the lack of the little girl's knowledge.
harry was amazed that there was a person in the wizarding world who didn't know who
he was. he was beginning to like seamus's little cousin.
"sorry," seamus apologized. "this is nora finnigan. she's on me da's side." harry
remembered that seamus's dad was a muggle, and that his mother hadn't told him about
until after they were married. "remember, i told you about him. he's the one who stopped
you-know-who all those years ago. he's got the scar. can she see the scar, harry?"
harry stifled a groan. "sure." he lifted the hair off his forehead. nora took a step closer to
him and eyed his scar. harry counted the seconds until she looked away, until he realized
that she wasn't looking at his scar anymore, but his eyes.
no one had done that before.
chapter six: the fate of kreacher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"i liked her," harry announced after seamus and nora had left their compartment. "she was
really... confident."
"really weird," ron replied.
"i liked her too," hermione said. "she reminded me a little bit of luna."
ron turned to hermione, studying her. "i didn't know you liked luna."
hermione shrugged. "she's grown on me. we've been exchanging letters all summer. she
wanted to hear all about new york city."
"at least somebody did. ouch!" ron winced as hermione punched him in the shoulder.
"oh, isn't this sweet. one big, happy, weasley family," a familiar voice snarled outside the
compartment.
"malfoy," harry spat. he was standing in the doorway, with his two goons crabbe and
goyle right behind him. they were either his boyfriends or his bodyguards; he never went
anywhere without them. his hair seemed even paler than usual, slicked back in a greasy
wad, and his nose seemed to have grown a bit longer over the summer holidays.
"get the hell out of here," ron demanded.
"no need to be rude, weasley," malfoy replied. "i was just stopping by to discuss what
your mum and dad may have left at the grimmauld place."
ginny let out a quiet gasp, and harry felt her grab onto his knee. "i don't know what you're
talking about, malfoy," ron retorted.
"oh, i think you do," malfoy said. "in fact, i think there was a little bit of potter's filth
there as well. at least according to the late house elf."
hermione sucked in her breath. she was very partial to house elves. "what do you mean,
the late house elf?"
"ah yes, you always were soft-hearted for your equals, granger," malfoy drawled.
"kreacher - was that his name? he certainly wasn't very fond of you. spilled all of your
secrets, i'm afraid."
ginny's hand was gripping harry's knee tightly, and if it hadn't been there, harry was quite
sure that he would have jumped up and strangled malfoy with his bare hands.
"it was too bad he fell into the fire while making dinner one evening. i guess he just
couldn't catch his footing after i pushed him. a pity that we couldn't find enough of his
head in the charred remains to hang up on the wall in the hallway," he laughed.
"you bastard!" hermione cried. harry had never seen her so angry before. it was at that
point that he actually feared for malfoy's life. nobody messed with hermione's house
elves. nobody.
she sprung out of her seat on the train, and then cursed at both ron and neville for holding
her back. she was clawing at them, trying to get to malfoy. at first, draco looked worried,
but then he laughed as hermione struggled in ron's arms.
"too bad you've got your boyfriend here to take care of you," malfoy said. "i'd love to
have my way with you. i'd show you who the real wizard is here. and i'm not talking
about dueling, granger," he added, licking his lips. "at least not with this wand."
in a flash, ron stood up from his seat on the train, and this time it took hermione, neville,
and harry to hold him back. malfoy laughed and gestured to his two goons. "let's get out
of here, before weasley wets his pants trying to get past potter's groupies."
as he turned to leave, harry shouted, "how's your dad, malfoy? enjoying his time in
azkaban?"
malfoy stopped dead in his tracks. harry saw him finger his wand in the pocket of his
robes. he turned on harry, his wand raised and ready. "care to ask me again, potter?"
"now, now, just what's going on here, boys?" the witch asked as she passed the
compartment with her trolley full of sweets. she glared at malfoy, her dimpled face
scowling.
malfoy's eyes were still fixed intently upon harry, and harry's stare didn't waiver. he
would love to take on malfoy in the train and put him in his place once and for all, even
in the presence of the witch.
neville's voice piped up out of no where. "n-nothing ma'am," he said, letting go of ron,
who calmly took his seat on the train. "we were just... catching up."
she eyed malfoy's wand. "i see. well, put your wand away please, young man," she said to
draco. "we haven't arrived at hogwarts yet. anything from the trolley?" she asked.
everyone shook their head in agreement, and the compartment was silent until the
squeaking of her wheels vanished down the hallway.
"this isn't over," malfoy spat. "i'd watch your backs this year if i were you. my father may
be in azkaban, but it won't be long before..." his voice trailed off as he glanced in the
direction that the witch had gone. "it won't be long before he's not anymore." malfoy
tucked his wand back into his robes, and then turned on his heel and out of their
compartment.
ginny sighed in relief and sat back in her seat. "d'you think he was serious?" harry asked.
"about knowing all of our secrets?"
ron shrugged. "i'm not sure."
"but he was serious about kreacher," hermione said bitterly. "i hate malfoy. i just... i hate
him. it's people like malfoy who make me want to entirely reconsider my career path."
"what do you mean?" ron asked, rubbing his arm. harry had given it a good twist while
trying to hold him back from malfoy.
"well, i'd really like to continue with s.p.e.w."
"not again!" ron cried.
hermione held her hand up to silence him. "do you think that what happened to kreacher
was really fair? really? he was killed for no reason by some snot-nosed brat - probably
after being tortured for information."
"i doubt it," harry said. "i don't think that the malfoys would have had to torture kreacher
to spill his guts."
"still," hermione replied, "it's wrong. i feel that wizards owe it to the house elves to look
after them. they've looked after us for centuries. it's time to return the favor."
"so who do you think the new defense against the dark arts teacher is going to be?" ron
asked. he, hermione, and harry were making their way to the great hall for the welcoming
feast.
"i think i know who it is," hermione said, grinning. she swerved to the side of the
hallway, narrowly missing a water balloon that peeves threw at some wandering second
years.
"who?"
she turned to harry, still grinning. "well, i think it's going to be lupin. you know how he
told harry, 'i'm sure you'll be seeing me soon,' before he left the other day? i wonder if
dumbledore's going to give him another shot at the job."
"that'd be excellent!" ron cried. "he was the best defense against the dark arts teacher
we've ever had."
"i don't think it's him," harry replied, feeling guilty. he hadn't told ron and hermione about
the real function of remus's gift. harry was almost positive that was the only reason remus
said he'd be seeing him soon. "lupin said he's going to be really busy with the order and
everything."
hermione seemed unconvinced, until the three of them pushed open the wide double
doors to the great hall, and they caught a glimpse of the staff sitting at the high table.
there was one empty seat at the end of the table, which harry assumed was for hagrid.
harry recognized all the other teachers, except for a woman who was seated next to
mcgonagall.
"who is that?" ron muttered under his breath. they took a seat near the head of the
gryffindor table. "she looks like mcgonagall's twin or something."
indeed, the woman sitting next to mcgonagall looked exactly like a younger version of
her. her hair was tied back into a tight bun, but it was all black, unlike mcgonagall's salt-
and-pepper hair that had been turning gray over the years. she wore the same square
spectacles as professor mcgonagall and had the same beady eyes. the two of them were
talking energetically and both were smiling.
"think she has a younger sister?" harry asked. "or a daughter?"
hermione shrugged. ron swore under his breath. "just what hogwarts needed - two
mcgonagalls."
harry didn't bother hiding his grin as professor mcgonagall suddenly stood up and
retrieved the sorting hat. a hush fell over the great hall as the first years were brought
inside, huddling together from the frigid trip across the lake. he recognized seamus's
cousin with her curly hair, separated from the rest of the first years. her arms were
crossed in front of her chest and she looked all together unimpressed. harry watched
hagrid slip inside and take his place at the end of the staff table.
professor mcgonagall set the dusty sorting hat on a three-legged stool in front of the four
tables. she took a step back as the brim of the hat opened up and began its song:
a year ago i told you all,
the tale of the all the founders' fall.
centuries later it's my duty to warn,
throughout the year the school with be torn.
strength in friendship and family and love,
will prove to be the only weapon against pure blood.
choose your side carefully, no matter your house,
for in the end my sort will not matter an ounce.
hufflepuffs, ravenclaws, gryffindors, and slytherins,
will all have a chance to prove exactly where they fit in.
loyal souls, clever minds, brave hearts, and a thirst for power
will all come together in the final hour.
so it is with a heavy burden i say goodbye,
a hat hiding a tear,
because i hope, dear students of hogwarts,
that i will see you again next year.
there was an awkward silence after the hat finished its song. dumbledore was the first to
clap, and then the staff joined in. "bit of a downer," ron said quietly, reluctantly giving his
applause. harry had to agree.
"let the sorting begin!" dumbledore announced. professor mcgonagall stepped up to the
stool and read the first name from a piece of parchment. "benjamin aho."
harry watched as a small boy with pale blonde hair took a seat on the stool. professor
mcgonagall placed the sorting hat on his head. after a few moments, the hat shouted out,
"hufflepuff!" cheers erupted from the hufflepuff table as he joined them in an empty
chair.
"is it just me, or are the first years getting smaller and smaller?" ron questioned.
hermione scoffed. "your head's just getting bigger and bigger, that's all ron."
"very funny. you know, i think i was a lot taller when i was a first year..." he began, but
hermione shushed him. it was nora finnegan's turn to be sorted. she stepped up from her
lonely spot in the crowd of first years and plopped down on the sorting hat stool. she
didn't look as indifferent as she did on the train. in fact, harry could see a hint of fear
glistening in her eyes.
harry found himself holding his breath. after a few seconds of anticipation, the sorting hat
announced, "gryffindor!" nora looked like she was trying to hold back a smile as the
gryffindor table broke into applause and cheer. seamus stood up from his seat and
pounded his fist on the table. she sheepishly sat next to her cousin on the empty bench.
"runs in the family," seamus said proudly.
professor mcgonagall continued to call first years up to the sorting hat's stool until there
was only one very intimidated girl by the name of helen warren left. all of the students in
the great hall cheered as she joined the ravenclaw table.
when dumbledore stood from his seat at the center of the high table, harry couldn't help
noticing that he too looked as though he had grown older during the summer holidays.
but when he smiled at the four house tables, his blue eyes twinkling wildly, he looked
much younger. an immediate silence fell over all of the students as dumbledore cleared
his throat and began his speech.
"newcomers, old friends, and new friends, i welcome you, once again, to hogwarts. i
promise i only have a few announcements to make and one introduction. as always, the
dark forest is off limits to all students, at all times - no matter what sort of creatures may
prowl between trees." harry was quite sure that he was distinctly addressing his section of
the gryffindor table at this point. he sank into the back of his chair, hoping to blend in
with the rest of his house. in fact, harry had no desire to go into the dark forest to visit
grawp.
"the caretaker, mr. filch, has also informed me that the forbidden object list now consists
of 469 items, and can be viewed in his office at the request of any student. he also wishes
me to remind you all that the mischievous events that took place last year will not be
tolerated. please don't get any ideas, as we are still trying to clean up the mess the
weasley twins left behind."
there were nervous chuckles all around the great hall. ron was blushing a little, but he
straightened his shoulders and met the eyes of anyone who stole a glance at him and his
shed of weasley-red hair. he was proud of fred and george, and so was harry. they would
be hogwarts legends.
"also, i must impress upon you all the severity of using dark magic on these grounds,"
dumbledore said. his face was graver, and he looked old again to harry. "anyone caught
using dark magic will be expelled immediately and handed over to the proper authorities,
where stern punishment will result." he seemed to be looking directly at the slytherin
table as he spoke. "there will be absolutely no tolerance."
harry, hermione, and ron exchanged worried glances.
"and finally, i would like to introduce you all to the new defense against the dark arts
instructor, professor leurre." the professor next to mcgonagall gave a short nod and a thin-
lipped smile. "and without further ado," dumbledore said, "let the feast begin!" and with a
clap of his hands, food appeared before harry on the table.
"leurre?" hermione said out loud. "where have i heard that before?"
ron shrugged. "what do you think that warning about using dark magic was about?" he
asked, digging into the meal in front of him.
"i suppose he's just making things clear for the slytherins," harry suggested. "they've been
warned.
"you know, that's something that's bothered me over the summer," hermione whispered,
biting her lower lip. "i mean, if you think about it, our side has dumbledore's army. we
have d.a. what if the other side has some junior d.e. club?"
"d.e.?" ron questioned.
harry frowned. "death eaters."
harry sat contently across from hermione in the gryffindor common room. ron had
departed for his conference with snape, leaving the two of them alone for a dull and
uneventful game of wizard's chess. he was beating the pants off of hermione without even
trying. harry could tell she was distracted. she would look at the board, a befuddled
expression on her face, and chew her lower lip. her eyes were clouded and far away.
"do you think snape will let him in?" she questioned.
harry shrugged. he was afraid to hope for anything.
"i mean, it's not like he doesn't try. okay, well, maybe there are some days where he plays
quidditch instead of doing his potions homework, but everybody needs to have a little fun
now and then... er, everyday..." she sighed. "he's so screwed."
"screwed?" harry had never heard hermione use that kind of language before.
"something i picked up in new york," she replied, grinning. "you wouldn't believe how
beautiful the city is, harry. all of the people - you'd never be able to tell who was a
muggle and who wasn't. it was amazing. though it's not london," she added thoughtfully.
"check," harry said, moving his bishop diagonal from hermione's king.
she moved it forward one space. "i saw this protest outside of a steakhouse. it was
amazing. people were carrying signs with photos of dead carcasses and meat processing
plants on them. there was even a cow outside with a sign strapped around its neck that
said, 'don't eat me!' in big, blood-red writing."
harry laughed. he moved one of his few pawns forward a space, hoping to catch hermione
in a trap.
"they had all of the pamphlets filled with information, too. and they were giving them
away for free. i was thinking that maybe i could organize a rally for s.p.e.w. or something
here at hogwarts. i talked with one of the leaders and he said - hey!"
harry followed hermione's gaze. there was a tiny, gray, tiger-striped kitten following
crookshanks around. the kitten was walking up behind the orange cat, its tail twitching, as
one of its paws would reach out and playfully swat at crookshanks's side. then
crookshanks would run away, but a few seconds later, the gray kitten would be back at his
side again.
"looks like crookshanks has found a friend," harry said.
hermione scowled. "why - that kitten - it's picking on crookshanks!" she cried.
"no, it's just playing with him," harry replied. "i think it'd do him a big of good anyway.
he's looking a little large."
she glared at him. "are you saying that crookshanks is fat?"
harry shook his head, fearing her retaliation if he admitted his true feelings about the cat.
"i'm just saying he could use some activity."
hermione scoffed. "whose cat is it, anyway? some first year's?" she watched the cat
suspiciously. "this place isn't big enough for the both of them. he was here first. he
doesn't have to put with this." she was on her feet in a flash. she stalked over to the kitten
and picked it up by the scruff of its neck, its paws flailing. she walked over to a group of
first years who were chatting excitedly.
"whose is it?" hermione demanded, her prefect's badge shining in the glow from the
candlelight, intimidating the children. the kitten hung from her grip, defenseless.
the first years exchanged glances. "she's mine!" cried a voice from the floor. she was
sitting on a carpet in front of the fireplace, reading a book. harry recognized her as nora,
seamus's little cousin. she quickly sprang to her feet. "was she bothering you?"
hermione quickly put the kitten back down on the floor. harry was surprised to see her
back down from her position of disdain with the new kitten. "er... no. no. i was just
wondering. you see, i have a cat too."
"the ginger one?" nora asked. hermione nodded. "he's very handsome. what's his name?"
"crookshanks," she replied. her cheeks were a tad red, and harry could tell she felt guilty
about making a fuss over a kitten.
"this is alley," nora said. she picked up the gray kitten and cuddled her in her arms. alley
reached out and grabbed one of nora's curls with her paws, and nora giggled. "i found her
before i came here. in an alley," she added.
"oh, well... that's interesting," hermione said, though harry got the impression it wasn't
very interesting at all. she excused herself from the conversation and headed back
towards the table where harry was sitting. she plopped down in the chair and crookshanks
climbed into her lap, purring with gratitude. "i think sometimes the power of a prefect
gets to my head," she explained. "i suppose it is a harmless little kitten. rather cute,
actually."
harry raised an eyebrow, confused. "i guess. checkmate." he was about to capture
hermione's king when ron burst through the common room door, out of breath, his face
flushed.
"you're not going to believe what snape wants me to do!"
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves oc muggle studies
rating: r
summary: chapter seven - snape's proposition: just what does ron have to do to get into
n.e.w.t. potions, anyway? (post ootp - harry's 6th year) harry is struggling between
childhood and manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his raging horomones
aren't helping the mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts,
but inside the walls of the school the battle lines are drawn. the students are forced to
choose between good and evil. in this fic, harry finds out what it's really like to be a best
friend, a true love, and a part of a family.
author notes: i know absolutely nothing about the real person who teaches muggle
studies or what the classroom looks like or anything. this is just my interpretation. once
again, i'd like to thank my readers. you're great! and as always, email/owl me if you'd like
to be informed when i update. i really appreciate your interest!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"snape is crazy!" ron shouted. the group of first years who hermione had approached
earlier glanced wearily at ron and left for their dormitories. "if he expects me to follow
through with his evil plan, he's got another thing coming!"
"what did he say, ron?" hermione asked.
"is he going to let you take the n.e.w.t. class?" harry questioned.
"well, yes and no." ron flopped into a chair at their table. "snape said that he'll let me
attend the n.e.w.t. potions class. then i have to take the potions o.w.l. exam again at the
end of the year."
"that's good, isn't it?"
ron shook his head. "snape is going to make me go to every single n.e.w.t. potions class
and do all of the homework. then, if i get an outstanding, he'll consider passing me in the
course."
"what does that mean?" harry said.
"it means," ron spat, "that i can do all the work for potions, score an outstanding on the
o.w.l. exam, and he can still say that i never took the n.e.w.t. potions class and i did all of
the work for nothing."
"so basically, you'll be participating in class, but not be graded?" hermione asked.
"exactly. and he can just choose not to pass me. i asked him how do i know that he's not
just going to make me do all of this work for nothing? and he folded those greasy hands
of his into his lap and said, 'well, mr. weasley, you'll just have to trust me.' me? trust
snape? i don't think so."
"but it's the only way," hermione said. "ron, if you really want to be an auror, you've got
to make some sacrifices."
"this is so stupid!" ron exploded. "all because i got an e. an e isn't even bad! an e stands
for excellent, damn it!"
"settle down," harry said. "snape just wants to get you riled up, that's all."
"how do you know?" ron demanded. "i don't know where this blind faith has suddenly
come from, harry, but you're mistaken. snape doesn't care whether or not i become an
auror."
harry held up his hands as a sign of a truce. "hey, don't get mad at me."
"harry's right," hermione said. "you need to turn this anger into determination. you need
to show snape exactly what kind of potions master you are."
ron's face hardened. he seemed to be considering everything in his mind. "you're right. i'll
show him. snape hasn't got anything over me. by the end of the year i'll have him
convinced that i deserve to pass n.e.w.t. potions!"
"that's the spirit!" hermione cried.
ron's face fell. "except..."
"except what?"
"now that i'm not technically signed up for potions, i had to get into a different class."
"which class?" hermione questioned.
"herbology." ron slammed his head onto the tabletop. "it was a stupid decision, i guess.
the only other class that was open was care of magical creatures. and after i heard neville
on the train, i thought, well, if neville can do it, so can i. now what did i get myself into?
this year is going to be ten times harder."
"ooh, but that's really good," hermione said. "when you pass potions, you'll have six
n.e.w.t. classes. and if an extra one is herbology, the ministry will think a lot more of your
application."
"great." ron yawned. "i'm sure it'll make mum and dad happy."
hermione winked. "percy would be proud."
harry could tell that the two of them were going to go at it about percy again, but before
either one could open their mouths, he quickly interrupted them. "look at it this way, ron.
snape may have the power to not give you credit for the n.e.w.t. class, but at least he
doesn't have the power to fail you."
the next morning, harry was concentrating heavily on his breakfast in the great hall when
ginny sat down next to him. she had been very much herself and unusually comfortable
around him ever since she kissed him. it had been quite the opposite for harry. he hadn't
told anyone what had happened the night before his birthday. he was afraid that if ron
found out, he may actually be upset and try to beat the living daylights out of him. or
worse: he'd encourage it.
"morning," ginny said cheerfully, helping herself to some muffins.
"morning," harry replied, staring into the depths of his bowl of porridge. he could barely
hear her over the excited chatter of everyone in the great hall. the heads of houses were
passing out class schedules to everyone.
"ready for your first day of fifth year?" hermione asked, sitting down across from them.
ginny nodded. "i think so."
"fifth year is hell," ron said, sitting next to hermione. "although, i'm afraid my sixth will
be just as bad. make sure you score high on your o.w.l.s, gin. start studying now."
"what do you want to be?" hermione questioned curiously. "do you want to be an auror
too?"
ginny snorted. "i'd rather be a troll guard." she chuckled. then she looked around at the
sullen faces around her. "no offense to you three. i just don't think that an auror is up my
alley. i mean, i like to lend a hand when i can, and i like the," she lowered her voice, "the
d.a. meetings." she straightened up in her chair. "i just don't think i want to do it for a
living. the chance that i may turn out like mad-eye is a little frightening."
harry laughed. he couldn't blame her. he was almost relieved that ginny wasn't looking
into a career where she was risking her neck with every assignment she took.
"speaking of d.a.," hermione said, "are we going to round up the old crew?"
"yeah!" ginny cried. "dean and seamus already asked me about it. they're anxious to pick
up where we left off last year."
"even seamus?" harry asked. "he's only been to one meeting." harry thought back to the
year before, when the two of them had been at odds. seamus's mother thought that harry
was dangerous, and she didn't want her son going to the same school as him, let alone
sharing a dormitory.
"well, i guess it made an impression on him," ginny replied indifferently. "so what do you
say harry? is d.a. reborn?"
harry didn't know if he wanted the responsibility of teaching defense of the dark arts to
his closest friends and to those, namely cho chang, who were too close for comfort. he
couldn't help worrying that he was going to get them all in way over their heads. he didn't
know enough. he didn't trust himself to really prepare them for battle with voldemort or
any of the death eaters. after what happened at the end of the last year - when his desire to
save sirius overpowered his duty to keep his friends safe - he didn't trust himself with the
role of d.a.'s leader. sirius's blood was already on his hands.
he was just about to reject the idea of a reunion of dumbledore's army when mcgonagall
strolled past, handing out slips of parchment. "class schedules," she said, giving one to
each of them. harry noticed that ron's, hermione's, and his all had their names on it, but
ginny's merely read "5th year." their schedules were personalized.
"what have you got first?" ron asked, eying harry's schedule. "muggle studies?"
he nodded. "who teaches it, anyway?"
"it's professor avis," ron answered. "she and my dad get on real well. she's got more
muggle gadgets and plugs than he does."
somehow, harry found that difficult to imagine. "how come i haven't seen her before?"
ron shrugged. "she spends all of her free time with muggles. takes pictures and
everything. uses their money, buys their clothes. she even goes out to bars and to the
picture shows. a real muggle-friendly woman. anytime dad has a question, he asks her
first. or you," he added. "whoever is closer."
"honestly, the two of you are wasting your time," hermione said haughtily. "you already
know about muggles - especially you, harry. you're not going to learn anything."
"you'd be surprised," ron said. "and why are you so against muggle studies all of a
sudden? you took it during your third year. what's the problem with it now?"
"now," hermione snapped, "we have better things to worry about. i took the class merely
out of curiosity to see how wizards taught about muggles. i didn't specifically learn
anything i didn't already know. you don't even get to use your wand. now that i think of it,
it was a tad boring."
"well, good," ron answered. "i need a boring class. if i've got the n.e.w.t. herbology and
potions, i'm going to needs a slack class."
however, harry was feeling bad about wasting his time with a class about muggles. he had
lived as one for the first eleven years of his life. maybe he should have taken herbology
instead. if he wasn't going to learn anything new, then why was he wasting his time when
he could be spending it studying something important - something to do with being an
auror? and why had mr. weasley encouraged him to take the class, then?
ron saw the look on his face. "don't let hermione get to you. she likes making people feel
guilty for their decisions." this statement earned him a kick in the shin under the table.
"ouch! i think she's getting more violent as we get older, don't you?"
"what have you got first, 'mione?" harry asked.
"arithmacy," she answered. "then after lunch, i've got defense against the dark arts."
"us too," ron replied. "looks like we've got basically the same schedule. except i've got
herbology before dinner on tuesdays and thursdays."
harry studied his schedule. he didn't have anything before lunch or dinner. everyday he
only had two classes for an hour and a half each. now he felt really guilty for not taking
harder classes. this year was going to be a piece of cake.
the great hall began to thin out as the time for the first bell to ring approached. hermione
said goodbye to harry and ron to go to arithmacy. the two of them headed down the first
floor corridor to the muggle studies classroom, which was next to a portrait of owls
sitting on telephone lines. harry realized that this was the only painting he'd seen at
hogwarts that had any indication of the existence of the muggle world. the owls were
sleeping on the telephone lines, and every few seconds one would give a small "hoot."
the room itself reminded harry of a normal classroom from his primary school. there were
about twenty individual metal desks set up in five neat rows. there was a wooden
teacher's desk on the side of the classroom. it had a swivel chair behind it, along with
some books, a day calendar, and a framed photo of a woman surrounded by some
schoolchildren. harry could only assume that the slightly pudgy woman with short, wavy
blonde hair was professor avis. a shiny red apple sat on the corner of the desk, glinting in
the sunlight from the window. harry guessed it must have been a bewitched window
because the room wasn't anywhere near real windows at hogwarts. at the front of the
classroom there wasn't a chalkboard, but a white dry-erase board with multi-colored
markers. in the back of the classroom, there was a bookcase filled with muggle children's
books and a box of toys. the only thing that looked out of place was the old brick
fireplace on the right-hand side of the classroom.
"wow," ron breathed. "she really went all out."
the two of them took seats near the front as other students poured in. harry saw that their
class was made up of mostly boys, except for a few girls from hufflepuff, padma patil
from ravenclaw, her sister parvati patil, and lavender brown from gryffindor. they all sat
together at the front of the classroom, chatting nervously and studying the room around
them. luna lovegood was also there, sitting alone in a corner. justin fitch-fletchley and
ernie macmillan sat with some other boys from ravenclaw and hufflepuff. there were no
slytherins in the class, though that didn't surprise harry. their general hatred for muggles
was a well-known truth. draco malfoy wouldn't be caught dead in a class about muggles.
in fact, all of the boys from harry's house were in the classroom. dean and seamus sat
behind him and ron, and neville rushed into the classroom just before the bell rang. "i
couldn't find the portrait!" he explained as he sat in the empty desk next to harry. "when i
walked by, there were only electric lines, no owls."
moments after the first bell rang, the door from the classroom opened and shut, and the
woman who harry had seen in the photograph waltzed inside. harry was impressed. she
was dressed very muggle-like in a navy blue pinstriped business suit. her hair was pulled
back in a bun, secured by plastic clips. she even wore a matching scarf. but instead of
wearing shoes, she was wearing floppy, bunny-eared slippers.
"good morning, class," she said in a singsong voice. "my name is professor avis." she
turned to the dry-erase board and wrote professor avis in loopy letters. "i don't think that
i've had any of you as students before, but i'm very excited to introduce all of you to the
muggle world. i am honored to be teaching the n.e.w.t. muggle studies class, as i have
been for the past sixteen years. however, this year is going to be very exciting, as the
headmaster and i have come up with some new ways for all of you to learn about the
fascinating lives of muggles.
"the first thing i should tell you is that you won't be needing your wands for this class. i
do not even want to see them out of your robes. we are going to learn about muggles, like
muggles. i have a no magic policy inside of my classroom." she turned and wrote on the
board, rule #1: no magic. harry saw some of the boys from ravenclaw slip their wands
back in their pockets, looking slightly disappointed. "secondly, i do not have any
tolerance for racism in my classroom. anybody who says anything offensive about
muggles or their daily lives will be receiving detention immediately. one of the reasons
this course exists is to teach tolerance of our human counterparts."
tolerance. there was that word again. harry was noticing a pattern. no tolerance for dark
magic, no tolerance for muggle racism. was dumbledore trying to prepare them for a war
in which muggles were involved?
under the first rule, professor avis wrote #2: no racism. she continued to write rule #3:
ask questions! "i understand that as a student coming from a family of only wizards,
many of you have absolutely no knowledge of how the muggle world works. please, any
of you, don't hesitate to ask questions. there are no dumb questions about muggles, so
don't be embarrassed to raise your hand and ask. they are truly fascinating creatures. it is
amazing how we live side by side with them on the same planet."
professor avis walked over to her desk and produced some sheets of paper. it was not
parchment, but bleached white muggle paper. she handed them out to the first person in
each row and they passed them back. on the top it read syllabus. and harry was quite sure
that the syllabus had been typed out on a computer and photocopied, which couldn't have
been done on the grounds of hogwarts. professor avis really went all out to maintain her
no-magic policy.
"in addition to your textbook, a guide to muggle survival, i will also be handing out other
books to you." there were audible groans from some of the students. however, she smiled
when she heard them. "these books will usually be fiction novels, and i assure you, they
will not be mundane reading. muggles are captivating, and so is their literature. now, if
you'll all take a look at your syllabus," she held up the paper she had just passed out, "i'll
discuss what we'll be studying and when we'll be studying it."
she cleared her throat. "our first unit will be about muggle life. we'll be studying the
common muggle inside its natural habitat. we'll discuss the differences between our daily
actions and theirs. the second unit is going to be about science, or how muggles survive
without magic," she explained. "this will probably prove to be the most difficult topic to
understand, but we won't be tackling it until around november. our third unit is going to
deal strictly with tolerance. how we tolerate muggles and muggles tolerate us. we will be
discussing how muggles come up with their explanations that magic doesn't exist and
some of the philosophies behind those who did believe. the fourth and final unit will be
the shortest, but it discusses the most important part of this class. if you'll all please take a
look at your syllabus..."
harry glanced at the paper in front of him. it read, unit #4: why the wizarding world must
remain secret.
"this concept is also sometimes hard for young wizards to understand. there have been
many students who disagree with keeping the magical world a secret, but there are many
reasons why muggles aren't ready to be exposed to the wizarding world. professor
dumbledore and i have decided that we will be having a debate at the end of the year, in
front of the entire school, as to whether or not muggles should be aware of the existing
magical world.
"this is just one of the events i have planned for this year," professor avis continued.
"every wednesday afternoon, at the beginning of class, a special guest speaker will
discuss their interaction with muggles on a daily basis. but i'll wait until wednesday to
make any sort of introductions."
"finally, the headmaster has agreed to allow us to do something very exciting on
halloween." she paused, as though she were waiting for every head in the classroom to
look up at her. "we will be taking a field trip to london, where we will interact with
muggles on one of the most magical nights of the year."
the classroom burst into chatter. he could tell that ron was excited. harry didn't know if
he'd been to london for anything other than catching the hogwarts express or visiting the
ministry of magic.
professor avis shushed them. "in fact," she said, "it may be the only night where a class
like ours can blend into the muggle world, unnoticed as outsiders. not to mention that it is
a relatively stress-free muggle holiday, so most of them will be in very friendly moods.
we can also participate in the longtime muggle tradition called trick-or-treating."
there were gasps from the class. harry laughed. he wondered if they were going to need
costumes or not. he had the mental image of twenty sixteen-year-old wizards knocking on
the door to someone's flat, crying out "trick-or-treat!"
muggle studies may be an easy class, harry thought, but at least they were going to have
some fun.
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves oc quidditch captain
rating: r
summary: chapter eight - mcgonagall's twin: what else did mcgonagall say in her letter
to ron? (post ootp - harry's 6th year) harry is struggling between childhood and
manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his raging horomones aren't helping
the mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts, but inside the
author notes: thanks to all of my readers and reviewers. you're great! once again, if
you'd like me to inform you when i update, just email or owl me. i love mail!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
after lunch, harry, hermione, and ron walked the familiar path to the defense against the
dark arts classroom.
"i wonder how dumbledore found someone to take the job this time," ron said. "you'd
think he'd have a harder time of it than last year, after what happened with umbridge."
"i think what happened to umbridge was the ministry's fault," hermione said. "i'm sure
that there are some educated people out there who aren't afraid to take the job. i mean it's
not like every teacher has ended up dead."
"yeah," harry agreed. "although, this one reminds me too much of mcgonagall."
"two mcgonagalls would be my worst nightmare come true," ron announced.
"oh come on, professor mcgonagall isn't that bad. especially after last year and the way
she stood up to umbridge." one of hermione's greatest strengths was defending
mcgonagall, probably because they had so many of the same ideals. "besides, if we do
have someone like her teaching defense against the dark arts, think of how much we're
going to learn." it was startling how much of a resemblance there was between the two of
them.
but as the three of them entered the classroom and took their seats, it was clear that in the
visual category, professor leurre looked more like professor mcgonagall than hermione
did. she even appeared to have the same stern look on her face. her hair was pulled back
into a tight bun again, and she was wearing robes of a rich chestnut color. she sat at her
desk with her hands folded, studying each student with harsh eyes.
hermione found a seat next to luna, while ron and harry took the empty desk behind them.
nobody in the classroom was talking, but when ron sat down, luna turned around and
mumbled, "greetings," under her breath at them. ron turned to harry, one eyebrow raised,
and made a motion around his head, mouthing, "loony." harry stifled a laugh.
most of the sixth years were in defense against the dark arts, including malfoy and his
groupies. he was sharing a desk with pansy parkinson; crabbe and goyle were sitting in
front of them. the classroom was a little cramped, and by the time the bell rang, all of the
seats were taken.
harry had seen the defense against the dark arts classroom under the wing of five teachers
before professor leurre. she appeared to be somewhat of a bookworm. old dusty books
that smelled of mold were scattered around the classroom. there were piles on the floor
and on her desk. there were also a few magical contraptions that harry didn't recognize.
one was a big, white globe on a pedestal that reminded harry of a giant moon guide, like
the miniature globe he carried in his pocket.
at the sound of the bell, professor leurre stood up and clasped her hands behind her back
and paced the classroom in very mcgonagall-like fashion. "welcome to the n.e.w.t.
defense against the dark arts class. most of you already know who i am, but just in case
you've forgotten, i'll remind you. my name is professor leurre. you may only call me
professor leurre. i demand respect in this class just as you demand a proper education."
she turned on her heel and faced the class, studying the rows of students. ron looked
positively fearful. "the headmaster has informed me that last year you merely copied
spells from the pages of your textbooks. i assure you, this year will be much different, as i
prefer the hands-on approach to the defense of the dark arts."
hermione turned her head and smiled back at harry and ron. she hated umbridge's open-
book method. harry was relieved to hear that they would be practicing the dark arts again.
then maybe no one would want to join d.a. again because they would get enough
homework from professor leurre.
"i am very disappointed, however, that you are already in your sixth year and you haven't
studied a spell's worth of ancient magic."
some of the students gasped. harry apparently didn't understand the magnitude of what
she'd just said. his only knowledge of ancient magic consisted of voldemort's ignorance.
ancient magic was the reason that he was the boy who lived.
"some of you may be more familiar with ancient magic than others. as many people are
well aware of, ancient magic was the key to voldemort's end sixteen years ago, and
ancient magic was the very thing that brought him back." she was staring directly at harry
as she said this, and his stare did not waiver from hers.
at the mention of voldemort's name, there were cries of astonishment from the class.
harry saw malfoy, crabbe, and goyle all wince, the way snape did when harry spoke the
dark lord's name. ron made a little whining noise.
"in my class, there will be no mention of the dark lord or you-know-who. if you are going
to speak of him, you must call him voldemort and nothing else."
harry was a little surprised. he had heard very few people besides hermione and
dumbledore speak his true name. the rest of the class was in shock, however. malfoy
looked outraged. "but professor," he said, not bothering to raise his hand, "you can't
possibly expect us to..."
"oh i can, mr. malfoy, and i do," professor leurre interrupted. "if you cannot bring
yourself to say voldemort, then perhaps you shouldn't say anything about him at all," she
snapped.
now harry was surprised that professor leurre even knew who malfoy was. he studied the
professor, and decided that she did look about the same age as narcissa, malfoy's mother.
perhaps they had gone to hogwarts together.
"fearing a name is a waste of time," she continued, sitting down at her desk. "what you
should all really fear is the wizard himself. but we're not going to debate about this right
now." she began searching her desk, and there was a loud boom as she accidentally
knocked some of her books on the floor. a mushroom-shaped cloud of dust floated
through the air, and she coughed. she grinned sheepishly, pulling her wand out of a
drawer. "first we are going to discuss the origin of ancient magic. for homework for the
next class, i want you all to do a good twelve inches on what you already know about
ancient magic, and also feel free to write any questions you have about it in your essay."
harry knew next to nothing about ancient magic, but he was pretty sure he could fill up
three feet's worth of parchment with his questions about ancient magic. immediately, a
question that had been burning inside of him for years and years popped into his mind:
was ancient magic powerful enough to bring somebody back to life?
"i thought professor leurre was absolutely wonderful!" hermione said enthusiastically. it
was dinnertime, and the great hall was loud and noisy from the excitement of the first day
of classes. "finally, we're going to talk about ancient magic. i have so many questions
about it."
"i think she was a tad strict," ron replied. "have you had her yet, ginny?"
ginny shook her head. "i don't have defense against the dark arts until wednesday. and i
doubt we'll be studying ancient magic. it's not on the o.w.l. examination."
hermione sighed. "well, we'll just have to tell you all about it during the d.a. meetings,
right harry?"
harry frowned. he certainly didn't want to talk about d.a. meetings over dinner. ron,
hermione, and ginny all looked at him expectantly, as though they wanted him to make
some kind of announcement about when the first meeting would be. he loathed his role as
their fearless leader. he tried not to look at them, but instead, studied the meal in front of
him.
"'arry!" exclaimed a voice from behind him. he turned to see hagrid, the big half-giant
gamekeeper and current care of magical creatures instructor. "good ter see ya!" he gave
harry a slap on the back that was more painful than friendly. "hermione, ron, ginny." he
nodded to each one of them.
"hello, hagrid," they replied automatically.
"say, did ya get yer birthday gift?" he asked.
harry gulped. he'd forgotten all about the other half that hagrid had promised him at
hogwarts. "i did, thanks," he replied.
"oh just you wait, 'arry. you'll be thankin' me when you see her."
her. there it was again. the curiosity and worry was overcoming him. "hagrid, it's not an
animal, is it?"
he just smiled. "you'll have ter wait and see, 'arry. just wait and see. you can stop by
t'morrow night, if you like."
harry wasn't sure he could wait until then. "what about tonight?"
hagrid thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "no, it'll be better if ya wait 'til
tomorrow."
he briefly wondered what hagrid would be doing tonight, but harry didn't question him. it
was only the first day of class, after all. he probably still had lesson plans to create and a
giant half-brother to visit. "all right hagrid, i'll be at your hut tomorrow night then."
hagrid grinned and ruffled harry's hair. "i look forward to it. and you'd all better take care
of yourselves this year, ya hear?"
"we always do, don't we?" ron said, confused.
"you know what i mean," hagrid replied. he lowered his voice. "no funny business. with
you-know-who..."
"voldemort," hermione interrupted. hagrid, ron, and ginny winced. a couple third years
looked fearfully at hermione, but her glare turned them away.
"with him runnin' around, you need to watch yer backs," hagrid whispered. "and anything
with that scar, 'arry, you go and tell dumbledore. he'll take care of ya."
harry, feeling self-conscious, quickly folded his bangs over his scar, trying to hide it. "er...
thanks hagrid. i'll keep that in mind."
and with that, the giant winked and headed towards the staff table, the silverware
clattering on the table with each step he took.
"that was odd," ron said, chewing on a mouthful of bread.
"he's just worried," hermione supplied. "and with good reason."
harry rolled his eyes. "look, we don't need to worry about this. as long as i'm at hogwarts,
i'm safe. as long as dumbledore's around, we don't have to worry about anything."
"you know, they always say that," ron said, "but somehow, voldemort always manages to
infiltrate hogwarts's defenses. it's a good thing you've got us, harry." he grinned. "i've got
your back, mate."
"me too," hermione said quietly. "so ron, what did professor mcgonagall want to talk to
you about after defense against the dark arts?"
ron stopped chewing and swallowed the food in his mouth in one gulp. his ears turned
slightly red. "ah... i don't think now's the best time to talk about it, hermione."
"you had to meet with mcgonagall already?" harry said. "did you get a early detention or
something?" he joked.
"er... no. not a detention."
"oh, that's right!" ginny cried. "i heard it from colin creevy in the common room.
congratulations, ron! fred and george would be proud."
"proud about what?" harry had the distinct impression that everybody knew something he
didn't. he turned to ron, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "what's going on?"
"you know, you're right ron, we should talk about it later," hermione said suddenly.
"why?" ginny demanded suddenly. "harry's going to find out soon enough."
"find out what?"
ron sighed. for a few endless moments, he played with the scalloped potatoes on his plate.
"look, harry, i'm sorry. i tried to tell you on the train before seamus came in. when
mcgonagall wrote me about meeting with snape, she also congratulated me on making
captain." he spoke quickly, his words all in one breath. "please, don't hate me. i didn't ask
for it. it's just, after last year - after you were banished from quidditch..."
harry felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. he was shocked. he was angry.
jealous. he heard a voice inside of his head commanding him not to feel. act normal.
show no emotion. "oh, that's... that's really great ron. you deserve it."
ron scowled at ginny. "look, harry, i'm sorry. it's just that, last year you were banished
from quidditch so technically you're not even on the team anymore. and there aren't any
seventh years on the team..."
"no, it's great, ron." harry heard himself speaking, but he wasn't quite sure where his
voice was coming from. "i understand." there were loud voices all around him from the
other tables. he tried not to concentrate on the disappointment he felt. the anger. stupid
umbridge - stupid malfoy. it was his fault harry had been banished from quidditch in the
first place.
and then it began to sink in. he realized what ron was saying to him. "what do you mean
that i'm not technically on the team anymore?"
ron exchanged glances with ginny again. "well, as of right now, ginny holds the seeker
position on the team."
harry felt the rush of blood through his ears as his anger boiled inside of him. he couldn't
even look at ginny. the thought of her taking over as seeker hadn't even crossed his mind.
did he really think he could just waltz back onto the team - onto ron's team - when he was
absent for nearly all of the last season? if he couldn't be seeker for the gryffindor team, he
didn't know if he wanted to play quidditch at all.
"but you could tryout for seeker, and if you're better than her at tryouts, you can have
your old position back." his voice was quiet. he was torn between his sister and his best
friend.
ginny's face had turned as red as the hair on her head. "actually, ron, i was kind of hoping
to take angelina's position," she said. "harry can be seeker."
"i don't want your..." pity was what came into his mind. ginny pitied him. she felt sorry
for him. "i don't need your charity."
"it's not charity," she quickly replied. "i'd rather be working with the quaffle and scoring
some points. you know, where the real action is." she grinned wickedly at harry.
"well, that works out great then," hermione said. "harry can have his position as seeker
and ginny can tryout for chaser."
"great," ron said lightly. "that makes my life a lot easier."
"i bet it does," harry said quietly. "so do i still have to try out?"
ron shook his head. "only if somebody else wants to try for that position. but i wouldn't
worry about it. although, it would be nice to have you around at tryouts on thursday."
"why?" harry questioned.
"because i've only been on the team for one year. i'm going to need all the help i can get."
ron smiled carefully.
harry realized that he was getting upset over something he had absolutely no control over.
so what if ron was the new quidditch captain? ron hardly ever got anything he wanted. he
had to become a prefect before his parents would even get him a decent broom. harry
scolded himself. he should be proud of ron. he'd come a long way in a year. and besides,
there was always next year for him to be captain. if he could manage not to get suspended
from quidditch again and survive whatever voldemort had planned for him.
harry managed to return his smile. "right. i'll be glad to help out - if you need it."
hermione let out her breath as if she'd been holding it for a long time. ginny stood up and
grabbed a piece of bread from the table. "oh, there's neville. i've got to go ask him a
question about my herbology homework." she sauntered off to the other end of the
gryffindor table.
"so harry, about d.a., i really think we should get started as soon as possible," hermione
began.
"hermione, would you just lay off?" harry said shortly. "it's the first day of school. i'd like
to enjoy it a little before we have to get down to business." he was still feeling a bit raw
from the shock of losing quidditch captain to his best friend.
"'arry's right," ron said, his mouth full of pork roast. "give it o' rest for one day."
hermione frowned, looking disgusted at ron's lack of table manners. "i don't know how
you can eat that."
"eat what?" he asked.
"do you know what they did to that pig before they slaughtered it? how they treated it?"
ron swallowed in one gulp, looking confused. "i suspect they gave it a nice home inside a
barn somewhere and fed it all the slop it wanted."
"you are so ignorant." hermione rolled her eyes and pushed back her plate, the roast left
untouched. "i'm going to the library to get started on that essay for professor leurre."
"ah, yes, the first day of school wouldn't be complete without an evening journey to the
library," ron said quietly as he and harry watched her leave the great hall. "there's no
pleasing her," he muttered, and went back to his plate of pork.
***
harry awoke with a start, his breath catching inside his chest. his scar was tingling, but it
didn't hurt. it just felt overly sensitive in the cool night air. his body was drenched in
sweat, his boxer shorts hugging his thighs.
had it been a dream? sometimes it was difficult for him to distinguish a vision from a
dream. but it must have been a dream. sirius was there. no, he wasn't physically there, but
his voice was. harry could hear him. the vividness that had awakened him disappeared
into the cloudiness of his mind. he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. if only he
could remember. what was sirius saying?
and as he tried to fall back asleep, visions of ron being carried across the quidditch pitch
with the cup in his hands paraded through harry's mind. but instead of feeling relief and
excitement, all he could feel was bitterness and resentment.
he felt empty, realizing that there was really nothing for him to look forward to. he would
always be a bit envious of ron, wearing the sparkling "c" captain patch on his house
robes. harry felt his own failure with ron's promotion. there was no excitement for
quidditch. he had no interest in his heart - he wouldn't feel butterflies in his stomach
when he was near cho chang. and every time he looked at ginny all he could feel was her
mouth pressed against his and how utterly wrong it felt.
feeling more alone than ever, harry reached out from his four-poster to his nightstand.
very quietly, he opened the drawer and grabbed remus's moon guide. after slipping on a
robe, he crept quietly to the deserted gryffindor common room, leaving the snores of his
roommates behind him.
harry plopped down onto one of the red plush couches. the room was almost completely
dark except for the smoldering orange ashes in the fireplace. after surveying the room one
more time, making sure that he was absolutely alone, he pulled out the moon guide.
"i solemnly swear i only want to watch," he said quietly. the small white orb began to
quiver slightly in his hands. harry brought it to his eye like a monocle as it glowed
brightly in the darkness. all he could see was white, and for a few moments he thought
that maybe he hadn't done it properly. then suddenly, he saw a reflection of his own green
eye, and an illustration of remus came into focus.
harry had thought he would find him in a bed somewhere, sleeping in the early hours of
the morning. on the contrary, he was sitting in an old dusty rocking chair, reading a book.
he looked content. he was wearing a dressing robe, his socks rolled down to his ankles.
he had on small reading glasses and his hair was swept back from his face in a ponytail.
harry wondered where he was. he didn't recognize the furniture or the room around him.
he wished he could have been inside the vision of remus, like he was inside the memory
in the pensive. harry wished that he could talk to remus. not even about what was
happening at hogwarts, but just about anything normal. about the weather. about the way
bulgaria had swept the world cup away from estonia earlier that month. about how much
he missed sirius.
"i have seen all there is to be seen," harry whispered. the small orb lost some of its glow
as harry pulled it away from his eye.
he thought briefly of writing a letter to remus. but what would he say? he knew if he
picked up a quill and parchment all of his thoughts and emotions about quidditch and ron
and ginny would spill out of him. he didn't want to burden remus with his silly schoolboy
problems.
instead, he slipped the moon guide into the pocket of his robe and stared at the fireplace
until the ashes turned gray.
chapter nine: hagrid's surprise
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"i swear, mcgonagall is getting more strict with age," ron said. "these new essay
regulations are going to kill me."
harry, ron, and hermione followed the stairs down to the dungeon for their first potions
lesson of the new year. ron was still in a sour mood from transfiguration earlier that
morning when professor mcgonagall had informed them that she would no longer be
accepting essay parchments that had margins larger than in inch.
"fred and george would turn in homework with two-inch margins and two-inch lettering,"
ron continued.
"and look where they are now," harry said glumly.
"yeah, they're facing an inquiry from the ministry," hermione said. "or have you
forgotten?"
"doesn't matter," ron replied. "they're still wealthier than i am." he kicked a loose stone on
the dungeon floor and it sailed into one of the walls, ricocheting down the hallway.
"snape better not tell anybody about our deal. i can just picture malfoy getting off on that
one. 'weasley can't even get an outstanding on his o.w.l., and he's a prefect.' what i
wouldn't give to slug him one with my bare hands..."
"and you said that i was getting more violent," hermione laughed.
harry couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards mcgonagall about ron being the
new quidditch captain. but he had shoved most of his emotions in to the pit of his
stomach, stifling them from ever showing again. he wanted to be numb.
they made it to potions just in time. in contrast to muggle studies the day before, the
potions class had nearly every slytherin in it. harry wondered if ron would have scored an
outstanding on the o.w.l. had snape been his head of house.
as they entered the dungeon, it seemed even more dank and dreary than harry
remembered. harry and ron sat next to each other and hermione settled in an empty desk
in front of them. a few moments later, hannah abbott sat down next to her
malfoy leered at harry from across the room. "hey potter, looks like all of those remedial
potions lessons paid off last year. you've somehow managed to land in this class." there
were sniggers from the slytherin corner of the dungeon.
harry felt his cheeks go red. he wasn't going to let malfoy get to him. he wanted to be
indifferent. he didn't even bother to grace malfoy with a reply or a glance. malfoy's
taunting seemed beneath him. it wasn't worth taking offense to. harry couldn't be
bothered with petty taunting after what he had been through at the end of last year. the
only tragedy in malfoy's life was the incarceration of his father in azkaban, which he still
seemed to be in denial about.
the banter before class was only a mere indication of the unpleasantness of the first
potions lesson of the year. professor snape looked even paler than usual and spent most of
the class barking at them about how incompetent they were. most comments, however,
were directed at harry's side of the room. by the time harry had finished his antidote to a
sleeping draught, he was immune to snape's snide remarks. he took a sample from his
cauldron and placed it on snape's desk. harry could feel his dark eyes staring at him from
behind his greasy hair.
harry didn't meet his eyes. although he knew more about snape than he ever wanted to, he
had mixed feelings about the professor. on one hand, snape had such a grudge against
harry that he stopped at nothing to get him in the most trouble possible. he was unfair,
rude, and ignorant. on the other hand, harry felt guilty about how his father had tormented
snape during his own education at hogwarts so many years ago.
but harry was tired of feeling guilty. he was tired of feeling anything, period. he couldn't
help it if he looked so much like his father. and i can't change the past, he thought bitterly
as he made his way back to his desk. suddenly, he heard the sound of glass breaking on
the floor.
"clumsy, potter," snape snarled.
harry whirled around to find his sample of his antidote in a puddle on the dungeon's floor.
his eyes narrowed in suspicion at snape, who leered back at him, his smile unwavering.
"pity," snape replied. "looks like you'll need another sample. and you'd better stay after to
clean up the mess you've made."
harry was speechless. snape had just purposely smashed his potion again. the same thing
had happened the previous year. harry hoped that hermione didn't wash out his cauldron
like she had before.
but when harry returned to his seat, he saw that hermione was busy trying to talk to
hannah abbott about the woes of cattle raising. he found another empty vile and hastily
filled it with his potion. he returned it to snape's desk. the bell signaling the end of class
sounded.
"potter, a word," snape spat. it was not a request.
harry stayed put at snape's desk. he should have suspected as much. snape was probably
anxious to hand out some sort of punishment for knocking over his first sample. the
dungeon cleared out quickly, but ron and hermione lingered near the doorway of the
classroom.
"i can't stay," ron said quietly. "i've got herbology in five minutes."
"go on," harry announced. "i'll see you both later."
after a few moments of hesitation, the two of them left. harry was left alone with snape in
an uncomfortable silence. he studied the chalkboard behind snape's head, determined not
to meet his gaze. what the hell did he want?
