CoSForums Archive - Harry Potter and the Goblins' Tomb Bug

Dedalus Diggle

October 17th, 2003, 6:30 pm

Chapter 2 - The Life of Leisure

On the way home, the family stopped at a seafood restaurant. Dudley was still on his boxing team diet, so he was only allowed to have a small broiled fish filet and a salad, but Harry was encouraged to have the largest platter available. Growing up he had spent entire weeks with less food than this.

"You're a growing boy," said Uncle Vernon, "you need to fill out some."

Harry felt a bit guilty eating so much food in front of Dudley, whom he knew was starving. He tried to hurry so as not to prolong Dudley's torment, but even so he was still eating twenty minutes after Dudley had finished. He tried to share some of his crabcakes and fried shrimp with Dudley, but Aunt Petunia prevented it. Harry felt that with a few more meals as this, he would wind up every bit as large as Dudley.

When they arrived at the neat and proper home at 4 Privet Drive, Harry saw that the yard was in need of tending. Apparently Uncle Vernon had put off some of the yardwork till school was over. With the change in the atmosphere among the Dursleys, that suited Harry just fine. There were still a couple of hours of sunshine left, so Harry announced that he would get to trimming the hedge as soon as he had put his trunk and his owl Hedwig up in his room.

"You'll do no such thing!" said Uncle Vernon quickly. "Dudley can take care of that, and the rest of the yardwork."

"What!?" said both boys together.

"I'm not having Harry do any yardwork around here," said Uncle Vernon.

"Really, it's alright, Uncle Vernon, I'm looking forward to it, especially now that things are better. I want to help out."

"I'm taking no chances with your friends sneaking round and seeing you up to your elbows in dirt and weeds, looking like you're some kind of servant."

"I'll write to them. I'll explain that things are better and I want to do the chores," pled Harry. He wasn't sure why this all upset him so. In previous years, he would have been thrilled to give up some or all of his chores. But now that he felt more like he was part of a family, losing the chores made him feel on the outs. It occurred to him that this must be a bit of how Winky the house elf felt when Mr. Crouch gave her clothes and set her free - she was losing her place in her family, and Harry felt like he was losing his, just as it was beginning to feel like a family.

"Yes, I'm sure that will be a convincing letter - 'This is Harry, a fifteen-year-old boy who just can't get enough of doing yard chores in the mid-summer sun, so don't think that I'm being abused when you see me sweating in the yard and pushing a wheelbarrow full of manure.' They'd be here turning me into a bullfrog faster than you can say m-m-m … the M-word!"

Harry had to admit that if he heard a boy his age writing words to that effect, he'd be suspicious. But he also didn't want to have Dudley resenting the new relationship. Dudley had sounded decent at first, but it was a huge strain on Dudley to watch Harry eat an entire seafood platter, and if Harry kicked back while Dudley did all the hot chores, it could well be too much.

"I'll do the chores in the backyard!"

"Too risky."

"I'll have one of them over so we can explain in person."

"One of them? Over here!? Harry, we'll take care of you, but we really don't want oddballs giving us a bad name."

Harry had to admit that few of his wizarding friends could pass for muggle. "How about Mr. Weasley, or Tonks, the lady who was at the platform?"

"Weasley? He's the one who tore apart our fireplace and sitting room, isn't he? I would prefer not. And the day we have a woman that looks like THAT into our house is the day I'll dress that way, myself."

Harry thought. "Well, then I'll do the indoor chores - laundry and dishes and stuff."

Petunia objected to this "I'll do the cleaning in the house. That's my territory and no man of this house can clean it the way I do. No, Harry, you just relax and watch telly, or read, or get your summer homework done. Oh, and if you would, send a letter to your friends tonight, and let them know that everything is fine here."

Uncle Vernon then asked "Are you still following the news like you had been. Yes? Well, then, you can have one of Dudley's tellies in your room, for those times when the downstairs sets are not on the news."

This was too much for Dudley. He turned red in the face and started to splutter "No. I won't have it. They're my tellies. You gave them to me. It's bad enough that he gets the food and I get the chores. Now you're giving him my things. I WON'T HAVE IT."

This outburst in the front yard only served to attract attention from the neighbors, and not of the sort the Dursleys desired. They quickly shushed him and started to offer to buy another telly, but Harry spoke up.

"Dudley, these changes are strange for all of us. I don't want a good telly - I'd rather have that old ten inch black-and-white set that you haven't used since you were 9."

"Really," said Dudley, calming down.

"Really?" said Uncle Vernon, curiously, and perhaps for the first time not looking past Harry. "Now why would you want that one?"

"Well, I'm not as interested in the pictures as the news stories. So I don't need much of a picture. But that one has built-in wireless, so I can listen to other types of news. It also can run on batteries, so I can take it with me if I have to go anywhere."

"Hm," said Uncle Vernon,"that makes sense. Well, what about it Dudders - it's not like he's asking for something you use."

"Well, I'm still not happy about the chores or the diet." Dudley grumbled, "But I guess the telly's okay."

And with that resolved Harry and the Dursleys headed into their home. Harry took his things upstairs and put them away, making sure the magic-related things were well out of sight - no need to rock the boat. After visiting Dudley's room to get the little telly, and to offer some heartfelt sympathy about the chores, Harry returned to his room to write the letter as suggested. He began to think again about the past school year, the death of Sirius, how he had been duped, the friends both in school and in the Order of the Phoenix who had stood by him, risking their lives for him. And of course the prophecy. He thought about the burden of the prophecy and realized what he had to do. He decided he would write to Dumbledore for advice about his plan.

"Dear Professor Dumbledore, I have started my summer break and have been thinking about that thing you showed me last week. I had always known that he was after me, so what you showed me was not a shock in that regard. If it just concerned me, I could handle that. It's not as if I have shrunk from danger. But above all I cannot bear to think of a threat to those I love, and I find that this is an ever-increasing number. If my death would save them, or running away, I would do either one. But of course, that would just hasten the day for the death or subjection of those I love. As of yet I do not even know what I am supposed to do, and I assume you do not either, unless knowing what it is would make it impossible for me to achieve it. In either case, I need to prepare to meet the fate mapped out for me. But I do not feel like I am his equal as a wizard yet at all. Therefore I am now in training. I need to develop my skills and power as much as possible. When back at school, I will be able to practice, and while I am here I can study my books. But I cannot actually practice my skills. Is there anything else I can do to prepare myself for the challenges ahead? Oh, and I need to let you know also, that whatever explaining you did to my aunt and uncle, you almost overdid. Everything is fine here, except they won't even let me do chores. I guess that gives me more time to work on my skills. --- Harry. P.S. I am very sorry for my reaction in your office. This was a very difficult year for me."

Harry took Hedwig out of her cage and petted her head for a few minutes, then hugged her.

"Hedwig," he said, "it's dangerous being a friend of mine. Do you still want to be my owl?"

She hooted and turned her head sideways, as if to say "Are you crazy?" Then she nipped his ear playfully and squeezed his arm with her talons.

"Thanks," said Harry "I don't want to lose anyone else." He attached the letter to her foot and told her to take it to Dumbledore. He carried her to the window. "If you stop for a rodent, make sure you take care of the letter," he warned. Hedwig hooted indignantly, as if she resented being taken for some silly young owl that might put food ahead of duty. Then she took off into the early night sky.

Dedalus Diggle

October 17th, 2003, 6:50 pm

Chapter 3 - The Yetis

Harry turned from the window to hear the front door slam and Dudley complaining loudly about being exhausted from evening chores and famished from his diet. Despite his bemusement at the fact that Dudley's chores that evening would have been the lightest day Harry had had at the Dursleys in the previous ten years, Harry thought it best to keep Dudley at least somewhat sympathetic toward him, so Harry hurriedly got out his summer homework on History of Magic so he could be seen to be suffering mentally, if not physically. He purposely left the door open so Dudley could see work being done.
Professor Binns had seen fit to assign a twenty-parchment essay on the underlying causes of the various goblin revolts over the years. He had explained in his year-end assignment memo that it seemed that his lectures had not been well understood ("Well, duh," thought Harry "Who could listen to them - except Hermione!?") and that it may be useful as there had been renewed restiveness among the goblins of late. Harry got out a roll of parchment and labeled it, then started into his assigned readings. He was surprised to find that unlike the lectures, the book was actually quite a good read, especially since the new text was not just a recitation of the names and events, but looked at the reasons that the various participants were motivated to do as they did. It seemed that the very nature of the magical world led to an inherent tension between humans and goblins.
As with so many magical things, goblins could not generally be seen by muggles (such as the Knight Bus, Harry thought). In their early years of settled living, they would go foraging amongst humans to take things - food and other goods - that they needed or wanted, to muggles' frustration. They always acted at night, or in the deep forest or caves or other such places, because goblins cannot tolerate sunlight. But the muggles had resisted the removal of their property in various ways. The goblin tribes, called hullabaloos, had resented this and had skirmishes with the muggles. But while the goblins are generally quite powerful magical beings, with the normal variation between individuals, their magic cannot work against someone, even a muggle, when the person is defending his or her own family, home and other property. Self-defense is a powerful countercharm, workable without other magical ability, and particularly effective against the race of goblins. They even lost their invisibility to muggles in such attacks. So when goblins were caught trying to take muggle things, they were often killed or badly injured. The reaction of many of the goblins' tribal leaders (called glamdrings) was to seek the extermination of the muggles. This led to many muggle reports of sightings of goblins, and even more goblin deaths.
The goblins sought the assistance of the wizards, many of whom were sympathetic to the idea of exterminating the muggles. However, many other wizards, and a fair number of goblins, realized that the things that the goblins wanted were by and large made by humans, and particularly muggles, so killing them off would be counter-productive. Wiser sorcerers also realized that the fertility of the full-blooded wizards was quite low, and they too would soon die out if their numbers were not replenished both by intermarriage with muggles and by spontaneous magical talent emerging (Harry thought of his own mother and his friend Hermione, both muggle-born witches). And a fair few wizards said it was just wrong to kill off the muggles for convenience.
After the death of the more obdurate goblins and wizards, a new arrangement emerged. The goblins would avoid muggles and earn their way in various trades and businesses with the wizards, who could also acquire the things that goblin society needed from the muggles by trading with them. So the goblins settled into a life of living in their tribes in special 'goblin-quarters' in or near wizard settlements or communities - depending on doing various businesses that the wizards were not so good at. These businesses were usually those requiring mathematics and logic, for which goblins had a special knack, apparently ingrained as tribal custom. These businesses included banking, gambling, mining magical minerals, and accounting and insurance for goblin and wizard businesses. They hired wizards when they had tasks requiring creativity, as the very strict goblin tribal system strongly disfavored creativity and spontaneity. Besides giving up raids on muggles, the goblins also gave up land-ownership, except within all-wizarding communities, and wand-use rights, both of these considered by the wizards to be necessary to avoid muggle confrontation.
Unfortunately, this division of responsibilities led to friction. The wizard political leaders often tried to impose greater and greater restrictions on the goblins, with the excuse of needing to prevent conflict, but usually just as much to give the politician an issue to rally wizard support behind him or to plunder goblin wealth. The goblins very naturally resented the restrictions, especially among those hullabaloos that failed to teach their young, called goblets, the historical reasons for the valid restrictions. It was also very easy when the goblins were objecting to new and undeserved restrictions to include objections to the restrictions needed for mutual peace and safety. So there had been a long history of more or less gradually imposed oppression of the goblins, followed by eruptions of violence from the goblins - the goblin rebellions. These had often affected the muggle population, and the wizards had to use memory charms to cover up the death and destruction by making them appear to be natural disasters.
Harry found this all immensely fascinating. He wished that Professor Binns could bring all this history to life this way. Then Harry chuckled to himself: how could Professor Binns, as a ghost, bring anything to life!? Harry continued reading and making notes until after 2 a.m., when he heard a pecking at his window. He opened it and let Hedwig in. He stroked her head and gave her a scratch, and then removed the parchment attached to her leg. She hooted and returned to her open cage and Harry gave her fresh water. He could see from the blood on her bill and talons that she had already eaten fast food (but not fast enough to escape Hedwig's talons). Harry unrolled the parchment and read Dumbledore's message.
"Harry, I could not be more pleased with your new-found resolve and apparently a better living arrangement. I can assure you that I and every person who works with me will be doing our utmost to fit you for the challenges which you quite rightly have concluded are inevitable, I cannot say what the successful resolution of these challenges will require, but there are a number of things you can be doing at present to be best prepared. Complete all your homework now and study all the charms, hexes, curses, countercharms and spells of all types that you can. Do not practice them with your wand yet - we are making arrangements for later this summer to allow you to practice with experienced wizards. You can, of course, practice the wand movements using an ordinary stick. Practice your occlumency, particularly clearing your mind of negative emotions. I am strongly of the opinion that positive emotions occludes your mind to Voldemort, so work on giving up anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, spite, depression and all other negative emotions. You'll be as chipper as the Creeveys, I'm certain. You also should make yourself as physically fit as you can: work on endurance, strength, flexibility and reflexes. Long distance running and swimming are excellent, along with weight-lifting for strength, stretching exercises such as yoga for flexibility, and some sort of sport for reflexes, such as fencing or anything that has aspects of a duel and makes you think fast, even while in pain. You know I would do anything I could to save you from pain, but alas, my best efforts heretofore have been spectacularly unavailing in that regard. For all your considerable talents, perhaps your greatest strength has been to come through so much adversity with a positive attitude. This bodes well. By the way, I am sending Tonks to collect the broken mirror that Sirius gave you. I found its mate amongst his things and could tell from the image that you had the other and it was broken. I can well imagine the circumstances. Nonetheless, it can be repaired, and it will allow us to communicate face-to-face at any time without the danger which appeared over the course of this past year. Personally I shall be very glad to not avoid you any longer - it was as hard on me as you. Signed, Albus Dumbledore."
"Well, good", thought Harry, "Now I have a plan. I have my books I can study. With the door closed I can practice the proper pronunciations and movements, using a fake wand to avoid inadvertent magic. There's plenty of streets to go running on, and enough other runners around Little Whinging that a teenager running like that would attract no negative attention. The community recreation center has a pool and a weight room. That just leaves a dueling-type sport to build reflexes. Now what can be done? Hmm. I've got it - I'll talk to Uncle Vernon and Dudley about it tomorrow morning. Dudley will be thrilled."
Harry went to bed and slept very soundly. He had accepted his lot in life, so far as he understood it, and had a plan to deal with it. Come what may, he was going to give it his best shot.
In the morning, Harry brought up his idea over breakfast.
"Uncle Vernon, Dudley, I'd like to practice boxing with Dudley."
Dudley got a very eager, and not a little wicked, grin on his face. "Great by me, Harry."
Uncle Vernon was not so sure. "Now why would you want to do that? Dudley must outweigh you at least 2 to 1, and he's been lifting weights and training all year. His body may not move fast, but his fists do, and they are half as big as your head. Even with a sparring helmet on, a good punch from him is going to hurt a lot, maybe injure you."
"I understand, and I want to take that risk, I have certain challenges coming up and I have to practice as hard as I can dodging whatever's thrown at me and recovering quickly from whatever I don't dodge. I can't practice my, uh, school activities, but boxing's the nearest approximation to what I may face that I can think of."
"Still, "continued Uncle Vernon," I don't want to take any chances on making your friends upset. Some of them seemed a little unstable." (Harry agreed to himself with that assessment) "So how about this - you and Dudley can box only when I'm with you. We can go to the rec. center 3 times per week before dinner. I'll referee - I used to do some boxing myself," Uncle Vernon said with a touch of pride, "but I never was as good as Dudley here."
So it was decided - Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, they would go to the Rec. Center and box. The rest of Harry's days would be filled with studies, practice and exercise. They decided that since it was a Wednesday, they would go ahead and start the sparring that very evening. Harry could check out spare gloves from the Rec. Center; Dudley had his own pair.
Rarely had such an apparent mismatch been set. Harry was no longer as scrawny as he had been, but he was still short, light and wiry. Dudley on the other hand, was four inches taller and built like a rhino. The Rec. Center manager tried to put a stop to it before they had even started, but Harry convinced him that it was his own idea. Uncle Vernon showed him a number of defenses: blocks, feints, dodging, etc. He also explained the rules for sparring matches. And then the sparring began.
At first, the two teens circled each other, Dudley making the occasional jab, Harry dodging. Soon he got the knack of counter-punching after a jab. This did little but embolden Dudley, who started throwing combinations. Time and again Harry got caught by the third punch of a combination after dodging or deflecting the first two. Dudley's training was really showing. After the first three minute round Harry realized that he was getting puffy above his left eye, despite his helmet, and his ribs and forearms were getting sore. In the second round Harry attempted to back away from Dudley's combinations, and this worked some of the time, but sometimes he was backed against the ropes. His lip got cut, as well as the cheek under his right eye. He noticed several bruises on his forearms from blocking punches and on his chest from not blocking them. The sparring went on like that for several more rounds. Harry was getting better at dodging and blocking, but he was still getting tagged often enough and began to get a bit woozy. In the seventh round, Dudley unleashed a furious combination ending with a roundhouse to the side of Harry's head, which spun him around off his feet and landing on the ropes, gazing starry-eyed at a woman with pink hair. All of a sudden he heard the woman's voice.
"Harry, what are they …- HIRSUTE, HIRSUTE."
Harry shook his head and recovered and realized that he was seeing Tonks with a horrified look as she cast spells on both Dudley and Uncle Vernon. Harry waved his arms to stop her, unable to speak around his mouth protector. He saw the odd gray spells erupt from her wand and strike his cousin and uncle, causing them to erupt in long whitish-blond hair all over their bodies, so thick they could neither move nor speak.
"Harry," called Tonks, "Your aunt said I could find you here, but I had no idea they took you here to beat you!"
Harry spit out his mouth protector. "Tonks, this isn't a beating. Well, I guess it sort of is, but they were doing me a favor - I'm training for reflexes, ooh - and pain. Couldn't you have asked first or something? Did anyone see that?"
Obviously the manager had, as he had stared dumbfounded for a few seconds and had just then grabbed the phone. Tonks cast as gentle a memory charm on him as would do the job and knocked him out so they could sort out the situation. Dudley and Uncle Vernon came staggering over moaning and roaring like the yetis they looked like.
"Tonks, you've got to undo the spell."
"Right, Harry, sorry about this. DEPILIATE, DEPILIATE" said Tonks and a red-and-white striped spell for each of them shot from her wand, causing the hair to fall out. All of their hair fell out, leaving them balder from head to toe than they had been the day they were born.
"Oh, oh," said Tonks, "I think I overdid it."
"Potter!" shouted Uncle Vernon, "MAKE HER STOP!"
"Yeah, Tonks, this may work in an arrest, but firing spells without thinking like this is making a mess of things." Harry said, trying to suppress the laughter that was rising as he saw his uncle and cousin, both bald as billiard balls, standing in the mounds of cast-off blond hair.
Tonks quickly eliminated the hair, and then thought a few seconds before coming up with the right spell to make an appropriate amount of hair grow on each of them where it belonged. Their beards and the hair on their heads was thick and shaggy, but not overly long. Vernon felt on top of his head, where he had previously been quite thin, and Dudley felt his face, where he had previously never had more than a bit of fuzz, and both said together "Cool - will it last?"
Tonks laughed and said "Well, yeah, sure. I can just do a quick charm to keep it growing at the right rate. I'm really sorry - it looked to me like you were tearing Harry apart."
Vernon grimaced "I suppose it might have but didn't you notice the protective gear - do you think we would have put that on him to cuff him about?"
"Good point," said Tonks. "My supervisor says I'm too impulsive, and I guess I've proved it. Blast, I'll be filling out reports on this half the night. Can I make it up to you?"
"Hrmf!" said Uncle Vernon, not too happy with the situation, but realizing there was probably no harm done. "Well, the hair up top helps. Just make sure that ALL of Potter's friends know that he's going to be boxing with his cousin and he's not being abused!"
"Well, I can tell them about this, what'ya call it - boxing? Where are the boxes!? They'll still insist on hearing from him every few days. Oh, that reminds me - Harry, I came over to get that broken mirror Dumbledore wanted to fix."
"It's back at the house. I think we're about done now. Can you wait while we shower and then we'll walk back together?" asked Harry.
"Sure, can I come and watch?" said Tonks with a giggle "You two are becoming quite the handsome young men." Then, winking at Dudley, she said "Love those muscles."
Both Harry and Dudley turned bright red, and Tonks cackled at their embarrassment. Uncle Vernon suggested there was a better place to wait out front. Before long the three had emerged from the locker room and met with Tonks and they all began the few blocks walk to Privet Drive.
"So what's this boxing all about?" said Tonks, "My granddad's a muggle and I don't remember him doing it or watching it."
"Um, well, it's kind of like a duel," explained Harry, "except that we try to hit each other with our fists and to avoid being hit. It's actually turning out to be pretty good training, since I have to watch out for two fists at the same time." Harry felt the sore spots on his face and added with a grin "At least I think you've only got two fists, Dudley"
Dudley grinned back. Despite how it had ended, he had obviously very much enjoyed being invited to throw punches at his cousin. He was clearly relishing the chance it would give him to burn off his frustration at being saddled with all the chores.

Dedalus Diggle

October 17th, 2003, 7:08 pm

Chapter 4 - Wandless

Harry was surprised at how well Uncle Vernon and Dudley had taken this exposure to magic. It certainly was better than meeting a dementor or getting a pig tail or for that matter having your sitting room or your sister blown up. Still, Harry understood how disconcerting it must be for his muggle relatives. At least Tonks looked muggle, even though she dressed like she was going to a punk bar and would not normally have been at all welcome at 4 Privet Drive. Harry didn't want things to turn back from the rather good relationship they were now developing. When they got to the house, he got the mirror for Tonks and asked when it would be brought back and by whom. Tonks said they could get it fixed and back in about a week.
"Good," said Harry. "Even though I broke it, I want to keep it. It was shared by Sirius and my father. I treasure my broomstick - it was a gift from Sirius, too - but this is even better, because he and my father personally used it. I feel connected to them by it, even if I can't talk to them as they did to each other." And then he added as an afterthought quietly and sadly "I know - I tried."
"Harry, it'll be back good as new by next Friday evening. I thought I would bring it myself, since I know what to expect of this boxing thing. Oh, and Remus may come with me - he and I have been dating," she said with a grin.
"That'd be great, if he's got some muggle clothes. Umm, what do wizards and witches do on their dates anyway?" Harry asked, knowing only what he had seen of wizard dating at Hogwarts.
"Well," Tonks said with a patronizing voice "there's the boy and there's the girl, and …"
"That's enough - I meant, is it wizard restaurants, or dancing, or going flying, or what?"
"I knew what you meant. For the old-blood families, it's a right depressing ritual, because the marriages are usually pre-arranged. The couple is introduced to each other a couple of months before the wedding and they talk and play parlor games at one or another's house with older kin supervising. And that's whether they know each other already or not. A lot of bad feelings have been raised by witches or wizards backing out of marriages arranged for them. When my mother eloped instead of going through with the arranged marriage, it created a big stink. She and the rest of us have never been accepted by the Blacks since then - it embarrassed the family. Of course, Sirius and his uncle came around, but the rest acted like we didn't exist. But if you're not stuck with that insanity, dating is whatever we think's fun, just like the muggles. Sometimes we do muggle stuff, sometimes wizard things, there's no rule. Remus just keeps things light, though. He won't allow himself to get too close emotionally. He'd love to have a family, but there's the whole werewolf thing." Tonks sighed, "If not for that, he'd be about the perfect man, so sad and sweet."
"Still, that is kind of a big issue," said Harry sadly, to which Tonks nodded. Then Harry added, "and I can definitely understand not wanting to bring danger to those around you that you care about."
"Harry," said Tonks, "don't you dare pull away from us. We're all very fond of you and your friends. If we didn't favor a little danger, we wouldn't be in the Order. And I don't know what the deal is, but Dumbledore says keeping you safe is Job One for the Order, so you may as well admit you're stuck with us. Bye now. I'll see you Friday."
Harry was glad to have no boxing on Thursday - he needed to heal. He got up early to run as far as he could before breakfast, and after that, he went to the rec. center to work out with stretches and weights. The middle of the day was spent on schoolwork and letters, and then in the heat of the afternoon he went back to the rec. center to swim laps for several hours. Dudley came with him then - it seems there weren't as many chores that really needed doing when the Dursleys were putting their own son up to do them. Harry noticed, but he didn't care - so long as things were better. In the evening Harry read the papers and followed the telly and wireless news reports. "A right decent routine," thought Harry, when it was finally time to get ready for bed.
The week that followed was much the same. Harry made quick progress with the exercise routines, realizing that he would continue to get pummeled by Dudley if he didn't become stronger, faster, and sharper. Each day he boxed with Dudley, he got better and better at avoiding Dudley's fists, learning to not stare at one fist or the other, but to watch Dudley's eyes in a semi-focused way that allowed him to watch all of what every part of Dudley's body was doing. In that way, even as he parried one fist, he was no longer taken by surprise when the other one followed from the opposite side. In the meantime he also continued learning all the spells and curses he could. He got a set of drumsticks that looked a lot like his wand. A teenager carrying several drumsticks around, tapping on things like he was in a band, didn't attract attention the way a single stick might have. He also could use the drumsticks to practice wandwork without actually doing magic.
It even seemed to Harry that his occulomency was going better. Having accepted the prophecy for what it was, and seeing that his course was set for the foreseeable future, made him far less emotionally volatile. Like Dumbledore, he did not know if fighting skills were what would allow him to beat Voldemort, but he knew that they were his best bet to keep him alive. And this allowed him to be very focused and calm. Suppressing emotion at the end of such intense days was not too difficult - he was so exhausted he couldn't afford to indulge negative emotions. He only had trouble the next Wednesday, after they had boxed. Harry was walking to the locker room with his cousin and uncle and got a vision of them sprawled out dead on the gym floor. It recurred three times for only a couple of seconds each. He did not see himself doing it, or feel any glee or excitement over it - just horror and revulsion.
Friday rolled around very quickly. Harry looked forward to seeing Tonks and Remus. He thought they might show up early, but the whole day passed and it became time to go boxing, so off they went. He and Dudley got changed and were warming up in the ring when Tonks and Remus showed up followed by Mad-eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and finally Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They did their best to look muggle, and Harry supposed that if you did not know there were such things as wizards, you would just think they were a bit quirky, as if they were members of a community theatre group. They explained that Tonks had tried to describe boxing to them, but that they felt they needed to see it for themselves. Both Uncle Vernon and Dudley gave Harry a look that let him know he needed to explain things beforehand so there would be no misunderstanding.
"Well, okay," said Harry, "I guess you can watch, if you understand a few things. First I asked them to do this with me. Second, it involves the two of us trying to hit each other with our fists as hard as we can." Harry noticed Mrs. Weasley eying Dudley's massive fists and drawing a deep apprehensive breath. "Also," Harry continued, "this mostly works out to Dudley throwing punches at me and me trying to dodge them. Now understand," and here he looked Mrs. Weasley directly in the eye and said sternly "sometimes he does hit me, and he does it hard, and it hurts, and it can stun me for a moment or two, and this is an important part of my training Don't - get - upset!"
They all agreed and Harry and the Dursleys took the ring to begin. Dudley and Harry circled warily. Although Harry's fists were too small to cause damage to Dudley, they stung effectively and, besides, Dudley had to regard them as if he was fighting a boy his size for the training to be good for him too. Dudley started throwing the occasional jab, which Harry easily avoided. Harry began to counterjab, enough to keep Dudley honest, though Dudley too was remarkably nimble in the ring for such a large boy. They had worked up a decent sweat when Uncle Vernon called time for the first round.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Molly," growled Moody, "you've seen enough duels to know they were just getting warmed up, taking each other's measure. Harry didn't get those bruises without them mixing it up pretty well. Are you sure you should watch more of this?"
Mrs. Weasley said she was okay and soon it was time for the next round. Moody was right, as both boys came out throwing combinations almost immediately. Still they were both avoiding each other's punches. Then Harry caught Dudley with a hard punch to the chest and Dudley reflexively countered with an uppercut and a roundhouse, the latter of which caught Harry in the side of his head and knocked him off his feet. The spectators flinched and the Dursleys cowered from them, but Harry jumped up and gestured them back, showing it was okay, all part of the sport. The rest of the round and the next several were vigorous but went smoothly, with Harry only getting caught by a fist a few times, and getting in an equal number himself. Still, Harry noticed, Mrs. Weasley had drawn close to her husband, and he had his arm around her to comfort and calm her.
They were in the last round for the night when Harry made a significant error. Dudley had thrown several lefts to Harry's body which had gotten through, and Harry started to focus too much on that fist. Dudley made to throw one more left, but when Harry moved to his left to avoid it, he found that Dudley's right fist was coming up and from the side very fast and hard. The punch caught Harry at the jaw line and lifted him up. Harry wheeled and fell. Before he even hit, he immediately sensed that someone was pulling a wand and would use it on Dudley. Without thinking, he shouted "Expelliarmus" and put up the hand that was not slowing his approach to the floor.
Harry lifted himself up, shook his head, and looked at the wand in his left hand. He checked to see that Dudley had not been hexed, and then turned, calling "M- Mrs. Weasley, are you okay?"
But it wasn't Mrs. Weasley thrown back by the Expelliarmus. Mr. Weasley was picking himself up from in front of some punching bags into which he had been thrown by the spell.
"I'm fine, Harry," he said, as Mrs. Weasley ran to him. "I guess I'm also a bit protective of you."
Dudley was very impressed. "That was cool, Harry, how'd ya do that?" His father gave a disapproving look, still not comfortable with magic being mentioned, even in a room where everyone knew about magic.
Tonks agreed with Dudley, though "Yeah, Harry, how'd you pick that up, doing spells without a wand?"
Lupin looked simply interested. Moody was puzzled but intrigued, and Shacklebolt had a suspicious look on his face.
"I don't really know," said Harry, "Sometimes when I have some emergency and I don't have time to think about not having a wand, things happen anyway."
Lupin nodded, then said "Harry, do you think you could come with Tonks and me after you change clothes to talk about this?"
Harry tossed Mr. Weasley's wand back to him and looked at his Uncle Vernon for his agreement.
"Don't keep him too late, alright? We don't want to leave the door unlocked till all hours."
So it was agreed. Before Harry and Dudley went to shower, Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug and told him that she and the others needed to be getting back to duties, giving no more detail. Harry asked how things were in the ministry, and the Weasleys got a worried look on their faces.
"Well," said Mr. Weasley, "there's been no going back on acknowledging Voldemort's return. Quite the contrary, Fudge is now being very active, particularly in pushing policies to promote what he calls 'preparedness.' "
"That's good, isn't it," said Harry, "We want everyone to be prepared and pull together against Voldemort."
"Hmm. Well, policies can be said to be for one thing, but have an entirely different effect. Or even a different purpose. That's all I'll say about it for now, Harry. We must be going. No hard feelings about that spell - you did the right thing. But I will be interested to hear from Remus what he finds out," said Mr. Weasley.
"Harry, we're looking into when you can come to the Burrow or … elsewhere. Things are a bit up in the air yet. Dumbledore has us doing some things that the Ministry is not attending to."
"So there's no question of the Order disbanding now that the Ministry is involved?" asked Harry.
"Oh, of course, not" said Arthur Weasley, "There are still many things that can be done that are outside the reach of the Ministry. Some things can't take the glare of politics."
Harry nodded, having learned how governments can be at once ineffective and bluntly intrusive at the same time.
As all but Tonks and Lupin turned to leave, they all waved to Harry. Mrs. Weasley added "Ron, Ginny and the twins all send their greetings, and hope to get with you. They'll be owling you a letter soon." As Harry turned toward the locker room, he glanced back and for just a moment saw Mrs. Weasley sprawled as though badly hurt or dead. He shook his head and saw that it wasn't so. Nonetheless, the image was disturbing.

Dedalus Diggle

October 17th, 2003, 9:28 pm

Chapter 5 - A Night Out

The evening turned into one of Harry's best ever. Of course, he understood that he had to first allow Tonks and Remus to interrogate him about wandless magic he had done. He was certain that the members of the Order of the Phoenix had been instructed to keep a lookout and report on all occasions of Harry showing any unusual magical talents, and this would certainly qualify. Wandless magic, except on very trivial matters, was quite unusual, though not unheard of. But Harry had just performed an "Expelliarmus" spell without a wand powerful enough to strip a full-grown wizard of his wand, while he was trying to use it, bring the wand directly into Harry's hand, and toss that wizard ten feet back. As much as Harry didn't like to be interrogated, he would have been more upset if they hadn't. If Professor Trelawney's prophecy to Dumbledore was dependable, as Dumbledore believed, then Harry just had to accept that he was at the center of the maelstrom and for everyone's sake, he had better accept it.
They first walked over to Mrs. Figg's house. She had already been alerted that they were coming over and why. None of them had eaten yet, so Mrs. Figg bustled about turning some broth she had in her freezer into a nice chicken vegetable soup. She also loaded the proper ingredients into a muggle breadmaker, which was immensely fascinating to Tonks, who said that her magical baking often led to what looked like lumps of coal. They all sat at the kitchen table to prod Harry's memory about all the occasions he had performed magic without a wand. Harry hadn't fully appreciated how unusual it was until he saw the reactions of the three of them.
Over dinner they had a good long talk about Sirius. It was quite a relief to Harry to be able to talk about his death, and more importantly his life with people who knew him so well. They talked about adventures and missions with the original Order of the Phoenix, about his girlfriends and interests, things that happened at Hogwarts, what it took to become an Animagus secretly, all sorts of things. Harry learned more about the way Harry's father and Sirius had been vain, arrogant and boorish. Harry was pleased to learn that both Sirius and his father had matured immensely from the end of fifth year to the end of sixth year at Hogwarts.
"I hope I can mature like that, too," said Harry, "I've been a right donkey, particularly last year. I hate that I hurt my friends and others who care about me."
"Yes, you were, Harry," laughed Remus, ruffling Harry's hair "but the people who care understand. Most all of us go through a time when we're hard to be around. And it's not as if you haven't had a lot to deal with."
"And now you see what a dolt you were," said Tonks with a smile. "That's the biggest step toward becoming a real adult, rather than just taller, older and hairier," she added while giving Harry's still fuzzy adolescent mustache a brush with her finger, "needing a shave there soon, aren't we?"
Harry grinned. "But wasn't it near the end of sixth year that Sirius tricked Snape into going to the Shrieking Shack when you were the werewolf?"
Remus looked grim. "Yes, it was. I didn't say maturity came suddenly. It happened late in Spring after Snape had pulled a nasty trick which got us all in a week's detention and cost enough points that Gryffindor lost the House Cup. And while we had done plenty of other things which would have cost us dearly, on this we were innocent. Sirius particularly couldn't let it go - I think because he had been breaking away from his evil relatives like his immediate family and Bellatrix and Narcissa, and Snape reminded him so much of them, with all his ranting about purebloodedness and mudbloods and purification. So when the next full moon came, a week before exams, …well, you know the story. It was an awful thing for him to do. You've seen the werewolf - would you wish that on anyone?"
Harry thought about that carefully, and then replied "No. I think I can honestly say I don't. I want people like Voldemort and Bellatrix stopped and put away, and while I won't be too fussed if they die or get the Dementor's Kiss, I'll be satisfied if they are just stopped. They'd be punished more by knowing they had failed than by ending it early."
"And what about Snape?" asked Lupin.
"I don't know what he's about. He's unfair to all Gryffindors, but there's some special venom for me. And Neville Longbottom. But still, as angry as I was just a month ago, I don't want him hurt - I just want to not have to look at his greasy self again."
Lupin laughed "Excellent, Harry, you've come a long way. Three years ago you were ready to throw Sirius to the Dementors for betraying your parents. Hatred and vengefulness can destroy you from within. But I can tell you part of what eats at Snape. Not only did he hate that your father saved Snape's life, but the story got out that James had risked his neck keeping him from a werewolf. Snape was a top student and Slytherin prefect, so even though he was not popular, he had been the obvious choice for Head Boy up until then. But with such heroics, your father - who had not even been a prefect, you know - was vaulted into being the preeminent male student and the overwhelming choice for Head Boy. Think how you'd feel if you were passed over for an honor you thought you'd deserved." Lupin arched his eyebrow at that last statement.
"I know - I had a touch of jealousy last year at Ron when I was passed over for prefect. I didn't begrudge it to Ron, but I felt like I'd proved myself and, well, with Dumbledore not willing to speak to me, I felt like I was being rejected all the way around."
"Yeah, everyone could see it. We were all surprised. How do you feel about it now?"
"I'm glad not to have it, actually. It seems like Voldemort isn't going to be leaving me alone, so I've got to prepare for what may come. Being a prefect would just distract me from training."
"Good" said Tonks with a smile. "We're all thrilled that you're getting focused on the skills you may need. But let's not get too grim. There's time for enjoying life, too, y'know. Oh, by the way, I'll be filing a report saying that the Expelliarmus spell was mine, done to protect muggles, so that's our story and we're sticking to it, right?"
Now that dinner and the serious discussions were out of the way, they helped Mrs. Figg with the dishes. She was thrilled to have them cleaned and stacked by magic for a change. They played games and talked about cats and Quidditch and what everyone was up to. Mrs. Figg invited Harry to come any Monday or Tuesday mornings to help her brew potions for the Order - as a squib, she maybe couldn't do magic, but she could follow the most exacting requirements of any recipe.
After a few hours, Tonks and Remus walked Harry home. They got to talking about changes at the Ministry. Fudge was pushing to have all banking activities reported to the Ministry, giving as a reason the need to track Death Eater activities.
"Well, that's a good idea, isn't it? I mean, it's one way to get after them isn't it?"
"Yeah, it sounds good, doesn't it, but it's not as simple as that. We're all subject to it, and we all would have to explain to the Ministry every time we take out more than just a few galleons. And we'd all be forced to reveal any assets and investments and any other economic activity. That information can be used by others with access to the information to drive hard bargains or otherwise take advantage of the honest wizards. It also violates the regulations for protecting each wizard's independence that were created when the Ministry was created - the ministry was formed to protect the magical and muggle worlds from each other, but this looks like another in a number of steps toward making us all subjects of the Ministry, rather than sovereign citizens of a magical republic."
"I think I see."
"Harry," added Tonks, "people aren't just controlled by particular laws which are set up. People need money and things to do almost anything, so when someone takes control of your property, that person is taking control over you. It won't stop with this, you know. We'll be told of other 'protections' that are needed as the Ministry starts telling us when we can get our money, or what we can do with our money. Pretty soon it's 'our' money in name only, because the Ministry has taken all control. It's happened with many other magical republics through history, as well as most muggle governments."
Harry once again wished he had paid more attention in History class, but he had the impression that Professor Binns had never talked about issues such as this; at least, it had never been on the exams.
"And that may not be the worst of it," added Lupin, "by passing regulations controlling banking, Fudge is increasing the friction with the goblins. If we are going to have warfare with the Death Eaters, we need all the allies we can get, and Fudge's banking regulations are pushing the goblins away. After all, most of the burden falls on them through Gringotts, and they are not even allowed a voice on the Wizengamot."
"Not that Fudge too much minds," said Tonks, "He's always had harsh words for the goblins and any non-human magical beings - just hates 'em. Won't have any dealings with part-humans either. It's no surprise that he placed Delores Umbridge at Hogwarts last year - they're two peas in a pod when it comes to non-humans."
Harry shuddered at the mention of last year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Umbridge had been the vilest teacher they had ever had, surpassing even Snape, and had imposed actual tortures on him to try to make him deny that Voldemort had returned. She had even threatened to use the unforgivable Cruciatus Curse on him before Hermione had devised a scheme to stop her.
Harry asked "Is anybody trying to stop these new laws?"
"Well, Dumbledore, Madam Bones and a few other members of the Wizengamot have tried to speak against them" answered Lupin, "but Fudge is very effective at rallying people with a patriotic speech. Arthur's been very outspoken, and he and Molly are very concerned he may lose his job. Most people like and respect him, but not the wizards at the top Fudge has surrounded himself with. Molly tries to calm him, but Arthur is just as passionate about protecting wizards and goblins and other creatures as he is about protecting muggles."
"Yeah, Arthur can seem kind of silly with his affection for muggle things," added Tonks approvingly, "but he's a regular volcano when it comes to any being getting treated badly or unfairly. You saw how he jumped to protect you tonight - after a while, he just couldn't stand to see that enormous cousin of yours beating up on you, even if you literally asked for it."
By then they had reached the Dursleys' home. Tonks handed him the mirror and told him that Dumbledore said he would be available the next evening to talk. Harry thanked them and said goodbye. Since he had showered at the gym, he said goodnight to the Dursleys, brushed his teeth and went right to bed.

Dedalus Diggle

October 17th, 2003, 9:43 pm

Chapter 6 Clearing the Air

On Saturday after dinner, Harry helped clear the dishes and load them in the dishwasher. The Dursleys figured that would be safe. Harry then said that he had to go to his room to make a call.
"But there's no phone in your room," stated Uncle Vernon.
"Do you really want to know how I'm going to make it?" asked Harry with a smile, "but don't worry, there's nothing dangerous to it."
Harry bounded up the stairs and prepared himself to speak to Professor Dumbledore. There were some things he wanted to say. He pulled out the mirror and looked in it. He saw his own image at first, and wiped a smudge from dinner off. Then he called "Professor Dumbledore" into it, and his image faded, and Professor Dumbledore's appeared.
"Aah, there you are, Harry. How have you been? Feeling better than the last time we spoke?"
"Fine, Professor. Um, before we talk about other things, I want to apologize for that," said Harry softly.
Dumbledore smiled. "Quite alright, Harry, my things have a memory of how they go together. Everything here is restored."
"It's not just that. I let my emotions get the better of me. It was ugly of me," said Harry.
"Not to me, it wasn't, Harry. As I see it, your emotions are the better of you. I think the most important thing about you, beyond all your magical talent, and perhaps the source of much of it, is that you do care very much."
"But sometimes it hurts terribly, when someone goes away, when someone dies …"
"When someone you care about won't even look at you," added Dumbledore with a smile, which Harry returned. "Of course it does. Caring hurts a lot, but would you give it up if you could?"
Harry looked down and shook his head, hiding the tears welling in his eyes "No, of course not."
"But let's learn to manage and harness those emotions. We can't have you fighting Voldemort at less than your best because your skills are clouded by anger, can we?"
Harry smiled "No, sir, I think I've had a better focus on that this summer."
"Yes, I know," said Dumbledore.
"Tonks and Professor Lupin have already reported?"
"Well, yes, but that's not the only way I know - let's just say a little birdy told me," said Dumbledore. Harry glanced over at Hedwig who cocked her head at him. Dumbledore laughed "No, I said a little birdy; besides it's probably a figure of speech. But you can never be too sure when dealing with wizards, can you? I can see that you have been exercising - you're already showing a leaner, tauter face and more muscle in your chest and shoulders. I know about your training schedule and the only concern I have is that you might overdo it. Don't wear yourself out so much that you lose strength.
"I won't, Professor," Harry said with a smile, glad to hear the concern, "I'm better rested than ever, what with clearing my mind each night before bed and being so tired when I lie down. I also haven't been feeling Voldemort's thoughts much. I've had quick visions of my family and Mrs. Weasley injured or dead, but I don't think that was from Voldemort, because my scar didn't hurt."
"Good, Harry," nodded Professor Dumbledore "Excellent use of your resources. Tell me of all your visions like that, also how they make you feel."
"Well, actually, it made me feel like staying away from them, even though I love Mrs. Weasley and am growing fond of Dudley and Uncle Vernon. I had the feeling that being around me is too dangerous for anyone I care about," admitted Harry.
"It's a natural feeling, Harry." Dumbledore said sadly. "You are dangerous to be around, but you've got to go on with your life. You are stronger with those you care about than you are in isolating yourself. Molly particularly knows that there is danger around you, and danger in being in the Order."
"Okay, but I'm still afraid to care too much. So has anything been happening with Voldemort?" asked Harry.
"He hasn't been visible and there haven't been any Dark Marks over people's houses. My best guess right now is that he is recruiting more supporters quietly. So far the Death Eaters who were captured a month ago have been secure, now that we have aurors guarding it. As an added precaution, the Ministry decided to use the Time Room at the Department of Mysteries to make them all extremely old and feeble until they are called for trial. I also suspect there are other things he's concerned with right now than you - he may be seeking some object or potion that he thinks will give him the upper hand over us."
"Do you know what that might be," asked Harry.
"No, not yet. We are looking for all the odd developments everywhere we can, looking for a pattern. The fact that you have had no problem with your scar suggests that he may be overseas, but who knows where."
"What about the Ministry? Is it taking any steps against Voldemort, besides holding the Death Eaters?"
"I wish I had good news there. Fudge is pushing his 'security program,' that looks like it is aimed at concentrating his authority more than anything," said Dumbledore with a sigh.
"So I've heard. Anything besides the financial things Professor Lupin and Tonks told me about?"
"Well, he's been trying to load the Wizengamot with his supporters first. He's got several measures he'd like to put through once he gets rid of independent voices. The speeches he's been making have made the goblins even more dissatisfied with the Ministry. Bill Weasley has been doing his best to calm them, but he can't be very convincing with so little to work with."
"That's bad - we don't need another goblin rebellion while trying to deal with Voldemort," said Harry.
"Aah, my suggestion to Professor Binns as to a summer project is bearing fruit. I want all of you students - and the parents as well - to understand the lessons of the rebellions well. We are in need of unity, and I'm afraid that Fudge's way will achieve the opposite. At least I was able to get one concession out of Fudge - school-age students will be allowed to practice defensive magic so long as they are supervised by a competent adult sorcerer and are not in the presence of muggles. That leads me to something else I'd like to discuss with you as well."
"Yes," said Harry apprehensively.
"I think the Defense Association should be continued."
Harry sighed with relief "You mean Dumbledore's Army?"
"As proud and tickled as I am with that name, I think we shall stick with Defense Association," said Dumbledore with a laugh.
"Then you have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who will lead that?" asked Harry.
"Well, no, we don't have a new teacher yet, but I have my eye on someone who may become available. But I was thinking the Defense Association should be a student-run organization," said Dumbledore.
Harry's heart sank. "You're not, … you don't mean, you don't want me to …"
"Yes, Harry, you did a marvelous job last year. Now that Voldemort's return has been acknowledged and you have been publicly 'rehabilitated' even more students will want to learn how to defend themselves.
"But .. But that was just a private thing, just a couple dozen students…" pled Harry.
"And this will be private as well, like the Charms Club, or SPEW," teased Dumbledore. "and who knows, very few students may want to spend a couple evenings a week learning defense techniques."
"Do you really think so?"
"No, Harry, I expect a minimum of 400 students, perhaps twice that number," said Dumbledore, quite seriously. "It's a lot of work, I realize. But you already have a year under your belt teaching schoolmates, and I expect that last year's members will be willing to assist you, so you can show the whole group something useful, and then break into smaller groups to practice. You'll have fewer classes now that you have completed your OWLs."
"But won't the rest of the students say I have a big head - I've been running from that for years."
"And you dealt with that last year, didn't you? Besides, you don't have to call yourself an expert. The Daily Prophet has already put out the word about many of the times you have survived great dangers," said Dumbledore, "- we don't have to tell them all of your adventures yet, do we - so all you need to offer is to teach the things that you have used and are learning to use to keep yourself alive."
"Won't the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher feel insulted, like I'm on his or her turf?"
Dumbledore laughed "Not the person I expect to come available. And if I have to go with someone else, I will explain the matter to them, and take full responsibility for pressing you into service. So, will you do it?"
"You already know the answer - if you ask me, I'll do it. I'm awfully glad that we're talking again. Will it be open to, erm, EVERYone?" said Harry.
"Which of your schoolmates would you want to be unable to defend themselves? Perhaps I shouldn't ask that. But in fact the spells needed to defend are not the same as those needed to harm. You are concerned about the relatives of Death Eaters and others who may not be fond of you?"
Harry nodded "Yes, of course."
Dumbledore smiled "When Sirius was in his first years of school, he would have been among those who resented someone like you. Some will stay away because of resentment. Some will come as spies - so be it. But some will come out of curiosity or because they honestly want to be on our side. We truly need to reach across all divides and find common cause."
"The Sorting-Hat's song," said Harry sagely.
"Aah, you listened, did you?" said Dumbledore with a wink "I'll tell it - it works so hard coming up with an appropriate message."
"Well, that's settled then - can I go ahead and owl messages to all last year's members asking their assistance?"
"An excellent step, Harry. The sooner the better, I say, so you don't get cold feet," said Dumbledore. "Oh, there's one more thing I need to tell you. I have had a bit of concern that we may need additional protection for you, so I'm sending someone to be a bodyguard, but he can also be a helper and companion, as you choose."
"I don't know if the Dursleys will put up with another wizard in the house - they're just now accepting me."
"Well, it's not a wizard, and you can explain it to your relatives however you .like. He does know that he is to remain invisible out of doors and around anyone who he has not been introduced to by you. He's looking forward to working with you, Harry. He should be arriving any second now. Is there anything else on your mind?"
"The Prophecy," answered Harry, "Must it be a choice of murderer or victim?"
"There might be another way - I hope you recall that the Prophecy referred to one with the power to 'vanquish' the Dark Lord. This may not require killing."
"I have been thinking there must be more to it," said Harry, "since if I were to just kill him, then he would return to what he was 14 months ago, wouldn't he?"
"Something like that, I believe. He has many deep magical protections against death," answered Dumbledore.
"You could have killed him last month, but chose not to, didn't you?" asked Harry.
"You're thinking, Harry," said Dumbledore with a smile, "Very good. Yes, I could have put an end to the body he occupies now. But I couldn't end the existence of Lord Voldemort. That is a puzzle the two of us must unlock."
"And you believe there are vulnerabilities in the way his current body was made that makes it better to leave him attached to it," said Harry, more as a conclusion than as a question.
"Exactly. He thought he would access your strengths in using your blood. But I believe that what are strengths for you could well be fatal flaws for him. I need to go now, but please keep in touch about everything on your mind."
And with that Dumbledore faded away and Harry's face returned to the mirror. Harry looked at his furrowed brow, wondering what Dumbledore could mean about a bodyguard. He wasn't too keen on a bodyguard, and what kind would not be a wizard? A witch? No, Dumbledore said 'he' and Harry could not believe he would send a witch to share Harry's room. But then, who …
Just then Harry heard a crack behind him, and then a voice.
"Mr. Harry Potter - I is so pleased to be working for you now, sir."
Harry turned, and there was Dobby the house elf, in all his polychromatic glory, literally grinning from ear to ear, dancing with excitement, and holding a large suitcase.

Dedalus Diggle

October 18th, 2003, 3:23 am

Goblins - ch. 7 - My Bodyguard

"Dobby! What are you doing here!?" exclaimed Harry happily.
"Oh, no," said Dobby worriedly, "Harry Potter is supposed to know I is coming. Was Harry Potter not told that he would have a bodyguard?"
"Well, yes, but I wasn't told who it would be. You don't mean .."
"Yes sir!" said Dobby proudly "House-elf Dobby - bodyguard to the great Harry Potter, destroyer of the Dark Lord, friend to magical beings everywhere."
"Erm! I don't mean to insult you or anything, Dobby," said Harry hesitantly, "but you're kind of small, are you going to be able to protect me?"
"Dobby is small, but powerful - appearances is deceiving, Headmaster Dumbledore, the great man, has said so many times. Dobby is sly. Dobby sees things. Dobby has protected Harry Potter before, has he not? And Dobby would do ANYTHING to protect Harry Potter - Harry Potter knows this, doesn't he?" said Dobby firmly.
"Yes, Dobby, if there's anyone whose loyalty I could not question, it's you. But understand, we are not in a castle here, so we can't be disruptive. I'm also going to have to introduce you to my muggle relatives. Erm, you can sleep here in my room - but let's see, what would be a good place," Harry said, looking around.
"Begging Harry Potter's pardon, sir, but Dobby's suitcase makes a wonderful bed for Dobby, if he can just slide it under your bed," offered Dobby.
"That works for me. Well, I had better go down and talk to my Uncle and Aunt. Keep out of sight until I tell you to, okay?"
Dobby made himself invisible, and Harry rehearsed a few words in his head. This really was going to be pushing his relatives' acceptance of magical things. Harry crept down the stairs and found his aunt and uncle watching telly in the parlor.
"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia," said Harry quietly, "Erm, there's something I need to discuss with you."
They looked up, a bit apprehensive due to Harry's reluctant tone, but not hostile.
"I've just been told by Professor Dumbledore that the school has assigned a bodyguard for my protection," said Harry tentatively.
"So, does this mean we're going to have that strange-looking woman parked in a car in front of the house all the time?"
"No, it's someone different - very different - who will stay right with me all the time."
"When I hear a phrase like 'very different' from … your kind, I get a chill. How much disruption is this going to be and when will he arrive?" said Uncle Vernon uneasily.
"Well, he's here already, Uncle Vernon," said Harry "I may as well get it over with. Dobby, would you show yourself."
Dobby became visible. Uncle Vernon jumped over the back of his chair, but Aunt Petunia squealed with delight "Ooh, a house-elf - Vernon, do you know how clean I could make this place with the help of a house-elf!?"
Uncle Vernon and Harry both glared, Vernon because his wife knew what this thing was, and Harry because he could not imagine any place being cleaner than his aunt already kept this house.
"But, Harry," asked Petunia, "Something seems strange about him, you know."
Uncle Vernon glared again "Petunia, we have a two foot tall, green-skinned creature with eyes the size of tennis balls in our parlor and you cannot put your finger on what's odd about him. I suppose you're going to say it's because his socks don't match!?"
"Yes, that's it!" Petunia cried, "He has clothes on!"
"WHAT! I should hope so," exploded Uncle Vernon, looking at Dobby with a look that was half fear that he would suddenly disrobe and half curiosity as to what a house elf might look like under the clothes. "Potter, I'm trying to be patient, so tell me: what IS a house-elf and what are the chances of it running naked around my house - or worse, the neighborhood?"
Petunia, still excited, told what she knew first. "Well, my sister told me about them - their folk have them as live-in servants to take care of all the cooking, cleaning, and all sorts of chores. They work like beavers and they're ever so loyal!" Petunia was gushing.
"Yeah, they're really quite powerful and usually they are bound to the family they serve," added Harry, "Some people think it's a form of slavery, but most of them I have known were very happy to be servants and would be distraught at being free."
Dobby spoke up proudly "But Dobby is a free elf and pleased to be so. Dobby works for Hogwarts School of …"
"Dobby!!!" Harry interrupted, "We aren't to mention those next words around here. Just say Hogwarts - they know the rest of it."
"Yes sir Harry Potter!" agreed Dobby, then continuing "Dobby works for Hogwarts and gets paid. Dobby wears clothes because Dobby is free. But Dobby never ran around naked, sir, Dobby is no animal. Dobby wore a pillowcase before he was free. Then, until yesterday, Dobby was cleaning at Hogwarts but now he has been assigned to protect Harry Potter until Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts - if Harry Potter's kind family will let him?"
"While you're protecting Harry, can you help with some of the chores around here?" asked Petunia.
"If it helps me be around Harry Potter, Dobby would be very pleased to do what he can. But begging your pardons, Dobby uses, uh, his powers to do chores and Dobby has been told Harry Potter's family does not like those powers being used in their home."
Uncle Vernon looked at Dobby and then at Petunia's excited face, "Tell you what, uh, Dobby, you can use the powers around here so long as no one else sees. If there are outdoor chores, they can be done very late at night when we are sure it's safe. Can you do it that way?"
"Dobby would be very pleased with that arrangement, sir" replied Dobby, "with Dobby wanting sir to understand that his primary job assigned by Hogwarts is to keep Harry Potter safe."
"Agreed," said Uncle Vernon, "Dobby, you seem awfully keen on Harry, why is that?"
"Oh, sir, Harry Potter is a great wi… (Harry wagged his finger) a great friend to house elves. We was treated terrible until the Dark Lord fell. And even when Dobby was still a slave, Harry Potter treated Dobby with kindness and," Dobby began crying, "like an equal! And Harry Potter set Dobby free."
"Oh, well" put in Harry, "I just sort of tricked his old master into throwing him some clothes - that's how they are set free - in fact, it was one of your old socks, Uncle Vernon, that you had given me for Christmas."
Hearing that, Dobby was ecstatic "Sir is the first owner of Dobby's freedom sock! Oh, what a wonderful and generous man sir is, to give his own socks as a present."
Harry could barely suppress a belly laugh at his uncle's bewilderment. Uncle Vernon certainly was intending no kindness in giving a worn out pair of socks, and Harry knew that they all knew it, but here he was being praised so effusively for what was meant as an insult.
Uncle Vernon mumbled "Well, I don't know about that, I guess we could have done better" Harry was amused to see his uncle made so keenly aware of what shabby gifts they had given.
"Oh," added Dobby, "and Harry Potter has fought evil wizards, slain monsters, and risked his life in other ways to help others. Harry Potter is brave and kind."
"There's a lot we don't know about what's been going on at school, eh, Harry?" said Uncle Vernon with a smile, obviously unsure if he should believe this over-enthusiastic house-elf. "Well, okay, if he can keep himself secret, he can stay" (Petunia squealed at this) "- but where to put him - how about in the cupboard under the stairs?"
"Pardon, sir, but Harry Potter and Dobby have set up a bed under Harry Potter's bed. Dobby can protect Harry Potter better if he stays in the same room."
"Well, alright, then," said Uncle Vernon, "if that will do you, it's fine with us. Dobby, if other house-elves are happy to be slaves, why are you so happy being free?"
"Yes, Dobby," said Harry, "I've long wondered that myself."
"Dobby does not know, sirs. Dobby's masters was Dark cruel, wi…, uh, people, but there are other house-elves who are happy with masters who are just as dark and cruel," said Dobby, then added sadly, "Dobby wants freedom, but Dobby also feels lost without a family - like Dobby is not complete without others." Then Dobby perked up "But this summer Dobby gets to serve Harry Potter and his family and sleep under the bed - Dobby is very happy!"
Harry and Dobby thanked his aunt and uncle and went upstairs. As they went Dobby grumbled "'Cupboard under the stairs' indeed - Dobby stayed in such a place when he was with his family. Nasty place - too nasty even for house elves!"
"Dobby," said Harry, "I stayed in the cupboard under the stairs until I got my Hogwarts letter."
"Oh, beg pardon, sir," said Dobby, abashed.
Harry smiled. "It's okay, Dobby, I hated it too."

Dedalus Diggle

October 19th, 2003, 7:19 pm

Chapter 8 Second Chances

Harry thought about what he would write to all of last year’s members of the DA as he got Dobby situated with his suitcase and what little possessions he brought with him. Dobby was still in a very excitable mood when Harry was ready to sit down to write, so he found out from Dudley what yard chores needed doing, showed them to Dobby, reinforced the need to not be seen and set him to it. Then Harry was able to write in peace. He wanted to make it clear that this was not HIS club, nor was it his idea to coach it again:
“To all participants in the DA: Headmaster Dumbledore has let me know that he would like the Defense Association, as he plans to keep the name, to continue. He would like it to be a student organization, and he has asked me to continue the role I had this past year. I hope that this will be acceptable to all of you, as I am writing to ask your help. As the DA will be open to all students from all houses, and as the Ministry of Magic has acknowledged the return of Voldemort (I hope you will all try to use the name he is known by – fearing his name creates a mystique which itself must be overcome), Professor Dumbledore is anticipating that we will have several hundreds of students desiring to learn practical self-defense. I would like to continue the procedures we had last year, of demonstrating new skills then dividing up into smaller groups to practice them. However, due to the numbers involved, I would like for each of you to be a team leader, going about amongst your team members as I did amongst you this past year. That will allow me to circulate among the groups and provide assistance where needed. Some of you may feel a bit intimidated at taking on that role. Let me assure you, I share that feeling. Nonetheless, I am convinced that there are no students better qualified to teach the self-defense and teamwork which may well be needed for us to survive the trying times to come. I would appreciate knowing before classes start whether you will be able to participate. Professor Dumbledore assures me that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be agreeable as to this, but given the events of the past year, if you would prefer to wait until we know who that will be, I truly understand. Signed, Your Friend, Harry Potter.”
After Dobby had taken care of the yard, Harry asked him to charm several quills to make copies enough for all. While the copies were being made, Harry explained to Hedwig all the work he had for her. He gave her several owl treats and made sure she was properly groomed for efficient flight. He divided the letters by region and tied the first five to Hedwig’s leg and sent her off, instructing her to return in the dark.
If Harry had been concerned that the others would be reluctant, that fear was soon dispelled. By the time Hedwig had returned, had a short rest and received the next set of letters, Harry was getting owls from those who had received the first set. Perhaps it was the open acknowledgement of Voldemort’s return, or perhaps it was Dumbledore’s endorsement, but everyone replied enthusiastically. Even Cho was gracious, although a bit formal – as was to be expected. Many of the students’ letters also had notes from their parents as well, thanking Harry for everything he had done and was undertaking. As good as it felt to be appreciated, Harry could not help but thinking ‘what choice do I really have?’
The whole process was going to take over a week, since he did not want to overload Hedwig. Of course Hedwig seemed to be thrilled with having all the work to do and plenty of flying and hunting time, but still Harry had the whole summer and did not want to wear her out. It was on Tuesday that he received the response he was most concerned about, carried by a rather elegant Barred Owl. It said simply “Do you really want me? – Marietta” Marietta Edgecombe had betrayed the secrecy of the DA the previous year to Delores Umbridge, acting Headmaster and High Inquisitor imposed by the Ministry of Magic on Hogwarts last year when Minister of Magic Fudge was trying to undermine Dumbledore. Harry brought Marietta’s owl in and put her in Hedwig’s cage and gave her a treat and some water, and then added his own note to hers: “Marietta, we need all the good people we can on our team. If you want to be with us, I want to have you. – Harry.”
The reply came on Thursday, added below Harry’s note “I would love to, and I won’t wait for the hiring of a new teacher to say so – Marietta P.S. could you say something to Granger about removing the ‘Sneak’ hex; I tried asking her and she said you are in charge.” Harry laughed at that, realizing she may have been wearing her balaclava through most of the summer. He promised he would, and since Hermione’s letter was to go out on Friday, he added a note to it asking her to remove the hex. He knew Hermione and Marietta did not live too far from each other, so he suggested they make arrangements to meet so that Hermione could remove the hex.
By the end of the week, all the letters had gone out and replies had been received. Saturday evening, Harry was in his room studying a book Mad-Eye Moody had sent him, titled “A Wizard’s Guide to Individual and Group Self-Defense.” Harry noted that Moody himself had been the editor for the fourth edition. There was no mistaking it, as you had to gently spank the book before opening it if you did not want hear it shout “CONSTANT VIGILANCE.” The first time he had opened it, at the breakfast table, it had scared Harry and the Dursleys so bad they spilled their tea and toast on themselves. Uncle Vernon was mollified by the fact that Harry was just as surprised as any of them. Dobby quickly cleaned up and replaced their breakfasts.
While studying the book, Harry heard a familiar voice calling. He followed the sound to his two-way mirror and greeted Professor Dumbledore.
“Hello Professor, it’s good to see you again.”
“Hello, Harry, training going well?” In fact it had been. Harry was getting stronger and faster, and his reactions had become so keen, that Dudley hardly ever laid a glove on him now. Nonetheless they both looked forward to their sparring sessions, as it was great training and motivation for them both. “I am glad your recruitment has gone well.”
“Ah, so you know already?” said Harry with a smile.
“Of course I do,” said Dumbledore with a wink. “And I particularly want to congratulate you on bringing Miss Edgecombe back into the fold.”
“I don’t know as I’m a shepherd, but I do know that someone I greatly respect believes in giving second chances.” said Harry “She’s a very capable witch and her help is needed. Last year was such a trying and divided time that although I cannot completely overlook her decision, I can understand it.”
“Good, Harry, none of us can be held to a standard of perfect judgment in all things, eh?” Dumbledore said with a wink. Harry understood that to be a comment not just on Harry’s own mistakes of the past year, but Dumbledore’s admissions of making mistakes with regard to Harry. It had been a devastating shock to Harry to find Dumbledore as imperfect, but Harry now understood that no one should be placed on such a pedestal – it’s unfair to everyone involved.
“Professor Moody also sent me this book,” (Harry held it up to the mirror) “and it’s helping me plan out what spells to work on and exercises to practice. If we accomplish half of this, the name Dumbledore’s Army may be more accurate than I had thought possible,” enthused Harry.
“Excellent, Harry,” replied Dumbledore, “We cannot be certain what will come, but we want to be as prepared as we can be to keep everyone as safe as possible. Harry, there’s another matter I’d like to discuss. In previous summers, you have been anxious to leave your relatives’ house as soon as possible. This summer you have taken to your training so well, as well as planning for the Defense Association, I was hoping I could convince you to stay there, and take weekend visits to your friends’ homes.”
At first Harry was appalled – it was simply a matter of habit for him to look forward to getting away from Privet Drive. But then he realized that it wasn’t so bad this summer. His relatives were treating him like a person. He had all the opportunity he needed to study magic. He was keeping in touch with the wizarding community. He had Dobby to keep him company, and although Dobby was quirky by human standards, he was really very pleasant and congenial and above all ingratiating. If he could spend some weekends with his friends, that would make for a very decent summer indeed, all things considered. Finally he answered “Alright Professor.”
Dumbledore laughed “Anybody else might have thought you hadn’t heard me or were ignoring me. But I could see in your eyes all the things you were thinking through. I hope you will allow me to make arrangements so that I can see to your safety and that of your friends.”
“Of course, Professor, how soon can I visit?”
“Would you like to go to The Burrow this next weekend – I’ve already made the arrangements for the Weasleys to expect you Friday after your workout with your cousin. Also with the change in the underage use of magic laws, you will be able to practice defense spells there.”
“Wow, that would be great – how should I get there, Knight Bus?”
“I suppose you could do that, but why not just let Dobby apparate you there. If you’re holding his hand, he can take you wherever he goes. Have him tell you about it so you’ll be that much more prepared for Apparation Class this year. Remember, though, you’re not to do it yourself without proper supervision and passing your test.”
“Is it that easy, that I might get the knack just from having it demonstrated by Dobby?” asked Harry.
“I think you will find it so, with the way your powers are growing. I can sense your progress with you maturing and training, so I don’t think it will be a problem for you. But try not to refer to any magical skill as ‘easy’ in front of others. There are always those who find something difficult, and it will seem to them like you are ridiculing them when you say something they cannot do is easy. Think of Mr. Longbottom, with all the progress he has made, and he still rides a broom like a muggle child with a stick pony.”
Harry nodded “I know just what you mean, Professor, as much as I care for Hermione, it can be pretty infuriating when she calls a fifty-step, gradual infusion potion ‘simple.’”
Dumbledore agreed “As brilliant a witch as she is, she sometimes forgets just how far ahead of others she is. And you, my boy, can watch for the same thing when it comes to defense and movement skills.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Any more pains or visions, Harry?”
“The scar has been quiet, but I saw brief visions of Hedwig, my owl, Mrs. Figg and my cousin Dudley lying as if dead,’ answered Harry. “Do you know what that might mean?”
“I think it means you’ve actually become fond of your cousin. These visions seem to be about those you care about who are around you. As long as they don’t correspond with pains in your scar, it is probably just your fear and love speaking, and in that regard, the visions are probably healthy, although very distressing. They show you care. Just keep me informed of all visions and activity with your scar, alright?”
“Of course, Professor.” They chatted a few more minutes, joking a bit, and then said goodnight. Harry went back to analyzing the defense book as he looked forward to seeing Ron and Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys the next Friday.

Dedalus Diggle

October 20th, 2003, 6:46 pm

Chapter 9 Back to The Burrow

As soon as Harry got back from the Rec. Center that Friday night, he checked his suitcase, said goodbye to his relatives, and went to his room so Dobby could Apparate them both to The Burrow. He was a bit apprehensive, since he had never Apparated before. Even though the magic would be done by Dobby, who was clearly capable, Harry still wondered how it would feel, since so many other forms of magical transportation made him uncomfortable and queasy. Dobby explained that it happened very quickly and that it was a matter of visualizing yourself where you want to be and then telling yourself very strongly to make it happen. Dobby apologized for not being able to describe it better, but Harry understood that many types of magic require a type of concentration which is hard to put into words. Dobby took his hand, they both concentrated on the living room of The Burrow, then suddenly - 'pop' - they were there. Only Harry didn't feel sick from it - he felt wonderful, sort of like when a really good dream woke him up. He could hardly wait to start Apparating lessons at Hogwarts.
"Hiya, Harry," beamed Ron.
"Harry - you made it!" piped Ginny.
"Oh, good, Harry, you're here," said Mrs. Weasley, bustling over with a towel in her hands to give him a hug "My, you're flushed. Dumbledore said you'd be coming right after a workout of some sort. So what were you doing?"
"More boxing, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, just like when you and Mr. Weasley showed up," said Harry cheerily, then turned to Ron. "It's sort of like wizard dueling, only the duelers put on big thick gloves and try to hit each other with their fists."
"Doesn't it hurt to get hit like that?" asked Ron.
"Um, well, yeah, that's kind of the idea. But then wizards don't duel with Cheering Charms either," laughed Harry.
"No, no I suppose we don't. Well, if Dumbledore's for it, it's fine by me."
Then Mrs. Weasley said with a wink "Later you can take Ron out back and cuff him about."
"I don't think so, Mum. Look at his muscles now," said Ron, "All that working out's paying off, Harry. I'm not about to let you have at me. Look at that, Ginny!"
But Ginny didn't say anything. She got red in the face, mumbled something about helping with dinner, and ran out to the kitchen. Ron laughed "Maybe she's not as over Harry as we thought."
"Now, Ron, don't tease her." His mother scolded playfully. "Be fair, Harry's new body'll make many of the girls blush - muscled but not beefy, lean but not skinny anymore. The muggles must be feeding you alright."
"Um, yes, maam" said Harry, still feeling the redness in his cheeks at being talked about, "things have actually been pretty good there, when wizards aren't showing up to hex them. And they've loved having Dobby about."
"Oh, my, I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced," said Mrs. Weasley to Dobby. She bent down and extended her hand to shake his "I'm very pleased to meet you. I hope you'll be comfortable here as our guest. I'm Molly Weasley. I've heard so many interesting things about you, Dobby."
Dobby shakily extended his hand to hers, and when she grasped it, he began bawling uncontrollably. "Oh, -oh -oh -oh! It's too much. First the great Harry Potter treats Dobby like a friend, then his Weezey gives Dobby a jumper (Mrs. Weasley glared at Ron upon hearing this), and now the great dear witch Harry Potter praises so highly greets Dobby as a guest and asks about HIS comfort. Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo. It's just too much for a lowly house elf." Dobby threw himself on the floor, crying.
Mrs. Weasley looked back and forth from Harry to Ron. Ron explained "He's sort of excitable."
Harry added "He used to be the Malfoy's house elf. They didn't treat him well, so when people are decent to him, he gets all emotional. He'll be okay." Then Harry put his hand on Dobby's shoulder and said "Dobby, would it help you calm down to help with dinner."
"Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, thank you sir. Leave it all to Dobby. No witch or wizard need be in the kitchen when Dobby's in the house. Just tell me when you want it served, Maam, and I'll have it on the table." Dobby gushed, still sniffling.
"Oh, my, this is a pleasant treat. Well, I expect Mr. Weasley in a few minutes. Could it be ready in half an hour?" said Mrs. Weasley.
"Yes, yes, of course, Dobby'll have a nice meal ready by then, Maam. Any witch so respected by Harry Potter deserves proper service." Dobby hurried into the kitchen and chased Ginny out "No witches will be puttering in the kitchen while Dobby's in the house."
"Hello again," said Harry to Ginny with a grin "Feeling better."
"You git," she said, with a smile "Why didn't you tell us you'd … changed."
"What was I supposed to say? I hadn't even noticed much, except I knew I could lift more. It's not like you've gone around announcing your changes." Harry playfully smirked.
Ginny blushed and Ron said "Doesn't mean she hasn't been looking for ways to make people notice." She hit him in the arm.
Mrs. Weasley intervened, saying "Well, Harry, Dumbledore wants you to continue as much of your training as you can do around here. There's a muggle Rec. Center in the village. Ron and Ginny will be joining you. A little exercise won't hurt 'em, hmm?"
"Well, if you're sure, I get up at 4:30 to start running before breakfast. I was checking out the map, and it looks like if we follow the path we did two years ago to the top of Stoatshead Hill, then down the east side through the village, along the river to the weir, and then head west back here, we should get in a nice run before breakfast."
Both Ginny and Ron's jaws dropped "Before breakfast, that must be over 15 miles?" "4:30, what kind of a mad schedule are you on!?"
"Just training. There's time in there for magic practice, too. Dumbledore and I have worked out a pretty rigorous routine." Harry pursed his lips, seeing their surprise at how focused he was, "Listen, I can't tell you everything. It'd be dangerous for you to know the whole story. But I've got to be the best fighter and the most powerful wizard I can be. It's not merely a grudge Voldemort has against me, and he'll show up to kill me - maybe sooner, maybe later. I have to be ready."
Ron looked grim. "Well, if Dumbledore says you should be doing it, then I'll be there with you."
"Me, too," said Ginny. "Is that why Dobby's with you?"
"Right - my bodyguard," said Harry, "He'd do about anything to protect me, and he can do magic I can't so long as I'm underage. Especially after the dementors attacked last year, Dumbledore doesn't want to take any chances."
"Well, it's alright by me," said Mrs. Weasley "I could get very used to having a house elf about."
They heard a pop from the front vestibule, then Mr. Weasley's voice. "Weasleys - I'm home," he called. He clearly was trying to sound peppy, but did not.
"Oh, there you are, Arthur, our houseguests are here," called Mrs. Weasley.
"Ah, yes, there you are, Harry," said Arthur Weasley, with a smile. "And I hear you brought a friend - how did you like Apparating here."
"Oh, it felt great, sir, like the first time I rode a broom. I'll be very glad to Apparate rather than use Floo Powder or a portkey," replied Harry.
"Hmm, that's interesting. Some wizards hate it, and they never seem to get the hang of it. I expect you'll be among the first to pick up the knack this year," said Mr. Weasley, "Now, what's for dinner, I'm starved."
"Well, I'm not sure," said Mrs. Weasley, "our guest hasn't got the hang of being a guest and insisted on preparing the meal for us."
"Well, I guess I'll meet him soon enough: I wouldn't want to interfere with the preparation of a nice meal. Perhaps you kids could help out by setting the table."
By the time Harry, Ron and Ginny had gotten the plates, silver and napkins out, a procession of dishes came levitating out from the kitchen: a large platter of stuffed pork chops, glazed carrots, a fruit compote, thick-cut fried potatoes, broccoli almandine, and a large bowl of salad. The dishes arranged themselves on table as Dobby followed behind, squeaking with indignation that the children were setting the table.
"Ahh, so this is our guest. Pleased to meet you, uh, Dobby, is it?" said Mr. Weasley.
"Oh, sir, thank you so much. You are too kind to Dobby. A great master of a wizard home, calling Dobby a guest," prattled Dobby.
"Well, I don't know how it has been wherever else you've been, but in The Burrow, all beings of goodwill are welcome guests. Ahh, but it seems we are missing a chair here - you must eat with us, Dobby. But, hmm, our chairs wouldn't do so well for you. Wait a second, I'll just pop out a minute," said Mr. Weasley, and that's exactly what he did, Apparating out with a pop to the garage and a minute later appearing back holding a high chair and a child-size rocker. "Dobby, I think these will fit you decently, and probably be a bit more comfortable for you than our larger furniture. The kids clearly don't need these anymore."
"These were things used by … your own children, and you are sharing them with Dobby, Oh, boo-hoo-hoo."
"Now what have I done wrong?"
"Nothing, Dad," said Ron, "Dobby is just not used to decent treatment even yet. He was the Malfoys' until three years ago. (At the mention of the Malfoys Mr. Weasley's face contorted). He's the elf Harry helped free."
"Well, I can see where a bit of kindness could go a long way. I should be very ashamed if I couldn't treat a fellow being better than would Lucius Malfoy. But let's not spoil a wonderful feast like this with talk of that kind. Let's get this table set and tuck in."
The children and Dobby set the places, and Mr. Weasley insisted on Dobby sitting next to him, so that he could learn about the life of a house elf. Several times he asked questions which brought Dobby close to saying bad things about the Malfoys or revealing their secrets, at which he would variously stab his ears with a fork, slam his hands with the high chair tray, and bat himself with the salad tongs until Harry was able to interrupt his abuse. Mr. Weasley soon learned to avoid certain topics, and remarked at how strong this sense of commitment was, even though Dobby had been free for several years and never liked or respected his old masters.
After dinner, while Dobby was cleaning up, as he insisted on doing, everyone else went out to the porch. Molly Weasley first broached the subject which was on everyone's mind. "Arthur, you're worried. You're trying to hide it, but we've all noticed it. Let's not have any secrets."
"Ahh, you've always seen through me, Molly. It's one of the many reasons I love you more each day. It's Fudge and these 'unity' policies he's pushing. Now he wants a nighttime curfew and an accounting of all assets by magical beings. He says it's for the war."
Ron spoke first "A nighttime curfew - what's the point in that?
"Well, the excuse is that the Death Eaters had always done their killings at night, so that the Dark mark would be more visible and frightening. So with a curfew on, a wizard out at night could be presumed to be up to no good. Besides being a big imposition when there haven't even been any killings," said Arthur, then correcting himself after thinking of Sirius Black's death, "- well, none of the 'Dark Mark' executions, anyway - it's almost completely useless since the Death Eaters would typically Apparate into a victim's home anyway. Worse, though, it has the goblins in a rage."
Harry asked "Why would that be, any more than anyone else?"
"Aah, Harry," answered Mrs. Weasley, "you don't know about goblins and sunlight yet, do you. They can't take it. It burns them and weakens them. They lose their powers if they are in strong sunlight. The most they can tolerate being outdoors in the day is to stay in deep shadow or in a forest away from the edges. They wear thick clothes covering almost all of their bodies to protect against it. You'll notice all their businesses and occupations keep them indoors, like banking and accounting, or mining, like that. It's also why they have such large eyes, so they can see in the dark caves and buildings they prefer. A curfew would take away the only time they have to be out and do chores they cannot handle from their homes. Arthur, can't goblins be excepted? - no one would mistake them for a wizard."
"Well, Fudge says he can't be sure some of them haven't gone over to other side. So he makes laws to control 'em, and drives them that way. I've been trying to point out that he's making enemies we don't need to make, but you know he's always been suspicious of goblins, all non-humans in fact."
"Is this going to affect your job?" asked Molly.
"I'm afraid it might. There's nothing definite yet, but Fudge has spoken of purifying the ministry of non-loyal wizards. I don't think I'm the only one he's thinking of, but he must be thinking of me as well, especially after I shot my mouth off about the demand for an asset accounting."
"But, Dad," said Ron, "Why would you worry about that? It couldn't take more than a few minutes to list everything we have?"
Mr. Weasley chuckled "That's true, Ron, but you shouldn't think of laws just for how they affect you yourself. All beings deserve fair consideration. It would work a hardship and disadvantage on many people. Let's start with your brothers as an example. The twins have been doing very well, and wouldn't want to tell everyone just how much they have - more than I've ever seen, I believe. Also, if they revealed the stock of ingredients they have on hand, other companies could duplicate their products. I'm also afraid they may be using some ingredients they aren't strictly supposed to possess - I try not to ask too many questions so long as they have tested their products thoroughly. Also people like Harry who have inherited shouldn't have to reveal how much - it's no one's business."
"If it would help get rid of Voldemort I wouldn't mind" offered Harry.
"Yes, but many would, and besides how would it really help fight him. No, it seems to be something Fudge has trumped up as being for the war, but that would be used by wizards with access to the information to gain advantage over those who don't line Fudge's pockets." At this Harry thought back to his run-in with Lucius Malfoy after Harry's trial, when he was going up with Fudge to Fudge's office, Malfoy's pocket weighed down with gold, at least as he went in.
Mr. Weasley continued "And it also comes back to the goblins. The plan currently is to begin with a vault-by-vault examination of everything in Gringott's. The goblins have long prided themselves on keeping all the assets and objects in the vaults secure and secret. Sworn enemies could have their property in adjoining vaults and never would either be in danger or have any knowledge of what the other possessed. That's at the very core of the value of Gringott's - to have a place that is completely secure. If the Ministry begins to exert control over Gringott's, it's the beginning of the end for the goblins' primary asset and livelihood - and they know it all too well."
Ginny asked "But isn't there a goblin on the Wizengamot to object."
Mr. Weasley shook his head sadly "Goblins are considered beings, but the Ministry has never accepted them sufficiently to allow them representation. To most wizards, they are just sub-humans without a proper claim to rights. It's no wonder they've had to resort to rebellion to protect themselves - they have no voice in the magical world's government."
They all sat a few minutes thinking about this. Then Ron changed the subject "Harry, what about the DA - what are we going to be doing this year?"
"Well, I figure those of us who were in it last year will need to go through the same material for all the others, bring them up to where we are. I'm using a book on wizard's self-defense that Moody gave me to streamline it and be a little better organized. That will also give us all good practice on all those skills - we can all stand the practice. I also want to work on more advanced skills - real fighting - with last year's students for an hour after each regular session. I've been learning a lot of different protective spells, and instructions on how to use spells more effectively. In fact I was hoping to get in a little practice here, since I can't use magic at my muggle home."
"That'd be great, Harry," said Ginny, "I'd like to see what you've been learning."
"No time like the present," said Harry, as he, Ron, and Ginny stepped out to the front yard. They set up 10 pumpkin-sized stones in a row, and Harry then stepped back about 20 feet from them.
"The book said that if you are focused on your spells and can coordinate your wandwork with your pronouncing of the spells, you can get very fast. You don't need to be very loud either. I've been practicing using a drumstick as a fake wand to prevent much magic from happening."
" 'Much' magic!?" asked Mr. Weasley, who was observing, "have you been doing wandless magic again?"
"Just a little - I've scorched some things, Dobby got tossed across the room a few times, transfigured a few beetles into brooches,"
"Harry" said Ron, "I didn't know you were doing stuff without your wand!"
"Oh, usually just when I am excited or practicing very intently. It must happen to you too."
"Uh-uh" said both Ginny and Ron.
"I may as well tell you two," said Mr. Weasley, "when your mother and I checked up on Harry at the Rec. Center where he and his cousin were practicing together, Harry used Expelliarmus on me without a wand - it took my wand and threw me across the room. Mind you now, I wasn't braced against it, but still, it was very impressive."
"Whoa, Harry, that's awesome!" said Ron. "I have trouble doing it that strong even with a wand!"
"Alright then, Superwizard" said Ginny sarcastically, "Let's see what a few weeks practice has done for you."
Harry composed himself, and scanned the distance to the rocks, reddened by the setting sun. Suddenly he drew his wand and murmured spells as fast as he could, aiming his wand at each of the stones in turn. It took less than twenty seconds. Three stone were crushed, two were thrown forty feet back, one was cracked, one was glowing hot, and three were unscathed, although there was a small fire behind one of them. They ran over and stomped it out.
"Wow, Harry, really cool!" said Ron.
"Yeah, Harry, you hit seven of them," gushed Ginny.
But Harry had a strange hard look in his eye, not angry, but clearly disappointed and determined. "If those were Death Eaters, there'd be three of 'em cursing me - I have to do better!"
Ron and Ginny looked at each other, then Ron said "Well, you've only just started with real spells, mate. Let's all give it a go for awhile here." So they all practiced til the sun went down. Then Mrs. Weasley chased them all off to bed, reminding them that 4:30 would come early.
The next morning Molly Weasley was enjoying a cup of tea before breakfast when she saw Harry running up the path from the river with Dobby riding on his back. He was sweating heavily, but not breathing overly hard when he came to the porch.
"Good Morning, Maam, back again" chirped Dobby "I'll have breakfast on the table by the time the others arrive." Then he slipped in the front door.
Harry leaned on the railing. "That was a good run. At Little Whinging, everything is flat and I'm always on sidewalks or hard footpaths in the park. The variety here was really refreshing. I'll just go in and freshen up. The others will be here in a bit."
"That's nice, dear. I don't imagine they're doing so well. They aren't really used to it."
Harry had already showered, dressed again and checked with Dobby when he heard Ron and Ginny thud onto the porch. He decided to listen a few seconds.
Ron spoke between heaving pants "Mom, how…long's…he been…back?"
"Oh, maybe twenty minutes - is there a problem?"
Now Ginny spoke, having caught her breath, but still breathing heavily, "We felt like we would die. The first couple of miles or so he tried to hold back, but he was getting frustrated - he wasn't pushing himself enough, he said. So he got Dobby to ride on his back for extra weight, and even that wasn't enough. He beat us to Stoatshead Hill, and went about it a couple times til we could catch up, and then he fairly bounced up the hill. Dobby kept giggling - I felt like throttling him."
Now it was Ron's turn "Harry did pushups at the top - with Dobby still on his back - til we made it up there, and then he jumped up and led us down to the town. We finally told him to go on ahead. We saw him pass through town and head to the river, but we just decided to turn back home. He must have run a good three miles further than we did and still got here way before we did. Mom, I know he feels like he's got to prepare for the worst, but this is freaky."
"Well, dear, he and Dumbledore think this is necessary, so we need to encourage him all we can. We can't trade places, but he needs friends and people to love him."
Harry caught himself with a tear and was about to step outside, when he heard a throat being cleared behind him. It was Mr. Weasley, "Harry, we don't know the whole story. We know something's been up since before you were born. We won't pry, but Molly's right - anything we can do to help you, just let us know."
"Just being yourselves is the best I could ever ask," said Harry, with more tears forming, "Excuse me."
"Nothing to apologize for, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, putting his arm around Harry's shoulder and conducting him out to the porch.
"So, finally decided to show up, eh?" Harry said to Ron and Ginny, laughing.
"Okay, buddy, you've been hard at it for awhile. We'll catch up," promised Ginny, as Ron glared at her for making that commitment. "We're going to train just like you've been even while you're back with the muggles - except maybe the boxing, I'd probably hurt Ron too much."
"Hey! You may have me on hexing, but I'm at least stronger than my little sister."
The rest laughed and Dobby stepped out and announced breakfast. They ate heartily. The rest of the workouts that day were not so burdensome for Ron and Ginny, as they could swim at their own pace and use only as much weight and as many repetitions in weight-training as they could handle. At dinner, they talked about the day.
"I don't remember the last day I felt so tired, unless it was at the end of OWL testing," said Ron. "Mate, I think I liked you angry and lazy better than focused and manic."
"Not I," said Mrs. Weasley, "I'm glad to see him preparing for what challenges may come. I want to see him at this table for years to come."
Harry beamed at that.
Mr. Weasley added, "Me, too. Ginny, you're oddly quiet. How was the workout for you?"
Ginny was showing an intense interest in the shepherd pie Dobby had prepared and mumbled that the workouts had been fine.
Ron then spoke up "This is well and good, Harry, but you're still going to have some fun, right? You're still up for Quidditch aren't you? Ginny and I have been practicing as Chaser and Keeper. Think you could play some Chaser after dinner?"
"Oh, sure, I guess I have some time for that. It'll be good to fly again. Wish you had a snitch, though; I'd like to practice some Seeking again. It's been almost a year."
After dinner, Ron, Ginny and Harry got their brooms (Dumbledore had gotten Harry's back to him after resuming Headmaster duties) and headed out to the backyard Quidditch pitch in the Weasleys' yard. It wasn't perfect, but fine for practice. It felt great to Harry to be flying again, and he did not even realize that he was putting on maneuvers even before they got started that took everyone else's breath away.
"Harry, what's up?" called Ron "We didn't even see moves like that at the World Cup."
"I dunno, I'm not trying to push it. I reckon the training is paying off."
"Well, it's even improving Quidditch, so if I wasn't sold on it before, I am now. I know I need every move I can get to be a proper Keeper. But you're really looking sharp. Isn't he, Ginny?"
Ginny zoomed across the pitch as if she had not heard. Then Harry spoke up "Any word on who'll be the new captain?"
"I figured it'd be Katie or you - you two've got the most years on the team," said Ron.
"Maybe Katie. Not me. I haven't the time, and besides, I'm a Seeker - I don't often watch precisely what the rest of you do. You'd be a good choice. Nobody studies Quidditch more than you, Ron, and as a Keeper, you're always watching what's happening over the entire pitch."
"Ya think so? It's always been a dream of mine," said Ron, a bit wistfully.
"I can't think of anyone better for it. Besides, Katie's pretty intent on her NEWTs this year. I think you've got a great shot."
They practiced until the sun went down. Then Harry asked them to help him practice his shield spells by trying to hex him. They spent another half hour as first Ron, then Ginny, and then both together tried to get a spell through Harry's defenses. They tried to fire spells as rapidly as they had seen Harry do the night before, and improved considerably, but still Harry avoided or shielded against everything they could throw at him.
When they stopped, Ron said "Awesome, Harry, you're like a one-man army."
Harry thanked him without enthusiasm "Yeah, but it was only two of you."
As Ron went into the house, he said to his father "Geez, Dad, what's it going to take for Harry to be satisfied?"
"Understand, Ron," said Arthur, "He's expecting to face Voldemort - how good would you say is good enough?"
"There'll be no rest for him, then, will there?"
"I'm afraid not, son. Not anytime soon." Arthur looked out at Harry, who had been stopped by Ginny, and shook his head sadly.
Ginny had caught Harry's arm before he could walk in with Ron. "Harry, let's walk a bit."
"Sure," said Harry, "I need to wind down."
After they passed the garage, Ginny said "Harry you've really improved, in, erm, lots of ways."
"Thanks, Ginny, so have you."
"Harry, I'm no longer the giddy starstruck pre-teen I once was."
"I know that - you're quite a fighter now."
"Thanks, but I mean I'm not a little girl - I'm becoming a woman."
Harry smiled shyly "Erm, well, I've noticed that too."
"Your looks at me in the gym - were they just curiosity?" asked Ginny, stopping him and placing her hands on his upper arms.
"I can't say I looked at Ron in the same way. I … uh," Harry stopped dead. He suddenly had a vision of Sirius falling through the veil of death, and then a vision of Ginny sprawled dead on the floor, her flesh desiccated like a long-frozen corpse. "No, …No." Harry turned and ran back to the house and straight up the several flights of stairs into Ron's room.
Ginny stared sadly and then came back to the house. She told her parents. "We were just talking, um, pleasantly" (she blushed a bit and half-smiled), and then when he started to talk of his feelings, he got a look of horror, screamed and ran."
Her parents nodded. "Dumbledore warned us of this," said her father sadly, "He knows what danger there is around him, and he dreads having someone else he cares about hurt. Sometimes when he lets himself feel like he really cares for someone, he sees them hurt or dead or dying. And he relives the pain of losing those close to him. He says he doesn't know if it's the fear of the danger that he attracts or the devastation that would follow if he isn't up to his challenges."
"Oh, Harry!" said Ginny softly. "So, Mom, Dad, the best thing I can do for him is to pull away?"
"No, he needs his friends desperately," said Molly, "but he may not be able to handle any stronger … attachments."
"But I, …I .."
"We know, Ginny, we're your parents, we know," said Arthur, "It's no longer just a crush. You've spent time with him, and now you know him as more than just the Boy Who Lived. And, he is quite an impressive young man. But I'm afraid you'll just have to keep it to yourself, because he won't be able to let himself get that kind of close to anyone. Not til ..."
"Arthur, don't mention it," said Molly sadly "it frightens me too much at what that boy has to face."
Ginny went out to the porch and cried. She didn't notice Dobby sitting out there in the toddler rocker. He watched her a few minutes and then said softly "You worry over Harry Potter?"
"Yes" she sniffed "it's too hard."
"Think of what he's faced. He always comes through for those he cares about. He will come through - more for all of us than for himself. Harry Potter will be just fine"
Ginny stared at Dobby in his serene confidence. He believed in Harry in a way she could not fathom. But his words comforted her that Harry would indeed be just fine. But would she? She knew, however, that he was right that there was always danger around him, so she would prepare like nothing else was more important. And she would prod Ron and all Harry's other friends to do so as well. If fate was coming to meet Harry, he wouldn't face it alone.