"how brave of your comrades to offer to escort you," snape said. there was a bounce in
his step as he approached harry. his voice was angry. "your only strength is with your
friends, potter. i hope you don't end up killing all of them."
harry's insides burned. he wanted to lash out at snape. he wanted to draw his wand and
hex him into oblivion. but that would only amuse him. harry tried to be indifferent; to
show nothing. there wasn't anything that snape could say that would show the weakness
of his emotions.
"strong and silent," snape muttered. he continued to walk past harry, and then circled
around his back. the hair on harry's neck stood on end. he wondered if snape would attack
someone when their back was turned. did he fight cowardly?
snape's shuffling stopped. "the headmaster has demanded that we continue our
occlumency lessons until you are ready for the next step."
"the next step...?" harry began.
snape ignored him. "starting thursday, we will begin having our remedial potions lessons
at seven o'clock sharp on every tuesday and thursday thereafter." harry suddenly felt a
hand on his shoulder. snape turned him around in one hard shove. "and this time you will
not be sticking your head in places it is not permitted to go!" he snapped. harry could
almost feel the dungeon walls shaking with snape's rage.
harry didn't know if he was more surprised that snape had shoved him or that he was
actually agreeing to help harry with occlumency. part of him was grateful. he wanted to
be able to control his vulnerability to voldemort. his scar was a two-way mirror.
voldemort could see what he saw, and he could see what voldemort saw. if he learned to
control the mirror, then maybe he could help the order.
"yes sir," harry answered. he didn't dare meet snape's fierce eyes.
"now, get out of my sight." snape circled around him before heading towards his office
door.
"professor..." harry began. he heard snape's heavy footsteps come to a sudden halt. harry
didn't know what he wanted to say. he wanted to show his gratitude. hell, he almost
wanted to apologize for his father's actions all those years ago.
"what is it?" snape demanded.
without facing him, harry mumbled, "thank you."
he heard snape's footsteps again, and then his office door slam shut. harry quickly picked
up his books and supplies and took off for the dormitory. he didn't want to be around
when snape came back out of his office.
***
hogwarts found itself in the midst of an indian summer. the grounds were still flourishing
with summer vegetation. harry hadn't bothered to run up to gryffindor tower to grab his
cloak after dinner. instead, he headed straight for hagrid's hut.
as he approached the wooden cabin, he could hear fang explode with greetings on the
other side of the door.
"'at's enough, fang!" hagrid shouted as he opened the door. but there was no stopping the
bloodhound. he tackled harry and attempted to give his face a bath. hagrid pulled the dog
off of him and sent him outside. "sorry, e's a little excited. hasn't seen yeh in a while an'
all." hagrid grinned.
"hagrid, you look... interesting," harry exclaimed. his clothes had absolutely no holes in
them, and he had a very nice tweed jacket that was a little short on his arms. his hair was
actually trimmed, pulled back in a ribbon. his beard was still as unruly as ever. but as
harry looked him over, he did begin resemble more of a professor at hogwarts than the
gamekeeper.
he blushed. "well, maxine may 'ave had a bit to do with that. she says that any husband of
er's got to be nicely dressed 'n jackets and look presentable."
"husband?" harry questioned. "you mean you two..."
"oh no, i was just tryin' it on," hagrid replied. "it's just 'at... well, i wouldn't mind bein' a
husband someday. i've thought about proposin'..." he grinned. "and the jacket makes me
feel a little better 'bout teachin'."
harry laughed. "that's great, hagrid."
"so are you ready for the rest o' your gift?" hagrid asked.
harry gulped. "ah, hagrid, about that..." but hagrid didn't seem to hear him. he ushered
harry outside of his hut. harry followed closely behind him. "is... is it something i can
keep at the castle? near my bedroom?"
"oh no, 'fraid not, harry. in fact, this will have ta be our little secret until the end o' the
year." he winked.
harry gulped. this was not good.
"you can tell hermione and ron, o' course." he grinned. "but other than that, nobody ought
ter know." he paused. "okay, close yer eyes now, 'arry. you're gonna love her."
her. harry silently prayed as he tightly closed his eyes. he could hear some commotion
and the clanging of metal. he envisioned a giant wire cage containing some deadly,
gruesome animal, yet "cute" by hagrid's standards. maybe harry could make a run for it.
"okay, 'arry, open 'em."
bracing himself for the worst, harry opened one eye. there was no cage. there was
something standing upright on the ground. he opened his other eye. an object covered
with a blanket. and best of all, it didn't appear to be breathing. in fact, it wasn't moving at
all.
"it's not exactly somethin' ya can wrap an' send," hagrid explained. "go on an' see."
harry approached his "gift" with extreme caution. maybe it was sleeping. no, it was
definitely too oddly shaped to be an animal. his curiosity was getting the better of him. he
took a deep breath, and then removed the blanket.
it was sirius's motorcycle.
harry felt a tug in his heart. he felt anger rise in the pit of his stomach. anger and
complete sadness. he couldn't bear to look at the bike, but he couldn't take his eyes off of
it. it was vintage, but gleamed in the sunset like brand new. hagrid had obviously put a
little elbow grease into cleaning it.
"i know he'd want yeh ter have it," hagrid announced.
harry was barely listening. all the blood was rushing to his ears. he could hear his own
heartbeat. he tore his eyes away from the motorcycle and tried to concentrate on the
ground. "i don't want it," he said quietly.
"what?"
"i don't want it!" harry yelled.
"but 'arry, i thought yeh could take a test drive when it's dark. there's no astronomy
tonight so nobody should see yeh. that's why i waited 'til tonight..."
"i don't want to drive it!" harry shouted. "i don't even want to look at it!" he fought back
tears in his eyes. he wished that sirius were giving it to him, not hagrid. he wished that
sirius would show him how to drive it, not hagrid. it felt wrong just looking at the lonely
bike behind the hut. the motorcycle made him feel miserable. he didn't want anything to
do with it.
hagrid was speechless. harry could tell he was getting emotional. the last thing harry
wanted to see was hagrid cry again. he turned his back on both hagrid and the
motorcycle. "i don't want it," he repeated. "i never want to see that damn bike again."
it just hurt too much, harry realized as he stormed back up to gryffindor tower. if he had
stayed one more second in hagrid's company, he would have exploded. or worse - he
would have cried.
before he reached the portrait of the fat lady, harry was once again trying to find the
indifference inside of him. he searched for the place where he could go to feel numb,
where motorcycles and enchanted clocks and quidditch captains meant nothing to him. he
took a few deep breaths and plastered an apathetic expression on his face.
"snap dragons," harry muttered.
"same to you!" the fat lady replied as the door swung open. he made his way inside the
common room where hermione and ron were sitting on the same couch where harry had
spent the previous night. they were looking rather cozy together until they noticed his
presence, and ron took the opportunity to pull up a chair to the fireplace. harry sat on the
couch next to hermione.
"so what did he get you?" she asked.
"what?" harry stalled. he didn't want to tell ron and hermione the truth. he had to think of
something - anything - that would satisfy their curiosity.
"hagrid, silly," she answered. "was it animal, vegetable, or mineral?"
"c'mon, 'mione, we know it was an animal. right harry?"
"er... right," harry replied. he bit his lower lip.
"was it something big?" ron asked. "something ferocious?"
it was times like these harry wished he were a better liar. "no, it was, um..." he racked his
brain, trying to think of any sort of creature that was harmless that hagrid would be
vaguely interested in. "it was one of those stick bugs," he said quickly. "you know, the
one that looks like a stick and blends in with the plants?"
"hagrid got you an insect?" hermione said incredulously.
"yeah. but she died while hagrid was taking care of her. he thinks that fang may have had
something to do with it," he lied.
"that's a let-down," ron said. "i was hoping he'd given you some kind of crossbreed."
he seemed to buy the story. however, harry could tell that hermione didn't believe a word
of what he said, but she didn't push the subject. "anyways, ron was just complaining
about all of his homework and it's only the second day of classes."
"hey, i don't see you taking six classes," ron grumbled.
"life must be so hard for you," harry snapped bitterly. "six classes, being a prefect,
quidditch captain..." he was almost about to add "flirting with hermione" but thought
better of it.
"well aren't you just a little ray of sunshine?" ron said. but he didn't seem offended.
harry was angry. for some reason he wanted to piss off ron in the worst way. harry felt it
was only right if his biggest problem was his schoolwork. he had nothing to complain
about. he didn't have dead parents and godparents and inherited motorcycles.
"so what did hagrid really get you, harry?" hermione questioned.
"yeah, besides in a bad mood?"
"i don't want to talk about it. i'm going to bed." he stood up and stomped out of the
common room. he didn't dare look back at the ron and hermione. he was too ashamed.
why am i making such a big deal out of a stupid motorcycle?
but deep down, harry knew the answer to that question. the motorcycle was dripping with
history and emotions. the motorcycle had been sirius's. hagrid had used it to deliver him
to the dursleys' on that fateful night sixteen years ago. it had been on many journeys.
harry didn't want to know where it was going to take him.
chapter ten: the guest speaker
harry and ron were both anxious to get to muggle studies the next day. ron had struggled
through charms earlier that morning. ron had spent most of lunch whining about how
hard his classes were, and he only stopped after hermione promised to help him out when
harry had occlumency that night. a break in muggle studies was exactly what they
needed.
"wonder who the speaker is?" ron said. "i hope we don't have to take notes or anything.
my hand is still cramped from when flitwick launched into the necessary motions for that
reflection spell."
"i don't think i've ever seen him write quite so fast," harry agreed. "hey, if you get the last
of the spell regulations from hermione, will you let me copy yours?"
"sure." ron nodded. "you know, harry, i've, er... well, i've been spending a lot of time with
hermione lately and have you, er, noticed anything?"
harry tried to hide his grin. ron looked like he'd never been more uncomfortable. he was
staring at his own feet as they hurried along the first floor corridor. he was nervously
running his fingers through his red hair. "what do you mean, anything?"
"d'you think... oh, never mind." ron scowled. "i feel stupid. forget it. forget i mentioned
it."
"no, come on, ron. what were you going to say?"
ron stopped in his tracks. he looked around, making sure that the two of them were alone.
they were already running behind schedule and the hallway was deserted because
everybody was already in class. "say, harry," ron whispered, his voice barely audible,
"what do you think my chances are with hermione? i mean, as a... a boyfriend?"
harry couldn't hold his laughter back anymore. he snorted and broke out into a hearty
chuckle. ron, on the other hand, was not smiling. he looked like he'd just been slapped in
the face. he tried to laugh it off.
"yeah, pretty crazy idea, huh?" ron said sadly. "just joking, mate. really." he turned
around and began walking towards the classroom.
"ron, wait," harry said. he caught up to him and blocked his pathway. "i wasn't laughing
because you have no chance."
"then why were you laughing?" ron demanded. he was blushing hideously.
"because it's taken you so long to realize that you do have a chance," harry replied. "i
mean, i think you should go for it."
ron brightened up immediately. "you really think so?"
"you git," harry snapped. "i've been a witness to the tension between the two of you since
the day you met each other. i don't think i could take another year of it if you two don't
get your act together."
ron's grin was stretching from ear-to-ear. "yeah. you're right." he paused. "you know, i
remember when we first met her on the train and how she..."
he quickly stopped talking as a group of third years passed by. not wanting to reminisce
with ron about his romantic feelings about hermione, he said quickly, "we should get
going. we're going to be late." ron nodded and the two of them walked silently down the
corridor.
ron was no doubt hatching a plan of how to win hermione's heart. harry, on the other
hand, was feeling guilty for selfishly thinking only of himself. he wanted to be happy for
ron that he'd finally realized his true feelings for hermione. however, if ron and hermione
got together, what would become of the friendship he shared with each of them? would
he become nothing more than a third wheel? would hermione and ron sit next to each
other in every class? would harry have to be partnered with neville for every project? his
grades would surely suffer.
but the question that was really burning in his mind was if ron gained a girlfriend, would
harry lose his best friend?
they were the last to arrive in the muggle studies classroom. the two of them found their
seats in the second row.
professor avis was already at her desk. she glanced at them as they sat down just before
the bell rang. harry couldn't tell if she was angry or not. promptly, she stood and walked
to the front of the class.
today she was wearing a jean skirt and a bright orange sweater. she would have looked
positively muggle if it weren't for the leather jacket and matching feather boa she had tied
around her waist. it was very hard to take a teacher seriously when she dressed like
professor avis did.
"good afternoon, sixth years. as you are all well aware of, today is the day we will begin
our weekly discussion with our guest speaker. he will be lecturing the class for the first
hour. i want you all to treat him with the same respect you would give any other teacher.
he has kindly taken time out of his busy schedule with the ministry to educate all of us on
the wonders of muggle life. i'd like you all to welcome mr. arthur weasley."
there was some applause as mr. weasley stepped out of professor avis's office. harry heard
ron make a small squeaking noise. he sank low into his chair, trying desperately to
become invisible.
"thank you, thank you, you're too kind," mr. weasley said. he took over professor avis's
spot at in front of the chalkboard. she took a seat at her desk and folded her hands in front
of her, watching mr. weasley inquiringly. "once again, good afternoon to all of you. as
professor avis mentioned, i am arthur weasley. i work at the ministry of magic
headquarters in london. i work in the misuse of muggle artifacts office, where we often
work with muggles and some of their amazing devices."
mr. weasley scanned the class, his gaze stopped when it reached ron and harry. he
winked. ron sank lower into his seat. "please don't talk about me," he whimpered. "please
don't talk to me."
harry didn't understand why ron was embarrassed to have his dad lecture the muggle
studies class. if anything, harry thought he would have been proud that his father was so
involved with the class.
he cleared his throat. "now, throughout my lectures, please don't hesitate to interrupt and
ask questions. i understand that some of you know very little about muggle life,
especially those of you who come from ancient wizarding bloodlines. some of you may
also be very familiar with the ways of muggles. some of you may have even thought you
were muggles up until you received your letter from hogwarts. but i digress..."
mr. weasley began to pace the front of the classroom. "now, to stick to professor avis's
plan, we'll first be discussing the daily life of a muggle. does anybody have any questions
before we start?"
a hand shot into the air. it belonged to ravenclaw boy. mr. weasley called on him, and he
asked about what mr. weasley did at the ministry.
"i have been involved with raids of illegally enchanted objects. i am also first on the
scene during muggle relations incidents. for example, if a muggle somehow ends up with
a bewitched object, i go to where the accident occurred. i assess the damage and also
working with the wizarding task force to perform memory modifications and emergency
spells, if necessary. last week we had a problem with one of those flesh-engraving quills.
a poor chap was trying to address a love letter to his mistress and wound up with her
address etched on his forehead for his wife to see. needless to say, it was a very messy
cleanup, not to mention all of the morality issues we had to deal with."
a flesh-engraving quill? harry wasn't aware there was a name for umbridge's cruel
detention tool. when harry looked down, he could still sometimes see the scars reading, i
must not tell lies on his hand.
mr. weasley launched into stories about some of the most complicated and funniest
situations he'd ever run into at the ministry, including stories of shrinking keys. after a
few tales of misfortune, ron was no long embarrassed by his dad but seemed proud. he
had even joined in on some of the stories. "dad, tell the one about the spitting tea pot!" he
cried.
the class also had the utmost respect for mr. weasley, listening carefully to his stories.
harry didn't need to take notes on the lecture - he was sure he would remember all of it.
there wasn't a moment of boredom. the hour had passed by so quickly that everyone was
sad to see mr. weasley leave. he assured everyone that he would be back again next week
and they would stick to the topic at hand. "i'm afraid we went off on a bit of a tangent,"
he added.
"that's quite all right," professor avis said. "i hope all of you realize that these tales of
muggle misfortune may seem funny, but they are very serious."
"indeed," mr. weasley agreed. his voice was grave. "it is very difficult for the wizarding
world to remain secret when there are so many wizards out there with a sick sense of
humor. muggles have also been killed in these so-called harmless practical jokes. and the
ministry is not just trying to keep our world a secret, but also protect the innocent.
teaching tolerance is the only way to prevent these incidents from happening."
harry expected mr. weasley to mention something about voldemort's return and the threat
to the muggle world, but he didn't. after saying goodbye to the class, he headed back into
professor avis's office, where harry assumed he had a portkey waiting.
professor avis spent the rest of the class talking about the punishment for such practical
jokes played on muggles. "many cases have resulted in heavy fines, breaking wands,
magic bans, or even sentences in azkaban. this is a serious issue and has jeopardized
many of our muggle relations. now, for next week, i'd like you all to read the first three
chapters in your textbooks. and take good notes. we'll be having a discussion about it on
monday, and i'll also be passing out our muggle fiction novel. that's all for this week."
the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. all of the students were quickly taking their
books and leaving the room. ron turned to harry. "bet hermione'll be kicking herself now.
thought she wouldn't learn anything," he said. "i'm sure we'll be learning loads from my
dad."
harry didn't say anything out loud, but he doubted that hermione would agree. at one
point, she had wanted to take muggle studies to see how professors in the wizarding
world would teach about muggles. but now she just thought that the class was a waste of
time in her case.
the two of them returned to the dormitory and dropped their books on their nightstands.
"it's my afternoon off," ron announced, plopping on his bed. what should we do?"
"homework?" harry suggested, grinning. "nah."
"want to play some quidditch?" ron asked. "have to keep you in shape since you don't
have to tryout on thursday."
"that's only because i've got occlumency," harry muttered.
"no it's not, harry. you know that you've got your seeker spot back. you've got nothing to
worry about. things can just go back to normal."
harry knew that things would never be normal now. playing quidditch didn't bring the
relief to him that it used to now that ron was the captain. and then he felt ashamed for his
envy. why couldn't he just accept the fact that he couldn't have everything? was he so
self-centered that he could only think of himself?
"how about helping me come up with some plays or something?" ron questioned,
disturbing his thoughts.
"i don't know." harry stared out the window. it was a humid day and there were dark
clouds in the distance. the gray smoke from hagrid's chimney rose high into the sky and
blended into them. "might rain."
"if we're quick, we could make it," ron said hopefully.
harry shook his head, still staring at hagrid's lonely little hut. "there's something else i've
got to do." the weight of guilt was finally too much for him to handle. he had been
terrible to hagrid last night. he'd acted like a child. he felt so humiliated. was this how he
treated his friends? the people who cared about him the most?
"what's more important than quidditch?"
harry sighed. "i've got to apologize to hagrid. last night, well..." his voice trailed off. he
turned to face ron, but didn't meet his eyes. "i said some awful things."
"because fang killed your stick bug?" ron asked.
he smiled sadly. "hagrid didn't give me an insect. he gave me a motorcycle. sirius's
motorcycle."
"oh. oh," ron said. "so that's why you were in such a ruddy mood."
harry nodded. "i didn't know how to react. it was just... there. it was hard to look at." he
fell silent. his feelings about sirius's motorcycle were not something that harry wanted to
share with ron. ron would think he was stupid for his confession - or worse, he would pity
him. harry just couldn't take being pitied by his best friend. "so i've got to go apologize."
"are you sure? hagrid would understand, you know."
"he's only blaming himself. i'm sure of it." harry stood up from his bed. "i better go now. i
don't want to make things worse by waiting." he quickly left the dormitory.
in truth, harry didn't quite know what to say to hagrid. he was sorry for the way he acted,
but he just couldn't understand how it had been a wise decision to give him the
motorcycle in the first place. what was harry supposed to do with it? come visit it every
few days like a shrine to his godfather? it made no sense. he couldn't even ride it.
he left gryffindor tower and walked swiftly to the grounds. he could feel the heat against
his skin. it was pooling beneath his hair, on the back of his neck. he wished it would rain.
the weather seemed only fitting to his mood.
as he approached hagrid's hut, he could hear voices echoing through the trees of the dark
forest. hagrid was teaching a group of students. harry had forgotten that not everyone's
schedule was the same as his.
he was about to turn back, but hagrid had already spotted him and motioned for him to
join the class at the edge of the forest. it was a group of fifth years. the gryffindors were
there, along with the students from ravenclaw. they were gathered around a freshly-dug
earthen bed. there was a handful of nifflers - furry creatures who searched for shiny
objects. ginny was holding one on a leash. she waved to harry as he stepped closer.
"'ello, 'arry," hagrid greeted. his face seemed to brighten up a little. we wasn't wearing his
teaching coat that he'd worn the night before, but he did have his hair tied back neatly in a
ribbon. his shirt didn't even appear to have any holes in it. the sleeves were rolled up and
he was glistening with a touch of sweat from the humidity.
"hi, hagrid," harry replied. "i'm sorry, i didn't realize that you were in the middle of a
lesson."
"'at's all right. you're welcome to come anytime. one of me favorite lessons today. kids
enjoy 'em too, those nifflers. thought i'd give them a familiar creature to start the new
year off with."
harry nodded. he remembered his own niffler lesson years ago. he watched as the class
laughed as their nifflers playfully searched the dirt for coins that hagrid had buried in the
ground. an apology on the tip of his tongue, he turned to hagrid. "i'm sorry. about last
night. i didn't know what i was saying. i was completely inconsiderate..."
"aw, 'arry, you don't need to apologize," he interrupted. "i know it's been rough on ya. we
should've known yeh weren't ready." he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped
the sweat from his brow. "i'll just 'ang onto it. yeh can visit 'er anytime."
"well, thanks," harry replied. "what do you mean - we?"
hagrid smiled. "we're just lookin' out for yeh, harry. that's all. careful, there, henry!"
hagrid bellowed at a ravenclaw fifth-year. "he'll go right through yer hand ta get ter them
coins."
ginny had handed her niffler over to one of her friends. she made her way over to harry.
harry felt strangely uncomfortable. her face was set as though she were on a mission. he
seemed to sweat even more as she joined him and hagrid.
"harry, we need to talk," she said.
harry felt his stomach lurch. no conversation that have ever started with the phrase ever
worked out well. hagrid cleared his throat. "right, well, i'd better go see who's collected
the most coins. don't take too long, ginny," he added as he walked towards the other fifth-
years.
"i... i can't right now, ginny," harry explained. "ron and i were hoping to play some
quidditch before it rained." the humidity was so thick in the air it was hard for him to
speak. or was it just that ginny looked as though she were about to ambush him again.
"my brother can wait," she said. "this is about us."
us. harry gulped. "what do you mean?"
"we need to talk about the night before your birthday."
"oh, right." harry would have given anything to be in a different place or a different
person. why was ginny talking about this now? in front of everyone during hagrid's
lesson? but as harry searched the grounds, looking everywhere but ginny's eyes, he
realized that nobody was paying attention to them at all. hagrid was busy counting coins
and the students were carefully petting nifflers and rewarding them with some bits of
treats that looked like chocolate.
"i should have told you sooner," she began. "i should have told you right after i did it, but
it just happened so fast. not to mention that all of my brothers were around at home."
harry pretended to know what she was talking about, but the more she said, the more
confused he was. "okay..."
she swept a piece of red hair behind her ear, removing it from her face. "there's just no
easy way to say this, harry."
he gulped. "well, then, maybe you shouldn't say it all." ginny could not confess her love
for him right there, right then. harry would probably keel over and die on the spot.
"i have to. i've got to put an end to all of the wondering." she took a step closer to him,
her voice barely above a whisper. "harry, i just want you to know, that you don't have to
worry about me."
confused, harry took a step back. "what? what are you talking about?"
ginny raised an eyebrow. "i said you don't have to worry about me." when he still looked
confused, she put her hands on her hips and tapped one foot impatiently. "haven't you
been wondering why i kissed you?"
"kissed?" harry cried. "is that what you call it? and yes, of course i've been wondering."
she was laughing now. "you don't get it, do you? i had to try it. i had to try it or for the
rest of my life i'd be wondering what might have been."
frustrated, harry ran his fingers through his unruly dark hair. "what the hell are you
talking about, gin?"
"i'm not in love with you," she said finally. "i kissed you because i had to make sure that
there was nothing between us. i kissed you because i knew that if i didn't, i'd always
wonder. i'd always worry about what might have been. but now i know. i don't have any
true romantic feelings for you."
harry's mouth dropped open. he couldn't believe that she'd been so honest. so direct. she
winced, looking as though she may have hurt him. but on the contrary, somewhere inside,
he was relieved. had ginny been in love with him, it only would have added more stress
and more obstacles in his life. although his ego was a little bruised.
and now that he thought back to their kiss, he didn't feel anything romantic about it either.
he had been confused, and then he'd waited for it to end. there were no fireworks, no bells
and whistles.
he grinned at her. "well, that's... that's actually..." he didn't know quite what to say. "i'm so
glad you told me!"
she laughed. "me too. i mean, lately i've been feeling as though you're walking on
eggshells when you're around me. i don't want it to be that way. you're my friend, harry,
and i'll always love you. it's just not a romantic love."
"i know exactly what you mean," he replied. and he did. he knew that ginny would
always hold a special place in his heart. but loving her was not the same as being in love
with her.
"well, i'd better get back to class before hagrid gets mad," she said. "i'll see you at
dinner!" she quickly turned around and sauntered off to join the rest of the class.
as harry walked back up to hogwarts, his steps had never seemed so light. even the air did
not weigh as heavy on his shoulders as it had earlier. he had so much respect for ginny.
she was a smart girl. she knew exactly what she wanted - or in his case, what she didn't
want - and she went for it. she was fearless.
harry was feeling truly happy for the first time since he'd arrived at hogwarts. he still had
his position on the quidditch team, he'd apologized to hagrid, and ginny had fixed things
between the two of them. despite all of his troubles, harry could finally enjoy himself
again. charlie was right: he didn't need to be in love to be happy.
eleven: the diary
whenever harry was dreading something, time moved quickly. so quickly, in fact, that
when he found himself outside of snape's office in the dungeon on thursday evening, he
wondered how he'd gotten there. had it only been the day before when his heart had been
light and he was happy with the world? he'd spent the entire afternoon brooding over
what was to come for his occlumency lesson. he would have much rather been at
quidditch tryouts, but under the circumstances, mcgonagall insisted that harry attend
occlumency.
harry took a deep breath and knocked on snape's door. the air smelled vaguely of the
spiced salmon they'd eaten two days earlier for lunch. harry wondered if the house-elves
had mistaken snape's office for the garbage disposal. it would have been understandable.
instead of inviting harry in, snape met him at the door and closed it quickly behind him.
he was carrying a leather-bound book in his greasy hands. "have a seat, potter. there are
things we'll need to discuss before tonight's lesson."
harry didn't protest, and took a seat behind one of the tables in the potions classroom.
snape sat on the edge of his desk at near the blackboard and tossed the book over to harry.
"this is a dream diary," snape spat. harry flipped through the brown book quickly, and
saw that it was filled with blank parchment. "use it everyday. when you wake up every
morning, you must record what you can remember of any dream you had the night
before. if you have any sort of visions, sleeping or not, you are to record them in these
pages. if you feel any pain, you are to write about it."
harry frowned. a diary? his duty to the order was to confide everything in a diary? like
some schoolgirl? "i don't know..." harry began.
"you have no choice, potter," snape replied. the tension was growing between them. harry
wished that he hadn't thanked snape earlier in the week. it was a moment of weakness.
why should he thank such a horrible monster of a person? "the pages are bewitched to
copy to an identical journal. whatever you write will be viewed by the order. do you
understand?"
he nodded. the only way the order could keep tabs on what sort of information he and
voldemort were exchanging was by monitoring his dreams and visions. harry wondered
where the other diary was, and who would be viewing it when he wrote. this would not
be like keeping a dream record as he had done for professor trelawney. this was strictly
business.
but all summer he hadn't dreamt about voldemort at all. of course, there had been just
nightmares in general about the dark lord and sirius's death, but nothing like a vision.
"get up," snape commanded. "it's time to see how much you've been practicing."
harry glared at snape, then reluctantly stood up from his seat. he pulled his wand out of
his pocket, and then took a deep breath.
"clear your mind, potter," snape said. "i'm not going to go easy on you."
he didn't expect anything less. the two of them assumed the dueling position. harry did
his best to clear his mind and have a defense of absolutely no thoughts. he was still
feeling refreshed about yesterday. ginny was not madly in love with him and he had fixed
things with hagrid. of course, there were always the lingering thoughts of ron's captain
position and his newfound feelings towards hermione. harry tried to push that out of his
mind.
snape raised his wand and glared at harry with his dark eyes. "legilimens!"
harry was a blank. he was a clean slate. he couldn't - wouldn't - allow snape to access his
memories. but he was weak. he had tried to practice on his own over the summer. it was
particularly easy to clear his mind while ripping into dudley's punching bag.
he'd managed to squeak out a feeble boil curse before he was taken inside his own
memories to the department of mysteries, staring at the shelves of prophecies. but it was
no use; he fell to his knees on the dungeon floor.
"tisk, tisk, potter," snape said, lowering his wand. "i thought you'd do better than that."
but there was one tiny boil that had appeared on the tip of snape's nose. he probably
couldn't see it with his greasy hair in the way. harry had at least succeeded in one thing.
"again."
harry got up on his feet again, poised and ready for the next attack. he had to close his
mind. he couldn't let snape see inside of him. he had to be indifferent, the way he'd felt all
summer. he could show no emotion. he could remember nothing.
"legilimens!"
he gasped. his mind had been more vulnerable the second time. there were beads of sweat
forming in the creases of his forehead. he must not let snape see. he had too much to hide.
he had too much pride.
harry whispered the banishing spell at first. then he saw a vision of snape in professor
dumbledore's office. dumbledore peered down at him from the telescope on the upper
level. dumbledore was younger. his hair was still white, but his beard was not as long.
"you're late, severus. the alignment has passed."
snape's memory snapped him back to reality and harry found his voice. he shouted the
spell at the top of his lungs. snape was thrown back into his desk. the banishing charm
was not nearly as powerful as it should have been, but it still had swept him off his feet.
snape regained his composure. something in his eyes changed as he watched harry. "good
job, potter." had professor snape actually congratulated harry? harry thought that perhaps
snape had hit him with a delusional spell when he wasn't paying attention. however, the
impressed glimmer in snape's eyes quickly disappeared, and there was no doubt in harry's
mind that snape enjoyed torturing him. "but let's see how much you can take." he raised
his wand once again, barely giving harry time to take a breath, and bellowed,
"legilimens!"
he was playing dirty. snape hadn't given him the chance to recover and he was thrown off
balance. suddenly, he was in dumbledore's office again. however, it was an older
dumbledore, the one that harry knew, and he was sitting patiently at his desk as harry
threw his possessions around the room.
"no..." harry brought his hands to his forehead, covering his scar. he didn't want snape to
see that. he was ashamed. that had been a time when he had lost control of his emotions.
dumbledore was still at his desk, and harry's heart quivered as a small tear ran down the
headmaster's cheek. "no!"
the harry in the dungeon fell forward, painfully landing on his knees. snape pulled his
wand away. "temper, temper, potter," snape said, making a clicking noise in the back of
his throat.
anger was rising inside of harry. he was on his feet in a matter of seconds. he wanted to
launch himself across the room at snape and rip him apart with his bare hands. but this
was what he needed to control. he couldn't lose his temper. he couldn't show emotion. he
needed to be numb.
snape's eyes narrowed as he watched harry struggling to conquer his own feelings.
"maybe there's hope for you yet," snape muttered. "again!"
***
harry stumbled back to gryffindor tower, his heart heavy and his scar sore and aching. the
weight of the leather-bound diary felt like he was carrying a body underneath his right
arm. there were still people in the common room when he returned, including ron and
hermione, but harry didn't even bother to stop and speak to them. he went directly up to
his dormitory and plopped down on his bed.
how was he supposed to find the strength - the energy, even - to practice occlumency
twice a week? according to snape, it was only going to get harder from here on out. when
was he supposed to do his homework?
he felt himself drifting off to sleep and quickly stood up from the bed. he hid the diary
inside of his nightstand and managed to get undressed before falling into bed out of
exhaustion. he fell asleep on as soon as his head hit the pillow.
the first few hours of sleep were dreamless. he didn't hear the other boys enter the
dormitory or neville's heavy snores from his bed. it was during the in-between time, when
the moon had disappeared but the sun didn't rise yet, that he slowly slipped in and out of
consciousness.
harry found himself in a room, unfamiliar and musty, sitting in a rocking chair. he could
hear the wooden rocking chair creaking against the dusty floor, squeaking with every
move.
he could see in the darkness. he could see his pale, bony hands folded in his lap. his dark
robes stretched down past his feet. creak. creak. creak. his rhythm did not waiver as a
giant snake coiled at his feet, its red eyes glowing brightly.
harry didn't know how to explain it, but he knew the snake was warning him that
someone was approaching. "it is only wormtail," he said. there was a knock on the door.
harry stopped rocking. "come in. what news do you have?"
a short and feeble man, who harry recognized as peter pettirgrew, entered cautiously. "we
have bargained with one of the guards. he will let her go in return for money and safe
passage out of england, master," wormtail replied. "but it is a lot of money. he requests
one-hundred thousand galleons."
"give it to him," harry replied. "she is worth more to me." there was a burning inside
harry in a place he didn't know existed: the hollow heart cavity in his pathetic excuse for
a human body. when he spoke of her, it seared with desire. "once free, they will all see to
it that he does not make it out of the country alive."
"yes, master. and what of the others?"
a jolt of pain flared inside of harry's head. he lifted his boney hand to his forehead, where
he rubbed his scar.
scar? he had no scar.
"he is watching!" hissed a distant voice.
the pain in harry's head became unbearable. he felt as though it were splitting in two. he
sat up quickly in his four-poster. it took him a moment to understand where he was. he
had just been someplace else. a dusty room with a snake and a rocking chair and boney
hands.
the visions had returned.
he was panting heavily in the darkness of the dormitory. thankfully, it appeared that
everyone was still asleep. harry wasn't quite sure what to do. at another time, he would
have jumped out of bed and wrote a letter to sirius. but it was no use thinking of the dead
now.
he could write to remus instead. but then there was always the chance that the letter
would be intercepted. he could go to dumbledore. but somehow, harry couldn't bring
himself to wake up dumbledore just before dawn to confess a vision to him.
and then he knew there was only one answer: the diary. he had almost forgotten about it.
quietly, he got out of bed and dug the journal out of his nightstand. he grabbed a quill and
tip-toed down to the common room.
afraid that the vividness from his dream would disappear, harry threw the diary down on
the nearest table and hastily lit a candle. he tried to recall everything from the vision, but
it was all getting blurry. he could still hear the creaking of the rocking chair, but what
exactly had wormtail said?
there was something about money. they were going to bribe someone. they were going to
bribe a guard to set someone free. to set her free. and "her" could only mean one person.
bellatrix lestrange.
harry's insides burned with anger. he loathed her. if he ever saw her again, he would kill
her. there was no doubt in his mind. but voldemort felt differently about her. he'd actually
felt something for her. harry could feel the familiar pain in his chest, but it wasn't the
same as anger.
there really was a fine line between love and hate, he realized.
he wrote down everything he could remember about the dream. if only wormtail had
mentioned some kind of timetable. when were they planning on getting rid of the guard?
when would the death eaters be free? would it be possible to prevent their escape?
as harry scratched the quill against the parchment, he realized that it was no ordinary
paper. every inkblot he made would duplicate itself in a blurry puddle, and then
eventually sharpen into one copy of his handwriting. he wondered, eerily, who had the
other journal, and where it was being kept. it made the hair on the back of his neck stand
on end. he felt like he was being watched.
"can you not sleep, harry potter, sir?" squeaked a voice from the corner of the room.
harry slammed the diary shut and jumped out of his chair. he reached for his wand, then
realized he'd forgotten it in his robe in the boy's dormitory. he breathed a sigh of relief as
he saw that it was dobby, the house-elf. he was dressed in brilliant scarlet shorts - hand-
knitted, of course - and a vest of gold fabric. he looked a little bit like a genie from a
movie harry saw clips of once, but at least it was better than a tea cozy.
"dobby!" harry cried. "you scared me."
"sorry, sir. i is just wondering why harry potter is up so early, sir." he approached harry
with wide eyes. he tugged nervously on one of his big ears.
"it's all right, dobby," harry replied. "early?" harry glanced out the window. the sun was
peeking over the horizon. he could almost see the outline of the grounds below. he
sighed. there was no point in going back to bed now.
"early by wizard time," dobby replied. "i is running late with chores, sir. my apologies,
harry potter, sir."
"no problem," harry replied. "how was your summer, dobby?"
dobby squealed. his eyes tightened with wetness as he took a step closer to harry. "harry
potter is asking dobby about his summer? oh, harry potter is truly the most kind, most
generous..."
"it was good, then?" harry interrupted with a grin. he did not want to hear about how
great he was from the house-elf for just being polite.
"oh yes, sir. dobby went to london for five days, sir. the most days dobby has gone
without working." he seemed to be holding back from punishing himself. "i visited with
other house-elves."
"freed house-elves?" harry questioned.
dobby nodded. "oh yes, sir. in fact, there is a group of freed elves in london."
harry turned his head sharply. "what?" the only free house-elves he'd ever heard of were
dobby and winky, and only dobby was actually enjoying his freedom. was there really a
clan of free house-elves somewhere?
suddenly, dobby slammed his head on the table harry was working at. "dobby is running
late, harry potter, sir! dobby must bet back to work!"
"but dobby..."
"dobby is sorry, sir. perhaps we can chat another time. next time harry potter cannot
sleep, sir, he should come down to the kitchen for some tea, sir." he tugged on his ear
again. "but harry potter should leave his wheezy and young miss at home, sir."
harry laughed. hermione hadn't exactly made the best impression on the house-elves with
her liberating ideals. with a small smile and wink, dobby snapped his fingers and
disappeared from the gryffindor common room.
after returning the diary to his nightstand drawer, harry plopped back down on his four-
poster and tried to fall back asleep, but it was no use. as the dormitory lightened from the
sunrise, his fellow gryffindors were waking up and getting dressed, hurrying down to
breakfast. harry waited for ron to stir and the two of them headed to the great hall for
breakfast.
hermione was already there, reading her copy of the daily prophet over morning tea. she
watched harry carefully as he sat down next to her. "how was remedial potions?" she
asked cautiously.
"oh, wonderful," harry replied sarcastically. he looked around the table, making sure that
nobody was listening. he explained about the diary.
"i've seen one of those," ron whispered. "mum had one when she went to hogwarts. it's
called a diary dupuliquer. she and one of her friends would write back and forth to each
other during their history of magic class."
harry couldn't help but wonder if this was the same diary that mrs. weasley had used
during her school years. perhaps she had the counterpart to the one harry was using. he'd
have to watch his language if mrs. weasley was the one reading what he wrote.
"did you write anything in it yet?" ron asked.
harry looked down at his plate of eggs. he'd suddenly lost his appetite. "well, yes. i did
have a dream - a vision - last night." he told the two of them about how he'd been
voldemort again, and wormtail was telling him all about the plan to break bellatrix out of
azkaban.
"this is serious, harry!" hermione interrupted. "i know you wrote it down in that diary, but
you should really go and talk to dumbledore about it."
"that's your answer to everything, hermione!" harry snapped. he hated running to
dumbledore for every little problem he had. "besides, i'm sure that he already knows.
probably, the whole purpose of this diary is so that i don't have to run to his office every
time i have a vision. in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if the order and the ministry already
have everything under control over at azkaban."
hermione still looked skeptical, but she dropped the subject. harry was grateful. he hadn't
made a trip to dumbledore's office yet this year, and he wanted to prolong his first visit
for as long as possible. whenever harry went to his office, it was almost always bad news.
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves oc elf da
rating: r
summary: chapter twelve - the house elves' servitude: the legend behind house-elf
slavery. (post ootp - harry's sixth year) harry is struggling between childhood and
manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his raging hormones aren't helping the
mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts, but inside the
author notes: as always, i don't really know why house-elves are the way they are. this is
just my interpretation. this is the way it works for this particular fic.
thanks so much to my beta, brie, and to all over my readers and reviewers. you guys are
great!
also, i know i am lacking in a central plot and love interest, but they're coming! good
things come to those who wait!
chapter twelve: the house-elves' servitude
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
one afternoon harry found himself trying desperately hard to stay awake during defense
against the dark arts. he had spent half the night before in snape's dungeon practicing
occlumency. snape was out for blood. and it wasn't enough torture in occlumency - harry
had the impression that snape enjoyed watching his misery in potions as he fumbled for
his ingredients. at this rate, he would have no chance at passing a n.e.w.t. potions test. he
could kiss being an auror goodbye.
professor leurre was pacing the front of the classroom, glancing down at some notes she
had written. she'd just finished discussing the basics of dueling defense when she turned
to the class, her face serious. "the time has come," she said, "for me to answer some of
your questions about ancient magic. i must say that you are a very observant group. most
of your essays were impressive." she glanced in the direction of several slytherins, her
eyes narrowed. harry knew that malfoy didn't like professor leurre much.
the slytherin house had been treating malfoy like a hero. even though his father was in
azkaban, he declared his innocence at every opportunity to anyone who would listen.
harry knew he was only doing it to keep up appearances. he was loyal to his father like
some mangy old mutt. however, harry thought malfoy was a coward, and if he had
actually dealt with voldemort, he would probably wet himself.
"now, i only have time to give you a general background on the subject today," professor
leurre said. harry glanced at his watch. there were only a few minutes before the bell
rang. "but as i said before, ancient magic is limitless. it will never go away. it is hidden in
the darkest of places. no witch or wizard truly understands all of its capabilities. not even
voldemort." most of the students in the class still shuttered at the sound of his name.
professor leurre ignored them. "not even dumbledore." she paused and leaned back
against her desktop. "the only masters of ancient magic, the only ones who really
understand all of its secrets, are house-elves."
at the mentioning of house-elves, harry saw hermione's head instantly snap to attention.
there was some noise from the rest of the class as well.
harry had never thought of it before, but now it made sense. dobby had some kind of
powerful magic that let him disapparate on hogwarts grounds. it was hard to believe that
such power was given to such a small race. and the entire purpose of a house-elf was to
serve a wizard, when in fact, they could rule the world if they wanted to.
"house-elves have served wizards for centuries," professor leurre continued. "their magic
knows no bounds. the origin of the first house-elf is unknown, but legend has it that the
first house-elf was bound to a wizard family by a curse. the first house-elf had abused its
power, and each house-elf thereafter would be forced to carry out his sentence until he
was given back his dignity by receiving clothes."
malfoy glared at harry with his beady eyes. dobby had been the malfoy's house-elf until
harry had sent him free during his second year. dobby had been the one to save him from
lucius malfoy's wrath.
hermione's hand shot into the air. professor leurre called on her. "yes, miss granger?"
"what exactly did the first house-elf do to receive this kind of punishment?"
"excellent question," professor leurre said. "according to legend, the house-elf tried to
become immortal by feeding off of the wizarding family. so from then on, he had to serve
the family to repay them for the pain he had caused."
"and who decided this punishment?" hermione asked. "because it all seems rather unfair
to me."
"big surprise," malfoy spat. "stupid mudblood, asking stupid questions."
"watch your mouth, mr. malfoy," professor leurre scolded. "ten points from slytherin."
"ten points well worth it," malfoy muttered. but the professor didn't hear him. ron, on the
other hand, looked like he was ready to launch himself across the room and beat malfoy
into a pulp.
"actually, the house-elf decided the punishment with the spell he was using. ancient
magic works in mysterious ways. i know this is all very confusing and hard for you all to
understand, but there is a certain balance that magic achieves. the house-elf used the
family, so in return, the family used the house-elf."
"so just because one house-elf made a mistake, the rest of the race has to suffer for
eternity?" hermione interrupted.
harry thought professor leurre would be upset with hermione, but she smiled with that
same spark in her eye she'd had before. "who said it was for an eternity?" she questioned
coyly. "however, it has always been in the house-elves' nature to serve others. now, as
much as you'd like to discuss the mistreatment of house-elves, i'm not going to allow you
to do it during my class time. i'm lecturing on ancient magic, not house-elf history."
but before she could continue, the bell rang signaling the end of class. she sighed. "next
time we'll be discussing a little bit about chapter seven and a lot about ancient magic.
class dismissed."
most of the class jumped out of their seats and headed towards the doorway, but hermione
had stayed behind. she looked as though she were going to ask some more questions
about house-elves.
harry wondered if hermione knew of this clan of free house-elves in london. professor
leurre seemed to be rather knowledgeable about the subject; perhaps she had heard of
them too. he considered staying behind and asking, but he could tell that hermione's mind
was on the s.p.e.w., and he wanted to steer clear of that conversation if at all possible.
professor leurre was fussing with a jar of toads she'd used for a demonstration. as harry
and ron walked by her desk, one of them jumped from its open jar and hopped along the
floor. professor leurre tried to pick it up, but she nearly dropped the jars she was holding.
harry quickly bent over and tried to catch the frog. he got it by the hind legs but it hopped
away. he took another step forward and caught it with both hands.
"i've got it," harry said. he gave it back to professor leurre, who put it in a jar with a
secured lid and added it to the other frogs on her desk.
"thanks, harry," she said brightly. harry saw that maybe she didn't look so much like
mcgonagall now that he was closer to her. her expression was almost child-like. she had a
twinkle in her eye that mcgonagall only had when she spoke of quidditch. "oh, i think
you dropped something," she said. she walked over to where harry had caught the frog
and picked up a small, gray orb.
harry gasped. it was remus's moon guide.
"where did you get this?" she demanded. she held it in the palm of her hand, staring at it
as though it were going to jump up and bite her.
harry didn't even realize that somebody would know what it even was. what was he
supposed to say? that he got it from remus? "i, well, er... i mean... it was a gift."
professor leurre kept her eyes on the moon guide. "i see."
he feared for a moment that she was going to keep it until the end of the year - like the
fake moody had done with the marauder's map - but she held it out to him. carefully,
harry took it from her.
"don't want to lose that, potter," she said. "keep it safe." she turned away, her mood
substantially deflated, and the sparkle gone from her eyes. she cleared her throat. "the
headmaster wants to see you in his office."
what had happened? why would dumbledore want to see him? "i... okay..."
professor leurre took a step closer to him, her voice barely above a whisper. "the
password is ton-tongue toffee."
he didn't know if he was more shocked because he'd actually been called to dumbledore's
office, or because the headmaster was a fan of weasleys' wizarding wheezes. harry
nodded and glanced wearily at hermione and ron. as they walked by hermione, ron
grabbed her by the sleeve and hauled her outside. she looked like she would have rather
bombarded professor leurre with questions about house-elves.
"what was that all about?" ron questioned.
"that was really odd, harry," hermione agreed. "d'you think she really knew what it was?"
harry shrugged. they didn't know the whole story. "there's something i didn't tell you two.
not only does this show me the phases of the moon," he said quietly, "when i look into it,
i can see where remus is. i can see what he's doing."
"so it's like a surveillance item?" hermione questioned. "incredible! it even works on
hogwarts grounds? it must be more than an enchanted object."
"wait, so you can spy on lupin?" ron asked.
"as long as he's wearing this special chain around his neck," harry replied. "he said that it
was another gift from moony, wormtail, padfoot, and prongs. i think it's a one-of-a-kind
magical item."
"do you think she knew what it really was?" hermione questioned.
"well, remus did mention that somebody else had the moon guide before." harry tried to
think back to his birthday. "if i remember correctly," he said suddenly, "remus mentioned
that it was a woman. he said that whoever had it before, she didn't want it anymore."
"she? remus has a girlfriend?" ron questioned.
"not anymore, by the sounds of it," harry replied. "but you don't think... professor leurre
and remus? she's not at all his type."
"that would be like lupin dating mcgonagall!" ron cried. he had a sickened expression on
his face. "there's no way. remus is smarter than that."
"and what is wrong with professor mcgonagall?" hermione asked incredulously. "some
men are attracted to bright, head-strong women!"
knowing that this was entirely true from his own personal experience, ron shut up.
"i've got to go," harry said. "professor leurre said that dumbledore wants to see me in his
office straight away."
"what for?"
harry shrugged. "i've no clue. i hope it's not something serious."
he said goodbye to hermione and ron, worrying about the meeting to come. he was lost in
thought when he found himself in front of a statue of a stone gargoyle, planted at the
entrance to dumbledore's office. he walked up to the wall and quietly said, "ton-tongue
toffee." the statue rolled away and revealed a staircase. quietly, harry followed the
pathway to dumbledore's office.
he wasn't sure why dumbledore was calling him to his office. he was rarely called there
for any sort of good news. the last time he'd been in the office he had trashed it. it had
been the night that sirius died and dumbledore had told him everything about the
prophecy. he thought back to that night and felt ashamed. dumbledore was only doing
what he thought was best for harry.
when he reached the doorway, he knocked softly. "come in," dumbledore called.
harry opened the door and stepped inside of his office. portraits of previous headmasters
hung on the walls. some were sleeping, but oddly enough, harry noticed that most of
them were quietly watching him.
"don't mind them," dumbledore announced. "they're a bit nosey these days." he gestured
to the chair in front of his office. "have a seat, harry."
harry was a little apprehensive as he sat down. he was afraid to meet dumbledore's eyes,
but when he finally did look the old man in the face, he was relieved to see a smile.
"professor leurre said you wanted to see me, sir?"
"yes, harry. don't be alarmed. i just thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to
have a little chat." he folded his hands together on the desktop. "i understand that you've
been busy with occlumency lately."
harry nodded. "yes, sir."
"i realize that you and professor snape have had your share of differences, and i truly
appreciate your patience. however, i must stress the importance of you recording all of
your dreams down in the diary."
harry was concentrating on the grain of dumbledore's desk. "yes, sir."
"the order has decided that you play an indispensable role in our defense."
indispensable? harry was confused. "i'm afraid i don't understand."
"once you learn to control these... visions, as you call them, you will prove to be
invaluable. you are our weapon, harry." when harry still looked puzzled, he continued.
"not only are you the key to voldemort's demise, but you share the same sight. though this
sight is a burden, it gives an advantage to our side. that is why we are having you record
your dreams, and also why we want to set up a few meetings for you with the order."
"meetings?"
professor dumbledore nodded. "the first one will be to discuss the vision involving
bellatrix lestrange's escape." harry's heart blazed inside him when he heard her name. he
hated her in a way that made his entire body burn. "the order will choose a time and place
for this meeting, and we will set up some transportation for you to meet with them."
"you mean i'm going to leave hogwarts?"
"only at night, i assure you," dumbledore replied. "i wish that these meetings could take
place on the grounds, but the fact remains that it would be entirely suspicious to watching
eyes if all of the members suddenly showed up in my office. it would not be safe. which
brings up something else i should share with you."
harry didn't like the sound of that. he gulped.
"owls are not safe. the order had a message intercepted only last week and we believe that
voldemort has been tracking us somehow. please, do not give away vital information in
your letters. use code if at all possible. and finally, there is one last thing i wish to discuss
with you. just between the two of us."
harry winced. he hoped it didn't have anything to do with using a fever fudge snackbox to
get out of charms a few days before. but when he looked up at dumbledore, he was
smiling.
"i wonder, harry, when you are planning to resurrect my army?"
harry's jaw dropped. he didn't know what to say.
"everyone in the order was very impressed with d.a. last year. we agreed that you need to
put all of your emotions - all of your anger - into something productive. continuing to
teach defense of the dark arts to your peers would be a very healthy outlet."
"i... sir... but you see..." harry stuttered. how could explain to dumbledore that he didn't
want the responsibility of endangering the lives of his friends?
however, the headmaster seemed to understand his thinking. "harry, you are not putting
them into mortal peril. you are preparing them for the final battle. this nonsense about
responsibility just will not do. you must continue with the meetings."
harry was still in shock, but part of him was wondering where he'd find the time for d.a.
between occlumency and quidditch starting and his own studies, he barely had time to
breathe. "but professor..."
"harry, you are a minor, and as a minor you are too young to join the order of the
phoenix. however, that doesn't mean you can't make a difference."
dumbledore was right. harry was being too cautious. he was behaving like a coward about
d.a. he was in gryffindor, wasn't? he would just have to be brave and take the plunge
again. they needed to learn. they needed to know how to protect themselves.
"yes, sir," harry replied. "i'll spread the word."
"good." dumbledore's blue eyes were twinkling as he stroked his long white beard. "there
are a lot of people who care about you, harry. myself included. please, don't hesitate to
stop by if anything is on your mind."
"i won't sir," harry said. "thanks." he stood up from his seat and headed towards the exit.