Dedalus Diggle

October 22nd, 2003, 7:10 pm

Chapter 10 Longbottom Manor

Harry loved being at The Burrow, but it was almost a relief for him to get away. He hurt with worry over the people he cared about. He quickly got back to his training routine. A number of days later, he heard Dumbledore's voice in the two-way mirror again. Dumbledore asked about his death visions (still happening, more frequently), his scar hurting (only occasional twinges, no strong pains), his Occlumency practice (progress, Harry thought, but not perfect) and his training. He tried to reassure Harry that he should not shy away from his friends, that all were stronger together than any were separately. Harry's head understood this, and all his friends said the same thing, but his heart had misgivings. Then Dumbledore told him he had arranged another weekend with a friend.
"Hermione?" asked Harry, "I'd love to see what her home is like!"
"No, I'm afraid your training would be a bit too frightening for her parents. I believe we might not see her back at Hogwarts if they saw one of her best friends training like a commando," explained Dumbledore.
Harry looked downward "Is it fair to them to not tell them the danger she's in, being around me."
"Aah, well, there's no going back now - Voldemort knows you love her dearly. She would certainly not be safe trying to return to a muggle life. Besides, we need witches of her caliber. No, I was speaking with Mrs. Longbottom and mentioned that I was arranging weekends for you to visit with your friends and she was quite insistent that you visit Neville."
Well, I like Neville just fine, it'd be nice to visit him," said Harry, "but his grandmother is kind of …"
"Intimidating?" laughed Dumbledore "Yes, she has that affect on me as well. And indeed she is a very powerful witch. Not that either of us has anything to fear from her - she is resolutely against Voldemort and the Dark Arts. But she is usually so stern it is hard to imagine her showing the slightest hint of levity. And yet I remember when she was a schoolgirl here, a laughing, giddy schoolgirl - powerful, excellent with spells, a real duelist - but light-hearted. I think it will be a good experience for you to see other magical homes."
So two weeks later, after boxing on Friday night, Harry again grabbed his trunk and allowed Dobby to take his hand and Apparate him away from Privet Drive. Just as they were about to leave, he saw an image of the whole house around him destroyed and the Dursleys dead. He tried to shake it off as Dobby Apparated the two of them. This time they appeared in the courtyard of a manor house on the English-Welsh border region. It was surrounded by rolling hills, farmland and pastures. They approached the door, well-lit by the early evening sun, and knocked. In a few seconds, the door opened and they were greeted by a house elf. He introduced himself and Dobby, and then Neville came bounding down the stairs.
"Hi, Harry, glad you could come. It'll be great to have company."
"It's good to be here, Neville. This is a great place," said Harry.
"Oh, it's pretty enough, but kind of cold. There aren't many other kids nearby, and no other wizarding family. Gilly?" Neville said to the house elf, "Please tell Gran that Harry Potter and his elf are here."
"He's not 'mine' - he's free and works for Hogwarts, he's been assigned to keep me out of trouble this summer" said Harry, "I thought you might know him, he cleans the Gryffindor dorm, but well, Neville, this is Dobby, Dobby, this is Neville Longbottom.".
"It is a great pleasure to meet Neville Longbottom, of whom Harry Potter has spoken with both great affection and great pride," said Dobby, bowing very low.
"Uh, yeah, pleased to meet you, too." said Neville, with a quizzical look at Harry, "I'm surprised you brought him, Harry. Gilly and Gumbo can take care of anything you might need, and this house is as safe as any wizard home around."
"Well, he can Apparate me places, and Dumbledore wants me to have the extra protection. Besides, Dobby's a friend of mine (Dobby beamed at that). I like having him around."
"Hmm, friends with a house elf, that's odd" said Neville.
"Is there something wrong with that?" asked Harry.
"Oh. No, not really, I guess. I've just never met any others than Gilly and Gumbo. They've been with the Longbottoms for ages, before my father was born, at least. I suppose they were my most common playmates growing up, but I never really thought about it. They're just … part of the family."
"Yes," interrupted Mrs. Longbottom, who had just arrived "unlike some old families, we do not differentiate unnecessarily between the house elves and any other part of our family. I am pleased to see you again, Mr. Potter."
"Please, call me Harry, and it's a pleasure to see you again, Maam," Harry replied, "May I ask what you mean by 'unnecessarily'?"
"Of course," Mrs. Longbottom replied with a gracious smile. "They are not humans, so we don't treat them as such. But they are intelligent and magical beings, so we treat them accordingly. It is in their nature to be a part of a family. House elves are lost and very uncomfortable without a family. They find the thought abhorrent. Isn't that so, Dobby?
Dobby jumped at being addressed, and then said "Most are, Maam. Dobby is proud to be a free elf."
"I know, Dobby. Professor Dumbledore has told me all about your situation. You are indeed the only elf I have heard of who desired freedom, no matter how cruel an elf's family might be. And yet, did you not desire the comfort of having a family even after you became free?"
"Yes, Maam. Dobby likes freedom, but Dobby loves his Hogwarts family, too."
"And," continued Mrs. Longbottom, "unless I am reading things wrong, you have gone quite some way toward adopting Mr. Potter as your family."
"Yes, Maam," said Dobby quietly, "Harry Potter is a great wizard and a kind one. He set me free and he treats other beings well."
"You shant be having any argument in this house on that, Dobby. In addition, Harry, house elves express their affection for their families by the work that they do. Of course, that is the reason that a family adopts a house elf initially. Some learn to love and be loyal to their house elves in return, and some don't know how to do so. In the Longbottom house, I can assure you that the relationship is not at all parasitic, but is as symbiotic as any family could be. No house elf wants for care or affection here. Now, Neville, will you show Harry up to his room. Harry, you'll have the room next to Neville's. Dobby, would you prefer to stay in Harry's room or find a separate space to your liking?"
Oh. Maam, you are so gracious," said Dobby, "but Dobby can best protect Harry Potter if he shares a room - if Harry Potter wouldn't mind, sir?
"We've been sharing all summer, why would I complain now?"
"As you both prefer," said Mrs. Longbottom, "We will be dining in one hour. Neville, why don't you show Harry around the manor after he gets settled?"
Dobby went to the kitchens to help with dinner and spend time with his fellow elves. Neville and Harry brought Harry's trunk and Dobby's suitcase up the stairs to a room next to Neville's that was as big as the Weasleys' living room, but was nowhere near as inviting. Not that it was unpleasant, just cold and stodgy. Neville started the manor tour with his own room. It was oddly neat for a boy nearly 16 years old.
"Do the elves keep it this neat? It's neater than your part of the dorm," asked Harry.
"Well, they do the cleaning, but I don't make messes. I never really have. I've mostly always spent my time in the greenhouses out back and in the fields and forests. I even keep a few plants over here by the window" said Neville, leading Harry over toward a small dresser with plants atop it.
"Oh, there's the plant you kept all last year in the d - ow!" said Harry, as he stubbed his toe against a drawer.
"Are you okay, Harry? Sorry about that," said Neville "I could have sworn that was closed. I'll get it."
"I'm right here, I'll get it" said Harry. Harry was certain the drawer had been closed when they came in as well. He bent down to shut the drawer and caught a glimpse inside. "That's odd," he said, "you've got this filled with candy wrappers - no, not just any candy, they're all gum wrappers."
Neville got very ill at ease, but nodded "Yes. Drooble's Best Blowing Gum "
"I remember now. Your mother gave you one when we saw you at St. Mungo's. Your Gran said to toss it, but you slipped it into your pocket. That broke my heart."
Neville nodded, tearing up a little "There's very little sensible contact I get with my parents. Sometimes they look at me like they're trying to reach into me, but usually they just seem vacant. When I was just seven, I had some gum with me. When I took the wrapper off, my mother picked it up. The next visit she returned the wrapper to me. It said to me that she remembered me, in some little addled way. So I kept it. You probably think that's stupid."
Harry was sniffling a bit now, trying to restrain himself. "Not at all. What wouldn't I give for some remembrance from my parents? And yet, after meeting yours, I've often thought that maybe I was luckier. Mine are over and done with I always wished I had parents, but I knew they were gone. But you see your parents and yet, they aren't really there, are they? In a sense, we're both orphans."
Harry and Neville hugged each other, and Neville sniffed "At least I have my Gran and Uncle Algie and Aunt Enid. I know they love me even though my Gran is uhm, somewhat difficult, and Uncle Algie is kind of offbeat"
"Well, we don't need to compete for who got the shorter end of the stick. Let's make a pact, you and I, not to rest until those responsible have been stopped for good," said Harry, sticking out his hand. Neville shook it with zest.
"But she continues to give you wrappers?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, I think the staff saw her holding onto the wrappers. I don't know if they just bring in their own empty wrappers or bring in gum to her. I've never seen her chewing it, but she always has a wrapper to give me."
"That's really odd. Say, speaking of things from your parents, Neville" said Harry, "since your father's wand was broken last month, are you going to get a new one?"
"I already have it," answered Neville, "When Gran was talking to Dumbledore and learned of your training program, she wanted me on it too. So I'm supposed to join with you on all your exercise - as well as I can - and we can do magic practice in the space between the greenhouses - no muggles will see us there. She took me to Ollivander's right away to get a wand. Here it is," he added, pulling out a thin box, "Dragon heartstring in Live Oak, 13 and a half inches. Do you want to try it?"
"Not unless I have to in a pinch - that wand chose you, Neville, and it should respond best in your hands," Harry held it for a few seconds, flicking it carefully and testing the strength. "I remember reading about live oak - the British Navy was built out of it before the Americans became independent - it's very resilient and strong. Why don't you show me a Levitation or something?"
Neville smirked "Okay, Harry, Expelliarmus!" and Harry's wand flew out of his robe and into Neville's hand and Harry was thrown back onto Neville's bed.
"Oh, yeah," said Harry, with a wicked grin, "EXPELLIARMUS" he shouted and both wands flew out of Neville's hands to Harry's, and Neville was thrown across the room against the wall. His grandmother knocked and then opened the door.
"Now, boys, any of the rougher spells you need to practice outdoors," she said.
"Gran!" said Neville excitedly, "Harry just stripped both wands off me when he wasn't even holding a wand."
She nodded. "Yes, I was told that this was a possibility. I wish I had seen that, Harry. But," she looked down at Neville on the floor, just getting up, "I can see that it was quite effectively performed."
"Professor Dumbledore has shared a lot with you concerning me, Mrs. Longbottom. May I ask if you are involved in the fight?" asked Harry.
"Of course you may ask, although I could always choose not to respond or not to tell you all. I have a role in the efforts, but it is in matters that do not involve you, except in the broadest sense of marshalling forces against those who would harm others. For the moment my role is to be the mistress and protector of this house, where you two may visit with each other without fear of Voldemort."
She said this last part with such utter certainty that Harry knew that this stern witch was entirely capable of securing this place against practically any threat which might present itself. He marveled at the confidence, and understood why Neville had always been so cowed by her - she was a big act to live up to.
After dinner, Harry and Neville practiced spells and discussed the DA. The next morning Neville was up even before Harry to start the morning run. He eventually lagged behind, but kept up longer than Ginny and Ron had. After the run, Harry told him how surprised he was Neville had been able to keep up as well as he did.
"Gee, thanks, Harry," said Neville, panting through his grin. "I started as soon as we learned Dumbledore had recommended it for you, two weeks ago. I thought I would collapse at first, but I guess I'm coming along. If Dumbledore says it will make us more capable of meeting the Death Eaters, then I'm going to do it!"
"Neville, if I ever thought of slacking off, your attitude is the kick in the pants I need to get going."
"And don't think you're going to get out of it at school - we're going round the lake every morning before breakfast. I've already owled Ron and Hermione, and they and Ginny will join us."
"It'll be good having people doing it with me," said Harry gratefully.
After breakfast, they went to the exercise room Neville's parents had used when they were healthy young aurors. The equipment was a bit creaky, but it cleaned up with a few spells. In the afternoon they swam in the largest of the nearby farm ponds. When the boys came down to dinner, they each had a large golden envelope by their goblets. They saw the Hogwarts seal on the envelopes and looked at each other, with mixed excitement and dread- "Our OWLS" they said together.
"You first" said Harry.
Neville nodded weakly and tore the flap of the envelope open. He pulled out the letter, looked over the results and started gasping like a trout out of water.
"Ten - I got 10 OWLs," said Neville, handing the letter to his grandmother.
"My word, Neville" she exclaimed, almost losing her composure, "you did - 2 each in Charms, Defense, Potions - of all things - , Transfiguration and 1 each in Herbology and Beasts. Neville, I am so proud. And I think we owe Professor Potter here quite a debt of gratitude."
"Not me - Neville did it," said Harry.
"No, Harry, you're not going to get away with such modesty here," said Mrs. Longbottom, "Neville had been at Hogwarts four years when I sent him off last year. He was not much of a wizard then, and he only had two new teachers last year - that awful Umbridge woman and you. He didn't learn how to perform magic from her, that's certain. You are the factor that changed. I've even worked with him myself every break and couldn't make headway getting him to perform any spells properly."
"She's right, Harry," said Neville, "I may have done the spells for the tests, but I only learned how to make any of them work when you coached me. And as you showed me what was involved, the theory all made sense, too. It's like a switch was turned in my mind, unlocking the potential for magic."
"Well, at least give Hermione credit for Potions," said Harry "You wouldn't have gotten through that on my skills."
"Yes, Hermione and," laughed Neville, "not having Snape there for the testing.' Then Neville suddenly looked horrified "Oh, no, I was looking forward to the two final years without either Potions or Snape."
Well, Neville," said his grandmother," you must keep all your options open. It's only two more years."
Neville groaned, and then perked up "Okay, Harry, how about yours?"
Harry tore open his envelope and scanned the letter. His jaw too dropped "This can't be, it just can't!"
He handed the letter to Mrs. Longbottom, "Oh, my stars!"
"What is it, Gran? Is it something bad?" asked Neville.
"It's unheard of. 12 OWLS and a NEWT - Outstanding at that!"
"What, Harry, these were only supposed to be the OWL tests" said Neville, now taking the letter his grandmother was handing him and reading "Let's see, all the same OWLS as me, plus Astronomy and Divination - that's a surprise - and a NEWT in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"There's got to be some mistake," said Harry, "I was only a fifth year."
"No, I'm sure there was no mistake, Harry," said Mrs. Longbottom, "I see Dumbledore's tracks all over this. He has a lot of influence with the testing board. Not to get particular results, mind you, Madame Marchbanks would never stand for that, but to get them to test you at NEWT-level during the OWL tests."
"But, why would he do that? Why didn't he tell me?" asked Harry incredulously.
"Obviously he wanted you to prove yourself as a stellar Defense student," replied Mrs. Longbottom, "Any other student with an OWL in Defense might have trouble taking instructions in the Defense Association from another student, even if that other student is the Famous Harry Potter. But now you have proven yourself advanced beyond any similarly situated student - this will give the other students all the more reason to listen to you. I think he also probably wanted to show you the confidence he had in you."
"As for why he didn't tell you," she continued, "you certainly did not need the pressure of taking a NEWT-level exam on top of all your OWLs. And if it got out that you were taking the NEWT exam this early and you failed, you would be embarrassed, even though there should have been nothing to be embarrassed about. I would recommend that neither of you make any effort to talk this up. The results will all be posted at the school, and it will be noticed. The effect on the other students will be far more pronounced if others talk about it than if you and your best friends do."
After dinner, Neville and Harry went out between the greenhouses to practice spells. Harry made sure that Neville was performing them all properly, and then they squared off, with Neville trying to hex Harry and Harry avoiding or blocking them. Neville's aim and reliability continued to improve. His grandmother watched, both to see how they did and to unjinx either of them if a spell got through or was reflected back at Neville. Neville was surprised to find that he could cast spells even with his fearsome grandmother there, and more than once found himself relieved that she was there to undo a spell. Then Harry showed him the Protego blocking spell and cast mild spells like jelly-legs at Neville so he could practice blocking. After a while, Neville was blocking more than were getting through. Then his grandmother stood up.
"Alright, Mr. Potter," she said with a glint in her eye, "you can get spells past a youngster - let's see how you can do against a grizzled old witch."
"Are you sure, Maam?" asked Harry.
"What, you don't think I'm good enough, or are you afraid? If you can't handle an old lady, how can you face Voldemort!?"
"Alright, then," said Harry, reluctantly. They squared off and he began to timidly fire curses her way, which she easily blocked. He sped up, and she still deflected them. She laughed at him.
"What are you, a garden gnome? Have you never learned how to fight!? Do you want to win or not!?"
That was enough for Harry - she had asked for it. He started firing spells as fast as he could, first one every 2 second, then every second, finally reaching almost 2 spells a second. Mrs. Longbottom was handling them until he got to his fastest and then a stunner got through. Eight more spells flew over her body before Harry could stop himself.
"Gran!" Neville screamed, "Are you alright? Harry, what'd you hit her with?"
"A stunner," said Harry as he performed the countercurse and she revived.
She smiled "That's going to hurt for awhile, but it's worth it - not bad, Mr. Potter. You might become a fighter yet, after all. Now it's MY turn."
Harry was a bit nervous as he faced off against her. He rehearsed in his mind all his defensive spells and avoidance moves. At a signal from Neville, she began casting spells, just as fast as Harry had ended with. Harry was barely able to keep up, and then she increased her speed even more. He jumped and rolled and blocked and reflected; after five minutes and over 350 spells, she finally got through with an Impedimenta. She smiled and nodded at him as she did the countercharm and helped him up.
"Definitely the makings of a fighter - excellent reflexes," she said happily. Then she looked him squarely and sternly in the eye "But you let that be the last time anyone gets a spell past you. We weren't using spells that do any lasting damage. And I want to see you coming back here to visit for years to come, understand?"
Harry nodded, still breathless from the effort and exhilaration.
"There's something else I want to show you that I think no one else probably has. Neville, lend him your wand."
Neville pulled out his wand and handed it to Harry, who took it in his left hand, since his own wand was in his right.
"Now try casting a spell with Neville's wand," she said.
Harry started to trade hands with the wands, but she stopped him "No, go ahead and do it left-handed."
Harry pointed Neville's wand at a bench and levitated it. It felt very strange, both because he had very rarely ever used other than his own wand and because he was used to letting the power flow through his right arm. He held the bench up for several seconds, and then first one end then the other dropped.
"There's something else to practice, "said Mrs. Longbottom. "There lots of good reasons to learn to use both hands. Your right arm could get injured,…"
"Or deboned," said Neville with a laugh, reminding Harry of when just that happened to him in second year.
"Or it could get caught or you could be in such a tight place that you can't aim with your right. Also, you can cast spells even faster than you were if you can alternate wands. You can also use the left hand for protective spells or Disapparating while using your right for spells you need good aim for. Now give a try with that cistern there - see how fast you can heat it up."
Harry alternated wands while repeating "Thermo" as fast as he could until he was tongue-tied. Half the spells cast with his left hand missed, but still the water in the cistern was steaming by the end of the twenty seconds he had been casting spells at it. He had hit it with some thirty-odd heater spells in that period.
"Wow," said Harry, amazed.
"Alright, Harry!" said Neville.
"Never think that there is only one way to do magic, and prepare for everything. You should consider getting yourself a second wand - you have the skill to use it, and the need as well."
In the morning during breakfast, Mrs. Longbottom told Harry "On Sundays, Neville and I visit his parents at St. Mungo's. You and Dobby are welcome to stay here if you would like or return to your relatives' house."
Harry thought about it, remembering seeing Neville's parents the previous Christmas. "Mrs. Longbottom, I don't want to intrude, but if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to come with you."
Neville spoke up "Harry, you don't have to, really"
"I know, Neville, it's just that I think it's important I keep in mind what the people I will probably have to face are capable of."
Mrs. Longbottom smiled benevolently. "Certainly you may. You're right - a fighter should know what the fight is about. And I'm afraid you have no choice but to fight."
As a contrast to Harry's visit at Christmas, at this visit to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies had people openly greeting him and giving him thumbs-ups and other gestures of approval. At Christmas those whose behavior showed they recognized him acted as if he ought to be a patient rather than a visitor. Harry appreciated the difference, but was a bit annoyed that so many people had put so much credence in the word of the Ministry and the Daily Prophet newspaper. Harry then reminded himself that all any of these people knew about him was what they had heard from others - good or ill, true or not. For a month now he had been getting good press, so he was a hero. Who knows what the future would hold?
Harry was relieved to be under the umbrella of Mrs. Longbottom's imposing presence. They were able to sweep by those who would interrupt or stop them, and even Gilderoy Lockhart left them alone as they passed through to the rear of the ward. Harry recognized the frail, nearly vacant woman that Neville's mother had become from his Christmas visit. He was hardly prepared however for meeting Mr. Longbottom, whom he had only seen in photographs taken before he had been tortured into insanity. He had been a robust vigorous impressive man, but now he was a shell of a man, as thin as Harry when he had first arrived at Hogwarts and seemingly shrunken even in height. He was as gaunt as Sirius had been in the year after he had escaped Azkaban Prison.
In terms of the discussion, the exercise seemed pointless. Mrs. Longbottom talked about events at home and in the wizarding world. She explained about Neville's OWL results, bragging on Neville profusely, at which Neville beamed, despite his parents' apparent lack of comprehension. She also introduced Harry and bragged on him, particularly for his work with the DA and helping Neville. Neville's parents nodded emptily and whistled tunelessly as she talked, and the only point Harry could see to the visit was so that they did not forget the couple confined in this facility. It worked. Harry felt a renewed feeling of revulsion and hatred for Bellatrix Lestrange, and he knew he would have to use all his Occlumency skills to put down these emotions. He had a lingering sense that even this rush of emotion was being felt by Voldemort, and this thought had him immediately working on managing his feelings.
After a bit over an hour, it was time to go. When they stood to leave, Neville's mother reached over and grabbed Harry's hand. She looked him in the eye and very briefly Harry felt an intense intelligence there which he had not previously noted. She grasped his hand in a double-handed shake, as someone would do when thanking someone vigorously. But while she was doing this, he felt a wad of waxy paper being pressed into his hand. He remembered how she had given Neville a wrapper from Drooble's gum at Christmas, and how dismissive Neville's grandmother had been. But it had nagged at him, since Neville had been saving them in the drawer Harry had seen opened, and Harry noted that it was all the same kind - Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. He immediately realized that this was intended as a secret gesture, so he palmed the wad of papers and stuffed it into his pocket, while acknowledging her handshake patronizingly. Then she turned to Neville, made a show of pulling out a wrapper, in such a way that Harry felt she was distracting from the possibility that she had given Harry anything, and gave it to him.
"Thanks, Mum," said Neville, with a tear at the corner of his eye.
"Alright, very good, Alice, dear, we'll be back in the middle of the week," said Grandmother Longbottom, and they all left.

This chapter is not quite over, but this is as much as can be posted here.

Dedalus Diggle

October 22nd, 2003, 7:15 pm

Back at Neville's house, Dobby already had all of Harry's things packed. Neville and Harry spent a couple of hours practicing their spells before Harry had to return to Privet Drive where he could not do magic. Then they all had a lovely supper in the garden.
Afterwards, as they tried to say farewells, Harry looked around at the house fondly, but then the image of its destruction and the crushed bodies of its residents, even the elves, intruded on his mind. His face took on a look of horror. He squeezed his eyes shut and put his hands over them, first covering them and then starting to dig his nails into them to try to make the vision stop. Before he could do anything, he felt a surprisingly strong grip on his wrists pulling his hands back.
"Potter! What is it, what are you seeing?" shouted Mrs. Longbottom. Harry told her, through his tears, and she continued. "Yes, Dumbledore warned me. Listen, the danger is not your fault. You aren't the cause and you aren't responsible. This is just another of the burdens you'll have to bear until the matter is over."
Hearing that, Harry stopped trying to reach his eyes, and blinking away his tears, he said "Then … you know about the Prophecy?"
"Of course, Harry, both the Potters and the Longbottoms were told once it was determined it could apply to either of you children,." she answered.
"What prophecy?" asked Neville.
"You haven't told him?" asked Harry.
"No, and he shouldn't know all of it - it would put you both in greater danger," said Mrs. Longbottom.
"But he should know something about it - Neville, 16 years ago there was a prophecy about the birth of a child who could defeat Voldemort. From the wording, it could have been either of us, but in trying to kill me first, he was destroyed, which showed that it was me. Of course, that's where I got this accursed scar. Part of the rest of it is that neither he nor I can rest until one of us has killed the other."
Neville silently gasped, and looked sadly at Harry. "So you're not training because you might have to fight, like the rest of us - you know that you'll have to. It's life or death for you?" said Neville quietly. Harry nodded, and Neville put a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"Harry," said Mrs. Longbottom, "I am already doing all I know to do to counter Voldemort and his supporters. If there is ever anything that we can do to assist you, it only need be asked. And you are always welcome here at Longbottom Manor." Neville nodded his agreement.
Harry looked at Neville and said "Well, a fellow can always use a friend, so keep up with that, alright?"
"You've got it," replied Neville.
With that, Dobby took Harry by the hand, and after the farewells, he Apparated himself and Harry back to Harry's bedroom.
Back at his kin's house Harry took out the wrappers and spread them on the bed. They were all fairly wrinkled, but there was nothing written on them, except of course the name of the gum (no content labeling requirements in the wizard world, noted Harry - that saved the twins a lot of trouble with their products). The only oddity Harry noticed was that they all had little holes in various places around them. An occasional hole would have been no surprise, but it looked like they had all been placed on very slender spindles several times. Harry was surprised to think that the Longbottoms might even have access to needles. Then the thought occurred to him that perhaps these were holes caused by hypodermic syringes - perhaps the Longbottoms' supply of gum was being injected with a poison to kill them or at least keep them incapacitated! He did not want to raise alarms unnecessarily. He wished Hermione were available, as she seemed to know everything, and particularly with parents who were dentists, in whose office she often helped out during the summers Harry knew, she would know about the sorts of marks syringes would make. He placed the wrappers in an envelope and placed them in his trunk so he could ask her later. Then he cleared his mind of the disturbing images of the day and went to bed.

Dedalus Diggle

October 23rd, 2003, 1:54 pm

Chapter 11 Birthday Wishes

Dumbledore arranged visits to other students' homes nearly every weekend through the remaining weeks of the summer. Harry visited with Seamus Finnegan, Susan Bones, again at the Burrow with the Weasleys at the end of July, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Katie Bell, Andrew Goldstein, and Luna Lovegood. At the Burrow, he had his first ever birthday party, which was shared with Neville. The Weasley twins showed up in robes that brought new meaning to the terms 'tasteless,' but they enjoyed them nonetheless. Neville and Luna came by Floo Network.
Hermione was also there, having taken the Knight Bus, despite misgivings. Harry told her about the gum wrappers, but he had not brought them with them. She was very interested and told him to make sure he brought them when he went back to school. He noticed her talking quietly to Neville later, and while he was certain it was about Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, he did not know if it concerned the wrappers. He also asked her to work on countercharms, as he would need someone to help him unjinxing DA members. She beamed and gloated "I told you the DA was a great idea."
"Score one for you, Hermione," said Harry, "Or rather two, including the interview."
"Score them for all of us," said Hermione, "We all need to prepare ourselves. Thanks for asking me to do the countercharms, Harry."
"Who is better at charms than you, Hermione?" asked Harry sincerely.
She blushed and hugged him. "That's sweet of you to say. This should help out with healer training as well."
"Healer training?" said Ron, who overheard her "I thought we were all training as aurors!?"
"I'm taking the classes I need for both. Well, we only have a few short years to get all the education we can from Hogwarts. This way I keep my options open. Besides, it looks like we're going to have plenty of fighters, once Harry's trained them all. But we may well need people who can help out with healing as well. I expect there will be some bloodshed before everything is sorted out. And an auror who can heal could be a big asset"
Ron and Harry had to agree. Of course, OWL results and Prefect badges were the prime topic of conversation. Both Ginny and Luna had been made Prefects, although Luna seemed singularly unconcerned. Harry wondered if it were not better to have such a floating attitude, rather than be as intense as he so often felt. Everyone was very impressed with Neville's 10 OWLs and Harry's 12. Of course, the NEWT just floored everyone, but Mr. Weasley nodded and stroked his chin and said "Wise man, that Dumbledore." Ron got 11 OWLs, the same ones as Neville, but with three more Outstandings, plus Astronomy. Hermione got 17, all Outstanding, missing only her OWL for Muggle Studies; this was a new school record.
Ron laughed, "Of all things Hermione - you were raised a muggle, you live with muggles. How can you fail at Muggle Studies?"
"That was the problem, Ron" said Hermione, still a bit put out, "I know muggles, so taking a test on what wizards think muggles are like is confusing, because I started answering questions from my own muggle experiences. It's like taking a spelling test in America and getting counted down for spelling labour with a 'u' - their perception of how to spell the word isn't wrong, it describes the way they say it, but it's not the way we British do." And then she added with an arched eyebrow at Ron, "At least for those of us who can spell."
Ron looked at Harry with a 'what did I do to deserve that?' look, but Harry just laughed.
At the party a pair of large owls arrived carrying a flat rectangular box. It was marked for Harry, and bore the label of Denton Drabble. Harry recognized the name as one of the preeminent British wizard portraitists. Wizard portraits were a particular skill, since you had to capture not just the exterior aspect of the subject, but an image of the very soul. Harry wondered if someone had had one of him made from a photo. He opened the box and was dumbfounded. All the Weasleys, Luna, Neville and Hermione gasped.
"Well, I thought I would be better received then this. Something must have happened to the original me," said the image of Sirius Black.
"Y-Yes," said Harry sadly, "you were killed a month ago. Voldemort tricked me into a trap at the Department of Ministries, and you came to rescue me and were killed by your cousin Bellatrix."
"That nasty witch!" said Sirius, "well, what's done is done I guess. I'll have plenty of time to think about that. That makes me all the more glad I had Drabble come to my house during those long months sitting around with Kreacher to get this portrait done. So, how do you like me?"
"Very much, Sirius" said Harry, "I just wish I had the original."
"That's as it should be, Harry," sighed Sirius, "but you know we are in a war, and good people die in wars. Never forget that."
"How could I?" said Harry sadly.
"Did I at least take Bella out with me?"
"No," said Harry, "she and Voldemort escaped. But 10 Death Eaters were captured and are still in custody - most of those who escaped from Azkaban last year. Oh, and Fudge and a couple of his men saw Voldemort, so the word is out among the wizarding world that he's back, and Dumbledore and I are heroes again, rather than nutcases."
"Well, if I was the only casualty, then it was a fair trade-off," said Sirius.
Harry gasped and then yelled "No, no, it's not. Losing you was awful."
"I know, Harry, I'm glad to know you care that much. I wondered when you didn't contact me with the mirror. I guessed you had never unwrapped it. Umbridge probably would have discovered it if you had - there are ways of detecting magical activity. But Harry, you have to understand - we must consider the big picture. Trading one soldier to take out 10 enemy fighters is almost always a successful battle, particularly when the soldier lost was as hampered as I was by my history. I know I didn't try to die and I am proud to have died valiantly. Grieve, yes, but don't lose sight of the big picture."
Harry kept the portrait of Sirius with him through the rest of the day, setting it up at the table for dinner and cake, setting it up on the porch for the fireworks show the twins put on. The next day, Mr. Weasley came to the breakfast table with a grim look.
"I didn't want to spoil the party with unpleasant news. I've already told your mother. I've been sacked," he said.
"No," "How could they?" "Dad" came the cacophony of voices.
"Well, I shot off my mouth once too often about these anti-rights and anti-goblin policies of Fudge. He purged several of us."
Fred spoke up "You can count on us, Dad, business is good. We'll take care of tuition and supplies for Ron and Ginny, and anything else you need." George nodded agreement.
"Thanks, boys," said Mr. Weasley with a broad smile, "With my severance, I'll be able to take care of household needs for quite a while, but covering school was going to put us in a bind."
Hermione spoke up "Do you have any prospects? Is there any other kind of work you could do?"
George spoke up first "We've been thinking of opening a Hogsmeade store - we were going to wait a while, but we could accelerate the plans and you could manage that."
Arthur glanced a bit uneasily at his wife and said "Well, actually, I've already been contacted about another position. I'm considering it. It might be temporary, but it would allow me to look for something else."
"What is it, Dad?" asked Bill.
Arthur smiled "Ahh, I'm not at liberty to say at the moment. If it works out, you'll all know soon enough."
Harry continued to work and visit other students through the summer, finding that all the DA members who had taken OWLs or NEWTs passed their Defense and Charms tests, usually with Outstanding ratings, often to some surprise. All had heard of Harry's early NEWT test and were happy both for him and for the authority it would impart to him to help everyone learn to defend themselves. They all had also begun the sort of training program Harry had, though none as intensely as he had. To his utter frustration, he continued to get visions of others dead or dying, which reinforced the distance he had maintained. Only once did his scar act up through the summer, near the end, three days before he was to go to Diagon Alley to get his books and supplies. The pain started slowly and grew in intensity, and the sense Harry got from it was of frustration.

Dedalus Diggle

October 23rd, 2003, 5:21 pm

Goblins ch. 12 - Goblins

The book lists came in mid-August. Included with the usual Hogwarts' letter was Professor Dumbledore's personal announcement of the opening of the DA as an official Hogwarts student organization, giving the highlights of its establishment, leaving out a bit of the drama, and praising highly the improvement in skills, knowledge and camaraderie of all the participants. He concluded with an encouragement for all students to participate so as to learn individual and mutual defense.
The plan for summer's end was for Dobby and Harry to Apparate to The Leaky Cauldron and spend the night there, then meet Ron, Ginny and Hermione downstairs there the next morning to go shopping for supplies together. Then Hermione would take a room that night at The Leaky Cauldron and Ron and Ginny would stay in Fred and George's apartment over their Diagon Alley shop. The next day they would go to King's Cross Station by Apparation conducted by Dobby (the twins not yet being qualified to Apparate with anything more than inanimate gear they could carry). Harry actually got all of his things together and arrived early enough that they had time for a walk together through Diagon Alley the afternoon before Ron and Hermione were to arrive. Harry got his room and placed his things in it, and then they set off. They stopped by Ollivander's Wand Shop and discussed with Ollivander Mrs. Longbottom's recommendation that Harry get a second wand. Mr. Ollivander said he had known of several wizards to do that, especially if they were expecting danger. Harry told him they would be right back after he filled his money bag at Gringott's Wizarding Bank.
As they set out for Gringott's, they saw a sign Harry had overlooked before, but had clearly been there for a long time. What drew Harry's attention was a collection of house elves standing near the sign, which read "No Slaves Admitted." Dobby immediately walked over to join the group of elves.
"What are you doing, Dobby?" asked Harry.
"House elves always waits here, Harry Potter, sir," replied Dobby, "I has never been in Gringott's. My master always left me here."
"But you're no slave - you're free." said Harry. He noticed that the other house elves started muttering and moving away, as if he had some foul infectious disease. "A free elf should feel free to do the things open to free beings."
"Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir. Besides, it looks as though Dobby is not much welcome here around the sign anymore."
As they entered they were immediately approached by a goblin who appeared to be older than the rest and whom Harry had previously noted observing activities in the lobby like a manager or a floorwalker.
"No slaves, no, no, no, no, no slaves in Gringott's!" he yelled angrily. "Didn't you see the sign? You, boy" he added, addressing Dobby, "you should serve your master better by observing the rules."
"Now hold on, Dobby isn't a slave. He's free," said Harry sharply but politely, with Dobby nodding proudly.
"Free, you say, sacked by your old masters, eh?" said the elder goblin. "Well, then boy, why haven't you got yourself a new family The Ministry's (he fairly spat the word) Department of House Elf Placement will arrange you new masters - if you're good for anything."
"Beg pardon, SIR," said Dobby (this was the closest to rude Harry had ever heard Dobby get), "Dobby does not want new masters. He's happy to be free!"
"Free? And you want to be that way? You almost sounded like a goblin about it. Well, then what are you doing here with a master!?"
Harry spoke up first. "Oh, I'm not anyone's master. Dobby is my friend."
Dobby got terribly excited and squeaky again at Harry calling him a friend.
"You call HIM a friend," asked the old goblin incredulously. "Well, that's the darndest thing I've ever heard of. Next thing you know I'll hear you share quarters with him."
"Yes, sir. We has done that all summer," said Dobby, while Harry nodded "since I was sent to guard Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter!! Really!? Bend down here, would you? Well, what do you know, couldn't see that scar from this angle. My eyes aren't what they were, and of course, the light's kept dim. But why would Harry Potter need guarding by an elf?"
"Well, sir, I'm underage, and I'm not allowed to do magic around muggles, with whom I live. Last year I had some legal trouble when I had to use magic to save my cousin and my life." answered Harry. "Dobby works - for pay - for Hogwarts and Headmaster Dumbledore assigned Dobby to protect me so I wouldn't have to use magic. Dobby seemed happy for the job since I helped get him freed."
"You, Dobby, wanted freedom, and you, Potter, helped an elf!? And you've been sharing quarters!? You two are a couple of odd bats, aren't you? Well, times are changing all around."
Suddenly there was a hideous shriek behind them and a relatively large goblin came running at them with a chair. Before Harry or Dobby had time to react, the goblin had crashed it down upon Dobby's head, splitting his skull open. The elder goblin grabbed the remains of the chair and screamed something at the large goblin in a language Harry did not understand. Harry by this time had picked up Dobby and was cradling him in his arms, like a father with a sleepy toddler.
"Come with me, Potter," said the elder elf, leading him to one of the rail carts used to reach the chambers and vaults below. "My hullabaloo has a healer in our cave who can help him - if we can get there in time."
They jumped into the car and it set off at the goblin's command. "By the way, Potter, my name's Grishnack. I am the glamdring of my Hullabaloo, as you may have guessed. Or," he continued "I'll warrant you know nothing of goblin life. You probably think we're just violent, underhanded and money-grubbing, eh?"
"Well, I don't know what goblin society is like, sir, but all I really know about goblins is that they have run the bank safely and honestly for a long time, and have risen in rebellion quite a few times. And it sounds like you had good reason."
"Really, you as a wizard see reasons for it. And what about now?"
"I hope you goblins won't, sir. My friend's father says the Ministry's policies are hurting the goblins and pushing you that way. He even got fired for objecting to those policies. I hope to see those policies changed, but I had trouble getting people to listen when I saw Voldemort rise again."
"Yes, the Ministry didn't have much good to say about you, did they?" grunted Grishnack, "but we goblins knew to trust Dumbledore more than the Ministry."
"But the Ministry doesn't represent all the wizards. Dumbledore hopes we can stay allied against Voldemort." said Harry.
"We aren't allied, Potter. Dumbledore's a good man, but the Ministry doesn't seem to want to treat goblins well. Maybe if there were a change in the leadership ...Well, here we are. Hurry - we take pride in the safety and security of our guests."
They had gone all the way down to the lowest, seventh level. Rather than going the direction of the vaults, however, they went through a low door in the opposite direction. Grishnack could stand up going through, but Harry had to crouch rather far. If Dobby had not been so light, Harry could not have carried him in. They went through several passages which would have reminded Harry of a rabbit warren if they were not hewn into rock. The walls were quite smooth and the floors were nearly level, but with a slight tilt to one side and a small channel at the edge draining away water than seeped through or condensed on the cool stone walls. Grishnack led him to one of the larger rooms Harry saw, where there was an older female goblin and a young one. There were a number of cabinets and extremely low goblin-length beds. Grishnack directed him to place Dobby on one of the low beds.
"Grishnack!" the older goblin woman hissed "what do you mean bringing a wizard and a slave in here! This is our home and you defile it!?"
"The elf is free, not a slave, and was injured by Gribball in the lobby. We owe assistance to any guest. And the wizard is Harry Potter, and helps freedom-seeking beings such as this elf, and calls them friend."
"You take liberties with the traditions, but you are glamdring. You have brought an injured being to me for healing."
She directed the younger goblin to the cabinets to retrieve potions and objects that did not resemble anything Harry had seen in Madam Pomfrey's supplies. But the women seemed to know what they were doing and Harry did not know any better so he let them do what they could.
Grishnack then said to Harry "Forgive her reaction. We do not bring any but goblins to our home as a rule. You are the first wizard brought to this cave although some of the other hullabaloos who run other activities of Gringott's have had a wizard in their homes on occasion. I am the glamdring, the leader, of this hullabaloo, however, and if I say you come in, you may, and if I tell her to heal, even an elf, she heals."
"I understand the hostility toward wizards, Mr. Grishnack," began Harry.
"Just Grishnack, Potter. We do not use wizard titles."
"Alright, sir. I mean, er, Grishnack. But why is there such hostility to elves? Just because they are not free?"
"It would be closer to say that it is because they do not want to be free of wizards. Goblins and elves are related, and we find such servility, particularly to wizards, to be offensive beyond words. It is an obscenity to us. Were this elf not a free elf, and more importantly one who sought freedom, I would not have brought him here. Molina is right: to bring one of the slave elves here would be defilement. But as I say it is appropriate, she will heal him."
Harry crouched over to the foot of the bed Dobby was on and saw how much improved he already was. Molina the older healer said he would require two hours recuperation. Grishnack said that he would take Harry to his vault and then to the lobby, and would take Harry back down here for Dobby when Harry returned. Before he left, Harry saw Dobby wake. He looked up at the younger healer who was tending to the various potions and healing devices at his side. Harry thought Dobby had a faraway look in his eyes and figured that the injury and treatment were making his head swimmy.
"Dobby, I'm going to go finish my errands. Will you be okay here by yourself?" inquired Harry.
"Yes, Harry," said Dobby, in a dreamy way, surprising Harry that he said only 'Harry' rather than the full name. "I'll be here at home."
"Sounds like he needs some bed rest," said Harry "I guess we can get going now."
Harry filled his money bag and then walked over to Ollivander's. Trying wands left-handed took quite a while. Finally a rather shorter stouter wand reacted well in Harry's left hand. It was mahogany with a unicorn hair core.
"Is there anything unique about this one?" asked Harry.
"You mean like your first wand?" asked Ollivander.
"Yes," nodded Harry.
"Yes there is," said Mr. Ollivander, raising Harry's anxiety. "It chose Harry Potter."
Ollivander winked, and Harry chuckled uneasily. He checked his new watch (a birthday present from the Dursleys, and even though it had been the prize in a packet of breakfast cereal, it was still the best thing they had ever given him - it was new and it worked; besides, he thought, he did seem to have a tendency to break watches) and saw that it was time to go back and get Dobby. He returned to Gringott's where he was greeted by Grishnack and conducted down to the goblin homes. When they entered the healing room, he saw Dobby's hand being held by the younger healer.
"Ahh," said Grishnack, "touch is good healing. It restores the vitality from within."
Molina grumbled "Just be glad we've got Melony here training, as you wouldn't get me touching one of them one second longer than I had to."
Dobby was helped up, and though he seemed a bit wobbly, he clearly was able to get about and go. They thanked the healers and Grishnack took them up to the lobby by way of the rail car. This was a first for Dobby while conscious and he was ecstatic to take the ride. In the lobby Grishnack escorted them all the way out for protection and bid them well.
As they walked back toward the magical doorway to the alley behind The Leaky Cauldron, they came upon Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Harry decided he wanted an ice cream cone and offered to treat Dobby to one, too.
"Oh, sir. Harry Potter is too kind." wailed Dobby, "For a wizard to buy something for an elf is unheard of."
"Not for an elf, Dobby, for a friend. And you've had a rather hard day"
Harry decided to have a double-scoop chocolate-dipped cone, with one scoop of pumpkin-hazelnut, and one scoop of cranberry swirl. Dobby had a lot of trouble making up his mind, and finally asked Fortescue about the flavors.
"Beg pardon, sir, but all these flavors seem sweet. We elves doesn't have sweets, as a rule, not good for us. Do you have any kinds that aren't sweet?"
"I think I know just what you're after," said Mr. Fortescu helpfully, with a wink to Harry "We don't usually take out the menu for the goblins until dark, when they start to come out. Wizards don't generally buy treats for their elves, but if that's what Mr. Potter wants to do, it's fine with me."
"He's a friend, not my servant," said Harry, "but let's see if that menu is more to his liking." Harry and Dobby looked over the menu that Fortescue handed them. Harry thought he would retch. The flavors were awful: tuna and sauerkraut, kidney, broccoli and earthworm, lima bean with garlic chunks, haggis, bitter chocolate and anchovy paste. But Dobby was squeaking with excitement. He finally settled on a single scoop sundae of chicken liver ice cream with squid ink sauce and roast millipede sprinkles. They sat at a table out front to have their treats, but Harry made apologies and spent the whole time turned away. After they were done, they started to make their way back to The Leaky Cauldron.
"Harry Potter, sir, that was the most wonderful treat Dobby has ever had," chirped Dobby, "except two things."
Harry smiled, and couldn't help asking what the two biggest treats Dobby had ever had were.
"Well, of course, sir, when Dobby received clothes from his old master was the best thing ever. And the second best was this afternoon, when Dobby woke to find that angel holding his hand."
"That 'ang…' - Dobby do you mean that goblin healer?" asked Harry.
"Yes, sir. Is she not the most beautiful creature ever? When I awoke and saw her face, and felt the rasp of her hands on mine, and the odor about her, I felt like I was home - like I was in the place I should be forever."
"That's great, Dobby, but are you sure it wasn't the potions making you feel that way.," said Harry, having trouble believing that anyone could find that green-brown, warty, rough, squatty goblin woman attractive. But then, Harry thought, if an elf can go gaga over chicken liver ice cream with squid ink sauce and roast millipede sprinkles, then maybe a girl goblin is a nymph to him. It's like Mrs. Longbottom said, elves can be treated like family, but they still are just not humans.
"Harry Potter, sir?"
"Yes, Dobby."
"Can we stop there tomorrow when you buys your books?"
"At Fortescue's - absolutely! I want Ron and Hermione to see that menu."
"That would be wonderful, sir, but I meant Gringott's, sir. I was hoping to see Melony again."
Harry couldn't help but smile as he looked sidelong at Dobby, and Dobby grinned shyly up at Harry.

Dedalus Diggle

October 23rd, 2003, 10:29 pm

Goblins ch. 13 A New Broom

Harry had to do his pre-breakfast run through Diagon Alley, which required several times back and forth retracing the same areas. He suggested taking Knockturn Alley for some variety, but Dobby insisted he had the strongest of orders from Professor Dumbledore not to let Harry go into any such dangerous places. Harry relented and on his fourth repeat trip, he heard a familiar voice calling from above.
"Oy, Harry, looking good!"
It was one of the twins calling from a window above their shop. Harry couldn't tell which one it was until he was close enough to see the freckles and faint scars that told one from the other. And without his glasses, which Harry was carrying but did not have on while running, it was impossible for him to tell them apart without asking.
"Hiya, Gred!"
"Naw, it's Forge" said whichever twin with a laugh "I'm hurt - you still can't tell us apart?."
"Not at this distance and not by voice - maybe one of you should use an Italian accent. Why aren't you two out here with me?" called Harry.
"Yeah, well, we're not exactly known to be morning people, y'know?"
"I'm surprised you're even up now"
"We have to get over to The Leaky Cauldron. If you think we're going to hand Ron and Ginny a bag of our hard-earned gold and set them loose on Diagon Alley, you've got rocks for brains."
Harry laughed. "I hadn't really thought about it, but I see your point. Next thing you know, you'll be seeing Ginny ogling the brooms at Quality Quidditch Supplies."
"Exactly. Mind you, Slytherin's not the only team now that has alumni that might want to see their team on good brooms, but we're going to be there to drive a bargain if we make our way over there."
"So I'll be seeing you in a bit."
"Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."
"Hah - only if the tests on a new product went bad!" Harry waved and continued down the Alley.
After his run, Harry showered, dressed and headed downstairs with Dobby for some breakfast. Luckily for Harry, except for syrup and marmalade, Dobby's choice in breakfast fare was the same as Harry's. They talked and laughed like the old friends they were, drawing quizzical stares from wizards and creatures far odder than they. Harry was on his second cup of tea after breakfast when Hermione showed up, and not long after, Ron and Ginny showed up with their father.
"Hello, Mr. Weasley, please have a seat. Are you going to shop with us?" asked Harry.
"I'd love to stop, Harry, but I haven't the time. I've got a new job and I'll need to get some supplies." said Arthur Weasley, who then departed out the back to the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"A new job?" asked Hermione to Ron and Ginny, "What is it?"
"He won't say," said Ginny.
"Yeah, but whenever we ask, he gets a funny look," said Ron.
"I noticed that, too," said Ginny, "I hope it's on the up-and-up."
"Ginny!" said Hermione, "How can you suggest that your father would do something dodgy? He's the straightest arrow I've ever known, except maybe my folks, and they've been known to take a few liberties on Health Service filings and tax reports. It's not like it's the twins you're talking about."
Ginny laughed, "Oh, I know he wouldn't do anything bad, but I think he would fudge a few lines to support his family - he'd do anything for us, you know."
"As it should be" added Dobby, to everyone's surprise. "You doesn't want to get hurt or in trouble, but a person should be willing to do anything for his family's well-being. There's no shame in doing what you needs to in providing for your own."
"Well" laughed Harry, "I didn't know I was harboring such a radical here."
"No radical, sir," said Dobby more shyly "Dobby has no political ideas. But responsibilities must be met, and family must be cared for, that's all."
Hermione beamed "Dobby, I'm liking you more and more each day. I wish the other elves thought that way."
"Begging Miss's pardon, but they do," offered Dobby, "but they understands their family as their wizard family. Very few ever knows their biological families, and because we is raised by wizards, we thinks of wizard families as our families. So when elves grow up, it's just natural for us to do what we can for our wizard families. It's who we are."
"So, Dobby," asked Ron, "you were raised by the Malfoys? How'd you turn out decent?"
"Oh, please don't make Dobby talk bad about the Malfoys!?" Dobby pled, "My earliest clear memories are with the Malfoys, but sometimes Dobby has vague memories and dreams of … other faces and other places and sometimes some very scary things." He started rocking and moaning "Dobby doesn't know why, but Dobby hates green lights - he has bad memories of green lights."
The four young sorcerers were speechless. They had never heard Dobby or any elf sound so deeply emotional and conflicted.
"Mate," said Ron to Harry, "He sounds like you after your bad dreams and visions."
"Yeah," said Harry, "Dobby do you know anything about these feelings you get."
"No," shouted Dobby "and Dobby doesn't want to know." He hopped up, obviously substituting activity for thought "Time to go - Harry Potter and his friends must get the things they needs for Hogwarts."
"I reckon we can set off toward Fred and George's place. Likely they're either not up yet or dragging themselves around," said Ron. Harry paid for breakfast and they set off.
They arrived at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in about half an hour, having taken some time to check the new brooms at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Hermione could not have been less interested, but she chatted further with Dobby about house elves. Harry overheard Dobby telling Hermione that elf welfare was one thing, but setting them free would be great cruelty. Hermione was having trouble with that and argued the point. When they approached the shop, they saw a familiar figure walking away from it, checking off something on a piece of paper he was holding.
"Dad!" Ginny called.
He waved back to them "No time. Sorry kids, can't hold up. Besides you don't want an old fellow like me around."
"Well," said Ron, "it's better than him moping about."
They went into the shop and looked around. There was an entire wall of ready-to-use magical items: fireworks displays for various occasions, portable swamps, deserts (with and without oases), waterfalls, and sinkholes; small waterspouts; siroccos, dust devils, thunderstorms (with an offer posted to produce larger weather phenomena with sufficient notice - for the right price), an extensive array of clothing with different magical effects (generally not permanently harmful, but sometimes temporarily disabling), and all sorts of candies and foods with various effects. They had a number of bowls set up with free samples. Ron started to reach for one and Hermione grabbed his wrist.
"Have you forgotten where you are? You grew up with these two?" asked Hermione sharply.
"Oh, right, I forgot," said Ron, "I was feeling hungry and they look so good." He started to reach with the other hand, but Harry caught that one. Just then George stepped out.
"Oh, what's the matter, can't he have a snack? Better pull him away" Fred said, pointing up "we have a willpower shroud set up near that bowl - you get under it and you lose any power to resist a sample. We get more testers that way."
They pulled Ron back and he shook his head to clear it. "What was I thinking?"
"As usual," said Hermione, "not much. Say, Fred, we saw your father hurrying away from here, checking something off. What was he up to?"
"My lips are sealed," he said with a smile and a wink.
"There, that's it," said Ginny, "that same funny look Dad gets when we ask him about his new job. Now what kind of job would have him getting supplies from you trolls!?"
George came out from the back room, "I'm hurt and shocked to hear our names besmirched, just as we were prepared to spend our gold on you."
"Yeah, right," said Ginny, "you two wouldn't stand for us holding our tongues about you two."
"Hrmf," said George "I guess Gryffindor's new chaser can just keep riding a school broom."
Ginny got wide-eyed "You two weren't planning on getting me a broom, were you?"
"Well, we discussed it, but we're not so sure now - Who's a troll?" teased Fred.
"Okay," she said, "you're not trolls."
"Uh-uh," said George, "not good enough - who's a troll?"
"Okay, I'll say it," said Ginny "I'm a troll."
"Did you get that Fred?" asked George.
"Uh-oh," said Ginny, "What are you two up to?"
"Testing our new camera - it doesn't need flashes and it captures several seconds of a person's actions and words. Wait a second - here comes the print," explained Fred.
He held up a print of Ginny, looking exasperated and saying every so often "Okay, I'll say it. I'm a troll."
"GIVE ME THAT," she yelled, grabbing for the print, but George caught her by the arms.
"Wow, you really have been working out," he said. "But it doesn't matter if you wreck that print - we can make a bunch more. We'll run a bunch of these for our ads, but this one we'll keep on our mantle - it's the first spontaneous shot we've taken. Don't worry, Ginny, the charm wears off after a few weeks, unless it gets renewed with the refresher potion, sold separately."
"I think I'll just wait outside," said Hermione, edging toward the door "until the rest of you are ready to go."
"Yeah, me too," said Harry, as he and Dobby headed out.
"What's the matter?" asked Fred with a laugh, "Afraid we won't catch your best side?"
In about ten minutes, everyone was together outside. As they expected big business on this, the day before the Hogwarts' train departed, Fred stayed with the shop, while George accompanied the rest shopping. Fred hung out the door to say good-bye, then said to George with a wink "Reckon we ought to make it up to her?"
"Think we can?"
"I think so - let me know how she likes it."
And then George started leading them the opposite direction from Quality Quidditch Supplies, with a skip in his step.
"Al right, George, you're up to something - what is it?" asked Ginny.
"Oh, just something we've had our eyes on for about a month. We were going over the books with our accountants at Gringott's. We noticed in the back a nice-looking broom they were holding. They told us it had been seized and was being sold to pay off some debts a wizard had. So we've been doing some negotiating, and we're going to pick up your Firebolt."
Ginny stopped dead, and then started jumping around in excitement. "George! You're kidding, aren't you? You can't mean it - a Firebolt, just like Harry's?"
They heard a voice from down the block - "I reckon she likes it."
"Well, not quite like Harry's - this one's souped up, for extra stabilization and maneuverability - if you've got the guts to push it.
"Oh, boy, have I, have I, have I? I've wanted a broom I can take to the limit for a long time. Hoo-boy, Harry, I'm gonna have a better broom than you!"
Harry grinned "Yeah, well, some players need all the help they can get." He ducked her playful swipe at him.
Hermione then asked "George, Harry's broom is the factory model. If this one has extra charms put on it, how can you be sure it's safe?"
Ron groaned "You're always a ray of sunshine, aren't you Hermione? Some other wizard's already been using it and would have tanked by now if it wasn't safe."
"Well, actually Ron, he didn't get to use it hardly at all before he went on the lam. It was Ludo Bagman's. He was having additional charms put on it - factory specs, mind you" added George for Hermione's benefit, "but he had it only for a couple of weeks before Harry tied for the Triwizard Tournament and Bagman had to run from the goblins he was in hock to. They've already sold his house and a bunch of other stuff. This will finally get him out of debt, if he hasn't been taking any other foolish bets."
"This must have set you two back a bundle," said Harry, "I remember pricing these before Sirius bought me mine, and you could buy a decent house for what these cost."
"Well, that was over three years ago, and other models have come out, so the price of new Firebolts has dropped, and of course, that pushes the price of used brooms even further. Mind you, it wasn't cheap, but it didn't cost the small fortune Sirius paid. He was a bit giddy with freedom. And Hermione, as for reliability, not only were the alterations factory-installed, but the goblins and Fred and I have all tested it - it's a real sweet ride, there's no vibration until you're at the very edge of what it can do."
By then they had reached Gringott's and went inside. Dobby situated himself in the center of the group, since as much as he wanted to see Melony again, he didn't want to do so with a skull split wide open. Instead of going to the tellers, George led them over to the accounting department. He exchanged a few words with a goblin there, signed a receipt, and was handed a Firebolt. Then he balanced it in the air and let go, where it held as steady as a rock.
"Well, Ginny," said George "Aren't you going to come get your new broom?"
"First things first," she said, and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him vigorously, then kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, you big idiot." Then she carefully took hold of the broom. "Oh, my - it is beautiful."
As Ginny and Ron looked at the new broom, Hermione went to a teller to exchange the pound notes her parents had given her for galleons. Harry noticed Grishnack and decided to say hello. Grishnack was speaking to a wizard, and as Harry approached he heard something about the Ministry and conspiracy, but when Grishnack saw Harry, he made a gesture and both he and the wizard stopped talking.
"Grishnack, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was just here with my friends and wanted to say hello and thank you again for helping Dobby," said Harry.
"Very well, Potter, hello, you're welcome. I see your friend is doing well. By the way, let me introduce you, Mr. Shacklebolt, to Harry Potter. Potter, Mr. Shacklebolt is here from the Ministry to inform us of the latest impositions they would seek to impose on us goblins."
Harry had been startled at seeing Kingsley Shacklebolt just then, but then he realized who better than an auror to impress upon the goblins the force that could be brought to bear on them. Shacklebolt gave no hint of recognition, and then Harry remembered that the Order was still a secret organization.
"Yes, of course, " Shacklebolt said grimly, befitting an auror, "Mr. Potter's fame precedes him. It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Potter."
"Likewise, Mr. Shacklebolt," said Harry.
"Now, Grishnack," said Shacklebolt, returning his attention to the goblin before him, "the Ministry expects compliance with its decrees. It is for the good of all magical beings to unite behind the Ministry to meet the new challenges which face us."
"You tell your Ministry that many of these measures go too far - they aren't increasing security, they are only oppressing goblins and the wizards we do business with, and we won't stand for it."
"I'll take my leave then"
"Mr. Shacklebolt" said Harry, as Shacklebolt started toward the door "I see from your badge you're an auror: could I ask you a few questions? I'm considering career options." Harry hurried alongside Kingsley, whispering "What is going on with all these decrees? Grishnack's right, some of these things are just oppression."
Kingsley pulled Harry over to a secluded alcove and gestured for Dobby to stay a space away. He said loudly "Well, I'll tell you about auror training; that might help you make up your mind." Then quietly "I can't talk about any new decrees here, Potter, but it appears that Fudge wants to push the goblins into rebellion. I think he wants to seize the bank and the mining interests and he'll control most businesses by controlling their finances. He'll establish nearly unstoppable power in the Ministry with assets like that. As for me, I cannot forget, as a black man, that I am here in this country as a result of oppression imposed on my ancestors by earlier muggle governments. If it comes to it, I'll stand with the goblins against a tyranny. You might want to consider where you would stand if it comes to that." Then he resumed his louder speech "And that's what I experienced at Auror Academy. It's a challenge, but from what I have heard of you, you may be up to it."
"Well, thank you, Mr. Shacklebolt," replied Harry, giving a nod and then returning to speak to Grishnack. "Is it really becoming that dire, Grishnack?"
"We still have some patience, Potter. We hope the Ministry will come to its senses and reverse these decrees. We don't want bloodshed, but we can only be pushed so far. In the meantime, we prepare. We know we have some friends, such as Shacklebolt. He carries the Ministry's messages, but he has made it clear with whom he would stand. How about you, Potter? I have no doubt you want to be a friend of both sides - but if it comes down to it, where would you stand?"
"I don't know," Harry said doubtfully.
"I'd rather an honest answer like that, then an ephemeral promise. Just keep your eye out, and think about it."
"Sir," Dobby interrupted, "Er, I was hoping I could see that healer Melony again, and, er thank her for her help."
Grishnack eyed Dobby carefully. "You've taken a fancy to her. Stay away! You're an elf, she's a goblin. I can respect you as a free being, but the hullabaloo cannot tolerate an elf showing that kind of interest in one of its members. There are plenty who thought Gribball had the right idea in trying to kill you, even though you are free. I cannot protect you if you try to approach Melony or any other women. Do you understand?"
Dobby nodded sadly. And he and Harry tuned back to rejoin Hermione and the Weasleys. Hermione asked why they were so sad, and they told her. She tried to comfort Dobby and suggested that he look to the girl elves, but he shook his head.
"Miss, I cannot explain it, but there is nothing that interests me about them. They're just friends. But around Melony, Dobby felt like he was where he ought to be."

Dedalus Diggle

October 24th, 2003, 3:09 pm

Chapter 14 Egypt

As they all left Gringott's they noticed a couple kissing to one side.
"I know that ponytail," said Ginny and Hermione at once.
"I know that blonde hair," said Ron, Harry and George together. They all waited till the kiss was over and then called "Bill, Fleur," and walked over.
They noticed that Fleur's eyes looked like she had been crying. "Oh, hi, all" said Bill, "We, um, were just saying good-bye. I've been called away on business emergency. One of Gringott's exploration sites in southern Egypt has been tampered with. I have to go see if any of the protective charms have been broken, or possibly others put on."
"So what sort of thing's in the site?" asked Hermione.
"Well, the goblins are always hoping for gold, and there's usually some in a relatively intact site such as this. I had worked on it before and there are some interesting magical protections there. And by interesting, I mean I haven't been able to beat them yet. It appears to require some sort of small magical object, probably something that could have been carried on a necklace. By the inscriptions it appears that there is some sort of directions or formula or such for something that the ancient wizards described as very wonderful or powerful or somehow very desirable - the translations aren't perfect, but the sense is of something great in itself."
"Wow, that is really interesting," said Hermione.
"You know, Hermione, from what I've heard and seen of you, you'd make a great Gringott's explorer and charm-breaker - it requires extensive study of ancient languages and charms, as well as a bit of derring-do."
Hermione smiled and blushed "Well, I'll keep that in mind too, there are a lot of great possibilities."
George then asked "Do you know when the attempt was made, or who did it?"
"Not really" answered Bill "We know it was recent, but this is a project that's been on hold since I came back to London. Dumbledore says he can spare me for awhile, especially if it's a matter of keeping the goblins placated."
"I know who and when," said Harry matter-of-factly "Voldemort, four days ago."
They all glared at him. He explained, "I was feeling his frustration in my scar. It was similar to his frustration at not being able to get into the Department of Mysteries last year, but more like a matter of a puzzle to be solved. And I could tell he was a long way away from here."
"Okay," said Ginny "How much of that did you tell Dumbledore?"
"All of it," said Harry, "Well, except I didn't know what Bill just told us, but the timing is right, and it sounds like the sort of thing he would go for."
"Oh, Bill," said Fleur, with barely an accent now "you must be careful! He may have put hexes on it to keep others out, and he will probably be watching the site to keep others from getting in."
"I'll watch out, I promise. A cadre of guards has been added, and you've just helped me apply essence of murtlap - repels most spells, you know (he told the others) - and I'll be wearing a manticore-skin cloak that the goblins keep at the most dangerous sites." Then he groaned, adding "in the summer, in the Sahara!"
"Oh, yes," said Ron, "If only it was in the winter in the Sahara it would be fine."
"I thought you generally worked at night, Bill," said George, "when the goblins can be out. It shouldn't be as hot then"
"Yeah, but they head out as soon as the sun is down - they don't wait for the sand to cool. And I'll be out there in the midday heat as well, since many of the signs of Dark enchantments can only be detected in sunlight."
"Well, we'd better let you finish your good-byes," said George with a smirk "and we have shopping to do. Oh, do we need to tell Mum and Dad?"
"No, thanks," Bill replied, "I told Mum. Speaking of Dad, I just saw him dart down Knockturn Alley. What's up with that?"
"Don't worry," said George, again with the infuriating grin "everything's under control. He hasn't become a Death Eater or anything."
Bill laughed, his earrings jingling "That's the last thing I worry about."
The group was going to get books first, but Harry stopped them and asked "Where's Dobby?"
Dobby came from the side of Gringott's with a dreamy smile on his face. He explained "While you was talking to Bill Weasley, I heard a voice call my name. I looked to the side and it was Melony, leaning out a window. She says she wants to meet me. She says she can sneak out and visit me Friday at midnight. We're to meet at Gryffindor dorm, so we won't run into any elves - they'd be angry. They hates goblins."
"That's great, Dobby," said Harry, "We'll make arrangements." Harry noticed Ginny looking over at him, looking sadly at him. Then she turned away. They set off for the bookstore.
By now many Hogwarts' students and their families were also doing their pre-school shopping. Harry could not turn his head without getting a wave and a thumbs-up, and students calling out "I'm in." More than a few parents approached him to shake his hand and thank him personally for whatever help he could give their child. A few even asked if they could join the DA themselves, which at first took Harry aback, until he recovered and referred them to Dumbledore.
Hermione beamed "You see, Harry. Now that Voldemort's return is acknowledged - oh, get over it Ron - everyone wants to learn from you."
"Well, I don't know if it's me or that it's the only game in town," said Harry modestly.
"Oh, stop that!" said Ginny, "I can't stand that overdone modesty. You don't need to have a big head to recognize that there aren't five other people in the country better qualified to teach surviving confrontations with the Death Eaters!"
"Alright, alright," laughed Harry, "I guess you're right. I've just always been put off by all this fame stuff."
It was Ron's turn "Harry, we don't want you to coach us because you survived as a baby. We want you to teach us because you've fought and survived so many times after growing up - THAT took skill and resourcefulness, and that's what we want a piece of."
But not everybody was enthusiastic. At the bookstore, Harry ran into Draco Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle.
"So, Potter, you bribed your way to a NEWT early and now you think you're the expert," said Malfoy, while Crabbe and Goyle rubbed their fists and cracked their knuckles.
Somehow, Draco's taunts didn't get under Harry's skin anymore; they seemed so small. "I'll let everyone else decide if they want to practice with me. You three are welcome to join us, if you'd like, or form your own club. It's your choice, as far as I'm concerned."
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you, Potter, making me come to you for lessons? We'll see a Weasley named Minister of Magic before that happens. We might just do like you said, though, about forming our own club. With you forming a gang of mudbloods and riffraff, the real wizards at the school may just need to get organized."
"Fine by me, Malfoy. The Defense Association is already a lot for me to handle, so the more you can take the better."
Malfoy eyed Harry suspiciously, all the more so for his calm response, as he and his henchmen shoved their way past him.
"I reckon we can put these away," Harry heard George say from the next aisle. He, Ron and Ginny came around the corner, putting away their wands. "We saw those three clowns looking for trouble and figured we'd best be prepared."
"That was brilliant, Harry," said Ron "It made him madder that you didn't react than if you had mouthed off. Let's make a pact this year - we'll all turn Malfoy away with soft answers and courtesy this year - it'll drive him nuts."
They all put their hands together and made a pledge.
"But, Harry," said Ginny, "Do you really want him to set up his own group? A bunch of thugs up to no good?"
"Sure, I only want people who are serious about survival in the DA. We're going to work hard, and I don't need disruptions. I'd rather not teach junior Death Eaters how to be effective in battle anyway. Besides, all Malfoy can teach 'em is how to be slimy and sneaky, and we already expect that. As far as fighting skills go, it'll be the blind leading the blind."
They finished buying their books and headed back to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to have lunch with Fred. When they got there, they found him overwhelmed with customers. Being the day before the students returned to school, everyone wanted to load up on their joke supplies, especially since it looked to be a tense year. They all pitched in to catch up with business. After they got a good start on taking care of the press of customers, Ginny excused herself to go upstairs to make lunch for them all. They took turns staffing the store and having lunch so that all the business could be handled. Even so, it was fairly late in the day, and they still had not gotten their stationery and pet supplies. The rest had been talking quidditch all day when they weren't doing business, so Hermione offered to go get supplies for everyone.
"Can Dobby come with me, Harry? I'll need help carrying things," she asked.
Well, it's up to him - Dobby, do you think I'll be safe enough surrounded by all these wizards?"
"Dobby thinks he's being made fun of, sir. Dobby takes his work seriously," answered Dobby sadly.
"Oh, Dobby, I'm sorry if you didn't like the tease. It's just been strange for me having a bodyguard all summer." Harry said sincerely.
"Dobby understands. Harry Potter will be safe here. Dobby will go with Miss."
When the shop finally closed, Ginny decided she had to try out her new Firebolt. They went to the roundabout in front of the shop and she kicked off. She hooted and hollared for awhile on it, till Fred called "Well, if you're not going to put it to the test, we may as well take it back."
"Right then," said Ginny and pushed up the speed and started making rather daring approaches at trees and buildings that would have been foolish on a school broom. Then as Harry watched in horror, the broom started bucking and tossing like his had his first year when Professor Quirrel jinxed it. Harry watched and grabbed for his wand to try to break her fall, when he saw the broom suddenly dart with Ginny across the road and slam into the side of the twins' shop. Harry shouted in horror as he saw Ginny's limp body drop two and a half stories to the pavement.
Then Harry blinked his eyes and saw Ginny still flying about, as she came to a stop and stared at him. The rest were staring too, and then Harry realized it had just been another vision. He started to cry.
"I saw … Ginny (pointing to her) … she crashed (pointing at the wall) … she collapsed (pointing at the ground below)"
"Come on, mate" said Fred, "it's time for a cuppa, or maybe even a butterbeer. Let's go upstairs."
Ginny landed and they all went with Harry to the twins' walkup apartment. George kept a watch from the window for Hermione and Dobby and called them up when they arrived. They told about the vision, and Hermione came and stood behind Harry and rubbed his shoulders. "It's okay, Harry," she soothed, "Everyone here understands. Nobody carries what you do. It's a wonder you keep caring about anything at all."
He turned and looked up at her "That's just it. When I first came to Hogwarts, I just wanted to figure out what being a wizard was, and get out of the Dursleys' house, and learn stuff about my parents. I made some friends, but I couldn't say I was too worried about what happened to people. I figured someone else was looking after them, and I'd just take care of myself. But that's not the way it is now. I care for too many people - all of you, and the DA, and everyone at Hogwarts, and the Order, and the Dursleys, and … everyone." He put his head down on his crossed arms on the kitchen table and sobbed. "And it's all on me "
Everyone looked around, and as much as any of them would like to say otherwise, they all knew it was true. Finally, George spoke up "Maybe so, Harry, but you'll never be alone. We're with you all the way." And they all agreed. "In fact," he continued, "Fred and I were hoping we could be with the DA ourselves, if you don't mind letting a couple of dropouts have a second chance."
Harry caught himself and looked up "I'll put in a word for you. I need all the experienced hands I can get. I'm sorry, everyone. It just all gets to me sometimes. With this Occlumency, I'm supposed to be closing out emotions, but I just can't stop caring."
Ginny put her hands on his shoulders and looked tearfully into his eyes "We wouldn't want you to stop that, Harry. It's what makes you so special."
Harry took a deep breath and gathered himself. "Oh, we can't mope around like this. Tell you what. Let's go to Fortescue's for ice cream, my treat. We learned he has a special evening menu, but he'll bring it out for us, won't he, Dobby."
Dobby started tittering uncontrollably and Harry winked at him.
When they arrived, Harry insisted they take a couple of tables outside. Then he went in and got the goblin menus from Fortescue. Ginny and Ron started looking at the entries and gave the desired look of disgust. Fred and George started whispering to each other. Hermione looked thoughtful.
"This is very interesting," she said.
"Don't you find these revolting?" asked Harry, with a hint of exasperation.
"Well, of course, on a personal level. But I was expecting something strange, since you and Dobby were acting so silly. It was very good to see you cheering up like that. So when we got the menus, I noticed right away that the heading said it was for goblins. Of course, we all know that as primarily troglodytic beings, their preferred foods run to roots and meats, generally heavily spiced, and very little in the way of sweets."
"Granger," said Harry, "sometimes you're just too rational to be any fun."
"That's what I've been saying, mate!" said Ron, "but what's up with these two?"
The twins broke their discussion. "This is brilliant" said Fred.
"Oh?" said Ginny, "I suppose you're going to have the rodent and horseradish!?"
"No, it's not that WE want to eat these things. It's that there are customers who do," said George, "Just like Honeydukes' has blood pops that are just for jokes for most people but are a real treat for the vampires, we have a line of disgusting flavored treats coming out. Nothing magical about them - just so awful they're funny. We're calling the whole line Gross-ries."
"Yeah," added Fred "we've got things like sponge cake tubes filled with chicken curry, and chocolate-covered garlic dills."
Everyone got a disgusted look on their faces, except for Dobby who got the 'kid in a candy store' look.
"See! Look at Dobby" continued Fred, "We consider these things gross, but he's excited. He likes this ice cream menu, too, which means the goblins will probably like the other things he likes as well. It's one thing to sell these as novelties to wizards, but to sell them as packaged foods to goblins would be a gold mine! Honeydukes' makes good money with blood pops and there can't be more than 100 vampires in Britain. But there are several thousands of goblins."
"Dobby," said George "How would you like a part-time job."
"I has the best job in the world already, sir. I guards Harry Potter," Dobby said proudly.
"You could keep doing that, and a noble calling it is, too." George went on, with a wink at Harry, "What I have in mind is this: when we come to Hogwarts for DA practices, we'll bring some of our new products - we swear no tricks - and you taste them and tell us how you like them. It might be things like cantaloupe in blue cheese sauce, or liver treacle tarts, or pears in mole sauce."
"That's pronounced 'mo-lay', George" corrected Hermione.
"Not the sauce WE use."
"Eeeww," said Hermione.
"Sirs would let Dobby be the first to try these delicacies and pay him. And Dobby gets to guard Harry Potter and clean the Gryffindor dorms. And Dobby has a date with the beautiful goblin Melony. Could life get any better than this!?"
"It takes all kinds, doesn't it?" said Ron.
"Ron, after hearing all this," said Ginny, "I'm going to stop teasing you about your peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches."
"Eeeww!" said Hermione.

Dedalus Diggle

October 24th, 2003, 10:22 pm

Chapter 15 Greetings and Departure

Harry and Hermione ran together before breakfast, or at least they set off together. Although Hermione had been working on a conditioning program, she had started further back in fitness than Harry and had not worked nearly as intensely. Soon Harry was running ahead with Dobby on his back, and when he got to the end of Diagon Alley, he would double-back and greet Hermione passing the other way. He noted that as composed and even imposing as she could be in robes bearing a wand or a book, she was particularly ungainly once she started to get winded. He hoped that as she got into shape that would pass, because he did not want to laugh at a friend or let pass a comment that would offend her. Every time they passed Weasley Wizard Wheezes, one or the other of the twins would either catcall or act like they were taking pictures. By the time Harry was on his fourth pass-by, he noticed a mess around the windows, which grew every time he passed by again. He realized Hermione must be pulling her wand to keep the twins at bay. Of course, Harry thought, the eggs and other debris would just egg them on.
When they were done they went to their rooms to shower and put the finishing touches on their packing. When they met downstairs to stow their bags until time to leave, they found Ron, Ginny and the twins already down there, claiming a large table for all of them for breakfast.
"What'sa matter, Hermione?" laughed Fred, "Don't like your picture taken in the morning? Did you forget your makeup?"
"Why worry?" said George, "No one could see you through that hair anyway."
"That's how they'd know it was her," said Fred. Hermione glared at them, but Harry, Ginny and Ron were stifling their own laughter.
"Next time, I won't use temporary charms on you two," growled Hermione.
"Ooh, we're scared. Ickle Hermione is going to jinx us," said George.
"Hermione, next time you say you're jealous of me having brothers, I'm going to remind you of this," said Ginny.
"You know, Harry," said Ron, "that would be an interesting fight - Hermione against the twins. Who d'ya reckon would win?"
"Hmm," said Harry thoughtfully, "that's a good one. One on one, it'd be Hermione, I reckon (the twins feigned offense at this) but could she handle the two of them at once. Maybe we should stage that at one of the advanced DA sessions. Oh, by the way, you two, I talked with Dumbledore last night - you're in. Just Apparate to the Quidditch pitch and walk on up. He said you could join the Gryffindor table for dinner on DA nights."
"Hey, now that's a deal, even if we have to spar with Hermione," said George.
"I'm glad he agreed. Without you two, if we have 400 new students, the rest would have over 20 each This will cut it down some," said Harry.
"Harry," said Ginny, "I thought 400 was the low side estimate - what if more show up?"
"I don't know. I don't even know what I'm hoping for. If we have too many, I'm afraid progress will be too slow, but I'd hate to turn away anyone who wants to learn. I've even thought about dividing the group into two if it's too large and doubling the nights we meet, but that would be so hard on us original DAs to meet 4 nights a week, plus do studies and for most of us quidditch."
"Well, better this sort of problem than last year's situation," said Ron, "I don't know if I could handle another year of such sneaking around. I just hope the new DA teacher won't have a problem with it."
"He, or she, won't" said Fred, with a grin toward George, "we're sure of it."
"Any chance you're going to fill us in?" said Harry.
"Nope, so don't bother."
"I know you too well - I won't. By the way everyone, everything about Marietta is in the past." The Weasleys were aghast, but Harry continued, "What's done is done and we need every competent DA student from last year to help this year."
"Harry's right," added Hermione, "I've already lifted the Sneak Curse on her, and she says she has been practicing hard. She really was quite good, even if she was only forced into it by Cho."
"Yeah, but she stabbed us in the back!" said Ron.
"Ron," said Harry, "Have you forgotten already what things were like last year!? We were all scared silly, not just of Voldemort, but of Umbridge as well. It was just a matter of time before someone cracked."
Ron scowled "Well, I don't have to like it and I don't have to be nice to her."
Harry nodded, "I told her to accept that she would get a cold reception. If you'll at least treat her as well as McGonagall treats Trelawney, it'll be okay. Oh, and we need to get the word to the others - no one is to mention any of this problem to the rest of the school. What happened last year is solely among last year's DA, okay?"
"Yeah, I guess. So what's the plan for getting to Kings' Cross," said Ron, as breakfast was brought out on large platters.
Hermione answered. "We've worked out a plan for maximal safety while Dobby's not with Harry. Oh, Harry stop groaning - you know we have to be cautious. From Diagon Alley, one of the twins will Apparate to Kings' Cross with Dobby, who will be taking Ginny. Then Dobby comes back for you Ron, and then for Harry. Finally he comes back for me, and the other twin will come along at that time."
"Yes, we can't have Harry getting lonely," teased Fred.
Arriving by Apparation, they were able to go directly to the Hogwarts platform, without passing through from the muggle side. An area was set aside for families who could arrive that way, which greatly eased the problem of disguising passages through the wall to Platform 9 ¾ from the muggles.
Virtually as soon as he got there, Harry was beset by students and parents. All the parents who approached thanked him profusely and the students all said they were looking forward to it. More than a few of the young witches eyed Harry in his jeans and t-shirt and blushed. Some went away with their witch friends giggling. When Harry saw Neville, he asked him to save a seat on the train, and to try to get a couple of other students to join them, since all their usual seatmates were now prefects.
"Actually, Harry, I was going to spend a good bit of the time in the last car," said Neville, pointing.
Harry looked and saw that a car had been added - conjured for the day most likely - which was not a passenger car. He could see through the windows that it contained a fully-equipped gymnasium, and seemed oddly larger on the inside than on the outside. He figured it had been magically enlarged on the inside to accommodate as many as might like to use it.
"That's great," said Harry, "I've been away from a gym for a couple of days and I've needed to get back. Wow, Neville, I just noticed, you've really dropped weight and firmed up since I saw you last."
Neville beamed "Actually the same weight, but muscle instead of fat. I'm feeling better and stronger, too, Harry."
"I'd better get to work," said Harry, "just to keep up with my students."
"Don't worry, you'll always be the coach," said Neville.
"I like that," said Luna, who had arrived with her father during this talk,
"What?" asked Harry.
"You've said you wanted to downplay both the sense that this is an army being formed, or that you are 'in control' - well, let's call you 'coach.' That has more of the sense of a team learning skills together."
"What's wrong with calling me Harry?" asked Harry.
Ginny answered. "Have you not noticed how many Harrys there are in the younger years? After Voldemort was destroyed when you were a baby, 'Harry' became the most popular boys' name among British sorcerers. All the boys in your year had already been named, but my year has several Harrys and the following years must have at least a dozen each. There are even a few Harriets who answer to 'Harry.' If we start calling for 'Harry' in the DA meetings, we'll get dozens of people responding."
Ron slapped him on the back "Coach Potter it is, then, mate."
"Well, it's better than what I was being called this time last year," said Harry.
As the students filtered away, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder 'Harry, it's good to see you again."
"Oh, Mr. Lovegood, how are you? It's nice to see you again. Thanks again for letting me visit."
"I'm doing splendid, Harry, and please feel free to visit anytime. It's a pleasure and an honor to have you visit and I'm so impressed with what you and your DA have been doing." Harry started to put up his hands in protest, but Mr. Lovegood continued "Alright, I know you shy from the credit, but someday you'll accept what is due. In the meantime, I want to give you something - a free subscription to The Quibbler."
"Oh, um, gee, uh, that's great, Mr. Lovegood," said Harry reluctantly.
Mr. Lovegood laughed heartily "You think some of the articles in there are trash and a joke? So do I. Thing is, I could say the same for the Daily Prophet, eh? But I admit it and they try to claim to be 'authority.' We run a lot of articles from sorcerers of all stripes with different viewpoints. We get a lot of rubbish, because we can't afford to pay for the articles or to verify all the claims. We aren't subsidized like the Prophet. Nonetheless, we also get some good articles as well - like a certain interview we ran last year, eh? The trick is to figure out the gems from the garbage. And I'd love to run most anything you might want to submit about the challenges ahead and getting prepared - think about it. I know you're busy during the school year though. Here, here's your first issue, it makes good reading while you're on a treadmill, takes your mind off the sweating."
Harry smiled "Okay, thanks, Mr. Lovegood, I'll keep an open mind. You're certainly right about one thing - the establishment paper has no better track record than The Quibbler. Uh-oh, gotta run. Thanks, Mr. Lovegood."
With that Harry grabbed his trunk, and he and Dobby jumped on the Hogwarts' Express and set off down the aisle looking for Neville. By the time they got situated, the train had departed. They changed into gym clothes and set off to the end of the train. By the time they arrived there, the gym was already busy. Several students waved happily from their exercises. Harry and Neville did stretches first before moving to stair-climber machines. Harry was surprised that they seemed to be muggle machines, but then muggles exercise the same way that wizards do, he realized. Just as the steam engine which pulled the train was no different from muggle steam engines, except of course in that all the muggle steam engines had been retired to scrap or museums, wizards used muggle things when they were up to the job. Harry suspected though that the boiler of the steam engine was kept heated magically rather than by coal or wood.
They were just finishing with the stair-climber and started into sit-ups when the prefects were able to join them. After that, Harry decided to get a steam bath and some pumpkin juice before heading to the weight machines. As he headed into the steam bath, the door shut rather too forcefully. Harry wheeled around to see Draco Malfoy grinning evilly at him, with Vincent Crabbe beside him and Gregory Goyle leaning his immense bulk against the door so no one would get in or out.
"Well, well, Potter. Finally we meet without your gang of mongrels barking at your heels," sneered Draco while stroking his wand, "now what shall we do first - shall we reproduce what your friends did to us on the train ride back?"
"Y'know, Draco, if you didn't go looking for trouble, you wouldn't find it so much," replied Harry. He considered using his wandless Expelliarmus, but wanted that to be a last resort.
"I could say the same to you, Potter, but first I'll say this - PETRIFICUS TOT---"
Draco's curse was interrupted with a large crack, as he and both of his cronies were thrown into the corner.
"You will not harm Harry Potter," roared Dobby, who had gone unnoticed in the steam.
"I know that voice," said Draco, "that's Dobby our house elf."
"He WAS your family's house elf," said Harry, "my friend Dobby is free and likes it like that."
"'Free' - right! He's a house elf. Born to be a slave and never anything but," said Draco.
"Dobby has more dignity and value than Voldemort and all his Death Eaters combined," Harry retorted.
"Every time I think you cannot get more absurd, Potter, you prove me wrong," said Draco, "Since it seems that we'll be unable to get our revenge now, we'll be on our way - until later."
Harry pondered a second and said "Malfoy, wait a second - you want a shot at me?"
Malfoy eyed him suspiciously "Yeah, but it doesn't look like your keeper is going to let it happen."
"How about without magic? A muggle sport I learned called boxing - we put on gloves and head gear and go at it with our fists. A few simple rules, like no hitting below the waist or in the back. Interested?"
Crabbe and Goyle were already rubbing their fists and grinning, obviously anxious to take on Harry without magic being a factor. Brute strength was their forte' and they knew it. But Draco looked worried - he never liked a fair fight. He wanted Harry to fight Crabbe or Goyle instead, especially as he noticed Harry's newly developed muscle.
"Crabbe and Goyle want in on this, too. Find a couple of seconds for yourself Potter, then we'll draw straws to see who fights whom,' Draco drawled.
Harry immediately remembered that Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas both had muggle fathers who favored boxing and other rugged sports. "I think that can be arranged. We'll get some other prefects to referee. I'll meet you outside the steamroom in ten minutes."
Seamus needed no convincing "Me whole father's side of the family's been Golden Gloves. I've been sparrin' with 'em for years. I was going that way when I got me Hogwarts' letter."
"Same here," said Dean, "Dad reckoned that a black boy in London who makes strange things happen had better know how to defend 'imself. I'm game to fight any of those arrogant nitwits that try to say us mudbloods ain't good enough."
"Dean!" said Harry, "How can you call yourself such an ugly name!?"
"Harry, they use it anyway - if I take it from 'em, it loses the power to hurt me."
"Well, we half-bloods can stand our ground as well, eh, Harry?" said Seamus.
"I like our chances here," replied Harry, "I just wish we didn't have to make it a 'blood' issue. We're all just people, and we happen to be able to do magic."
Word of the match spread instantly down the train and the exercise room was soon crowded. Dobby conjured helmets, gloves and ropes for the boxing rings and three prefects were found who knew enough about boxing to keep things clean. Dean drew Goyle as an opponent and Seamus drew Malfoy, to Malfoy's visible relief, as Seamus was the smallest of the three Gryffindors. That left Harry to fight Crabbe, who was every bit as big as Dudley.
Dean and Goyle went at it first. They had the same height and reach, but Goyle was substantially larger. Nonetheless, Dean's skill was immediately apparent. He easily backed away from or ducked punches, and spent a couple of rounds content to let Goyle exhaust himself and to tag Goyle occasionally with stinging jabs. By the third round, Goyle was getting fatigued and Dean moved in close with punch after punch: roundhouses, jabs, uppercuts, all aimed at various allowable targets on the body and head. Goyle made it into the fourth round, but just barely. Halfway through, breathing extremely heavily and dragging his feet, he held up his gloves "I give up."
"What, no! Goyle, you worthless loser. You can't let a mudblood beat you!" yelled Draco. The words were out before he had thought, and the gym became silent, as nearly a third of those present were muggle-born and most of the rest treasured their muggle-born friends. Even most of the Slytherins edged away from him, even though most probably would have used the foul term in private.
Dean stepped up to him "I reckon this 'mudblood' has done just that. It's your turn now, Malfoy."
Malfoy and Seamus then put the gloves on, and began to spar. The style of both was to brawl, but Seamus knew how to defend as well. Both threw lots of punches, and at first each connected about as often. But Seamus had taken punches many times, from better fighters than Malfoy, and so he could handle it. Malfoy, on the other hand, had always had people protecting him, so he rapidly became less and less capable of responding. By the end of the second round, Draco had collapsed to his knees and could not get up. Crabbe and Goyle helped him out of the ring.
"As long as I can see Potter pummeled, it'll be okay," he muttered.
Crabbe was a head taller and twice as heavy as Harry. But he knew Harry was mobile, so he circled warily. Seeing an opportunity, he punched hard with a lunge; Harry jumped to the side and punched Crabbe in the side of the head. Though Crabbe was not very bright, he understood enough about fighting to realize that this would not be a one-punch fight. He circled again, and then threw a two-punch combination, which Harry deflected and dodged and answered with a sharp jab in the ribs. The cheering was deafening, but Harry's mind was only on the fists. Crabbe backed Harry toward the ropes, and then tried another combination, and this time when Harry tried to dodge, Malfoy had stuck his feet out to trip him. Crabbe's punch glanced off Harry's headgear as Harry fell. The cries of foul were heard all around, but Harry jumped up and quickly blinked. Crabbe assumed Harry was dazed and lunged again, only to find Harry ducking and then rising again with the strongest uppercut his compact muscular frame could give. It caught Crabbe in the jaw and stunned him. Harry followed up with a flurry of punches to the head and torso, which made Crabbe's entire body wobble until it collapsed like a mudslide to the mat. Almost the entire gym started cheering. Marietta Edgecombe, who was in her second-year of healer training, quickly came and examined Crabbe, finding he was not significantly damaged. She gave him an Invigorating Draught and within seconds, he was recovered, though still a bit woozy.
Draco was enraged and stomped back down the train. Seamus, Dean and Harry were hugging and high-fiving, and being congratulated by all those who stayed behind. Suddenly the crowd around the three parted as Crabbe and Goyle approached them. Those who had their wands put their hands on them, and Dobby tensed as well, even though Crabbe and Goyle clearly did not have their wands on them. Seamus and Dean were flanking Harry as he faced the approaching hulks, who came close and extended their hands.
"Good fight," they both said. Crabbe continued "I don't like getting beat but it was a good fight and a fair one, well, on your side, sorry about Malfoy's trick - Goyle just told me." Goyle added "Yeah, that was fun. I'd like to learn to fight like that. Can we do it again some time?"
"Well, we'll see. Listen, we'll be working on fighting skills in the DA - everyone is welcome who wants to improve. It won't be boxing, but there will be some sparring. Why don't you join us?"
Crabbe frowned, "Well, we'll have to see if we can. I don't think Malfoy'd like it."
Then Ron spoke up "If you want to come, tell him you're spying on us."
They grinned and Goyle said "yeah, but Draco's starting his own pureblood dueling club. He'll expect us there."
"Listen," said Harry, intently "the DA is not about sport. It's about surviving and fighting back against dark wizardry. If you don't want to go that way, you'll want to know how to defend yourselves. It may be all the more necessary for those who have grown up close to dark wizards."
"Yeah, um, we'll see." They muttered and went off toward the showers.
"Harry," said Hermione, "you'd teach even them!? They've been Malfoy's henchmen since we've been at Hogwarts, and their fathers were in the graveyard with Voldemort." A huge gasp went up around the crowd.
"Hermione, EVERYONE," called out Harry, "I'm serious about this. I've been asked to teach what I can to everyone who wants to defend themselves against the Death Eaters and their allies. I don't care what your blood is, what your house is. I don't care if you and I have quarreled before or you thought I was crazy or a showboat or what. There is only one thing that matters to me now - and that is to see that we all survive the coming hard times. We are coming together as the DA to prepare everyone to stay alive. Every lost person is a tragedy. I hope to see all of you at the DA meeting, the first meeting will be this coming Tuesday. For now, I came to this gym to exercise, so I'll get back to it."
Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna were left as the crowd dispersed and Harry doffed his boxing gear.
"That was barbaric," said Hermione.
"Sometimes people act like animals," said Luna airily.
"That's right," said Neville, with a harsh edge to his voice, "and sometimes they act beneath animals. And when someone wants to hurt you, you'd better be prepared to hurt them first!"
Ron clapped him on the back "That's the idea, Neville. Wow, you're getting solid. I'm not turning my back on you after making you mad."
Neville glowered and spoke quietly, "You're not in any danger, Ron, but if I get another chance at Death Eaters, they're going to pay!"
"Okay, Neville," said Harry, "I'm all with you on that, but let's keep a level head. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that hatred and anger destroy performance. When the time comes, we'll have jobs to do, and we won't be able to afford poor performance."
All agreed and then completed their workouts before showering, finding the witch with the snack trolley, and then repairing to their cars for rest, talk, and games before arriving at Hogwarts.