"oh, and harry," dumbledore said, "i'm sorry about quidditch captain, but i'm afraid there
was no way around it. professor snape was a stickler for the rulebook. but there's always
next year," he added hopefully.
snape. harry's hands coiled into fists at his side. so he was behind it all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chapter thirteen: the dance
the next weekend couldn't arrive soon enough for harry. not only was it a break from his
classes, but it also meant the beginning of quidditch. harry was actually anxious for their
first practice as a new team when he woke up on saturday morning. ron had booked the
pitch for a few hours after dinner that night so that they could warm up. the two of them
had spent most of the day going through oliver wood's old playbook, which had been
passed down from angelina.
even though harry wasn't the captain, he couldn't help but feel a certain right of passage
as he and ron stepped into the locker room, armed with their brooms and ideas for
grueling practices. they were the oldest players on the team, and harry was the most
experienced.
ginny had made her chaser position, along with a girl in third year, natalie macdonald. the
third chaser was vicki frobisher, who had tried out for the team the year before, but had
said that charms club would have taken priority over quidditch. she was still a pretty good
flier, and she had since rearranged her priorities. the two beaters who had taken fred and
george's place last year, andrew kirke and jack sloper, had also proved to be the best
beaters at the tryouts.
ron stood at the chalkboard where there was a drawn outline of the quidditch field. he
cleared his throat. "all right everybody," he began, "i know that we're a young team this
year, but that didn't stop us from winning the cup last year, and i have no doubt that if we
work hard, we'll be taking it again this year.
"our biggest opposition will not be slytherin," he declared. "i believe that ravenclaw will
prove to be the team to beat. it's chang's last year, and as captain and seeker..."
and my ex-girlfriend, harry thought.
"she will be out for blood. i had to fight her to book the field for tonight," he added.
"we've only got a few hours, so i think it would be best if we run a few drills and get
reacquainted with our brooms from the off-season."
after a few more encouraging words form ron, the gryffindor house team stepped out onto
the quidditch pitch. the sun was setting in the west, casting long, hoop-shaped shadows
onto the grassy field. it felt good to be back in the air. harry could almost picture the pitch
full of spectators and hear lee jordan commentating. he wondered who would be
commenting during the games now.
ron gave them a grueling warm-up. harry was almost dizzy from the diving and twirling.
afterwards, the balls were released. the quaffle, bludgers, and snitch soared into the air.
harry brought his hand to his sweaty forehead to shade his green eyes from the sun as the
golden snitch disappeared from his sight.
he took the opportunity to look down on his fellow teammates. ron appeared to have the
confidence of a veteran player as he guarded the hoops from ginny's advances. however,
a few of her hits managed to get through. natalie and vicki were not as successful,
though. andrew and jack were having some problems with the bludgers, but by the end of
practice, they seemed to have their game more under control.
by the time they hit the showers, harry was exhausted. he stumbled back to gryffindor
tower, wishing he could just fly up to his dormitory on his broom.
he noticed that the moon was full. his moon guide had been growing darker and darker
ever since professor leurre had asked him about it. harry felt a desire to look into the
small orb, to make sure that remus was okay, but he was also afraid of what kind of
horror he might see. harry didn't want to see him in pain.
after some mindless chatter with hermione and ginny, harry and ron both turned in at the
same time. harry's muscles were heavily fatigued and he had to walk off a leg cramp
before he finally fell into bed and slept.
but he found no relief in his sleep. suddenly, he was inside the department of mysteries
again, as he had been in the dreams that haunted him over the summers. however, this
dream was different. he was on stage in the amphitheater, where the curtains were drawn
back. he could hear whispering coming from the veil.
subconsciously, he knew he was only dreaming. he could see himself as though he were
outside of the dream, looking down on the boy - no, the young man - on center stage. the
young man with wild dark hair that stood up in the back. the young man with deep green
eyes, sparkling behind an old pair of glasses. the young man with the lightening bolt scar
on his forehead.
"dance," commanded a voice. it boomed throughout the theater, reverberating off the
walls.
dance? harry thought. there was no music.
clear as day, a violin and cello began a distant duet, sweet music filling the theater. it was
a song harry had heard before. it had an eerie melody. the violin was playing low, throaty
notes, and the cello was high, past its normal range. they had switched roles.
"dance."
dance? harry questioned again. but he had no partner.
a phantom shadow of a woman appeared. he could see through the smoky figure. he
couldn't make out any distinguishable features, but he could feel someone feminine
beside him. he could smell her scent, gentle, yet fierce in its presence. it was a
contradiction in one unmistakable scent that penetrated his nostrils. he could taste her.
"dance!" the voice was more desperate than commanding.
dance? harry asked. but he didn't know how.
suddenly, her scent was all over him. he felt her small body against his, her arms around
him. his feet began moving to the slow ballad of the violin and cello. he could feel the
music permeate through his feet, as though he were above a noisy party and sharing a
dance with a beautiful woman.
and the harry that was removed watched as he danced with this phantom girl. they were
graceful together, never missing a step. it had not been like this at the yule ball where he
was awkward and unpleasant. there was no leader or follower. it was like dancing with a
reflection. every way was the right direction.
but it was troubling. the music was harder to hear. the voices beyond the veil were getting
louder and louder. harry had a hard time distinguishing the eerie melody from the ghostly
mumbling.
the shadow of the woman was slipping away. her taste was gone, her scent fading. harry's
leg began to hurt from the dancing.
"dance!" the voice cried. it sounded as though it had come from the veil. as though
someone was weeping. and then harry recognized the voice - how could he have missed it
before? it was sirius. sirius had been shouting at him from beyond the veil, from inside
the theater. sirius was weeping.
harry let go of the figure of the woman. the pain in his leg was growing. "sirius!" he
cried. but he couldn't hear his voice over the shouts of the other people behind the veil.
"sirius!"
"dance," sirius whispered. the others' voices suddenly died out into the silence. "dance,
harry, before you forget how."
and the harry who had watched the all of the events unfold, like an omniscient narrator,
watched himself collapse on the stage, his body slamming against the hardwood floor. his
legs had given out, and the last thing he saw was the dark ceiling of the theater, an entire
galaxy of stars sparkling down on him, and a full moon glowing in the darkness.
suddenly, harry was on his bed, clutching his calf. he gasped in pain, then quickly stood
up, putting all his weight on the charlie horse. he groaned as he paced back and forth
along the dormitory floor.
"all right, harry?" ron asked sleepily, rolling over in his four-poster.
"yeah, leg cramp," he replied. but ron had already fallen back to sleep.
the sharp pain eventually went away, but harry's leg was still tender every time he flexed
it. he sat down on the edge of his bed, wide awake, and not entirely sure what to do.
it had been a dream, but it was not a vision of the present. voldemort hadn't been there. it
was just another dream about sirius. surely, he wouldn't need to write about it in the diary.
the thought of mrs. weasley reading about the amphitheater and the dance was enough to
make his insides churn. she would only feel sorry for him.
or worse, what if snape had the other copy of the diary? harry shuttered to think what
snape would do if he knew about the dreams harry had been having about sirius. no, it
would be best for harry just to keep this to himself.
he lay back down on his bed, wondering if he should conjure up some sort of comforting
spell for his calf, and trying his best to ignore the tingling of his scar.
***
the next morning at breakfast, hedwig arrived with a letter for harry. he recognized the
handwriting. it was from remus. he waited until he was back in the common room before
tearing it open and reading it.
dear harry,
how are you? i hope this letter finds you well. tonight is the full moon, and i must say that
i am anxious for it to pass.
i had a great time at your birthday party. i hope that you have found my gift helpful in the
loneliest of times. i know that i cannot physically be there for you, but i am always only a
glimpse away. i am also very sorry about the bike; hagrid told me it didn't go well. don't
be angry with him, harry. it's my fault.
i hope everything is fine at hogwarts. have you started quidditch yet? you must be
anxious to play after a year off. i also heard that you've started remedial potions again. i
know it's difficult, but keep studying harry. it will prove to be very helpful in the end.
i look forward to hearing from you,
remus
after harry finished reading the letter, he resisted the urge to crumple it into a ball and
throw it into the fireplace. did remus really think it would be that easy just to fill the void
that sirius had left? and now that sirius's voice was so fresh in his memory from his
dream the night before, he couldn't imagine running up to gryffindor tower every time
something exciting happened to write a letter to remus.
and even though he did say for harry to blame him about the motorcycle incident, harry
just couldn't find it in his heart to not write back. what if remus was truly worried about
him? there was no harm in writing a short letter so that remus would have something to
read after the full moon. perhaps it would cheer him up a bit after his transformation.
he found some spare parchment and a quill and quickly scratched out a letter. harry said
that he was fine, and that his first remedial potions lesson had gone very well. he also
mentioned that he'd apologized to hagrid and that he was sorry for the way he acted. he
ended by writing that they'd had their first quidditch practice the day before and that ron,
as captain, thought that they had a good chance at winning the quidditch cup.
he glanced over at ron, who looked half-asleep over his herbology book. he was sharing a
table with neville and ginny. neville seemed to be beaming with the attention he was
getting. ginny had been having problems with her herbology homework, and ron and
neville were working on a project together. harry wasn't sure if ron could really make it
through this year. it was going to be hard. between quidditch captain, prefect, and six
n.e.w.t. classes, he was going to have his work cut out for him.
however, it was great to see neville so happy. he seemed to have matured more over the
summer. he was less clumsy, and he'd even managed to remember the fat lady's password,
which he usually always forgot during the first few weeks. he had finally gained a little
confidence.
harry felt a little envious of him. neville could have had the same destiny as he did now, if
voldemort had chosen neville instead of harry in the prophecy. but honestly, he was glad
that neville was able to enjoy his life. after all, his parents were crazy and locked up in st.
mungo's, and he lived with his batty grandmother. if anyone deserved happiness, it was
neville.
suddenly, the burden on his shoulders didn't seem so heavy. he knew that no matter what,
he would do everything in his power to protect neville and everybody else from
voldemort. he was the chosen one. he would live up to his responsibility. he couldn't do
anything less. he owed it to his friends and his family.
family. the word felt odd to harry, but he finally realized that he did have one.
after sealing his letter in an envelope, harry opened the portrait door to run up to the
owlery to deliver it to hedwig. before he could close the door, nora's kitten, alley, snuck
out of the common room and into the hallway.
harry hastily shoved the letter into his back pocket and launched himself at the gray
kitten. "hey! get back here!" he hissed. he didn't know if she was supposed to leave
gryffindor tower or not. he didn't want it to get lost on his account.
but the kitten had moved out of the way long before harry could catch her. he chased her
down the hallway and up a flight of stairs. every few paces she would glance back at him,
as though she were playing an ironic game of cat and mouse.
harry realized that the kitten was headed for the owlery. he could hear hooting from the
end of the corridor. the kitten stopped in front of the entrance to the owlery and lifted a
paw to casually lick while waiting for harry to catch up to her.
he raised an eyebrow at the cat. "you're an odd one too," he whispered. he had always felt
strange around cats, whether they were from mrs. figg's crazy clan or crookshanks. harry
realized that nora's cat was no different.
harry sighed and opened the heavy door and followed the cat into the owlery. the room
reeked of hay and journeys to far away lands, and a little bit like owl droppings. there
were skeletons of mice and moles near every cage.
hedwig stuck out like a sore thumb, her head hidden beneath her snowy white feathers.
she glanced at harry as he approached her and pulled the letter out of his back pocket. she
quickly stood at attention, waiting patiently for harry to tie the letter around her claw. she
ruffled her feathers a little to get pigewidgeon's attention in the next nest. apparently, she
wanted to show him how it was done properly.
harry pet her gently. "back to remus. no hurry," he added. the later he got the letter, the
later he would write back, and the later harry would feel obligated to keep him informed
of the events unfolding in his life.
she nipped his fingers a bit and gave a soft hoot of acknowledgement, then took off out of
the owlery window.
harry had been concentrating on his task so heavily that he hadn't noticed that the other
owls weren't so happy that there was a cat in their territory. he wondered if he should
leave the owlery door open a jar so that alley would be able to get out on her own. he
surely wasn't going to wait for it. what business did it have in the owlery anyways?
he thought he heard the kitten give a quiet cry, and he turned to look for her to make sure
that she wasn't being attacked by any of hogwarts' ferocious barn owls. but then harry
realized that the cry hadn't come from alley at all.
nora was leaning against the very last window, tears streaming down her face. harry
approached her quietly. he wasn't sure if she knew that he was there yet; he didn't want to
startle her.
the kitten jumped up on the window sill and rubbed against nora's quivering hands. she
was holding a letter, and her eyes searched the paper as though she were reading it over
and over again.
when harry was only an arm's length away, he asked quietly, "nora, are you all right?"
she jumped, and then looked relieved as she saw that it was only him. "i - i'm okay." she
managed to smile and began wiping the tears away from her eyes.
harry took a step closer. "bad news from home?"
"no," she replied with a hint of her irish accent. "everything's all right. well, as right as it
could be."
he was curious what she meant by that, but he was afraid that questioning her about it
would only upset her more. he was close enough to her that he could read the letter over
her shoulder.
dear nora,
i miss you so much! it's so odd to wake up every morning and be alone. i miss your
humming. i miss hearing you sing off-key in the shower. i miss your whining about
breakfast. but most of all, i just miss you.
i found a new job. i'm working at an import/export flower shop. it's called henry's herbs.
there are very odd herbs there; many of them i've never seen before. but it pays really
well. i've been saving up a lot, especially now that i found that new flat. it's not on the
best side of town, but rent is cheap. who knows - at this rate i may even have enough
money to take you to america for summer holiday! and i'll be sure to send you some
pounds, although i can't exchange it into your kind of money.
i hope that you're not lonely. i hope you're making dozens of new friends. it must be such
a wonderful place there, full of friendly faces and magical experiences. i'm so jealous. i
wish i could be there with you. i even went to king's cross and ran at the wall between
platforms nine and ten, but it was no use. i only ended up bruised and embarrassed. i
think that it's very unfair that i don't get to visit you. how am i supposed to check up on
you and make sure you're eating right? or that you're doing all of your homework?
i guess i'll just have to trust you.
nora suddenly folded up the letter and put it back inside the envelope before harry could
finish reading it. tears were still streaming down her face. she held the letter against her
chest, close to her heart.
harry guessed that she was feeling a little homesick. he didn't know quite what to do. it
was an awkward situation, but he really wanted to make her feel better. she looked so
tiny, leaning against the window and trembling. he wanted to make her stop crying. "is
that from your mum?" he asked.
she shook her head. "my sister. she's a muggle." she scoffed. "she said that she's tried to
get to hogwarts. can you believe her? she's crazy. i told her that muggles can't get here,
not to mention that even unwelcomed wizards can't find the school."
harry thought back to all of the things hermione had told him about the book hogwarts: a
history, which discussed hogwarts' impenetrable defenses.
"i wish she were here with me," nora whispered. "i feel so alone."
something tugged in harry's heart. he felt terrible that nora was having such a hard time at
hogwarts. he had been overjoyed to get his letter in the mail when he turned eleven. nora,
however, must not have been thrilled to leave her family and muggle life behind. she was
probably the only witch on seamus's dad's side of the family.
"what about seamus? he's your cousin," harry offered, as though blood determined
someone's friends. he, of all people, should know that blood sometimes meant absolutely
nothing.
"we were never close," she replied. "we had only met a few times before i got my letter. i
mean, he tries to talk to me, but he's got his own friends."
"well," harry said quietly, "i'll be your friend, nora."
she grinned up at him. "really?"
harry was hoping he wouldn't live to regret it, but the smile on her face warmed him up
inside. he could relate to her feelings of loneliness. he understood what it felt like to be so
far away from the people you loved. of course, he'd never felt that way at hogwarts,
where he was surrounded by all of his friends. but for nora, it was just the opposite.
"really," he replied, and ruffled the collection of dark curls on her head. he reached over
and scratched behind alley's ears. maybe he understood this cat more than the others. she
was only looking out for her master. "you know nora, you should smile more often."
friend, a true love, and a part of a family.
author notes: thanks to my readers, and of course, my beta, brie! i really appreciate all of
your interest and your reviews. harry's love interest will finally come into the picture in
the next chapter, and i really appreciate your patience! enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chapter fourteen: crisis in london
occlumency was draining harry. every day he had it, after his classes were over, he would
hurry to the library and try to finish all of his homework for the next day. he could barely
make it back to the dormitory after snape's invasion of his mind, let alone concentrate on
his schoolwork.
flitwick had given the entire class extra homework for performing badly on an advanced
summoning charm. everyone but hermione, of course. they had to do an extra essay about
the art of the peragro charm, which was summoning items through obstacles, like walls,
without damaging the object or the obstacles themselves.
he was running late as he sprinted down the dungeon stairs. he didn't even bother to catch
his breath when he burst into the potions classroom. snape was already there, wand in
hand, and waiting.
"you're late, potter," he snapped. "five points from gryffindor."
"sorry, sir," harry replied, breathless.
"let's begin." snape sneered at him, as though he were insulted by his apology. he raised
his wand. "legilimens!"
harry assumed the position, still trying to catch his breath. he pulled his wand from his
robes and braced himself. he tried to clear his mind, but snape hit with the spell and it
was too late.
he couldn't catch his breath. the familiar pain had returned to his leg. this time he was in
the graveyard with cedric. running away, carrying his body, limping to the trophy. he
reached out, grasped it, and felt something pull behind his navel.
he was on the floor, snape standing over him. "i am very disappointed, potter. you are
weak. get up."
harry got to his feet, taking his breath in sharp inhalations. the pull of the portkey had
turned into a pain in his ribcage. or was it because of snape's spell? he hoped to regain his
composure before snape hit him again, but as soon as he reached his feet, snape turned on
him and pummeled him. "legilimens!"
the pain in his leg returned, and suddenly he was in the amphitheater in the department of
mysteries. it was his dream. he was dancing with the shadowy figure, and for a moment,
felt comfort in her arms. but the security soon disappeared.
"dance," sirius's voice called, "before you forget how."
whimpering, harry called out for his godfather, then realized he was once again on his
back on the cold, hard dungeon floor.
snape, however, did not have the look of complete triumph on his face that he usually did
when he took harry off his feet. he looked smug. "you didn't write that dream down,
potter."
harry jumped to his feet. so snape knew of the first vision of voldemort and wormtail.
perhaps he did have the counterpart of his diary dupuliquer. "i... i didn't think it was
important."
"important?" snape spat. "i told you, potter, to write down every damn thing that you
dream about in that diary! i expect you to share everything about your dreams, whether
they are about some invisible girl or your dearly departed loved ones."
"it's not fair that everyone gets to see into my private thoughts. my private dreams," harry
replied. if snape knew about his dreams, he didn't know how many others did.
"it is a sacrifice for the order, potter," he declared. "in times like these, we must make
sacrifices."
harry sighed. "okay, okay. i'll write it down."
"don't bother with this one now," snape replied. "he's dead. he is not worth dreaming
about."
anger welled up inside of harry. he took a step forward, about to launch himself at snape.
"tsk, tsk, potter. how will you ever master occlumency if you cannot even control your
own anger?"
harry's fists curled at his sides. he was shaking with hatred. how could dumbledore expect
him to study with a man who hated sirius so much? a man who was probably overjoyed
that the only parent harry could even remember was dead?
snape could see the hesitation in harry. "good, potter. it looks like some of my lessons
may have been penetrating through that thick skull of yours."
harry couldn't get violent, but he had to defend sirius's honor. if he didn't, he would never
forgive himself. he couldn't let snape walk all over him like this. he was too proud. "you
will never be half the man that sirius was," harry spat.
snape's eyes were cold. he raised one greasy eyebrow in harry's direction. "odd,
considering that he was only half a man himself."
harry's anger caught in his throat. he was boiling over. he had to leave - he had to get out
of the dungeon. if he didn't, he would do something he would regret. he knew that snape
had taken it too far, and that in return, harry wouldn't be able to control his actions. harry
took a step towards the door.
"i'm done," harry whispered. "i'm leaving."
snape sneered. "quitting, potter?"
"for today," harry replied. he put his wand back inside of his robes and didn't look back as
he stepped out of the dungeon door. he just couldn't tolerate another second of snape's
hatred without ripping the bastard apart with his bare hands.
***
the indian summer had vanished from hogwarts. the leaves began to change colors and
fall from the trees, decorating the grounds in colorful beds of red, brown, and orange.
winter was on its way.
classes seemed to be taking their toll on all of the students. everyday, harry was given
more and more homework to complete. he barely had time to eat, let alone for quidditch
and occlumency. he felt fried from all of his studying and was looking forward to the
field trip on halloween. it would be one night where he wouldn't have to worry about his
homework or snape seeing inside of his mind.
and when he wasn't studying, he was sleeping. but his slumber was littered with dreams
of the amphitheater and sirius's voice. he'd had the dream nearly every night. it was like
he was stuck in a perpetual state of sub-consciousness. he had no clue who he was
dancing with, but he didn't care. he was just trying to decipher his godfather's message.
it was wednesday, and harry was having a good day. the very first meeting of the year of
dumbledore's army was set to take place in the room of requirement that night. and also,
because it was wednesday, it meant that mr. weasley was visiting their muggle studies
class. he always had such interesting stories. their entire class had embraced mr. weasley,
and those who had viewed him as a crackpot, obsessed with muggles, were now treating
him with respect. ron wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed to have his father in class.
"you know, mum always tells him he should write a book," ron said as he and harry
walked down the first floor corridor. "she says it'd be a number one bestseller in no time."
"well, lockhart did it," harry replied. "your dad shouldn't have a hard time."
"knowing lockhart, he probably coerced somebody into writing it for him and then
modified their memory after it was finished."
they were a few minutes early and the first to arrive in muggle studies. professor avis was
sitting at her desk and mr. weasley was standing near the dry-erase board. he was drawing
different colored lines on the board in no specific patter. "oh, hello boys," mr. weasley
greeted.
"dad, what are you drawing?" ron asked.
"oh, we're going to talk a little bit about plumbing in today's lesson." he put the cap on his
marker. "how's things?"
"fine," ron replied. "how's mum?"
"good. she's about ready to strangle the twins, though," he added. "zonko's finally agreed
to drop the complaint, but now george and fred want to give them an inquiry as well." he
shook his head. "those boys are too ambitious for their own good..."
"arthur! are you there?"
suddenly, the minister of magic himself, cornelius fudge, appeared in the classroom
fireplace. or rather, his head did.
"fudge!" mr. weasley exclaimed and sprinted over to the fireplace. "yes, i'm here. what's
going on?"
"we've got a problem," fudge replied. "i hate to interrupt your little talk, but this is an
emergency. henry wilkens is at it again! this time, he opened up some sort of plant shop
in london. it's called henry's herbs, over on reynolds boulevard. he opened it to the public
- including muggles."
"oh dear." mr. weasley ran a hand through his thinning red hair. "that henry is always
stirring up trouble for me."
henry's herbs. now why did that sound familiar to harry?
"that's not the worst of it. he's got a muggle working for him. he claims that he thought
she was a squib because she didn't use magic, but she knew the names of several
wizarding plants. he's just saying that because he's knows that he'll be facing an inquiry to
shut him down after this. anyway, somehow, she ended up battling against a clump of
devil's snare. things got out of hand. arthur, it doesn't look good. you've got to get over
there and do some damage control. i've already called in the obliviators, but it looks like
we'll have to deal directly with the muggle's family."
"oh dear. this isn't good. i'll be there right away, fudge."
"hurry, arthur. there's no telling what will happen if some muggle television station gets a
hold of this. it could be a repeat of the petrova incident all over again!"
"yes sir," mr. weasley said. fudge's head disappeared into the fire. "is this hooked up to
the network?" he asked professor avis, gesturing to the fireplace.
she nodded. "just re-installed last week." she handed him a bowl, which harry assumed
was floo powder. "that umbridge had it removed last year."
"just in time then." he turned to ron and harry. "sorry to take off boys, but duty calls. i'll
see you next week." with a nod and a handful of powder, he shouted, "reynolds
boulevard, london!" and disappeared into the flames.
harry and ron settled into their normal seats in the classroom. the rest of the students were
piling inside, wondering where mr. weasley was. "too bad about that emergency," ron
said sadly. "plumbing is one of dad's favorite subjects."
but harry wasn't really paying attention. he had just recognized the name of the flower
shop. nora's sister had mentioned it in her letter. in fact, she was working at the shop.
harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as professor avis began her lecture on
using a telephone. how many muggles did this henry wilkens have working in his plant
store? what if the muggle in trouble was nora's sister? 'it doesn't look good,' fudge had
said. was she in real danger? nora's sister appeared to be her entire life. if something
happened to her, nora would probably never smile again.
suddenly, harry knew what he had to do. dumbledore had said that anytime he had
something on his mind, he could come to him. well, harry definitely had something on his
mind. and he was still feeling guilty for not writing his dream about sirius down in the
diary. it was time he did something right. he was going to go to dumbledore and tell him
the situation.
he was very thankful that he happened to have some of fred and george's nosebleed
nougat in the pocket of his robe. he took it out, laid the two candies on the table, and
caught ron's attention. ron wouldn't understand why harry would want to get out of
muggle studies, the easiest class in their entire schedule, but he nodded to harry in a silent
agreement to take care of his books.
harry took a deep breath, as it was hard to breathe when blood was gushing out of one's
nose, and plopped one of the candies into his mouth.
instantly, harry felt a tickling sensation in his nose. before he could sniff, blood came
pouring out. he stood up from his desk, holding it. one of the ravenclaw girls screamed
when she saw the blood.
"ah, professor..." harry began.
"oh my goodness!" professor avis cried when she caught sight of him. "harry, dear, you'd
better get the hospital wing straight away. oh dear, that looks terrible. that's the worst
nosebleed i've ever seen!"
harry didn't need telling twice. he turned around and hurried out of the muggle studies
classroom. as soon as he was out of sight, he popped in the other candy, and immediately
his nose dried out. the blood stopped gushing. he made a quick stop in a nearby loo and
cleaned up as best he could, then sprinted to dumbledore's office.
"ton-tongue toffee!" he cried, praying that the password to his office was the same as it
had been a few weeks ago. the huge stone gargoyle twisted to reveal the staircase. harry
took the stairs two-by-two until he reached dumbledore's office door. he knocked loudly.
"come in."
harry burst through the door to find nora sitting in the same chair he'd sat in so many
times before. she was looking very frightened and very small.
"harry, is something the matter?" dumbledore asked.
now harry felt very foolish. how could he have been so stupid? of course dumbledore
knew about the flower shop. dumbledore knew everything. fudge had probably talked to
him right after sending mr. weasley out on the job.
he recognized this as his need to save people. he was ashamed. this was the very same
behavior that got sirius killed, and nearly all of his friends as well.
"what is it?" dumbledore pressed.
more angry at himself than embarrassed, harry looked down at the floor. "i... i just heard
from about the flower shop. mr. weasley was in muggle studies when fudge gave him the
message."
"but how did you know...?" nora began.
"i read the beginning of your letter," harry replied. "that day in the owlery." he cleared his
throat. "i'm sorry, this isn't my place. it's private. i should have known... i shouldn't have
come."
"no, it's okay," nora said. "i'm glad you came."
"please, harry, have a seat." from somewhere, dumbledore conjured up an extra chair next
to nora's. harry sat down, his face flushed. "as i was saying, your sister has been
transported to st. mungo's hospital for magical maladies and injuries," dumbledore said.
"her condition is unknown at the moment."
"please, professor, i have to see her," nora begged. "if something happens to her..." her
voice trailed off. "i just have to see her."
dumbledore nodded. "you will. i will have someone escort you by portkey to st. mungo's,
where you will be permitted to spend the night at your sister's bedside, regardless of her
condition." his eyes were dark. harry wondered if dumbledore was worried that she was
dead.
"can harry escort me?" nora asked suddenly.
harry stared at her incredulously. "but... i can't... seamus, he's your cousin, he should..."
"she won't see him," nora spat. "please harry, come with me. i don't want to go alone.
you're my only friend here."
"but i...i have things going on tonight," harry said, turning to dumbledore. tonight was the
very first d.a. meeting. harry couldn't' cancel it.
dumbledore continued stroking his beard. "i can take care of those things," he replied. he
sat up suddenly. "it's settled. harry, you will escort nora to st. mungo's. nora, please run
back up to your dormitory and pack an overnight bag. be quick about it."
"yes sir," nora replied. she stood up and rushed out of dumbledore's office.
"i hope you won't mind?" dumbledore asked.
"no, sir," harry said. he had no reason to object except for the sneaking suspicion that an
eleven-year-old had a crush on him. "should i go pack a bag too?"
dumbledore shook his head. "no, you will not be spending the night. after escorting nora,
mr. weasley will take you back to the burrow where you will meet up with the rest of the
order to discuss your vision."
harry was beginning to think that dumbledore had planned this whole incident in the first
place. "our first d.a. meeting was supposed to be tonight."
"i'll alert miss granger and mr. weasley. i'm sure they'll spread the word." his eyes
twinkled with delight. "so, you have reconsidered your teaching position?"
harry nodded. "i want them to be prepared more than anything."
"indeed," dumbledore said, "everyone will need to prepare for what is to come."
harry had the distinct impression that dumbledore was trying to warn him about
something - to bring something to attention. the two of them sat in silence until nora
returned.
she was breathless and had a bag strapped across her shoulders. "i'm ready," she declared.
both harry and dumbledore stood up from their seats. he produced a sterling silver tennis
bracelet from his desk drawer. "once the two of you touch this bracelet, you will be
transported by this special portkey to st. mungo's. then, nora, you are to wear this bracelet
until noon tomorrow, when, no matter where you are or what you are doing, you will
undo the clasp and be transported back here to my office." dumbledore lifted the bracelet
and held it out to the two of them. "are you ready?"
without a moment's hesitation, nora took a step forward and grabbed one end of the
chain. harry took the other.
instantly, he could feel the familiar tug behind his belly button. dumbledore and his office
itself became blurry, although harry distinctly heard him say, "wish eva well for me." and
for some reason, harry thought the comment was directed towards him.
who's eva?
author notes: thanks to my readers for sticking with me thus far. i really appreciate all of
you guys. special thank you to my beta, brie, for all of her fantastic beta-ing skills. i never
really thought this day would come in thefic, but it has arrived. i only have three words to
describe this chapter:
cue love interest.
enjoy, and be sure to review and let me know what you think of her! i crave feedback!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chapter fifteen: two worlds colliding
once they arrived at st. mungo's, harry fastened the bracelet around nora's wrist for safe-
keeping. he now noticed that her eyes were quite red and she kept wiping them on her
sleeve, trying to catch her tears before they rolled down her cheeks.
"where are we supposed to go?" nora asked.
harry glanced around the reception area. he had just assumed that the portkey would have
brought them directly to her sister's room, but it wasn't the case. harry thought that was a
bad sign. what if her sister was already dead? harry had nearly been killed by devil's
snare himself during his first year at hogwarts. was he supposed to watch over nora if her
sister was dead? was he only there for moral support? why had dumbledore sent him
here? why didn't seamus go?
"i'm not exactly sure where we're supposed to go," harry replied.
"you mean that you're the most famous wizard in the world and you don't even know
your way around this... this hospital?"
harry tried to hide his grin. nora didn't realize that he had lived a life very similar to hers
before he came to hogwarts. he still had little knowledge of the wizarding world. plus,
he'd only been to st. mungo's once before to visit mr. weasley.
he searched the sign that said what ward was on what floor, but it didn't matter because
he had no idea where a muggle would be after battling against a nasty bough of devil's
snare. "i think we'll have to ask the welcome witch." harry gestured to a group of people
who were lined up outside of what resembled a muggle nurse station.
the two of them got in line and stood together in silence. every once in a while he would
hear a tiny sniffle from nora beside him. she was still defiantly wiping away her tears.
harry's heart ached for her. she was trying so hard to keep herself together. without
realizing it, he slipped his arm around her shoulders for comfort. she didn't look up at
him, for fear that her tears would spill over, but she did press in closer to him. so this is
what it felt like to be a big brother.
it was finally their turn to speak with the welcome witch. "can i help you?" asked a
blonde, slightly plump witch wearing robes of sky blue.
"yes, we're looking for..." harry began. what had dumbledore said her name was?
"eva," nora chimed in. "eva finnigan."
the witch began searching through the papers in front of her, looking perplexed. "i'm
sorry. i don't see anybody here by that name."
nora looked as though she was going to start crying. she bit her lower lip. there had to be
a mistake. dumbledore wouldn't have sent them here if eva wasn't here.
"she's a muggle," harry suggested. he didn't know if that made any difference or not.
the welcome witch looked up at him. harry wondered if she'd caught sight of his scar or
something, but instead she pulled out a different file of parchment. nora was too short to
peer over the countertop, but harry could see the bright red slip of paper with "finnigan,
eva" written on it and three "m's" next to it.
"she's in the muggle memory modification ward," the witch said. "it's down the hall on
the right."
harry nodded and guided nora in the direction the witch pointed. tears were rolling down
her cheeks now, and every once in a while she would choke back a sob. harry wasn't sure
what to do. she really did look like a little eleven-year-old girl now. he took her hand so
she would know she was not alone.
but now harry was very concerned about the state nora's sister was in. he'd only seen
memory modifications a few times. there was his old defense against the dark arts
teacher, gilderoy lockhart, who's own spell had backfired. he was in the long-term ward
of st. mungo's and didn't remember a thing about his past. and when he'd gone to the
quidditch world cup with the weasleys, they stayed on a muggle's campground who
always greeted them with a "merry christmas" in the middle of july because his memory
had been tampered with so many times.
it seemed to take ages for them to reach the muggle ward. nora was grasping harry's hand
so tightly she was digging her nails into his flesh. "here it is," harry announced.
"everything's going to be all right, nora," he added, although he wasn't sure why.
he slowly turned the knob and opened the door, expecting to see a wounded muggle. but
instead, there was a waiting room, which looked a lot like one in a muggle hospital. in
fact, all of the healers were wearing white lab coats, as though they were actual doctors.
then harry realized why it was called the muggle ward. everything was set up exactly like
a muggle hospital. if a muggle was brought there, they wouldn't know the difference.
someone in a lab coat was sitting on one of the chairs in the makeshift waiting room. as
harry came closer, he realized it was mr. weasley. he stood up from his seat and rushed
over to the two of them. however, harry was relived to see that his face looked quite
cheerful. he clapped harry on the back. "dumbledore told me you'd be escorting the
young miss finnigan," he said. then he took nora by the arm and led them to a door, which
harry assumed her sister was behind. mr. weasley went down on one knee so that he was
at nora's eye level. "your sister is very lucky, nora. she somehow knew exactly how to
deal with devil's snare, although she did end up with some minor burns and a few
scratches."
and suddenly, nora exploded into a crying fit. "it's my fault!" she cried. "i let eva read my
herbology book before i went to hogwarts." harry realized she must have been feeling
guilty this whole time.
in a very fatherly fashion, mr. weasley put two hands onto nora's shoulders. "don't be
silly. you probably saved her life tonight. she knew what to do because she read your
herbology book."
"you... you really think so?" she sputtered.
mr. weasley nodded. "i know so." he opened up the hospital door a crack. "go on in. you
can see her now."
nora, with a forced smile on her face, shot past mr. weasley and ran into the room. he
quietly closed the door and stood up. he gestured for harry to have a seat on a nearby
couch. mr. weasley plopped down next to him. "fudge always assumes the worst when he
calls me out to a muggle catastrophe. miss finnigan was very capable of holding her own
against that devil's snare. she managed to escape with the aid of a single lighter. amazing
devices, really," he added. "although, some of her fingers were burned to a crisp, i'm
afraid."
"what about her memory?" harry asked. he assumed the obliviators had already taken
care of it.
"well, the ministry has isn't quite sure what to do with her yet."
"what do you mean?"
mr. weasley sighed. "her sister is a witch, so she has already been exposed to the
wizarding world. we could keep her memory in tact with this knowledge. it wouldn't be
breaking any of the ministry regulations about muggles. the choice is ultimately up to eva
herself. she can decide if she wants to remember this incident or not. however, we could
use her for some research at the ministry."
"research?" harry questioned.
mr. weasley merely grinned. the door into the waiting room opened up again. nora came
out. "harry, my sister wants to see you."
harry glanced at mr. weasley, who was still smiling, and stood up. he followed nora.
in the lone hospital bed lay nora's sister, who looked strikingly like an older version of the
first-year herself. harry sucked in his breath when he saw her. she was quite beautiful. her
pale skin was decorated with tiny freckles. her hair had the same curl as nora's, except
that it was a light shade of brown highlighted in hues of gold, though it was a tad frizzy
from the nightmare she'd just gone through.
harry had the strangest feeling of déjà vu as the girl propped herself up on her elbows.
"hullo," she said, her voice thick with an irish accent.
"hello," harry replied. as he studied her face, harry wondered how old she was. at first
glance, she looked as though she could have passed for twenty. but when he looked
closer, he realized that she was much younger. she looked so familiar.
"i just wanted to thank you for bringing nora here. i know she can be quite a handful."
"look who's talking," nora giggled, sticking her tongue out at her sister. playfully, eva
returned the gesture.
something inside of harry was screaming, "look away! look away!" but he couldn't keep
his eyes off of her. he wasn't sure if it was because the feeling of déjà vu had returned or
because he found her so attractive.
"i... i have to ask you," harry said suddenly, "have we met before?"
eva winced a little as she fully sat up in her bed. nora reached behind her and propped up
some pillows. she thought for a moment. "no, i don't think so." she held out her un-
bandaged hand. "i'm eva finnigan."
"harry potter," he replied and shook it gently. there was something familiar about these
hands. they were so warm. inviting.
"harry's famous," nora announced.
"he is?" eva asked. she began fussing with a string on her dressing gown. on of her hands
was bandaged with lots of gauze. it must have been the hand that was badly burned.
nora nodded. "one of the most famous wizards in the world," she continued.
harry felt himself blushing. but as eva continued to pull on the string on her gown, harry
knew he had seen those hands quiver before.
"no! i know who you are!" harry exclaimed. "you walked a dog in my neighborhood this
summer."
"in little whinging?" she questioned.
harry nodded eagerly. he'd seen her hands pulling piers polkiss's dog. when he'd first seen
her, he thought she was older, and now he realized that it was the same girl who sat
before him.
"oh! wait! you're the one the polkiss' warned me about if i bumped into you at night. you
go to st. brutus' center for incurably criminal boys..." her voice trailed off as she raised an
eyebrow in confusion. she glanced at nora, feeling foolish. "you don't really go to st.
brutus's, do you?"
harry shook his head. "no, i go to hogwarts."
"oh no," eva said. "now i feel terrible. when you came into the flower shop in surrey with
your aunt, i thought for sure you were going to steal something." embarrassed, she
covered her sparkling brown eyes with her hand. "i'm so sorry, harry."
"that was you too?" harry said it more like a statement than a question. she had looked
familiar that day at the florist, as well.
"that's me," eva replied. "dog walker and florist extraordinaire."
harry laughed. "but what were you doing working in london, then?"
eva's smile faded. she glanced over at nora, who was studying some medical supplies on
a nearby countertop. "well, london pays better than surrey," she said quietly. "and with
nora off at school, i can work more." she looked down at her hands. "i still miss her like
crazy."
harry suddenly realized that eva must have been the only other person in the world for
her. come to think of it, nora had never mentioned a mother or a father. was it really just
the two of them?
"i heard that," nora said. she looked to her older sister and frowned. "it's not my fault
you're only a muggle. if you were a witch like me, you could be at hogwarts right now."
"i know," eva said sadly. "but everything will turn out okay." she turned to harry.
"sometimes i still can't believe what she's saying. getting her letters from owls, sending
her money that's worthless unless she exchanges it into gold. i feel like i'm trapped
between two different worlds."
and suddenly, mrs. figg's voice rang through harry's head. he, too, was trapped between
two worlds: boyhood and manhood.
"i know how you feel."
and as harry stared into her eyes, he found comfort in them. she knew it was like to be
alone. so utterly alone that no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't smile.
"excuse me," mr. weasley interrupted, poking his head in the room. "nora, harry, would
you mind if i talked to eva alone for a moment?"
no one objected. the two of them stepped out into the waiting room. nora turned to harry,
excited. "so what did you think of her?"
"of eva?"
nora nodded. "she's the greatest. i didn't realize how much i really missed her until i saw
her. so?"
"so..." harry began. "she seems very nice."
"nice?" she glared at him. "is that the best you can do? eva is beyond nice. and she's so
strong. a lot stronger than i am."
harry had to agree. in all honesty, he didn't really know what to think of eva. he was
impressed by her. she'd been so easy to talk to. he should have felt like an outsider in that
hospital room, but he felt comfortable. he felt welcomed.
"and she's pretty too," nora continued with a wink.
harry privately agreed. "how long has it been just the two of you?"
nora's smile faded from her eyes. "too long." she turned her back to him. 'i wish there was
some kind of spell i could cast that would turn her into a witch. i would do anything to
have her with me at hogwarts."
but the fact remained that a wand could not be thrown into someone's hand and they
would become a wizard. wizards were born, not made.
too bad, harry thought. he was beginning to warm up to the idea of having eva around.
mr. weasley came back out into the waiting room. "you can go back inside, nora," he said.
"a healer will be arriving any minute to set up a cot in there for you to sleep on for the
night. i trust dumbledore has given you instructions on how to get back to hogwarts?" she
nodded. "excellent. well, tell your sister i wish her a speedy recovery and i'll be checking
back with her soon. come along, harry."
harry waved goodbye to nora, regretting that he didn't get to say anything to eva. he
followed mr. weasley out of the muggle ward and down the hallway, back into the
magical portion of st. mungo's.
"did she decide to keep her memory?" harry asked. he was afraid of the answer. that
meant that eva wouldn't remember meeting him at all.
"oh, now harry, i can't tell you anything about that. it would be breaking the ministry-to-
muggle confidentiality clause. however," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "i can say
that i've just hired a new researcher in the muggle relations department."
harry frowned. he had the mental picture of eva hooked up to all sorts of wizarding
devices and being pumped for information in a dark room. 'you're not doing research on
her, are you?"
"no, no, no," mr. weasley replied quietly. "she's doing research for us."
harry didn't quite understand, but he didn't press the subject. "where are we going now?"
"i've got to go back to the ministry and file a quick report with fudge. then we'll head
home for some supper." again, harry felt a little odd when mr. weasley said "home"
instead of the burrow. "i imagine we'll have quite a full house tonight," he said with a
wink.
***
when harry and mr. weasley finally did arrive at the burrow, dinner was already on the
table and there were a dozen people gathered around it. harry suspected the table had
been bewitched, because it looked much bigger than usual.
"harry, dear!" mrs. weasley greeted. "it's so good to see you! come in and have a seat. you
must be starving." she ushered harry in the door and took mr. weasley's coat after greeting
him with a kiss.
he was a little intimidated by most of the order sitting in the weasley's kitchen. remus was
there, and he stood up and gestured for harry to take the empty seat next to him. "good to
see you, harry," he said, giving him a hug. "just got your letter the other day. i'm sorry
about quidditch."
harry sat down. somehow, his heart felt much lighter than usual. his feelings of envy
towards ron making captain seemed like they had taken place ages ago. he grinned at
remus. "it's all right."
"you're in a good mood, boy," mad-eye moody growled from the opposite side of the
table.
harry felt his cheeks flush, but his smile remained. after helping mrs. weasley bring out
the rest of the dinner, mr. weasley took a seat next to his wife at the head of the table. "i
believe we're all here," he announced. "let's eat!"
but as harry glanced around the table, he couldn't help but notice that a few people were
missing. dedalus diggle was there, as well as elphias dodge, the crook mundungus
fletcher, and hestia jones. snape wasn't there, nor dumbledore or mcgonagall, which didn't
surprise harry. however, one very important person was missing.
"where's tonks?" he asked casually.
remus choked on the chicken he was eating. "i beg your pardon?"
harry glanced around at the rest of the order at the table. "mr. weasley said everybody
was here. but tonks isn't. where's she?"
"harry, are you saying you haven't recognized her yet?"
"recognized her?" harry questioned.
remus shook his head. "i should've known. harry, she's your defense against the dark arts
teacher."
chapter sixteen: an illusion revealed
harry dropped his fork. it clattered on the porcelain plate. all along tonks had been in
disguise as professor leurre? harry had almost forgotten she was a metamorphmagus.
"but then... that means..." his voice trailed off.
that meant that tonks, not some mcgonagall look-alike, had remus's moon guide before
harry. had she and remus been an item before? was she that woman he was so bitter
about?
come to think of it, this past summer tonks had been very angry with remus. perhaps
there was more to the story than he realized.
"that means she's been holding out on you," remus replied. "she's probably been having a
good laugh these past couple months." but somehow, harry didn't find that in her nature.
"how's her lessons coming?" moody questioned. "she'd better be talking about constant
vigilance. i tell you, there's no better lesson than that."
harry tried to hide his grin by wiping his mouth with his napkin. "we just started learning
about ancient magic." he went back to his dinner, trying to recall what he'd learned
earlier. "that reminds me, have any of you heard of a group of freed house-elves in
london?" he asked casually.
this time, it was remus who stopped eating. "where did you hear that?"
harry realized that every single pair of eyes at the table was staring at him. apparently,
this was classified information. now he was going to get dobby in trouble. "er, well,
dobby happened to mention to me what he did over his summer vacation."
"i'm going to split that house-elf's ears off!" mundungus fletcher cried from the other end
of the table. "i knew he couldn't keep his mouth shut."
"oh, but it's not like that," harry interrupted. "dobby and i... we're friends."
"you forget that harry was the one who freed him, dung. indirectly, of course," mr.
weasley said. "that house-elf knows what's at stake."
"what is at stake?" harry questioned.
no one answered.
***
once everyone was through eating and the empty dishes were cleared, the order returned
to the table. harry felt like he was under a great amount of scrutiny. he wasn't quite sure
what they expected of him.
"harry, do you know why we've called this meeting with you?" remus asked.
harry nodded. "because of the vision."
"and there are a few other things that we need to discuss with you." remus looked slightly
uncomfortable. he looked like someone was forcing him into something he didn't want to
do. "the first order of business has to do with your actions at the ministry the night
when... when sirius died."
confused, harry turned to look at the other members. they, too, wouldn't meet him in the
eye.
"i know i am in absolutely no position to lecture you," he mumbled. "however, we feel - i
feel - that we should talk about what happened after he died. do you remember?"
now it was harry who wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. what a stupid question. he had been
trying so hard to forget that night, but he'd relived it over and over so many times in his
mind that he knew he could never simply not remember.
his insides still churned when he thought of bellatrix. her icy laugh, her mocking voice.
"yes, i remember," he replied coldly.
"do you remember what you did right after? right after sirius had... had slipped into the
veil?"
"slipped?!" harry cried. "you know that bellatrix..."
"when you chased her out into the atrium, do you recall what you did?"
"yes, of course i do," he snapped. "i wanted her to suffer. i wanted her dead. i pointed my
wand at her and..."
and now he realized what this whole lecture was about. he'd used one of the unforgivable
curses. unforgivable. dumbledore had said that anyone caught using dark magic would be
suspended immediately and taken away to the authorities
"i'm not going to be expelled and thrown in azkaban, am i?" he demanded angrily.
remus seemed to take his anger as a good sign. "no, no, of course not. it's just, well, it's
our duty to warn you - to tell you. harry, this is very important. i need you to understand
this. we," he gestured around the table, "need to make sure that you understand."
"understand what?"
"under no circumstances can you ever, ever use dark magic." remus turned to him, his
dark eyes looking as fierce as harry had ever seen them. "no matter who is killed, who is
suffering. you cannot use an unforgivable curse against anyone in battle."
"it brings you down to their level," mad-eye spoke up. "dark magic is what we are
fighting against. it is not a tool at our disposal. we do not use it for offensive purposes.
ever."
"do you understand, harry?"
ashamed, harry sunk lower into his seat. his face was burning. he could feel everyone
staring at him. he had to show them that he grasped what they were saying. "i
understand," he replied. "i get it. no dark magic. ever," he added.
he had to admit that it had been a moment of weakness on his part. however, there was no
doubt in his mind that if he had to relive that horrible night over again, he would do the
same thing. there was such a rage inside of him - such utter hatred - that he knew he
wouldn't be able to hold back.
but if there was one thing harry had to learn this year, besides all of his studies as a
student at hogwarts, it was to control his emotions.
besides, he thought bitterly, it didn't work.
"it didn't work then, boy," mad-eye said suddenly. "but that doesn't mean it never will."
mr. weasley cleared his throat. "now that we've got that out of the way, we'd like to
discuss your dreams."
harry should have been grateful for the change of subject, but the knots in his stomach
only continued to grow. "right... well, they're not all dreams. i mean, i can tell when it's a
dream - just a regular dream." he paused. "and i can tell when i'm looking through
voldemort's eyes." no one flinched at the dark lord's name. "of course, it's not until it's too
late. he knows when i'm there. i don't even realize that i'm him - i mean, that i'm looking
through his eyes - until my scar starts hurting."
he knew that this was old news to them. he'd written about the distinguishing the
difference between a vision and dream in the diary. however, they nodded as though it
was the first time they'd heard it.
"and there were those times last year when i had visions even when i wasn't asleep,"
harry added. "but i haven't had any of those in a long time."
the order still sat in silence, as if mulling over what harry had just said. he was feeling
guilty because he hadn't written down the dream about sirius. he continued speaking in
spite of himself; the silence was too much. "and the only vision i've had since... since that
night... was of bellatrix." he hated saying her name. he hated the way it rolled off his
tongue, the way it lingered in the air like the stench of something dead that had already
been removed.
"you needn't worry about that," remus said finally. "the information you provided us with
was right on target. it has been taken care of."
harry didn't press the details, for he knew he would get none.
however, he knew that she would get out. she would be free again. azkaban was no
obstacle for voldemort. especially if his heart burned for her the way harry remembered.
he hoped it wasn't a trap.
***
it was after midnight when harry finally made it back to the common room after his
meeting with the order. ron and hermione were asleep together on a couch in front of the
fireplace. ron had his arm around hermione's shoulders, and her head was snuggled
against his chest. there was a blanket in their laps, but harry doubted that ron had any
trouble keeping her warm.
harry grinned and cleared his throat. "i'm back."
ron both awoke with a start. once he saw what position they were in, and he quickly
pulled his arm away, smacking hermione in the back of the head. "ouch!" she cried
groggily. ron tried to get up on his feet, but his legs were twisted on the blanket and he
fell flat on his back on the floor.
both harry and hermione burst out laughing. ron quickly recovered and stood up. "and
where have you been?" he demanded, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
"didn't dumbledore tell you?" harry questioned.
hermione shook her head. "he only told us that we had to cancel any sort of plans we had
for tonight because you were gone. gone where?"
if dumbledore hadn't told them, then perhaps harry wasn't either. but ron and hermione
were the two people who he trusted the most in the world. he had learned long ago that he
couldn't hide things from them. maybe dumbledore just thought it would be harry's place
to tell them.
"i was at the burrow."
"what? why?" ron asked. "how did you end up there?"
"it's a long story." harry ran a hand through his unruly dark hair. "when your dad had that
muggle emergency today, well, i sort of knew who the muggle was."
hermione and ron exchanged confused glances.
"she's nora's sister," he explained. "and i wasn't sure if dumbledore knew. so i got out of
class and went straight to dumbledore's office. of course, nora was already there. she was
going to go to st. mungo's to see her sister and she needed an escort. dumbledore said that
i would bring to st. mungo's, meet up with your dad, and then i'd go to the burrow to meet
with the order."
"oh, so that's what this is about," hermione replied. "to talk about your dreams?"
"visions," harry corrected her. "and the only one i've had was about bellatrix. they said
that they've taken care of it."
"how?" ron asked.
harry shrugged. "that's all they'd tell me. but i did learn something very interesting. i think
that professor leurre and remus were a couple and that she did have the moon guide at
one time."
"poor remus," ron muttered.
"not exactly," harry replied. "because professor leurre isn't who we think she is."
ron just looked more confused, but hermione suddenly jumped out of her seat.
"something's been bothering me about her name. if i remember correctly, leurre means
illusion in french."
"it fits. professor leurre is an illusion." both of them were staring at harry as though he'd
lost his mind. he grinned broadly. "don't you see? she's tonks!"
hermione pounded her fist into her opposite hand. "of course! professor leurre is always
knocking things over. she's a tad clumsy, just like tonks!"
"but why has she tried to disguise herself as mcgonagall?" ron asked.
"i'm not sure. but you realize what this means?" he didn't want for anyone to answer him.
"tonks and remus had a... a thing. a relationship."
"ooh," hermione cooed. "that's so sweet. and a little unconventional. i wonder what
happened between them? i suppose it's not any of our business."
"we should ask," ron suggested.
hermione smacked him on the shoulder. "that's incredibly rude. it's their private affair."
"and tonks doesn't know that we know who she is yet," harry said.
"we should tell her," hermione said. "it'd be the right thing to do."
"if you ask me," ron said, "it would have been the right thing for her to tell us."
***
the next day harry stumbled mindlessly through his classes. he was so worn out that he
didn't think he'd dreamt at all for the few hours' sleep he'd had the morning before. he had
taken a quick nap after his afternoon class but woke up hours later after dinner had
already started.
groggy and yawning, he made his way to the great hall. by the time he got there, most of
his friends were already done eating. he settled down at edge of the table and stared at his
own reflection in his minestrone soup.
"hi harry!"
harry felt someone sit down on the bench next to him. he turned to find nora, looking
happier than usual, at his side. "are you okay?" she asked. "you don't look so good."
he smiled sheepishly. "i'm okay."
"well, i hope that this will cheer you up!" she exclaimed, then handed him a folded piece
of parchment. his name was written neatly on the outside. "it's from eva."
harry felt a flutter somewhere in the region of his heart. "she wrote me a letter?"
nora nodded. "i think it's a thank you. and she said that i should thank you again too. so,
thanks," she added. "you know, you should write back to eva. she's lonely all the time.
she doesn't have any friends her age."
that seemed to be a trend in her family. "what about you?" harry asked, hiding a yawn
with his hand. "you know nora, you should branch out a little too. i only see you around
with your cat. you should get some friends your own age."
"but i like the friends i have now." nora frowned. "you don't want to be friends anymore?"
"of course i still want to be friends," harry replied. "i just think that you might have more
fun with people your own age. you'll have the same interests and..."
"well, well, well. if it isn't harry potter the cradle robber."
draco malfoy slithered over to the gryffindor table, his face set in his familiar smirk. his
pale hair was slicked back, his gray eyes sparkling. "got a first-year for a girlfriend,
potter?"
"what do you want, malfoy?" harry spat. besides him, nora sucked in her breath. harry
supposed that he could be a little intimidating to a first-year.
"heard you didn't make captain," malfoy replied. "i hope my mother's complaint to
dumbledore didn't have anything to do with it. don't want them bending the rules for you
again, potter."
"now you're having your mother fight your battles for you?" harry retorted.
he sneered. "at least i've got one."
harry locked his jaw. he knew that if he opened his mouth the fifth that would have come
out of it would have offended the girl next to him. honestly, he would have wanted
nothing more than to jump out of his seat and tackle malfoy. but he had to control
himself. he had to feel nothing. he had to be numb. he couldn't say anything.
malfoy seemed surprise at his sudden self-control. "see you around, potter."
harry took a deep breath and went back his soup. "that bastard," he muttered. "sorry," he
apologized, turning to nora. she was sitting in her seat, her face pale. as he studied her
closer, harry realized that she was shaking. "nora, are you all right?" she wouldn't look at
him. she was staring down at the table top. "i'm sorry about what i said. it's okay if you
don't have friends your own age."
she turned to him, staring deep into his eyes. "are you my friend, harry?"
"of course," he replied. where was she going with this? and why did she look so
frightened all of a sudden?
"and friends do things for each other. they protect each other, right?"
"right," he answered, confused. he knew that if it weren't for his friends, harry wouldn't
be alive.
"so you'll protect me?"
"what's this all about?" he asked.
she shook her head. "will you protect me?"
"yes," he said finally. but he didn't understand why she needed protecting in the first
place. but as harry thought about it, he knew that his relationship with nora had changed
from their excursion to st. mungo's. he felt very protective towards her - though maybe it
was because when he looked into her eyes he saw her sister. he felt like an older brother
more than a friend. he imagined that ron had the same feelings about ginny.
"i've got to go," nora announced, standing up. "read the letter. and write back!" looking
slightly more back to normal, she turned around and left the great hall.
harry sighed and stared at the letter in his hands. he pushed away his soup, having lost his
appetite, and opened the parchment up.
dear harry,
i can't thank you enough for looking over nora. knowing that you're at hogwarts makes
me feel better about her going to school there. you have so much patience. you were
warm and kind - a true gentleman. i wish there was some way for me to repay you. if you
ever need a favor from a muggle, don't hesitate to ask.
thanks again,
eva finnigan
p.s. i hope to see you again sometime.
harry's smile stretched from ear to ear. he was glad that none of his friends were around
to see him. he tucked the letter away in his robes, but his mind was still reading it.
she said he was a gentleman. that he was kind. he was warm. she wanted to see him
again.
he suddenly felt more awake than he'd felt all day. he had his appetite back and dug into
his soup until there wasn't a drop in the bowl. after he finished eating, he pulled the letter
back out to make sure it was still there.
warm. kind. a gentleman.
why did these words have such an effect on him?
no girl had ever really complimented him before - at least not in writing. so many were
just enamored by his fame. as for cho chang, he didn't understand her at all. now it
appeared that she'd only seen him as a conquest. as though she wanted to try him out like
a new broom.
but eva didn't know about his fame. she didn't know that he had a vault full of gold in
gringotts, or that he was the best seeker in a century on the gryffindor house team. she
didn't care that he had remedial potions twice a week or that he'd gotten a poor grade in
divination.
she was removed from it all. and that appealed to harry.
but how was he ever going to see her again if she was a muggle?
chapter seventeen: hermione the vegan
with a song in his heart and eva's letter in his pocket, harry made his way down to the
dungeon for his last occlumency lesson of the week. he didn't bother to knock on snape's
door, because he was always waiting for him inside. it didn't matter if he was fifteen
minutes early; snape always accused him of tardiness.
"you're late..." he began as harry opened the door. however, he looked a little unnerved at
harry's appearance. "my, my, you're in a good mood."
harry shrugged. he wasn't about to tell snape anything. he concentrated on not meeting
his eyes. he supposed that it was a great turnaround from before. he felt wonderful. snape
couldn't say anything or do anything to ruin how he felt. he couldn't take that letter away
from harry.
"let's begin." the two of them assumed the position. both removed their wands and held
them in the air. "legilimens!" snape cried.
harry's good mood had left him unprepared. it was hard for him to clear his mind so
quickly. he mumbled a spell back, but even he was not sure what it was. he glanced at
snape, trying to avoid his eyes, but somehow he was drawn to them.
suddenly, he could see her clearly. she was walking the dog on privet drive, stumbling as
she tried to control the massive mutt. then at the flower shop in surrey, where she
watched him with narrowing eyes. and there had been somewhere else...
and it hit him. he was on his knees on the cold dungeon floor. but there wasn't much pain,
just a nagging feeling in his mind. as though he were fighting the imperius curse.
as he got to his feet, snape stared at him with suspicious eyes. "again," he said quietly.
and this time, he gave harry a moment to recover. but every time he tried to think of
nothing, to be numb, to be blank, there were still butterflies in his stomach.
"legilimens!"
he just couldn't get her out of his mind. where else did he recognize her from? there was
somewhere else. perhaps a dream?
and then he remembered. she was at king's cross station, running at the wall to platform
nine and three quarters. they'd bumped into each other. she had been there as well. and
the image of her, smiling at him in the hospital bed, wouldn't leave him.
"potter, this is ridiculous!" snape cried. "are you even going to try tonight?"
it took harry a moment to realize that he was on his knees. he quickly stood up.
"you're wasting my time," he snarled.
"sorry, sir," harry replied quickly. but he wasn't.
a mischievous smile played upon snape's lips, but it faded when harry glanced over at
him. when harry met his eyes, he felt a jolt in his scar. "potter, have you got a... a crush?"
he asked quietly. he looked positively revolted.
harry couldn't believe that he'd just heard snape say that word, let alone how embarrassed
he was. "no," he replied immediately. "and it's not fair that i don't get to use of a pensieve
as well." if he could empty his memories of eva into the magical device, he would be
spared the pain of snape's wrath.
"if the dark lord possesses you, there will be no pensive."
"i don't care if he sees her," harry spat. his only concern was that he didn't want to be
ridiculed by snape. what if snape told his whole house? if malfoy found out, he would
really never hear the end of it.
"you should," snape said gravely. "if you care about her at all, you would. she is a
muggle, is she not?"
harry felt his heart drop into his stomach. that seemed to be a problem lately.
"the dark lord takes pleasure in killing muggles," he continued, not waiting for harry's
reply. "and i am positive that he would take great pleasure in killing the muggle that
means the most to you."
harry's mood had seriously deteriorated. was everyone he met in danger? he had to learn
to block voldemort. if he didn't master occlumency, no one would be safe. he hadn't truly
been taking the art seriously. now he had no choice. he would not let voldemort win.
"again," harry said. "do it again."
***
"do you think she'll like it?" ron questioned, thrusting a jewelry box into harry's hands.
"fred and george's joke shop is right next to a jewelry store that sells icelandic silver at
half price. when i saw it last summer, i don't know, i just, i thought of her. i thought she
would like it. the heart is girly. not that hermione is a girly-girl, really. it's just that..."
"whoa! slow down," harry laughed, interrupting him. he opened the box. inside was a
silver chain with a small heart-shaped locket. it sparkled in the dim light of the boys'
dormitory. "it's beautiful, ron. i'm sure she'll love it."
"gin thought it was great too," he said, but he still looked unconvinced. "see, there was
one exactly like it, but the locket was just a small circle. it was sort of plain, but maybe i
should have bought that one instead. i mean, at first i thought i shouldn't get the heart,
because that would give her the wrong impression. but then i realized that this was the
impression i wanted to give her, so i bought it anyway. but now i'm beginning to have
some doubts. maybe i should just give her some of my skiving snackboxes instead..."
harry smacked ron on the back. "take a deep breath, ron. it's all going to be okay.
hermione will love the necklace. it's not too girly, and it's not too, er..." he couldn't think
of the word, "lovey-dovey. it's just right."
ron exhaled deeply. "you really think so?"
"i do," harry replied. in fact, he was beginning to question the gift he got hermione for her
birthday. it wasn't anything nearly as extravagant as a locket. although, considering that
he wasn't in love with hermione, that was probably a good thing. on their first trip to
hogsmeade, he found an inkwell that had the outline of a cat etched into it.
if there was only one thing he was sure of, it was that he didn't know how to shop for
girls.
there was a knock on the dormitory door. "are you ready yet?" ginny called. harry handed
the jewelry box back to ron, grabbed his own wrapped gift, and opened the door. ginny
was standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest.
"i still don't understand why you two are doing this," she said.
"because we've never given hermione a proper birthday," ron replied.
"and because your brother is looking for the perfect time to announce his undying love
for her," harry muttered under his breath. when ron had suggested that he and harry
should buy belated birthday gifts for hermione, harry thought that it was an excellent
gesture of friendship. hermione had always refused any sort of party or gifts. and harry
and ron, being the boys they were, had never given it a second thought. now, come to find
out, ron had some serious ulterior motives.
"let's get this over with," ron said, stomping past the two of them. "i'm going to make sure
it's a belated birthday she'll never forget." he took a deep breath and marched down the
stairs to the common room.
"you'd think he was proposing or something," ginny laughed.
"i think there's no difference in his mind." harry frowned. "if hermione says she's not
interested..."
"which she won't."
"ron will be crushed," harry continued. honestly, he thought, charlie and remus were
right. women. who needs them? but he couldn't help thinking that the world would be an
even darker place if it weren't for girls like eva.
harry and ginny headed down the stairs into the common room, where hermione had her
nose buried in her arithmacybook. ron looked as though he was reconsidering even
speaking to hermione, but harry quickly motioned for him to continue. ron shook his
head.
"that spineless git," ginny muttered. "go and help him, harry. he'll never go through with
it alone."
"me?" harry questioned. "you go help him. he's your brother."
"he's your best friend," she retorted, and shoved him towards ron. "just go give hermione
your gift, and then he'll have to give her his."
"fine," harry replied. "ron owes me for this one. big time." he scowled and walked swiftly
over to the table where hermione was, his gift at his side. ron watched with wide eyes. he
looked as though he was going to try and stop harry, but it was too late. "happy birthday,
hermione," harry said and handed her the wrapped box. "sorry, it's a little late."
she glanced up from her book, surprised. a little late was an understatement. she'd turned
sixteen over two weeks ago. "my birthday? but... you got me a gift!" she took the box
from him. "you didn't have to get me anything, really."
"it's about time i did," harry replied genuinely. "you've been buying gifts for me all these
years. i hope you like it."
hermione smiled up at him. she carefully opened the paper edges around the box, not
tearing any of the red wrapping paper. she gently pulled the box out and opened it up.
clearly, hermione was not the type to hastily rip into any gift.
"wow, thanks harry. i love it!" she put the inkwell down in the center of the table. "it
looks a little like crookshanks."
"you're welcome," harry replied. when hermione wasn't looking, he gestured for ron to
come over to the table with his gift. he took a step back, like he was heading back to the
dorm. ginny quickly came to the rescue and ushered him over to the desk where hermione
sat.
ron looked as though he'd swallowed a porcupine. ginny encouraged him to give his gift
to her, but he whispered, "i think i should go upstairs and wrap it."
ginny scowled. "it will be her seventeenth birthday by the time you get enough courage to
give it to her!" she hissed. "c'mon, ron."
"what are you two talking about?" hermione asked. she pulled her bushy brown hair back
into a ponytail. ginny tried to push ron forward again, but he wouldn't budge. his face was
ghostly white. he wouldn't speak.
"um, we are... we were..." ginny stalled. "we were just discussing if you were sweet
sixteen and never been kissed," she finished.
this had the opposite effect on ron. his face turned red. "no, we weren't," he replied
quickly.
hermione was also blushing. harry's curiosity got the better of him. had ron and hermione
kissed before and he didn't know it? "c'mon hermione, are you?"
"of course she is!" ron barked. his voice cracked.
hermione's eyes narrowed. "oh really?"
ron gulped. "well, i mean, i've never... i just assumed..."
"look, ron, just because you're sweet sixteen and never been kissed doesn't mean that i
am."
ron's face returned to its shade of pale. he gulped. "i didn't mean that, hermione..."
"just because you're not attracted to me doesn't mean that no boy alive isn't!" she cried.
"honestly! i had my first kiss when i was fourteen!"
there was dead silence in the common room. he glanced from hermione, to ron, to ginny.
ginny was chewing on her lower lip and seemed to be concentrating on the floor. ron
looked as though he were going to be sick. "you... you kissed krum?" he whispered.
"a woman does not kiss and tell," hermione replied. "but, yes, if you must know, viktor
did kiss me." she was looking triumphant, but if she really knew what she'd just done to
ron, she wouldn't look nearly as happy.
harry thought he could hear ron's heart breaking inside of his chest. substantially deflated
and all together nastily, he threw the jewelry box onto hermione's table. it landed with a
hard thud. "happy birthday, hermione," he whispered, then turned around and stalked
back up to the boy's dormitory.
"what's this?" hermione asked. "and what's with him?"
"isn't it obvious?" ginny plopped down on an empty chair at hermione's table.
she looked confused. "no, it's not. what are you talking about?"
"just open the box," harry said.
hermione shrugged and picked up the jewelry box that ron had thrown on the table. she
opened it up and gasped. "oh my god!" she cried. "it's beautiful. why did he...?" but then
the realization suddenly dawned on her. "oh no. oh no. please tell me that i did not just
brag about snogging with viktor during fourth year in front of him?"
"i think he left some pieces of his broken heart where he was standing," ginny replied,
"but they might be crushed too small to see."
hermione held her head in her hands. "i didn't mean to hurt him. i just... i thought he was
making fun of me. i can never tell with him. ooh! he makes me so mad!" she coiled her
hands into fists. "sometimes i just want to slug him as hard as i can, and sometimes i just
want to kiss him so he'll shut up."
"that's too much information," ginny replied. "maybe... maybe somebody should go talk
to him." she turned to harry.
"oh no way," harry said. "this is already uncomfortable enough for me, thank you very
much."
"no, i'll do it," hermione declared. "this has gone on long enough."
harry couldn't agree more. however, he was impressed with hermione's bravery. he
admired how gryffindor she was as she stood up from the table, grabbed the locket, and
marched up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
ginny followed her. harry quickly caught up to ginny and grabbed her by the wrist.
"where are you going?"
"to listen, of course," she replied.
"we shouldn't..." harry began, but he was interrupted by hermione's shouting.
"ronald weasley, you get out here this minute!"
harry tried not to laugh. he could only imagine ron's embarrassment. he tugged on ginny's
arm. "we should go."
"shh!" she hissed. "i want to hear!" but harry pulled her away from the stairwell.
"it's none of our business," harry said. "let them work it out."
ginny pouted, sticking her tongue out at him. "you're no fun anymore."
***
ron didn't come to bed that night until after midnight. harry asked ron what had happened
when he and hermione had gone for a walk around the grounds, but all he told harry was,
"she said she has to think about it." harry thought that explanation sounded a bit like a
rejection. he couldn't understand why hermione wouldn't want to be with ron. what was
to think about?
mastering occlumency would be a piece of cake compared to mastering women.
however, that morning the two of his best friends were acting oddly normal and hermione
did have the silver locket draped around her neck. the great hall was bustling with
activity, but harry felt immune to it all. he was distracted by slip of parchment in his back
pocket, which he carried around with him like a silly security blanket. honestly, had he
completely lost his mind?
"i can't take this anymore," hermione announced suddenly. "i've decided i'm going to be a
vegan." she pushed away her plate of eggs and sausage and helped herself to some plain
toast.
"what's that?" ron asked.
"a vegan is a like a vegetarian," she replied. "except that besides not eating meat, i also
don't eat any kind of eggs or dairy products."
"so what exactly can you eat?" harry questioned.
she shrugged. "lots of things. bread. nuts."
"you sound nutters to me," ron muttered.
"you're the crazy one!" hermione cried. "do you even know what you're shoving into your
mouth?"
"it's just pig," ron replied. "i know what pork is, hermione." he gestured to his plate.
"but do you know what they did to it?"
he rolled his eyes. "no, hermione, what did they do to it?"
hermione waited until all eyes were upon her when she answered. "they castrated it."
harry winced. ron looked confused. "castrated it? what does that mean? is that some kind
of rotisserie flavoring?"
harry would have laughed if he wasn't experiencing sympathy pains for the poor beast. he
put down his fork. he'd quickly lost his appetite.
hermione merely grinned. "i guess you could say that."
ron turned to harry, still perplexed. "what does castrate mean?"
harry suppressed a grin. "i'll tell you when you're older." ron frowned. "but i'll tell you
one thing, if there was a spell for it, i'd do it to malfoy in a heartbeat."
"what d'you want to do to malfoy?" ginny questioned, taking the empty seat next to
hermione.
"nothing," harry said quickly. "so i was thinking, when we go to hogsmeade tomorrow,
we ought to have a small d.a. get together, just so we know who's with us and who's not."
"let's not meet at the hog's head again," ron moaned. the bartender gives me the willies.
how about the three broomsticks?"
"that may not be safe," hermione said.
"i don't think security is an issue," harry announced. "i mean, it's not like last year."
"true," ginny said. "we could just get together and have a cuppa."
"but when are we going to get down to business, harry?" hermione demanded. "we've
wasted nearly three months already."
he was well aware of that, but he wasn't ready yet. he wanted to study up a bit more.
"soon," he replied. "i promise."
this seemed to satisfy hermione. "gin and i will go spread the word. how does one o'clock
sound?"
"fine," harry replied. the two girls stood up from the table and nonchalantly made their
way to the far corners of the great hall.
ron sighed. "i guess i'd better start studying. herbology chapter's a killer this week."
"wait," harry said, stopping him from standing up. "what happened with you and
hermione?"
"oh... right well, we sort of got everything out in the open. we came to an understanding."
"an understanding?"
ron's cheeks were turning red, but harry urged him to go on. "right. hermione, well, she
understands that i... that i... really like her in an un-friendly sort of way." he cleared his
throat. "i mean, in the way that i'm... i'm a guy and she's..."
"a girl," harry interrupted. "i get it. you don't have to draw me a picture. what did she say
to you?"
ron gulped. "see, that's what i can't figure out. she gave me this long explanation about
how she felt but i was so embarrassed about the way i'd acted i was distracted. plus, she
used all these big words like "plutonic" and stuff. who knew dating involved astronomy?"
"we really need to get you a dictionary," harry laughed.
"it's not funny," ron said somberly. "i'm even more confused than i was before. she says
that i don't listen to her. of course i listen to her! i listen to her all the time! and she says i
don't take her seriously - but do i take anything seriously?"
"she's still wearing the necklace," harry offered.
"i think it's just because she feels guilty. argh!" he threw his hands up in the air. "i give
up. she gives me a bloody headache. i'll see you back in the common room." scowling, he
got up from the table and marched over to the exit.
harry found himself alone with the last of his breakfast. he began wondering if hermione
was right about how ron never took her seriously. in dire times during their adventures,
ron would listen to her. of course, on an everyday level, that was a different story. it just
wasn't in ron's nature to be a serious person. was that the kind of guy hermione was
looking for?
"morning, harry." his thoughts were interrupted by nora, who took a seat on the vacant
bench across the table.
"morning," harry replied. nora looked good - much better than she had during their
encounter with malfoy. "how are things?"
"good," she aid brightly. "harry, i've got another favor to ask of you." she smiled
sheepishly.
he took a bite of his toast, then chewed and swallowed, considering. "all right. what can i
do for you?"
"well, i know that all the first and second years have to stay behind when everyone else
goes to hogsmeade..."
harry didn't like the direction this favor was headed in. he didn't want to get caught
smuggling anyone into hogsmeade. he assumed that's what she was asking for. especially
since he felt obligated to look after nora after meeting eva - not that it was a
responsibility he didn't like.
"so, i was wondering if, well, if you could deliver a package for me?"
"a package?" harry questioned.
she nodded. "to eva."
"sure," harry replied. "but i'm afraid i don't understand. do you want me to bring it to the
post office in hogsmeade?"
"no, eva's living there now."
harry's heart suddenly jumped into his throat. it was hard to breathe. eva was a lot closer
to him than he thought.
"she's staying at an inn for a little while until she finds something more permanent," nora
continued. "i forgot which one though. it had something to do with a hog. the hog's inn?"
"hog's head?" harry suggested. the thought of a chance meeting with eva while strolling
the streets of hogsmeade, just as they had in little winging, sent a chill down harry's
spine. what the hell had gotten into him?
"yes, that's it. she's found that magical transportation is a lot easier to use, especially with
her job at the ministry."
"oh, right, with mr. weasley. how's that going?"
nora shrugged. "i'm not even sure what she does. she doesn't write about it. have you
written to her yet?"
harry shook his head. "i... i don't think that it would be very appropriate."
nora rolled her eyes. "that's the same thing she said when i told her to write to you again."
he felt his cheeks growing flushed. was snape right - did he have a crush? he was feeling
similar things he'd felt when he used to look at cho chang. but eva wasn't even around
and he was already blushing.
"so you'll deliver it to her?" nora asked.
harry nodded. "of course." that meant he was going to see her again.
"good. i would have just sent it to her through the regular owl post, but every time that
i've been up to the owlery the past few days there haven't been any owls there."
as he came back to his senses, his heart finally dropped back into his chest where it
belonged. "that's odd," he said. "you mean there aren't any owls around at all?"
she shook her head. "not even the school owls."
he frowned. he'd sent hedwig to deliver a letter to remus the day before, and wasn't
expecting her return for a few days. but all the owls goneat the same time? could it just be
a coincidence?
chapter eighteen: the rebirth of dumbledore's army
nora met up with harry the next day. he was standing in line with his permission slip in
hand to go to hogsmeade at noontime. she gave him a small box that was quite heavy and
wrapped in plain brown paper with a string tied tightly in a neat little bow. there were a
two letters shoved between the strings for safe-keeping.
he felt butterflies in his stomach. they were annoying. he wished they would go away. it
would be a lot easier to approach eva if he wasn't so nervous.
ron and hermione thought he was anxious because of d.a. the only thing that he was
worried about was if he spent too much time with eva he'd be late for the meeting.
he must have changed his clothes five times that morning, and was now regretting the
plain, white polo shirt he was wearing beneath his cloak. if it got wet, it would be ruined,
and everyone would be able to see right through it. he didn't want to look like a drowned
rat. plus, he was wearing his only pair of khaki pants he'd ever owned in his life. there
would be mud all over the streets and they'd be ruined. maybe if he had time, he could
scourgify them a little before going to the hog's head.
when they finally did reach hogsmeade, harry had a hard time finding an excuse to
separate from his friends. hermione wanted to talk about d.a., but he quickly made an
excuse that he had to go and mail the package he got from nora.
"why didn't you have hedwig do it?" ron questioned.
"i wanted it post-marked in hogsmeade," harry quickly replied. neither of them
questioned him. it would have made sense if he was mailing something secret. like a
letter to sirius. but he certainly didn't have to worry about that anymore.
"we'll go with you," hermione said. "i should check the price on international mailings."
"no!" harry exclaimed. "i, er, i mean... i just need to take a walk. alone. i need to clear my
head. i'll see you at the meeting," he added, and quickly took off.
"that's odd," he heard ron say. "the post office is the other way."
smooth, harry thought sarcastically. real smooth. they don't suspect a thing. how was he
going to keep himself together in front of eva when the mere thought of seeing her turned
him into a jackass in front of his friends?
when he finally reached the hog's head, he took a moment to collect himself before going
into the pub. he felt under-prepared. should he have bought her flowers or something? no,
that was too suggestive. a nice gesture, but way too overbearing. why did he want to give
her flowers anyway? it's not like he owed her. if anything, it was the other way around.
but after her letter, harry felt that he owed eva a lot. if anything, it seemed to wake him up
inside.
he took a few deep breaths and quickly walked inside of the hog's head. his muddy pants
long forgotten, he stepped up to the bar, despite weird looks from the even weirder
customers.
"what can i do for you?" the bartender, though somewhat intimidating, had never struck
harry as a scary man. he had wild white hair, but his eyes were very kind.
"i'm looking for eva finnigan," harry announced. it came out as more of a bark than he
intended it to be.
when the bartender shrugged, harry feared that maybe nora had told him the wrong inn.
however, one of the barmaids appeared from somewhere behind the counter. "she ain't
here," the younger-looking witch said. she had long, greenish hair and oval-shaped
glasses. "let's see, it's about midday now. she's probably just left the ministry and headed
to the royal."
"the royal?" harry questioned.
the witch ignored him. "imagine workin' all day at the ministry, the royal at night, and
servin' drinks here until with wee hours o' the mornin' when the bad crowd's around." she
shook her head. "never knew muggles had such a work ethic."
"do... do you know when she'll be back?" harry questioned, feeling silly for getting
worked up for nothing. she wasn't even there. he should have realized that she was at
work somewhere. she wouldn't sit around waiting for visitors.
"probably not 'til after midnight," the witch replied. she eyed the gryffindor patch on
harry's cloak, then searched his forehead for his scar. "not when you're out an' about." she
gestured to the package he was holding. "yeh got mail fer her, or somethin'? i'll see that
she gits it."
harry didn't trust the barmaid. he quickly hid the package behind his back. "uh, no
thanks." he took a backed away from the bar and left the hog's head inn.
when he stepped outside into the rain, he found the downpour only fitting. he felt
obligated to get the package to eva somehow. maybe this was a cause for a small
adventure outside of hogwarts. tonight, he could break out the marauder's map, which he
could use to follow the secret passage way into hogsmeade. under the cover of his dad's
old invisibility cloak, he could sneak back into the hog's head and give the package to
eva.
he was determined to see her again. he had gotten his hopes smashed by her absence that
afternoon, but he would be back.
now the only question was what to do with the package in the meantime. hermione and
ron would just be even more suspicious if they saw it again after he'd said he was going
to the post office. he hastily shoved it underneath his cloak before it was soaked by the
rain.
"hey, harry!"
harry turned around and saw seamus running towards him with a bag full of candy from
honeydukes. "hi seamus," he greeted.
"on your way to the... eh, the meeting?" he asked quietly.
harry checked his watch. it was already ten to one. "yeah. are you coming?"
"'course i am." seamus sounded insulted. "i know that last year... last year it was an
awkward time between us. i hope you won't hold it against me."
"of course not." it was harry's turn to feel insulted. "i guess i'm just surprised. i mean, you
only came to the last meeting."
"it's just that i realized something," seamus said, stopping besides harry. harry stopped as
well. he looked apologetic. "no matter what me parents say, i know a battle on the way.
you can feel it in the air, ya know? i had best be prepared. and i know that they might not
trust you to teach us what you've been teaching us, but i know that i trust you." he
grinned. "besides, it'll be a great way to get me grades up in defense against the dark arts.
that professor leurre has been on my case about practicing my counter curses."
harry laughed. but he found it odd that seamus was so observant. was there really a
foreboding sense of war in the air? he had always had his personal battles with
voldemort, but had the time come for the whole wizarding world to be involved?
and where did that leave the muggles?
he ignored the shiver that ran down his spine as he and seamus headed towards the three
broomsticks. he still didn't know what to do with the package. it was too big to fit in his
pockets. maybe he could try some sort of charm to shrink it, but not with seamus
watching.
"what have you got there, harry?" seamus asked.
harry sighed. it was no use. he took the package out from behind his back and tried to
shelter it from the rain. "i was supposed to deliver a package."
"oy, is that me letter?" seamus grabbed the box out of harry's hands and flipped it to the
bottom where the letters had been shoved between strings. "what are you doing with
this?" he asked. he seemed to put two and two together. "you were supposed to deliver
this to eva?"
he nodded. "nora asked me to."
"you know eva?" seamus questioned suspiciously.
"i, um, i escorted nora to st. mungo's after eva had been in that accident. i met her there."
"accident?!" seamus cried. "what accident? what's a muggle doing at st. mungo's?"
it hadn't occurred to harry that seamus wasn't aware of what was going on in his cousins'
lives. thinking back to when he was in dumbledore's office, he remembered what nora
had said when harry suggested that seamus should be the one to take her to st. mungo's.
she won't see him.
why didn't eva want to seamus? was there something going on in their family?
seamus seemed embarrassed that he didn't know what was going on. harry briefly
explained about how she had handled the devil's snare at the plant shop. "she's fine now.
nora wanted me to deliver this to her."
"here?" seamus said. "she's living here?"
harry nodded. he wasn't sure if he should have shared this information with seamus or
not. "she's got a room on top the hog's head."
"hog's head? that's a nasty place." seamus eyed the package again. "do you want me to
take it for the meeting, harry? and then afterwards we could deliver it together?"
"she's not going to be back at the inn until late tonight, according to the barmaid," he
replied. "but if you could hold onto it during the meeting, that would be good."
"oh. all right." seamus took the package and put it inside of his bag of treats. "do you
mind if i ask why you're the one delivering it?"
harry shrugged. "nora said that there weren't any owls in the school owlery, so she asked
if i could take it." this seemed to make sense to seamus. perhaps he had also witnessed
the empty owlery. not wanting to talk about it any further, harry headed towards the three
broomsticks for the d.a. meeting. "we'd better get a move on. we're going to be late."
"wait, harry," seamus said suddenly. "if you do see eva, please tell her to read my letter.
maybe coming from you..." his voice trailed off.
harry nodded. silently, the two of them stepped inside the pub. ron and hermione were
already there, along with colin and dennis creevy and luna lovegood. they motioned for
harry and seamus to join them at a nearby table.
"i know that dean and neville are coming too," seamus said, taking a seat next to colin.
"gin's bound to round up a few more," ron added. hermione, however, looked skeptical.
"i think we're going to have a few less than last year," she said. "due to special
circumstances."
harry sank into his seat. he doubted that ginny's old boyfriend, michael corner and his
friends would show up, or cho and her friend marietta edgecombe, who had betrayed
them last year, would either.
with only a few minutes to spare, ernie macmillan and justin finch-fletchley strolled
inside out of the rain. so did hannah abbott, padma and parvati patil, along with susan
bones, terry boot, anthony goldstein, and zacharias smith. ginny and neville rushed in at
the last second.
"sorry," neville apologized, pulling over a chair from an empty table. "long lines at the
post office. everybody's there. can you believe that all of the owls at hogwarts have gone
missing?"
harry frowned. there was something fishy going on. but there was no time to dwell on it.
hermione pulled out a slip of parchment with everyone's name on it, which appeared to
be the same slip that had gotten them into so much trouble last year. marietta edgecomb's
name had been crossed out.
harry took a deep breath and checked his watch. it was already a few minutes past one. "it
looks as though everyone's here." he straightened up in his chair. "i'd like to welcome you
all to the first unofficial meeting..."
the front door opened and shut quietly. he glanced towards the entrance. cho was standing
there, alone. she looked a little frazzled by the rain and a little embarrassed to be late, but
gorgeous nevertheless.
harry tried to ignore the flip-flop his stomach did at the sight of her. he didn't know she
could still do that to him. she hastily made her way over to the group.
"sorry i'm late," she said quietly. "can i still...? i mean, is it okay if i...?" she glanced up at
harry.
he sighed. he didn't know that he could really trust her again. although, it did take guts to
come back to d.a. he glanced at ron, who just shrugged. hermione looked thoughtful.
ginny looked positively furious. did cho have her heart in the right place? was she there
to learn, or to merely make life a living hell for harry?
he hoped he wouldn't regret it as harry pulled up another chair between him and seamus.
"have a seat. you're just in time."
cho smiled and sat down, ignoring the murmurs around her. harry continued. "i know
we're a little smaller this year, but that doesn't mean that we matter any less. we must
double our efforts. we need to recruit more. for all of you know just as well as i do that
the battle against voldemort has just started."
some winced at the sound of his name. hermione spoke up. "i'd just like to say," she said,
staring directly at cho, "that this year i've added an extra precaution to our contract." she
held up the slip of parchment. she'd crossed off the names of the students who had
graduated from hogwarts, as well as those who hadn't show up for the meeting. "i've
added another curse. if anyone has a problem with this, please let me know and we'll
cross off your name you can leave immediately."
all eyes were on cho, who looked defiantly back at hermione. "i'm staying," she declared.
harry thought he should have felt relieved, but he didn't. "our first meeting will be next
weekend," he said quietly. "usual place, at ten o'clock."
"are you sure it's okay to do this?" dennis creevy questioned. "it's not going to turn into a
huge fiasco like last year?"
harry shook his head. "professor dumbledore has given us permission. although, i'm sure
there would be certain teachers who would have no problem suspending our little club, so
we all need to be careful. umbridge may be gone, but there are dark eyes and ears
everywhere." he glanced around the pub. it was mostly empty, except for a couple
huddled in a corner together.
"is there anything we should read up on?" hannah abbott asked. "what are we going to
work on first?"
"we ought to review a little first," harry said. "i think we could all use some work on our
patronuses. and counter-curses," he added, grinning in seamus's direction.
seamus returned the smile, but harry got the impression he wasn't really paying attention.
in fact, if he didn't know any better, he would guess that seamus was still thinking about
nora and eva. throughout the rest of the meeting, even harry's mind would sometimes
travel to the sadness on his face. something horrible must have happened in their family.
and for some reason, he wanted more than anything to know what that something was.
***
the common room was bustling with energy once everyone got back from hogsmeade. the
first and second years were enviously eyeing all of the goodies that people bought. nora
had met up with harry and asked about the package, but harry said that she was working
and he didn't trust the people in the pub at the hog's head.
"i'll use hedwig," he told her. "she's due back any day."
nora looked disappointed. "but that means you won't get to see her."
harry grinned. he didn't want to tell nora that he'd be sneaking out of the castle to see her
tonight. he felt it would only encourage some rule-breaking on her part. "maybe i'll write
her a letter," he told her, and she seemed to brighten up a little. "hey nora," harry said
gently, "could i ask you a question?"
she nodded. "sure."
"i know this probably isn't any of my business, but why don't seamus and eva get along? i
sort of ran into seamus today with the package..."
"oh no," she interrupted. "did you tell him where she was living?"
"it sort of slipped out," harry replied.
"oh well, he was bound to find out sooner or later," nora said. "better for eva to get mad
at you than me."
"that's just it," harry said. "why don't the two of them get along?"
nora looked down at the floor. "well, it's a long story, and it's not my place to say." she
took a deep breath. "it's just family business, that's all. they've never gotten along. and not
just seamus. i mean, eva doesn't really get along with anybody."
harry found that hard to believe. eva seemed like a very kind person to him. however, it
was odd that she didn't have any friends, and even odder that she didn't get along with her
family. but there were times when harry felt that seamus's family was a little different.
there was the fact that his mother didn't tell his father that she was a witch until after they
were married. not to mention that, up until recently, seamus's mother thought that harry
was pulling crazy stunts for attention.
"i understand," harry replied. with relatives like the dursleys, harry could sympathize
with eva's position.
"you do?" she sounded surprised.
"not everyone comes from a perfect family." he grinned. there was still a curiosity
building inside of him about eva's history with the finnigan family, but he didn't want to
make nora uncomfortable so he dropped the subject.
nora turned in and as ten o'clockrolled around, most of the common room began to clear
out. he was waiting until everyone went to bed before setting off to hogsmeade. he
planned to leave at midnight.
only ron and hermione remained with him. time crept by slowly. after a few rounds of
wizard's chess with hermione while ron finished up some last minute homework, the two
of them looked rather sleepy. it was sunday night, and the next day brought a whole
week's worth of classes with it.
"i think i'm going to turn in," hermione said, covering her mouth as she yawned. she was
staring at ron with such an intense stare, harry felt as though he were invisible in the
room.
"oh. right." he cleared his throat, his face bright red. "well, i'll walk you to the door."
harry looked from ron, to hermione, and back again. the girl's dormitory door was only
about ten feet away. boys were not allowed to go up the stairs. had he missed something?
the two of them stood up and walked stiffly over to the dormitory stairwell. hermione
leaned against the door frame, as though she were waiting for something. ron looked
frightened, but as he took a step closer to hermione, his expression changed. he looked
excited.
harry knew what was coming next. he knew that ron was going to kiss her, and the
thought of watching the two of them snogging in front of him made him uncomfortable,
but for some reason he couldn't look away. it was like watching something grotesque -
painful, yet so interesting he had to watch.
ron leaned closer to hermione, and her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parting. ron tilted his
head to the side, and their lips met.
harry finally looked away. how did they make it look so natural? all of the kissing he'd
experienced had been awkward and rushed. he would tilt his head wrong or forget to
breathe. and it was always over so quickly. it seemed that ron and hermione were taking
ages to kiss each other good night.
when they finally did part, hermione, looking frazzled, whispered. "good night." ron's
gaze followed her up the stairs. it was almost as if he was seeing her as a woman for the
first time.
ron sighed and sauntered back to where harry was sitting in shock. "what the hell was
that?"
he shrugged. "when you went to the post office, hermione and i went to madam
puddifoot's for some lunch. and well, we just got to talking. and then we got to hand-
holding. and then she leaned over and kissed me, right out of the blue."
that seems to happen a lot, harry thought. "you know, madam puddifoot's must have
some romantic magic in it or something. that's the same place where cho took me on
valentine's day last year."
"to tell you the truth," ron replied, "it did look like it was valentine's day inside.
everything was pink and they were burning these incenses that just made your head
fuzzy. not that i'm complaining," he added. "did you know that's the place where
everyone goes when they want to snog in hogsmeade?"
harry laughed. "it is?"
"yeah, according to ginny. hermione asked her about it. apparently, she was planning
this." ron tried to sound upset, but harry could tell that he was overjoyed at the prospect
of being seduced by hermione. "imagine: my little sister, the cupid of hogwarts."
harry grinned. he had no trouble picturing ginny playing cupid. in fact, harry had
witnessed firsthand what a seductress she could be. didn't anybody leave the romancing
up to the man in the relationship anymore?
category: romance
sub category: angst
keywords: post-ootp werewolves oc hogsmeade cloak
rating: r
summary: chapter nineteen - a midnight visit to hogsmeade: harry sneaks back into
hogsmeade. (post ootp - harry's sixth year) harry is struggling between childhood and
author notes: thank you for your interest. i really appreicate all of my readers and
reviewers. let me know if you'd like to be added to the update list. enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chapter nineteen - a midnight visit to hogsmeade
"you coming to bed?" ron questioned.
harry shook his head. "not yet."
"g'night," he mumbled as he practically floated towards the dormitory stairs.
"good night," harry called. he laughed. he didn't even need to think up an excuse about
why he wasn't going to bed yet.
harry didn't know if the pairing of ron and hermione was such a good match. would
things be different between the three of them in the morning? would harry have to put up
with displays of public affection? when they fought - and he knew they would - would he
be forced to choose a side? he tried not to think of what a disaster this could all turn out
to be and tried to concentrate on the fact that his two best friends had just made each
other extremely happy.
if only he could find that kind of happiness for himself.
a few minutes after ron had disappeared, harry checked his watch. it was midnight. he
quickly pulled out the marauder's map and the invisibility cloak from his bag. he had
eva's package stashed carefully in the bottom.
after searching the marauder's map for any signs of wandering teachers or filch, harry
was confident enough to step out of the portrait hole. he slipped the cloak on, just to be
safe. he couldn't even trust the portraits in times like these.
he made his way to the third floor and hurried over the statue of the hump-backed, one-
eyed witch. he tapped the statue once with his wand and whispered, "dissendium!"
the hump of the witch opened and harry squeezed through it. he couldn't help but notice
that he was quite bigger than the last time he sneaked into hogsmeade. as he made his
way through the dark and twisted tunnel, his legs felt like jelly at the prospect of seeing
eva. the journey seemed to take even longer than it had before. he was so nervous. he
tried to rehearse what he'd say to eva when he saw her.
there was no good explanation for why he'd decided to come in the middle of the night,
except for the fact that he wanted to see her again. he could say he didn't trust the
barmaid to give it to her, but then there was always the chance that the two of them were
friends. she did seem to know a lot about eva's whereabouts.
finally, the path seemed to be going upward, and before he knew it, he'd hit his head on
the trapdoor that led to the cellar of honeydukes. he put the map away in his backpack
and made sure that the cloak was covering him completely. he took a deep breath and
climbed out of the hole.
harry quickly found his way through the cellar and climbed the stone stairs to the actual
store. the only light in the store was from the ashes of a fireplace long forgotten. he was
careful not to make any noise as he unlocked the door and slipped outside into the cold
night.
the streets seemed deserted, but as harry approached the hog's head, there were more and
more people gathered outside on the chilly october night. perhaps it was the only pub
open. there were no lights anyplace else.
harry carefully made his way through the maze of witches and wizards. there were even a
few hags sharing a pipe near the entrance. when he finally made it inside of the pub, there
was thick smoke in the air and it was hard to breathe. bottles of butterbeer littered the
floor and along with the containers other drinks that harry didn't recognize.
but he did recognize eva right away. she had just cleared a table and was bringing empty
glasses back to the bar with a tray in her hands. she stuck out in the crowd. her hair was
pulled back in a loose knot with some strands of coppery curls hanging on the back of her
neck. she was dressed like a muggle in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt with apron
draped around her waist. but no one appeared to be paying any attention to her. she just
went about her business behind the bar.
"'at's enough for tonight." the same barmaid who harry had talked to earlier that day
appeared from the kitchen. "go on up. i've got you covered."
"that's okay, annabelle," eva replied. "i need the tips." he'd forgotten what her voice
sounded like. it was a comfort to hear it again.
annabelle pulled the tray away from eva. "no, ya don't. you need some sleep. go on."
eva looked at the old, white-haired bartender for approval. he nodded. she sighed. "all
right, i'll see you in the morning."
"not if i have anything to do with it," annabelle replied with a wink. "oy, i forgot to tell
ya. ya had a visitor this afternoon."
"i did? who was it?" eva questioned. "was it nora?" she asked excitedly.
annabelle shook her head. "no." harry tried to ignore the disappointment he saw in eva's
eyes. "it was a boy."
"a boy?" eva looked perplexed.
"not just any boy, either. it was none other than the famous 'arry potter!" annabelle hissed
under her breath, careful that none of the patrons closest to the bar would hear.
"harry?" eva asked. "are you sure?"
"'course i'm sure!" annabelle cried. "saw his scar with my own eyes an' everyfin'!"
he wondered if there was there a sparkle in her eye that harry hadn't noticed before. she
grinned broadly. "and what did he want?"
annabelle shrugged. "i don't know. he had a package with him, but he didn't leave it for
ya. maybe he was just visitin'."
eva's smile faded. "i doubt it."
"and why shouldn't he be visitin' a smart, sexy, hard-workin' girl like yourself?" annabelle
demanded.
"i'm a muggle," eva said flatly, "nothing more."
harry was disturbed by the way she said it. like she was filth to him. didn't she know that
he had only been a muggle himself up to a few years ago? didn't she know he was raised
by a whole family full of muggles?
"aye, and nothing less, either," annabelle said. "don't let them old wizards get ya down. if
all the muggles of the world are 'alf as good as you are, i wouldn't mind workin' with
'em."
"thanks," eva replied sheepishly. "well, i'm off to bed then."
with one last smile and a wave to the bartender, she took off her apron and set it behind
the counter and picked up her bag. she turned and headed up the stairs, not bothering to
hide her yawn.
harry saw his chance. he took a step forward into the smoke but his foot hit something
hard. a beer bottle was sent flying across the floor. harry inhaled sharply. nobody seemed
to notice the bottle rolling on its own accord.
nobody but the bartender. harry quickly looked up into the kind eyes of the old man and
he had the distinct impression that he could see him right through the cloak. there was
something familiar about those eyes.
but the old man went back to the drinks he was preparing without another word. harry
quickly took to the stairs and followed eva up to her room.
the smoke seemed much worse on the second floor. eva's room, he noted, was the third
door on the right. harry wasn't sure what to do next. he could uncloak himself now and
scare her half to death, or he could wait. wait for what, he wasn't sure. he was a little put
off by her attitude towards him. had he come off as a pompous, big-headed wizard who
didn't have time for muggles that day at st. mungo's? but then in the letter, she had said
that he was such a gentleman, and he was so caring...
the contradiction combined with the smoke was enough to make harry's head spin. eva
had left her door open a crack and he decided to stay put outside, looking in for the
perfect moment to deliver the package.
the first thing she did was goto her window and open it. she leaned out, breathing in
gallons and gallons of fresh, cool air from outside. she pulled her hair out of the bun and
it bounced on the back of her shoulders. harry tried desperately not to find it the least bit
attractive.
he lost track of the minutes that she stood at the window. she looked so luminous in the
moonlight that he didn't mind watching her. her breathing became heavier. harry
wondered if the smoke was getting to her, when she suddenly turned around and sniffled.
she was crying.
harry felt his heart break as tears streamed down her face. he couldn't figure out why she
was crying. did it have something to do with his visit earlier that day?
after fumbling with a few matches she lit a nearby candle, illuminating the room around
her. harry saw it for the first time. there were letters spread all over the bed, along with
pictures and photo albums scattered across the floor.
eva shivered and pulled a nearby afghan around her shoulders. she grabbed a
handkerchief and wiped away her tears, but they still continued to flow. harry was now
realizing just how cold it was in her room. he inspected the fireplace and it looked as
though it hadn't been lit in weeks.
how can she live like this?he wondered. did she only sleep here? was this her only home?
she picked up her bag and emptied the contents. there was a frilly dress inside, which she
hung up neatly in the almost-empty closet. she also pulled out a pin that he recognized
from the ministry of magic. it read eva finnigan, muggle relations. she opened a drawer
and added it to a pile of identical buttons.
she dumped out the rest of the contents on the nearby desk. eva was by no means a neat
and organized person. there were newspaper clippings on the wall and all over the floor.
when he looked closer, harry saw that they were all ads for seasonal flats in the upper-
class division of london. was she trying to save up enough money to move away?
her crying only became worse by the time she actually took a seat on the bed. harry
wanted to burst into her room and hold her, or shake her shoulders to make her stop. it
was one of the most terrible things he'd ever seen in his life. if he had caused such pain in
her, he didn't know if he'd be able to live with himself.
from the nightstand, she pulled out a piece of parchment and a ball-point pen. she quickly
began writing. from his perch at her door, he could see it was addressed to nora. the first
thing she wrote was that she hoped that everything was okay, because she hadn't heard
from her little sister in over a week.
of course! harry thought. that's why she was crying. nora hadn't been able to send her any
letters because all of the owls had gone missing. it wasn't because he'd dropped by. he felt
incredibly stupid now that he'd ever thought eva would cry over him.
but he knew just the thing to cheer her up. he had wanted to deliver the package in
person, but in her current state of tears, he felt uncomfortable barging in on her. it was
bad enough that he had been watching her all this time.
without another second's hesitation, he took the package out of his bag and set it down in
front of her doorway. then he knocked on the door and quickly got out of the way.
eva jumped. she got out of the bed and wiped her face, then opened the door. she saw the
package on the floor and looked around for the person who knocked. she bent down and
picked up the box and brought it over to her bed.
first, she took out seamus's letter and opened it up. harry watched her read a few words,
but as soon as she figured out who it was from, she threw it on the floor without giving it
a second glance. then she pulled out nora's letter and began reading.
harry was glad to see a smile on eva's face. she even laughed a little. but her smile
quickly faded. she put the letter down on the bed and stormed over to the door.
harry quickly backed away as she stuck her head into the smoky hallway and looked
around in the darkness. "harry?" she called. "are you out here?"
he realized that nora must have written something about how he was supposed to deliver
the package. he should have known. but there was no way on earth he was going to show
himself to eva now. it had been a huge invasion of her privacy for him to be watching her
like this.
he breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to go back inside her room. she was just about to
close the door behind her when harry was going to leave for good. suddenly, she changed
her mind and threw the door open with full force, knocking harry sideways into the wall
and his glasses off. he cursed loudly.
"i knew you were out here!" eva shouted triumphantly.
harry scrambled to shove his invisibility cloak inside his bag. it was no use taking cover
now that she'd assaulted him with her bedroom door. he could feel warm liquid trickling
out down lips and into his mouth. she had hit him square in the nose. it was a lot more
painful than taking a nosebleed nougat.
"oh my god!" she cried when she saw the state that harry was in. "i'm so sorry, harry, are
you all right?" she rushed over to him and helped him to his feet. he was still seeing stars.
"of course you're not. i'm really sorry."
harry managed to string some words together, but his tongue felt like sandpaper, and his
mouth tasted of blood. "it's... i'm... okay..."
eva took him by the arm and led him into her room. he heard a soft crunch under his foot
and realized that he'd just stepped on his glasses. she took charge and cleared a spot for
him on the bed. she quickly found her handkerchief that was still wet from her tears and
held it up to harry's bloody nose. "truly. i'm so sorry." but even with his blurred vision, he
could tell she was grinning.
once harry had recovered a little and the bleeding stopped, she pulled the handkerchief
away. harry suddenly became very aware that her opposite hand was on the back of his
neck and her touch sent shivers down his spine. "just what were you doing anyway?" she
questioned. "were you spying on me?"
"er... i wasn't... well, i didn't mean to..." caught, he hung his head in embarrassment,
causing a droplet of blood to fall out of his nose and onto his pants.
"whoops. better not do that," eva said. she tucked his chin up so that he had a great view
of the smoke clouds near her ceiling. she began to rub the back of his neck and between
his shoulder blades. "pinch your nose," she added. "feel better?"
"yes, thanks," harry managed to reply. "and i swear, i didn't mean to spy, it's just that, you
were..." his voice trailed off.
eva smiled sadly. "aye, i was crying. i guess you didn't want to walk into that train wreck.
i don't blame you." she continued to rub the back of his neck. "you could have left me
package with annabelle, you know?"
"i know, but then i wouldn't have gotten to see you." harry inhaled sharply. the truth had
come out of him before he'd even had a chance to stop it. he tried to rectify it. "i wanted
to, er, thank you for the letter."
"you're welcome," eva replied. "i think the bleeding's stopped."
harry let go of his nostrils and sniffled. there was still a little pain. he'd probably have a
nasty bruise in the morning. he gestured to her handkerchief. "sorry about that."
"don't you dare apologize," eva scolded. she took a seat next to him on the bed. "you
know, i felt like someone was watching me." she grinned wickedly. "imagine: the famous
harry potter reduced to nothing more than a peeping tom."
harry frowned. "i hate being called that."
"what? a peeping tom? this isn't your first offense?" she punched him playfully on the
shoulder.
"no," harry replied. "i hate being called famous."
"well, you can't deny what you truly are," eva said. "as a muggle recently introduced into
the wizarding world, it is my regret to inform you that you really are quite famous. if
your name is merely mentioned in the pub, people toast to you at least three times."
harry covered his face with his hands. he knew he should feel completely mortified by all
of this, but somehow eva made it feel okay. it was true. he would never be able to escape
the fact that every wizard and his children knew his name.