Dedalus Diggle

October 25th, 2003, 3:05 pm

Chapter 16 - Quidditch Captaincy

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Hermione had to help herd the first years toward the boats. Harry and Neville held spaces in a carriage, but that they could only hold spaces for two, so Luna and Ginny said they would ride with other fifth-years. Harry and Neville approached an empty carriage. Harry gazed at the thesatrals.
“You can see them?” he said.
“Yes, Harry," said Neville.
"But you could see them before, couldn't you?" Harry said sadly.
“Of course, you know that. Why do you ask?"
"I just try to fool myself that Sirius isn't really dead. If you couldn't see them before, but could now...” answered Harry.
“I saw my grandfather die - peacefully. And now I've seen Black go. But I've always seen the thestrals. That's enough deaths for my taste." said Neville sympathetically.
“I’ve had my fill, too. Look around us at all these happy faces. In their heads, they know he’s back and that the world has become more dangerous, but it hasn’t sunk into their hearts yet. Just as last year after the TriWizard Tournament, I still couldn’t see the thestrals because Cedric’s death hadn’t sunk in yet. It’s our job, all of us who were in last year's DA, to prepare all of these people to stay alive, even though they don’t yet appreciate the scope of the threat. Are you all up for it?”
Neville answered “Harry, you know I am. So long as my parents are in St. Mungo’s, I have no choice but to do everything I can against the Death Eaters. But you know what? I like our chances. We have a coach who could bring me around from utterly hopeless to competence in twenty or so surreptitious training sessions. With a full year and the support of the school, you’ll work wonders.”
“Thanks, Neville. Nothing like setting the bar high, eh?”

In the Great Hall, Neville, Harry, Hermione and Ron sat together at the Gryffindor Table. “Have you noticed,” Harry asked “how the classes seem to be bigger and bigger? We must have the smallest class in the school, except maybe the seventh-years.”
“Yeah,” said Ron, “I asked my folks about that. They said that when You-Know-Who – don’t kick me, Hermione - was around near the time we were born, a lot of couples were avoiding having children, and many were not even getting married at all. There were thousands of marriages and new births in the years after he disappeared, people making up for lost time, I reckon.”
“Any idea who the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher will be?” asked Hermione. They all looked up at the teacher’s table. Most of the teachers were already there. Neither the centaur Firenze nor Professor Trelawney attended the feast, but this was no surprise. Snape was as greasy and glaring as ever, maybe even a wee bit more bitter looking. Harry felt a pang of sympathy despite his hard feelings toward Snape. Hagrid had come to his place after bringing the first years across the lake. Harry suddenly had another of his visions, seeing all the faculty dead, killed in a bloody mess. He barely stifled a scream and covered his face. The others turned to comfort him, knowing already what had happened. They were getting Harry to describe what he saw so he could let go of it easier, when Ginny came up hurriedly, thumping them on the backs and loudly whispering “Look” while pointing up to the teacher’s table.
Seating himself next to Hagrid, who was giving a warm greeting, was none other than Arthur Weasley.
“It can’t be!” said Ron.
“I’m ruined,” said Ginny, “No boy’ll date a girl whose father is a professor.”
“Oh, well,” said Ron, a little too happily, “you’ll need that time preparing for OWL exams.”
“Easy for you to say, Ron,” snapped Ginny, “No girl with any brains would go out with you anyway.” But Harry noticed her winking at Hermione as she said this.
Harry smiled. “Well, I guess there won’t be any problem getting the new DADA teacher's support for the DA this year. Dumbledore obviously had your Dad in mind all summer. He could see which way the winds were blowing.”
“It IS a bit unsettling though,” said Hermione pensively, “given the track record of DADA teachers here.”
“Hermione Granger,” teased Ron, “are you now a soothsayer!?”
“I never said there was no such thing as prophecies or curses,” said Hermione, ”just that the stuff Trelawney was pushing at us was claptrap. It would be hard not to think there was a problem with the DADA position. If something’s going to keep your father from teaching more than one year, I just hope it’ll be quiet, like Lupin’s departure, rather than the way of the others we’ve had.”
“Well,” said Neville, “The ministry didn’t send him, so he’s no Umbridge. He’s no egomaniac, so he’s no Lockhart. I can see his forearm, so he’s not a Deatheater like Crouch. And I don’t see Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head like Quirrel. I guess the only thing we have to worry about is the full moon.”
Ron had been caught by this last remark while drinking pumpkin juice and immediately spewed it out with a guffaw. “Yeah, my Dad, the werewolf.”
At this point, Professor McGonagall called the Hall to order for the Sorting Ceremony. The nervous first years lined up down the aisles and around the sides of the Hall. Professor McGonagall brought out a four-legged stool and the tattered old Sorting Hat.
“In the Sorting Ceremony,” she announced, “you will each come up when called and sit on this stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. It will determine the House which should be best for developing your skills and character. Your house will be your family and your home while you are at Hogwarts. I must stress, however, that just as when you are with your parents, you have friends outside the home, it is entirely appropriate and healthy for Hogwarts students to have friends outside their Houses.”
She then placed the stool down and the Hat upon it. The brim came alive and opened up into a mouth and began to sing:

“You come to me for sorting now, to place you where you’ll stay;
To tell you the House where you shall sleep and help you find your way.
But sorting I tell you can go too far, when it keeps good beings apart;
Sorting should help you find your strength and not diminish your heart.

Consider, young friends, where I sit, upon this faithful stool;
Four legs it has, I know you know it, unless you are a fool.
Each leg is needed to carry the weight, and help it do its chore,
Of keeping your little bottoms up so you don’t fall to the floor.

Sorcerers have thought for long that they were all that counted,
Now they find they have upon a one-legged stool been mounted
Of Magical beings there are more than you and must be in the mix,
Muggles too from whom you come are not mere stones and sticks.

Clasp hands, clasp hands, clasp hands around with neighbors of all sort,
Make friends, build bridges while still you can, before you must resort,
To hunkering down, keeping low, hiding from the gale,
Conjoin, confer, consider neighbors well, and now I’ve told my tale.”

And then the Hat went silent.

The Sorting ceremony proceeded, with the Hat placing the first years in the various houses. Ron and Ginny kept trying to catch their father’s eye, but he studiously avoided their gestures, even while Harry thought he saw a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Harry,” said Hermione, “that was a very short song.”
“But it made its point. Here I thought I was doing enough with the DA trying to get the Houses to work together.”
“Was that deliberate – that boxing match with Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle – to reach out to Slytherin?” asked Hermione.
“I didn't plan it, but I immediately saw a lot of reasons for it. Reaching out was part of it. I don’t think Crabbe and Goyle are bad, just dense. And Malfoy’s just a spoiled git – he hasn’t got the Death Eater hatred in him yet, though he’s far along. I wanted those three to have a fair shot at getting back at us for what happened on the train a couple of months ago. Hopefully that much will have cleared. I also wanted to show the rest of the school that you didn’t have to be the biggest or the strongest or to fight dirty to defend yourself and win. So it was sort of an advertisement, and sort of an olive branch offered to that gang.”
“Harry,” Hermione cocked her head suspiciously, “Are you sure you weren’t just showing off.”
“Well, maybe a little. After the way you and Ginny have been reacting – oh, don’t deny it, you’ve noticed us and Ron and Neville and I have noticed your changes, too, it’s natural – I realized that it feels good to be thought of as other than just the Boy Who Lived and the chief resident warrior.”
“So who were you showing off for,” Hermione asked with a smile.
“No one, everyone. No, I guess just for me. I can’t get close to anyone. It hurts too much already when I see everybody I care for destroyed in my visions. If I fell in love, I think I would go mad. I was close to that when Sirius died. If I was in love …” Harry replied sadly, then hung his head.
“I understand, Harry,” replied Hermione “until this war is over, you really can’t have a life, can you? Well, let’s change the subject then. Doesn’t the Song make you realize how important SPEW is – we have to reach out to our fellow magical beings.”
“Hermione, all those elf clothes you made are in Dobby’s suitcase – he had to magically expand it to fit them all in.” said Harry, “If you want to help them, why don’t you find out what they want?”
“But freedom is what intelligent beings should want, shouldn’t they? And not to be beaten and abused like the elves are," said Hermione.
“Well, I’m not sure that they understand freedom the way you do. But the abuse is a good starting point. The elves here and at the Longbottoms’ house (Hermione glared at Neville, though he didn’t realize it as he watched the Sorting) are very happy and well treated. They are part of a family and like it like that. But maybe something could be done about setting standards of treatment, like the humane treatment laws for pets,” suggested Harry.
“They aren’t pets!” hissed Hermione angrily, drawing angry glances from several people.
“No, but they are members of households who are often treated poorly, and yet would still rather stay in their homes despite awful treatment. And maybe, if they saw themselves as creatures with rights, they would eventually want freedom, too.”
“Maybe you have something there, Harry. You’ve spent more time with elves than I have.”
“Thank you for admitting that. Nobody doubts you care – but you can’t act blindly on your care,” replied Harry.
“I won’t mention someone else who acted blindly on his cares,” replied Hermione.
“Let’s both take that lesson to heart,” said Harry with a nod.
After the Sorting, Professor Dumbledore gave very brief introductory remarks, welcoming Mr. Weasley to the faculty and encouraging participation every Tuesday and Thursday evening in the DA, giving a mercifully subdued acknowledgement of Harry’s role in it. He also announced the formation of a student-run dueling club meeting at the same time as the DA. Interested students were directed to discuss matters with Draco Malfoy.
After the feast, the prefects had to help the First years around the castle to their dorms, so Harry started to head out of the Great Hall with Neville. Before he could even leave the table, however, he heard Professor McGonagall calling his name. He turned and found her standing at the head of the Gryffindor table with Katie Bell. He shrugged to Neville, who continued toward the dorm.
“Yes, Professor?” said Harry.
“Potter, you and Miss Bell are the only team members who have been on the Quidditch team for longer than one season. I wanted to discuss with you two about selecting the new Quidditch Captain. Miss Bell, what are your thoughts on the subject?”
“If you’re asking if I’m interested, then I would have to say no. Between NEWT preparations and Defense Association meetings, I don’t think I could do a good job at it. Besides, even though I love to play, I’m not really interested in being in charge. Harry would be good, though – if he doesn’t get banned again” she added with a smirk.
“That WON’T be happening again, will it, Potter,” said Professor McGonagall sternly. He shook his head as she continued “Well, how about it then, Potter?”
“I have given it some thought, because I knew Katie had said she didn’t want to do it. I don’t think I should either. I know seeking, but I rarely pay attention to the formations and strategies of the chasers and beaters. And while I’m just starting NEWT preparation, my responsibilities with the DA are frankly scaring the bejeebers out of me,” said Harry, at which Katie laughed. “But I do have a recommendation – Ron Weasley. I know that as a keeper, he only came around in the last game last year, but he has studied Quidditch religiously all his life, he has played at his home with all his brothers for years, and, as a keeper he can and does watch everything that the chasers and beaters are doing. He also is the school champion at wizard chess, and that strategic thinking should be good for a Quidditch captain.”
Katie added “And from what I can tell, he plays better when he’s not thinking about how others see him. The more involved he is in the game, the better a keeper he should be.”
“I see. So you two are saying he’s a good choice, not just the default choice?” asked Professor McGonagall. They nodded. She continued “Then my decision is that Mr. Weasley will be the Captain, but you two will be his assistants. His performance last year does not yet fill me with enough confidence to turn the entire team over to him. I want both of you to be involved at all stages, particularly the recruitment and training of the new chasers and beater.”
“That’s fine, Maam,” said Harry, “but I think we will be only needing to find one new chaser. Ginny Weasley was wanting to switch positions anyway, she’s more naturally a chaser, even though she performed excellently as a seeker last year, and Fred and George have gotten her a Firebolt.”
“Ooh, a Firebolt,” said Katie, “and in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.”
“Officially, however, she has to try out,” said Professor McGonagall, “but with the support she has, I’m certain it’s just a formality. Miss Bell, I’d like for you and Mr. Potter to discuss the Captaincy with Mr. Weasley. But I need a private word with Potter first. Could you wait outside the door for a few minutes.”
Katie replied “Of course, Professor” and walked down past the tables to the door.
“Potter, I wanted to express my own appreciation for what you are doing with the Defense Association. I also want to ask if there is any way I might be of assistance.”
“Gee, thanks, Professor,” replied Harry, “Honestly, I find it very intimidating to think of trying to teach over 400 students.”
“400? You’ve been deluding yourself, Potter,” said Professor McGonagall, “I would be surprised at less than 600. I know the Headmaster wants you and last year’s students to run this, but it seems to me he has put an awful lot on you.”
“It’s time I accepted having a lot on me, isn’t it, Professor?”
“Certainly, but you wouldn’t be the first person to run from responsibility if you were to do so, Potter. But now you are being expected to take responsibility for the development of the defense skills of most of the school, while preparing yourself for … whatever may happen. I imagine right now you have plans for the first few meetings, and all the problems for the moment are abstract. You’ll have Transfiguration class on Monday and Wednesday mornings, and a double session Thursday afternoons. Let’s plan on meeting every Wednesday after class for a few minutes.”
“Okay, Professor, I’m sure I’ll have questions and problems” replied Harry gratefully.
“Potter,” said Professor McGonagall, “There’s a lot on you, but you’re not in this alone.”
“Thank you, Professor,” said Harry. Just then he saw Professor McGonagall in the Hospital Wing, apparently near death. His face registered shock, but then he put down the feeling, knowing it was just his mind’s tricks.
“Another vision, Potter,” said Professor McGonagall, with concern. He nodded.
“Me?” she continued. He nodded again.
“I don’t know if I should be frightened or honored,” she said with a smile.
“You’ll be reporting this to Professor Dumbledore?” Harry asked.
“Of course,” she replied.
“Is there anyone who ISN’T watching me?”
Professor McGonagall smiled “Maybe a few.”
“I’ll have to remember that if I ever feel like picking my nose.”
Professor McGonagall laughed “Yes, we would appreciate that.”
“Is there anyplace I’m not being watched?” asked Harry.
“When you are in the bathroom stall or you’ve pulled the curtains on your bed, only the enclosures are watched. Usually.”
Harry shrugged “Well, if I had been thinking of dating anyone, I guess that’s out the window.”
“We’re not watching for your human foibles, Potter. You are watched for your safety and developments in your powers.”
“Still, it’s hard for a fellow to relax like that.”
Professor McGonnagall smiled and nodded “Good evening, Potter.”
“Good evening, Professor.”

Dedalus Diggle

October 26th, 2003, 8:02 am

Chapter 17 - The Truth About Elves and Goblins

As the Hogwarts Express and the Opening Feast had been on a Thursday, Harry had his Friday classes to look forward to: double Potions in the morning, then double Charms and Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon. Sirius’ portrait had counseled patience and a stiff upper lip concerning Potions. Before going to sleep Harry pulled a sheet across the portrait. The only place in the dorm he could hang the portrait was over his bed. Sirius even insisted on the sheet “I’m always here for you, Harry, but you should have at least that much privacy. Besides, it’ll give me a chance to nip off and get to know the other portraits around Hogwarts.”
Harry set his alarm for 4:30, but at 4:25 he heard another alarm go off. He heard Neville stretching and groaning, then the stirrings of the other three boys he roomed with.
“Wake up, sleepyhead!” called Dean, “I thought this morning run thing was your idea.”
Harry popped out and pulled on his running shorts and t-shirt. It was still summer, so it would be warm enough not to wear a warm-up suit.
“You’re all joining me?” said Harry, with obvious pleasure.
“Me Mum wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Seamus, with a wink, “now that she knows what’s up, we’re going to get prepared.”
“We don’t have to like it though,” said Dean, with a laugh.
They all headed down the stairs, where they ran into perhaps a third of Gryffindor house heading out in their running clothes. The Fat Lady seemed quite incensed to be getting such a work-out at this hour of the morning. As they got down to the steps of the castle, they merged with another hundred or so students. Many had already started running around the lake. Harry was just about to start when he heard the voice of Arthur Weasley.
“Mind if I join you, Harry?” he asked.
“Please do, Professor Weasley – wow, that sounds odd,” said Harry with a laugh.
“Yeah, Dad,” said Ron, “Why didncha tell us?”
“The Headmaster wanted to keep it quiet,” said Professor Weasley, as they set off. “By the way boys, this is my first day running in years. If I slow down, don’t wait for me. I’ll have to build up to it.”
“Ah, then you weren’t sent to do this?” asked Harry.
“Well, Molly kind of prodded me, but just because she said it was good for me,” answered Professor Weasley, “and I figured, if students are doing this to improve their self-defense, then the defense professor ought to be out here as well. But no, I’m not here to keep an eye on you.”
“Glad you came, Dad,” said Ginny, taking a pinch at his love handles “it’ll do you a lot of good.”
“It might even make me friskier when I get back to The Burrow,” said Arthur.
“Dad!” said Ginny.
“Great, now that image will be in my mind all day,” said Ron.
But Harry thought the open expression of affection, which he had never seen or heard at the Dursleys, was simply beautiful. He ran out ahead of the others so they wouldn’t see him getting emotional.
Harry got a knot in his stomach as he took his place in Potions, which included the sixth-year Potions students from all four houses, as the majority of students had either not achieved the grade needed to continue or chose not to take Potions any further. Harry felt he could not blame them.
“Welcome to the first year of NEWT-level Potions class,” hissed Snape as he shut the dungeon door with an ominous thud, “Now that you have completed your OWL tests, let me assure you that the fun-and-games side of Potions is over. The subtleties which must be observed for the most exquisite of Potions is extraordinary. This class is only for the most dedicated, the most skillful, the most diligent, the most disciplined of sorcerers. Indeed I am most surprised to see some of you here (he looked at Neville) and dismayed at others (he looked at Harry). I am afraid that the OWL graders must have applied some sort of compensatory points based on the uproar the school was in last year. That would be a shame, as disruption and distraction are no excuse for doing something incorrectly. When your life depends on achieving some goal, one does not have the luxury of complaining that conditions were not sanguine. I am also afraid that I have been too subtle in intimating which students have no business in my classes (again he looked at Harry and Neville). I shall endeavour to be more direct in the future, for those of you who lack the subtlety for either potion-making or communication. We begin today a series of truth serums of various strengths and dangers. The potion whose recipe on the board is Persuasium – it should be flavorless, so that it can be given surreptitiously; it will if so done make most weaker people reveal all but the most hidden secrets and will be undetectable after three hours. Please observe the requirements as to airflow, temperature, titration and stirring. Begin.”
Harry and Ron read the recipe and set to preparing their ingredients. As Harry looked around, he was again struck by visions of death and destruction. He caught himself on the desk.
“Are you okay?” Ron asked.
Harry glanced up and saw Snape peering suspiciously at him.
“Yeah,” Harry said, “another vision. Listen, don’t think me rude. I have to shut everything else out to block these visions. I’m just going to think of nothing else but this potion.”
“I’d better do the same – this is the hardest one we’ve seen yet,” said Ron.
“Well, you didn’t think NEWT-level work would be easier, did you?” whispered Hermione, who turned to her ingredients and started humming happily to herself.
“Mental,” muttered Ron.
At the end of the class, which had proceeded uneventfully, Harry scooped a sample of his potion into a bottle and corked it carefully, then placed the bottle on Snape’s desk.
“Potter, are you ill?” said Snape.
“No, sir, why?” responded Harry.
“Your potion looks like it ought.”
Draco Malfoy approached the desk with his sample and as he placed his sample on the desk, his hand bumped Harry’s off the desk. “Oops,” he said in feigned surprise, “Too bad.”
But Harry’s potion didn’t fall to the ground, but gently settled like a feather.
“I was going through too much glass, so I decided to learn a few useful charms to protect them,” Harry said with satisfaction as he picked the bottle up and placed it again on Snape’s desk.
“Potter,” said Snape, “you are to stay after class. There is something we must discuss.”
“Must be more remedial classes.” Malfoy snickered as he dragged his book bag along with him and the rest of the class cleared. Hermione and Ron lingered as if they expected Harry to be able to leave immediately.
“You two may go. If you cannot live without his company, you may wait on the other side of the door,” Snape oozed, pointing them to the door. When it was closed, he continued, “Now, Potter, it has been impressed upon me that you have a need to resume Occlumency lessons.”
“But, Sir, I thought, perhaps, Professor Dumbledore would be able to teach me this year.”
“As before, he has more obligations than any of us, and must delegate the task to me. Furthermore, he expressed the idea that your training would prepare you best against the Dark Lord if it came from someone you regard as hostile. Somehow that made him think of me,” Snape replied.
“Sir, you told me that I was never to enter your office again,” objected Harry.
“Circumstances change,” replied Snape, “and the Headmaster explored the entire set of circumstances and has suggested I consider whether I may not share some blame in the unfortunate events.”
“Professor, I asked Sirius and Professor Lupin about the behavior I observed and they confirmed that their group of friends had often treated you that way, and yet you did not place all the occasions of humiliation in the pensieve – just that one. From that I can only conclude that you either wanted to tempt me into viewing my father in that light or there was something else you wanted to hide, which would have to be the way you responded to my mother. If we are to continue the lessons, I have to ask which it was.”
Snape regarded him for a number of seconds before replying “And you have done so, but I will decline to answer. You will have to accept that I am again willing to teach this to you and that you are in need of learning.”
“If Professor Dumbledore wants me to do so, then I will,” replied Harry.
“Three things make me hope for better results this year, Potter: you acceded to the Headmaster’s authority, your question shows you are starting to actually use your mind, and in Potions class today, you showed the kind of focus on the task at hand needed to develop whatever talent you might prove to have. You may go.”
“Professor”
“What is it, Potter?”
“I am not my father. I may look like him, and I may have some of his talents, but I am a different person.”
Harry left, without hearing any response from Snape. Once outside, Harry found Ron and Hermione waiting for him and told them all that had happened.
“Whoa, Harry, that’s the closest to a compliment that I’ve heard Snape give anyone he wasn’t kissing up to,” said Ron.
“Yes, that’s very odd, isn’t it?” said Hermione.
“What? You think there’s something up? You just can’t accept a good turn of events without spreading a little manure, can you?” Ron groaned.
Harry listened to them fussing at each other all the way to the gym which had been installed, or more likely, conjured. They had time for over an hour’s workout before they needed to get some lunch and still make it to Charms.
Charms class, which also had sixth years from all four houses, went well. But then, every class with Professor Flitwick was pleasant. Professor Flitwick praised the class on so many good OWL results, and noted his pleasant surprise at quite a number, with an especial wink and nod toward Neville. Neville beamed and when Professor Flitwick turned, looked at Harry and made a gesture as if tipping an imaginary hat. At the end of class, Professor Flitwick asked Harry and Hermione to stay, and then added that Ron may as well stay as well.
“I believe you three have an hour until your next class,” began Professor Flitwick, “Some matters have come to my attention which I feel must be addressed. But first, we must invite the house elf called by the name Dobby to the conversation.”
Using the school Floo system, Professor Flitwick summoned in the kitchens for Dobby, who Apparated to the classroom before Professor Flitwick could pull his head out of the fireplace.
“Now then, I believe there was an unfortunate incident at Gringott’s involving Dobby a few days ago, was there not? Please tell me all you remember.”
Harry and Dobby proceeded to describe the whole situation, finishing each other’s sentences like two old close friends. Professor Flitwick appeared especially keen on hearing Dobby’s reaction to seeing and spending time with Melony. When they were done, Hermione spoke up first.
“Professor, why do the goblins hate the elves so much? Apparently the goblins said they were related, but what does that matter?”
Professor Flitwick nodded. “It’s an important question. You must understand just how closely related elves and goblins are: they are the same species!”
“What!” cried Hermione, Ron, Harry and even Dobby.
“Professor,” continued Hermione, “I’ll grant there are some similarities – similarly-shaped ears, enormous eyes, the same height, magical ability – but there are also huge differences – the elves are much lighter, gracile, submissive, and their dispositions are so much … sunnier”
“That last word hits it on the head,” said Professor Flitwick. “Goblins can’t tolerate the sun. If they are raised in a sunny environment, like a wizard home, they look like this (pointing to Dobby), and they remain quite childlike. You see, goblins are by comparison to humans, very intensely tribal. Independence is almost unthinkable: the tribe is everything. It’s similar to wolves, the way they are so intensely loyal to the pack. A goblin is just as completely submissive to the needs of his tribe, his family, as an elf is to his family. In fact, it is not thought of as slavery at all by them: nobody has to force them to be loyal, it’s their instinct. It goes beyond the instincts of non-magical creatures, however. Their loyalty is an enchantment which makes them completely loyal to their families, their Hullabaloos, as they call them. For them freedom is found in serving their family. The most evil thing a goblin can say to another is an old word that means ‘go be by yourself.’ Now as to elves, back when the goblins were first making the step from wild packs to semi-civilised living, they would sometimes get beaten in battles with people and all but the very young would be killed. It’s one of the laudable traits of humans that most often they will preserve the young of other species given the opportunity. When people did this with baby wolves, they soon had the family members we now call dogs. When wizards did this with baby goblins, the young developed into elves. You see, goblins are magical creatures of the dark, and sunlight affects them in strange ways. The young can tolerate it, but it will prevent them from developing the goblinlike gravity - instead they remain quite childlike in personality. You may have noticed this trait in Dobby.”
“So what happens to an adult goblin exposed to sunlight, Professor?” asked Ron.
“Aah, that’s even more dire. They develop sunsickness – heliopathy’s the formal term. They lose their magical powers, depending on the strength of the sunshine. They become as vulnerable as rabbits.”
“That’s awful,” said Harry, “Do they recover?”
“Oh, yes, quite quickly, if they get out of the sunlight. Otherwise they die. But that’s not the issue here. I wanted you to understand why the goblins hated Dobby so. To them he is a degenerate from of goblin – a weakened, diseased, pitiful thing, and worse, to them, is that he is a reminder of what they all could have become.”
“Professor, do I understand that goblins and elves share the instinct and enchantment which makes them blindly loyal to their families?” asked Hermione.
“Yes, that’s right,” answered Flitwick.
“Then why should Dobby have sought freedom, even from as terrible a family as the Malfoys,” continued Hermione.
“I’ve been pondering that myself. I may have an answer. Dobby, how old are you?”
Dobby looked like he was searching his mind, and then said “Dobby does not know for sure, sir. Dobby remembers only back to being a young elf in the Malfoy house about twenty years ago. I believe my memories go back to when I was about 4 or five years old.”
“Do you have any other memories, older than that?”
“No, sir, Dobby don’t think so.”
“Yes, you do, Dobby,” said Ron, “you have those nightmares about green lights.”
“Yeah, and you said several times that holding Melony’s hand and looking into her eyes was like being home,” added Harry.
Professor Flitwick paced and nodded. “It was just about twenty years ago that an entire Hullabaloo was wiped out by Death Eaters. The Hullabaloo was excavating a Merlin-era site and rumor got out that they had acquired an object identified by Merlin himself as the key to access a thing of great importance in a faraway land. It was supposedly brought to this land by Joseph of Arimathea at the same time he brought the Grail. The Death Eaters attacked, but the object was no longer there. Rumor had it that it had already been placed in a vault in Gringott's. During the whole course of the First War, Voldemort tried to turn the goblins to his side so he could get that object, but the memory of the slaughter ran deep. Now, however, I’m afraid that memories are getting weak, and the Ministry is creating new resentments which may tip the goblins toward Voldemort.”
“Sir,” said Dobby timidly, “you said this had something to do with me?”
“Yes, Dobby,” said Flitwick sadly, “I said that the entire hullabaloo had been wiped out, but that’s not entirely true. One goblin was unaccounted for – a youngster of about three and a half. I believe one of the Death Eaters who murdered those goblins decided he could make a house elf out of that youngest goblin. I believe that youngest goblin is you.”
Dobby just stared for several seconds, dumbfounded. Then he threw his arms around Harry’s neck “Oh, Harry Potter, we is both orphans because of those bad wizards. We must beat them We must.”
Harry hugged and patted Dobby to comfort him, hugging him like a long lost sibling, which in spirit he was.
“But Professor, how does that explain Dobby’s desire for freedom?” asked Hermione.
“Well, you see,” continued Flitwick, “he had grown enough as a goblin that he was not entirely submissive to his wizard family – he was like a wolf cub taken out of the wild. He might be okay for a while, but with the right triggers, harsh enough conditions, the wildness asserts itself. Conditions had gotten enough better for house elves after Voldemort lost his powers that Dobby’s goblin character was suppressed. But when Lucius Malfoy plotted to use that diary to recreate Voldemort’s young self, the goblin side of his character expressed itself. Of course, all he remembered of the time before the Malfoys took him was the bright green light of the killing curse. That is, until he held a young woman goblin’s hand and looked into her eyes. It must have been just like getting tucked into bed by his own goblin mother.”
Dobby was sobbing now, and the others were not dry-eyed either. Even Professor Flitwick took out an enormous handkerchief and blew his tiny nose.
“Well, that explains why he fell in love with her. But why did she want to date him?” asked Harry.
“What!!?” squeaked Professor Flitwick.
“The next day we went back to Gringott’s to get Ginny Weasley’s new broom. Dobby wanted to see Melony but Grishnack wouldn’t allow it. He was quite adamant. But while we were talking to Bill Weasley outside, Melony came to the alley and called Dobby over. They made arrangements to have a date – tonight at midnight.”
“Oh, no, this will not do. If the goblins learn of this, they will be in rebellion for sure,” fretted Flitwick.
“Can Dobby never see the beautiful Melony then?” said Dobby, “this is a most sad day – Dobby becomes an orphan and loses his chance at love in fifteen minutes.”
“Never let it be said that Filius Flitwick stood in the way of young love. What you need is a goblin chaperone. Her glamdring would not even expect to know who the suitor is so long as an acceptable goblin chaperone vouches for him,” said Flitwick.
“Well, great, Professor, but where are we going to get a goblin to be a chaperone?” asked Ron.
“Right here, of course – me,” said Professor Flitwick with a delighted smile.
Three jaws dropped like they never had before. Hermione was the first to recover enough to respond.
“You, Professor Flitwick – you seem like the most ungoblinlike person I’ve ever known!”
Professor Flitwick tittered, “In many ways, of course, but look at me – do I look like a normal human?”
“Well, we kind of reckoned you got hit by a few too many spells while dueling – we knew you used to be a champion duelist,” explained Ron.
“I’m three feet tall, I have light green skin, and I have pointy ears. Ah, well, I guess my personality belies my heritage. My mother was a young goblin who, like Melony, came to feel she wanted to break away from the confines of hullabaloo life. As with any natural trait, the instincts are stronger or weaker in various individuals. My father was a great and kind wizard, and he was the one who had been hit with too many spells, till he took on an appearance something like a gnome. No witch would have him, but my mother thought he was quite handsome, and he was very much the exciting mold-breaker. My mother stayed indoors except at night, and my father took me out for long walks to help recover from the spells. This suppressed my goblin side, except the skin and height and ears. And oh, yes, I have been told that I have quite the elfin personality, although I have a human’s appreciation for the sadness in life. I am recognized among the hullabaloos as a goblin, since my mother was a goblin and I am not a house slave, as they describe it. If I speak to Grishnack, he will let me chaperone Melony to meet Dobby, without telling him who she is meeting, so long as I can vouch that he is goblin born and no slave. Dobby looks, and acts, too much like a house elf for us to let him meet the other goblins yet, but on my word, they will allow me to bring her here.”
“But, Professor, I still don’t understand why Melony would like someone who looks and acts like a house elf” asked Harry.
“But he doesn’t, not entirely. He breaks the rules,” replied Flitwick, “He shucked off his human family and serves those he admires. He’s a free-spirit, a rule-breaker. He’s a bad boy.”
Dobby looked shocked “Dobby is not bad boy!”
“I don’t mean it like that,” apologized Flitwick, “I mean you’re out of the ordinary. By seeking freedom, you upset things. Young women, and older ones if they don’t mature, often are attracted to the wild, untamed loner.”
“Like international Quidditch stars,” muttered Ron.
“Shut up,” hissed Hermione.
“Professor, do you mind if I ask,” said Harry, “what hullabaloo you would have been a part of if your mother had stayed with her kind?”
“Not at all,” said Professor Flitwick sadly, “my grandfather was the glamdring of the hullabaloo killed by the Death Eaters.”
Hermione gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Then that means that you’re …”
Flitwick nodded “Yes, Dobby’s sole remaining family. His great uncle to be precise.”
Dobby stepped cautiously over to Professor Flitwick and looked him in the eye, pointing with one hand toward himself, and with the other toward Flitwick, “family?”
“That’s right, Dobby, we are family. Although you must realize my hullabaloo enchantments have long been connected to Hogwarts. I should imagine your attachments to Hogwarts have grown quite strong by now.”
“Yes, sir, and to Harry Potter.”

Dedalus Diggle

October 26th, 2003, 7:58 pm

Chapter 18 – More Knitting

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all relieved to see that Hagrid was not nursing any active wounds at Magical Creatures class. They however did not have a chance to exchange any more information than simple greetings and receive an invite to come out ‘anytime.’ This did not seem urgent, so they wondered whether Hagrid had either tamed or found a new home for his brother Grawp. They also wondered whether the centaurs had calmed down, but again, they did not get a chance to ask. After class Hagrid shooed them all off to the castle, but wouldn’t say what was up.
The returning members of the Gryffindor quidditch team held a meeting to make plans for selecting new members. Everyone was agreed that Ron was the most qualified person to be captain, but liked the idea of him having backup from the more experienced players. Ginny’s request to be made a chaser and leave seeker to Harry was accepted by acclamation. After the meeting, they all decided to have some defense practice on the lawn and attracted a fair number of others to join in before dinner.
Later that evening, back at the dorm, after the sixth years in potions had completed the two scroll essay on truth serums assigned by Professor Snape, Harry was studying defensive techniques and planning for the first DA meeting on Tuesday and Ron was studying quidditch plays with a renewed intensity, when Hermione pulled out her knitting supplies.
“Did you learn nothing from Professor Flitwick?” asked Ron, “The elves don’t want the clothes because it would deprive them of their families.”
“This isn’t for the elves,” said Hermione primly.
“Then who,” said Ron.
“For Dobby’s friend Melony. She’s going to be a guest here at Hogwarts, and I thought it would be nice to have a little present for her to make her feel welcome.”
“Isn’t that what Dobby and Flitwick are going to do?” asked Ron.
“Well, of course, but it’s nice to have a little tangible something, and an item of clothing would be especially appropriate because that’s what so sets Dobby apart from the other elves. And most of what he wears is knitted things, so this would help her recall him.”
“A little green guy wearing 47 knit caps, 18 pairs of unmatched socks, and knee breeches ought not be that hard to remember,” replied Ron.
“Oh, you’re impossible!” said Hermione.
“Hermione,” said Harry, “Are you trying to make something like what Dobby wears or that she might want to wear herself.?”
“Hmm. I guess for her to wear,” she answered.
“Do you have any idea what she would wear?” Harry continued.
“Well, I figured if her tastes in food are like Dobby’s then her tastes in clothes would be similar, too.”
“Dobby HAS no taste in clothes. He just likes lots of them because they represent freedom to him, and his color sense is like a toddler playing dress-up. But she comes from a culture, and has certain expectations about the clothes she’ll wear,” said Harry.
“I suppose you’re right, but you, Dobby, and Professor Flitwick are the only ones I know who have even seen a woman goblin. So, then … what do women goblins wear.?” asked Hermione.
“Well, the two I saw pretty much dressed like the goblins you see in the lobby – dark stiff leather, twills, and other thick fabrics, adorned with prominent metal brads, buttons, chains and the like. But since she took a shine to Dobby, maybe she’s ready for a little bit of variety.” offered Harry.
“What sort of variety?”
“Let’s think. Colors don’t much matter – it’s so dark in their tunnels, I could barely see color. I’m not sure if softness matters – the older healer touched me when she was first tending to Dobby and her skin was like crocodile hide.”
“How about patterns? Do you think that would be too outrageous?” suggested Ron.
“Now there’s an idea, Ron,” said Harry, “what can you do in that, Hermione.”
She pulled out a pattern book and looked through for a few minutes. “How about that? A deeply cabled jumper?”
“Y’know, the cabling’s sort of reminiscent of the chains they like, but it’s different, a new variation on a familiar theme. That could work – do you have a dark grey yarn?” said Harry.
“Dark gray wouldn’t show the cabling – you need to be able to see the texture. How about a maroon?” said Hermione.
“Go for it – if she can’t wear it, you know Dobby will love it.,” said Harry.
Hermione stroked the pattern with her wand and then tapped the correct size needles and the maroon yarn, and the needles and yarn began to knit. Hermione watched a few minutes to see how enchanted needles would achieve a cable and then got a thoughtful look.
“What about Winky?”
Ron shrugged without looking up from his book “What about her?”
“She’s very unhappy,” said Hermione, “For some reason, she is still a free elf; Hogwarts hasn’t made her a Hogwarts-bound elf.”
“Dumbledore’ll have his reasons,” said Harry.
“Of course, he does,” said Hermione, “but it may be that he is just too busy to worry about one little house elf.”
“He usually is on top of everything,” said Harry.
“You didn’t think so last year,” said Hermione.
Harry glared at her. “Besides how can you go from ‘free the house elves’ to trying to get one bound again?”
“Because I did listen. She can’t change her nature – she needs a family to be happy, a wizard family.”
“I remember seeing a department near Ron’s Dad’s old office for placing freed house elves with new families,” said Harry.
“Now that’s a slow office,” said Ron, “Almost no one wants a freed house elf – it’s like buying a broken wand, and trust me, you don’t want one of those.”
“But Winky’s not broken, she was doing her duty to her family as well as she could, but they were hopelessly divided,” protested Hermione, “I’ll bet I could find a nice family that would treat her with respect.”
“My muggle relatives would love to have her,” said Harry, “my aunt likes the house hospital clean.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m willing to bet it would have to be a wizarding family,” said Hermione thoughtfully, “Well, I can at least write to the department and find out what the requirements are. Can I borrow Hedwig?”
“Of course, she’d love a good long flight,” replied Harry.