"want to help open the rest of me gift?" she asked. she slid back on the bed so that she
could lean against the headboard. harry, now just realizing that he was on a girl's bed,
with a girl, no less, felt incredibly uncomfortable. he cleared some letters from the foot of
the bed and sat opposite eva. she grabbed a letter opener from the end of her nightstand
and ripped open the brown wrapping on the package. inside, there were two jars filled
with some sort of sand. she tossed one to harry.
he was a little weary of opening his jar, but eva opened hers without any hesitation. she
lifted the jar to her nose and breathed in. "mmm..." she mumbled. "chocolate-chip
cookies. what's yours?"
harry opened his jar, which was filled with some purplish sand, and did his best to take a
sniff without causing his nose to bleed again. it smelled familiar - flowery even. he
should be able to recognize it after all the hours he'd spent in aunt petunia's garden. "i
think it's lilac," he replied.
"my favorite," she said.
"what are these?" harry asked, gesturing to the jars.
"smelling salts, i think. for the room," eva added. "in case you haven't noticed, the smell
from the pub is terrible in here. i mentioned it to nora and apparently she's come up with
some kind of concoction to clear the room of horrible odors." her eyes looked far away.
"god, i miss her so much."
harry was afraid that she was going to cry again, but eva did look like she was quite
capable of holding herself together. "i forgot," he said suddenly. "seamus told me to tell
you to read his letter."
eva suddenly snapped back to reality. her eyes narrowed. "did he now?" harry nodded.
"well, i already did read it, and you can tell him that it's filled with bullshit. sorry," she
apologized for cursing.
"it's all right," harry said, rather confused. he didn't want to get in the middle of a family
feud, but he couldn't help but wonder what was going on between them. "seamus... he's
your cousin?" harry questioned, though he already knew the answer.
eva stood up from the bed and picked up seamus's letter off the floor. she strolled towards
the window for some fresh air. "we're only family by blood and not in any other sense of
the word."
harry knew exactly what she meant. "i've got a family like that too."
"you do?" she turned to him.
he nodded. "every summer i have to go and stay with my aunt and uncle in little winging.
they hate anything weird or abnormal." he got up and joined her at the window. "so that
means they pretty much hate me, as well."
he didn't know why he was telling eva all of this, but once again he found words slipping
out of his mouth before he could stop them. "your aunt didn't seem like the friendliest
person," eva said quietly.
harry shook his head. "they used to be much worse. they would lock me in a cupboard
under the stairs before i found out i was a wizard."
"that's terrible." eva shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "i guess you haven't
had good experiences with muggles, eh?"
harry grinned. "this one seems to be going just fine."
and for some reason he found himself taking a step closer to her. maybe it was the way
the candlelight danced across her face, or how the moonlight made her hair look more red
then brown. maybe it was the fire in her eyes or the way she smiled at him. he wasn't sure
what made him do it, but before he realized it he was only inches away from her face.
he'd never noticed how beautiful she was up close. and when she turned to him, her eyes
serious and thoughtful all at the same time, he couldn't hold back. he couldn't look away.
he was only conscious of his lips moving closer and closer to hers.
"don't," she whispered.
harry, as if awakened from a dream, jumped back to the other side of the window. he felt
his cheeks redden as they never had before. he didn't know what to say. he had never felt
so attracted to someone. but it wasn't just because she was beautiful. it was because she
was easy to talk to. she was removed from the intensity of world that he lived in at
hogwarts. who would have predicted that there would be a time in his life when he
needed to escape the only place that had felt like home to him?
but now he'd crossed a line somewhere. he felt ashamed. "i'm... i'm sorry." he realized
how this must have looked to eva. first he was spying on her, and now he was trying to
seduce her? what was wrong with him?
"we just... we shouldn't," she said simply, tuning back to look out the window.
"you're right," harry agreed. he tried to laugh it off, but he knew he wasn't fooling
anyone.
"it's just..."
"no, you don't have to explain." harry took another step away from the window. he tried
to look away from her, because he knew his face was bright red, but he just couldn't. "i
understand."
eva grinned and turned to face him. "i don't think you do." she pointed at his nose. "it
would hurt something awful."
harry lifted a finger to his nose and poked it gently. he winced as pain spread from his
fingertip to his eyes, which started to water. "oh. right. you're right. bad idea."
she shook her head. "good idea, bad timing." she grinned at him, but when she met his
eyes, she looked away. was eva actually bashful?
"that'll teach me to spy on a girl," harry laughed nervously.chapter twenty: the empty
owlery
there was a hint of red in eva's cheeks when she finally did look him in the eye again.
harry was surprised at her reaction, but couldn't help wondering if his nose was an excuse
just so she wouldn't hurt his feelings.
she took seamus's letter out of its envelope and nervously folded it and unfolded it back
and forth. "you know," she said, breaking the silence between them, "it's not exactly
seamus who i have a problem with."
"it's not?" harry questioned, the embarrassment fading from his consciousness.
she seemed to hesitate. "it's his da. me mum's brother." she took a deep breath and
exhaled into the cold night air. "i guess it's not right to take it out on seamus." she set the
folded letter on her desk. maybe seamus had been right and she would listen to harry. at
least she hadn't thrown the letter away.
harry suddenly noticed that she was shivering. there was gooseflesh trailing up and down
her arms where she had rolled up the sleeves of her sweatshirt to help with his nosebleed.
"want me to light a fire for you?" he asked, gesturing to the fireplace.
she shrugged. "doesn't matter." she checked her watch. "i'm only here for a little while
longer anyways. then i'm off to the ministry."
harry glanced at his own watch and saw that it was past two. "but when do you sleep?"
"i don't," she replied indifferently. "i slept last night." he could tell that she was trying to
be casual about it, but it concerned him. "don't tell nora," she added. "i don't want her to
worry."
he sighed. "all right. but i'm still going to light a fire. no reason to be cold for the few
hours that you're here." and then he realized that he didn't have his glasses on, and it was
pretty difficult to see anything that wasn't a foot away from his face.
he quickly walked out into the hall and got on his hands and knees, searching the floor.
eva joined him. "i'm so sorry about your glasses harry. i can pay to replace them. i guess i
didn't realize my own strength."
harry gathered up the pieces and smiled at her. "nonsense. watch." he grabbed his wand
from his pocket and performed the spell that he'd learned from hermione that very first
day on the train. "occulus reparo."
eva gasped as the pieces of harry's glasses molded together by themselves until the
spectacles were as good as new. "wow," she breathed.
harry realized that this must be the first time she'd really witnessed any sort of magic. he
laughed. "if you think that was impressive, wait until nora comes home for christmas.
she'll knock your socks off."
eva laughed, but her heart wasn't in it. harry could tell she was thinking about how far
away christmas was. he hated to see the misery in her eyes. the loneliness.
the two of them went back inside the room. harry found some matches and a little
kindling to start the fire. it wasn't long before the flames lit up the room. when he turned
away from the fireplace, eva was staring at him.
"and here i was expecting to see some more magic, and then you go and use the muggle
way," she said disappointedly.
"starting a fire isn't quite as glamorous as putting things back together," harry said. eva's
room looked much more inviting with the gentle glow of the fire.
"want something to drink? i've some warm butterbeer around here somewhere."
"no thanks," harry replied. it was getting late. it'd take him a while to get back to
hogwarts, and he'd be asleep on his feet soon if he didn't get a move on. "i, unlike you, do
not have the super-human strength to function during the day without sleeping the night
before."
eva smiled and led harry to the door. "who said muggles don't have any special powers?"
she winked.
harry found himself hesitating at the threshold. he didn't want to leave, but the rational
part of harry was him harry to go before it was too late to get any sleep. and before he
found some other way to make a fool of himself in front of her.
"you know, harry, for being famous, you're very down-to-earth."
"thanks," he replied. "you know, eva, for being a muggle, you're very magical." then he
realized how incredibly stupid he sounded. but eva didn't seem to notice.
"thanks for delivering the package," she said. "it means a lot to me. and feel free to write
- or stop by - anytime."
"i'll keep that in mind." harry wouldn't need an excuse to visit her next time, now that
he'd been invited back. and there would be a next time.
"and i'm really sorry about your nose," eva apologized. "i wish there was something i
could do. maybe you can ice it or something?"
"don't worry about it." harry touched it carefully. it was still quite tender. however, he
would sneak away to see madam pomfrey early tomorrow morning if the swelling didn't
go down yet. he could live with the pain for awhile. it was a bittersweet reminder of the
time he'd spent with eva.
"well, goodnight," she said. she waved, then reached forward and pulled the door shut.
"goodnight." harry found himself grinning at her closed bedroom door. she had stirred up
emotions inside him that he'd forgotten how to feel. he was excited in a way that
quidditch had never fulfilled him. he was hopeful in a way that none of his friends could
ever awake in him. for the first time since sirius's death, it felt as though he had a heart
again.
but he couldn't explain how. how had some girl put this spell on him that made the rest of
the world look so much brighter?
***
"blimey, harry, that's the nastiest bruise i've seen since charlie tried to teach percy to fly
without a broom when we were kids," ron said before muggle studies the next morning.
harry did have a nice bruise right between his eyes. he'd woken up late and didn't get a
chance to go to the hospital wing before their first class.
"you should see the door i ran into," harry replied. he hadn't told ron the whole truth -
about how that door happened to be in the hog's head, or that he didn't run into it so much
as get hit with it. "but it's not as bad as it looks. as soon as class is over i'm going to see
madam pomfrey."
"you should leave it alone," neville said. "girls like that."
parvati, who was sitting in front of neville, turned around in her seat, her long, dark plait
trailing on the end of his desk. "and what do you know about girls, neville?" she scoffed.
neville turned red. "i just... i mean that they like scars and bruises and stuff. tough guys."
harry laughed. "maybe i'll let it heal on its own then."
parvati swirled around. "why harry? are you trying to impress a girl?"
harry knew that the entire class was looking at him, but for some reason, he didn't care.
he just felt so good after the night before. he was refreshed. "maybe," he answered,
thinking of eva, standing in front of her bedroom window with her hair down and her
eyes sparkling.
"ooh, who is it, harry?" parvatiasked.
"it's not granger, is it?" lavender brown demanded.
he glanced sideways at ron, who was trying extremely hard not to give any indication that
he and hermione had kissed the night before. harry was impressed by how natural things
were this morning. if he hadn't seen the kiss for himself, he'd never have guess that ron
and hermione's relationship had been taken to the next level.
"no, it's not hermione," he replied.
"who is it then?" parvatiquestioned.
"is she in our year?" lavender asked. "our house?"
harry groaned. letting on that he had any sort of feelings for anybody was a bad idea.
especially with the two gryffindor gossips around. "never mind. i was just joking," he
said hastily.
"yeah, right," parvatisnorted. "i bet i know who it is..."
she was interrupted by professor avis's entrance. that morning she was wearing high heels
that clicked as she trotted along the wooden floor to her place in front of the class. her
hair was pulled back in into a tight braid that trailed behind her back. she was wearing a
sweater and jeans. this was the most that she ever looked like a muggle. harry was
impressed. if it weren't for the rhinestone-covered cat-eye glasses, he would have never
given her a second glance.
"good morning, class," she greeted in her usual sing-song voice.
"good morning," they replied automatically.
"today is a very exciting day. today we'll be discussing the details of our halloween field
trip, set to take place on halloween night." she paused dramatically. "all hollow's eve is a
special day in the muggle world. there are religious aspects to this holiday, pertaining to
spirits in the dead. however, on our actual field trip, we will be observing typical muggles
and mostly children as they participate in the time-honored tradition of trick-or-treating."
there were some "oohs" from the students who didn't know much about muggle culture.
harry grinned. he'd never actually gone trick-or-treating himself, but he'd seen dudley
dress up for a dozen years. ironically, he'd been a wizard on several occasions.
"we will be leaving on thursday afternoon right after lunch. you'll be missing your
afternoon classes."
"yes! no herbology!" ron celebrated, his smile stretching from ear to ear.
"calm down, mr. weasley," profess avis snapped. "i assure you, you're still responsible for
all of the homework for that day."
ron smile faded, but there was still a twinkle in his eye.
professor avis continued. "we will meet in this classroom promptly at one o'clockin the
afternoon. the headmaster has been kind enough to connect our hearth to the floonetwork.
we will be traveling by floo powder to the ministry of magic in london, where mr.
weasley..." she glanced at ron, "mr. arthur weasley will be waiting. from there, we will
take a walking tour around muggle london and explore muggles in their natural habitat."
beside harry, neville's had shot into the air. "yes, mr. longbottom?"
"are we actually going to get to go trix... i mean, are we going to go treating?"
"no, i'm afraid that after a long debate, we've decided it's a little too risky. however, that
afternoon we are going to do something even better." professor avis grew quite excited.
she waddled over to her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a flier. "i've reserved us all
a tour of the tower of london and a special showing of the crowned jewels. we will be
studying muggle history and cross-referencing key historical dates and figures with our
own." she grinned broadly, handing it to ernie macmillan to pass around to the rest of the
class. "and if i don't get any trouble from any of you, i won't make you write an essay and
compare the two.
"i have to stress that you must all be on your best behavior. i know you all possess a
curious mind, but please keep your hands to yourselves and your lips shut. the school
governors were very gracious for letting us go on this field trip, and if all goes well it will
become an annual outing. unless you choose to mess it up somehow. however, you're all
intelligent students. i don't expect trouble from any of you. yes, miss brown?"
lavender put her hand down. "i was wondering, professor avis, what are we supposed to
wear? do we get to wear costumes or anything?"
"no, i'm afraid not. everyone will be dressed uniformly in black with a sweater that you
will all be receiving at the ministry."
both parvati and lavender looked disappointed. "why do we all have to look the same?"
"so that we'll look like we belong in a tour group. no fussing, girls, that's just the way it
has to be." she cleared her throat. "as for the rest of the day that we've planned, mr.
weasley has managed to pull some strings for us. that night, we're going to have dinner at
a very special place: the royal dining realm."
professor avis paused as though she were waiting for some more cries of astonishment
from her class. "don't you know what the realm is?"
neville raised his hand uncertainly. "i... i think that my granhas eaten there. whenever she
goes, she's always dressed in ruffles and frilly clothes."
professor avis nodded. "the royal dining realm is a special themed restaurant, which
muggles refer to as a medieval dinner. there is food from the old days, along with lots of
entertainment that is important in both muggle and wizarding history. we're all going to
have an excellent time."
"what kind of entertainment?" ron asked.
"there will be jousting and fencing and games."
"excellent!" dean cried. "will we get to joust?"
"i'm afraid not," she replied. "it's much too dangerous. i must ask all of you not to draw
too much attention to yourselves. we have to do our best to blend in with the crowd. if we
raise too much suspicion or are discovered in any way, it will be disastrous."
the mood of the males in the class seemed to deteriorate slightly at the sound that there
would be no jousting or fencing involved in that night's dinner. "it's not fair," ron
muttered. "muggles get to have all the fun."
after a few more minutes of explanation, professor avis was satisfied with her field trip
lecture and the class began discussing the muggle novel they had to read called, to kill a
mockingbird. the novel was written by an american author who had grown up in the deep
southern states. it was about the trial of black man who was unfairly charged with the
rape of a white woman. harry couldn't help but notice that the racism in the book was
something that he could apply to the riff between wizards and muggles, and even wizards
and non-human creatures. it reminded him of the unfair treatment that lupin had suffered
with for so many years and the trials he still had to face because he was a werewolf.
class went by quickly, and before harry knew it, the bell rang. "please finish the last
chapter for wednesday and write a response. i want at least a foot of parchment." she
dismissed them and then disappeared back into her office.
as harry gathered his supplies, parvati turned to him, a mischievous grin on her face. "so
congratulations, harry."
"congratulations on what?" he questioned, confused.
"on you and ginny," she said. "it's about time you two got together." she turned around,
her dark hair flipping with her, and practically skipped out of the classroom. everybody in
the classroom froze, except for neville, who quickly followed parvati out the door.
harry's mouth dropped. he suddenly felt all eyes on him. "wait!" he called. "i'm not -
ginny and i..."
"she's got to be joking!" ron exclaimed. "you're going out with my sister and you didn't
even tell me?"
"we're not going out," harry said forcefully. "we're not together. ginny and i are friends,
that's all. nothing more."
"that doesn't mean you don't want it to be more," lavender giggled. "we saw this coming
long before you did, harry."
"you don't understand!" harry cried. "really, we're not a couple and we don't want to be."
but it was too late. the entire class was buzzing with the new gossip. harry fumed. he was
going to hex parvatiinto oblivion.
***
after both harry and ginny tried to set the record straight about a dozen times, he found it
was nearly impossible to stop word from reaching the entire school. harry apologized for
what had happened, but ginny seemed to take it right in stride. she was much more
collected when it came to gossip.
"they'll get tired of it, harry," she said. "you'll see. next week we'll be old news. besides,
when they see that we're not together, they'll get the idea."
he hoped she was right.
after dinner that night, harry climbed the stairs to the owlery. he wanted to get a breath of
cool autumn air before going down into the dungeon for his occlumency lesson. at least it
would be the only one for this week because of the field trip. he thought he deserved a
few days off; he was absolutely exhausted.
but what troubled him when he got to the owlery was why ginny had given him such a
rejection in the first place. what transformation had she gone through that had turn him
from a childhood crush to nothing more than a friend? he had to admit, his ego was a bit
bruised when she casually informed him that there was nothing romantic between them.
in truth, the feelings he felt for her were in no way romantic at all, but more or less of a
brotherly fashion. however, the fact remained that he was not her brother and she didn't
seem the least bit attracted to him. and now, as he watched her nonchalantly refute the
mere idea of the two of them together, she didn't bat an eyelash. somewhere inside of
him, it hurt a little.
as harry pushed open the owlerydoor, he took a deep breath, bracing himself for the smell
of owl droppings and rotting mouse carcasses. but when he did look inside, the sight
amazed him.
where there had been a pack of owls, there were none. each perch was empty. there was
no stench of droppings or any sign of life in the deserted owlery. it was so eerie that harry
felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
he walked over to the window, his feet crunching on the hay-covered floor. he looked out,
wondering where hedwig was and if she was safe. he remembered that dumbledore had
said that owls had been intercepted earlier in the year. what if hedwig had met the same
fate - or worse, that she'd been killed?
no, he couldn't worry. worry only put him on edge. the past few days had been so nice
since he'd seen eva. he'd felt as though he was on top of the world until parvati opened
her big mouth.
suddenly, harry heard voices from outside the owlery door. a snicker. the door was
quickly thrown open, and malfoy and his two goons walked in. he was carrying a tiny
package.
malfoy sneered. "what are you doing up here, potter? waiting for weasley so the two of
you can have a little romantic rendezvous?"
harry's fists clenched at his sides. "ginny and i are not dating."
"i wasn't talking about her," malfoy chuckled. crabbe and goyle laughed along with him.
harry could feel his blood boiling. he needed to get away from malfoy before he did
something stupid. after all, the owlery was at the top of one of the tallest towers at
hogwarts, and the windows were all open. there was no telling if malfoy got too close and
harry happened to bump him over the edge.
he checked his watch. he only had a few minutes before he was due for occlumency. "i
don't have time for this," he muttered as he walked past malfoy.
"going to be late for a remedial potions lesson?" malfoy snickered. "too stupid to learn it
by yourself, eh?"
harry lingered in the doorway. he wanted nothing more than to take all of his aggression
out on malfoy with his fists. but he needed to be prepared for anger like this. when he met
voldemort again, or if he ever saw bellatrix, he would have to control himself. he took a
deep breath. "whatever you say, malfoy. at least my godfather wasn't too stupid to find a
way out of azkaban." he flashed a grin in malfoy's direction, whowas at a loss for words,
and then marched down the stairs towards the dungeon.
feels good to put that little bastard in his place, harry thought with a smile.
chapter twenty-one: a costume only fitting
harry had finally done it. after an hour of blocking snape from his mind, he'd managed to
hit him with a jelly-legs jinx. harry tried desperately not to laugh as snape jiggled around
the dungeon before performing the correct counter-curse.
in fact, the whole night had gone rather well. snape had not seen any of his memories. he
hadn't lost control of his emotions, even when snape talked about sirius as nothing more
than a half-bred mutt.
it made up for the bad afternoon he'd had with parvati's big mouth. the image of snape
with jelly legs was worth twenty verses of "harry and ginny, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-
g." he had to wonder if his peers had nothing better to do than act like children.
snape, who was still out of breath from the curse, glared at harry with fierce eyes. "we're
done for tonight, potter. i'll see you on thursday. get out of my sight!" he bellowed.
harry, who had been halfway to the door as soon as he'd heard the phrase we're done,
stopped dead in his tracks. he turned back to snape, who was red in the face and greasier
than ever.
"professor, i've got my muggle studies field trip on thursday. we leave after lunch and
don't get back until late at night."
there was a glimmer in snape's eye as straightened up at his desk. "then you can't go."
"but... i have to..." harry stammered. he'd been looking forward to the halloween field trip
ever since the first week of school.
"no, you do not have to," snape spat. "you cannot go."
"but it's for a class."
"but it is not required. it is not a test. it is not an examination. it is a silly field trip and a
waste of time," he growled. however, harry couldn't help but feel that he was taking some
sort of sick pleasure in spoiling harry's fun.
"sir, please, professor avis and mr. weasley have made reservations. they're expecting me
to go."
"then i will give you a choice," snape replied. "your training is now more important than
ever, potter. you will miss the field trip and stay for your lesson on thursday, or you will
go on the field trip and we will have our lesson on friday."
"but sir, i have quidditch practice on friday night. our first match is this saturday. i can't
miss it." and snape knew full well that it was against slytherin.
"then you must choose. the field trip or quidditch."
"isn't there any other time we could do it?" harry asked. "tomorrow?"
"i will not rearrange my entire schedule for your silly little excursions, potter," he
snapped.
harry scowled. what could snape possibly be doing the night before halloween? of course,
it was devil's night. perhaps he had to go out and cause mischief with his fellow demons.
however, it didn't matter, because harry still had to make a choice.
he didn't want to miss the field trip. he'd only been to londonon a few occasions.
hopefully, ron would understand about quidditch practice.
he took a deep breath. "i'll see you on friday."
snape gave no response. harry sighed and trudged out of the dungeon, his spirits squashed
beneath snape's jelly legs. it was going to be hard to enjoy himself on the field trip if he
knew he'd be letting his team down the next day.
***
the twenty students in muggle studies scarcely touched their lunch on halloween. they
great hall had been decorated with bewitched pumpkins and enchanted bats. there was a
skull centerpiece in the middle of harry, ron, and hermione's table.
"it's too bad you're going to miss the feast," hermione said quietly. she held ron's hand
discreetly in her lap as he picked at his soup with his other hand. harry found the gesture
sweet, yet a little unnerving.
"why don't you and ron come out about your... your relationship?" harry asked suddenly.
hermione shushed him, but he kept talking. "what's the big secret?"
"did you see what happened when word got out about what you were doing with my
sister?" ron hissed.
"i wasn't doing anything with ginny!" harry cried angrily. "how many times do i have to
tell you?" he glanced at ginny, who was sitting at the end of the ravenclaw table, chatting
with luna lovegood. both she and harry had decided that they shouldn't be seen together -
it would only make the situation worse.
"he - i mean, both ron and i - just decided that some things should be kept private,"
hermione explained. "eventually we'll tell people. it's just that, right now, we like having
our own little secret." she grinned at ron, who squeezed her hand.
the expressions on their faces made harry lose his appetite. "well, i'm going to get going
to muggle studies. don't want to be late or anything."
"i should go too," ron said, letting go of hermione's hand and standing up. "i'll see you
later tonight," he said. he hesitated, as though he were thinking of giving her a proper
goodbye.
"see you," she said.
ron's face was flushed. "right... bye, hermione." he flashed a small smile and then joined
harry at the doorway.
"honestly, you'd think you were leaving for a week or something," harry grumbled.
"you're just jealous," ron teased. "if you had someone as great as hermione waiting for
you at hogwarts, you wouldn't want to leave either."
harry smiled. "i suppose not." why was the image of eva in a gryffindor house uniform,
sitting next to him on a couch in the common room enough to make his heart jump into
his throat? he thought back to what nora had said. if only she were a witch...
it was no use wishing for things that could never happen.
when the two of them reached the muggle studies classroom, most of the other students
were already there. instead of wearing their normal house colors, everyone was dressed
the same in black pants and a white shirt. professor avis was wearing an ankle-length
black skirt with a pumpkin sketched near the bottom hem. matching pumpkin earrings
hung from her ears, and every few seconds they would light up. she had a whistle on a
rope around her neck, and after everyone had arrived, she blew into it.
everyone immediately stopped talking and stood at attention. professor avis cleared her
throat. "good afternoon everyone. i hope you're all excited for today's field trip. in a few
minutes, we'll travel one by one to the ministry using floopowder. i'd like to remind you
all that you need to be on your best behavior. there will be no goofing off, no muggle
bashing, and absolutely no magic.
"when you hear my whistle, i want everyone to stop what they are doing and line up for
the head count. it is very important that we all stay together. the muggle world can be a
very dangerous place. questions are welcome, but please try to blend in with the crowd.
we are trying to be invisible."
after a few more last-minute warnings, she had everyone line up and take turns with the
floo powder. harry and ron were near the end, and when they reached the ministry, mr.
weasley was already handing out the gray sweaters they were all supposed to wear. there
was a patch on the sleeve with an open book on it, along with the initials m.o.m. stitched
into it.
"what's mom?" ron asked.
"not mom. m-o-m," mr. weasley replied. "m.o.m. stands for the ministry of magic.
however, if someone asks you, you are to say that you are from the major oxford
merchant academy. this is a clever way for other wizard folk to recognize us and to be
disguised as muggle tourists."
harry didn't know how clever it was for muggle use. he'd never heard of major oxford
merchant academy.
"are muggles really going to talk to us?" one hufflepuff girl questioned.
"more likely than not," mr. weasley said. "just act natural. they're just like you and me."
"no need to worry, dear," professor avis said after she had arrived. "we all speak the same
language. er... usually."
as harry looked around the hallway they were in more closely, he realized that they were
outside the misuse of muggle artifacts office on the second floor. the door was open a
little, and harry couldn't help but casually peek inside.
"we've got a few minutes," mr. weasley said to harry privately. "you could stop in and say
hello if you like."
harry jumped, startled that mr. weasley had seen him. "er... no, that's all right. unless, um,
is eva working?" he asked quietly.
mr. weasley shook his head with a sad smile and glimmer of mischief in his eye. "sorry,
she's already left for the day. she's only part-time, you know. she's got another job."
he nodded. "i know - i mean, that's what nora told me," he added quickly. "i was just
wondering how she was doing." harry felt his face redden. he should have known that she
wasn't there. now mr. weasley might suspect that there was something between them.
harry hoped there was.
***
by far, the most amazing experience for the students in the class was not the tour of the
tower of london or even when they received some free samples from a local candy store.
"it doesn't do anything special," ron complained as he bit into some hard candy. "i
thought there'd be sparks or something."
no, the greatest experience was muggle transportation. the ride on the red double-decker
bus was enchanting. everyone rushed to the top excitedly and waved to the pedestrians
below.
harry didn't find the ride that impressive. he had, after all, ridden on the knight bus, a
purple triple-decker bus, twice. though the ride through londonwas a bit more exciting
and had cooled him off from being on the stuffy tour all day.
"hermione'll be mad she missed this," ron said, leaning over the side of the bus.
harry shook his head. "i bet she's done this loads of times before."
ron, substantially deflated, turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. "i'll never
find a way to impress her."
harry raised an eyebrow. "do you need to impress her?"
ron shrugged. "i just wish there was something special i could do for her. something that
nobody else could do but me. of course, being stuck at hogwarts doesn't help much. what
kind of a date can you have at a school?"
"there's always hogsmeade," harry suggested. "you could take her back to madam
puddifoot's."
"that's all right, but i want something special. something spectacular." ron frowned.
"something romantic - and private. i was thinking of going up to the astronomy tower at
midnight sometime, and we could look at the stars. she'd like that."
"yeah, she would," harry agreed. "but how are you going to get up there?"
"there are about seven doors with locks we'd have to break through somehow; i walked
ginny to astronomy last week and counted. if only it wasn't so high up. the windows are
always open. it'd be easier to get in that way."
"you could take your brooms."
"she won't fly," ron explained. "i don't know why, but she refuses. i even said that she
could ride behind me and hold 'round my waist. she won't do it."
"that's odd."
ron nodded. "i know that she's never been much of a quidditch player, nor a flier, but now
i can't even get her on a broom." he sighed and went back to watching the street. "if only i
could find a black market flying carpet or something. something that flies that she would
feel safe on. like the anglia."
"i don't think you'll run across that flying contraption again," harry chuckled. "too bad
you don't have another car."
just as the bus turned a corner, a motorcycle pulled out in front of it. the double-decker's
brakes squealed as it came to a halt. harry heard several honking horns before the bus
moved again.
"that's it!" harry cried.
"what is?" ron questioned.
"you can take sirius's bike," harry said. "it's safer than a broom - and faster too. i'm sure
hermione would ride that."
"are you sure it's okay?" ron asked. "you'd really let me use it for a date with hermione?"
harry shrugged. "it's just sitting behind hagrid's hut. at least someone would get some
good use out of it." harry looked away. he couldn't meet ron's eyes, but he did mean what
he'd said.
"excellent!" ron shouted. "thanks so much, harry. now i know hermione'llbe impressed."
he clapped harry on the back. "but maybe i should take it on a test drive first, you know,
just to make sure that i won't crash into any trees when hermione's on it."
harry nodded. "fine with me."
ron seemed to have caught his second wind. the class's morale seemed deteriorated from
hunger, and everyone was overjoyed when professor avis said that dinner was their next
stop. neville, who had already received half a dozen warnings for speaking about the
wizarding world in front of muggles, also perked up at the sound of a meal.
"gran wrote me a letter about the royal dining realm," he said to the two of them. harry
was surprised, as he'd been acting oddly around the two of them for the past few days.
"she said they have a special show on thursday nights."
"what else did she tell you about it?" harry asked. it was the first time neville had spoke
to him in a while. he wanted to be polite.
"she said that you're supposed to call all of the waitresses and barmaids "wenches." and
when you want something, like more food, you just shout out for the wench at the top of
your lungs and she comes running."
"i'd hate to be a wench," harry said sadly.
"at least they have good service," ron said.
"and actually, they're all women," neville explained. "it's just like it was in ancient times.
gran says that it reminds her of her own grandmother's stories when she was a little girl."
"yeah, ancient times when women were assaulted at every meal," hannah abbott
grumbled, standing next to neville. "they were always taken advantage of. the wenches
were only one step up from the prostitutes. they got a very raw deal."
"how do you know?" ron asked.
"you know ron, for being a prefect you sure didn't pay much attention in history of magic
last year. professor binns talked about it for a whole two days before the goblin
rebellion."
"oh... right..." he replied, his face growing red. "must have slipped my mind."
hannah rolled her eyes. "honestly, i don't know what she sees in you."
"who?"
"hermione."
ron's jaw dropped. his face turned the same shade of red as his hair. "h-how d'you know
about that?"
"she told me about it," hannah said simply.
"when?" ron demanded.
"yesterday, in the bathroom before dinner. she told susan and me the whole thing."
ron choked as though he'd swallowed his own shoe. luckily for him, the bus came to a
stop and professor avis and mr. weasley quickly ushered everyone off the bus. they led
the class to a large brick building that looked as though it covered the expanse of an
entire block. professor avis lined them up in two rows of boys and girls, and then blew
her whistle.
"there are a few things i should say before we go inside," mr. weasley announced.
"number one, we must all be on our best behavior. it was lucky that we could get even get
some seats inside this dining hall. i had to have one of my special friends pull a few
strings for me, but we managed to get in. number two, there may be some of our kind
inside, but that does not mean that any sort of magic is permitted." he had whispered our
kind and glanced over at neville, who looked rather pleased that he'd be seeing his
grandmother. "and number three, have fun! eat a lot. there will be plenty to go around.
once we get inside, everyone will get to pick out a costume, and then we'll proceed to the
arena to watch some medieval games, and then the feast will begin!"
"couldn't have said it better myself, arthur," professor avis said. "enjoy yourselves!"
after mr. weasley checked in at a desk inside, everyone was ushered into two changing
rooms - one for boys and one for girls. the boys' room was filled with costumes from all
ranges of nobility and peasants. immediately, all of the boys separated, searching out
what role they wanted to play.
ernie and justin found some jester costumes, complete with two-colored hats that had
bells on the end. they even had little booties with curled up toes. dean and seamus
changed into some nobility costumes that had matching crests over the breast pockets,
along with great white frilly collars that hung around their necks. the last pieces were
huge, wide-brimmed hats with a large feather poking out of each one. ron decided to wear
a beggar's costume with patches on the elbows and knees, and also came with a tin can
for collecting money.
neville found a wizard's costume with a robe of deep black velvet and a matching hat.
"look!" he cried to the others. "i'm dumbledore!" the costume also came with a long white
beard and half-moon spectacles.
"shut up, eh?" dean hissed. "you've already gotten us in enough trouble already." neville
had a few outbursts during their tour earlier that day about the wizardingworld, which
had earned him some strange looks from nearby muggles.
harry searched in some old dusty trunks but couldn't find a costume that he liked. the
crowd outside of the costume room was growing louder, and he knew he only had a few
minutes before the show began. he thought about just throwing on something so he could
join the others outside, when an old oak armoire caught his eye.
he opened the top drawer and neatly folded inside was a knight's attire. black fabric
sparkled with metal mesh as he pulled out the dusty costume. instantly, he knew that this
was the costume for him. he quickly pulled it on, his decorative metals clanging against
the armor. there was even a sword in its sheath that he wrapped around his waist. there
was a crest on his chest that matched the one on dean and seamus's costumes. the last
piece was a silver helmet with three small red feathers poking out of the top.
"ready, harry?" ron questioned. "wow, you look spectacular!"
harry studied himself in a nearby mirror. "yeah, almost real."
"is there another costume like that lying around?" ron asked. "i think that maybe i should
pick a new costume."
"nah, that one suits you."
"what's that supposed to mean?" ron demanded, insulted.
"nothing." harry grinned. "c'mon, let's go."
chapter twenty-two: the players
the arena was filled with people in costumes. harry couldn't even tell who was a muggle
and who wasn't anymore. everyone was swept back in time to a different place where
honor was won on the back of a horse and chivalry still existed in the hearts of men.
on each end of the arena was a jouster. one was wearing golden armor and rode a horse
that was pure white - much like harry's patronus. he was clearly the designated good guy.
he was introduced as simon the protector, and all of the noble ladies swooned over him.
he waved to the crowd as they cheered him to victory.
his nemesis, who was introduced as william the black knight, did not receive such a
warm welcome. the crowd booed and hissed when he took off his dark, three-horned
helmet to wave to the ladies of nobility, who spit at him. his horse was black to match his
armor, and it snorted every time its master pulled on the reigns.
each of the knights were handed a lance, which they both raised high above their heads
until the long, heavy spindles of wood were perpendicular to the ground. in the center of
the arena, a maiden waved a red flag. the two jousters pulled on the reigns of their horses.
they each ran to the left of a long wooden guide bar, their lances parallel to the ground,
lances aimed at one another's hearts.
"that's why british muggles drive on the left, you know," harry heard professor avis say to
some nearby students, "because of the joust."
the crowd cheered as simon the protector hit the black knight with his lance on the
shoulder. the black knight cursed and missed his target. the two of them returned
respectively back to their corners.
in the second round, the black knight struck back with a terrible vengeance. harry joined
in as the crowd booed and hissed. he truly felt as though he were part of a different place
at a different time.
and it felt good not to be harry potter for a little while.
after a few more rounds, simon the protector had managed to knock the black knight right
off of his horse. the joust ended with the black knight swearing his bitter revenge.
the show continued with a performance from two royal jesters who swallowed fiery
swords and juggled daggers. then simon and the black knight returned in a sword-fighting
demonstration that left everyone breathless.
"it's muggle dueling," professor avis whispered. harry was surprised that she wasn't being
more careful about mentioning the wizarding world, but all of the spectators were too
involved in the show to listen to her.
the last event in the arena was of simon the protector, reading sonnets to a woman dressed
in black lace. she wore a veil over her head, disguising her appearance. simon talked of
his forbidden love for the woman named beth - who harry assumed was the woman in
black. she was merely a servant, and he was a knight. it was not right for him to love her.
she bid a tearful farewell to him that even had professor avis sniffling by the end.
after the show was over, everyone in the arena was shuffled into the dining hall. the hall
reminded harry of the great hall at hogwarts. it was set up in practically the same way.
there were four long wooden tables and a red carpet forming a center aisle that led to the
stage. on top of the stage there was a high table, much like the one that the staff at
hogwarts sat at during mealtimes. in the center of the table, where dumbledore would
have sat, there were two royal thrones.
chandeliers hung low from the ceilings providing light on the table tops. golden goblets
sparkled on the table. there was no silverware. harry took a seat between ron and mr.
weasley. parvatiand lavender sat across from him. they'd been keeping an annoyingly
close watch on him ever since they started the rumor about him and ginny. they were
wearing matching dresses made of fine pink silk.
some of the performers from the arena entered the stage from a hidden door. a jester
played the trumpet and cleared his throat. "presenting his royal highness, king edgar of
glouster, and his queen, ramona." the jester beckoned for everyone to stand up.
harry quickly got to his feet, peering past parvati and lavender as the middle-aged couple
marched arm and arm up to the table on the stage. they were both wearing elaborate
costumes, complete with golden crowns that contained sparkling emeralds.
the king and queen sat down on their thrones behind the table. they were joined shortly
by two knights. one of them was simon the protector from the arena. the jesters and the
rest of the players sat down.
"before we begin our meal," the king announced, "we'll have to show our guests how
royalty eats. wench!" he shouted.
a woman dressed in a frilly, low-cut dress sauntered out on stage. she had a large metal
tray that rested against her hip. there was a silver pitcher on it along with a piece of cloth.
the tray swayed with her hips as she made her way over to the king.
the wench poured some red liquid into the king and queen's goblets. then she set the tray
down on the table and picked up the cloth. she draped it seductively around her neck and
across her shoulders, past her chest, and then wrapped it around the king's neck like a bib.
she turned to the king and winked. "can i get anything else for you?"
"not for me, but for our guests." he gestured to the audience. "send out the rest of your
lot. the wenches are here to serve. anything you ask for, you shall receive." he grinned
wickedly. "if you need more of something, just hold the empty platter above your head
and shout 'wench!' and she'll come running."
across the table, both parvatiand lavender looked positively disgusted at the idea that any
self-respecting woman would be at a man's beck and call. harry frowned beneath his
helmet. just who were these women anyway? medieval prostitutes?
"another thing you may notice is that we don't use any sort of utensils. you eat with your
hands. don't be afraid to make a mess. and have fun - that's what this feast is all about!"
the king cried. he clapped his hands. "let the celebration begin!"
cheers rang throughout the dining hall as the doors from the kitchen burst open and a
dozen wenches, dressed in the similar style of clothing, hurried to each table. the four
tables were partitioned off into three sections, and each wench took her place at one
section.
there was something familiar about the woman in the low-cut dress who approached
harry's part of the table. something about the way she walked. something about her smile
and the curl of her hair. as she drew closer, harry felt his heart catch in his chest.
eva.
she wandered over to their table and smiled brightly at mr. weasley. "hullo everyone!
welcome to the feast!"
"hello!" mr. weasley greeted. "everybody, this is eva. you can thank her for the dinner
tonight. without her, we would have never gotten in a reservation. the waiting list is
nearly a year long to eat here!"
eva grinned sheepishly. "don't mention it. and well, in this realm, i'm afraid i'm not eva
but merely elisabeth the wench."
harry felt his blood pressure rising. he could hear his heartbeat echoing in his ears. just
the sight of her was enough to make him forget to breathe. she looked stunning in her
dress made of frills of soft, baby-blue material. he recognized it from her room at the
hog's head. she was wearing a sterling sliver chain around her neck that fell down her
throat to her cleavage. it made harry blush to see so much of her skin.
however, he couldn't help but feel slightly disgusted that everyone else in the room could
see her flesh as well. harry had an urge to rush over to her and drape his cape around her
shoulders so that no one could see what he saw.
he also couldn't help but notice that she was clearly the youngest wench, as all the other
tables had women who looked to be in their thirties waiting on them. he glanced down to
the end of the table at seamus. did he know what she was doing? did he care?
"so what can i get to quench your thirsts?" eva asked. "we have some of the clearest
sparkling water, some juice made of the exotic fruits of the caribbean, or a pint of the best
virgin ale."
at the sound of the word virgin, ron let out a tiny squeak next to harry. clearly, he was
distracted by her beauty. harry elbowed him under the table and he let out a small moan.
"i'm sorry, i didn't catch that," eva said, staring at ron.
"water," he said quietly. "just water."
"i'll have a pint," mr. weasley said. lavender and parvatiboth ordered water as well.
neville, who was sitting next to lavender, ordered the juice.
when it was harry's turn, he realized that eva didn't recognize him with his helmet on.
again, there was something exciting, something mischievous about watching her when
she didn't know he was. however, he didn't want to disguise himself any longer. he took a
deep breath and removed his helmet.
"harry!" eva gasped. clumsily, she dropped her tray. it crashed loudly on the cobblestone
floor. she quickly bent over and picked it up, then brought her hand to her chest, realizing
that she had given harry's side of the table quite a view. her cheeks grew red and she
quickly adjusted her dress. "er... what can i get for you?"
a smile played across harry's lips. "i'll have a pint."
"right. i'll... i'll be right back." she bowed her head and followed as the other wenches
disappeared into the kitchen.
"do you know her?" ron questioned, now fully recovered.
"that's nora's sister," harry said quietly, hoping that no one would overhear him. but mr.
weasley and neville were deeply engaged in a conversation about the illegalization of
some wizarding plant. parvati and lavender were whispering to each other secretively.
"she's really... gorgeous."
harry frowned. he didn't particularly like the idea of eva wearing that beautiful dress
every night, serving groups of men and tourists who ordered her around. it worried him.
why on earth would she put up with the humiliation of being a slave every night? was she
that hard-pressed for money?
"i bet she does special favors too," parvatisaid under her breath.
"yes, especially with that dress," lavender replied. "honestly, what kind of a place is this?
is it a brothel or a dinner theater?"
"would you two shut up?" harry snapped. "it's a costume. that's all. a costume." harry was
trying desperately to reassure himself of the same thing.
"why are you sticking up for her?" parvatiasked. "how did she know your name, harry?"
she gasped. "oh no, don't tell me that you've been cheating on ginny!"
"are you insane?!" harry cried. he glanced at mr. weasley, who was still absorbed in his
conversation with neville. "how many times do i have to repeat myself? there is nothing
going on between me and ginny."
"well, there certainly won't be once she finds out that you've been accepting favors from
some wench," parvatisnarled.
"we don't give out favors of any kind here," eva said. she had quietly returned to the
table, carrying a tray with their drinks. "it's all strictly performing. it's not a brothel, and
yes, this dress is just me costume. but the tips are most generous when i wear it."
both parvati and lavender's faces turned beet red. harry noticed a triumphant gleam in
eva's eyes as she gave them their waters. harry thanked her for his pint of the non-
alcoholic ale, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. maybe she was a little embarrassed about
her appearance.
or maybe she had heard parvatitalk about ginny. maybe she thought that ginny was
harry's girlfriend or something. he suddenly felt sick inside. eva couldn't think that he was
in a relationship - not after what had almost happened back in her room at the hog's head.
if she thought that he had a girlfriend, she would think he was a two-timing prat.
"arthur! arthur!" professor avis was beckoning to mr. weasley from the other end of the
table. "could i speak to you for a moment?"
"if you'll not be needinganything else, i'll be back with your first course," eva told mr.
weasley, then disappeared into the kitchen. mr. weasley got up from the table to go see
professor avis.
suddenly, neville leaned over the table, so close to harry that their faces were only a foot
away. his eyes were serious and clouded with trouble. "do you swear to it, harry?"
"swear to what?"
"that you and ginny... you aren't..."
harry slammed his fist on the table. "get this straight and get it final," he said between
clenched teeth. "ginny is one of my closest friends. nothing more. nothing less."
satisfied that his point had been stated, harry crossed his arms over his chest. he'd lost his
appetite. why should anyone care who he was dating anyway?
after a few moments of awkward silence, eva appeared carrying the handle of a large
cauldron in one hand and a few loaves of bread in the other. she set the bread down on the
table and asked for everyone to pass their bowls for some soup.
"but we don't have any spoons," parvaticomplained. "how are we supposed to eat it?"
"you're supposed to drink it," harry replied. he lifted his bowl to his lips and slurped.
"see?"
"that's it. harry's got the right idea." eva beamed at him.
"that's disgusting," parvatisad.
"actually," ron said, after taking a sip of his soup, "it's quite fun."
mr. weasley returned from the other side of the room and sat down to the first course.
"that's the spirit boys! you know, in medieval times there was no such thing as a spoon or
a fork. only knives."
"isn't that kind of barbaric?" lavender asked.
"that's the way it was back then. everyone was barbaric. even worse than that black
knight chap," mr. weasley added.
"i hear he's not so bad once you get to know him," eva said with a grin. "an excellent
jouster. it's too bad he loses night after night. can i get anyone anything?"
"wench!" two ravenclaw boys called, holding up an empty goblet and an empty bowl of
soup. their wench looked over at eva with a pained smile.
"well, if no one needs anything, i'll go lend a hand. just call me." eva hurried over to help
at the other end of the table.
harry glanced up. if anybody at his part of the table called eva a wench, it would take
everything inside of him not to launch himself across the table at them. he tried not to
make it obvious that he was watching her every move.
eva returned with a silver pitcher of ale and quickly filled the two students' goblets. she
was just about to make her way back to harry's table when suddenly, the massive wooden
doors of the dining hall opened. the room darkened as a cold breeze swept into the hall,
blowing out some of the candles in the chandeliers.
harry heard a horse snort and hooves clanking against the wooden floor. some of the
wenches and the maidens at the table screamed. william the black knight had brought his
stallion out of the arena and into the dining hall. he pulled on the reigns and the horse
took off, galloping down the center aisle.
"i'll have my revenge!" the black knight called. "not by joust, not by sword, but by heart!"
the audience gasped as he circled the room and headed straight for harry's section of the
table. both lavender and parvati squealed as he drew nearer. then he realized that the
black knight's target was not his table, but eva.
suddenly, the black knight reached out and grabbed eva by the waist and lifted her up
onto his horse. she screamed and struggled, but he held her securely as she road side-
saddle up to the stage where the king and queen sat.
simon the protector was on his feet in a flash. "unhand elisabeth at once, you bastard!"
"elisabeth, you say?" the black knight taunted. "isn't this your precious beth?"
the queen stood up. "beth, that woman you've claimed your love for, she is only a
wench?!" she cried.
"yes," simon replied. "i'll not hide it any longer. i love her."
harry glanced across the table and saw that both lavender and parvati found this scene
positively romantic. harry rolled his eyes. he sat back as simon battled against the black
knight in one final battle between good and evil. the black knight, of course, lost and the
two lovers were reunited and accepted into the royal family. it was all a very happy
ending. too happy to be true.
however, something stirred inside harry as he watched eva perform up on the stage. she
wasn't that bad of an actress, but he knew what was coming next. all of the people in the
hall were rooting for the star-crossed couple who had battled the odds and wanted their
love to conquer all. simon the protector leaned in for that final, satisfying kiss...
and something inside harry suddenly burned with jealousy. he took his wand out of his
pocket - which should have been left at hogwarts - and pointed it up on the stage.
"tarantallegra..."
chapter twenty-three: the consequences
rationally, harry knew that eva was merely a player in this dinner theater. rationally, he
knew the kiss that was about to happen was nothing more than a finale to a performance.
rationally, he knew she kissed him every night.
but harry knew that if he had to watch eva kiss another guy, something inside of him
would die.
his wand was out of his pocket before he even had time to think of it. he muttered the
incantation. ron, who had recognized the words, turned to harry, wide-eyed.
"what are you doing?!" he demanded. "harry, are you crazy?"
but it was too late. the damage had been done. the spell, which he had directed at simon,
now headed straight for eva as he dipped her low for a spectacular smooch.
i am in so much trouble.
the spell hit eva dead on target. it was hard to see the magic itself in the dim room with all
of the spotlights on the stage. however, all of the students, including mr. weasley and
professor avis, recognized it for what it was and looked around to see where the spell had
come from.
eva made a kind of whimpering noise as her legs started twitching beneath her dress. she
stood up so quickly on her feet that she head-butted simon, who fell over backwards onto
the stage. eva wandered around on dancing legs, looking terribly confused and
bewildered. she ran into the table where the king and queen were, then headed towards
the horse before the stagehands finally pulled the curtain closed.
a muggle dressed in all black climbed out from the pit in the floor where the technical
crew was. "ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience. please, sit back,
relax, and our show will continue momentarily."
harry found that highly doubtful, considering that the counter-spell was the only remedy
to eva's current condition.
mr. weasley jumped to his feet. "this is bad. this is very bad. martha, get the students
together and get them back to the ministry at once. tell fudge that the dinner was canceled
and that they all need to get back to hogwarts as quickly as possible."
professor avis nodded. "all right, you heard mr. weasley, stand up. we've got to get
going," she said hastily.
"you. sit." mr. weasley firmly placed a hand on harry's shoulder and forced him back into
his chair. "you're going to help me fix this mess."
harry gulped. what had he done? in a moment of weakness and stupidity he'd let his
jealousy get the better of him. he'd get expelled for sure.
after a few more agonizing minutes of waiting, the same muggle appeared at the front of
the dining hall and apologized, saying that the show was canceled. everyone's money
would be refunded.
instead of following the crowd back to the arena, mr. weasley led harry up to the stage
where he got a chance to see mr. weasley's muggle relations skills at work. he distracted
the stagehand by complaining about the horrible show and then pushed harry past the
curtain.
nobody seemed to notice him in the chaos. the horse had been spooked and most of the
stagehands and the rest of the players were trying to calm it. there were goblets and plates
scattered all over the floor. he could still hear eva's heels clicking against the wooden
floor.
"what the hell's the matter with you?" the young man who played the black knight
demanded as he watched eva trip around the stage. harry saw that without his helmet, he
didn't look quite so evil. he had brown curly hair that was plastered to his forehead with
sweat.
"i... i don't know david, i can't stop!" she said breathlessly.
he stood up and approached her, his arms open. harry thought for a moment he was going
to hug her, but instead, he grabbed her wrists, trying to keep her still in one place.
however, her legs just kicked and scratched the floor beneath them.
"ouch! stop, david! that hurts!"
"sorry." he abruptly let go. eva continued to wander around the stage on her shaky legs.
david chased after her.
harry quickly hid behind a nearby pillar and made sure that he had the correct aim this
time. he muttered the counter-jinx and eva fell to the floor, panting.
the muggle who mr. weasley was complaining to suddenly stepped through the curtain
and marched over to eva. "eva finnigan!" his voice boomed. "what kind of stunt are you
trying to pull? get into my office, now!"
eva jumped up to her feet looking positively fearful. mr. weasley took a step towards her
and whispered in her ear. "meet me at the ministry."
she nodded curtly, glanced wearily at harry, and then followed the director off stage.
mr. weasley led them back to the costume room, where harry took off his knight's armor
and transformed, once again, back to harry potter in a sweatshirt that said "m.o.m." on the
front. quietly, he followed mr. weasley outside.
instead of stopping, he kept walking towards the direction of the ministry. harry stayed
one step behind him in the darkness. he would have given anything for mr. weasley to
have been shouting at him. anything was better than the silence that stood between them.
after a good ten minutes and a lot of thinking of what he had done wrong, harry found
himself outside of the ministry where the telephone box was. mr. weasley dialed the
number and stated his business to the welcome witch.
mr. weasley did not speak as they took the lift to the second floor. the silence was killing
him. mr. weasley was probably incredibly angry with him, not to mention disappointed.
this was some kind of stunt that fred and george would have pulled, but not harry potter.
he felt so ashamed of himself.
when he closed his eyes, all he could see was his portrait on the weasleys' clock, and hear
mrs. weasley's voice welcoming him home.
once they reached the office, harry suddenly felt a tight grip on his shoulder as mr.
weasley turned harry to face him. he could still see the anger in his face, but his eyes
were troubled. "i don't know why you did it harry, but you'd better have a damn good
explanation for it. if charges are filed, i won't be able to get you off the hook this time."
harry tried to swallow the enormous lump in the middle of his throat. he wouldn't have
been able to speak even if he could have thought of something to say. "i'm going to do
some damage control and talk with eva. you can sit over at that desk and don't you dare
try to pull anything." he sighed. "honestly, i never expected this from you."
mr. weasley turned around and went inside of his office, leaving harry to think of his last
words. he'd completely lost mr. weasley's trust.
harry was too upset to know how much time had passed before eva finally came storming
into the department of magical law enforcement. she was dressed in her normal, everyday
clothes, which were soaked with water. it must have started raining. she took a deep
breath, tried to dry her hair a little, and then marched to mr. weasley's desk.
perhaps he shouldn't have been listening, but couldn't help but creep closer to mr.
weasley's cubicle to listen in on the conversation.
"have a seat, eva," mr. weasley offered.
"somebody," eva said breathlessly, "somebody, i don't know who, used magic on me
tonight."
harry's heart rate increased rapidly. was mr. weasley going to tell eva that it was him? that
harry had cast the spell on her? but he didn't reply.
"i don't care who it was," she continued, outraged. "i want to know why. why would they
want to humiliate me up on stage like that? why would they want me to lose my job?"
"i'm not sure that was their intention."
"so they just wanted to have a little fun with the muggle, eh?" eva cursed. "it's a cruel
joke, i'll tell you that much. i feel like the muggle victim in those terrible stories you tell.
my boss thought i was drunk! he thought that i'd come to work intoxicated! me! and how
could i explain the truth to him?"
"you didn't, did you?" mr. weasley asked suddenly.
"of course not!" eva snapped. "i'd be breaking about a dozen ministry rules, not to
mention he'd probably have me committed. i couldn't do anything but ask for a second
chance. he said that he didn't give second chances and that i'd best seek some professional
help." she cursed again. "he thinks i'm a bloody alcoholic! oh, what am i going to do? i
needed that job!"
if harry had been feeling bad before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. eva
worked so hard at all of her jobs, and now he'd just gotten her fired.
"maybe i can talk fudge into making your job full-time," mr. weasley suggested.
"no," eva replied. "i don't want any special favors. i know that things between you and
mr. fudge aren't exactly smooth right now." mr. weasley tried to protest, but eva refused.
"so did anyone else suspect anything out of the ordinary?" mr. weasley questioned. "did
everyone think that you were just... intoxicated?"
"yes. well, all but david," eva said. "he knows there's something suspicious going on. and
he knows i'm not a drunk."
"do you think he'll try anything funny? we could call in the obliviators..."
"no, i can handle him," she interrupted. "i told him it was a severe muscle spasm. he
didn't buy it, but i know he'll drop the subject sooner or later."
"all right, eva, you have two choices." mr. weasley took a deep breath. "i know who
performed the spell."
"you do?"
"but before i tell you, you need to decide what course of action you want to take." he
paused. "right now, as it stands, the only people who know that magic was used are me,
you, the other chaperone at the dinner, and the students from hogwarts. however, i am the
only one who knows who did it. if you file a report with the ministry about this incident,
there will be an investigation. the muggles will be questioned, the students will need to
testify as witnesses, and the individual who performed the magic will face severe
consequences."
harry gulped. eva's question mirrored his own. "how severe?"
"the individual in question will be immediately expelled from hogwarts, meaning that he
will no longer receive further magical instruction. he will also face heavy fines, a possible
sentence in azkaban, as well the breaking of his wand."
"what does that mean?"
"that the individual can never do magic again."
eva gasped. "that's rather harsh."
"well, you are a muggle. the ministry does not take these infractions lightly. you have
suffered some damage from this whole escapade."
"what's the other option?"
"your second choice would be to not file a report. fudge would not know about this
incident, and you would merely take the fall for everything that happened tonight. that
means if someone asks you about the incident, you must agree with the story that you
were, in fact, intoxicated and that is why you lost your job. the individual will still
receive some consequences, but they will be much less severe."
"what kind of consequences?"
"the headmaster will certainly be informed of tonight's chaos. the individual will lose
some special privileges and be given a series of detentions. you will also receive a formal
apology immediately." harry thought for sure that mr. weasley had said that last part a
little louder to make sure that his voice would carry outside. "it is your choice."
harry held his breath. this could be the end of him.
"well, i would never want to prevent a witch or wizard from never practicing magic
again," eva replied. harry breathed a sigh of relief on the other side of the door. "i don't
relish the idea of taking responsibility for tonight, but i'll be okay. i do not wish to file a
report with the ministry."
"i think you'll find that you made the right decision," mr. weasley said. "harry, please
come in."
harry felt his cheeks redden as he stepped inside mr. weasley's office. eva looked
confused. she still somehow managed to look gorgeous, even though she was still
soaking wet from the rain.
"i believe you have something you wish to tell miss finnigan."
harry took a deep breath, his gaze cast down on the floor. he couldn't meet anyone's eyes.
eva had just saved him from his worst nightmare. "eva, i'm so sorry."
"but... then... it was harry?" she looked from harry to mr. weasley, then back again.
"i'm afraid so." mr. weasley got up from his desk. "i'll just leave you two alone to sort this
out." he quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.
"harry..." eva began. "how... how could you? why?"
"i don't know," harry replied. that was the easy way out.
but she wasn't going to go easy on him. she got up from her seat and stalked over to him.
he could smell the rain on her like fresh morning dew. "look at me," she demanded.
cautiously, harry raised his eyes until they met hers. he could see she was very upset. her
cheeks were nearly as red as his. "why?" she asked again.
how could he put his feelings into words? how could he possibly tell her that it was the
jealousy inside of him that made him do it? no, it wasn't even the jealousy. it was the pain
he would have felt if he had to watch her kiss someone else. he didn't know at what point
she had captured his heart, but he was sure that she had, and he wasn't going to allow her
to break it so easily. how could he tell her his entire explanation when they'd only known
each other for so little time? how could she possibly understand?
but she certainly wasn't going to buy his ignorance. he had to think of something to say.
"why?" she demanded again.
"it... it was temporary insanity," harry replied. "everything happened so quickly. you were
swept up on that horse... he looked as though he was going to throw you off at any
moment. i forgot it was only a show."
"but... why did you wait until the end to do it? and how was it supposed to save me?"
that was true. he had many opportunities to use the spell. it was the almost-kiss that had
shaken him up. and a crazy-dance jinx didn't add much sense to his bravery. "i don't
know, okay? i just thought that you were in danger. i thought i needed to rescue you."
harry could see in her eyes that she didn't believe him. instead, her face grew red with
anger. he was quite sure he was really going to see the irish temper in her tonight. "rescue
me?!" she cried, offended. "harry, i don't need to be rescued!"
he didn't know what to say. with eva fuming in front of him, all he wanted to do was grab
her by the wrists as david had done and make her stand still for just a few moments so he
could kiss her. so she could feel how he felt, so she would understand what was going on
inside of his head - and his heart.
"if... if it's about the money, i've got money. i'd be happy to pay you." he'd give her all of
his money in gringotts if that's what it took to win her back.
immediately, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. "first you insult my intelligence with
your absurd story and now you try to insult my integrity by paying me off?!" she cried.
her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "everybody told me that you always played the
hero. i should have believed them! well, i don't need your charity, harry potter. go and
save somebody else!"
she grabbed her coat and didn't even bother to put it on before she marched out of the
office and slammed the door shut behind her.
harry winced. not because of the door slamming, but because of what eva had said. it
stung. it hurt. he was pretty sure it hurt even more than if he had been forced to watch her
kiss another guy.
mr. weasley opened the door turned off the lanterns in his office. 'you got off easy harry.
you were very lucky." he gave him a pat on the back. harry barely felt it. he was still
stunned. "c'mon, dumbledore is waiting for you back at hogwarts."
and somehow, he didn't find that very reassuring.
chapter 24 - a means to an end: harry has a startling occlumency lesson with snape. (post
ootp - harry's sixth year) harry is struggling between childhood and manhood. he
blames himself for sirius's death and his raging hormones aren't helping the mourning
period. the war comes to an odd standstill outside hogwarts, but inside the walls of the
school the battle lines are drawn. the students are forced to choose between good and
evil. in this fic, harry finds out what it's really like to be a best friend, a true love, and a
part of a family.
author notes: i am truly sorry it took me so long to update. one of my resolutions is to
update more often. =) happy new year everyone! thank you so much for your patience
and your encouragement. it will pay off in the end. as always, email me if you'd like to be
notified of updates. special thanks to my beta, brie. please check out the website and
elena's fan art. i am always looking for more art to add to the website, so don't hestitate to
contact me if you're a fan who wants some art hosted. thanks for reading, and i look
forward to your review! enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chapter 24: a means to an end
harry traveled back to hogwarts using floo powder at the ministry. he stumbled out of the
fireplace into dumbledore's office. the headmaster, in his night robe, was sitting at his
desk in silence, his long fingers stroking his beard. "good evening, harry. have a seat."
he thought that his guilt couldn't possibly get any worse, but harry found that he felt even
more horrible as he took a seat in the chair across from dumbledore.
"arthur has just informed me that miss finnigan does not wish to file a report with the
ministry." his eyes narrowed at harry, who tried to sink into the back of his chair. "you
are, indeed, very lucky, as this shall remain our little secret. however, you will also be
facing some consequences, which i'm sure you are aware of."
"yes sir," harry replied.
"because of the mischief that took place, i'm afraid that your entire muggle studies class
has been assigned an essay illustrating the differences and similarities in the medieval
muggle and wizarding histories. their essay will be one-foot of parchment, yours will be
three. also, starting next week, you will be joining professor avis in her office for
detention every night that you do not have occlumency." he paused, his eyes shining in
the light of the fireplace.
"you will never speak of the events that took place after the other students left the
dinner," he continued. "they have been told that you were separated from the group
because mr. weasley thought it was an attack on you. however, they all suspect that
somebody in your class was doing magic. they do not know who."
"yes sir," harry said. he was wondering why dumbledore was showing him mercy. he
certainly didn't feel like he wanted any sort of special treatment. he deserved what he got.
if it was to be ridiculed by his peers, so be it.
dumbledore took a deep breath and hunched over the desk, staring directly into harry's
eyes. "i'm not going to ask you why this happened, harry," he said. "but i daresay that this
is something that you must learn to control if you are ever to master occlumency. please,
think about what you have done and how things could have turned out." he looked grave.
"and try to get some rest."
***
harry knew he had been spending far too much time with snape. he could read his moods
with a single glance. today he was particularly angry, and harry sensed that it had
something to do with his work for the order. perhaps his spying wasn't going as well as he
thought it was.
snape sneered at him from behind his greasy hair. "on time today, potter?"
harry gave a short nod, then took out his wand, expecting snape to hit him with a spell at
any moment. instead, snape merely glared at him, his eyes searching. for what, harry
didn't know.
"you should have stayed behind yesterday," snape continued casually. "look at what sort
of trouble you got yourself into, running around in the muggle world. casting spells and
rescuing wenches..."
harry's insides turned cold. "how do you know about that?"
snape scoffed. "do you think you can keep a secret from me?"
instead of feeling threatened, harry was confused. what was snape playing at?
"how are you going to be the order's weapon if your mind cannot even withstand the
simple prodding of an old, decrepit, greasy potions master?"
greasy as he may be, harry knew that snape was anything but old and decrepit. harry tried
to look into snape's eyes, but snape quickly turned his back on harry and stepped behind
his desk. feeling even more uneasy from snape's behavior, harry held his wand out, ready
to strike him at any time.
snape opened his desk drawer and pulled out a shallow basin, carved with runes. harry
recognized it as the pensieve that he had looked into on two previous occasions. the silver
light coming from it illuminated snape's pale face as he looked up at harry. he raised his
wand.
harry lifted his wand in his own defense, expecting snape to cast a spell on him. but
instead, snape started swirling his wand in the cloudy silver substance. he muttered some
inaudible incantation and pulled his wand out of the pensieve, a long silver string trailing
behind it. he twisted his wand, circling his ear, and the silver strand disappeared inside.
snape got up from his desk and approached harry. harry took a step back. he couldn't meet
snape's eyes, but he had changed dramatically. snape seemed strangely vulnerable in his
own dungeon. he raised his wand and harry braced himself for the spell to come.
"legilimens!"
this time it was so strong that harry could see a dark blue light cast from the tip of snape's
wand. harry emptied his mind, blocking thoughts of quidditch and muggle studies and
nightmares and eva.
he was completely numb.
it was an eerie sensation. his scar tingled, but it did not hurt. he felt like the removed
harry from his dancing dream. he was in his own body, but he was far away. he could see
snape standing before him, shaking as he tried to break into harry's mind. harry would not
let him through.
it was time for harry's offense. he was ready to pummel snape with every hex in the book.
he was defenseless.
and then, something unexplainable happened. as harry raised his wand, he heard himself
speaking, dimly recalling the same incantation that snape had used on him.
"legilimens..." harry whispered.
suddenly, it felt as though the bright light from snape's wand had flashed directly into his
eyes like a laser and was cutting into the scar on his forehead. he could see a reflection of
himself in the light. no, it was not him. there was no scar. the eyes were not green, but
hazel.
it was his father.
he was once again faced with the striking image of a teenage james. he looked older than
the last time that harry had seen him. but he wasn't boy - yet he was not a man.
"you owe me, snivellus."
"i don't owe you a damn thing..."
"i saved you. i saved your life. doesn't that mean anything to you?"
but what kind of life was it? a life where there was no line between good and evil? a life
of a greasy-haired boy, unloved and battered? a million angry thoughts entered his mind.
how did he know where she was? how did he always arrive to save the day?
"you could have been dead, severus. or worse - you could be a werewolf. just let me go to
her. let me try to help her. if i fail, she's all yours. you have my word."
he offered his hand. surprised, harry felt his own hand hesitate, then lift to shake his
father's. it was smooth. firm. honest. there were no signs of hard labor or scars of cruelty.
james turned and ran down the pathway to a clump of bushes where he could see a girl
with her head buried in her hands. his mum.
lily... i've lost you...
the last thing he could hear was the sound of his father's chain necklace bouncing against
his chest. the blue light dimmed and the image of his father crouched next to his mother
disappeared from harry's mind. he was still standing, though the pain from his scar and
the heartache he felt was enough to make him pass out. he felt sweat on the back of his
neck, trailing down between his shoulder blades.
snape was watching him from the other side of the dungeon, but he would not meet
harry's eyes. he simply slipped his wand back inside of his robes and opened his office
door.
"we're done, potter."
he had said it so final, so forceful, that harry didn't question him. snape stepped into his
office and threw the door shut, leaving harry alone in the classroom, stunned.
had he just broken into snape's mind?
***
on saturday morning, harry was surprised to find that he was first in the quidditch locker
room. he thought that ron, as captain, would have beaten him there. harry hadn't seen him
since the field trip. he had been avoiding meals and any interaction with his fellow
muggle studies classmates. he was afraid that they would question him about the chaos in
london.
harry had just changed into his uniform when ron came hurrying into the locker room, his
bag draped over his shoulders and his broom in hand. without saying a word, he took a
seat across from harry on the opposite bench and began unpacking his things.
"late start?" harry questioned. he thought that maybe ron had overslept and missed
breakfast, since harry hadn't seen him in the great hall.
ron glared at him. "just finishing up on my extra essay. you know, for muggle studies? the
one that our entire class has to do?" when harry didn't make any acknowledgement, ron
swung his legs around to the other side of the bench so that he was facing harry. "because
of you?"
"i... i don't know what you're talking about..."
"don't play dumb with me," ron snapped. "i know you did it, harry. i saw you. why should
we all have to be punished to write this stupid essay?"
"it's just one paper," harry replied between gritted teeth.
"on top of the loads of other stuff i have to do!" he exploded. "or have you forgotten that i
have one more class than you? i mean, i've got herbology and potions, not to mention my
responsibilities as a prefect and quidditch captain!"
"you'd better watch it, ron," harry said, his voice hoarse. he didn't know how much more
of ron's bitching he could take. "you sound just as big-headed as percy."
ron's stare turned icy cold. "don't you dare compare me to that traitor."
"you sound like a traitor to me," harry replied. "what are you going to do? rat me out to
professor avis? to the whole class?"
"i should," ron said. "but i won't. not because we're friends, but because it's for the good
of the team. you've already missed enough practices as it is. if you're expelled, we'll have
a hard time replacing you."
"bloody hell, ron! i told you! snape made me choose. i wouldn't have been able to go on
the field trip if i didn't miss practice..."
ron held up his hands to silence him. "it's not me you have to answer to, harry. it's the
team. the only way to beat slytherin is with a united front. if we're going to win we have
to play like a team. how can we do that when our seeker doesn't even show up for
practice the night before the match?"
though ron was being a little harsh, harry couldn't help but agree with him. but what was
he supposed to do? he couldn't skip occlumency. in the big picture, his lessons were more
important than quidditch. dumbledore had even called him into his office to tell him how
vital he was in fighting voldemort. he owed it to dumbledore to continue his training.
the atmosphere of the locker room was still uncomfortable as harry quickly changed into
his scarlet quidditch robes. he was thankful when the rest of the team started to arrive so
that he wouldn't have to make more small talk with ron.
as the team huddled together for one final pep talk, harry couldn't help noticing how odd
it was to be one of the tallest people on the team. they looked up to him, the way he had
looked up to oliver and the twins and angelina and katie. now he was a veteran. he was
the next generation of quidditch. the next era. and his best friend was leading him into
battle.
ron was looking quite pale. this season was different. ron could no longer claim to be the
beginner. this time he was supposed to be the leader. it was his butt on the line. he was the
captain. for once, harry was relieved that there was some weight lifted off his shoulders.
after a few words of encouragement, the gryffindor team left the locker room and slowly
made their way to the quidditch pitch. the roar of the crowd echoed in the distance. harry
could feel his raw nerves turning into excitement. it had been so long since he had done
this. he missed nearly the entire season last year.
madam hooch called the teams to the center of the pitch and hastily shouted the rules.
"let's keep it clean. i don't want anything happening like last year." she eyed harry and
malfoy with a narrow glare. she blew her whistle to signal the start of the game.
his veins pumping with adrenaline, harry kicked off the ground along with the other
players. colin creevey, who took lee jordan's place as announcer, sat proudly in the
stands. "and they're off!" he shouted. "madam hooch has released the balls and the first
game of the season has begun!"
harry saw the snitch for a split second before it took off into the skies. the sun was
shining brightly, the hoops casting long autumn shadows on the grassy field. harry
squinted at his teammates below, dodging bludgers and passing the quaffle.
"pritchard of slytherin has the quaffle - he's headed for the hoop. he passes it to nott. oh!
it's intercepted by ginny weasley. look out! weasley narrowly escapes the bludger hit by
goyle of slytherin. wealsey's headed towards the goal. she shoots, bletchley blocks... but
he's not fast enough! it's good! gryffindor is on the board first with ten points."
the pitch erupted into cheer, except for the hisses from the slytherins in the stands. harry
was just admiring ginny's obvious skills as a chaser when malfoy swooped up in front of
him. "proud of your little girlfriend, potter? heard she nearly took your spot on the team.
imagine, a girl taking your position? how embarrassing."
"what's embarrassing is that you'd rather try to torment me than pay attention to the game,
malfoy," harry spat back. he dove for the gryffindor hoops as one of the slytherin chasers
sped towards the goal. malfoy followed him, thinking he'd spotted the snitch. harry
stopped in midair, then watched as malfoy whizzed past. "stupid git," he muttered.
but the distraction wasn't enough to deter the slytherin chaser, who easily threw the
quaffle through one of the hoops ron was guarding. harry cursed.
the slytherin fans went crazy, chanting a similar verse to the heckle they had made up
about ron the year before. ron blushed madly from his cheeks to his ears.
harry sped over to ron's side. "don't pay attention to them!" he shouted. "don't let them get
to you again."
"shut up, harry," ron muttered. "get up there and do your job."
slightly hurt, harry searched the skies for the snitch, and after no sign of it, he looked for
malfoy.
"gryffindor has possession. weasley has the quaffle. weasley passes to mcdonald,
mcdonald to weasley. weasley passes it to frobisher. frobisher takes a hit. that's going to
leave a mark! the quaffle is loose! mcdonald picks it up again. she's heading towards the
slytherin rings. bletchley blocks, but it's no good. another goal for gryffindor!"
the scoring continued well into the two next hours. harry's legs were falling asleep on his
broom. it had to be the longest quidditch match he'd ever played. the points had been
balanced at the beginning, but now gryffindor was ahead by 160 points. crabbe and goyle
barely had any fight left in them. they were weak and tired on their brooms. harry had
even caught malfoy yawning only moments before.
he wished that the snitch would just appear so that he could catch it. the fans had already
lost their enthusiasm, and he'd seen some hufflepuff girls trying to sneak back to the
castle. at this rate, injuries would be more likely in a result of exhaustion on a broom than
being beaten with a bludger. even colin's voice was hoarse from all of the speaking. he
had certainly lost his usual zest.
"sloper hits the bludger at nott. nott ducks. he heads for the goal. goyle attempts a
counterattack. his club misses the bludger." colin sighed. "i've read of quidditch matches
that went on for days before the snitch appeared..."
mcgonagall gave him a hard pat on the back and colin sat up in his seat at attention,
continuing his commentary.
harry sadly watched as a moth fluttered its way across the field. it was so plain, yet
unique. it had an intricate pattern of browns and beiges on its wings. he found his mind
wandering onto other things, like his essay for muggle studies, along with his weeks of
detention. he had to wonder if ron was truly mad at him, or if he was just stressed because
of the game. and what about eva? was she so angry with him she'd never want to see him
again either?
suddenly, the stands erupted into cheer. panicking, harry looked around for any sign of
the snitch. it must have appeared; that was the only reason they would cheer. but as he
swooped down lower to the ground, he realized why.
malfoy was standing on the grassy field, the golden snitch fluttering in his fingertips.
harry's heart crashed into his stomach. there was no way that malfoy had beaten him to
the snitch. nobody had ever caught the snitch before him in a game that was fair. nobody.
malfoy smirked at him, tossing the snitch playfully into the air and catching it again, just
as he had once seen his father do in one of snape's old memories.
"well, potter. looks like you've lost your touch."
harry's anger and confusion fumed inside of him. "how...?" he began. but he was
interrupted by colin creevey.
"draco malfoy catches the snitch, but gryffindor wins the match by only ten points." he
sounded as though he wasn't sure he should celebrate or not. there was an eerie silence on
the field now, as the rest of harry's teammates flew down from their positions in the air.
ginny flashed harry a sympathetic look, but ron wouldn't meet his eyes.
now this, harry thought, this is an embarrassment.
"you may have won the game, potter," malfoy said. "but we all know who the real winner
is today." and with one last sneer, he pushed off the ground and began his ascent into the
sky for a lap around the stadium, the golden snitch clutched tightly in his fist.
harry hung his head in defeat. now ron had a real reason to be truly mad at him.
struggling between childhood and manhood. he blames himself for sirius's death and his
raging hormones aren't helping the mourning period. the war comes to an odd standstill
outside hogwarts, but inside the walls of the school the battle lines are drawn. the
students are forced to choose between good and evil. in this fic, harry finds out what it's
really like to be a best friend, a true love, and a part of a family.
author notes: happy new year everyone! here's another chapter. thanks to brie, my beta.
be sure to visit the website. i really appreciate all of you guys. enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chapter 25: the last straw
"what were you thinking, harry? how could you have let him catch the snitch like that?
did you even see it?" ron didn't even give him time to respond. "obviously not!" he threw
his towel into his quidditch locker.
"lay off, ron. we won, didn't we?" ginny said.
"don't stick up for me," harry barked.
offended, ginny turned scowled at him and headed to her locker. "fine. i won't."
"so what kind of excuses do you have this time, harry?" ron demanded. "a bewitched
broom?"
"i don't know," harry mumbled. "i don't know what the hell happened out there. i was
distracted."
"distracted? how could you be distracted? it's a game of quidditch! you don't give up in
the middle of it!"
"don't lecture me about the rules of the game," harry spat. "you only blocked, what, two
goals and let the other slip past?"
"cut it out, you two," jack sloper said suddenly. "this isn't helping. i think we should all
just come to realize that harry can't catch the snitch every time. i mean, he was bound to
lose eventually."
"but to malfoy?" ron questioned. "malfoy's got the speed of a turtle. he's as blind on the
field as a bat. not to mention he has the agility of south-african sloth."
harry slammed his locker door shut. "i don't know how it happened."
"maybe if you would have shown up for practice..." ron began, but harry shot him such a
look that he quickly stopped talking.
"there has to be some other explanation. maybe malfoy bewitched the snitch or
something."
harry draped his quidditch bag over his shoulder and turned towards the door. "jack's
right," he announced sadly. "i was bound to lose sometime."
***
harry was in a foul mood for the rest of the afternoon, and suspected he would feel that
way for a good long time. despite the fact that malfoy had caught the snitch, gryffindor
still won the game, so harry had to muddle through the celebration in the gryffindor
common room. his occlumency training was proving to be very useful. he tried to appear
as cheerful as possible, but on the inside, he was ashamed of the game.
he could tell ron felt the same way. he was prompted to give a speech at the party, which
turned out to be quite convincing. however, when harry met his eyes, he could tell that
ron was disappointed in him. his best friend's feelings were what shamed him the most.
that night was the first d.a. meeting, rescheduled from harry's last minute trip to london
with nora. his nerves were on edge again. he had spent the few hours before the meeting
in the library, gathering last minute ideas and avoiding the party back in the common
room. harry was beginning to regret scheduling the meeting on the same day as the
quidditch game. he didn't want to have to face his peers, let alone cho.
but as always, time passed quickly when he was dreading something. harry glanced at his
watch and realized that if he didn't hurry he'd be late for the meeting. he hurried out of the
library and up to the seventh floor. he looked for the portrait of barnabus the balmy
teaching trolls to dance. concentrating hard on the room he needed, he walked up and
down the corridor three times. suddenly, the door appeared, and he quickly went inside.
"oh, harry, we'd thought you'd forgotten," hermione said breathlessly as he entered the
room. it was decorated in usual meeting décor, complete with cushions and other items
for magical practice. she had the list out on the table, which she and ginny were going
over. ron was sulking in a corner.
"i'd never forget," harry replied. "i was looking up some last minute things in the library."
"you mean you weren't hiding?" ron questioned. hermione and giny both glared at him.
harry decided to ignore his comment. "i thought we would start out with a review from
last year - some defensive spells. and i'd like to see how everyone's doing with their
patronuses."
"mine is excellent," colin creevey said as he and his brother, dennis entered the room.
"i've been practicing since we met at hogsmeade."
"mine is coming along," dennis added. "it's a plimpy, but i can't seem to get the legs
right."
harry grinned. he was beginning to feel much better. teaching d.a. could be a bit nerve-
wracking, but it was a lot of fun. he always felt like he was accomplishing something
good. something that would prepare everyone for the battle to come.
as more people arrived, harry was beginning to feel more at ease. despite his own
adventures, this year had been relatively uneventful for everyone. there was no triwizard
tournament, no umbridge lurking around every corner. people were laughing and having a
good time, happy to see one another. cho was even greeted with a smile when she arrived.
the meeting went rather smoothly. after separating into pairs, harry began instructing his
eighteen students. they started out with a banishing charm, using the cushions for
comfort. next, they worked on a silencing charm. professor flitwick had spent quite some
time on it earlier in the semester, and harry wanted to review it with them. it had been of
some use to hermione when they were battling in the department of mysteries at the end
of last year.
for the final lesson, he wanted to see everyone's patronus. he wished he could produce his
own for the demonstration, but he just didn't have the heart. he was afraid he didn't have
enough happy thoughts left. ron was barely speaking to him, he had a whole two week's
worth of muggle studies detention, and he had to find time for occlumency. malfoy had
caught the snitch before him and he had been embarrassed in front of the entire school.
not to mention that eva was so angry with him she would probably never speak to him
again.
but somehow, even picturing her pissed off at him seemed bring a smile to his face. she
was beautiful when she was angry.
he had ron and hermione demonstrate the charm. the harry had the rest of the group
perform in pairs, and then the two of them sent them in groups of four back to their
common rooms with the help of the marauder's map. oddly enough, the last pair was
seamus and cho. cho produced her swan, and harry couldn't even deny that it was
gorgeous. elegant and smooth, just like its owner.
"harry," cho said quietly, "could i talk to you for a minute? alone?"
harry felt his heart beat rise inside his chest. "er... sure."
she led him over to a secluded corner of the room, away from the scrutiny of ron,
hermione, and seamus. her eyes sparkled in the dim light from the chandelier overhead. "i
don't know how you'll feel about this, but both marietta and michael want to know if they
can come back to d.a."
"how do they even know that it still exists?" harry questioned accusingly. "did you tell
them we were still having meetings?"
"no," she snapped, offended. "they've still got their coins. they both knew the meeting
was tonight."
he frowned. hermione was supposed to take care of that. he glanced over at her by the
doorway, but she and ron were lost in each other's eyes. perhaps she was a bit distracted
lately.
"just think about it," cho said. "marietta's learned her lesson. she knows what side is right.
and michael... well, he's not that bad."
harry grunted. "from what i hear, you think he's just fine."
"we're not a couple anymore," cho replied, brushing her hair behind her ear nonchalantly.
"we're just friends."
"i don't care about that," harry said curtly.
cho smiled. "are you sure?"
harry's eyes narrowed as he glared at her. if there was anything that he was certain of, it
was that cho was not going to take him on another one of her emotional roller-coaster
relationships. "positive."
she took a step back. "i...i see." it was clear that she got the message. "well, just think
about it." she turned around, her hair and hips bouncing behind her, and left with the last
group of ravenclaws.
harry ran his hands over his face and through his hair. he didn't know how much more of
this he could take. he sighed and returned to his lesson. it was apparent that seamus, who
had never had much practice, was struggling with his own patronus.
"expecto patronum!" seamus shouted. a thin, wispy cloud came out of the tip of his wand,
but it made no shape. he sighed. "it's no use. i don't even know what mine is, only that it's
hairy."
"you just... you need to think of something that makes you happy."
"i am," seamus replied. "it's just not good enough."
harry could understand how he felt. "there's got to be something."
"wait, i've got it," he said suddenly. "did i tell you that eva wrote back to me?"
"no," harry replied, shaking his head.
he grinned. "expecto patronum!" with a flick of his wand, the silver phantom appeared,
and it was quite hairy. it was almost human form - no, harry realized, it was an ape. but it
wasn't clumsy or wild. it had long, silky hair and dark eyes.
"i know what it is!" seams cried. "it's a demiguise! no wonder i couldn't see it before.
they're practically invisible. their coat makes excellent invisibility cloaks."
harry smiled. "brilliant." he paused, trying to sound as casual as possible. "so how is
eva?"
"she's all right," seamus replied. "not too fond of you anymore, though."
harry felt his heart sink into his gut. he didn't know why he should be surprised. of course
she was still angry with him.
hermione cleared her throat from the doorway. "we need to get out of here."
ron nodded in agreement. "some of us have extra homework."
***
harry lay in his bed that night for what felt like endless hours. he had been the first one to
bed after the d.a. meeting, yet he still had not fallen asleep before the moon reached its
highest peak in the sky. winter was on its way, and the northern wind was loudly beating
against the windows of the dormitory.
or was it just neville's snoring?
harry couldn't be sure as he tossed and turned, entangling his legs in his bed sheets. wide
awake and uncomfortable, he knew it was no use trying to get any sleep that night. he felt
exhausted, yet sleep would not come to him.
he was worrying about so many things. ron had been so angry with him ever since the
field trip, and the game earlier that day only made it ten times worse. he had also wasted
a few thoughts wondering about marietta edgecombe and michael corner and whether he
should let them come back to d.a. he would need to discuss it with hermione and ron - if
he would ever speak to harry again.
harry was dreading the heckling that was bound to come from malfoy on monday in
defense against the dark arts. losing to him was something that harry didn't even get a
chance to prepare for.
and for some reason, whenever he finally did drift off to sleep a little, in the space
between his consciousness and his dreaming, he would see the image of his father,
pleading with him. "if i fail, she's all yours. you have my word." and then an out-thrust
hand. harry's own reaching to shake it.
the more he thought about it, the more confused he was. he was beginning to regret every
trying to use legilmency on snape. he didn't know what had ever possessed him to use
that incantation. clearly, it was a mistake.
with the image of his father so fresh in his mind, harry couldn't help feeling lonely. it was
times like these he wished he could talk to sirius. he thought of the pieces of the broken
mirror carefully packed into a corner of his trunk. if only he could look into it and see
sirius. if only he could hear his godfather's voice one last time.
harry hadn't realized how close he was to crying until he felt a single tear roll down his
cheek to his lips. the salty taste startled him, and he quickly wiped it away. embarrassed
and looking for the distraction, he decided to check in on remus.
when he pulled the moon guide out of his pocket, it was very dark, but harry knew from
his calendar that the full moon wasn't until the next night. he wondered if remus was
reading again. or perhaps he was actually asleep.
he put the dark circle up to his eye, and whispered, "i solemnly swear i only want to
watch." as he peered inside the moon guide, the spectacle opened his vision to a room
that looked vaguely familiar. there was a large picture window on one side of the room
and blankets spread out upon the floor. remus was perched in front of a fireplace, staring
intently at a picture on the mantle. he had a glass of liquor in his hand and every few
seconds he would take a sip. his eyes were red. harry didn't know if he should be
watching. it looked as though remus was drunk.
there was a knock on the door and remus sadly put his glass down on the mantelpiece. he
was dressed in his shabby clothes, looking as pale as ever before the full moon. he
walked over to the entrance and pulled the door open, the breeze disturbing the cozy fire.
"i should have known you'd come."
"i didn't want you to be alone." the cloaked figure stepped inside, uninvited, and pulled
her cape off.
harry gasped. it was tonks, in her normal form, not some mcgonagall look-a-like. she
went over to the mantle, took down the glass, and sniffed it. she took a quick drink. harry
gasped as she threw it on the fire. "drowning your sorrows, i see."
remus smiled. "i didn't even start yet. you're just in time. fancy a drink?"
"i didn't come here for a drink."
"then what did you come here for?" remus demanded. "i've said all that needs to be said."
"but i haven't," tonks replied angrily. "you can't expect to write me some letter filled with
excuses and just leave things the way they are, can you?"
"i don't know what i expect anymore." remus groaned as he sat down in his armchair. "i'm
old, tonks. too old."
"that's the firewhiskey talking." she plopped down on the ottoman across from him and
reached out for his weathered hands. "you're cold," she said, and began rubbing his
fingers in her palms.
"i'm not cold," he muttered. "i'm old."
"stop that nonsense."
"it's not nonsense!" remus ripped his hand away from hers and stood up from the chair.
"tonks, i don't know what you're playing at here, but it's not going to work. you can't just
waltz in here - when i'm drunk and weak - and try to seduce me on a night like tonight."
he paced around the room, the flames from the fireplace reflecting the wildness in his
eyes.
"well, you can't expect me to sit around in my office knowing that you're holed up here
all alone on a night like tonight!" tonks exploded.
what was so special about tonight? harry wondered.
"i'm an old man," remus said again. but this time, there was such sorrow in his voice that
harry barely recognized it. "you're the youngest auror in britain, tonks. you don't need an
old man like me around."
tonks stood up walked over to him, her eyes clouded with concern. she wrapped both
arms around his waist and hugged him closely, embracing him. "it doesn't matter how old
you are, remus. i'm still going to love you."
remus frowned, but held her tightly against his chest for a few moments. "we can't do
this," he said again. tonks pulled away and stared at him incredulously. "i won't hurt you.
not again."
"and you won't," tonks replied. "remus, it was different before. i'm involved now. i'm in
this just as deep as you are. i was the one who captured her!" she exploded. "i put her
back in azkaban!"
"you think she'll just stay there?" he demanded. "azkaban is nothing without the
dementors." he walked over to the fireplace mantle, then moved the picture closer into
the light, straightening it. harry realized what the photograph was. it must have been
taken before he was born, and it was of the marauders. remus, sirius, wormtail, and his
father all sat together in the photograph, huddled around a game of wizard's chess. "do
you really think that bellatrix will waste away in azkaban? you know she's stronger than
that. voldemort will rescue her. he will take her back at any cost."
"that's only more reason to stop this nonsense!" tonks exploded. "we're stronger if we're
together, not if we're apart."
"i used to believe in strength in unity," remus continued sadly. "there used to be four of
us," remus continued. "first we lost james. now sirius. peter left us some time ago. i could
be next. i'll not let you bury me as i have buried them."
"remus, that was different. peter was the culprit of their demise."
"no. he wasn't. voldemort was. if only i could have stopped him. if only i could have done
something..."
"you can't blame yourself for the past," tonks hissed. "you know it's not your fault."
"i do know that today is sirius's birthday, and that he should be here celebrating with
james and lily and harry, not in some undead dimension of voices. i know that voldemort
has been playing with us for far too long, and that the time for the final battle is drawing
nearer with each day. i won't let you get involved. i don't care what it takes. i'll do
everything i can to protect the people i love."
harry suddenly felt sickened inside. sirius's birthday. it was his godfather's birthday and
he didn't even know it. and all remus could talk about was how he was next. how he
wouldn't allow himself to get close to the woman he loved because he was too afraid he
would break her heart in death.
he yanked the moon guide away from his eye, and whispered hoarsely, "i have seen all
there is to be seen."
his own bed suddenly felt foreign to him. hogwarts, his safe haven and home for the past
six years, now made him feel as though the walls were closing in on him. every corner he
looked in reminded him of his battles with voldemort. of the dead. of cedric. of sirius.
how many more people would have to die? how many more nights would he wake up to
the sound of his mother's screaming? to a voice beyond on a veil? to the cackling of
bellatrix lestrange?
as his anger boiled inside of him, he felt he would explode if he didn't get out of the
common room. if he didn't get away from all of his memories and nightmares and
visions. watching remus had been the last straw. he needed to talk to someone. he needed
to get away. but where could he go? who could he go to?
and the answer came to him. there was only one place he could go. there was only one
person who would listen to him - he hoped.
eva.
chapter 26: overcome

somehow, harry had stumbled through the darkness and escaped unseen from hogwarts
under the camouflage of his invisibility cloak, with the aide of the marauder's map. if the
journey had been long, he didn't notice it. all he could think of was getting to eva. if he
could just make it to her, somehow everything would be okay.
when he finally made it to hogsmeade, it was well past midnight, and the hog's head was
crowded with the darkest of patrons. eva was behind the bar cleaning up when he burst in
the door and walked straight up the stairs to her bedroom. he had no way to tell her that
he was there. no way to catch her attention. he couldn't take the cloak off. but the rage
inside of him wouldn't hold off for much longer.
he plopped down in front of her doorway, briefly wondering if he had completely lost his
mind. it had been a compulsive decision to see her. he didn't even know if she would
listen. but somehow he knew it would be all right. he knew she would make it that way.
no longer caring whether he was spotted or not, he pulled off the invisibility cloak and
tried to catch his breath, but it was next to impossible. his mind was moving at a thousand
miles a minute, his heart pounding in his chest as though he were on his deathbed.
he was going to explode.
the sound of footsteps drew nearer as he turned to see eva walking up the stairs. she was
carrying a broom. her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her eyes confused and
concerned. eva was weary, but she smiled at him.
and somehow, that smile melted all of the anger, all of the absolute horror inside of him,
and a single tear fell from his eye and slithered down his cheek behind his glasses.
"harry, are you all right? what's the matter?" she asked, leaning the broom against the
wall and crouching down so that she was eye-level with him. "is it nora?"
harry shook his head because it was too hard to speak.
"no?" she replied. "what is it?"
harry took a deep breath. "it's me."
he reached forward, his arms clutching eva tightly, and pulled her to him. a steady stream
of tears rolled down his cheeks and pooled on her shoulder. harry was expecting her to
pull away, but instead she embraced him, holding him in her arms. and for the first time
since his birthday, he felt the warmth of being close to someone. he felt validated. loved.
all of the rage he had felt for so long, all the anger, the frustration, the mourning, and the
loss came pouring out of him. he was trembling - not with fury, but with sadness. he was
overcome with such emotion that he broke down in her arms.
he didn't know how long she held him. he knew he should be embarrassed about his tears,
but somehow, he didn't have any shame left. he didn't bother to choke back his sobs but
instead deeply inhaled to catch his breath, her scent overwhelming him. there was
comfort in her arms.
she shifted her legs and kneeled under his weight, and harry pulled away, realizing that he
was practically suffocating her. "i'm sorry," he whispered, wiping his eyes behind his
glasses.
"it's all right," she whispered back. her eyes were kind and still full of concern, and she
hadn't moved from her kneeling position. he could see that she was slightly
uncomfortable. "i would ask if you're okay," eva said quietly, "but i can see that you're
not."
harry didn't know where to start or what he should say. "today... today was my godfather's
birthday." realizing that this wasn't explanation enough, he tried to continue. he shifted
his gaze away from her. "it was a bad day."
the corner of her mouth curved into a tiny, reassuring smile. she stood up and brushed the
dust off her knees from the dirty floor. she held out her hand to him. "let's go inside."
harry glanced at the floor where he had hidden the marauder's map beneath the
invisibility cloak. it wasn't safe to leave it in the hallway. he took eva's hand and stood up,
then took the risk and leaned over to pick up the cloak and the map.
eva glanced at the items in his grip, but didn't question him as she led harry inside her
room. she gestured for him to sit down on her bed as she quickly lit some candles. harry
would have preferred to stay in the darkness with only the moonlight shining in through
the window. he was stuck in silence, searching for the words to explain himself and his
state of mind.
eva sat down next to him on the bed. he could feel the warmth of her body against his
bare arms and realized that he was cold. realized it was the middle of the night. realized
that he was once again on a bed with a girl.
"i'm sorry," he apologized again. "i... i didn't know where to go." he felt the familiar
tightness in his chest, a lump in the back of his throat. he struggled to hold his tears back.
"i..."
he couldn't find the strength to continue. suddenly, eva reached out and took his hand,
intertwining his fingers with hers, and squeezed them tightly. the warmth from her hands
traveled from his fingertips to the rest of his body. words, emotions, everything he had
been keeping inside came out. he could hear his voice saying everything that was on his
mind, but he felt far away. the words came out faster than he could consciously hold
back. he talked of the sadness of sirius's death, the horrible dreams, the pressure from
snape, remus's worries, the envy he felt towards his best friend, the loss of mr. weasley's
trust, and even losing to malfoy. he didn't know how long he spoke for, but eva listened
silently, occasionally squeezing his hand when he choked up.
when the tears had stopped and his voice was hoarse from talking, eva reached in her
nightstand and pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to harry. harry wiped his face,
which was now blushing with embarrassment, and took a deep breath.
"is that all that's bothering you?" eva whispered. she gave a small, apologetic smile. she
reached her arm around him, the way she had when he'd gotten the bloody nose, and
rubbed his back. the warmth from her fingertips made his spine tingle.
harry managed a smile. he didn't know what to say. "i'm sorry."
"no, i am," eva said defiantly. "perhaps i've been a bit too harsh on you. i didn't realize... i
didn't know how terrible things were."
"i deserved it," harry replied. "i got you fired."
"aye, it was actually a blessing in disguise. i needed a break." she grinned. "and from the
sounds of it, you could use one too."
harry, feeling much more comfortable, handed the handkerchief back to eva. "yes, i
suppose i could. i never thought i would need a break from hogwarts. hogwarts has
always been the one place where i felt safe. the one place that felt like home."
"sometimes it's difficult to feel safe anywhere," eva said. but when he met her eyes, he
got the distinct impression that she was talking from her own personal experience - not
his current predicament. she stopped rubbing his back and pulled away from him, as if
she were suddenly very conscious of her closeness to him.
"do... do you mind if i stay for a little while?" harry asked gently.
eva shook her head. "i think i'd rather enjoy the company. i'll light a fire."
"here, i'll help," harry offered, getting up from the bed.
eva quickly stood up and pushed him back down. "i don't need any help, harry," she said,
a little too forcefully, and a little too reminiscent of the chaos at the medieval dinner. "i've
got it. you just sit there and relax." harry watched as found some matches and lit some
kindling in the fireplace. she also lit the candles that nora had sent her, which were nearly
burned down to their bases. "i'll run down to the pub and get some drinks," she added,
before harry could stop her.
harry sat silently on her bed, listening to the crackling fire. in the light, he could see that
her room a little more organized than before. there were no pictures lying around and her
bed was made. her desk still had muggle newspaper clippings scattered all over it. his
curiosity getting the better of him, harry stood up and peered over the tabletop. a book
called everything muggles should know about the wizarding world and why we shouldn't
tell them had a bookmark pinched inside about halfway through it. there was also a letter
from nora with some kind of list. eva had already checked off a few of the items. some
were candy, others were magical jokes, and she'd listed a set of gobstones. the last two
items were a broom and an owl. beneath it, in eva's handwriting, was "scrapbook" with a
checkmark after it.
harry realized that this must have been nora's christmas list. did eva's entire life revolve
around her sister? didn't she have a life of her own? didn't she spend a knut on herself
now and then?
he heard footsteps coming up from the pub and hurried back over to the bed. eva
appeared with a tray that had two bottles of butterbeer and some sandwiches on it. "if i
didn't know any better, i'd think that abe knew you were here." she sat down on the
opposite end of the bed and placed the tray over the blankets.
harry's heart jumped into his throat. had he been spotted? "who's abe?"
"the bartender," eva replied, handing him a bottle. "when i went down there, he already
had two bottles waiting for me. and he was the one who told me that the extra room up
here needed cleaning. otherwise, you could have been waiting outside my door all night.
just how did you get here anyway?"
harry gulped. "well..." he took a swig of his butterbeer, trying to prolong his answer.
could he trust her with the truth? his heart was beating rapidly in his chest. he didn't know
how many more surprises he could take tonight. "there's a secret passageway from
hogwarts into the cellar of honeydukes. nobody really knows about it except for a select
few of us. and, well, to get from honeydukes to here, i have my father's invisibility
cloak."
"really?" eva cried. harry was glad to see she was more excited about the cloak than the
fact that he'd been breaking the rules. "i just read about those. fascinating objects, you
know. is that what you were holding when you came in?"
harry nodded. the marauder's map was still hidden beneath the cloak, so he would get out
of having to explain that particular magical device. "i wonder if he - if abe - can see
through it."
"can wizards really do that?" eva questioned.
harry nodded. "it's not unheard of. one of my old professors had a magical eye that could
see everything. and i mean everything."
"tell me more about hogwarts," eva said, taking half of a sandwich and handing the other
half to harry. "nora writes pages and pages about the people and her classes, but i'd like to
know more about the school itself. did dumbledore start it?"
"no. the school was founded over a thousand years ago by four of the greatest wizards in
the world." harry grinned. he could hear his professors' voices in his own. perhaps he
would make a good teacher. "they were slytherin, ravenclaw, hufflepuff, and gryffindor.
our four houses are named after them."
"oh, right," eva said between mouthfuls. "nora mentioned something about that after she'd
been sorted. she was really glad that she was sorted into gryffindor. seamus is in that
house. i imagine you are too."
"how'd you guess?" harry joked.
"because of your courage," she said simply.
harry tried desperately not to blush. "well, from what i understand, courage is not
something lacking in finnigan women."
she smirked. "aye, not in the women, that's for sure. the men - now that's a different
story."
harry finished off his sandwich, and then took another drink of his butterbeer to muster
up some of his gryffindor courage to ask the question pressing in his mind. he'd asked
both nora and seamus, but neither one gave him any sort of answer. "eva, why don't you
and your uncle get along?"
eva stopped eating and looked at him very seriously. "why don't you ask seamus? i'm sure
he'd love to tell you."
"i did," harry admitted, feeling guilty for his snooping. "he said it wasn't his place to tell
me."
"did he now?" she seemed surprised. she sighed heavily and put the crusts of her
sandwich back on the plate. "me uncle's old-fashioned. growing up, me mum would
always get into trouble. uncle ned would always get her out of it. he warned her that one
day, she was going to shame the family's name and then he'd turn his back on her. she
didn't believe him, of course. after all, they were brother and sister. they were all each
other had in the world," eva added.
"but then, me mum got pregnant with me. ned said it was the last straw. he threw her out
on the streets to survive on her own. she only had the clothes on her back and the change
in her purse." eva's eyes burned with fury. "he thought he would teach her a lesson. but
instead, mum got a job in a restaurant and waited tables with measly tips until the day i
was born. she learned to take care of herself and a child before uncle ned ever talked to
her again. by that time, he was married, and already had a family of his own. but when
my mom had a one-night-stand with some tourist who left her pregnant again and not
even an address to contact him with, he was dealing with his own family struggles and
wanted nothing to do with her. again."
"what family struggles?" harry questioned.
"he'd just found out that his wife was a practicing witch, and that seamus's older brother,
connell, was accepted to hogwarts. he called me mum..." her voice trailed off. "he said
terrible things about her. about me. about nora, even though she wasn't even born yet. i
can still remember them. and from then on mum said we'd have nothing to do with him or
his family. he broke her heart twice and that was enough to last a lifetime." he had never
heard a voice more bitter. "after she died, he tried to get nora and me to come live with
his family, but i wouldn't hear of it. i nearly was sixteen and i already knew how to take
care of us. i had already dropped out of school. i didn't need his help - until nora got her
letter."
"how long ago was that?" harry asked, afraid that eva would stop talking. he'd never been
able to open her up before. each time they met it seemed to be under dramatic
circumstances.
"what? when nora got her letter?"
harry shook his head. "when did your mum die?"
"it will be two years ago this christmas eve," she said softly.
harry realized that these questions were much more personal than the ones about her
uncle. she would rather be angry than mournful. and no wonder she was trying to make
christmas perfect for nora; it was the anniversary of her mother's death. but who was
there to make christmas perfect for eva?
he could see that she was struggling inside. he reached out and gently took her hand, but
she pulled away. "maybe you should go," she suggested.
"maybe," he replied. but inside, he was asking himself the real reason why. he could see
she was still struggling with her mother's death. clearly, she wasn't ready to discuss it, and
he respected that. he knew it took a long time to talk about the death of loved one.
harry got up from the bed and glanced out the bedroom window. "it's nearly daybreak. i'd
better get back to hogwarts before someone discovers i'm missing." he would have gladly
stayed all night and into the next day, but he didn't want to overstep his welcome. he
picked up his invisibility cloak from the floor where he'd dropped it, and eva got up to
say goodbye. "thank you, eva. i really owe you."
she shook her head. "you don't owe me anything. what are friends for?"
harry grinned broadly. friends. was that good enough for him? somehow he found himself
wanting more. he lingered in her doorway until she was standing directly in front of him.
"do you mind if i stop by again sometime?"
"as long as you don't get into anymore trouble," eva said, "i don't see why not."
"and if you need anything, i'll be glad to help you out in any way." he thought back to
nora's long christmas list on her desk. "if you need money..."
eva crossed her arms over her chest, frowning. "i didn't ask for your help."
"i know you didn't ask. i'm offering."
"well, stop offering!" she exploded. "i don't need it. listen, i've been taking care of nora
for two years alone. i've been alone for all of this time. i don't need your help and i
certainly don't need your money! it's insulting that you keep offering it to me!"
harry held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "okay, okay, i'm sorry. i won't do it again."
eva cracked a smile and leaned in closer to him. her hair was so close to him it brushed
against his shoulder. he could smell her perfume and the smoke from the pub and
butterbeer they'd just drank.
"you know, harry," she said. "you don't have to be so noble all of the time."
and as she leaned in closer, harry felt her warm breath against his cheek. sparks tingle
down the back of his spine, the hair on the back of his neck standing on edge. she gently
kissed his cheek with her soft lips.
"some girls like rebels," she whispered. "good night." she smiled innocently and quietly
closed the door.
chapter 27: an escape from azkaban
"good night." harry found his voice sometime after she had closed the closed the door.
blushing furiously and grinning like an idiot, he quickly pulled the invisibility cloak over
his head and tiptoed down the stairs to the pub.
he wondered how she could affect him like that. how she could turn such a terrible day
into a happy ending. he had never felt so vulnerable in his life, but she didn't take
advantage of the situation. she was there for him. just as friends should be.
friends. the label bothered harry. he was friends with ron, with hermione. he had a lot of
friends. he wanted to be more to her. perhaps... perhaps he ought to ask her on a date. he
could sneak out of the castle after his two weeks of detention were over and they could
have dinner somewhere. but where? he would be recognized for sure.
he yawned as he crept down into the honeydukes cellar. both emotionally and physically
exhausted, he wanted nothing more than to climb into his four-poster and sleep until
dinner. he was lucky that it was sunday and he didn't have to attend any classes.
alone. eva's voice echoed in his head. she really had been alone for a long time. harry
somehow managed to do the math in his head from what she had told him about her
mother's death. that put her at seventeen, eighteen years old at the most. she looked older
than that, but he assumed it was because she was forced to grow up so fast.
he knew all too well how that could affect someone.
harry shivered as he broke into a jog in the dark tunnel. it stretched on for ages, but
tonight it seemed to be taking so much longer to find the exit. he slowed to catch his
breath, but tripped over a loose rock and fell headfirst to the hard ground. harry's breath
caught in his chest, the wind knocked out of him, and as he tried to catch his breath, the
first dizzy spell hit him.
chaos. there was pandemonium everywhere. he could sense it when he flicked his tongue
into the open air. feet running. shouting. keys unlocking. gates opening. and fear. lots of
fear. the stench of fear was so clear he could hardly smell anything else. as he slithered
upon the stone floor he could sense she was close. he could feel the vibrations of her
laughter as though he were slithering along her neck, feeling her heartbeat.
it will not be much longer.
he could hear her laughing now. the final gate unlocked and she stepped out into the open
air. she took a deep breath and stepped towards him. she looked much healthier than their
last escape, her heavy-lidded eyes wide and black hair shining in the sunrise.