Dedalus Diggle

October 27th, 2003, 3:14 am

Chapter 19 - Melony

The next evening after dinner, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and many other Gryffindors decided to spend their evening in the house common room. Most had finished their homework from Friday. Earlier in the day the weather had been fine, with just the first hint of autumn in the air, and most everyone had taken advantage of it. All the quidditch teams had gotten in flying practice, and although the pitch was crowded, there were no major conflicts since it was too early to work on formations as all the teams were adding new players who had not yet been chosen.
But by dinner the weather had turned wet and considerably cooler, so there would be no late summer nighttime strolls. Harry was practicing the precise pronunciation of various Conversion Spells, which intercepted curses and rendered them non-dangerous. The defensive magic text said that these could be cast more quickly than a blocking spell and worked on spells that could not be blocked by other spells, but you had to think very quickly to use the right conversion spell for a given curse.
Ron, Katie, Ginny and Andrew Kirke were on their brooms near the ceiling of the common room. Ron was mapping out various attacking and defensive formations for the quidditch team with the others’ help, and devising hand signals he could use while guarding the goals to coordinate the other players.
“Harry,” he called, “I’ve even found a number of plays that involve the Seeker in setting up scoring opportunities by distracting the other team, or that disrupt their scoring attempts.”
“That’s great, Ron. Are you going to have diagrams for me – we could make up a playbook ”
“Yeah, good idea, mate. We’ve been playing like a pick-up team for too long. With some tighter strategies for play-making, we should be able to keep the pressure on the other teams’ Keeper all game,” said Ron.
“That’s good,” said Ginny, “I’d sure hate to rely on OUR Keeper.”
“Oy, you!” said Ron, with mock anger, and zoomed toward her. With her new Firebolt, Ginny easily avoided him and literally flew rings around him.
“Ginny,” said Katie, “whether it’s the Firebolt or the way you’re handling it, that’s awesome. Ron, have the books you’ve been studying included attacks when one of the brooms is so superior to the others?”
“There’s a few, but of course, the books are mostly written for professional teams, and they always have top brooms for the whole team. Let’s work on that right now – we can develop some plays that no one has seen before to take advantage of that broom. It may require you to take some knocks – can you handle it?”
“I’m game – I want to see you carrying that Cup at the end of the year,” said Katie with a laugh.
“Whoa, just hearing you say that gives me shivers up my spine,” said Ron.
“Then let’s get these plays planned,” said Ginny.
Hermione was just finishing the jumper for Melony when Dobby Apparated into the common room.
“Dobby, good to see you,” said Harry, “but aren’t you supposed to be on a date?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Dobby, “Professor Flitwick has gotten permission from Professor McGonagall for Melony and him to come here. I wanted her to meet you and your friends.”
“Fine, bring them in,” said Harry, “Hermione even has something for Melony.”
“Oh, that’s so nice. Dobby must have a prefect to escort them to bring them in here, however,” said Dobby.
“Oh, I’m done with this. I’ll let them in” said Hermione, rising and walking over to the portrait hole. “Welcome, Professor Flitwick, Melony. It’s so nice to meet you. Dobby has told us so many nice things.”
Harry watched the two of them crawl through the portrait hole. “Thank you, Miss” said Melony in a deep nasal voice. Then she turned to Flitwick “I thought your name was Glorfindel – that’s how we’ve always known you”
He laughed and squeaked “That’s my goblin name. Filius Flitwick is my wizard name. Two natures – two names.”
“Mmm, maybe Filius sounds better to human ears, but to a goblin, it’s quite unpleasant, cloying in its smoothness. Goblin men should have a good sharp ‘guh-‘ at the beginning of their names” said Melony, who then turned and looked fondly at Dobby “of course a ‘d’ name is unusual for goblins, but it’s got a nice crisp sound to it, too.”
“Dobby,” said Flitwick, “perhaps you should introduce your friends.”
“Yes, sir, Melony, this is Hermione Granger. Up there with the red hair are Ron Weasley – that’s the boy – and Ginny Weasley. I don’t know the other girl – beg pardon, miss. And you have already met Harry Potter, who set me free and calls me his friend.”
Melony greeted them all, and then said “Mr. Potter, I am so pleased and honored to meet you under better circumstances. You’ve been the talk of the goblins since you came to our home. We women goblins especially only hear of the harsh way sorcerers treat their servants and the rude way most treat goblins. We saw you treating us and our home with respect and dignity and Dobby with such concern and affection.”
“Oh, well, gee, I really didn’t know how else to act. I’m just glad you could help Dobby,” said Harry with a hint of blush.
“There had been many of us who had talked openly of rebelling against the Ministry’s policies, but such talk has subsided since we have seen there are wizards who respect us as beings.”
“There are quite a few, Melony; almost all the wizards I know respect goblins” said Harry, “although we don’t get to meet with them enough to understand your ways and needs.”
“Yes, we have discussed this in our hullabaloos – by our nature, our societies are very insular. We like it that way, but it does not make relations with other beings easy. We need to find ways to participate more directly in the wider magical world, without giving up our goblin ways. But then, it is not as if the Ministry has really sought our participation either.”
“Yes,” agreed Flitwick, “the Ministry has quite a few wizards high up – I won’t name names – who can’t see reaching out to other types of beings. We can work on that, if the goblins can also reach out.”
“If we don’t find ways, I truly fear where wizard-goblin relations will end up,” said Melony gravely. “Oh, listen to me, gabbling on like that. Grishnack always said I was such a flibbertigibbet.”
“A flibbertigibbet!!?” said Hermione, “discussing weighty topics like this.”
“Oh, it’s quite airy talk for a goblin. Our talk is habitually very practical. I’ve never quite fit in,” said Melony.
“Well, I think you’re delightful,” said Hermione, retrieving the jumper from the table “and I was so pleased to know that you were to be visiting us, that I made you this jumper. I hope you’ll like it – and it won’t be too outrageous amongst the goblins.”
Melony held it up “It’s quite brightly colored for goblin-wear, but I like the stretchiness. Since I’ve been a healer-trainee, I’ve found that the stiff clothes we are accustomed to can interfere with care-giving. I think I could wear this when I have duties. Thanks you very much Miss Granger.”
“You’re very welcome,” Hermione beamed, then continued “What is your healer training like?”
“Healing is taught as an apprenticeship, Miss. There is always at least one experienced healer in a hullabaloo and at least one younger healer-in-training. It’s always a woman’s skill. It’s a high calling among us, of course. But I wanted to become a healer so I could be part of starting a new hullabaloo. I have very independent ways for a goblin. That doesn’t fit well, especially among the hullabaloos of Gringotts. And they say I have such a sunny disposition – that is not a compliment among goblins. I would like to find an independent-minded male who would want to start a hullabaloo – he would be my glamdring.” She pronounced ‘glamdring’ like a human might say ‘Prince Charming.’
“That is quite a dream for a young goblin, Melony,” said Flitwick, “you remind me very much of my own mother.”
“No higher compliment can a goblin man offer a goblin woman. Thank you, Glorfindel,” said Melony.
“Melony, may I ask you something,” said Hermione, “It sounds like you goblin women hardly ever leave your homes. You don’t work in the outside jobs, like banking or accounting, and even the healing you do is done inside your home. Do the men force you to stay in your homes?”
“No. I’m here, aren’t I?” replied Melony, “but we like the life of the home very much, even an independent sort like me. It’s just our nature – no one needs to force us to be that way. We generally have a male escort or chaperone when we are away from our homes because our magical power is only strong when we are protecting or serving our homes. It’s sort of like wizards with their wands – the home makes us so much more powerful, particularly mothers. So long as they are not exposed to sunlight, it would only take a few goblin mothers to defend their home against any combination of sorcerers. In fact if the men go into battle, they inspire themselves to fierceness with the battlecry ‘Fight like Mothers!’”
Ron called from up on his broom, “Y’know, that would be a great team call for Quidditch this year – just when we kick off to take positions, we can all yell together …
“Fight like Mothers!” Ron, Katie, Ginny, Andrew and Harry yelled together with a laugh.
Melony looked puzzled, then continued, “But in a situation like this, away from the home, I am weaker than the weakest wizard here - I can levitate smaller objects, Apparate, do a few simple spells, but really not much, and only things I have done a lot.”
Harry thought about that and said “You had planned to come here without a male chaperone before Glorfindel (he winked at Flitwick who smiled impishly and winked back) offered to be a chaperone: that was quite a risk, wasn’t it?”
“Normally, yes, but I was going to Apparate directly to the grounds here, and I knew that as long as I was with Dobby I would be secure.” Melony said with a fond smile toward Dobby, whose blush combined with his green hue to make a brown patch.
“I couldn't agree more – he even protected me against his own ex-master. So, do you two have plans, Dobby?” asked Harry.
“Oh, she will be leaving soon. We have already spent some time in, uh, Glorfindel’s office having some turnip juice and talking. I learned so much about goblin life and all the things I’ve missed. It sounds like all the good parts of serving a family, but with your family dedicated to you as well,” said Dobby, before adding dreamily, “and with such beautiful girls there, too.”
Melony smiled and blushed, “And I learned the sad story of Dobby and Glorfinel’s hullabaloo, and the happy ending of them finding family again.”
“Dobby hopes it’s not an ending just yet,” said Dobby shily.
Melony smiled, “Well, for tonight. Perhaps Glorfindel will be able to arrange another visit for us soon”
Flitwick smiled happily at that and said “Oh, yes, of course. It is an honor and a delight to assist two young people like yourselves. But you are right, Melony, we must get you back to your home, or I shall not be trusted as a chaperone again.”
“May I come with you?” asked Dobby.
“NO!” said Melony, too abruptly “I’m sorry, Dobby. The other goblins accept that you are free, but they consider you an elf. They don’t know I have been with you. They would react … badly. Maybe someday, if they can see that you have enough of the goblin in you, we could openly be together. For now, we must be careful.”
“Dobby understands,” said Dobby sadly, “Dobby would not dare to be seen by the house elves with you. They, too, would react badly. We have been fortunate to be able to come here, where Hermione Granger’s attempts to hide elf clothes about has scared all the elves away. Thank you, Miss Granger.”
Hermione blushed at her efforts being appreciated for having the opposite of the intended affect, “You’re uh welcome, Dobby.”
Harry, Ron, Ginny and Flitwick all laughed at her discomfort.
When they had left, Hermione said, “Aren’t they the cutest couple?”
Ron snorted, “Downright freaky, if you ask me?”
Ginny laughed, “For once in you two’s squabbling, you’re both right.”

Dedalus Diggle

October 28th, 2003, 3:56 pm

Chapter 20 - Professor Weasley

On Monday they had morning classes in Transfiguration and Potions. Professor Snape kept Harry after to arrange a time for Occlumency lessons, and they quickly arrived at Monday evenings at 8. Harry would not have minded waiting a week to start, but Snape reminded him of the importance Dumbledore placed on it and Harry agreed.
But even that couldn't spoil Harry's mood. After lunch, the 6th-year Gruffindors and Ravenclaws were to meet at the Quidditch pitch for their first Apparation class, Apparation was not a required or graded course, but it concluded with Mininstry-sponsored examinations to allow them to earn their permissions to Apparate. Even those who felt they had little chance were going to give it a try. So it was that Harry found himself in a large room under the stands at 1 p.m. with half of the 6th years and Madam Hooch.
"Everyone, Apparation is both simple and difficult. Once you start to get the hang of it, it will become quite natural. In that regard, it is like riding a broom, or for those of you raised with muggles, like riding a bicycle. Once you learn to get on and stay on, you just naturally get better by doing. With Apparation the knack is to not merely picture the movement to the desired location, but to totally believe it has in fact occurred. Of course, we must always be sure we are Apparating to a safe location. Usually we Apparate to known places or guide off of magical objects or even other wizards. They act as a homing beacon. Most wizards who can Apparate equip their homes with small magical objects in their entryways to guide by - this allows them to reach the right home and avoid Apparating into walls and floors."
"Except squinching, apparating into an object is the most common and painful type of mishap with Apparation. I am trained in magical reversal and part of my duties here at Hogwarts is to undo Apparation mishaps. Even after getting licenses, many students need practice and make errors. I won't lie to you - it hurts. I also will assure you that I know just how much it hurts, as when I was just beginning I apparated with my leg passing right through a chair: no lasting harm done, but separating muscle and bone from the wood was no picnic either. Occasionally we have mishaps that require healer attention, and rest assured that there is not a healer around with more experience treating Apparation mishap injuries than Madam Pomfrey. Still, I would like to give her a break this year, alright?"
"Now our first exercise is to Apparate fingers. Each person take a seat at these desks here and place the knuckles of your non-wanding hand against the divider. Hold your wand in your normal wanding hand. Now extend your little finger - yes, just the pinky at first - so that it is on one side of the divider. No need at all to push with it - it'll only make things harder. Now when I give the signal, imagine that finger on the other side of the divider - still attached to your hand of course. Ready - begin!"
All the class were staring intently at their pinkies, except Harry, who found it more natural to close his eyes. When Madam Hooch called time, she told them all to stay still while she came around. She glanced at each one in turn, until she came to Harry, who had not even bothered to look.
"Very good, Potter, just like riding a broom for you, eh?" she said, for indeed, his left pinky had been on the left side of the divider and now it was on the right. "You've Apparated before, hmm?" she asked.
"Well, I didn't do it, but a friend of mine has been Apparating me places this summer."
"Did you like the feeling?"
"Yes, Maam, I did. As good as being on a broom," Harry replied.
"Did you feel your finger moving?"
"No, Maam. I didn't even know it had till you told me," answered Harry, "I did feel a tingle, but I didn't know what it was."
"Alright, class, let's all try again. Ready, go."
This time Harry kept his eyes open and watched his finger disappear from the right side and reappear on the left. He moved it back and forth a couple of times before she called time. A few others were getting their fingers to fade out and reappear in place. Harry was instructed to try other fingers, and got the same result. By the time class was over he was making his entire hand Apparate back and forth at will. He had the best feeling of accomplishment he had had since observing the progress of the DA last year.
The good feeling kept Harry going through herbology and into History of Magic. It was difficult for him to control himself from practicing Apparation until he realized that as long as he was inside the castle, he could not Apparate. Professor Binns was droning on about German goblin rebellions of the nineteenth century. Harry decided he was determined to take notes. As he listened, however, he started to see the rebellions from the goblins' perspective: how various measures taken by the German Wizenbund had burdened goblins in various onerous ways until the goblins had revolted. It was the same pattern Harry had noticed before: the wizards imposed difficult laws on the goblins and the goblins forgot the necessity of certain restrictions for mutual safety, then the whole matter became too tense until a spark caused hostilities to break out. If only there could be a proper dialogue which would renew constantly the balance which kept both sides peaceful and prosperous. Looking at the old material this way kept Harry awake the whole class.
Afternoon exercise kept Harry's mind off of Occlumency until dinner, when the apprehension started to grow. Harry, Hermione, and Neville just wanted to probe his mind about pointers for Apparation. Harry couldn't really talk about Occlumency around Neville anyway, since Neville did not know about the Order or Snape's role in it. After dinner Harry was able to finish his herbology essay before heading to Snape's dungeon. Harry was relieved that they got directly down to the business of practice. Harry felt his mind grappling with Snape's probes several times. Snape found this odd, since the goal of Occlumency was to block intrusions and present an unbeguiled façade. He did not, however, scold Harry for this; rather he said he would consult with Dumbledore about it.
The next morning was the class that Harry had been most curious about - double Defense Against the Dark Arts. To Ron's and Ginny's great relief, while their father had been seen about the castle - at meals, on the morning runs, here and there - he had not been a constant presence. Ginny did not have her first session with him until Tuesday afternoon, so they had no idea what his classes would be like.
As usual, the Gryffindors were sharing their double DADA session with the Slytherins. As they lined up to enter the classroom, Draco Malfoy had his usual coterie about him.
""Can you believe how low this school's sunk now? Hiring a Weasley of all things, and one that couldn't even keep his position. How sad," sneered Malfoy.
Harry and Hermione held Ron back from pulling his wand on Draco. Neville, however, spoke up, "I reckon you're right, Draco."
"What, Longbottom?"
"Yep, I've met both your Dad and Professor Weasley, and Professor Weasley doesn't know beans about Dark Arts compared to your father - that's who they should have gotten. But he doesn't seem to be available. Where is he again? - Oh yes, Azkaban. Too bad he couldn't keep his position, either."
This time it was the Slytherins who had to hold someone back. "You'll get yours someday, Longbottom," sneered Draco.
"And I'll be ready when you want to try, Malfoy," answered Neville. Just then Professor Weasley arrived.
"Ah, is there a problem? No, then let's all go in and take seats." They all filed in, with the Gryffindors all quietly congratulating Neville on putting Malfoy in his place.
"Settle down, settle down. Class, I know many of you already know me, and by now you probably all know my name. No matter what you might have called me outside the school - whether a pleasant name or an ill one - I expect to be called either Professor Weasley or Mr. Weasley here. Of course, none of you can be unaware that one of your classmates is my son Ron, but I can assure you that this will not result in any favoritism. I plan on being exacting with all of you, because it is my job to prepare all of you to encounter certain dangers you may meet in the magical world. Looking over your curriculum for the past several years, the Headmaster noticed a glaring deficiency in one particular aspect of your Defense education in which I happen to be particularly well-qualified. That is the recognition and protection against magical objects. There are many types of magical objects, from those containing magical substances to those bearing curses. We will include in this curriculum recognition of persons under the Imperius Curse and other mind-controlling spells. This will be very much a hands-on program, and I have spent the better part of the past week gathering a number of items we can begin our studies with."
Hermione raised her hand and was recognized. "Sir, given the return of Voldemort (there was widespread hissing and murmuring at the name's mention, which caused Hermione to pause a moment), oughtn't we have instruction in the more active parts of self-defense - sparring, fighting, and the like?"
Professor Weasley smiled benignly, "Ahh, Miss, erm, Granger, is it?" as if he did not know her name.
Seamus laughed and spoke up, "Pardon me, Sir, but come off it. We know you know who she is - she's Ron's girlfriend, after all."
Hermione shot daggers with her eyes at Seamus as the class laughed, and Arthur Weasley looked out toward Ron, at the back of the classroom, "Is this so, Ron? I thought you two were just friends. We must have The Talk, then."
Ron turned beet red and slunk down in his chair almost to the floor, muttering "I can't believe this is happening." The entire class roared with laughter, except, of course, Hermione.
"Let me apologize for creating a disruption," continued Professor Weasley, "the answer, class, is two-fold. First, those who would hurt you not only fight, but also employ many nefarious means, including hidden potions, curses, hexes, and substances. Second, and perhaps most importantly, is that the Headmaster is sponsoring a student organization for you all to cooperatively learn fighting skills together. I am sure you have all seen the Headmaster's announcement concerning the Defense Association. I am pleased to recommend that you all participate in this organization. It will be coordinated and coached by our own Mr. Potter, with the assistance of a number of other students who practiced these skills privately with him last year. I have seen Mr. Potter's fighting skills, as well as his coaching skills and the results of such efforts, and I can assure you that there is no one I know more capable of imparting those skills to all who are willing to learn from him. It is my duty to also announce that those who would prefer not to study such skills with the Defense Association may alternately participate in the Cobras Dueling Club, organized by Mr. Malfoy, and meeting in the large classroom in the second level dungeon. Both will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 until 9."
"Now, turning to the subject material, we will begin with the recognition of items containing magical substances. Can anyone name one sign to look for?"
Dean Thomas raised his hand "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"
The class and Arthur Weasley laughed. "Yes, of course, Mr. Thomas. My twin sons, Fred and George, have been producing magical products for well over 2 years now and selling them for almost half a year - perhaps more but they haven't told me everything. My information is that they tested them on many of you. Of course, one of the biggest differences between what they do and what Dark Wizards do is that they tell you what each product does. And in that regard, I want you all to know that I have acquired an ample supply of the antidotes for the Skiving Snackboxes, so if any of you attempt to avoid class by any of the symptoms available with those, you'll be getting the antidote. But since you have mentioned my sons' products, let's take a look at some of them and the neutral products they resemble, so that you can learn to recognize the signs of the presence of magical substances."
The rest of the class was spent comparing normal toffees with ton-tongue toffees, and other Weasley products with their analogues. Their attention was particularly riveted when it was suggested that one portion of their exam would be to take and eat at least ten items from a snack tray with mixed neutral and magical foods on it, with the grade for that portion depending on how few transformations they went through. By the end of the class, even most of the Slytherins were admitting that this year's program was useful, fascinating and enjoyable.

Dedalus Diggle

October 29th, 2003, 6:48 pm

Chapter 21 - The DA

Harry managed to put aside the impending Defense Association meeting from his mind most of the day, but by dinner his stomach was in knots. He was able to eat, but only by doing some of his Occlumency mind-clearing exercises. Harry was the first up to the Third Floor hall where he would pace back and forth three times to conjure the Room of Requirement. He thought about needing an open gym-like room with enough space for all the students to pair off and practice spells and lined spell-resistant padding all around the Hall, including the floor. Harry wanted to start with Expelliarmus, and if students got the hang of it, they would be sending their partners flying. Sure enough after three transits, the door appeared and Harry opened it. When he looked in he nearly vomited.
The room was at least the size of two quidditch pitches. Soon the previous year's DA members arrived.
"Why'd you wish for such a big room?" asked Ron.
"I just wished for one big enough."
Sure enough, in the ten minutes before the scheduled starting time, hundreds of students arrived in various groups. Harry mentioned that it would be useful to have a full count, and no sooner had he said it, then a counter appeared above the door. When it finally appeared that everyone was there who was coming, the counter read 748.
Harry performed the Sonorus Charm on himself, so that everyone could hear.
"Please everyone. Let me welcome you to the Defense Association. Let me tell you first that I am both thrilled and scared silly to see so many of you here. When Professor Dumbledore asked for last year's Defense Association to be continued and opened to the whole school, we knew there would be considerably more than the thirty-odd we had before. But this is overwhelming. Let me stress right now that this is not a dueling club, or a spells club, or anything like that. Those skills will come into it. But we are focusing on defense - both individually and as groups. We will master the most useful spells through intensive practice. We will make sure that we can use them even when we would rather curl up in fetal position and cry. This is not about sport or craft - it's about survival. We will learn to defend ourselves, each other, and all we care about. A new war has begun, and we will never know when we will have to fight. Some of us may not survive, but it will not be because we learned how to fight, but in spite of it.
"Let me also stress that while I have been asked to coordinate the Defense Association, this is not at all about me. It's not a Potter fan club. Or freak show. I claim no talents beyond what most of us here have. If there is a skill or a spell you believe should be covered, let me know, and if I have not already incorporated it into my rough outlines, I will discuss it with others and either use your idea or explain why not. I have only one goal in this organization: to equip as many of you as possible to make it through this war safe and sound. No one person can win this war. We must prepare to defend ourselves and each other. And while this is not MY club, I can assure you that seeing as many of you through the dark days ahead through mutual preparedness is by far my top priority."
"We are going to divide into teams. Luna Lovegood has agreed to be our scribe, so she will be handling sign-ups in a few minutes. We want to be fairly evenly divided. I want everyone to choose a team leader from a different house than their own. This is the only purpose for which your House is relevant in the DA. Factions must be avoided. We are not groups of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins - we are Hogwarts students. The team leaders are those who participated last year, including a couple of noteworthy alumni. Let me introduce them." Harry then introduced each one of last year's DA members, ending with Neville. There was a fair bit of general tittering in the crowd. Harry continued "Neville, your reputation is vast. Obviously many of you have heard of Neville Longbottom. He has a well-earned reputation for magical ineptitude. For more than four years here, he could barely perform the simplest spell. Neville, take my wand."
Harry held out his wand in position to attack. Neville pulled his own wand and shouted "EXPELLIARMUS." Harry's wand flew to Neville and Harry was thrown down. The crowd erupted in applause and 'oohs.' Harry picked himself up and walked over to take his wand back.
"Never think of Neville Longbottom as inept again! Neville, could you do that this time last year?"
"Not at all, Harry. I could barely make a wand move."
"Our focus is on helping you to progress as Neville has. We will start tonight with the disarming spell. We will be in pairs supervised by our team leaders. We will make sure that you are all doing it well. We will make sure you all can do it. If some are having trouble, your team leader or Hermione Granger or I will come and give you personal guidance. We will move as quickly as we can, but we will leave no one behind. By the way, as you can see from the way Neville's spell tossed me, there is some risk of injury, and with this many people, it is fairly certain that a few people will need attention. Fitness conditioning will help protect you. There is now a gymnasium for this purpose. Also many of us go for a run early each morning. Still there will be injuries and I can assure you that Madam Pomfrey will be able to cure the result of anything that is taught here.
Before we sign up for teams, I want to say one thing more. Last year, several of us joined to practice defense skills because the Ministry declined to allow practical instruction. When we shortened the name Defense Association to DA, it was suggested that DA should actually stand for something else - Dumbledore's Army. That reflected out loyalty to the Headmaster and his leadership. That of course remains. But I would like you to keep in mind another meaning for DA. A little over a year ago, in the final event of the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric Diggory and I both had made it through to within sight of the trophy. We had both helped each other get that far, and either of us might have failed or died earlier but for the other's help. When we reached the trophy, he would not take it without me taking it at the same time: we had reached it together through mutual help. But then when it turned out that the trophy was a portkey to the cemetery where Voldemort's rebirth was to occur, Cedric was killed on Voldemort's orders, saying nothing more than 'kill the spare.' He was killed simply because he was not … the one who was wanted. I have hidden my nightmares about that night from even my best friends, not wanting to be thought weak. But I have had many nightmares about it, and I no longer think of it as weakness. For all the terrible things that happened that night - torture by the Crucio curse, the Imperio curse, having the killing curse pronounced against me, two dozen Death Eaters laughing at my torture, seeing Voldemort's body rising from the cauldron - there is one part that recurs in my nightmares more than any other, and that is Cedric Diggory being killed so casually. Cedric was not just a good Hufflepuff - he was a good man: loyal, true, generous of spirit. All of you in Hufflepuff knew it; a few of us in other houses were fortunate enough to have known him. If there is one characteristic that separates us from what we fight, it is the attitude that any person could be considered 'a spare.' We are each important and worth fighting for. Cedric Diggory was Hogwarts' first casualty of this war. Remember him. Let DA also stand for Diggory's Avengers."
Division into teams went smoothly and before individual practice Harry explained all he knew of the nuances of pronunciation and wand use for the spell. All the teams spread out and then paired off for practice. Several times Harry reminded the whole group that they should resist their partners' spells, since a real opponent would do likewise. At first, even the older students' efforts were feeble, but the team leaders moved about, just as Harrry had the previous year, and Harry and Hermione also moved through the enormous room. At one point, Harry commented to Hermione how much more convenient it would be if they had brooms to survey the efforts; of course, as soon as he said this, he found a couple of flying brooms on pegs on a nearby wall. Harry found Neville teaching with an almost eerie zeal. He came by Marietta's group, and helped a few of the students; as he left, she caught his eye and silently mouthed "Thanks for the second chance." The progress was apparent amongst all, and before the time was up, the wands were generally flying where they should and the person against whom the spells were cast was generally off his or her feet. The team leaders quickly noticed that where they could make no headway, Harry's coaching brought around even the most intractable of students.
Five minutes before the end of the session, Harry once again used the Sonorus Charm so he could call everyone together. He praised their practice and encouraged them to work hard and come back on Thursday. As the teams broke up, people naturally drifted back to their fellow house members. Harry made a point of approaching the Slytherins. He clapped Tedd Nott on the back, and spoke to them all.
"I really am glad to see you here. I truly believe we will only be as strong as we are unified."
Ted smiled weakly and said, "Well, of course, there's been some debate in the dorm. Some thought we should stick with Malfoy, and some just didn't want to join anything you were running."
Harry laughed lightly at that "I knew some people would have issues with that, but Dumbledore insisted."
"Yeah, that's where I came out on it - if Dumbledore recommends it, then I'll give it a go. And I heard what you said to Crabbe and Goyle after your sparring on the train - I reckon you sounded sincere, and if you could welcome Malfoy's right and left arms, we'd be okay here, too. Just because Malfoy's the most often heard among us, doesn't mean he speaks for all.," replied Ted.
"Good. Just make sure that anyone who is curious knows that they are all welcome. We leave our house colors at the door."
"Will do - Harry," answered Ted, looking Harry in the eye.
After the new members had left, the returned members stayed behind for advanced practice and planning. Harry found out whether they all felt the main group could move on to a new spell or needed more Expelliarmus work. They started working through the spells they had learned the previous year to work out any lapses or bad habits. Harry said that on Thursday they would move on to some protective spells Harry had learned over the summer. As they were breaking up to go to their dorms Cho Chang approached Harry.
"Harry," she said quietly, "thank you for what you said about Cedric. It's the sort of thing I needed to hear. I'm sorry that last year all my issues about Cedric got mixed up with - us."
"I understand," said Harry, "well, sort of. How about we take some time Saturday after we each are done with Quidditch practice and talk about Cedric and nothing else until we get out of our systems the need to talk about him with someone else who knew him."
"Just him and nothing else?" asked Cho, and Harry nodded. "Alright then, we'll do that. Well, see you in the morning at the lake - Coach."
As the Gryffindors headed back to their dorm, after saying goodnight to the rest of the students and the twins (who said they were going to drop in on their father before returning to London), everyone was enthusiastic.
"That was amazing," said Ron, "everyone I saw was making a lot of progress."
"Absolutely," said Colin Creevey, "even the first years were getting the knack of it - especially when you came and gave them some one-on-one coaching, Harry."
"Thanks, Colin," said Harry, "I think maybe the students who are resisting you guys focus a little better when I come around."
"Maybe that's it - shakes 'em up a bit," said Neville.
"You were pushing hard, Neville," said Ginny, "Got some real results, though."
"I don't want to turn people off, but they could be facing some very nasty people. I'd hate myself if they weren't prepared," said Neville, "but let me know if I come on too strong."
"We'll do it," said Ron, "to think, we may have to tell Neville Longbottom to back off - I love it!"
They all laughed, Neville included, but Harry noticed a proud cocking of his head.

Dedalus Diggle

October 30th, 2003, 2:14 pm

Chapter 22 - Clearing the Air

The next Saturday morning, the quidditch teams were holding open practices so that all those who were interested in playing could learn a bit about the available positions in preparation for the actual tryouts. There were no Seeker openings on any of the teams, so it was decided to release a couple of snitches and let the seekers practice in and among the rest of the teams so that all the players would get used to the distraction of the snitch and those who sought it. Harry made several awe-inspiring snitch dives, but then remembered the notion of his father being such a show-off. From then on, he held back, watching the tryouts and scouting out the other teams. After practice, he and Cho retrieved the snitches that were out and set down near the locker rooms.
"Do you want to talk over lunch?" asked Harry.
"No," Cho replied, "at your table, you'd be surrounded by your friends and same for me at mine. Besides, everybody'd want to pester 'Coach' about the DA."
"Well, I'm glad for the enthusiasm, but you're right. That's not the way to speak our peace. I'll meet you at 12:30 near the Whomping Willow" said Harry, then adding with a laugh, "but not too near it."
"Do you mind if I bring someone to be kind of a chaperone?" asked Cho.
"What!? Why? I wouldn't … I'm not going to do anything - I really just want to talk about Cedric."
"I know. I know, Harry, and I do too. It's not that I don't trust you. I don't trust me to keep only to the topic. I haven't stopped caring about you, Harry, even if things got akilter," said Cho sadly.
"I'm sorry things went the way they did, too, Cho. But I hope you understand that right now, I'm not looking for any sort of relationship other then friendship," said Harry.
"Of course. Me, too. With the threats looming, our first priority is to prepare. But sometimes our hearts and our bodies overrule our brains. That's why I want Marietta along. Besides, she said she wanted a bit of a talk with you too" Cho said, "so we'll see you at 12:30.
Cho and Marietta were only a couple of minutes late. There was a sheltered nook in the castle walls nearby that protected them both from the late summer sun and inquisitive eyes and ears. Harry and Cho talked for over two hours, with Cho sharing everything she remembered about Cedric that wasn't too private and Harry telling about all the ways they had helped each other in the TriWizard tournament. Harry told about the effect that the dementors had had on him at the quidditch match three years earlier which allowed Cedric to beat him to the snitch and how Cedric had been so reluctant at the Quidditch World Cup to accept the praise his father heaped on him about getting the snitch. Harry told in very painful detail about Cedric's death and the nightmares he had been having since then. They cried together, Marietta joining in as she understood the pain they both felt. Harry and Cho hugged for several minutes silently, just letting the pain of their memories of Cedric be exorcised from their bodies in their tears. They each thanked each other for opening up and for listening.
Then Cho said "Marietta, I think we're done. Didn't you say you wanted to talk to Harry about something?"
"I did, Cho, but could I talk to Harry alone? I feel like I need to talk just to him," said Marietta haltingly.
"Sure you don't need a chaperone, too" said Cho with a wink. "No? I'll see you back at the dorm then, Marietta."
When Cho had left, Harry asked "What's up?"
"Harry, when I received your first owl this summer, I was astounded that you'd let me back in. I had been thinking for nearly a month about what I had done, and I was so ashamed," said Marietta shyly.
"Everybody makes mistakes. I'm still not over several doozies I made last year. Do you know what happened?" asked Harry. After she shook he head, Harry found a way to tell her about the trip to the Department of Mysteries - the school knew they had been there anyway because of the reports in the Daily Prophet - without telling about the Prophecy, or Occlumency, or Kreacher, or the Order of the Phoenix. But he did say how it had led to Sirius's death and several significant injuries to others.
Marietta nodded, "Well, it's obvious you're leaving out some details you can't tell me for some reason. It's okay. A person'd have to be a fool not to expect strange things to happen around Harry Potter. But I get the idea: you have mistakes you have to get past, too. Perhaps you've been a bit too daring, where I was not brave enough. I got to thinking more about my position with the wizarding world as if it was business as usual. I guess I didn't really believe you that You-Know-Who was back, so the DA seemed like an unnecessarily dangerous game."
"It was all too real to me," said Harry, "so perhaps I didn't understand quite how unreal my story must have seemed. Sometimes I think Cho was not too sure about my story, but just wanted to spend time with me."
Marietta laughed "No comment!"
"Well, I can't say I didn't like having the time with her," said Harry.
"Are you really okay with me being back in?" asked Marietta.
"I am, but some of the others have some hard feelings," replied Harry, to which Marietta nodded understandingly, "I've put in a strong word about accepting you. And none of them are to say anything to the rest of the school. But I can't say the bell has been unrung just yet. By the way, what did you tell everyone else about wearing the balaclava for the whole end of the year?"
"I told everyone I had had a bad potions accident when I was doing homework" laughed Marietta, with a reddening of her cheeks, which Harry found quite endearing.
"That works," he replied, laughing with her. "Well, if you're willing to resist Voldemort (she flinched at the name), I'm glad to have the help. You learned everything we did last year but the Patronus, so we need you as a team leader and a capable fighter."
"Thanks, Harry, that means the world to me. I just hope I can prove myself," said Marietta.
"I'm sure if the opportunity arises, you'll be as brave as anyone. If we're all squared away then, I have to get to the gym,"
"Harry, can I get my stuff and meet you there? I've been doing the morning run and practicing spells, but I don't really know how to do the stretching and other exercise that you told us about," Marietta asked.
"Of course," said Harry, "I'm glad to share anything I can to help people get stronger."
They went to their dorms for the things they needed and met again at the gym. Harry explained what he had learned about stretching, aerobic conditioning, and strength building. A number of other students listened in, as usually happened now when Harry was explaining things. Harry explained the difference between the pain that says something is damaged and the soreness that says that the workout has been effective to strengthen the body. As he did his stretches, she was opposite him to imitate what he did, though less limberly. Several times, Harry found himself watching her in her leotard. He told himself he had no other interest than as a teacher, but he wasn't fully convinced. He fought against any sort of attraction. After the workout, they went for a cooldown walk around the lake and then went back to their own dorms.
Hermione was doing some healer reading when Harry came in through the portrait hole.
"So, Harry, I noticed you had a nice afternoon," she said with a smirk. "What happened to 'I'm not going to get involved.'?"
"I'm not involved," said Harry too abruptly, "I was just coaching her."
"You don't look at me that way when we're at the gym," she said, "and frankly you've been quite distant when we've talked."
Harry sat down near her with his back to the table and put his elbows on his knees and propped his head up with his hands. He said to her quietly, so no one else would hear, "I have to keep my distance. Caring hurts too much already. I don't want to get involved. Except … I really do want someone special in my life."
Hermione put her arm around his shoulder from the front and pulled his other shoulder against her. "Of course, you do, Harry. It's your loving nature that's always carried you. It's the tension in the bow you keep pulling tighter and tighter. Just don't let it get pulled too tight - we can't have you breaking, can we?"
He laid his head on her shoulder. "It's nice that you're smart. But your comfort and understanding is brilliant. Please never stop being my friend."
"No, Harry," she said with a glisten in her eye, "I would never give you up."