"what took you so long?" she questioned, then leaned over and picked him up. he coiled
around her boney wrist and slithered up her arm until he was secure around her neck. he
had a better view of the anarchy around him. some foolish guards hid in the cells that
once held prisoners. the apparition ban on the fortress that kept its captives from escaping
would now be the death of their most loyal employees.
kill them. kill them all.
she grinned. she took a step forward, but he coiled around her neck, choking her, stopping
her.
they will take care of them. he watched as the dark figures came out of their cells and
advanced on the last of the guards, trembling in fear. one, with long pale hair, raised his
wand and began the incantation that would end the terror.
and as the first life was snuffed out in a flash of green, she laughed. "yes, master. i will
save my strength for her."
the cackling echoed in harry's mind. horrible, evil screeching exploded in his ear. his scar
felt odd. tender. harry reached up to touch his forehead, but suddenly felt two hands close
around his wrists. someone was calling his name. someone was shaking him.
"harry! harry!"
his eyes flew open and he sat up on the cold floor, nearly knocking the woman out of the
way. harry's wrists were abandoned. "lumos!" she called into the darkness.
when his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw he was only feet away from the entrance into
hogwarts. the hole in the hump of the witch was open, and candlelight from the hallway
was shining on the ground.
"tonks?" harry questioned.
professor leurre sat beside him, looking more like a concerned tonks than a stern
doppelganger of mcgonagall. "harry, are you all right?"
"i think so. what are you doing here?" harry took a deep breath and reached up to touch
his scar. pins and needles shot through his forehead. it wasn't painful, just eerie. and
suddenly, he remembered. he grabbed tonks by the shoulders. "they're free," he said.
"she's free."
"who? c'mon harry, we need to get you to the hospital wing."
"she coming for you," harry whispered.
tonks stopped in her tracks. "you're sure?"
harry nodded. "i know it." he tried to stand up, but he must have twisted his ankle when
he fell. he glanced at the ground and saw the corner of the marauder's map sticking out
beneath the invisibility cloak. the items would have to remain there until he could sneak
back and get them. tonks quickly pulled him up and draped his arm across her shoulders.
she didn't stagger under his weight.
they slowly made their way to the back side of the statue. tonks went through first, then
helped harry. "lean on me," she said. harry did, and she steered him towards the left.
"the hospital wing is the other way," harry said, his teeth clenched as he tried to walk on
his ankle.
tonks shook her head. "you had a vision, didn't you? we should go to dumbledore's office
first. i imagine he's waiting."
harry limped along the third floor hallway until they took the stairs down to the second
level where the statue of the gargoyle was located. by that time, some of the pain in
harry's ankle had subsided, and he was grateful for the relief.
his mind was racing as tonks said the password to get inside. unlike his previous visions,
he could vividly remember each detail as though he were really there. he could still feel
bellatrix's soft, pale skin and her heartbeat reverberate against his body. he shivered.
"all right, harry?" tonks questioned.
he didn't know.
when they entered his office, dumbledore was already awake, looking very concerned as
he sat behind his enormous claw-footed desk. he was wearing a dressing robe, and his
long white beard was gathered together at the base of his chin to keep it from tangling
while he slept.
"sit down, harry." it was a command. "we will wait for the others to arrive."
so many questions were reeling in harry's mind. how did tonks know where he was? how
did dumbledore even know what was going on? was there some sort of surveillance on
him that he didn't know about? how else could they have found him?
harry was afraid to look dumbledore in the eye. he wondered who they were waiting for.
the sunrise was already spilling through the window in dumbledore's office when
mcgonagall and snape hurried through the door and stood at the headmaster's side.
he understood why mcgonagall was there - to hand out the punishment, of course. it was
a rule that only the head of each house could decide on the punishment of her students.
however, snape's presence was a mystery to him. snape appeared to have been awake. he
was not dressed in any sort of night clothes. perhaps he slept in the same tattered black
robes that he wore during the day. it wouldn't surprise harry if he did. at least it would
account for his greasiness.
when he met snape's eyes, harry could sense he was rather apprehensive about the whole
situation. maybe through his spying, he had been aware of the plans of the breakout in
azkaban.
dumbledore inhaled sharply, then folded his long fingers together and set them down on
his desk. he started at harry with his twinkling, yet fierce, blue eyes. "harry, i know that
tonight has been quite an adventure for you. i know that there are endless questions in
your mind. however, we need you to answer our questions before we can answer any of
yours. you must tell us what you saw."
harry gulped. he had gotten quite used to recording any of his dreams in the diary
dupuliquer. it was a lot different trying to recall broken images to write on a page than
telling them to ears that were anxious to hear. but it felt different to him this time. this
time he didn't see broken images. he could recall everything about the vision in detail. it
had been clearer than the first vision he'd had of the attack on mr. weasley last year.
"i remember," he began, "i remember the whole thing. i was there. i was at azkaban. i've
never seen the fortress before, but i know that's where i was. i was the serpent. i was that
damned snake - voldemort's pet."
harry glanced up. snape winced at the sound of his name. he continued with a renewed
sense of distress. "there was death everywhere. i could sense it. i could smell it. and then i
could hear her laughing."
"who?" dumbledore questioned, as though he already knew the answer.
"bellatrix lestrange," harry spat. her name caused fury to grow inside of him. some of the
anger and pain that had vanished after talking to eva came back to him. "she came over
and picked me up and i coiled all around her neck so that i could feel her heartbeat."
mcgonagall and tonks exchanged worried glances. harry pretended not to notice. "i could
communicate with her. she would talk to me and we could understand each other. i said
for her to kill them all. no, i said for the others to kill them all. i told her to safe her
strength."
"others?" snape interrupted. dumbledore held up a hand to silence him.
"she said she was going to save her strength for her." harry tried not to look at tonks. he
wasn't sure if he was supposed to know that she was the one who had put bellatrix back
in azkaban over the summer. he only knew she was the one because he'd been spying on
her and remus earlier that night. "and then someone else came forward to do the killing. it
was malfoy. lucius malfoy."
if it was possible, snape's face somehow grew even paler. he turned to look at
dumbledore, but the headmaster was still patiently studying harry. "and how did it end,
harry? did he sense you?"
harry thought back to when he had awakened from the vision. it had all happened so fast,
it was a little fuzzy. first malfoy killed, and then he could feel tonks's hands wrapped
around his wrists as he reached for his scar. "no... no, he didn't know i was there. the only
reason i woke up from the vision was because tonks was shaking me."
all eyes were on tonks as she looked sheepishly to the floor. "i guess my cover's been
blown," she said quietly. "i found harry on the floor. he was thrashing around. i didn't
know what to do."
"it's fine," dumbledore said. "you did the right thing, tonks." he took a deep breath and sat
up in his chair. "please escort harry to the hospital wing, where he is to spend the rest of
the day sleeping. he has had a very long day and an even longer night." dumbledore
peered over the desk at him with suspicious eyes. "i'm afraid your questions will have to
wait for another day, harry."
harry nodded. that meant his punishment would have to wait for another day. "yes, sir."
he stood gingerly on his feet and slowly made his way to the door with tonks's help. sleep
had never sounded so good to him.
"minerva, kindly wake mr. fudge and alert the ministry that azkaban fortress has been
under attack and the captured death eaters have broken free." mcgonagall nodded and
quickly left dumbledore's office.
harry expected to overhear dumbledore give some instructions to snape, but just as tonks
shut the door, he heard dumbledore's powerful voice. "you and i have much to discuss,
severus."
***
harry slept until well past noon that day. when he finally woke up madam pomfrey was at
lunch. it seemed that the potion she'd given him for his ankle had worked wonders, and
he was back to normal. he quickly got up from the bed and made his way from the
deserted hospital wing back to gryffindor tower.
as he climbed the stairs, he couldn't help but notice how eerie hogwarts felt. was it
because he had finally let go of all the emotions he'd been holding inside? was it because
it was hard to feel at home there anymore? was it just him?
but even the fat lady was humble. "billywig bile," harry mumbled. the portrait opened
and harry stepped inside.
the common room was quite full and all eyes were on harry as he quickly walked toward
the boy's dormitory. however, ron, hermione, ginny, and seamus were sharing a table and
hermione was on her feet to greet him in a flash.
"harry! where have you been? we've been so worried!"
"worried?" harry questioned.
"when we couldn't find you this morning, we just assumed the worst. especially after
what happened."
"what happened?"
ginny held up a copy of the daily prophet. there was a picture of azkaban fortress on the
front page. "the azkaban breakout."
"oh, right." harry cleared his throat.
"you mean you didn't hear about it?" seamus questioned.
"i did more than that," harry muttered. he sighed, feeling his exhaustion returning.
seamus raised an eyebrow at him, confused. "i... i was just... i had an early morning
remedial potions lesson."
"snape never gives you a break, does he?" seamus laughed.
"no," harry said. "he certainly doesn't. i'm going to go up and take a nap before supper."
he turned away from his friends' worried faces and dashed up the stairs. if he didn't sleep,
at least maybe he could have a moment to himself so he could get some actual studying
done - or better yet, his muggle studies essay.
he had just gotten into his four-poster when the door into the boys' dormitory opened and
shut. harry glanced up and saw ron come inside, the daily prophet in hand. he threw it
down on the foot of harry's bed.
"look, ron, i've had a long day. i don't want to get into anything with you..." harry began.
"you saw it, didn't you?" ron interrupted. "you saw the whole thing."
harry sighed. "pretty much."
"the ministry said no survivors," ron said. "all the death eaters. gone. the other prisoners.
the workers. all killed."
harry could still smell the stench of death. he shivered. "murdered."
ron plopped down on the bed across from him and held his head in his hands. "i'm so
sorry, harry."
"ron..."
"i acted like such an idiot yesterday. i just forget how much you have on your plate
sometimes. i'm so narcoleptic."
harry grinned. "narcissistic?"
"right." harry could see that ron felt terrible. his eyes were bloodshot. he looked as though
he hadn't gotten much sleep either. his face was paler than usual. "i'm really sorry. i was
so upset over these stupid, petty things like quidditch that i forgot what was important. i
forgot about the war. about v-voldemort."
"it's okay. things were calm for a while. it was misleading."
"it brought out the worst in me," ron said. "i'm sorry."
"quit apologizing," harry snapped. "do you want to hear about last night or not?"
ron stayed silent as harry told about the adventure from the night before. he left out a few
parts, particularly about his tears and eva's past.
"you mean you've been seeing that wench from the medieval dinner all along?"
"she's not a wench," harry said. "especially not after i got her fired last week."
"wait, so in class, when you were talking about impressing a girl, it really wasn't ginny
after all?"
"no, it wasn't. how many times do i have to tell you - there's nothing more than friendship
between us!"
"i know." ron sighed. "mum's going to be so disappointed when i tell her."
"you can't tell anybody!" harry cried. "not even hermione."
"why not?"
"because i don't want anybody to make a big fuss over it like they did when they thought
ginny and i were together. if word gets out about eva... well, word will get out about you
and hermione."
"you wouldn't... that's blackmail!"
"i would," harry grinned. "besides, i'm only a friend to eva right now." and hopefully, one
day soon, he would be more.
chapter 28: the next step
as harry sat in defense against the dark arts the next afternoon, he watched tonks teach the
class with an ease that she had only developed in the past few months. she was past her
clumsiness - though she still had a few mishaps - and seemed to be enjoying herself.
there were a few things bothering him. how did she know where to find him after he'd
had his vision? how did she know that he was in trouble? there was only one thing he
knew for sure: he was under closer surveillance than he realized.
but the thing that made his skin crawl the most was the smugness he saw in malfoy. he
did not hide his cheerfulness at the escape of his father. he even had the nerve to come up
to harry before class and say, "at least it only took my father a few months to escape."
harry's blood had been boiling ever since. not to mention that he was extra arrogant
because of his capture of the snitch.
the bell rang and most of the students quickly bolted out of the classroom. harry,
however, took his time in gathering his things. perhaps he'd ask tonks a few questions
before he left.
"harry, may i see you in my office, please?"
"yes, professor." ron glanced at harry, but he pretended not to notice. he quickly picked
up his books and followed tonks into her office.
as soon as he stepped inside the door, he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders into a
fierce hug. "harry, what the hell are you trying to do? give me a heart attack?" remus let
go of him. he smiled at harry, but his eyes were stern and filled with worry. he looked
very pale, and harry couldn't help but realize how boney he felt when he'd hugged him.
"remus? what are you doing here?"
"remus is going to take you to a special, er, meeting," tonks said. "in light of recent
events, some things are going to change."
"and you have a lot of explaining to do," remus interrupted. "not just about the vision, but
about what the hell you were doing in hogsmeade in the dead of night. don't you realize
how dangerous it is?"
harry's anger from the night before came back to him in full-strength. didn't remus
understand his need for refuge? if he hadn't gotten away last night, there was no telling
what would have happened. he couldn't keep everything bottled up anymore.
"well?" remus asked. "haven't you got anything to say for yourself?"
harry glanced sideways at tonks. she looked uncomfortable. "maybe i'll just leave you
two alone to discuss this. er... good luck, harry." she gave him a pat on the shoulder and
quietly left the room.
harry knew that he should have been angry with remus. he clearly didn't understand
harry's predicament last night. but he was so concerned. he sounded just like a father. and,
for once, harry didn't mind. it was a typical family scene - the father lecturing his son for
sneaking out and coming home late. he knew that on some level, he shouldn't like the
idea. remus was not his father. but right now, he was the closest thing harry had to family.
"i... i'm sorry."
remus shook his head. "sorry doesn't cut it. i don't understand. why the hell would you
want to go to hogsmeade? to the hog's head, no less! that place is crawling with people
who would love to do you in."
"i had my cloak," harry replied, wondering how remus knew that he'd gone to the pub.
"yes, and i've half a mind to take it away from you!" remus paced the room. harry was
glad to see that his anger had brought some color back into his cheeks. "harry, there are
so many people trying to protect you. they can't protect you when you go and do
something radical like this."
clearly, remus didn't understand his position. harry wanted to make him understand. "i
saw you. last night. with her." he jerked his thumb toward the door leading into the
classroom.
"what?" remus stopped dead in his tracks. "you mean - you saw us?"
harry got the impression he was talking about something that had happened after he
stopped watching, so he tried to be more specific. "i saw you and tonks talking about
sirius. about how it was his birthday. about how you could be next."
remus ran his hands over his face. "harry, i'm sorry. i never meant for you to see that. no
wonder you were upset."
"and it wasn't just that." harry looked down to the floor. "ron and i were fighting. not to
mention that malfoy caught the snitch yesterday in the quidditch match."
"what?" harry could feel remus's eyes on him, but he didn't have the heart to look up. he
didn't want to see his pity.
"i don't know how he did it, but he beat me to it. fair and square. and then at d.a., cho
talked to me about... about things. plus, i've got all of this homework and two weeks'
worth of detentions for messing up the field trip. and i had occlumency with snape, which
was a complete disaster."
"it was?"
harry shrugged. "sort of. but i just had to get away. seeing you lecture tonks about how
you might be next... it was the last straw."
"so you went to the pub?" remus asked incredulously.
harry gave a small smile. "not exactly. i went to a room above the pub." harry looked up
at remus. he could see that he was still confused. "i needed someone to talk to."
"who?"
"well..." harry ran his fingers through his unruly hair and straightened his glasses,
stalling. "there's... there's this girl."
remus looked as though he had been expecting the worst. he raised an eyebrow, a
mischievous grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. "a girl?"
harry sighed. "she's not just any girl. she's my friend, eva finnigan."
"finnigan?" remus questioned. "you mean that muggle arthur's got working for him at the
ministry?"
he nodded. "she's got a room above the hog's head. i'm sorry, remus. i didn't want to make
everyone worry. i didn't know that i was going to have another vision. i just had to get
away. i had to find someone to talk to before i exploded. someone who was removed
from it all."
"i understand, harry. but you've got to be more careful. if tonks hadn't found you when
she did..."
"how did she find me?" harry interrupted. "how does she know about the passage into
hogsmeade?"
remus shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "well, harry, as long as we're being
honest with each other..." he cleared his throat. "there's something i didn't tell you about
the moon guide."
"which is?"
"it works both ways. you can see me when you look into your half. when i look into
mine, i can see you." looking older than usual, he sat down on the edge of tonks's desk.
he winced, as though his back hurt. "my main assignment from the order has been to keep
an eye on you. i'm afraid i haven't been doing a very good job."
harry took a step towards him. "what you're really saying is that it was your job to spy on
me."
remus nodded. "it was for your own good, harry." harry was fuming, but before he could
say anything, remus held up his hands to silence him. "look, it really did feel like spying.
that's why i didn't do it as often as i should have. it's one thing for me to give you
permission to check up on me, however when the tables are turned it's a different story."
"did dumbledore put you up to this?" harry questioned.
"quite the contrary. it was molly."
"mrs. weasley?" now harry was really confused. "but why would she care?" and as soon
as he had asked the question, harry realized how silly it was. his name was on the clock,
wasn't it? he was an honorary member of the weasley family. mrs. weasley would do
anything to protect her family.
"well, i happened to be with tonks when i checked up on you yesterday morning. i saw
you in the passageway. i recognized it. i would have gone to you myself if the full moon
weren't last night..."
"where were you?" harry asked. how could remus have gone to him if he was hundreds of
miles away in his cabin? or perhaps the familiar room he'd seen the two of them in was
not so far away.
"that's not important," remus said quickly. "i sent tonks after you, and she managed to get
you out of there unnoticed while i alerted dumbledore." he glanced at the clock on the
mantle of the fireplace in the office. "we'd better get going, harry. they are expecting us."
"where are we going? the burrow?" by they, harry thought he was referring to the order.
remus shook his head. "the ministry, by floo powder. oh, and harry, i think it would best if
we kept your location a secret."
"what do you mean?"
"i mean that when you are questioned tonight, it would be best to say that you were in the
hallway, not in the passageway." remus had a glimmer in his eye. "some things are best
kept secret."
"does dumbledore know?"
he shrugged. "sometimes i think he knows everything. his eyes and ears are everywhere -
just as voldemort's are. there's no keeping a secret from dumbledore. but not everyone
present at the meeting this afternoon can be trusted." he stood up from the desk and gave
harry another hug, much less fierce than the one he greeted him with. "i'm just glad you're
safe."
***
harry felt butterflies in his stomach as he followed remus down the corridor on the ninth
floor of the ministry of magic. he knew where they were going. he just didn't know why.
he had been in courtroom ten only once before. it was through a pensieve, a memory. it
was not a pleasant experience. but what was even more eerie was walking through the
department of mysteries, knowing that sirius had died only a few meters away.
his first conclusion was that he must have done something wrong. perhaps he broke a law
that he was unaware of. or was he being called as a witness?
when they reached the stairway that led to the tenth floor, remus gave harry an
encouraging pat on the back. "go on. they're waiting for you."
harry hesitated. "you aren't coming?"
"i'd rather not deal with fudge right now, if it's all the same to you." he frowned. "besides,
it has already been decided."
"what has?"
remus gave him a shove. "you'll see. and remember what we talked about. some secrets
are better left untold." he winked at harry, then turned around and swaggered down the
long hallway through the department of mysteries.
harry turned away, took a deep breath, and began his ascent to the tenth floor. when he
reached the doorway to courtroom ten, there was a guard. he was relived to see that it was
not a dementor as it had been in the pensieve. it was merely a tough-looking wizard. he
took one look at harry and unlatched the door. it was covered with iron bolts that the
guard threw open with some force.
harry sucked in his breath as he entered the dimly lit dungeon. the walls were made of
dark stone, and he felt as though he was stumbling to his very first potions lesson that
he'd had as a first year in the depths of hogwarts. torches were mounted on the walls, the
flames dancing across the uneven floor.
harry realized that he had stopped moving and he was slightly trembling in the wake of
the courtroom. the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
"mr. harry james potter," a voice roared from the darkness. "sit down."
suddenly, the chair in the center of the dungeon was illuminated in bright light. it was
covered with chains. the very same chains that had once held many death eaters captive.
harry gulped and slowly made his way to the chair, sitting down on the cold seat.
were they going to chain him to the chair as they did with every criminal?
"for merlin's sake, fudge, you're scaring the poor boy!"
harry somehow found the courage to look up at the wizengamot. they were all dressed in
plum-colored robes with elaborate silver w's stitched on one side. harry recognized the
woman who spoke. it was amelia bones, susan bones's aunt. she sat in the benches above
him, peering down at him through her monocle. dumbledore, the chief warlock of the
wizengamot, was sitting on her left side, looking indifferent. when harry met his eyes,
however, he could feel a spark of excitement.
cornelius fudge stepped out from the darkness in front of harry. he cleared his throat. "my
apologies, harry." but he could tell that fudge wasn't really sorry. "you have been called
here, in front of the wizengamot, to recount the events of the past few days. severus snape
has already testified on your behalf, as well as albus dumbledore."
testify? was he on trial? and the more pressing question on his mind - why would snape
ever testify on his behalf? he didn't dare ask these questions out loud. perhaps fudge
would only hold it against him.
"before we come to a verdict, the wizengamot wishes to question you about the recent
events surrounding your visions." he glanced up at the wizengamot. "it's your floor,
amelia."
the square-jawed, gray-haired witch stared at him with such intense eyes that harry found
it hard to look away from them. "harry, would you please recall the vision you had on the
night of the azkaban fortress breakout?"
harry nodded. he was so utterly confused that the vision seemed to be the only thing that
made sense to him. it was still vivid. he glanced at dumbledore, who nodded
encouragingly. harry launched into explanation of what he had seen in the wizarding
prison. "then i reached for my scar because it was tingling. it was the eeriest sensation. it
didn't hurt; it was just... extremely sensitive. then next thing i knew, professor leurre was
shaking me. i was on the floor - in the hallway," he added quickly.
"and the dark lord didn't see you?" a voice from above questioned. it came from an
elderly man who harry didn't recognize. "he didn't know you were there?"
"no," harry replied confidently. "he didn't. if he would have known that i was there, my
scar would have hurt." he wondered why there was such a sudden interest in the fact that
his scar was no longer hurting. before, it had been such a big deal if he felt any pain. now,
he rarely felt any.
"and what of the occlumency lesson you spent with professor snape?"
shocked, harry did a double-take of the member of the wizengamot who asked the
question. "excuse me?" he must have not heard her right. what did his occlumency have
to do with anything?
the tall, leathery-skinned witch who had asked the question stood up. "mr. potter," she
repeated loudly, "when you performed legilimency on severus snape, what did you see?"
harry felt his cheeks grow red. he didn't see how that was at all relevant to whatever the
hell was going on inside the courtroom. why should he have to recall such an
embarrassing memory - not only for him, but for snape as well?
and then he realized what it was all about. practicing legilimency must have been against
wizarding law. he knew he should have never tried the spell on snape. now he was going
to get his wand snapped in half for trying to see a memory that he never wanted to
remember.
"please answer the question, harry," fudge urged.
once again, harry looked to dumbledore's eyes for approval. he gave a slight nod.
harry took a deep breath and looked down to the floor. he was ashamed. "when i tried to
read professor snape's mind, i saw him - i was him. i was talking to my father." he
paused. "my mother was crying, and my father said that snape was in debt to him for
saving his life. he said that if he failed, then..." harry's voice trailed off.
"then what?" fudge encouraged.
harry felt his face flush even more. "then my mother was all his," harry spat. "then they
shook hands, and my father went off to comfort my mother." he spoke quickly, wanting it
to end.
"and what was professor snape thinking?"
all heads, all but harry's, snapped in dumbledore's direction. harry felt anger well up
inside of him. why did he have to admit to everything? why was dumbledore making him
recall this extremely awkward memory?
harry sighed. "he was thinking, 'lily, i've lost you...' and then it was over."
the courtroom was silent. harry suddenly realized that he was gripping the arms of his
chair so tightly that his knuckles were white. it felt like hours before anyone spoke again.
amelia bones stood up from her seat. "clearly, he is ready for the next step." most of the
other wizards and witches on the wizengamot nodded in agreement. the next step? his
punishment?
but fudge spoke up from the floor. he shook his head. "snape used the pensieve in front of
him. the results are inconclusive. the test was faulty. harry saw him extract the memory."
utterly bewildered, harry couldn't take sitting in silence any longer. he was still
embarrassed from his recollection of the memory in the first place. "i beg your pardon,
mr. fudge, but what's going on? am i trial?" he demanded.
"see," amelia bones said. "he doesn't even know why he's here. he didn't even know he
was being tested. clearly, the license should be granted. he has insight into the dark lord's
plan. he will aide the war. he will be a great asset to our fight."
"he is more than an asset," dumbledore stated. "he is a sixteen-year-old young man. he
has the heart of a child, pure and of good intentions. he has a curious mind and a
knowledge of magic that puts him at the head of his class." harry felt himself blushing at
the compliments. "he will use his gift wisely."
"good intentions or not," fudge interrupted. "the wizengamot must be unanimous in order
for a license to be granted."
"and who, on the wizengamot, objects?" amelia bones said, glaring at fudge. "you seem
to be the only untrusting one of us, minister. you are in no position to withhold a license."
"license for what?" harry asked. but no one seemed to hear him.
"then without further ado, as i'm sure we all have other places to be," dumbledore said,
standing up. "i am calling this matter to a vote. all those in favor of granting harry james
potter a license to practice legilimency, please raise your wands."
harry watched, open-mouthed, as every member of the wizengamot raise their wands in
unison, including dumbledore.
"as there are none opposed, please bring forward the contract for harry to sign."
grumbling, fudge produced a piece of golden parchment with the ministry's seal on it. he
brought it over to harry and gave him a large, peacock feather pen for him to sign with.
"please sign on the line below."
harry hastily read the parchment before putting his signature on it.
i, the undersigned, swear to practice the art of legilimency in the most moral, ethical,
secretive, and just ways. as a skilled legilimens, i will not take advantage of weaker
minds and will adhere to the policies set forth by the ministry, or will face the
consequences set up by the administration thereof.
it took harry a moment for it all to sink in. he was on trial, but not for committing a
crime. they were testing him. this was what dumbledore was talking about when he called
harry a weapon. he had already learned the best defense against voldemort through
occlumency. now he would go on the offense, using legilimency.
harry signed the slip of parchment. fudge took the pen back from him and rolled the
contract back up. "congratulations, harry. you are now the youngest legilimens since the
dark lord himself."
harry felt a shiver down his spine. he didn't know whether to thank him or not.
dumbledore cleared his throat. "harry, you can leave now. mr. lupin will be waiting
outside the corridor. he will escort you back to hogwarts. in the meantime, prepare
yourself. legilimency instruction will begin in the days ahead. and harry, please do not
tell anyone at hogwarts of tonight's events."
harry nodded. he quickly got up from the chair and walked back to the door he had come
through. he was very thankful to be one of the few who stood on trial in courtroom ten
and walked out a free man.
chapter 29: professor and student
as harry sat at breakfast the next morning, he couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten
himself into. sure, legilimency was new to him, and it would be somewhat exciting to be
able to read people's emotions memories. perhaps he would find some satisfaction from
breaking into snape's mind, just as snape had done to him for the past year. but he was
more afraid of what he would find. the last thing he wanted to know about was some
twisted triangle that had existed between snape and his parents. harry shuttered at the
thought.
"where were you yesterday afternoon?" ron asked, taking a seat next to harry in the
dining hall. "you disappeared after defense against the dark arts."
"oh... i was in detention," harry said quickly. he briefly wondered if studying legilimency
would make him a better liar.
"in the afternoon?" ron questioned. "wow, i never thought professor avis would be that
strict."
harry shrugged and spooned some oatmeal into his empty bowl. "wasn't too bad." when
he finally did arrive back at school, he could have gone to the rest of his afternoon class,
but instead he took the opportunity to retrieve the invisibility cloak and map when the
halls were deserted.
a few moments later, hermione joined them at the table. she took a seat next to ron, who
poured her a glass of juice and helped her to some oatmeal. "honestly, would you two get
a room?" harry muttered.
"shut up, you git," ron muttered. "remember our little agreement?"
"what agreement?" hermione questioned.
"nothing," harry and ron both said at the same time. she wasn't going to buy it, but just as
she opened her mouth to question them, the owls swooped inside the great hall, carrying
the mail.
harry didn't bother to hide his joy in seeing hedwig, who dropped two letters in his lap. he
pet her affectionately. "glad you're all right. i was beginning to worry." she gave him a
peck on his arm and helped herself to some of the juice in his goblet.
"it's so odd that there are scarcely any owls," hermione said. "i haven't seen a hogwarts
owl in over a month. i wonder what's going on."
"you know," harry said, lowering his voice, "i saw malfoy up in the owlery. i bet he has
something to do with it."
"i wouldn't put it past him," ron agreed.
"better be careful," harry whispered to hedwig before she took off from the table. the owl
from the daily prophet flew over to hermione, and she put a few coins in the purse
attached to its claw. she helped herself to a copy.
harry continued to eat as he inspected the letters in his lap. one was from remus, he
recognized the handwriting. but the second one he didn't recognize. his name was written
elegantly on the front. it was feminine.
there was only one girl who would be writing to him.
harry quickly shoved the last of his breakfast into his mouth. "harry, what's the rush?"
hermione questioned.
"oh, er, i forgot to proofread my essay for mcgonagall. i've got to go put the finishing
touches on it before class." he grabbed a piece of toast from the plate on the center of the
table. "i'll see you in transfiguration!"
harry grinned and winked at ron as he hurried out of the great hall. he didn't want the risk
of someone else seeing his letter from eva. plus, there was something appealing - exciting
about their secret relationship, even if it was only friendship. he now fully understood the
thrill that ron and hermione had talked about in keeping their relationship a secret. even
though it wasn't exactly an intimate relationship, eva hadn't kissed him without a reason.
sometimes, when he closed his eyes right before he went to sleep, harry could still feel
where her lips had touched his cheek.
once he was safely back in the boys' deserted dormitory, he gently opened the letter,
careful not to tear the envelope in the wrong places. he quickly unfolded the parchment
and read eagerly.
dear harry,
i hope that you're feeling much better than the last time we met. i know that you were
having a rough night and i'm honored that you came to me. it feels wonderful to know
that you trust me enough to come to me when you need someone to confide in. i really
appreciate it, and i hope that one day you will do the same for me.
speaking of friends, my fellow muggle, david - the black knight from the royal realm - has
been trying to get me a job with another theatre company. he's had no luck, as my
reputation has been tarnished by my "alcoholism." he's been very sweet and
understanding about this whole situation. however, there is good news.
the ministry has taken mr. weasley's suggestion and hired me as a full-time employee! my
research has really taken an exciting turn. i wish that i could talk about it, but as arthur
says, "it's classified." i started monday and everything worked out fine. i finally met mrs.
weasley when she stopped by to meet arthur for lunch. she was very generous and invited
me over for dinner next week. i'm quite nervous about it. i hope that you and her son
have made up. friends are a terrible thing to lose.
but when i'm not working, i daresay that i'm a little bored and a little lonelier. i hope
you'll stop by again soon. please keep an eye on nora and make sure she stays out of
trouble.
write back soon,
eva finnigan
harry felt a warmth inside that he hadn't felt... well, since eva had given him that kiss on
the cheek. he quickly reread the letter. he couldn't have asked for better news. however,
he couldn't help but notice how she talked about david. sweet? understanding? harry
could be sweet - he could definitely be understanding.
he didn't realize that she had other friends. in retrospect, it was a ridiculous assumption.
but nora said that she didn't really know anybody else. apparently, nora didn't really know
about david.
harry tried to squash the jealousy he felt in the pit of his stomach. he was reading too
much into her letter. after all, hadn't she invited him back to the hog's head? didn't she
urge him to write back soon? he was being stupid. he would just have to make sure that
eva knew he thought of her as more than a friend.
he would not let his jealousy get the better of him again. he was still paying for the
mistake he'd made the last time.
***
that afternoon, after potions, snape called harry up to his desk after class and told him that
their remedial potions lesson was cancelled that night. with an arrogant sneer he said that
harry would report to professor avis's office for detention instead.
harry couldn't help wondering what his detention would entail. he had already turned in
his essay about the field trip on monday. maybe she would make him write another? or
perhaps read another muggle book? the books he didn't mind so much - they reminded
him of his days back in primary school. or perhaps he'd be stuck making photocopies of
all of their class handouts with her muggle machine. or maybe she'd want to ask him
questions about his life as a muggle.
no matter what it was, he hoped it wasn't too complicated. he knew that he deserved
whatever kind of punishment she was going to administer to him, but he'd been so
stressed lately he'd be grateful for a break.
as he trudged down the first-floor corridor, his mind wandered to eva's letter. he'd stashed
it beneath his pillow hastily before transfiguration that morning, and he didn't have an
opportunity to sit down alone and write a letter back to her. he wondered how she was
fairing at the burrow, having dinner with the weasleys. the idea of her sharing mince pie
at the dining room table with mr. and mrs. weasley and the twins was enough to make
him laugh out loud.
harry reached the painting of the owls on the telephone wire, who were all hooting softly,
and entered the classroom. the door to professor avis's office was near the crackling
fireplace, and when he knocked on her office door, he could feel the heat on the back of
his neck.
"come in." her voice rang cheerfully from her office.
harry opened the door and stepped inside. professor avis was hunched over a stack of
open books. she peered through her glasses at him and stood up from her desk. "oh, harry
dear. what are you doing here?"
confused, harry checked his watch. perhaps he'd gotten the time wrong. "i'm... i'm here
for my detention, professor."
"didn't anyone tell you?"
"tell me what?" harry asked.
she rushed forward to him, ushering him out of her office. "you were to report to
professor dumbledore's office at once!"
"but... what for? professor snape told me..."
professor avis practically pushed him out the door. "he was supposed to send you to the
headmaster's office," she interrupted. "you'd better hurry or you'll be late."
"late?" harry questioned. "late for what?" professor avis didn't give him any reply. he
mumbled an apology and quickly left the classroom. what did dumbledore need to see
him for? was there something wrong? was it remus?
had his own prediction of his fate come true?
harry broke into a jog and hurried up to the second floor to the empty corridor with the
statue of the gargoyle. "ton-tongue toffee." he nearly shouted the password. the stairs
couldn't appear fast enough. he ran up the stone steps and burst into dumbledore's office,
forgetting to knock and quite out of breath.
"ah, harry, i was wondering when you'd arrive."
"what happened?" harry demanded. "is it remus? did something happen to him?"
dumbledore's confusion mirrored his own. "i'm afraid i don't know what you're talking
about."
"snape sent me to professor avis for detention and she told me to come here at once. she
didn't tell me why. did something happen to remus? to the weasleys?"
"sit down, harry. everyone is fine. i'm afraid that you may have misunderstood the
situation." after harry plopped into one of the chairs in front of his desk, dumbledore sat
down as well. "i take it you don't know why you're here?"
harry gulped. "am i in trouble again?"
the old wizard smiled, his eyes twinkling. "not yet. harry, i'm not sure you realize the
enormity of what happened yesterday afternoon at the ministry. a license to practice
legilimency is not something that the ministry hands out like those clever pins in the
telephone booth." dumbledore sat back in his chair and intertwined his long, boney
fingers. "in fact, you are the youngest licensed legilimens since voldemort himself."
harry felt his insides churn at the sound of the dark lord's name. so another power had
been passed to him from voldemort's attempt on his life. "why?" harry questioned. "i
don't understand why i was hauled out to the ministry in such secrecy. i don't understand
why i'd even be considered for a license in legilimency. i've only used the spell once - and
that wasn't even really on purpose. i've been practicing occlumency for a year, not
legilimency."
"the two kinds of magic are intertwined," dumbledore replied. "sometimes it is
impossible to study one without studying the other. you have demonstrated that your level
of legilimency is worthy enough of an investigation that the ministry has authorized you
to practice it."
"but how did i do it?"
"you really don't know?" dumbledore questioned. "think hard, harry. have you been
interpreting people's feelings lately? have you had a strong sense of intuition when you
interact with people, particularly when you look them in the eye?"
harry raised his eyes to dumbledore's level. nothing. he didn't sense anything. however, it
had been different with others. especially with snape, after he had used legilimency. "i... i
did see a memory of snape's. the one they made me recall at the hearing."
the headmaster nodded. "your last occlumency lesson worked out quite well. on a hunch,
professor snape pulled the memory from the pensieve, and was anxious to see if you
would use the spell on him. though you say that you used legilimency on accident, i'm
afraid he would disagree." he grinned. "professor snape seems to think that consciously -
or subconsciously - you wanted to see what memory he had dangled before you. and you
said the incantation and got exactly what you wanted."
"i didn't want to see that," harry said quickly.
"indeed. sometimes, a legilimens is forced to see things they do not wish to. things they
didn't even know existed in the mind of man." he said it more as a warning than an
observation. "legilimency is both a gift and a burden, as most skills are."
"did you say that was my last occlumency lesson?" harry asked. he tried not to sound too
overjoyed.
"yes. you have proven through your last vision of voldemort that you are no long
susceptible to feeling pain when he is particularly powerful. though your experience
leaves some questions unanswered, the wizengamot, as well as the ministry, has agreed
that you are now ready for the offensive part of your training. occlumency was your
defense; legilimency will be your attack." dumbledore leaned forward in his chair. "you
will attend to your detentions for professor avis for the next two weeks. then you will
have a much desired break until after the holidays, when your training in legilimency will
begin."
harry breathed a sigh of relief. "so i won't have to meet with professor snape until after
we come back from break?" it was a dream come true to be able to stay away from the
dungeon for a few weeks.
"i'm afraid you will not be returning to the dungeon for your lessons."
"i won't?"
"professor snape will no longer be helping you."
harry tried not to jump out of his seat and cheer. "who will be?"
dumbledore's grin grew wider. "i will be your new instructor."
"really, professor?"
"yes, professor," dumbledore replied. "after all, haven't you ever wondered why they call
me professor dumbledore instead of headmaster dumbledore?"
"er... not really," harry said honestly.
"well, now you know." dumbledore suddenly grew more somber. "i trained tom riddle
myself some fifty years ago when i was only a professor and he was the star pupil. i will
train you, as well harry, and i will do my best to ensure that you are at least his equal." he
sighed. he suddenly looked much older. "the ministry has taken many steps to ensure that
only the right people have been able to practice legilimency after the terror voldemort
caused. now that they have deemed you worthy, you will finally be able to train at his
level."
dumbledore's words earlier that term rang in harry's ears. once he learned to control his
visions, he would prove to be invaluable to the order.
'you are our weapon, harry...'
***
by the time harry got out of dumbledore's office, it was nearly ten o'clock. he wanted
nothing more than to retreat to the comfort of his four-poster and compose a letter to eva.
he had already started writing it in his head, but he just couldn't find a way to say what he
had to say without sounding jealous.
didn't she know what she did to him every time she walked into a room? their chance
meetings meant so much to him. he wanted to tell her that, but he was pretty sure she
would think he was crazy. her words about someone else had woken the green monster of
jealousy inside of him. he didn't realize there was competition.
he just didn't understand women. how had ron, someone who was inexperienced and a
little immature, managed to have such an incredible relationship with hermione? how had
he turned their friendship into something more? perhaps he should ask ron for advice...
but that would mean that ron would want to know details, and details were not something
harry was ready to give yet. he could ask hermione about it, but she was not an ordinary
girl.
when he walked into the gryffindor common room, he didn't even notice ginny sitting on
a couch in front of the fireplace until she called out to him. "you look terrible."
harry turned around and swiped his hands through his hair. "thanks." he sighed. "i'm
going to go up to bed."
"are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she questioned.
"definitely not," harry replied automatically. but then as he turned to the stairs the led to
the boys' dormitory, he realized that perhaps ginny would be the best person to ask for
advice in this situation. she seemed to have the most dating experience out of all his
friends. and he knew that if he kept all of his emotions bottled up inside, they'd only
explode again like they did the weekend before.
"actually, i think i need some advice." he walked over to the couch and sat down on the
opposite end. "girl advice."
"oh really?" ginny said with a raised eyebrow. "anyone i know?"
"nope," he replied honestly. "er, just girls in general."
"well, go ahead," she said. "ask away."
harry took a deep breath. "how do you change a friendship into a relationship? i mean,
you and michael were friends before you dated. ron and hermione were friends before
they started dating. how do you suddenly take the step to the next level?"
"it's pretty simple, really," ginny replied. "you just talk to her about it."
harry groaned in frustration. "but when i'm around her - i mean, girls - it's hard to talk
about anything related to the subject of dating. i'm always making an ass of myself. i try
to be there for her, to rescue her, and it all just blows up in my face."
"whoa, slow down." ginny held up her hands. "not every girl wants a knight in shining
armor. i certainly don't. most girls just want someone to be there for them - you know,
after they're done saving the day. someone to hold her hand and be her last goodnight."
"last goodnight?" harry questioned.
she nodded. "you know, the last person she talks to before she falls asleep. the last thing
on her mind and the first when she wakes up in the morning." ginny smiled and leaned
back on the couch, reminiscing. "and when you say that last goodnight, instead of talking
about taking it to the next level, you just do it."
harry didn't need to ask how. he could see that particular method had obviously worked
on ginny. he was really surprised at her maturity and knowledge of the subject. he didn't
feel awkward with her as he had after their kiss. there was a bond between them - a
friendship. it was a strong one.
chapter 30: letters and pigs
"you know, gin, there's something that's been bothering me." harry hoped that he wasn't
overstepping the warm welcome she'd given him, but he had to ask. he didn't know
whether his ego could take another blow, but he was willing to risk it.
"what is it?" she asked, yawning.
he took a deep breath. "why did you suddenly decided that you didn't like me anymore?
that you didn't have a crush on me?"
ginny laughed. "are you serious?" she sighed and turned her head to stare at the fire. "it
wasn't sudden. i mean, i've tangled with it for a long time. years." she picked at a thread
unraveling on her skirt. "it's just... well, you're famous harry. anyone who dates you is
going to be famous too. they're going to have to live up to the standards of the public eye
forever. me," she scoffed, "i don't want to be famous. i just want to be me. and i'm not
sure i could do that if i was dating you."
harry nodded. "i guess i understand." he didn't realize that fame was something she didn't
want. he'd never given much thought to his position in the public eye. he hated publicity,
but he knew that others could shine in the spotlight. he just wasn't one of them. "was it
just because of the fame?"
"well..." she stalled. "it wasn't just the fame thing."
"what was it?"
"it's not easy to say."
"just say it," harry urged. "i can take it."
she looked at him somberly. "kissing you, well, it almost felt like i was kissing ron or
something. it's not your fault!" ginny cried, seeing the look of horror on his face. "i'm
sorry - the kiss, i just had to get it out of my system. i had to know that there wasn't any
romance between us. besides, jack is way better at it than you... "
"what?" harry cried. "are you joking? jack sloper?"
"it's not serious," ginny replied. "yet."
"well, i mean, he's probably had more practice than i've had," harry said, making excuses.
"after all, i've only been ambushed for kisses."
ginny grunted. "and whose fault is that? if you want it, you've got to take it."
harry laughed. it felt good to be able to joke around with someone. ginny really was easy
to talk to, and he definitely had a newfound respect for her. "you know, gin, i think you
could handle the spotlight. you would have no problem living up to the standards of the
public eye."
***
winter rushed into hogwarts with a mighty storm that rattled windows and nearly frosted
the plants in the greenhouses. students bundled up to go to outdoor classes, and for once,
harry didn't feel too guilty for not taking care of magical creatures. he felt sorry for all of
the other classes who had to go outside in the cold. the second quidditch match of the
season was brutal though, and ravenclaw devastated hufflepuff and defeated them with
one of the biggest leads on record in the history of hogwarts.
he found that the snow was actually quite peaceful. detention with professor avis was
more than bearable. harry actually looked forward to it. professor avis was a very nice
woman and she held detention like she would if she were a teacher in a muggle school. it
was a quiet place for harry to do his homework every night for two hours.
it was also a great way for him to write to eva in secrecy. they had been writing back and
forth nearly every day. harry looked forward to receiving her letter every morning.
hedwig was getting quite a workout, but she seemed to enjoy it instead of spending her
time in the cold of the owlery.
it was also comforting to know that the owls had returned and seemed to be unharmed.
hagrid had been alerted of the problem a few weeks earlier and after a good cleaning
from filch and a some special recipe from hagrid, they were back in time to seek refuge
from the winter weather.
harry was happy to be sitting next to the warm hearth in the muggle studies classroom. he
felt like he knew eva a lot better now that they'd been exchanging letters. as he lay in bed
every night, thinking of her, he wanted nothing more than to sneak away to hogsmeade to
see her again. he just couldn't risk it. he was in enough trouble already. after the holidays,
however, it would be a different story.
dear eva,
it's good to hear that dinner with the weasleys went well. i know that the twins can be a
little overwhelming when you first meet them. you should have seen the trouble they got
into at hogwarts. they're legends.
all of the weasleys are amazing. i mean, ron is more than a best friend to me, he's like a
brother. we have our differences, but i know he's always got my back. his sister, ginny, is
one of the strongest and most outspoken women i know (besides you, of course). the twins
are loyal and always good for a laugh. bill and charlie are good men who are out there
making a difference in the world.
harry paused. he didn't know if he should mention percy. if eva was going to be spending
time at the burrow, she would find out soon enough. it wasn't his place to tell.
mr. and mrs. weasley are the glue that holds the family together. they have welcomed me
into their family with open arms (did you happen to see the clock?) and i owe them so
much. i only hope that i haven't done too much damage to my relationship with mr.
weasley after the fiasco on our field trip. which i am still very, very sorry about. i don't
think i can apologize enough.
i'll be spending the holidays with the weasleys instead of at hogwarts this year. it's going
to be my first real family-like christmas. i owe the weasleys so much. i know that you feel
indebted to them as well. maybe we could put our heads together and find a way to repay
them.
what are your plans for the holidays? are you and nora going anyplace special? maybe
we could get together sometime before i have to go back to school.
see you at platform 9 and 3/4,
harry
harry added the last paragraph with hasty strokes of his pen. if he didn't write it then, at
that second, he would have lost his nerve. but ginny's advice was still fresh in his mind. if
he wanted to take their relationship to the next level, he would really have to take it there.
and he knew, without a doubt, that was what he wanted.
***
acing midterms had taken its toll on hermione as she trudged into the great hall later that
week. she looked exhausted. her eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. she plopped
down across the table from harry and ron and helped herself to some potatoes.
"you look a wreck," ron said with little sympathy. he, unlike hermione, was taking the
midterms in stride. he was waiting until finals in the spring to freak out.
"thanks," she muttered. she glared at him. ron flashed her a brilliant grin, complete with a
view of the mouthful of sausage he was eating. "ew. that's disgusting. how many times
have i told you what they did to that pig before they slaughtered it? how can you eat
that?"
ron put down his fork. he'd had enough of hermione's sermons. he'd heard about a dozen
lectures on the mistreatment of animals. he was sick and tired of having to put up with
her huffing and puffing about eating meat or dairy at every meal. "what about you?"
"what about me?" she asked innocently.
"what about those potatoes you're eating?" he continued. "don't you feel guilty? spent
their childhoods in the rich soils of ireland only to be plucked out of the fertile soil in
their prime to be fed to some annoying, infuriating vegan?"
harry could have sworn he saw smoke pouring out of hermione's ears. "what did you just
call me?" she demanded.
ron glanced around the dining hall. people noticed their quarrelling and had stopped
chatting to listen. "hermione, settle down. it was only a joke," he muttered under his
breath.
"no, ron, you think i'm a joke!" she exploded. "you never take me seriously. do you think
everything that i do, everything i stand up for is just some stupid fad?" she quickly stood
up from her seat. "only snogging me for a laugh, are you? giving me lectures about
keeping our romance a secret, ay? "
"of course not. hermione, sit down," ron whispered. "you're embarrassing me."
"well, let me put an end to this embarrassment, ronald weasley." she picked up her goblet
of juice, and before ron had time to react, threw it in his face. "you are a pig, and i hope
you end up castrated like one! we are through!"
and without a second's hesitation, hermione turned on her heel and marched out of the
great hall. the entire room was silent. ron's face turned several different shades of red
before he finally stood up and rushed after her, leaving a trail of juice on the floor behind
him.
harry thought about going after them, but he knew that he had no place in their
relationship. he wanted to stay as far away from their personal matters as possible. so
instead, he turned back to his oatmeal and waited for the owl post to arrive.
***
it was odd for harry to be leaving hogwarts for winter break. as he packed his trunk, he
couldn't help but be excited for the holiday to come. ron was trying to show that he was
not the least bit upset that hermione had called him a pig and broken his heart in front of
the entire school. harry, however, could see the pain in his eyes every time he looked at
her. they were being civil to each other, but nothing more.
despite ron's troubles, harry thought his excitement also may have had something to do
with the fact that he'd be seeing eva. before leaving the boys' dormitory, he studied his
reflection in the mirror. he never thought he would be the type of guy to worry about
what a girl thought of his appearance. but for eva, he wanted to look his best.
"ready?" ron asked.
harry nodded. "do you ever wonder how the house-elves get everything out to the train so
quickly?"
ron shrugged. "must be some sort of special house-elf magic. tonks makes it sound like
they're invincible."
harry had to wonder if they were. the two of them walked silently down from the
dormitory and met up with hermione and ginny in the common room. whenever harry
was around hermione and ron, he felt like he had to walk on eggshells. ginny, on the other
hand, seem to be bursting with energy and was extremely annoyed with ron.
"you're still coming for christmas eve, aren't you?" ginny asked, making sure she was
loud enough so that ron would hear her.
hermione glanced in ron's direction, but didn't meet his eyes. "of course. i don't want to
offend mr. and mrs. weasley."
"we're going to be late," ron muttered. "c'mon, harry." ron turned and quickly left the
common room. harry gave hermione and ginny sympathetic looks and followed him.
harry hated how difficult it was to talk to him. he should have known that it would have
never worked out between them. now there was awkwardness between his two best
friends, and he didn't think there was anything that could heal it - except for time. but
how much time? how long would it take for them to be the best of friends again? would
things ever be the same?
harry was glad to have some time away from the two of them on the train. while ron
tended to his prefect duties, harry found an empty compartment to sit in. it wasn't long
before someone poked their head inside.
"hello, harry," luna lovegood greeted. she was still dressed in her hogwarts robes, her
long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. she came inside the compartment and sat
across from him, not asking if the seat was already taken.
harry didn't mind. it had been a while since he'd talked to luna. he still felt that he owed
her for all of the help she gave him last year. "hi, luna," he replied cordially. "how are
you?"
"fine. a bit bored though."
"bored?" he questioned.
she nodded. "you know, harry, some of us don't have anything to do but d.a. the serious
lack of meetings has been troubling."
"oh." harry frowned. he didn't realize that anyone was upset over it. however, it was true
that he wasn't as active as he was last year. he felt like his life was total chaos this year.
but after christmas, he could relax a little more. he wouldn't have to worry about
quidditch or occlumency. in fact, things were looking up after the new year. "i'm sorry,
luna. i've just been really busy this year. but we'll have more meetings when we get back.
i promise."
luna seemed satisfied with his response. "i heard you're spending christmas with the
weasleys."
"er, yeah, i am."
"maybe we'll run into each other over the holidays," she said, smiling at him.
harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. he forgot that the lovegoods lived near the
weasleys. "maybe we will."
the train's whistle sounded. the hogwarts express started up and lurched forward onto the
tracks. harry sat back and gazed out the window, watching as hogwarts started to
disappear from the horizon.
the compartment remained silent, except for the sound of luna filddling with her
butterbeer bottle cap necklace. harry glanced at her. she looked nervous about something.
"my father would really like to meet you," she announced. "he wouldn't mind doing a
follow-up interview, either. he wanted to do one earlier, but i told him to wait."
"a follow-up interview about what?" harry questioned. "nothing's really happened..."