Dedalus Diggle

October 30th, 2003, 2:37 pm

Chapter 23 - Interestin' Creatures

By the end of September, there was a nip in the air. This actually made the morning run easier, as it kept everyone cooler. Even on wet mornings, there were at least three hundred runners. On pleasant dry mornings, the numbers swelled to virtually the entire DA, which stabilized at just about 800 members: virtually all of the other three houses and just under 30 Slytherins. They worked very hard, and while progress was slower per meeting than the year before, it was substantial, and all the more remarkable for the number of people involved and the youth of many of them. Still everyone found it fun because they could see their progress, their new skills, and their new camaraderie. Whenever a student became discouraged with a new spell, Harry was able to pick up his spirits with a quick story and then showed him just how to make the spell work.
The only problem was that with so many novices trying new spells out on each other, there was a fairly high rate of accidents. Most times the team leaders could reverse jumbled spells, or if not them, Hermione or Harry knew what to do. But it seemed like no less than ten students per DA session would find themselves at the Hospital Wing with either magical ailments or physical injuries requiring attention. After each advanced session, Harry would come up to see that everyone was alright, and Madame Pomfrey would scowl at him as if he had done all this as a prank or to make her life harder.
On the first Friday of October at the Care of Magical Creatures class, while the class was learning to tend murtlaps and harvest their growths for making extract, Hagrid asked Harry, Hermione and Ron to come over the next day for tea. He said it was nothing special, just that they hadn't had a chance to talk much in quite a while.
After quidditch practice, Harry showered and had lunch with the team. He got most of his homework done in the dorm common room while Ron and Hermione tried to work while quibbling with each other. Harry's essays were still shorter then Hermione's, but they got more quickly to the point, hit the critical points, and summed them up more succinctly, so that he was getting the same high marks she always had been. Then they went to the gym for a workout before heading down to Hagrid's. When Ron and Harry emerged from the shower room, they found Hermione waiting for them with Luna Lovegood.
"Luna was just finishing her workout, too. I invited her to come down to Hagrid's with us. You don't mind, do you?" said Hermione.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. Luna had never to their knowledge visited with Hagrid, and they had heard that Ravenclaw did not too much respect him. Nonetheless Luna was nothing if not open-minded, so they agreed.
With a mischievous grin, Ron added, "I only hope Hagrid will have enough of his tea biscuits to go around."
When they arrived and knocked, they heard Hagrid's boarhound Fang barking madly. Hagrid opened the door wearing an apron that would have made a nice tent for a normal-sized person. Fang slobbered on all of them and then came to Luna. She seemed a bit apprehensive as he sniffed around her, but then he put his big paws on her and licked her all about the face and she giggled maniacally. Although Hagrid knew her from classes, they introduced her as a friend to Hagrid as he tended the biscuits which he had just taken from the oven.
"Any friend of this lot's a friend of mine," said Hagrid pleasantly. "So tell me about this Defense Association you've been up to. It was kept from me last year - seems some folks didn't think I could keep a secret."
They told him all about what happened last year, and how it was turning out this year, and their fitness and training program, and their OWLs and Harry's DADA NEWT.
"And yeh had no idear, Harry?" asked Hagrid.
"No. Dumbledore said he was afraid I might have guessed when I was asked to produce a Patronus. That was the only part of the NEWT test that couldn't be hidden from Umbridge (Hagrid growled like a feral beast at the name), so the examiner called it a bonus question at the end. I had no clue since I didn't know what was on the NEWT test - it did seem pretty rigorous, though. It was a lot harder than the Charms exam."
"Well, Dumbledore's been saying the school needs to be unified, and you lot are making that happen like nothing else could."
"Yeah," said Ron, "Us, and a big dose of terror."
"Luna," said Hermione, "I forgot to ask how your trip to Scandinavia with your father went."
"Well," she said airily, 'we didn't find any crumple-horned snorkacks because our camp was disrupted by a graphorn."
"Hmm," said Hagrid, "I've never heard of a snorkack."
"Or a graphorn," added Hermione.
Hagrid looked at her like she was quite foolish. "Well, of course there are graphorns. One disrupted her camp."
"Oh, Hagrid, it's not as if she actually saw it - it was probably just a herd of reindeer or such," said Hermione self-assuredly.
"No, we saw it, Hermione," said Luna, "it was like an enormous ox or American bison, 9 or 10 feet tall at the shoulder and at least fifteen feet long, with straight conical horns to each side from its head that stood out at least six feet. And its eyes glowed, like it had headlights. Dad and I tried stunning it, but the spells bounced right off."
Hagrid nodded sagely, "Yeah, that's a graphorn all right. I haven't seen one in twenty years, but ya don't quick forget 'em. Hard to control too - the only way I've seen one brought down is by a dozen wizards hitting them with stunners at the same time."
"This one was very disruptive and unpleasant. Rather like what you hear rhinoceroses can be," said Luna.
"That's a graphorn, for you, quite an interesting creature. They're nearsighted, so they can't see all that well, but their eyes shine light - that gets 'em around the crags of the mountains they live on even at night - but they can only see a few steps ahead of the'selves even then. Sometimes trolls will try to tame 'em to ride, but the graphorns are strong and unwilling, so usually the trolls just end up getting gored by those horns. You can't really tame 'em," said Hagrid.
"So how did you do on them, Hagrid?" asked Ron.
"Well, y'know it was fun for awhile, but … Hey!! I didn't tell you I'd ridden one - how'd you guess?"
They all laughed. "Because we know you, Hagrid," said Ron, "Besides I reckon you'd stand a good chance - you're as strong as a troll and twice as smart."
"You cheeky little monkey - even me brother's more'n twice as smart as trolls," laughed Hagrid. "And that reminds me, I want you to come and meet him, too, Ron."
"Yeah, Ron, I think you should get to know him - he's practically family," laughed Hermione.
"Oh, well, I need you, too, Hermione. He keeps asking about you," said Hagrid.
Hermione blanched. Harry laughed. "We'd better explain to Luna. This is a big secret, in more ways than one. Luna, you already know Hagrid is half-giant. Well, last year he found out he has a half-brother - a full-blood giant. Hagrid's been trying to civilize him. Where've you got him now Hagrid?"
"Oh, the Acromantulas told me about a nice cave rather out of their range. He's real comfortable there. He keeps his own campfire, catches his own meat. I bring him vegetables and cookies - he's fond of my baking." Hagrid said proudly, "With a home he likes, he's pretty easy to get along with, for a giant. And they like living alone mostly anyway. But he's sad you haven't visited him, Hermione."
"Oh, well, I, meant to, but, uh, so busy, er,…"
"Can I come?" asked Luna.
Hagrid beamed as Harry asked, "You want to meet a giant!?"
"Sure why not. He'd be easier to deal with than the graphorn. It sounds like he isn't totally beyond reason."
"Sure," said Hagrid, "I'll let you know when we can all do it. It's a little too close to dark now."
"Hagrid," said Luna, "maybe you have some idea what Fudge would want with graphorns."
""Well, their coats repel spells if you can kill 'em and skin 'em. But it takes the hardest of goblin blades to cut the hides."
"No, I mean live ones. The Quibbler had an article last year about Fudge bringing in live graphorns to a private underground facility, not too far from Diagon Alley. He was supposed to have been doing it over a three year period. That's one of the reasons I was so surprised to even find one. They were pretty rare anyway, and with Fudge removing them from the wild, they must be even rarer."
"You know, as articles in The Quibbler go, that's pretty sane," said Hermione, while Luna glared at her. "Oh, you must recognize that some are pretty wild. But I could see reasons for importing a creature like that - you could breed tame ones to raise for the hides and sell as spell-proof coats."
"Yeah," said Ron, "but that's more like something the twins would do. Fudge isn't into business. He wants power. Reckon he could make a tame version he could use as a battle animal, like muggles used to do with elephants?"
"You two er really thinkin' now. My vote's for cross-breeding to come up with something big and dangerous," said Hagrid.
"Still," said Harry, "if Fudge is doing it in secret, I don't think it can be good. I don't reckon he trusts Dumbledore even yet."
"This is marvelous," enthused Luna, "I never get this much discussion on things from The Quibbler at the Ravenclaw dorm."
"Well, we've learned there're some things you can't put past some people," said Harry. "Hagrid, there's something else you might be able to help with. Last year we were working on patronuses, and several of the members of the DA learned to cast the spell, but I'm still worried. It's a lot harder to do when you're under attack than when you're in a safe room. Even last summer when two dementors attacked my cousin and me, I had to try several times to get mine to work, and I had done it before under pressure. I practiced against a boggart, because that was the form boggarts took for me, but that won't work for the others. And with the dementors having gone over to Voldemort, it's not as if they're available. Do you know of some way we can practice where someone would really be under pressure to produce the patronus?"
Hagrid furrowed his brow at Harry and peered intently. It was a full fifteen seconds before he replied. "If it was anybody else askin but you or Dumbledore… Yeah, I know what you need. But I'd hate to actually go about getting one."
"What are they - are they that bad?"
"They're called lethifolds. They're like a huge black amoeba that moves along the ground. They cover their victims and then absorb 'em entirely - not so much as a drop of blood left. Then they glide on, looking for another victim. Some say they're related to dementors - perhaps dementors are a cross-breed of some sort. The only spell known to beat either of 'em is the patronus. That's why I'm so scared of 'em. I can grapple with most any creature, but I can't make a Patronus. All I can do around a lethiform is run."
The others listened with growing horror as Hagrid described lethifolds.
Ron was the first to speak. "Let me understand this - you say that Acromantulas are interesting creatures, right?"
"Very interestin'."
"And dragons"
"Interestin', kind of cute."
"Graphorns?"
"Interestin' - a great challenge."
"Fire crabs? Thestrals? Sphinxes? Manticores?"
"They're all very interestin'"
"Lethifolds?"
"They scare me silly!"
Harry clapped his hands on his knees happily, "That's just the thing we need! How do we get one?"
Hermione glared at him as if he was asking her to date Grawp. "Harry, a creature that scares Hagrid silly and you want us all to take it on!?"
"Not all of you together. I picture you in a pit of some sort: just you, your wand, and the lethifold."
"YOU ARE INSANE," said Hermione, Ron and Luna together.
"Maybe, but listen. You don't want to wait until you have to produce a patronus to find out if you can do it under pressure. Voldemort has dementors and he will find ways to use them. You didn't like last year being taught only defensive theory - you wanted to know you could use spells when you had to. Well, a patronus is only theory until you can conjure it when your life depends on it. Happy thoughts are easy when you're safe. They aren't so easy when you're terrified. We wouldn't just leave you in a pit like that alone. I would be there to use my patronus if you were unable to produce yours under those conditions."
"It makes sense, Harry," said Hermione, "but those lethifolds are really awful-sounding."
"Remember when we were attacked by dementors, Hermione?" asked Harry, "You have to be THAT scared and still produce a patronus."
"Let me tell you, Hermione," said Hagrid, "I didn't make 'em sound scary enough. The only way to contain 'em is in an airtight glass box magically sealed. They are totally silent and stealthy. But I'll say this: Harry's right. The only way to know if you can work under pressure is to apply pressure. You've got to be genuinely scared. If a lethifold doesn't scare you, nothing will. I'll do it, Harry, on two conditions. First, I want Professor Dumbledore's full knowledge and approval. Second, I want another wizard besides you who has used a patronus against a dementor present anytime the cage is opened. I know you're good, but I won't play a part in it unless there are two wizards ready to protect these kids. And you know I can't do it - I never got no magical training to that level. Okay?"
"Fair enough, Hagrid," said Harry, "I'll talk to Dumbledore tonight."
They continued to talk, drink herb tea and pick at their rock-hard biscuits. When it was time to go, Hagrid asked if they would like to take any more of the biscuits with them. Ron spoke up quickest. "Oh, none for us Gryffindors, Hermione's mum sent us some treats. But Luna was just saying when you were making the last pot of tea how much she'd like to have a few extra."
"Oh, well, I'd be happy to make up a box for you, Luna. I'm so glad you enjoy my baking. These three never seem to have an appetite when they come out here. There you go - an even dozen fer to grow on. Now I don't want you to be a stranger. You don't have to wait fer these three to show up. We both seem to like interestin' creatures, y'know?"
They all thanked Hagrid and said good-bye. Luna carried the box of cookies like she were carrying a full ten-gallon bucket.
"Ron, I ought to be mad at you," said Luna, laughing "but these will be so funny back at the dorm that I can't be." She set the box down and took out her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa" and with a wave of her wand they followed on ahead of her.
"Careful when you get to the castle with those," said Harry, "Filch will have you in detention for sure if you break the walls or the floor with them."
"You know," said Luna, "he still seems rather odd, but some people don't think that's a criticism I can make. But he is very nice and it's hard not to like someone who loves his friends and creatures so much."
After dinner, they returned to the dorm and after finishing the rest of their homework and playing some Wizard chess, Harry said he was going to go up to the Sixth-year boys' room to talk with Dumbledore.
"Can I come along, too?" asked Hermione.
"Maybe," answered Harry, "Why?"
"Well, I've never seen how the mirror works, though you've mentioned it. And since you're going to be discussing the lethifold, I figured it concerned me as well."
"Makes sense. Okay, come on."
Up in the 6th year boys' room, Hermione leaned against Harry's bed while he got the mirror out of the trunk. He tossed a couple of gadgets and an envelope on the bed as he dug down for it. Hermione noticed the envelope.
"The gum wrappers! You said you'd bring them to look at," she exclaimed, pulling out a couple to look at. "These holes might be hypodermics, but you wouldn't make so many to poison the gum inside. Interesting patterns, though. You're right - they look quite deliberately placed. I wonder if they have anything to do with Runes or Arithmancy. Or maybe codes - I saw a wizard codebook in the library. Can I take a few with me?"
Harry smiled "Of course. I knew you'd be filled with ideas and interest." Then he sat next to her on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs. Hermione hopped up and did the same next to him. "Professor Dumbledore?" Harry called into it, "Professor Dumbledore?"
Harry's face faded away and Dumbledore's appeared. "Hello, Harry. How are you tonight?"
"Better than usual actually, Professor. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time," said Harry.
"No, of course not. Just sorting through information."
"I have Hermione Granger with me - is that alright?" asked Harry.
"Oh, yes, of course, she's most often in the thick of your dangers - she may as well know that you are not trying to act in isolation now. Good evening, Miss Granger."
"Good evening Headmaster. It's very good to see you," said Hermione.
"Harry, is there anything I should know? How's the scar?"
"Still only a very dull feeling, not even a pain really, more like a tight feeling. My sense is that he is still overseas, apparently Egypt, considering the mess Bill found over there. I get the sense he's brooding, as if he's trying to solve something."
"How to open the vault where Bill is, do you think?"
"I can't be certain from what my scar is telling me, but it sure makes sense since he tried and failed a month ago."
"I'll let Bill know. How are your visions?"
"Better and worse. I can barely turn without seeing someone I care about and seeing them dead or badly injured - even people I didn't think I much cared about, like Mr. Filch."
Dumbledore laughed "He's not easy to warm up to? If only you knew his history - you'd like him so much better now than what he was. But now are the increased visions the better or the worse you were talking about? Personally I believe it is a good sign that you care so much about so many people."
"I know, and I understand. Such care is an important ward against Voldemort. I was thinking that was the bad. The improvement is that I have been learning to make my mind overcome the emotional response to the visions so that I don't have to stop or shudder or … react when I see them."
"Oh, Harry," said Hermione, "you're not becoming numb to your feelings, are you? You've been so distant emotionally from us."
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'd like to do better," said Harry.
Dumbledore explained. "Miss Granger, what Harry is going through is the very opposite of numbing. It's like when a fingernail gets broken off, exposing the quick, and all those exquisitely tender nerves are exposed for the first time. Until the nerves deaden a bit or the nail grows back, you have to avoid letting it touch anything. But Harry's emotions aren't deadening. He sees these visions of what might happen more and more because he is becoming ever more attuned to those around him. As children, we grow up quite selfish and inconsiderate of those around us. As adolescents we become aware of our fellow beings and begin to truly care about their needs. This is what Harry is going through, only it is all the more acute for him, partly because he was already a remarkably caring person, but also because he knows all too well just how bad things could get for all of us, but for his efforts."
"Harry, how do you bear it?" asked Hermione, but Harry just smiled weakly in return.
"Miss Granger, just continue to be such a dear friend to him and understand that when he keeps his distance, it is not a lack of love for you, but a surplus."
"Yes, yes, of course," she said, stifling a sniffle.
"Is there anything else, Harry?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"Yes, Hagrid said that he could get us a lethifold if we had your approval and a second wizard with a dependable patronus to help control it. I believe the students who can make patronuses without pressure, such as Hermione, need to practice them when they are faced with a real danger, such as a lethifold or a dementor."
"Do you know just how dangerous a lethifold is?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"Hagrid said it scared him silly - that's enough to impress me," said Harry, as Hermione nodded enthusiastic agreement.
"Miss Granger, is this something you want to do as well?"
"Well, Professor, I cannot say that this was high on my 'to-do' list. But the dementors are with Voldemort, and we have to know that we can fight them, so in that sense I want to."
Dumbledore nodded with approval. "You have many times proven the Sorting Hat's determination to be correct in placing you in Gryffindor, Miss Granger. You truly do have the heart of a lion."
Hermione blushed, "Thank you, sir, you flatter me."
"Perhaps, Miss Granger, but it is certainly not empty flattery. You have faced dangers that few if any aurors have faced. I merely note that fact, and that you still are resolved to face what may come. Harry, I'll conjure a facility in the dungeons. Do you have any idea who your second wizard would be?"
"No, sir," replied Harry, "I'm certain that none of the other students have used patronuses in defense. How about any professors?"
"Not all can produce a patronus - some know their craft but are not particularly powerful in the spells ability it takes. Professor Snape has the strength, but not enough happy thoughts. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick are capable, but they are really quite busy. I'm sure Arthur Weasley could produce a patronus, but I don't know if he has worked at it or used one in defense. I'll check with him, and then see about the rest of the Order."
Hermione spoke up "How IS the Order doing, sir?"
"I think the question you really mean is WHAT is the Order doing," said Dumbledore with a wink, "but I shall only answer what you asked. The Order's efforts are progressing, although stalled in one important aspect. But as for you, Miss Granger, you cannot possibly contribute more to the Order than what you have been doing - the DA, your own preparations, and being Harry's friend."
"There's nothing I would rather be doing," said Hermione with a satisfied smile.
"Harry, please let me know of any other feelings you get."
"Will do, Professor."
And with that, Dumbledore faded from the mirror.
"Alright then, Hermione - soon enough you'll be in the pit - I hope you're looking forward to it," said Harry.
"Oh, dear, I really have committed myself now. I hate to brood on such things. Well, as long as you'll be there, I know I'll be okay, Harry."

Dedalus Diggle

October 30th, 2003, 6:50 pm

Chapter 24 - The Bunny Hop

October remained chilly and wet. As Apparation was a self-paced course, owing to the great difference in ability found amongst the students, Harry was allowed to move on to larger and larger body parts, until by late October, Harry was Apparating across the practice room, working on speed and accuracy. Quite a few others had gotten the knack of moving parts of their bodies - all of the original DA members were at least moving entire arms, except Neville, who seemed only able to muster enough blurriness to have his finger resolidify in the midst of the divider. Madam Hooch was very patient about extricating the divider from Neville's hand, but more than once reminded the class as a whole that not everyone could master Apparation. Nonetheless, Neville persisted.
The DA also progressed. Having taught several attacking and a few protective spells, Harry devised a training system. The various spells were divided into levels according to their dangerousness and permanency. Students would square off against each other as Harry had with Neville's grandmother for timed drills in which one would attack and the other defend. The attacker was encouraged to work on speed and accuracy. To keep either from going easy on the other, reminders were often given: "if you can't beat her, how are you going to beat a Death Eater?" Multiple match-ups were also arranged, where one or two wizards would face a larger number. Learning new spells occupied the first half hour to an hour of each session, and then as each student mastered the new spell, he or she would find a partner to conduct drills against.
Rumor got out among the regular DA that at the Advanced DA sessions, the drills were far more intense than anything seen in the regular meetings. The students wanted to see how furious they got and put the question to Harry. He stopped one class session twenty minutes early to allow a demonstration.
"Fred, George?" Harry called out, "remember what we discussed in Diagon Alley? Let's see how the two of you can do against Hermione, levels 1 & 2 spells, two minutes or until one side is disabled."
Fred and George came forward trying to look casual but clearly nervous; Hermione just looked steely. Everybody quickly cleared from behind either team. When Harry blew his whistle, the twins started firing spells at Hermione as fast as they could. At first she was pinned down by having to repel the spells, but was able after about twenty seconds to slip in "Accio shoes" which pulled the twins' feet out from under them. They spun on the ground to avoid several quick spells from Hermione, but were now on the defensive. Before Fred could get up, Hermione hit him with jelly legs. Then George tried a stunner which Hermione reflected back at him with Protego, and as he was dodging his own spell, she used Petrificus Totalus on him. Fred was only off his feet however, and rolled to the side and tried the Hirsute spell on her. Hermione was only able to partially block that and erupted in fur all over her body like a chinchilla. She shouted Expelliarmus and Fred was disarmed. She levitated him and then grinned wickedly, which looked all the more threatening through all the fur.
"Well, Fred, you're not fully disabled yet and I have thirty seconds more to make up for things - the pictures in the alley, the jokes, giving me fits as a Prefect, this fur!" The tone was very threatening and even Harry was unsure whether she would cast something truly harmful. Suddenly, she yelled "Lagomorphus!" and a light brown spell erupted from her wand. She returned Fred to the ground as his legs and arms took on the proportioning and shape of a field hare's and he sprouted his own coat of fur just like a rabbit's.
As the seconds ticked down, Hermione looked exultant. Fred laughed hysterically at being given the appearance of a giant rabbit, and bounded about the classroom in 40 foot hops. Hermione lifted George's petrification and was about to lift the rabbit hex from Fred, but he stopped her.
"Don't, Hermione. This one wears off in twenty minutes anyway, and you've done this the best I have ever seen. Most people barely get whiskers and fuzziness. This is brilliant. George, we've got to find a way to package this," said Fred enthusiastically as he hared about.
Whatever animosity Hermione may have had evaporated away as she watched Fred playfully bounding about. "Well," she said to George, "do you want to try it out, too?" George agreed happily and she cast the Lagomorphus spell on him, as well, holding onto their wands for the both of them.
"We've got to show Dad!" he said happily, and the two of them bounded out the door.
"Well, I'll fill them in on my announcement after they've returned to what passes for normal for them," said Harry to the whole group after he reversed the Hirsute spell on Hermione. "We're going to be starting working on the Patronus charm soon. It is quite difficult. Among last year's DA members only two were able to produce a well-formed corporeal patronus. In our advanced sessions, we are going to be starting back to the Patronus Charm tonight. This is a very important skill for all of us to learn, because the Dementors have joined with the Death Eaters, and the Patronus is the only way we know to deal with them."
The pleased hubbub of learning they were going to study the Patronus gave way to an anxious whispering as Harry reminded them why it was now so important. Harry continued "I'm glad that interest is high, because there is something more. We have acquired a lethifold and a practice enclosure has been constructed. The lethifold is the only other known creature which can only be controlled by a Patronus. I will leave it to you to read up on them after the meeting. I will let you all know right now that they are deadly. Professor Hagrid says they scare him silly, and you all know what kind of creatures he finds 'interesting'. When a student has become adept at producing the corporeal Patronus, they will be given the opportunity to practice against the lethifold. The reason we must do this is because it is even more difficult to conjure a Patronus in the face of great danger than when you are safe, but of course, times of great danger are when you need your Patronus. You can see me after any DA meeting to arrange the practices with the lethifold; rest assured I will not schedule such sessions unless I have seen your corporeal Patronus. Practices will only be conducted under supervision of two wizards who have used a Patronus to defend themselves. I would not ask any of you to face anything that I would not face, so I will be demonstrating the practice procedure with the lethifold on Halloween at 6:00 p.m There is enough room for everyone to observe safely. If others want to practice at that time and they have demonstrated a corporeal Patronus under other conditions, they will be allowed to practice after me. I hope you will all be able to attend. The feast will come at the time of our normal DA meeting that night, so I guess we can miss one session. Looks like that does it for tonight's meeting."
After the rest had left, the advanced DA group started right in on sparring drills until the twins returned and resumed more normal form. Then they turned to the Patronus Charm. Cho could still make her swan and Hermione still had her otter, but it took her a couple of attempts.
"Harry," she moaned after the first failed attempt, "I don't know what's wrong. I did it last year."
"You just appreciate the danger of what you're going to face. That's one reason why I'm going to do it first - so everyone can see. You won't have to do it in public, if you don't want to."
"IF I DON"T WANT TO! Why would I want the whole school to see me making a fool of myself!?" she bawled.
Fred came up "Hermione, you won't make a fool of yourself. You just bested two wizards who know a little bit about mixing it up in a pinch and put the most awesome rabbit hex on George and me I've ever seen. That was world class, girl. Get that same focus, but with a happy thought, and you'll be there."
With a couple more tries, Hermione's Patronus was back to form. Others seemed to be making progress as well. As Harry worked with Ginny, she produced a lynx which was slightly hazy, but fully mobile and recognizable. Justin Finch-Fletchley produced a large fox, and near the end of the session, Ron produced a porcupine. "Well," he laughed, "That should put a hurt on a dementor - but why a porcupine!?"
At the end, Harry was working with Marietta Edgecombe. "Think your happiest thought, and focus on having just that and nothing else," he told her. She looked up at him and said "Alright … EXPECTO PATRONUM" and out shot from her wand a silvery cloud which took the form of a nanny goat as it settled to the ground. It capered about a bit, nuzzled Marietta and then evaporated.
"Harry! I did it! I did it! I can't believe it - it was so awesome. It had a form. It ran, it moved, it looked at me!" Then she hugged him around the neck in her enthusiasm. Several of the other girls of the class looked on darkly as Harry hugged back and after several seconds broke free.
"Well, done," he congratulated the class, "we've had several breakthroughs. Even those without a recognizable Patronus seemed to have more of a form," then he added toward Neville, "Well, mostly. But your other battle skills are coming along. We'll continue improving the dependability of the Patronus Charm before you take them into the pit, but this is very encouraging. If ever we should meet a large number of dementors, we will need as many people with a good Patronus as we can get. I'll see you all in the morning."
Everyone was quite excited about the progress as the group broke up. The twins came up to the Gryffindor group.
"Thought we'd better warn you, Dad told us Mum's coming up for Halloween, and seeing as it's on a Thursday, she's staying through the weekend," said George.
"That's great," said Harry, then seeing the concern on Ron and Ginny's face, he added "uh, isn't it?"
Ginny replied, "Well you've never had someone who checks up on you like Mum does with us. We love her and all, and it's great to be with her away from school, but the few times she's been here during school, she picked at everything any Weasley here was doing. Even Perfect Percy got criticized."
"Well maybe one of us can get injured - that always distracts her," said Ron.
"Ooh, there's a good idea," said Hermione, "or maybe you and Ginny want to hide out in the Chamber of Secrets."
"Only if our lives depended on it," said Ginny with a shudder.

Dedalus Diggle

October 31st, 2003, 3:08 pm

Chapter 25 - Into the Pit

By Halloween, the excitement around Hogwarts was palpable. Harry hadn't intended to make a show, just a sort of laboratory demonstration. But there was really quite little entertainment at Hogwarts, and a battle against a lethifold was guaranteed to attract attention - part advanced magic show and part gladiatorial contest. Hagrid was pestered by the students into giving each class a full lesson on everything he knew about lethifolds. Of course the terror of the half-giant who had seemed afraid of no creature only served to heighten the fascination. As he could not speak for more than fifteen minutes about them without getting very shaky and drinking a mug of mead, he was ending the last several days of October with a hangover. In History of Magic, Professor Binns was set off his notes and prodded into telling about the history of wizard interactions with dementors and lethifolds and the use of the Patronus. In Charms class, Professor Flitwick took advantage of the interest to explain everything he could about the Patronus Charm. He demonstrated his own Patronus - a Cornish Pixy - and explained that he would be one of the backup wizards to step in if Harry should have a problem. Similarly, Professor Weasley took the opportunity to discuss the warning signs of the near presence of dementors and lethifolds. He also discussed his experience trying to interview a prisoner at Azkaban and being attacked by an out-of-control dementor; he had the class on the edge of their seats describing how he had used the Patronus Charm to ward it off.
"Sir," asked Seamus Finnegan, "what was your happy thought."
Arthur Weasley's eyes twinkled and he gazed back lovingly toward Molly, who was sitting in, and Ron, "Why, of course, Mr. Finnegan, I thought of my wife and family. They could inspire a million Patronuses."
The girls all said "Ahh" and the boys mostly snickered or pretended to gag.
Harry tried to act as though nothing was out of the ordinary, but the very air of excitement and anticipation had his stomach knotted. Luckily the only class he had after the double Defense Against the Dark Arts class was double Transformation. Professor McGonagall's brow was knit as tightly as Harry had ever seen it, and she seemed distracted the whole class, even flubbing a transformation herself. After class, she asked Harry to stay.
"Potter," she said, "you have nothing to prove. You don't have to do this."
"How could I ask someone else to face it if I shy away? Nobody in the school has more experience using the patronus than I do, and we need more people who can battle dementors. The people who will use it after me need to see how it is done."
She looked sharply at him, "You're not just doing this as a stunt."
"What Fred and George Weasley did last year - that was a stunt. Brilliant, but still a stunt. I have no desire to risk my life foolishly, Maam. Can you think of a better way to show people how to face something as dreadful as a dementor?" asked Harry.
"Just be very careful, Potter. I would hate to have an empty chair in my classroom."
Harry smiled gratefully. That was about the most affectionate thing he had ever heard Professor McGonagall say, and he understood it that way. It wasn't just that he was useful. She cared what happened to him. "With your good wishes, conjuring a Patronus should be no problem."
Harry surveyed the room before the demonstration. It was rather like the teaching surgical theatres he had seen on muggle television - a smallish open central area with walls and a door, and the area above surrounded by stands. Only these were stands enough to accommodate the entire school. After the school had gathered - and Harry didn't think anyone was missing but Dumbledore - Hagrid brought out a large glass box that looked like it was filled with black liquid. Then he brought out an injured niffler that was otherwise going to be put to sleep anyway. "Good luck, Harry - not that you'll need it," he whispered to Harry, but he was shivering so badly he could hardly get the words out. He left through the side door under the stands.
"The niffler is here so you can see what happens if a lethifold is not stopped," announced Harry.
"Alohamora!" he incanted, pointing his wand at the box. The lid rattled a tad and then the black liquid crept up the sides of the box. It flowed down like liquid nitrogen and spread along the floor seeking the telltale traces of heat that would lead it to a living thing to consume. It spread across almost half the floor until one edge felt the body heat of the niffler. Then the whole black puddle flowed across the floor toward the source of the heat. When one edge actually reached the prey, it climbed up the niffler's body, as if instead the niffler was stepping into an absolutely black still swamp. The seconds crept by. The niffler showed neither alarm nor awareness of what was happening. In less than a minute, in which not a sound was heard in the room, the lethifold had enveloped the niffler in a mound blacker than any night. In no more than fifteen seconds the black mound started to spread again reaching out like a large spill of ink, only as it spread, there was no mound, no carcass, not the slightest trace of the niffler. There were gasps and muffled screams from the audience as the lethifold continued its search for live prey. And everyone knew that the only prey on that floor was Harry.
It was less than a minute before the lethifold felt the heat from Harry's body and began moving his way. He had deliberately held off using his Patronus until it discovered him so that the demonstration would be realistic. The lethifold's forward edge was less than eight feet from Harry when he pulled his wand. "EXPEC …"
But before he could pronounce the incantation, the side door opened a crack and a disguised voice was heard shouting "Impedimenta! Expelliarmus!" Harry's legs were hindered by the first curse and he was nudged off his feet by the second, with his wand flying to the crack in the door and the lethifold creeping toward him, now less than three feet away. As he fell, Harry shouted "Expelliarmus" and his wand and another came flying back out the door as a thud and then a very familiar growl was heard on the other side. But Harry was falling, so the wands flew to where his hand had been and he could not reach either. He fell to the floor and the lethifold found his restricted feet and started creeping up his legs. There were screams throughout the audience. Harry's legs became as cold as when he had first stepped into the lake two Februaries earlier for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. He gasped and then remembered his other wand, even as the lethifold reached his chest. He quickly reached inside his robes for his left hand wand and shouted "EXPECTO PATRONUM" and a silvery wisp shot out of his wand, forming itself into a stag which peeled the lethifold off of Harry and herded the black puddle back into the box. Harry pointed the wand at the box and said "Colloportus" and the box was once more sealed shut.
"And that," said Harry, picking himself up off the floor and retrieving the wands as if nothing untoward had happened, "is how the Patronus Charm is used."
The auditorium broke into a roar of applause, whistles and stomping. Quite a few witches were crying with fear. Molly Weasley buried her head in Arthur Weasley's shoulder and her whole body was shaking. Suddenly the door was kicked wide open and Hagrid backed through it, ducking down to avoid hitting his head. His hands each grasped one of Draco Malfoy's arms as he pulled Malfoy behind him, holding him three feet off the ground, with a grip that threatened to crush his arm bones.
Speaking in a low tense growl that even scared Harry, Hagrid explained, "I couldn' bear to watch, so I didn' see THIS sneakin' round behin' me to the door. Then I heard the spells bein' shouted and then Harry's spell, and THIS came flying back agin me. One o' you other professors better take 'im off my hands, er I'm liable to feed the lethifold again!" Hagrid was shaking as much as he had before, but clearly this time it was rage, not fear.
Professor McGonagall stared through narrow eyes first at Malfoy and then toward Professor Snape, who visibly cringed under her glare. Harry had to suppress laughter. Professor McGonagall snarled toward Snape "I believe he is one of yours!"
Professor Snape swallowed and said "Since this involves the safety of one of your students, Professor, I would prefer to defer to you in selecting appropriate disciplinary measures."
What little color there was in Malfoy's face had left, just as surely as if he had in fact been given to the lethifold, which almost certainly would have been more merciful than Professor McGonagall seemed intent on being. Hagrid tossed Malfoy over the railing like a rag doll and Professor McGonagall seized the collar of Malfoy's robes, barking "Come with me!"
When the room had settled a bit, Harry asked "Would anyone else care to practice their patronus now?"
Hermione came forward. "Yes, Harry," she said firmly, "I'm ready."
She came down to the main floor and Harry went up to the upper level. Several arms reached over to pat Harry on the back, but all eyes remained watching the floor. Hermione released the lethifold and allowed it to spread to within five feet of her before pulling her wand and shouting "EXPECTO PATRONUM." The silvery otter erupted from her wand and chased the lethifold back into the box and Hermione sealed it again. Emboldened, Cho, Marietta, Ron, Ginny and Justin Finch-Fletchley all handled the lethifold in turn. By then it was time to assemble for the Halloween Feast, so the students and faculty filed out, except for those who had faced the lethifold, Hagrid (who was returning the lethifold's box to its storage cabinet, and Professor Weasley who was trying to comfort and prop up a thoroughly shattered Molly Weasley. All the students came up to where she was to reassure her that all of them were fine. Ron and Ginny came up and hugged her, and then Harry tried to talk to her. She jumped up and glared at him.
"HARRY POTTER - IF YOU EVER PUT ME THORUGH A SCARE LIKE THAT I'LL SHOW YOU JUST WHAT A WITCH LIKE ME CAN DO TO SOMEONE!"
Harry jumped back and shivered in fear and sorrow, shaken by her far more than he had been by the lethifold. Arthur Weasley helped his sobbing wife out of the auditorium, while trying to explain to Harry that she was just overwrought by the situation. Harry nodded, but felt sickened at the way this evening had shaken Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley - the only mothers he had really known. Harry turned to the others.
"Was it too much? I thought we needed to show everyone how to do it. Did we make too much of a spectacle?" he asked.
"Naw, mate," said Ron, "she's just a worrier. You know that. Thinks she's got to take care of everyone."
Harry nodded doubtfully - that could describe him as well, he thought.
Marietta then took both his hands in hers and looked him in the eye "Harry - any one of us students might have to face dementors. Are they any less scary than the lethifold? No! So we must all be prepared to face fear. When we have to use a Patronus, it won't be just a game to see who can make the prettiest silver thingy. It will be for keeps."
"Marietta's right," said Ginny, "Mum's always thought she needs to protect us from facing things like that, and here we are jumping down there to face them. And I think what has her worked up is knowing that we really did need to be able to do this. It's not games - it's war."
Harry breathed deeply. "Well, I'm sure I'll have another chance tonight or this weekend to square things with her. Let's head on up to the Feast."
As they approached the door, Justin asked "Did everyone else have the same happy thought I did for their Patronus?"
Hermione started grinning, "You mean Malfoy's detention?" And they all laughed and agreed.

Harry and the others who had faced the lethifold had only gotten up two flights of stairs when Harry started shaking violently and collapsed. Hermione and Marietta, both healer trainees, started checking him and quickly discovered that the lethifold had begun dissolving his body everywhere it had touched him, A couple of Ravenclaws coming from their dorm toward the Great Hall saw the raw open flesh of his leg, which was the worst affected, and screamed. The whole school erupted from the Hall and saw what the others had. Cho pulled her wand and levitated Harry.
"To the Hospital Wing, quickly," she said.

Dedalus Diggle

November 1st, 2003, 5:45 pm

Chapter 26 - Salving

Harry was escorted by the others who had faced the lethifold. He was not unconscious, but could not control his body. Cho guided his body toward a bed as Madam Pomfrey immediately emerged.
"Don’t set him down. Him again!? What now?"
"Malfoy interfered and the lethifold got to him before he was able to conjure his Patronus. After his Patronus had handled the lethifold, we thought he was okay, but then he collapsed as we headed up to the feast. We found his flesh all exposed and his clothes soaked with blood."
"He’s clammy, pallid, lost a lot of fluids: he's in shock. Granger, get the blood-restoring potion, give him a tablespoon every two minutes until he's stable. Edgecombe, make a mixture of 1 pint essence of murtlap with a quarter cup each of DermoGro and NeuroGro. Then put on your smock and prepare yourself for a big job."
Hermione had the first tablespoon of potion in Harry's mouth within ten seconds. Between doses, Madam Pomfrey had Cho move him near a fireplace so that he could warm up from the body chill caused by so much blood loss and exposure. She told Ron and Justin to roll a bed underneath him. After four doses of blood-restorer, he started to become more lucid and get color in his cheeks.
Madam Pomfrey put a Hover Charm on Harry so that Cho could release her Levitation. She explained that removing his clothes from raw flesh would be much easier for her and him if he was hovering. He would also need to remain hovering while he regrew skin and nerves. She pulled a rolling curtain around his bed and sprayed him with a blood dissolving potion so that she could cut and remove Harry's blood and lymph soaked robes and clothes. She carefully peeled them away from his exposed flesh. Hermione asked why Harry had not noticed the injuries before and Madam explained that the icy-cold feel of the lethifold touching is actually the deadening of the nerves, so Harry was not able to feel the dissolving of his flesh or anything else in the affected areas. She tut-tutted about the horrible injuries Harry had previously had "deboned-arm, Acromantulas, basilisks, now lethifolds - why can't you just have simple acne or something!?" Once the color was back, she herded Hermione and the rest of the students except for Marietta away, saying that since they were all prefects, they would be needed downstairs and they couldn't help Harry anyway.
Ginny asked "But will he be okay?"
"The essence of murtlap will heal him fine; he didn't lose but skin and a little of the flesh underneath. He’ll even regrow the nerves in a couple days time. It was the body fluid loss that made him pass out. But he'll scar terribly if he doesn't have the murtlap applied. Edgecombe can do that - she's a second-year healer trainee. And she's not a prefect, so she won't be needed like you lot. You two Weasleys - save a good full plate of the feast for each of them and bring it up in a couple of hours."
After they left, Harry heard Madam Pomfrey address Marietta "Now you know the procedure - you must apply a thin coat of the murtlap essence over all affected areas. The way that lethifold covered him you'll have to search out every possible nook and cranny or he'll be left with scarring.”
Harry heard Marietta reply “Yes, Madam.” Then she came around the curtains and picked up the bottle of blood restorer. “You’ll need a tablespoon of this again before I start with the murtlap.” Harry nodded and let her push the spoon into his mouth. “I’m going to turn you over and start on that side.” Since Harry was hovering about a foot over the bed, she just grasped his arms where he had not been affected and gave him a slow spin, stopping him when he was face down. Harry grasped the top rail of the headboard to steady himself and to have someplace to rest his arms.
She started from his feet, remarking how awful his feet and lower legs looked. “I know,” replied Harry “I didn’t think the lethifold had done anything to me – I thought it would envelop a victim first and then eat.”
“I guess we know now that they don’t wait,” said Marietta, “but this isn’t the way to find out.”
“Have we scared everyone else off from ever trying to face it, do you think?” asked Harry.
“I hope not. It was a great experience for me to face it. I feel so much freer and more powerful, now that I know I can use a Patronus against something deadly. And that’s what I’ll tell everyone,’ she answered.
“Would you have been able to face it if you knew this could happen to you?” asked Harry waving his hand weakly to indicate his raw flesh.
“I don’t know,” she said weakly, “we girls are rather vainer about our bodies, especially our skin. That’s one reason it’s important for us to get you healed by the end of the weekend. We want others to see that Madam Pomfrey knows how to restore a body even if a lethifold gets a bit of you.”
“Right,” said Harry, but his mind was elsewhere. The lethifold may have deadened his surface nerves, but the deeper nerves still worked, and Harry could feel Marietta’s motions as she rubbed the mixture into his legs. He remembered what Grishnack had said when he saw Melony holding Dobby’s hand, how magically powerful touch was for healing. He began to understand. Being touched and ministered to in this way made him feel connected and calm. Despite his many friends and supporters Harry often felt like a pariah, but Marietta’s stroking made him feel peaceful. He let out a contented sigh, which he hadn’t realized Marietta had heard.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” said Marietta, “murtlap’s good for most any damage to the skin.” She started working on his back and the part of his upper arms which had been affected, though the higher she went the less damage she found. “Alright then,” she said with a giggle, “that’s as much as I can do until you unclench.”
“What?” said Harry.
She laughed again and gave him a little slap on his bum “Unclench, I said. You’re tight as a drum. I know you heard Madam Pomfrey tell me to check EVERY little cranny.”
“Marietta, is that really necessary? I mean, couldn’t I do it or something?”
“No, you couldn’t. You couldn’t see whether you had gotten everything. I’m your healer, a professional - it’s my training. I have to check everywhere the lethifold might have gotten to. And if we don’t get the salve on all the surfaces, the parts that are touching will grow together – do you want that?”
“No, no, all right then,” said Harry, as he forced himself to relax.
“Now that’s better. My, you really have been working out. With skin on it, this would be very nice,” she added playfully.
“Marietta, I thought you were just being a healer, a ‘professional’!” mocked Harry.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my work, does it?” she giggled, “Oh, if you’re embarrassed now, just wait until I set to work on the other side.”
“Marietta!”
She rolled him over again. Harry felt like one of the chickens Uncle Vernon would roast on his backyard rotisserie; he was even near a warm fire. “Harry, I had already seen your front when we cut your clothes off you. Besides I’ve seen loads of boys in here. It’s no big deal. Ooh, well, most weren’t as fit as you are! But otherwise …”
“But, erm, you’re going to have to touch EVERYwhere, maybe I should, you know…” said Harry, nervously.
“We’ve been through this. I’m the healer – why don’t you try being the patient. There’s places you still won’t be able to get to, so just let me do what I have to. And don’t worry, there’s nothing that might ‘happen’ that I’m not aware of. I’m a seventh-year, not a first-year. So just lie back, relax and let me do my job – unless you want me to get Granger in here to help?”
“NO” said Harry, far too loud and quickly.
“Hmm,” said Marietta, “I know you two are close friends, so that reaction means one of two things – you’d find it too nice to have her touching you like this, or you’d find it awful for her to touch you like this.”
Harry said quietly, “She’s my friend. It’d be like Ron doing all this. It’d be too weird.”
“Well, that answers something that’s been on a lot of girls’ minds. We thought maybe you two were being very discrete, but it really is ‘just buddies’ – at least for now, hmm?” Marietta teased him. Harry had the impression that she was just distracting him, so she could do her job. And actually he was enjoying both the efforts to distract and letting her do her job.
Marietta started working on his chest and shoulders. “Well,” she said, the lethifold left the hair under your arms – did you used to have any on your chest?”
“A … a bit, it was coming in.” said Harry nervously, “Will it come back?”
“Oh, sure, we’ll restore you good as new. Okay, I’ve got to finish up now, just like before. You’ll need to lift and spread your knees. Just relax. Hope my hands aren’t too cold. Aah, well, now that makes things easier. A-a-a-a-nd, there, that should just about do it. Let me just check there, and ah, there, and okay, then.” She washed and wiped her hands in a basin. “Here,” she said pulling an anti-stick sheet over him, “this should make you a little less anxious. Here: take another teaspoon of the potion, you’re still oozing quite a bit.”
“How long will I have to stay here?” asked Harry.
“You might be out Saturday, but Sunday is more likely. Lucky the quidditch match is Hufflepuff-Slytherin, rather than a Gryffindor game. Let's see tomorrow is a class day. What have you got tomorrow?”
“Erm, double potions, double Charms and Care of Magical Creatures.”
“Okay, Weasley or Granger can get you the instructions and ingredients for tomorrow’s 6th-year Potions. Even Snape wouldn’t give you a hard time after what his boy Malfoy did. I can bring the sample to him after. I’m certain that Flitwick will be very understanding, especially after your Charms demonstration tonight. And if Hagrid is even fit to teach tomorrow, it’ll probably be about lethifolds anyway.”
“Yeah, I guess I will be okay with classes,” said Harry, “Say, will I have to get the murtlap again?”
Marietta nodded “Three times a day, why?”
“I guess I was a bit concerned about who would be applying it,” said Harry.
“Well, normally it’s the healer trainee on duty, unless there’s a special request,” said Marietta.
“Oh, I was thinking that maybe you could, um, you know”
Marietta smiled “Take care of you?”
Harry blushed, “Well you already know your way around there.”
“And you’d really rather not have Granger doing it, eh? Yeah I’ll square it away with Madam,” said Marietta, with a Mona Lisa smile. Then she became more serious. “Harry, what did you think of for that Patronus – I mean, I really had to compose myself to conjure mine, but you had to come up with yours so quickly, when things were so sudden and confused.”
“I thought of all the people in my life that I care about,” replied Harry.
“Was I in that, too?” she asked and Harry nodded, “and that makes you happy enough for a Patronus?”
“Yes,” said Harry, “happy and terribly frightened.” Marietta nodded her understanding. “How about you, Marietta? We all laughed about saying Malfoy’s detention was the happy thought for the rest of you, but he hasn’t been the thorn in the side to you the way he has to most of the rest of us.”
Marietta smiled and winked and said “You need to get some rest before our dinners are brought in.” Then she dimmed the lights and left.