"the breakout," luna interrupted. "but i think he may have his own agenda. the quibbler
has been having some problems."
"problems?"
luna hesitated. "financial ones." she turned and looked out the window, still playing with
the bottle caps around her neck. "after the article last year, well, certain parties decided to
pull their funding. my father has been trying to get by on subscriptions alone. it would
really help us out if you could do another interview."
"of course i could," harry replied.
luna's head snapped toward him, her silver eyes looking more surprised than usual. "you
will?"
harry nodded. "i don't mind. after all, you risked your life for me last year. the least i
could do is help your father out."
luna grinned broadly. "thank you, harry. it will be tasteful. i promise. you could even have
rita skeeter do it again."
"er... i'll have to talk it over with hermione first." he wasn't entirely sure that rita could do
a tasteful piece on him without the aide of hermione's blackmail.
"are you sad about her and ron?"
"sad?" harry raised an eyebrow. he didn't know if he was more surprised by the fact that
she knew about them, or that she was actually talking to him about it. however, their big
fight did happen in the great hall for everyone to see. but what was she getting at? "not
really. just... disappointed."
harry noticed a slight smile on her face as she turned to look out the window again. he
opened his mouth to question her, but their compartment door suddenly slid open and
slammed shut. hermione stomped inside. the door opened again, and this time ron came
inside, his face so angry that the redness spread from the tip of his nose, past his cheeks,
to his ears.
"quit following me!" hermione snapped.
"i've as much right to be here as you do. harry was my friend first, you know."
"so that's the way you're going to be?" hermione demanded. "off all the pig-headed,
childish..."
"prefect duties over already?" harry interrupted quietly.
"hmfph," ron grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "they kicked us out. said we were
too disruptive."
"they said you were too disruptive," hermione snapped, looking pompous. "the other
prefects said that i was merely annoying."
"a truer word's never been spoken," ron muttered.
hermione was on her feet in a flash, and harry stood up and tried to pull her back, and
when that didn't work, he shielded ron, who had also sprang up from his seat. he was in
the middle. this time both literally and figuratively. luna watched, expressionless, as the
two of them shouted and cursed at each other.
"enough!" harry exploded. hermione and ron stopped moving and screaming and harry
made sure that they had at least an arm's length of distance between them. "i don't know
what the hell is going on between the two of you, but you had better figure out a way to
fix it before christmas eve. your parents," he nodded to ron, "work hard to make a nice
celebration for everyone to enjoy. it's my first real family christmas ever, and i'll not let
your quarreling ruin it for me or for everybody else." he glared at both of them, but
neither would meet his eyes. "you'll have some time apart before then to cool off. i
suggest you both get your feelings straightened out."
once he said what needed to be said, harry plopped back down into his seat and looked
out the window for the remainder of the train ride. ron and hermione sat in silence. harry
wondered if the distance between them would help cool things off a bit. they really did
bring out the best and the worst of each other.
chapter 31: homecoming
when the train pulled up to platform nine and three quarters, harry's spirits lifted a little.
mr. and mrs. weasley were waiting for them, along with the two identical red-heads at her
side. fred and george would surely cheer him up - and ron too.
harry, ron, and hermione said goodbye to luna and quickly got off the hogwarts express.
hermione found her bags and her parents, and said that she would see everyone at the
weasley's for christmas eve dinner. as harry was gathering his trunk, he saw little nora
bolt off the train and run straight towards her sister at top speed. eva met her halfway and
they embraced. harry could see wetness in both pairs of eyes. eva looked brilliant, as
usual. he was just admiring her hair when he felt pain explode on his leg.
"ouch," harry cursed as ron pushed his trunk into his shin.
ron turned around. "sorry," he muttered. he followed harry's gaze to where eva and nora
were standing on the platform. he sighed. "women. they're all bad, harry. the whole lot."
even though he said it, harry knew ron didn't mean it. now that he saw eva, he was
suddenly more aware that his tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth and his knees were
quite weak. but all the excitement of seeing her and exchanging letters left him with little
preparation for when he actually met her face to face.
he sucked in his breath as nora led her older sister towards where harry and ron were
standing to collect their baggage. harry felt certain panic, but the weasleys came to his
rescue and met them there as well.
"oh, i've missed all of you so much," mrs. weasley said, embracing each of them in turn.
"not that the house has been too quiet or anything..." she glanced at the twins.
mr. weasley hugged them as well. "where's hermione?"
"she had to leave," ron said quickly. he cleared his throat. "she had... an appointment."
mr. and mrs. weasley seemed to buy the explanation. by this time, eva and nora had
already picked up nora's things and pulled away from the crowd.
"hullo, mr. weasley, mrs. weasley," eva greeted as she approached the circle. "do i dare
ask who is holding down the fort at the ministry?" she asked mr. weasley.
he grinned. "how many times must i tell you, eva? it's arthur. and i left nelson in charge
for today. let's hope he survives." the two of them laughed as though sharing an inside
office joke. ginny eyed her father and eva curiously. mr. weasley cleared his throat.
"where are my manners? eva, this is my youngest son, ron, and my only daughter, ginny.
this is eva finnigan, the newest researcher in my department."
they exchanged nods. "and you remember fred and george, i'm sure."
"indeed, they are unforgettable." eva grinned. "this is my sister, nora. she's a first-year."
she introduced nora to the twins and mrs. weasley. "they're the ones with the joke shop,"
she added.
throughout the entire introduction, harry felt as though he was being ignored, but when
eva now looked him in the eyes with a brilliant smile on her face, he was warmed over
and quickly forgot whatever sour feelings he'd had. "hullo, harry," she greeted.
"hello," harry replied. it was so odd to be meeting her under normal conditions that it was
beginning to feel quite awkward.
"how do you two know each other?" ginny questioned, studying harry and eva with a
narrow stare.
"oh, we're old friends." eva grinned. this time it was a private smile, just exchanged with
harry. he couldn't help but grin back idiotically. she had a way of smiling at him that
made him feel like she did it only for him. there were so many things he wanted to say to
her, but yet he couldn't exactly put them into words.
"i've got a car from the ministry," mr. weasley said. "fancy a lift to... to wherever you're
staying? there's plenty of room."
to harry's disappointment, eva shook her head. "i've rented a flat just 'round the corner.
the one over-looking the river." she smiled at nora, whose face lit up.
"you'll have to stop by for tea sometime now that you've got your holiday break," mr.
weasley said. "molly would be happy to have you."
"or better yet," mrs. weasley interrupted. "have you any plans for christmas eve?"
eva seemed to hesitate. "no, i'm afraid we don't. not really."
"you two should join us for our christmas eve celebration."
"we don't want to impose..." eva began, looking slightly uncomfortable.
nora tugged on her sleeve. "please, eva," she begged. mentally, harry was pleading with
eva as well. there were few days more magical - or romantic - than christmas eve.
"i'll not take no for an answer," mrs. weasley replied. "it's settled. supper is at five
o'clock. there'll be other guests as well, so don't you fret," she added. "no one, not even
two sisters, ought to be alone on christmas eve."
"all right, you've convinced me," eva replied, grinning. she glanced at harry, but looked
away before he could express his happiness. "well, we'd better get going. it was nice to
meet everyone. we'll see you on christmas eve."
nora grabbed her kennel with the gray kitten, alley, in it. eva put the trunk onto a cart and
pushed it towards the platform exit. as she walked past, harry could swear he felt a jolt of
electricity and warmth around his midsection. he tried not to appear alarmed and quickly
stuck his hands in his coat pockets.
inside, he felt a slip of parchment that had not been there earlier. harry knew instantly
what that jolt of excitement had been. eva had just delivered him another letter. harry
fingered the parchment inside his pocket as they left the platform and walked between the
walls that led to the muggle world.
it was snowing lightly as harry followed the weasleys to the ministry car. the sleek, black
sedan looked normal from the outside, but as mr. weasley loaded everyone's baggage into
the trunk, harry could see that it was bewitched. there was no way any normal car could
hold so many things, nor so many people. harry slid between george and ron into the
backseat, which fit all of the children quite cozily. mr. and mrs. weasley sat in the front.
harry was anxious to read eva's letter. the ride to the burrow seemed to take unnaturally
long, even though it was a ministry car that moved at top speed through britain - much
faster than any normal car. mrs. weasley kept asking them questions about their lessons
and quidditch and about ginny's o.w.l. preparation. finally, george said, "for crying out
loud, mum! would you give them a break? they just got home from school; they don't
want to relive the whole bloody term!"
"mind your manners, george," mr. weasley scolded.
mrs. weasley sighed. "he's right, dear. i'm afraid that i'm a little overexcited to see
everyone this holiday. it's been so long since most of us have been together for
christmas."
"most of us?" ginny questioned.
"bill's spending the holidays with fleur and her family," fred said. "i imagine after this
he'll change his mind and come back home without her."
mrs. weasley's jaw dropped. "fred!"
"rotten thing to say, really," george said. "surely it'll be the other way around. bill never
behaves the best during the holidays. the delacours will send him packing before
midnight. he always said the holidays were more for causing mischief than celebration."
"indeed," mr. weasley chuckled. "advice you two took to heart at a very young age."
fred and george exchanged mischievous grins. harry was glad to see that after so many
changes this term, the twins' playful demeanors were the same.
it was snowing a lot heavier in ottery st. catchpole when they arrived. mr. weasley
betwtiched the trunks to let themselves into the burrow and find their ways into the
proper rooms.
when they got inside, harry was amazed at all of the decorations. sparkling streamers and
glittering tinsel hung from all corners of the room. there was a tall fur tree in the living
room. it looked as though the ceiling had been built higher to accommodate its massive
size. instead of a stand, the tree's roots were still buried in soil, the smell of earth and pine
filling the room. there were red candles on every branch, casting long shadows on the
walls. at the very top of the tree was a star behaving in a way that harry could only
describe as dripping gold. the drops started at the top of the star and trickled downward to
the tips, and occasionally one would slide down the branches of the tree and pool like
hardening wax on the wood, then disappear into the shadows.
harry thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight. it filled him with such joy and
hope, yet he almost felt as though he could cry. mr. weasley came over and gave him a
pat on the back. "like the tree, eh?"
harry nodded. "it's... magnificent."
"thanks. bewitched it myself."
however, when ron walked in the door, he barely took notice of the decorations. he
mumbled something about unpacking and stomped upstairs to his bedroom. "he's in a
foul mood," fred said. "did you tell him about the order?"
mrs. weasley, who had been rummaging in the cupboard, looking for something for
dinner, dropped the container she held in her hands. "oh dear." she quickly bent over to
pick it up, and ginny was quickly on her hands and knees helping her mother.
"what about the order?" harry questioned.
mr. and mrs. weasley exchanged glances. "we didn't tell them yet," mrs. weasley said to
george. she wrung her hands nervously.
"tell us what?"
"now molly, you have a seat and save your cooking for christmas eve," mr. weasley said,
taking his wife by the shoulders and forcing her into one of the chairs at the table.
"you two are going to put me into an early grave!" mrs. weasley shouted, shaking a finger
at the twins.
"come on, mum," fred said. "we've been through all the dramatics before. we'll tell them."
"tell us what?" ginny demanded. she, too, took a seat at the table.
without looking at one another, george and fred seemed to communicate in that secretive
way twins do. "we're joining the order," they said together.
"what?!" ginny cried. "you can't be serious."
"we are," george continued. "dead serious."
mrs. weasley gave him a smack on the head. "don't say that."
"but how...?" harry began.
"we're of legal age," fred said. "it was brought up at a meeting, thanks to charlie, and the
order discussed it, and after a unanimous vote, we're in."
"unanimous?" ginny glanced at her parents. "how could you vote in favor of such a
ridiculous idea?" harry was wondering how they managed to convince snape to be in
favor.
"they're going to be participants in this war whether we allow them in the order or not,"
mr. weasley explained. "at least this way, we will know what they're up to and we might
be able to have some control over their actions."
mrs. weasley sighed heavily. "it's the safest way for them to help. they will not sit idly
by."
"which was exactly what our winning argument was," fred said to harry and ginny. "i
imagine if you two use the same tactic, they may let you in as well..."
"don't get any ideas," mr. weasley interrupted. mrs. weasley looked positively infuriated
at the suggestion that her youngest child and the boy who lived should join such a
dangerous clan. mr. weasley continued. "you're not of age yet, and even then... then it
could be over. for the better, of course," he added.
"this isn't proper dinnertime conversation," mrs. weasley said. "and i wouldn't count your
chickens before they hatch, boys. you've not been inducted yet." there was a glimmer of
mother's hope in her eyes. "so i was thinking that tomorrow, if the weather is not too
terrible, we'll all take a trip to diagon alley for some last minute shopping."
"and to see the joke shop," george interjected, turning to harry. "it's quite amazing, if i do
say so myself. we've had some big sellers this holiday season. we could give you a real
deal on the last of our dainty diabolical dragon eggs..."
harry grinned. it felt good to be home.
***
when supper was almost ready, harry quietly slipped away from the kitchen and stumbled
up to ron's room in the evening darkness. his door was only open a crack, and there was
no light coming from his room. harry hesitated. perhaps he was sleeping. he quietly
knocked on the door.
"i'm not hungry," ron replied grumpily. "go away."
"ron, can i come in a minute?"
ron sighed. "not now, harry. i'm busy."
"busy sulking," he muttered. "come on, ron. let me in."
"the door's open, isn't it?" ron grumbled.
with a quiet creak, harry opened ron's bedroom door. ron was sitting on his bed, a single
candle lit on his nightstand. harry had rarely seen him looking so miserable. he silently
sat down at the foot of the bed. "what's wrong?"
ron scoffed. "do you even need to ask?"
"i supposed not." harry chewed his lower lip nervously. he wasn't sure what to say.
nothing he'd ever learned in life had prepared him for an end to his two best friends'
romance. "can i ask you something? something that's been bothering me this whole time,
ever since you and hermione first... first got together?"
he wasn't sure if ron nodded in the darkness, but harry was prepared to ask him the
question even without his permission. "why did you want to keep it a secret?" harry
asked. "why did you want to hide the fact that you and hermione were together?"
ron didn't speak for a moment, which felt like an hour to harry. "you saw what happened
when word got 'round about you and gin, didn't you?"
"yes, i experienced it first-hand," harry replied, confused. "but what does that have to do
with you and hermione?"
"everything," ron replied. "really, i wanted to tell everyone. i wanted to shout it from the
top of the astronomy tower that i was dating hermione granger." he sighed. "but you saw
how everyone reacted. how parvati and lavender spread those rumors like wildfire. i just
didn't want to be embarrassed."
"embarrassed?" harry questioned. "you're embarrassed of hermione?"
ron shook his head. "no. quite the opposite. i didn't want people to come up to her and
say, 'he's not good enough for you, hermione.' you heard what hannah said when we were
on the muggle studies field trip."
"but why should it matter what other people say?" harry asked. he knew that ron was
more self-conscious than he was, but he never thought he would let it stand in the way of
something so important as his relationship with hermione.
"they may be right." harry was about to protest, but ron continued. "hermione is
practically a genius. and she's beautiful, too. what would she possibly want with someone
like me?"
"someone like you?" harry asked incredulously.
"nothing more than a beggar coming from a poor wizarding family. you even said so
yourself. a beggar's costume suits me."
harry remembered back to that fateful night of the field trip. "ron, i was only joking, i
didn't mean it."
"but it's true. i don't have a vault full of gold in gringotts."
"but hermione's not shallow like that," harry replied, feeling terribly guilty. "she can see
past rags and riches. being the wealthiest wizard in the world wouldn't win her over."
"it wouldn't hurt, either."
"ron, you don't need money. you're the quidditch captain. you're a prefect."
"quidditch captain and prefect by default," ron replied. "the runner up to positions that
should have been held by the great harry potter."
"come on, ron. you know that's not true..."
"look, harry, i just need to be alone for a while, okay?" he snapped angrily. he blew out
the candle on the tabletop and the room plunged into darkness. harry frowned and quietly
left the bedroom.
he understood that this had more to do with him than he realized. however, harry wasn't
going to let ron wallow in his own self-pity forever. it was partly his fault that ron and
hermione had split up, and he was going to do everything in his power to get them back
together again, even if it took its toll on their friendship.
but what surprised harry the most was that ron felt like a fraud. he didn't think he
deserved all of the awards and benefits that he had received. harry knew that he deserved
them. it was one thing to save the world at the end of the day, but to stand by the hero and
rarely play one himself was a deed that should not go without reward.
ron had earned everything, even his goodnight kisses with hermione, and harry would do
anything he could to make sure that his friends were happy.
by now, harry was desperate to read eva's letter. with everyone downstairs and ron
sulking in his room, he decided it was safe to pull it out of his pocket. quietly and
carefully, he pulled out the piece of parchment and unwrapped it.
dear harry,
how are you? i hope your midterms weren't too awful. nora was concerned about her
potions final, but i assured her she'll do fine.
no, i don't really have any plans for the holidays. i used to clean for an old couple in
london, and they've allowed me to rent out their flat over-looking the river. i brought
nora there for trick-or-treating last year for halloween, and she absolutely fell in love
with the place. the owners will be off with their family in the states, so they have allowed
me to house-sit for the holidays.
i really try to make the holidays special for nora. they're hard on her. i've almost gotten
everything on her christmas list except for these things called gobstones. i've never heard
of them, nor seen them when i went shopping in hogsmeade. i suppose i should have
asked the weasley twins about them - they would know for sure.
i really would like to do something special for mr. and mrs. weasley. they have been so
good to me as well. perhaps if we put our heads together we can think of a way to show
our gratitude. we really ought to get together during the holidays. just name the time and
place and nora and i will be there.
yours,
eva
harry was grinning like an idiot. even if, by the sounds of it, she only wanted to get
together to discuss paying back the weasleys, he would still get to spend time with her
over the holidays. though in his fantasies, her little sister was not there.
yours. harry liked the sound of that. for it was only fair that if she had his heart, he had a
little of hers as well.
"what's this?"
harry nearly jumped out of his skin as ginny popped up the stairs and snatched the letter
from his fingertips.
"hey! give it back!" harry demanded. he tried to take it from her grip, but she held it just
far enough away from him so that she could read it but he couldn't reach it.
harry watched nervously as her eyes scanned the parchment. "wait a minute, this is from
that girl at the platform, isn't it?"
he sighed. "yes." there was no use denying it, though he wasn't quite sure how ginny
would feel about him receiving an almost-love letter from another girl. but instead, she
turned to him with a bright grin on her face.
"i say, harry, is this who you were trying to talk to me about a few weeks ago?" but she
didn't wait for him to reply, because she already knew the answer. "i knew there was
something between the two of you. you both grin like idiots when you're around each
other. this is perfect."
harry snatched the letter back and folded it up neatly. "perfect?"
ginny nodded. "certainly. what better way to make your first move than under the
mistletoe on christmas eve?"
"oh no, i don't think so, ginny."
"why not?" she questioned. "it's perfectly romantic and the best way to show that you
want more than friendship."
"listen, we've only known each other for a few months," he stammered. "i've made some
big mistakes. i don't think she feels that way about me."
"she wrote yours, didn't she? it's not even the standard yours truly. just yours."
"you're reading more into it than you should be," harry said.
"don't you know what happens after yours?"
"no," harry answered, confused.
"love," ginny said simply. "i'm a girl. i know these things. it's a natural progression."
harry tried hard not to show how infinitely happy that made him. "you're nuts, gin. you've
lost it. what are you doing up here anyways?" he tired to steer her back towards the stairs.
"dad told me to get you and ron down for supper. what's he doing, anyway?"
harry sighed. "drowning in his misery. afraid part of it is my fault, really."
ginny shook her head. "nonsense. the only thing that got ron into his predicament was his
own ego. i'm sure mum will bring him up something later." she turned and rushed ahead
of him down the stairs. "and harry, think about what i suggested. a girl like eva is not
going to wait around forever."
harry was surprised she was taking it so well, but then he realized that was his own ego.
ginny began erasing him from that part of her heart long ago. he had to wonder if she was
right, though. did he have the nerve to try to pull anything on christmas eve?
chapter 32: shopping in diagon alley
the joke shop was even more extraordinary than harry had envisioned it. weasley's wizard
wheezes had evolved significantly. harry chuckled when he remembered when they were
caught printing up order forms back at the burrow. fred and george had most definitely
done well for the first year of business.
as harry walked up and down the freshly restocked isles of gags and gifts, his coins
clanged together in his pocket with each step. they had stopped at gringotts to pick up
some money for their last-minute christmas shopping. he had felt incredibly guilty when
he reached his vault, filled with all of the money from his parents. but he was happy to
see the weasleys had more money in their vault than the last time he was with them. he
imagined that expenses were a little less now that they didn't have to worry about buying
school things for the twins, nor supporting them. they had overnight riches from the
success of their store.
ginny had explained to them that it was a tradition on christmas eve for everyone to pick
one gift to open up after the meal. he had already picked up some things in hogsmeade
for ron, ginny, and hermione, as well as a few nice plugs for mr. weasley he'd saved from
the past summer with the dursleys. for the twins, he bought them a magical address book
that organized clients by name, location, or species. he still needed to buy something for
mrs. weasley and remus, and because nora and eva were going to be at the dinner too, he
wanted to make sure they had something to open up as well. the only trouble was he
didn't have any idea what to buy for them.
the twins had really outdone themselves with some of the items in the store. harry caught
ron stocking up on his skiving snackboxes. there was a display marked "holiday special"
with some new flavors on it. he picked out a handful of peppermint ice, a tiny chew with
red and white stripes. they claimed to give someone such a terrible case of the chills that
his nose would run and his eyes water until frost gathered on his eyelashes.
but on the other side of the display, something else caught harry's attention. there was a
set of gobstones underneath some books with empty insides to hide things in. that was
just what nora needed for christmas. it was perfect. with any luck, eva still didn't know
what one was.
harry went up to the counter to pay george. "aren't you a little old to be playing children's
games?"
he shrugged. "it's not for me. it's a gift."
"that's what they all say," george replied. "just last week we had an old woman in here
buying some firejack crackers - you know, the kind that explodes. she said they were for
her grandchildren, but fred swears he saw her in the leaky cauldron with bright orange
lips the next day."
harry, having no clue what firejack crackers were, paid him, and then mr. and mrs.
weasley said they had some christmas shopping to do themselves. everyone decided to
split up for a few hours.
ron, who was still in a sour mood, followed harry outside and they window shopped
silently together, until ron mentioned the bracelet he got for hermione. "it matches the
necklace, heart and all," he said sadly. "i can't give it to her now."
"why not?" harry asked.
ron shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "she's not my girlfriend anymore. we're not
even on speaking terms. imagine if i gave her such a gift..."
"her eyes would probably light up and she'd throw her arms around you and give you a
big, wet kiss," harry laughed.
ron, however, frowned. "she'd probably throw it back in my face she's so mad at me."
"i don't think so," harry replied. "even though she said you're through, i don't believe it.
there's still a few days left between now and christmas eve. she'll be missing you. and not
only that, everyone gets into that special, anything-can-happen mood around
christmastime. that's part of the magic."
"when did you become such a romantic?"
harry shrugged. "look, i'll i'm saying is that it's good for couples to fight. it's healthy. and i
think that this was just a fight, nothing more. hermione's coming to the burrow for a
reason on christmas eve, and i don't think it's because she loves your mum's cooking."
when ron looked puzzled, he continued. "she's coming to see you. to salvage what she
can."
"do you really think so?"
he nodded. "if it was really over, she would have ended it in a peaceful fashion. you know
how she hates to leave things unfinished. you infuriate her; that's probably why she likes
you so much."
for the first time in days, a smile broke out on ron's face. "yeah. i guess you're right.
thanks, harry." he stopped walking. "say, i was looking to buy mum one of those new
contraptions that are supposed to scare away the lawn gnomes from the garden. it's a bit
expensive. want to chip in?"
"sure," harry replied. he had de-gnomed the garden before, and knew what a hassle it
was. harry had to wonder if this was really a gift for mrs. weasley or for ron. but harry
split the cost and said that he should probably get his mom some flowers too, and he
agreed.
ron went off to buy the gift and harry found himself alone at last. however, he still didn't
know what to get remus or eva for christmas.
as he strolled through the streets of diagon alley, he was amazed at how many people
were wandering about. and not all of them were witches and wizards - he spotted a hag,
some dwarves, and even two hairy creatures he couldn't recognize standing outside of the
leaky cauldron sharing a pipe. everyone was out and about for their last-minute christmas
shopping.
after some deliberation, harry decided to get remus a book for christmas. he seemed to
enjoy reading in his spare time - or at least when he couldn't fall asleep at night. the best
place to start was flourish and blotts.
as harry stepped inside the shop, he could smell the old books, mixed with the scent of
nutmeg. there were red streamers and snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. it was very
welcoming. one of the wizards working behind the counter offered him some cider. it
smelled like the store did, and when he took a sip, it warmed him up inside, all the way to
his toes.
"can i help you with anything, young sir?" asked the attendant. he was wearing a green
velvet vest with a patch on it that said "biggins" and underneath it had his title, "dusting
specialist."
harry had planned on just browsing through the store, but now that he was inside, he
wasn't quite sure where to begin. "i'm looking for a gift for my... er..." harry wasn't quite
sure what relation remus was to him anymore. "my friend. a close friend. more like a...
father figure, really." self-consciously, harry pressed the bangs of his unruly hair against
his forehead. if the sales clerk recognized him as harry potter and knew he was buying a
gift for a father figure, he might have more questions than harry wanted to answer.
"and what sort of books does he fancy?"
harry thought for a moment. "i'm not entirely sure. but i know he likes to read when he
can't fall asleep."
"then perhaps you'd be interested in one of the novels in our insomnia section." the clerk
led harry to one end of the store, where there were thick books with tiny print. one,
entitled habits and habitats of the midnight moths, had a picture of a man sleeping with a
moth perched on his nose, and every time he snored, the moth's wings would flutter. just
looking at it made him feel sleepy. "they're guaranteed to put anyone asleep within the
first ten pages or we'll refund your money."
now harry wasn't sure that remus was reading to fall asleep. surely, if he was really trying
to fall asleep, he would use some kind of potion. "i don't think this is what i'm looking
for." he paused. "what about werewolves?" he questioned.
"we've got a whole row dedicated to the study of those deadly creatures," the clerk said.
harry followed him to another section. when harry glanced at the books, he saw that most
of them were about defending yourself against them, or about how inhuman they were. it
was definitely not what he was looking for. harry shifted his weight from foot-to-foot
uneasily. "perhaps it'd be better if i browsed for a bit."
the clerk nodded. "just let me know if you need any help. there are some more books on
the second landing - our new muggle section is up there as well." he gestured to a
staircase.
"thanks," harry replied. the clerk went back to his station. harry drank some more of the
cider and glanced around the first floor. he had been in flourish and blotts many times
before but never looking for anything but his schoolbooks. he decided that the best place
to start would be upstairs, and then work his way down.
the section was quite small, but harry recognized some of the books from his muggle
studies class. there was a copy of to kill a mocking bird and the great gatsby, which harry
was assigned to read over the holidays from professor avis. there were many books that
he'd never seen before, even during his childhood as a muggle. he was surprised that
many of them were american novels. how did flourish and blotts get a hold of the books,
anyway?
finally, harry settled on buying a trilogy of books about odd creatures called hobbits. it
was a great epic adventure, and they sounded like he would enjoy reading them, so he
thought that remus would find the stories interesting as well.
harry took his things and went back to the clerk, who congratulated him on his excellent
purchases. he was just about to leave when something behind the counter caught his eye.
it's perfect, harry thought. eva would love it.
***
harry and ron were shaken awake on christmas eve morning by ginny. "you two had
better get up," she said, her voice still hoarse from sleeping. "mum's gone crazy." the two
of them quickly got up and dressed and went downstairs.
mrs. weasley was in a frenzy, mixing concoctions by hand and directing wooden spoons
to do it with her wand. "'bout time you two were up. grab a quick bite to eat. we've got
lots to do before dinner tonight."
harry found that mrs. weasley was not exaggerating. everyone was forced to clean the
ground floor of the burrow from top to bottom. ginny even called her mother a slave
driver when she had her polish all of the candlestick holders by hand - and there were
nearly fifty of them in the living room alone.
"kind of makes you wish we were back de-gnoming the garden, doesn't it?" ron
whispered, glancing outside at the snow-covered ground.
harry grinned. it was the first time ron had spoken to him all day. perhaps all of the
dusting and mopping made him feel like he was getting a fresh, clean start.
when it was well past afternoon tea time, mrs. weasley announced that everyone needed
to drop what they were doing and quickly get ready, because people would be arriving in
a few short minutes. harry and ron both excitedly rushed up to ron's bedroom. harry had
to dig down into the bottom of his trunk to find a nice pair of unwrinkled trousers.
as he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he tried desperately to get his hair to
lie flat. one would think that after all his years of struggling, harry would have given up
on any attempt to fix it. however, he never lacked the hope, but after a long, well-fought
battle, he surrendered to genetics and let it stick out.
when he finally did make it downstairs, everyone was already dressed in their best and
waiting for the first guests to arrive. ginny looked amazing. she had her red hair pulled
back with a ribbon of sparkling tinsel and sterling silver earrings hung from her ear lobes.
even harry couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. the twins were also dressed
stylishly in what appeared to be muggle sport coats and boots made of dragon hides, just
as bill had. harry suspected that this was only the beginning of many extravagant
purchases fred and george would make. ron was looking quite surly as he sat at the
kitchen table, struggling with the plaid tie around his neck. finally, mrs. weasley came
over to fix it and put him out of his misery.
there was a knock on the door and mr. weasley quickly rushed over and opened it.
"remus, old chap! merry christmas! come in, come in."
harry jumped out of his seat and rushed over to meet him, but the sight of remus made his
heart clench in his throat.
he looked awful. much worse than harry ever remembered him looking during his third
year when he taught at hogwarts. his eyes were clouded, and there were dark circles
beneath them. he looked thinner, but somehow, wilder. he was more anxious than
exhausted. his hands shook - almost unnoticeably - as he unbuttoned his thick down
jacket.
"hello, harry," he said with a smile. "merry christmas!" he stepped forward with his arms
out-stretched, and harry quickly embraced him. harry could almost feel his bones, but
tried not to notice. "i apologize, molly. i'll only be able to stay for a quick dinner. full
moon's tonight."
harry had left his moon guide for safekeeping in his trunk ever since he left hogwarts, and
he'd forgotten to even consult it lately. he should have known.
"it's rotten luck," remus continued, "that it falls on christmas eve."
"it's all right," harry replied, managing a grin. "i'm just glad you're here now." and he
meant it. it wouldn't be a family christmas without remus. he was just about to ask where
tonks was when he heard a car pull up and another knock on the door.
this time, the twins answered, and for one fearful second harry was afraid that it was eva
and nora at the door and he wouldn't get to greet them, when he saw head full of red hair.
it was charlie. he had an armload of gifts and an overnight bag thrown over his shoulder.
"merry christmas!" he shouted heartily.
ginny and mrs. weasley both ran to the door and greeted him with open arms. remus
plopped down on a kitchen chair and gestured for harry to do the same. he couldn't help
but notice how much older remus looked in the dim kitchen light than the last time harry
had seen him.
"i'll finally get to meet your girl tonight, eh?" he asked.
harry felt himself blushing. "she's not my girl."
"what's this? harry's got a girlfriend?" fred cried. remus chuckled. "who?"
"no one," harry replied immediately. "i don't have a girlfriend."
"but who is this mysterious "she" you referred to?" george asked. "is it someone we
know?"
harry glared at remus, but he said nothing, and didn't look the least bit sympathetic for
what he'd just caused.
"but harry, don't you remember what we talked about last summer? about how all girls -
and women - are bad?" charlie asked sauntered over to the kitchen table and took a seat,
putting his feet up on the chair next too him, which earned a smack on the back of the
head from mrs. weasley.
"put your feet down!" she scolded.
charlie rubbed the back of his head. "you've betrayed the sacredness of the single man."
harry shook his head. "if you really want to know who betrayed us, it was remus." he shot
a nasty look at him. "ask him about his girlfriend problems. eva is certainly not my
girlfriend yet..."
instantly, harry knew he made a grave mistake in saying her name. he quickly shut up and
felt his cheeks turn as red as ron's hair.
the twins broke out into mischievous smiles as harry tried to recover. "i mean... we're just
friends, nothing more."
"what do you mean by 'yet'?" charlie questioned. "and who's eva? not one of those girls i
saw walking in this direction from the new bus stop?"
"you left them to walk?!" mrs. weasley cried. "charlie, how could you?"
"how was i supposed to know to pick them up?" he asked innocently.
"i told you they were coming two days ago!" mr. weasley said. "and you know who eva
is. you've seen her at the meetings half a dozen times..."
"meetings?" harry interrupted. "what meetings?"
mr. weasley looked uneasy, but charlie looked as though he had been trying to extract that
very information out of his father and had a successful grin on his face. "never mind." mr.
weasley sighed. "it's not that far of a walk."
harry did not find any of this information reassuring. he sunk low into his chair. what if
the twins said something tonight? one slip of the tongue and his chances with eva could
be ruined. fred slapped him on the back. "don't worry, harry, we'll behave," he said,
nodding to george. but harry wasn't certain he could trust them.
hours of silence seemed to pass by at a snail's pace before there was another knock on the
door. this time, harry didn't hesitate, and quickly ran to the door, making sure that he beat
the twins. he quickly threw the door open.
"hi harry!" hermione cried, giving him a one-armed hug. the other arm was full of gifts.
harry tried not to seem disappointed. "look who i found, just down the road."
harry looked past hermione and saw eva and nora at the doorstep, looking a little
intimidated by the burrow. nora was in awe of the outside. harry remembered the first
time he saw the burrow and how it looked as though it was held together by magic and
nothing else.
"merry christmas, harry," eva greeted and gave him a hug. her touch warmed him up
inside, but the warmth was nearly snuffed out as she hugged everyone else as well. there
was no special treatment for him.
the twins helped the girls with their coats as hermione and eva were properly introduced.
hermione's parents had dropped her off, and hermione recognized nora at once and
stopped to see where she was headed. "i didn't know it was going to be such a full house
for christmas."
"we're not spending the night," eva said, smiling at hermione. "nora and i are going to
have a... well, a muggle kind of christmas."
"you need those once in a while," hermione agreed. the two of them seemed to be getting
along well as they entered the kitchen. ginny quickly joined the girls to get reacquainted.
"i say, that's a beautiful group of girls we've got here tonight," remus whispered to harry
and ron. harry had to agree. both eva and hermione's beauty rivaled ginny's. eva was
wearing a red sweater that hung loosely around her shoulders, exposing her collarbones.
hermione had straightened her hair as she did the night of the yule ball.
but ron scowled. "disgusting. my sister's in that group, you know?"
harry and remus chuckled as mrs. weasley called them all to sit down at the table for
supper. she had already set it - using some kind of spell - and there was so much food
harry could hardly believe his eyes.
as everyone was ushered to the table, harry found some courage somewhere inside of him
and managed to snag eva by the arm. he pulled out her chair for her. she thanked him, her
eyes sparkling, and harry felt that familiar warmth inside. he quickly took the seat next to
her and avoided making any eye contact with the twins, for fear of them making some
joke about his sudden chivalry.
when he glanced around the table, he saw so many smiling faces. he felt warm again, but
it was a different kind of warmth than what eva gave him. everyone was glowing with the
holiday spirit. harry had found another home, a new home, and even though hogwarts
would always make him feel safe and welcome, he knew that the burrow always had
room for him as well. he grinned foolishly, then helped himself to some ham.
had harry not been blinded by the holiday spirit, he would have seen the anxiety on mrs.
weasley's face, or the way mr. weasley kept glancing at his watch, or even the discreet,
empty chair at the table. and had he been in the living room, he would have noticed some
suspicious activity on the weasley family clock.
chapter 33: a christmas surprise
there was a sudden "pop" from the living room. mr. and mrs. weasley both set down their
forks in anticipation. harry turned around, so that he was facing the entrance to the living
room. if he didn't know any better, it sounded as though someone had just apparated into
the other room.
ginny stopped talking in mid-sentence as the mystery guest appeared from the shadows of
the christmas tree in the living room and stepped into the kitchen.
"i'm home," said a tiny, meek voice. harry didn't recognize it at first, but when he saw the
outrage on ron, george, and fred's faces he knew who it was.
percy, looking tired and more rugged than in his hogwarts days, was standing in the
doorway. instantly, mrs. weasley was on her feet and threw her arms around percy, her
eyes already wet with tears. however, george also stood up, and approached percy with
his shoulders squared and his hands wound into tightly coiled fists at his side.
"just what the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.
harry was shocked. he'd rarely seen george so angry - except for on the quidditch field
bitterly protesting a foul. eva, confused, turned to harry, looking worried. secretively, he
reached out and patted her hand in her lap, as if to reassure her that everything was all
right. but when he tried moved his hand away she reached and intertwined his fingers
with her own. even in the chaos that followed, harry felt hazy from the warmth of eva's
fingertips.
"i was invited," percy snapped. "it's my home too."
"traitors are not welcome here," fred piped in.
"i thought you two would be done with that rubbish by now," percy said. "i can see you
haven't matured in the least."
"this isn't the time to get into that argument!" mr. weasley shouted. he spoke sternly. "this
is christmas eve. it is a time for family. it is a time for forgiveness. but most of all, it is
time to be thankful for what we all have. and whether you like it or not, you have each
other. all your mother and i want is for all of us to be together for one night and to be able
to get through it without beginning the next world war." he paused. "i want to see you
boys shake hands and call it a truce for tonight."
"no way," george replied. harry realized that he must have been hit the hardest by percy's
betrayal. he crossed his arms over his chest. "i'll be civil with him, but i'll not shake his
hand." the two brothers held each other's gaze for a moment, then george took his seat at
table.
"have a seat, percy," mrs. weasley said. she pulled out the chair between mr. weasley and
remus. everyone sat down and started eating again. the room was quiet except for the
sound of clanking forks against mrs. weasley's good china. harry regretfully let go of
eva's hand.
the atmosphere had changed substantially. no one spoke. the tension was unbearable. both
of the twins looked as though they were ready to explode in anger at any moment. mr.
and mrs. weasley kept exchanging worried glances. percy concentrated on the plate in
front of him and did not look up.
harry was trying not to think about holding eva's hand and concentrating on not blushing.
he had so many butterflies in his stomach that he could barely breathe, let alone eat. in
the silence, he thought about what ginny had said about cornering eva under the
mistletoe. did the weasleys even have it hanging anywhere in the burrow? did he have the
courage to take action?
courage? courage? of course he had courage! eva even noticed it. he'd faced voldemort on
numerous occasions. but why did kissing her seem to take so much more bravery than
facing the dark lord?
the meal was silent until everyone sat back, satisfied. mrs. weasley got to her feet.
"everyone ready for pudding?"
"that was delicious, molly." remus announced, leaning back on his chair and adjusting the
waistband of his pants. but when harry glanced at his place, he saw that he'd barely
touched it. he had never been around remus much before the full moon. he didn't realize
what kind of a toll it took on him. "i don't think i can eat another thing."
"you probably won't want to," ginny muttered. "ouch!"
one of the twins had kicked her under the table. they both stood up. "we had the honor of
making the pudding this year." they disappeared into the kitchen and came out with a
giant cookie sheet that had a cake with a replica of the christmas tree in the living room
on it. it was even dripping golden frosting. mrs. weasley cleared an empty spot on the
table so that they could set it down.
"wow," nora breathed. "it's beautiful."
"it's devil's food flavored," george said with a wink.
"if it tastes half as good as it looks, you boys did a wonderful job," mr. weasley said.
"we figured we'd better start learning to cook," fred said. "especially if we're ever going
to move out and live on our own."
mrs. weasley made a clicking noise in the back of her throat. "enough chatter. let's cut the
cake."
george picked up a knife and was about to cut into the cake, when he suddenly stopped,
and glanced at fred. "you know, i've been thinking. and mum, dad, you're right. it is the
holidays, and we really should all try to get along because we're family. so i think it's only
fair, after all he's been through, that we let the guest of honor do it." he turned the knife
and held the handle out to percy.
percy, a little bewildered, glanced at his father, who nodded encouragingly. he took the
knife. harry had a bad feeling about this, but he didn't say anything. perhaps, for once,
fred and george were serious. maybe they really were trying to make amends with percy.
"all right," percy said. "i'll do it."
he stood between the twins, who suspiciously backed away from the table. harry was just
about to tell him not to do it, when percy leaned over and slid the knife into the cake.
there was a loud bang as gold and green frosting exploded all over the room. the
chocolate inside was all over the table and the walls, and even on the candle chandelier
above their heads. percy had gotten the worst of it, but the cake had been placed between
mr. weasley and remus, and both were covered in frosting. even harry had some on his
glasses and in his hair.
shocked, everyone sat in dead silence. mrs. weasley's face was beginning to redden with
anger, and just as she was about to explode, there was a soft giggle.
nora had been trying to hold back her laughter, but she couldn't any longer, and
immediately her giggle turned into a squealing laugh, and eva joined in. both of them
were covered with frosting and chocolate as well.
the laughter spread quickly. the twins glanced sheepishly at each other. mr. weasley and
charlie laughed heartily. even percy had a broad smile on his face.
"what am i going to do with you two?" mrs. weasley laughed.
"just how did you manage to pull that off?" charlie said, wiping frosting off his chin.
remus, who was still laughing, blew his nose in his napkin to get the frosting out of it.
"er, well, it wasn't really cake," fred explained. "it was a prototype of our un-pop-able
balloons covered in pudding and frosting. too bad about the balloon really. we'll
definitely need further testing."
"why on earth...?" mr. weasley began. he shook his head. "i don't even want to know."
everyone took their seats and tried to recover. there were still some more outbursts of
laughter. hermione and ginny both had frosting all over their dresses but they didn't seem
to care. harry glanced at eva and saw that she had frosting in her hair on the side of her
head that was facing the cake. she was laughing too. it had been so long since he had
heard her laughter that he couldn't help but join in.
"that was great!" nora cried. she had frosting on the tip of her nose and was trying to lick
it off.
"i'm afraid we don't have any desert now. or leftovers," mrs. weasley muttered, glancing
at the pudding-filled table.
"oh, i almost forgot," eva said, standing up. she ran over to the doorway where the twins
had hung her coat and brought over a brown package that looked like a pizza box. "i
brought something for desert."
"dear, you didn't have to do that," mrs. weasley said as she cleared a spot on the table.
"it's about time i paid you back for something," eva replied, smiling. "besides, it came in
handy now." she set the box down and opened it up. immediately, harry was greeted with
the sweet smell of pecans and cinnamon.
"what is it?" hermione asked.
"it's chocolate pecan pie. a secret family recipe."
"our mum used to make it fresh every christmas eve," nora said quietly, looking down at
her napkin in her lap. her eyes were sad.
harry could see the uneasiness in eva's face as she watched her younger sister. "aye, but
i'm getting better at making it just like hers, don't you think?" she questioned. harry could
see that this was why eva tried to make christmas perfect for nora - the look on her face
was enough to break any sister's heart.
nora looked up and smiled meekly. "i guess so."
"you guess so?" eva grinned broadly, thought it didn't quite reach her eyes, and tousled
her sister's hair. "c'mon, you can cut it." she handed nora a knife and mrs. weasley
brought out some empty plates.
when harry got his piece, he couldn't help but take another sniff. the smell reminded him
of something. he swore he recognized the aroma from somewhere. perhaps it was a
dream.
***
fred and george's prank was actually a blessing in disguise. it had taken the edginess out
of the burrow and replaced it with laughter. harry sat back on the loveseat in the living
room and watched as the twins showed nora some of their latest gadgets. eva was sitting
next to him, and he was feeling more comfortable around her as the night went on.
harry was painstakingly searching the ceilings for mistletoe. last christmas, he had been
the one who was caught off guard beneath the mistletoe. now he wanted to be the one
making his move, instead of the other way around. he couldn't believe that there wasn't
any hanging in the burrow. he'd always thought of mr. and mrs. weasley as being at least
a little romantic. wasn't it a tradition to have it?
"what are you looking at?" eva questioned, following harry's gaze.
"oh... er, i was just looking at the treetop," harry explained. why did he blush every time
she spoke to him? "did... did you enjoy the dinner?"
she nodded. "i can't remember the last time i've eaten a better meal. the food was great.
the company was..." she met his eyes. "even better."
harry grinned sheepishly. "well, desert was excellent. you really saved the day."
she scoffed. "it was nothing."
"no, i mean it. no desert on christmas eve is like... no eggs on easter." he realized that eva
saved the day sometimes too. at least they had that in common. harry saved lives, and eva
saved christmas desert. and somehow, at that moment, he felt as if both dangers were
equal.
he also felt like an idiot for the way he was talking to her. he'd never felt so strongly
about someone in his life. but at that moment, he felt like if he didn't feel eva's touch, he
would explode. on impulse - and using some good old-fashioned gryffindor courage - he
reached out and grabbed her hand. she smiled at him and scooted closer to him on the
couch. so close that he could feel her bare thigh that wasn't hidden beneath her skirt
against his leg. she let go of his hand so he could lift his arm over her shoulders and hold
her closer.
harry was beginning to wish he'd tried that maneuver the first time he'd been in her room
in hogsmeade. he turned and looked at her, and was surprised to see that she was a little
red in the face as well. but she was smiling - truly smiling - and her eyes were sparkling
in the firelight. it took all of harry's strength not to lean over and kiss her right there in
front of everyone in the weasley's living room.
fred and george performed a short, but colorful christmas fireworks display in one corner
of the living room, and everyone was amazed at the sight. the twins took a bow and asked
for a volunteer for their latest experiment skiving snackboxes.
"they're our number one best-seller," fred said. "we decided to come out with some
christmas flavors that people can use to get out of their nasty family get-togethers." he
glanced at mrs. weasley. "not ours, of course."
"what's a skiving snackbox?" nora asked.
"you mean you don't know?" george asked, amazed. "i guess we didn't advertise enough
to our hogwarts students." he cleared his throat. "dear nora, a skiving snackbox is your
answer to get out of that nasty test or boring lecture at anytime you desire."
"you mean, they're for skiving classes?"
"exactly," fred said.
"but why would i want to do that?" nora questioned. "i love my classes. i hardly know
any magic or anything about the wizarding world at all. why would i want to skip my
lessons?"
"oy, she's turning out to be a proper brain, she is," george said. "nearly bad as granger
there."
hermione glared at the twins. "don't listen to them, nora. there's nothing wrong with being
interested in school."
"yeah," ron agreed. "hermione's hardly ever missed a class and she's one of the best
witches in the school."
hermione appeared to be flattered by ron's statement, but ginny rolled her eyes. "now
you're just sucking up," she muttered.
harry laughed. even though ron and hermione were sitting on the couch together, they
were so far apart they could have been on separate continents. but at least they were
speaking.
"nora's a lost cause," fred sighed.
"a lost customer," george added sadly.
"and she'd better be," eva said. "if i ever hear of you skiving off your classes you'll be in
big trouble."
everyone laughed. harry felt like the luckiest guy in the world, sitting with eva in his
arms. she had a sense of humor and responsibility. she was kind and caring. she was
smart and witty. and she was gorgeous. he didn't even care that when she spoke everyone
turned and gawked at them on the couch. he couldn't have been prouder to have a girl on
his arm. he was just about to ask if she would reconsider about spending the night when
remus poked his head in the room. the adults, including percy and charlie, were having
tea in the kitchen.
"harry, i've got to get going," he said.
harry glanced out the window and could see that the sun would be setting soon. the moon
rise was coming swiftly. harry reluctantly unwrapped his arm from eva's shoulders and
got up from the loveseat. "i'll be right back," he told her. "don't go anywhere." she
grinned back at him.
he didn't even try to hide his smile as he walked remus to the door. but when he got a
closer look at remus, he saw what kind of rough shape he was in. he didn't look sick, but
there was something odd about him. something wild. he was a tad fidgety and seemed
anxious.
"are you going to be all right?" harry asked.
he nodded. "i'm sorry about this, harry. i wish i could stay longer."
"it's all right," harry replied. "where are you going from here?"
"the order is taking care of me. don't worry." his thin lips curved into a smile. "i promise
i'll stop by again before you go back to school."
"good," harry replied. "i'd like that." there was an awkward moment where harry wasn't
sure if he should or not, but he was in such a fine mood that he couldn't think of a good
reason not to. he leaned over and gave remus a strong hug. after all, he was the closest
thing he had to a father, and it was christmas eve. "be careful," harry whispered.
they parted. "i will. merry christmas." he turned and opened the door. "oh, and harry..."
"yeah?" harry answered, anxious to return to the living room and to eva.
"now i see why you wanted to sneak away from hogwarts." he winked. "she's quite a
girl."
harry's smile grew ten times brighter. "she really is." remus's approval sealed the deal.
harry was going to make sure that by the end of the night, eva was going to be his girl.
remus shut the door behind him, but even the cold winter wind couldn't cool the warmth
that harry felt inside. he returned to the living room and took his seat next to eva.
everyone was done with their tea in the kitchen and mr. and mrs. weasley were standing
by the tree, holding hands. charlie was sitting next to eva, so harry sat down on the arm of
the loveseat closest to her.
"it's time to resurrect an old family tradition," mr. weasley announced. "i know that bill is
not with us tonight, and that we have some surrogate family members," he nodded at
nora, eva, and hermione, "but that's no reason not to have a proper christmas eve
celebration."
"what's the tradition?" nora questioned.
"everyone gets to open one gift on christmas eve. but only one, no more."
"it was a little more exciting when we were kids," charlie said quietly to eva and harry.
"best to play along." he winked and turned to his father. "come on, dad, why can't we
open them all?"
"because then you'll not have any left for tomorrow," mrs. weasley said. she pulled out a
bundle of gifts from underneath the tree. harry spotted the one he'd bought for eva
immediately. in retrospect, he thought he'd bought her the wrong gift completely, and had
half a mind take it from under the tree and not give it to her at all. perhaps he should have
been thinking more romantically.
one by one, mr. and mrs. weasley handed a gift to everyone in the room but nora and eva.
harry had told him that he'd already bought gifts for the two of them and they didn't need
to worry about the finnigan sisters. harry quickly got up from his seat and pulled out two
packages. he handed one to nora, who was sitting on the floor, and gave the other to eva.
"harry, you shouldn't have," she said, setting the heavy package in her lap.
"i don't know if you'll be thanking me when you see what it is," he muttered. "open it."
eva smiled at him, then quickly tore into the wrapping paper. she gasped when she saw
what it was.
"you got her hogwarts: a history?!" charlie cried. he'd been watching the two of them.
eva laughed and quickly opened up the thick book, flipping through the colorful pages.
harry nervously started making excuses. "i know it doesn't seem very glamorous or
anything, but you said you wanted to know about hogwarts, and well, even though i've
never read it, i know it has just about everything you've ever wanted to know about the
school."
"it's actually quite good," hermione said.
eva turned to him, smiling. "it's perfect, harry. thank you." she leaned over and gave him
a kiss on the cheek. harry was so overwhelmed he almost didn't realize that nora had
opened her gift as well.
"gobstones!" she cried. "excellent!"
eva's eyes beamed with delight. "you're too much," she whispered. "really, harry. you're
too good to us." there was a hint of tears in her eyes, and it melted harry's heart.
"it's the least i could do for you after all you've done for me." he reached down and took
her hand. he wanted desperately to be alone with her. "are you sure you can't spend the
night?"
eva shook her head. "we've got to visit me mum." her face seemed to harden at the
thought. harry had almost caught her with her guard down. she stiffened up.
"c'mon harry, open your gift up," ron said.
harry looked around the room and saw that everyone else had received their christmas
sweaters with their initials on them. even hermione got one. harry laughed, then quickly
tore into his gift. it was a scarlet sweater that matched everyone else's, and the letter "h"
was knitted on the front.
"put it on everyone," mr. weasley said. "eva, would you be kind enough to take a picture
of us in front of the tree?"
"certainly," eva said, standing up. mrs. weasley fished out a camera from somewhere, and
everyone grumbled as they stood and stretched, slipping their sweaters on over their
fancy holiday clothing. they lined up carefully in front of the tree.
eva peered through the lens. "say cheese!"
"cheese!"
and as cheesy as it was, harry couldn't help but grin. so this was what it felt like to have a
family. this is what it felt like to finally find someone to share a kiss with. this is what it
felt like to be loved.

Harry Potter and The Last Goodnight

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title: harry potter and the last goodnight (01)

author name: spazzoid3

chapter one: manhood and a mutt

chapter two: an owl for uncle vernon

chapter four: ginny's ambush

cue love interest.

chapter 26: overcome

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