Dedalus Diggle

November 3rd, 2003, 2:49 pm

Chapter 27 - Gum Wrappers

Harry didn't know how long he had dozed hovering there when he started to hear Hermione's, Ron's, and Ginny's voices around him. He also caught the unmistakable odor of Halloween Feast and was immediately aware that he had barely eaten at lunch. He opened his eyes.
"There ya go, mate. We were gonna let you sleep, but I guess we made a bit too much noise," he heard Ron say. Harry turned his head to see Ron's smiling face.
"Harry," said Hermione, "Have you been feeling alright? You looked so awful when we left."
"Oh, I've been fine. I just needed some fluids and rest. I'll be here a few days," replied Harry.
"I'll be able to get your Charms work," said Ron, "Professor Flitwick hasn't stopped chattering about the display of Patronus Charms this evening. Marietta was going to take care of Potions, but Hermione said she would be there anyway, so she'd do it. I know I wasn't about to put in extra face time with Snape if I could help it. As for Magical Creatures, there's someone here to see you."
Hagrid came in with his eyes all red and his beard wet. "Harry? So yer gonna make it? That's my lad," he said timidly.
"I'll be fine, Hagrid. I'm just grateful to you for getting us that lethiform. Oh, and for nailing Malfoy."
"Yeah, well, Harry, I hae to tell ya, I'm feelin' jus' awful fer getting' you that there lethiform. I like creatures with a bit of zest to 'em, but those things're jus' awful," said Hagrid.
"Of course, they are, nearly a bad as a dementor - that's why we needed it so badly. We have to manage our emotions enough to produce a Patronus even when we're scared silly. And anyone who saw what it did to me will certainly be scared enough," said Harry cheerily.
"I don' know how yer can be so light-hearted after this," marveled Hagrid.
"You know, Hagrid, after all the training and fretting of the past several months, it felt good to actually be doing something - even if things didn't quite turn out as planned."
"Kin I have a look - I din't see it afore," asked Hagrid.
"Sure, Hagrid, pull it up at the foot, that was the worst."
"Cor, Harry, that's disgustin'," said Hagrid.
"Hagrid!" said Hermione, "that looks no worse now than your face did most of last year!"
"Not to me, Hermione, but then I don't hafta look at m'own mug ver' offen" laughed Hagrid, "Besides, that was me getting' hurt and me brother doin' it, so it wasn' so bad. This is m'good friend, and it was done by a monster. Listen, Harry, I got to get goin' back to the creatures, but I just had to see ya first. I'm glad yer doin' better. You still want me to keep that lethifold?"
"Hagrid, don't even think about getting rid of it - it's our only hope of preparing for the dementors. But let's not feed it any more students."
"Right you are, then, Harry. Though I'm still abou' ready to see if it would like Malfoy."
Ron laughed, "It'd probably just spit him out, Hagrid."
"Right, then," said Hagrid, "I'll see you at class next week, Harry. I'll be wantin' to see how you've healed."
"I'll plan on it, Hagrid," said Harry.
Almost as soon as Hagrid left, 2 more visitors arrived.
"Harry! Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry," cried Mrs. Weasley, as she threw her arms across his floating body. Harry stifled a scream and she jumped back. "Oh, Harry, what have I done now."
"It's alright Mrs. Weasley. It's just that the nerves are growing back and they are very tender right now. They have me hovering so I won't be touching the linens, other than this charmed sheet."
Ron grabbed the edge of the sheet "then what have you got on under … Oh!" he said, stifling his laughter. He and Ginny started playing with the sheet as if they were going to yank it off of him or at least lift it up. Harry tried to grab at it, but rolled helplessly back and forth on the support of the hover charm.
"Knock it off, you two!" said Mr. Weasley gently, with a little smirk.
"Yes, SIR, Professor Weasley!" said Ginny.
"If you two will stop playing around, I'm trying to talk to Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Harry, I am so sorry for that outburst at the auditorium. I've just been so anxious about all the danger about, and then to see you children in that pit with that horrible creature was just too much for me."
"Well, Mrs. Weasley, you did have me thinking that I maybe went too far in trying to prepare us all for what we may face, but if it hadn't scared you that much, I wouldn't have thought it scary enough to train against. I will admit it was a bit of a thrill bringing in a creature that even scared Hagrid. But I discussed it with Professor Dumbledore and had several back-up wizards available."
"I know you did, Harry. You've been almost obsessive these past few months, but really quite practical as well," said Molly Weasley reassuringly, "Everything I have heard has been wonderful. I knew you must have made appropriate precautions here as well."
"Speaking of that, Harry," said Arthur Weasley, "I truly apologize for not getting my wand out sooner. It looked like you had everything under control, and I know you are dependable with your Patronus, but then everything went wrong so suddenly."
"Well, we didn't exactly plan on Malfoy trying to embarrass me,' said Harry.
"Do you really think it was just for embarrassment," said Arthur, "or was he really trying to get you injured or killed?"
"I'm sure my injury doesn't upset him, except maybe that I'm not worse off. But he must have known his wand would have been one of those checked for its most recent spells, which would have put him in the dock, so he couldn't have been intending real harm. After all, there's really only one thing he's loyal to - his own skin," said Harry.
Mrs. Weasley could barely contain herself, "That Malfoy boy is just lucky Hagrid gave him to Minerva before I took hold of him."
Arthur laughed "I believe the two of you would have had a taffy-pull with him."
"What d'you reckon?" mused Ron, " - when he gets back to Slytherin's dorm is he going to be a hero or a goat?"
"My vote's on being the goat," replied his father, "at least for getting caught. I overheard Minerva telling Severus that one of his detentions would take all of Saturday with Professor Sprout. As much as Severus wants to win at Quidditch he wasn't about to say boo about that."
"That's right!" said Ginny, "the first Quidditch match of the season. Without an experienced seeker, Slytherin will have to rely on scoring goals to win, and their chasers are no better than Ravenclaw's."
"I reckon we'd better warn the Ravenclaws," said Ron, "you know the Slytherin motto 'when your back's against the wall, play dirty.' "
"So Harry," asked Mrs. Weasley, grasping Harry's hand, "am I forgiven?"
"For what - caring about us? I'm thrilled there's someone who worries about us all."
She squeezed his hand and let go. "We'll be off then. The two of us are going for a moonlight stroll around the lake, relive a bit of our school days" she said with a wink. She gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and hugged her children and Hermione.
"Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione thoughtfully, "before you go, let me ask - are you going to be around all weekend?"
"Why, yes, I am, dear, why?" she replied.
"There's someone I'd like you to meet," said Hermione mysteriously.
"Well, alright, Hermione, if you insist. What time is good?"
"Let's see, tomorrow, Professor Weasley will be teaching a double class to the fourth-years in the late afternoon," said Hermione "but I will be free after Magical Creatures, which is 3-4 - how about right after that?"
"That would be fine, Hermione" said Mrs. Weasley, "In fact, I think I'll go watch the class. Are you going to tell me who I'm to meet?"
"Tomorrow," said Hermione with a delighted twinkle in her eye.
"Well, if that's all arranged, we'll let you young people have some time," said Arthur Weasley, "while we go recreate some of our memories." He offered his arm to Molly, who took it with a giggle, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"Blimey," said Ron, "if those two don't watch what they're doing, there'll be more Weasleys yet!"
"More power to them," said Harry, "it's good to see a couple in love, and I happen to think the magical world is a better place with more Weasleys!"
"Hear, hear!" cheered Hermione, "especially if they're as dishy as Bill."
Ginny giggled, as Ron looked shocked and hurt.
"Be that way, Hermione" asked Ron, "at least do we get to know who the mystery person is?"
"Nope," she said, "it might jinx my plans."
"Well, I'm not going to argue about it," he said.
"May as well not," said Ginny, "you know you'd lose."
"Harry!" said Hermione, "What's this I hear about you asking for Marietta exclusively to take care of your treatments? Are you trying to avoid me?"
Harry laughed, "I'm trying to avoid having your hands in places I don't think I want you putting them."
Ron looked puzzled, "I thought it was just your legs!?"
Harry pulled the sheet halfway down his chest, "not exactly - it got all the way up here."
Ron nodded and said "Ohh." And then "O-O-O-h-h-h! And everything in between? Erm, just how thorough did she have to be?"
"Ron, you idiot!" snapped Hermione bemusedly, "she had to cover anything the lethifold might have gotten to - EVERYthing!"
Harry laughed again "Let's just say, Ron, that I will never react to your planetary joke quite the same way."
"Still I'm not quite comfortable," said Hermione.
"Me, too," said Ron, with Ginny nodding.
"You three still haven't gotten past what happened last year, have you? It was a bad time, everyone was afraid, the tide seemed to be running hard against us. Can't you just accept that mistakes were made? She's apologized," said Harry
"I haven't heard it," said Ginny, "she said nothing like that would happen again, but I haven't heard her say what she did was wrong or that she regrets doing it."
"So what do you want to do? She's very capable and there's no reason to think she won't be loyal in fighting Voldemort. She was magnificent with her Patronus. You don't think we have too many people who can handle dementors, do you?" asked Harry, getting a bit loud.
"Shh, Harry, you'll get her attention," said Hermione, "for that matter we don't know she hasn't heard us already."
"What do you care," said Harry, "you don't trust her enough to put salve on my legs."
The others looked down. Ginny finally spoke "Our heads tell us you're right, Harry, we need as many capable people as will fight alongside us. But our hearts don't necessarily follow our heads so quickly. It's only normal to wonder what she'll do when the chips are down. That's what we're preparing for after all."
"So you won't let your best friends do anything for you?" said Hermione, trying to move the talk away from Marietta.
"Well, you could feed me. I'm starving and with this hover charm, I can't reach the plate or sit up to eat if I could. And it smells SO good."
Ginny stabbed a large bite of oyster cranberry dressing and stuffed it in his mouth. She and Hermione took turns feeding him while they all talked about various things - fighting the lethifold, potential punishments for Malfoy, quidditch, and other things. After a lull, Harry remembered the gum wrappers Neville's mother had given him. He mentioned them to Hermione and they described the whole situation to Ron and Ginny.
"So, have you figured out anything yet?" asked Ginny.
"Well, I know they are not hypodermic punctures," she said, "Oh, you two don't know what those are. Um, some muggle medicines - think of them as potions - can be drunk but some have to be put right into the blood or body. The hypodermic needle is a tiny tube that goes through the skin and then the potion is injected."
"What a bizarre thing to do!" said Ginny.
"Well," said Harry, "it does get the medicine right where you want it, and since muggle potions are not magical, they often have to be put where they are needed."
"Dad would probably pay good money to have it done to him, just because it's a muggle thing," laughed Ron.
"Maybe we could do that for his birthday," said Harry with a grin, "So Hermione, how do you know the holes aren't from a hypodermic needle."
"Because they're round and they aren't all the same size," she said triumphantly, "I checked them carefully with a magnifier."
Ron screwed up his face "Okay, I'll ask: what does that tell us about how the holes were made?"
"Well, hypodermic needles haven't been round for years - oval ones do less damage."
"Okay" said Harry, "that's nice to know, but a lot of things we use in the magical world are things the muggles used ages ago - maybe a wizard is using an old hypodermic again and again to poison the gum."
"Aah, but then there's the different sizes," said Hermione, "a hypodermic needle is the same size for its entire length. No matter how far you poke it in, it makes the same size hole."
"Okay" said Ginny, "but what if it's just the corners where the wrapper goes around the gum, and it gets knocked against things to make the holes."
"Ooh, ooh! I know this one," said Ron excitedly, "that can't be it because they would all have the same pattern or very nearly so, and also most of the holes would be frayed, and Hermione would have said so."
"Very good, Ron, I'm impressed. Have a biscuit," said Hermione, tossing him a small shortbread biscuit, which he caught in his mouth. "Ron's right. These have no fraying, but the edges are torn and splay the same direction, showing that they were poked by something with a conical point, like a very sharp quill or something else round which has been sharpened to a point Also you can see the creases from the folding of the wrappers and the holes don't correspond to edges or corners."
"So it's a pattern, which means somebody is trying to tell somebody something and Mrs. Longbottom made a point of handing a bunch of them to Harry, whom she has only seen once before," said Ginny.
"Maybe more than that," said Harry, "they were in the first Order and knew my parents."
"Well, sure, Harry," said Ron, "but you don't look a lot like you did then."
"Yes," said Ginny, "but he did acquire that scar before they were tortured! She may not be very lucid but still remember that something's supposed to be very good about the boy with the lightning scar."
"Exactly," said Harry, "I got the impression that there was at least some measure of intelligence still in her. And a couple of times she leaned over and touched my scar."
"Okay, maybe she is looking to tell Harry, or maybe the Order, something. Have you noticed any pattern to the holes?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Just this - there's always one letter and one letter only which has a hole in it, and then in the plain pink field of the wrapper, there's one or two small collections of dots that would fit in a small square. I thought maybe the dots represented the outline of runes, or an arithmancy combination, but I haven't solved it yet. Harry, may I look at the others?" said Hermione.
"Of course," said Harry, "They're in my trunk in that envelope - it's over on the left-hand side. If you go get them, say hi to Sirius's portrait for me and tell him what happened. He's used to me talking with him a few minutes each night."
"I'm glad you finally mentioned what that talking was about," said Ron. "You've been so distant with us, I thought maybe you were cracking up, talking to yourself."
"Yeah, Harry, I know you have all this pressure," said Ginny, "but try to share the load a bit, it'll make things easier."
Harry nodded. "I'll try; it's just the closer I get to people, the more death I see. It's very disturbing, and sometimes the visions seem so real and current."
Just then, Madam Pomfrey came up with Marietta at her side. "It's time for you three to head back to your dorms. You have just enough time to get back before curfew. Besides, it's time for a fresh application of murtlap."
Ron laughed and said to Harry, "Oh, well, Harry, pucker up!"
As she stirred the essence of murtlap, Marietta tried to smile pleasantly at the three Gryffindors who were leaving, but as Ginny walked by her eyes shot darts at Marietta.
After they were gone, Madam Pomfrey told Marietta to get to it and returned to her office.
"They still don't care for me, do they?" Marietta said to Harry.
"You heard?" asked Harry and she nodded, "I think Hermione's mostly over it - after all it was her hex that gave you fits half the summer. I think she considers that to have cleared the air. Right now I think her big issue is that I didn't ask for her to treat me. Ron and Ginny, well, let's give them some more time, okay?"
"No other choice, really, is there? Thanks for sticking up for me - it means the world to me" she said.
Harry nodded, "I know what it's like to be accused and not be in a position to defend yourself."
"Before we get started, do you need anything?"
"A bathroom break - can't you set me down long enough for that?" pled Harry.
"Sorry, Harry, I have my orders from Madam and you're not to touch anything but the sheet."
"But then how can I …" Harry's voice dropped as she pulled out a bedpan. "I hate those things."
"Truth be told, Harry," said Marietta, confidentially "I think she's enjoying making you uncomfortable - payback for all the patients the DA has been sending here."
"We've been countercursing most of them ourselves - that's no reason to prevent a guy from relieving himself in private!"
"Oh, I'll give you a bit of privacy. I neither need to nor want to watch" she said as she put the bedpan down under Harry, "And here, I'll adjust the hover charm so you're sitting up - that'll make things easier. Oh, and do be a dear and try to aim well, alright?"
"How do I do that? I can't touch anything below my armpits" Harry grumbled loudly as she left the curtained enclosure.
She came back fifteen minutes later with an annoyingly chipper "All done?"
"I suppose so," said Harry, "but that's got to be one of the most disgusting things I've ever had to do."
"It's not my cuppa, either, Harry. What a mess you've made here - Evanesco!' Marietta said with a wave of her wand. Then she uncorked the flask with the murtlap mixture and said "At least that can be done magically - some things still have to be done be hand."
Harry sort of smiled and said "Yeah, well, maybe it's better to do a few things without magic."
Marietta looked up through her hair and smiled "Like a little attention, do ya? Maybe the hero wants to let others do on occasion. Alright then, lie back and I'll turn you over. You know the routine."
Harry smiled at the pillow below him as she started on his feet working the murtlap all around. This recovery may be inconvenient, but it had its advantages over taking Skelegro.

Dedalus Diggle

November 4th, 2003, 2:16 pm

Chapter 28 - Sunlight and Darkness

Friday passed rather pleasantly. When Harry was not being smeared with the healing mixture, he had a steady stream of visitors. He especially appreciated Mrs. Weasley bringing him his lunch and was almost disappointed at having the hover charm adjusted so he could sit up and feed himself. He wondered if it was some sort of odd quirk in his mind or a weakness that made him enjoy being fussed over. He even told Mrs. Weasley what he was thinking, and she chuckled.

"It's just a holiday from training. You go ahead and enjoy it. By Monday, you'll be up at 4:30 again, running around that lake."

Harry agreed that this seemed likely. Everyone needs a change of pace occasionally. The early evening was even busier, but finally the visitors drifted away to let him rest. Harry had just started to doze when he heard Dobby's voice.

"Beg pardon, Harry Potter, sir, I'm sorry I couldn't visit yesterday due to the Feast. How are you doing?"

"Oh, all right, Dobby," said Harry as he rolled, with the sheet pulling up a bit, "it's good to see …" Harry jolted, causing some painful rubbing to his newly growing nerves. Dobby wasn't alone but had Professor Flitwick and Melony with him. Harry suddenly became very concerned about how far the sheet had shifted when he rolled.

Melony grinned "Harry Potter, there's no need to be concerned. Not only am I a healer, but a human's nakedness has as much interest to a goblin as a cat's body has to you."

"Maybe so, Melony, but I'm still going to be a bit concerned being naked around any female I can talk with," replied Harry.

"Excellent, Potter," said Professor Flitwick cheerily, "your heart tells you to treat this young lady as you would any other young lady, whether human or goblin. By the way, I want to thank you for the brilliant display yesterday. We discussed and worked on nothing else today but the Patronus Charm."

"Great!" said Harry, "That was the point of making a public display out of it."

Then Professor Flitwick got a bit sad and sheepish, "I'm sorry I didn't send my Patronus out there sooner - I felt like I failed my charge."

"Not at all, Glorfindel," said Harry with a bemused smile, "I know you would have been ready if I had been unable to conjure my Patronus. As it worked out, there just wasn't time."

"You're very gracious, Potter," said Professor Flitwick, "If it's any consolation for your ending up here, the effect on the students has been magnificent. Seeing how awful lethifolds could be, and knowing dementors are every bit as bad, they all want to master the Charm. I just wish you had been there - from what I can tell from the students you've worked the most closely with, you are probably the most effective practical instructor I have ever seen."

Harry smiled, both proudly and shyly, "Oh, I have nothing on you, Professor. I think we at the DA have all been more highly motivated than classroom settings often allow. So what's up - a second date?"

"Third, actually," said Melony, "Glorfindel chaperoned us to Hogsmeade, but we had to be a bit dodgy once other goblins came out for the evening. So we decided to spend time here instead this evening."

Dobby's head poked out from under Harry's sheet "As long as I'm with my Melony, I'm happy wherever I am."

Melony tittered at seeing that Dobby was crawling around underneath Harry's hovering body. "Oh, Dobby, you make me laugh. I feel like such a bad girl."

Harry tried to reach underneath himself without throwing off his sheet "Dobby! Dobby, get out from under there, please."

Dobby teased him "But Harry Potter, I slept a foot under you all summer - why would you mind me being here now?!"

"You know it's different when there was a mattress between us - and I had my pyjamas on. You're neither elf, nor goblin - you're an imp," said Harry as he finally caught Dobby's arm and pulled him out. Harry held Dobby up with both hands on his chest, like a father ready to toss a two-year-old, when Dobby grinned and disapparated, reapparating next to Melony. Flitwick belly-laughed, while Melony covered her face with her hands and giggled uncontrollably.

"Oh, I feel like such a dirty girl!" she said, blushing.

"That's odd," said Harry, "We were just being silly. Why would you feel bad about that!?"

Melony got control of herself and said "I'm laughing, Mr. Potter. Goblins don't laugh. We're supposed to be serious, very practical. Not frivolous. We're all work and business."

"Melony, I hope you know Dobby works as hard as anyone" said Dobby, with Harry and Flitwick agreeing, "But there can be fun along the way, too."

"Well, I'm certainly in agreement with that," said Flitwick, "but then the full-blooded goblins can barely tolerate my sunny disposition anyway."

"On the other hand, Professor, that has always made you one of our favorite teachers," said Harry smiling.

"Well, thank you, Potter. I guess it's the goblin in me that makes me wonder whether I am too perky in class."

"Not at all, Professor, we find you quite - Charming."

Flitwick laughed heartily, "Aah, it's not new, but I always enjoy that one."

Melony shook her head "Well, this gives me something to think about, seeing these two odd but hard-working goblins as cheery as chipmunks. Maybe we don't have to be so dour."

"Melony," said Dobby adoringly, "that's the first time you've actually called me a goblin!"

"Well, Dobby," said Melony, "I have seen a bit of the elves here, and I see that while you look mostly like them, you are of quite different character. I can see the goblin in you now. I just wish the rest of my Hullabaloo could see it."

"Of course, Melony, you are very different from most goblins in being open to the idea of such an elflike being having goblin-nature as well," said Flitwick, "You are quite unique: by the very fact that you can recognize the usual goblin disposition as dour I know that you stand apart from that. Grishnack does not even see his demeanor as stern - he just sees more light-hearted folk as childish or worse - humanish. No wonder you look for a different way of living."

"Oh, but sometimes I get very sad, because Dobby makes me very happy, but I do not see how we could ever get Grishnack's approval. And he's more accepting of Dobby than the other Gringotts goblins."

Harry turned to Melony "How are things down at Gringotts?"

Her visage turned dark. "Bad, sir! Minister Fudge's latest proposal is to require removal of anti-apparation charms from all dwellings. After Dobby's hullabaloo was wiped out, all the goblins placed the same anti-apparation charms on their homes that Hogwarts has - we can Apparate in and out, but wizards and witches cannot. The law is drawn so that Hogwarts would not have to change, but the goblins' homes would be affected, as well as those of a few wizards who cannot Apparate and so have figured they'd keep out wizards who can."

"That sounds like a direct attack on goblins' security. Does he give an excuse?" asked Harry.

"He says aurors need to be able to Apparate in so that they can fight any Death Eaters who might attack," said Melony.

"But they couldn't attack if they couldn't Apparate into the goblin tunnels," said Harry.

Professor Flitwick got very serious "That's obvious to everyone. Not only that, but the goblins could adjust their protective charms to let certain wizards through in the event of an emergency, but Fudge dismisses that as undependable."

"Is he trying to cause the goblins to revolt!?" asked Harry.

"That's what we in the hullabaloos think," said Melony, "But we aren't sure why. We know he hates goblins, but this seems like the worst time for the magical world to deal with a rebellion. Wiser heads have been counseling patience and trying to speak to as many wizards and witches in the Ministry as we can. Most of us figure that if Fudge wants us to revolt, that's the last thing we should do. But some have lost patience with the Ministry, since Fudge seems to have complete control. And if we would be forced to make our homes vulnerable to Death Eaters or other sorcerers Apparating in, then we may have no choice."

"Has the law passed yet?" asked Harry.

"No, it's just been proposed. Ministry procedures will keep it from getting passed for a few months and then it won't take effect for a couple of months after that. If it comes down to it, we would most likely simply refuse to remove our protections and let them try to make us," said Melony sternly.

Harry nodded, "That makes sense: then you would have the advantage of not being the aggressors so that you will have the full strength magic of goblins defending their homes."

"In addition to all that, there's some grumbling because of the goblin that was found dead last week," said Melony.

"Really?" asked Harry, Flitwick and Dobby together.

"That wasn't in the paper," said Harry.

"We noticed that, and that fuels the suspicions," said Melony, "His name was Gribball, and …

"Gribball!!!" exclaimed Harry, "Isn't that the goblin that hit you, Dobby?"

"I don't know, Harry Potter, sir, maybe you were told while Dobby was not awake," answered Dobby.

"It was," said Melony, "He disappeared in the afternoon after he attacked Dobby. He was from my hullabaloo, and we all figured he was off sulking. We goblins can be kind of moody, and hide away sometimes. But after a few days, we started searching for him through all the places underneath Gringott's that he could have hidden and found nothing. Then last week his body was found in Knockturn Alley, killed from heliopathy."

"Heliopathy," squeaked Professor Flitwick, "Knockturn Alley's too crowded and overhung to get that much sunlight."

"But that's what it was," said Melony, "I had to help examine the body myself."

"Then somebody must have moved his body after he died," said Harry.

"Or," said Flitwick, "found a way to bring strong sunlight where they want it."

"What are you saying, Glorfindel?" said Melony.

"Well, if you're going to attack goblins, the best way to do it is with the help of sunlight, right? But goblins have enough sense to keep out of the sunlight and to make their homes and businesses underground or well-sheltered from the sun. But what if somebody found a way to bring sunlight with them, mirrors or some way of generating light just as effective against goblins as sunlight? Then you could attack goblins in their homes with the sunlight making them as weak as moles."

Melony shuddered, "For a sunny goblin, you have suggested something very dark indeed. Such a thing could mean the end of the goblins. And if the goblins thought someone - especially the Ministry - was developing such a weapon, rebellion would be immediate, and unrestrained."

"Who could blame them?" said Harry quietly. "But, Professor, how could we find out if such a thing is happening?"

"I'll talk to Dumbledore - he has plenty of connections all through the wizarding world. Melony, please keep this notion to yourself. We don't want to set off any revolts without cause. But I will make you this pledge personally - if I find out that someone is doing such a thing, I will do everything in my power to put a stop to it."

"Me, too," said Dobby.

"Me, too," said Harry, "There's no excuse for such a thing."

"Well, let me look into it, Potter. You have your hands full with other matters. I can assure you that I will make sure we get to the bottom of Griball's death. Melony, it's time I got you back to your hullabaloo."

"Melony," said Harry "Thanks for visiting. I'm sorry we have to say goodbye on such a grim note."

"Well, it is perhaps good that I return in a mood befitting a goblin. But I am heartened that amongst the wizards we have such stalwart defenders as you three," Melony smiled awkwardly. She hugged Dobby and said goodbye. Then she and Flitwick disapparated.

Dobby jumped and squeaked. "I know I'm supposed to be sad and scared and grim after that talk, but I can't be - she hugged me!"

Dedalus Diggle

November 5th, 2003, 8:18 pm

Chapter 29 Homework with Hermione

Saturday went pleasantly enough, especially since Harry had to be inside and the weather was drizzling and sleety with a near-gale wind. If there was a day to miss a quidditch match, this was it. Harry was very tired of hovering. His skin was regrowing very well, although it remained quite tender. It was time for him to do stretching exercises so the skin would have enough give to it not to crack when he tried to move. Marietta wanted to see the game, since she was a Ravenclaw and her closest girlfriend was the seeker. Since Hermione cared little for quidditch when her closest friends weren't playing, and particularly in weather like this, she volunteered to help Harry out with the stretching. Harry agreed to this, even though he still felt a bit too exposed under his sheet around Hermione. She stayed with him all morning and into the afternoon. Every so often she would look out the window and report that the game was still going on. This was scarce surprising with the horrible conditions for finding the snitch. Harry smiled to himself when he thought about the game, since he had played in such weather before. Still, lying about was getting old and if Harry had been given a choice between staying where he was and flying in this weather, he would have been on his broom in a heartbeat.

While Hermione was there, she had Harry's potions and Charms homework assignments. The Charms essay was easy enough - explain the theory and uses of the Patronus Charm - although Harry was glad that Hermione told him to check the book for additional uses than warding off dementors and lethifolds. It turned out there was quite an array of uses for the patronus as an all around defensive helper, and Hermione was thrilled to get into an in-depth discussion of the topic. They both had charmed quills to record their discussion, and then they just had to edit their talk and they had very thorough essays, with ample practical observations as well.
The Potions assignment seemed horribly obscure at first - the effect of sound on the brewing of potions - until Hermione explained it. Harry was sure that it was neither so pleasant nor so interesting when Snape explained it and he actually warmed up to the topic. Not that he wouldn't have worked hard on it anyway - he was determined to do all he could to prepare - but it was so much easier to focus on something when it made some sort of sense. As he wrote his essay, he remembered all the times during the summer he had visited Mrs. Figg while she was brewing potions for the Order, and she would change the stations or the volume on the wireless at various stages saying things like "this needs a bit of perking up," or "oh-oh, too raucous, better have some smooth jazz." Harry realized that she was not doing that for her own tastes but for the potions. Snape would be livid that Harry's essay had so many practical examples. Hermione herself was fascinated as Harry recounted all the combinations of potions and sounds Mrs. Figg had used.

"And you know what," said Harry, "she's brilliant at potion-brewing, but last year at my hearing, many of the members of the Wizengamot treated her like she was subhuman just because she's a squib!"

"It's awful, Harry. It really is," agreed Hermione, "Of course, I've had more of that attitude than you. Malfoy's not the only one to call me mudblood, and plenty more besides who treat me like I'm not a real witch. Ooh, sometimes it makes me so mad, I feel like showing them just how much of a witch I can be!"

"When you feel like uncorking," said Harry, smiling, "Let me be there - I want to see it when you cut loose."

Finally they finished all their essays and stretching and could break for lunch.
"Alright, then, Granger," said Harry, "I've held my tongue this long. Spill it - who was the secret meeting you set up for Mrs. Weasley with."

"Oh, alright, I suppose I can tell you," laughed Hermione, "It was Winky."

"Winky! Really? What for?"

"Well, you remember how much Mrs. Weasley enjoyed having Dobby to help around The Burrow this summer. And Ron and Ginny have often remarked how many times she had mentioned that she wished they had a house elf, too. And I got to thinking how unhappy Winky has been..."
"But Hermione," said Harry, "You're the one who has been saying how all the elves should be freed and not have masters or wizard families."
"I know," said Hermione, "I really had to do some soul-searching after talking with Dobby and Professor Flitwick. And I came to realize that my notion of what happiness is about is just my human notion. Elves are different, and at least until they start to see themselves differently, they aren't really going to be happy without a family."
"So how did the meeting go?" asked Harry.
"Oh, great for the two of them. I had talked to Winky and Dobby earlier in the day so she was kept away from the butterbeer and actually put on a clean teatowel. Dobby destroyed the one she'd worn the last two years. I'm just glad I won't have to see or smell that one again. Ick! Winky was falling all over herself to be pleasant, and of course, Mrs. Weasley would never be unpleasant, unless it was a matter of protecting her loved ones. The only really tense moment came when I started talking about my concerns that Winky have a good home and be treated well."
"But Hermione, how could you even think that any of the Weasleys, Mrs. Weasley in particular, would treat any elf badly!?" said Harry incredulously.

"I know: it was remarkably stupid. I had on my SPEW hat rather than my friend hat. I guess I can be a bit blind at times," she said as Harry snorted into his pumpkin juice. "ANYWAY, she looked at me like I was warning her that it wasn't nice to twist the heads off small animals. When I realized what I was doing I just covered my face in horror and shame!"

"Dean Thomas," said Harry.

"What? What's he got to do with this?" asked Hermione.

"Last year when Firenze became the Divination teacher Dean Thomas asked him if he had been bred by Hagrid. Of course Firenze was terribly offended…"

"I should say so!"

"…and Dean realized what a stupid thing he had said almost as soon as he had said it. Even with his dark cheeks, you could see the blush rising. Looking back, it's quite funny, just for how appalling a thing it was to say. Dean apologized profusely and even became Firenze's assistant, mostly carrying messages for him to places in the castle centaurs just can't get to. But it gave him a chance to show he wasn't such an idiot as he had first sounded."

"Yes, I felt about that stupid. But after a minute Mrs. Weasley smiled at me and then turned back to Winky. They talked for almost two hours. Finally, they decided that they would both be interested in the Weasleys adopting Winky if Dumbledore and the Ministry approve. When they had agreed they would try to get approval, Mrs. Weasley said to her 'But I want you to understand that we will not be masters of a slave in my house: I will never force clothes on you, but I will place a set of clothes your size in a box on the bottom shelf of our cabinet, and those will stay there for your use if you should ever want to be free of the Weasleys. You are to stay with us as long as you would want to.' Well, you've never seen such tears of joy as Winky had then. She launched herself and hugged Mrs. Weasley around the neck and Mrs. Weasley hugged her back. I was crying pretty badly myself."

"So what's happened with SPEW?" asked Harry.

"Oh, I'm still for elf welfare. But you know, Winky will be a thousand times happier as the Weasleys' elf than she ever was as a free elf. Sometimes you've just got to put aside your idea of what a person ought to be in favor of respecting what they are."
"Gee, Hermione," said Harry, "can you take the same attitude about Marietta?"
Hermione looked at him. "Yeah, I can, I think. I think maybe my problem this weekend has mostly been jealousy."
"Jealous!? Of what, not getting to clean my sloppy bedpan!?"

"Of being allowed to be your friend. You talk to us, but you keep us distant, at least emotionally. We make DA plans and study, but you don't let us be your friend. Giving you healer care was going to be my chance to reconnect, and then you ask for her to take care of you."

"Hermione, I know I've been like that. But it's not because I don't care: it's because I already care so much for you. Even now I'm getting flashes of you dead."

Hermione gasped, "Ohh. Can I ask, how?"
"Charred."
"How do you know it's me then?"
"I just know."
"Your scar?"
"Nope, it's fairly quiet. He's still overseas."
"A premonition?"
"No, I don't think so - I hope not. Just fear. Just blind screaming terror at what could happen."

She nodded and then took his hand in both of hers. They didn't dare to look at each other, but just sat there a long time.

Dedalus Diggle

November 6th, 2003, 3:01 pm

Chapter 30 - Revolutionaries

Hermione had just finished with Harry's midafternoon stretches when Neville, Ron and Ginny came in to the Hospital Wing, sopping wet. Madam Pomfrey very nearly threw them out immediately, but Hermione begged her patience, pointing out that Harry was the only patient and promising to see to it that any water was cleaned up. Madam Pomfrey agreed and, seeing that the three of them were shivering, told Hermione to give them a small dose of pepper-up potion.
"Thanks, Hermione," said Ron, "but what we most of all want is Harry's fireplace."
"Well, thanks," said Harry, "It's nice to see you too."
"Oh, you know what he means, Harry," said Neville, "the other fireplaces are all crowded and we desperately need to warm up. Then we can talk."
Hermione built up the flame to a nice roar, enough that Harry had to ask her to move him a bit further away. The others aired out their robes by it until their teeth stopped chattering.
"It was a great game, Harry," said Ginny, "wish you could have been there. Just like we thought, Slytherin was trying all sorts of dirty tricks. They were getting away with them mostly, since Madam Hooch couldn't see most of what went on."
"But mostly that was directed at Cho," said Neville, "since once a Chaser got the quaffle, he could lose himself in the weather and then pop out at the goals with very little notice."
"They traded off goals for a couple of hours," said Ron, with Slytherin getting the edge at 220 - 140, but then the scoring seemed to stop for about an hour until a Ravenclaw chaser searched the ground for the quaffle. He got it back into play and then the scoring resumed. Then Ravenclaw got the bright idea of ignoring the bludgers and using the beaters as additional Keepers - as long as they didn't go within the scoring box, it was legal and forced the Slytherin Chasers to try to either make nearly sideways shots or go for the goal the Keeper was in front of. Of course, Slytherin copied the tactic after a couple of goals, and that nearly put a stop to scoring for the next four hours."
"Finally," said Ginny, "the rain turned to wet snow and the visibility improved. Slytherin's replacement Seeker spotted the snitch near the Slytherin goal and took off for it. Cho was fifty yards behind. Slytherin's seeker got to it, reached for it, and couldn't close his hand on it because he was so stiff from the cold. Cho scooped it up in her sleeve and maneuvered it inside her robe until she could pull it out with her mouth and show she had caught it. Ravenclaw won by 310-240 points."
"Wow, an actual Plumpton Pass, deliberate this time," said Harry, "I wish I could have seen that."
"Well, we think it was deliberate," said Ron, "Truth be told Cho might have been grabbing for it and missed. We couldn't get close to her to find out, since she was mobbed by the Ravenclaws."
All this time, Ron Neville, Ginny and Ron had been scurrying around demonstrating all the moves as well as they could. Harry thought the performance was wonderful, but Hermione kept grumbling as she cleaned up the water they were splattering about. "Are you three about done now?"
"Sorry, Hermione," said Neville, "after a nearly seven hour game, little of which we could even see, we had to generate a little heat."
"Oh, it's alright," said Hermione smiling, "It's good for my patient."
"So how's he doing?" asked Ron, talking to Hermione as if Harry was an incompetent."
"Oh, his body's doing fine, but I can't say his head's all there," she teased.
"Oy, there" said Harry, "I'm as sane as you. Wait - that's not saying much, is it?"
"Say, Hermione" said Ginny, "I hear you're arranging a house elf for Mum."
"But why'd it have to be that hideous wreck Winky?" said Ron.
Hermione's eyes flashed, "She wasn't a wreck until she was kicked out of the only family she had ever known as cover for Mr. Crouch's crimes! You should have seen her yesterday - clean, sober, neat, and so eager."
"I'm all for giving second chances," said Harry.
"You would be," said Ron.
"So when does it happen?" asked Ginny.
"Approvals will take a few months, maybe by Spring."
"You know, Hermione," said Harry, "Dobby was here last night with Flitwick and Melony. I wonder why he didn't say anything about Winky then. You said you had gotten him involved in getting Winky ready."
"Well, I asked him not to, for one thing, although I don't think that would have stopped him if it was you asking him about something. He may avoid mentioning his elf acquaintances around Melony, since he is trying to seem more goblinlike to her. And I imagine that in general elves are a rude topic around goblins."
"I suppose so. You know Melony told me more about the things Fudge is doing to push the goblins into rebellion," said Harry.
"Oh, yeah," said Neville, "What now?"
Harry proceeded to tell them all about the anti-Apparation charms laws, and that led to the mystery surrounding Griball's disappearance and death.
"Flitwick took it seriously, huh?" said Ron.
"Absolutely," said Harry, "he was as humorless as Snape about it."
"Well, we can leave that to him for now," said Hermione, "he knows lots of goblins and wizards all over. What are we going to do about the Ministry?"
"Erm, Hermione," said Ginny, "I don't think they much listen to a bunch of kids."
"A bunch of kids preparing for war - and it will be a much worse one, and fewer of us will survive, if we let them keep going this way," said Hermione firmly.
"Okay," said Ron, "scary enough, but you're right. But what CAN we do?"
"Let's alert the wizarding world, like we did last year," said Hermione.
"You mean put Harry up for an interview?" asked Ginny.
"No need to," said Harry, "Mr. Lovegood was at Platform 9 ¾ and invited me to submit anything I wrote about preparations for the war."
"Must we go through The Quibbler again?" asked Ginny.
"What's wrong with The Quibbler?" asked Luna, who was just arriving.
"Nothing, in this case," said Harry, "We know your father would print it, and we can't trust the Prophet, since the Ministry controls it. Besides, if it helps your Dad out, it's okay by me. I like him."
Luna smiled. "Well, Dad sent me an owl asking about things here and was suggesting that I get you to write about the Patronus Charm, but if what I heard is right, you're going to criticize the Ministry. Dad'll like that even better."
"I want to run this by Dumbledore before I do anything," said Harry, "after all he and I have just been acknowledged as not lunatics - sorry, Luna, poor choice of word - and we may want to be careful still."
"Ahh, that's the Harry Potter we all know," laughed Ginny, "cautious, circumspect, avoiding controversy."
Harry lunged at her from his bed, but only rolled in place. He had to catch himself as the sheet started to slip off of him. "Okay then," he said, "it's dinnertime now. Afterwards let's all meet here and draft an article for ALL of us to sign. And Ron, bring my two-way mirror and I'll discuss it with Dumbledore if he's available."
"All of us?" said Ginny, "Why all?"
"Not so daring now, eh?" said Harry, "I don't want to be the loose cannon on this ship. I was the lone voice saying Voldemort had returned, but we can all see that the goblins are being pushed away. My name will be the one that gets people reading, but yours will confirm that I'm not off my rocker."
And they all agreed.
After dinner and Harry's stretching exercises, they divided up the task of drafting the article. Harry, Neville and Ginny were to write about the reasons for the article, the historical context of the goblin rebellions, and the current problems they face. Hermione, Ron and Luna worked on describing the new statutes they were aware of and how they made little sense but burdened magical people generally and goblins particularly. The groups then combined their efforts and read the parts together. Neville noted that it sounded like two very different committees had produced two essays that didn't really belong together, so it was agreed that the whole thing should be redrafted with the same content, but with one of them giving it an individual style. The rest of the gryffindors immediately thought of Hermione, but she declined.
"Uh-uh. I know when I'm outclassed," demurred Hermione, "Working with Luna made me realize how stiff my writing really is. I can say a lot of things, and I can be very accurate, but she makes things beautiful and stirring."
Luna smiled shyly and said "I guess I've always liked words."
Ron shrugged, "That's funny for someone who talks so rarely."
Ginny nodded, "But Ron, she doesn't have to - when she does speak, she speaks volumes. Hermione's right. No shine off Hermione, but if we want people to read the whole thing, we'd better have Luna's style."
As Luna was working on the redraft, Professor and Mrs. Weasley arrived.
"Hello, all," Mrs. Weasley called, "we hadn't spoken with any of you all day, so we popped up to the dorm. That nice Irish boy said you were all here. Good to see you're keeping Harry company."
"An awful lot of parchment about," observed Mr. Weasley, "That's not for any assignment I've given, I hope. I'm still new at this grading business."
"Not an academic project, Professor Weasley, a moral one," said Neville. Then they took turns explaining the whole project. As they finished the explanation, Luna was putting the finishing touches on the re-write. She read it to them all.
"You know," said Ginny, "there's something missing."
"Yeah," said Ron, "it just kind of stops."
"What you need," said Arthur Weasley, "is a summing up, something that says why this is important. May I have a try?"
He took the second draft and wrote for a few minutes, scratching a few words out here, adding a few words there. Then he looked at it, read it through again, and said "How about this? 'We call attention to these facts not merely because we would like to have the goblins as our allies in the struggles with Lord Voldemort…"
"Uh-uh" interrupted Luna, "Dad still won't print that name in The Quibbler"
"Alright then," said Arthur, scratching out the name and putting in an alternative, then continuing to read '…with the dark forces. Rather we object to these policies because they are wrong in themselves. We believe that all sentient beings are equal in dignity and worth, that they have the inherent right to protect and enjoy their own lives, liberty and property so long as they do not harm others thereby, that governments are created to protect these rights against those who would violate them, and when government itself would violate them, it is the duty of the people to take such measures as are necessary to make corrections. We seek a better magical world, in which the reasonable interests of all magical beings are respected. We hope that all who read this will join with us in seeking a redress of these policies.' Will that do?"
"Awesome, Dad," said Ron.
"Really, Professor Weasley," said Harry, "No wonder you were sacked - you're quite the revolutionary."
"Or at least he borrows from one," said Hermione, with a smile.
"Yes. Hermione, you caught me," said Arthur with a laugh, "I cribbed a bit from Thomas Jefferson's words in the American Declaration of Independence. The man should have his own chocolate frog card, he was such a wizard with words."
"Dad loves muggles," explained Ginny to Luna.
"Well, if that's what he gets from them, I can see why. Professor Weasley, do you have any muggle books I could perhaps borrow?"
"I'd be glad to share my trove with you, Miss Lovegood."
"Alright, then, I'm happy with that. Are all of you?" asked Harry, to their nods. "Then I'll see if Professor Dumbledore is available. Accio mirror!"
"Blimey, Harry, without a wand again: Do you have to make the rest of us look bad?" said Ron with a smile.
"Sorry, Ron," grinned Harry, "I've had lot of hours here with not much else to do so I've been practicing wandless magic. I'm getting pretty good at summoning, levitation, and transfiguration. You'll be glad to know I've changed every spider I've seen into something else - hat pins, thread, dice, all sorts of things."
"Oh, good," said Ron, "Next time we run into Hagrid's pets in the Forest, I'll let you turn them into boulders - but don't expect me to wait around to admire the results."
Harry looked in the mirror and called to Professor Dumbledore. In a few seconds his face appeared with twinkling eyes, "Hello, Harry. Not out of the Hospital Wing yet, I see."
"No, sir. They won't even take the hover charm off me. I feel like a birthday balloon."
"Aah, well, that's the price you pay for dangerous pets. At least your demonstration went well."
"THAT was going well!?"
"Absolutely, Harry. It inspired the others who faced the lethifold to go ahead with it right then, rather than putting it off. I believe you have several of them with you - just ask them," said Dumbledore, and they all nodded agreement as Harry looked around. "And I believe Mr. Malfoy's overly dangerous prank has distanced him from many who had sympathized with his attitude. And everyone I'm sure was most impressed with your quick thinking, composure, and wandless expelliarmus. Altogether a resounding success."
"Still, I would have rather avoided the lethiform entirely," said Harry.
"No lasting harm done, my boy," said Dumbledore, with a smile, "and it gave you the chance for a much-needed break and to work on relying on others."
"Okay, you win, it was picture perfect," said Harry with a smile.
"I can tell you have business to discuss, Harry, but first let's get the scar report."
"I've been getting some increased twinges, still distant. Most of it was the same frustration that he has been having. I'm now certain that it's about getting at something or into something, and I'm fairly certain it's the site Bill Weasley is at (Molly stifled a gasp at this mention). Several days ago he also learned something that pleased him, not ecstatic pleasure, but approval and satisfaction at something."
"Very good, Harry. And the visions? Aah, I can see from your expression they are as strong as ever. Good - keep caring. Molly?"
"Yes, Albus?" replied Mrs. Weasley.
"Harry's hiding the distress on his face, but he needs a motherly hug badly. Would you mind?"
"Anytime," she replied. Harry turned to her, with tears running down his cheeks and buried his face in her shoulder. She hugged him gently, minding his tender new skin and nerves, and let him get it out. After a minute Harry started to lift up and she looked him in the eye "Better, Harry?"
"A bit. You remember last year when you tried to handle the boggart, and all you saw was dead family members, oh and me, and you couldn't get rid of the boggart because you couldn't make anything ridiculous out of the form the boggart took? Every waking moment is like that, except when I am training or focusing on magic or other thoughtful work."
Now it was Molly's turn to need a hug. She cried and grasped Harry about the shoulders "I'll never forget that boggart. I thought I would collapse. I don't know how you bear it, Harry."
"I have to tell myself this" he answered, "that if I don't bear up, it could all come true. Breaking down just isn't an option."
When Harry turned back to the mirror, Dumbledore's eyes were moist, too. "Well then, Harry, what's on your mind?"
"We - let's see - there's Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood - have gotten concerned over the way the ministry is adopting policies that hurt and offend the goblins. We were thinking to send in an article to Luna's father's paper, The Quibbler. At first, they wanted it to be just my name, but I insisted on some support. Mr. Lovegood invited me to write things about the efforts against Voldemort, and I felt this was important too. But we wanted to check with you about the general idea and what we had written."
"Yes, I have tried discussing the matter with Fudge, but of course, he just becomes paranoid whenever someone disagrees with him," said Dumbledore.
"Albus," called Arthur Weasley, "I haven't been close enough to determine if he has been placed under an Imperius Curse. His behavior seems irrational even for him."
"Well, Arthur, as you know, the Imperius Curse is more easily detected the more atypical the behavior demanded of the victim is. He already had a vehement dislike of goblins and all non-humans, so it would not have taken much of a push for him to engage in an anti-goblin program. The answer then is I can neither rule it out nor confirm it. Either way, for the present we must deal with it as it is. Harry, read what you have to me."
Harry read the whole parchment. "Nicely written, excellent editing," said Dumbledore.
"That would be Luna's handiwork," said Harry.
"Then five points for Ravenclaw," said Dumbledore, "and one point each for the rest of you who participated in drafting this. I wouldn't change anything. Will it be just the six of you signing it?"
"Pardon, Albus," interrupted Arthur, "I'd like to as well, but I don't want to violate any school protocols."
"Far be it from me to stifle debate. Go ahead and sign, Arthur, and feel free to use the title Professor."
"Thank you for hearing us out on this, Professor," said Harry.
"Oh, it's my pleasure indeed," said Dumbledore, "I am thrilled to see young people paying attention to the implications of political activity. I doubt we will be able to change Fudge's course, but perhaps we will lay the groundwork for better wizard-goblin relations independent of, and perhaps subsequent to, the current administration."
Harry then took the parchment and signed it, followed by Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and finally Luna. "I'll see that Dad gets it," she said, "and that it gets printed, although it could take a month or two."
"Well, we'll take what we can get," said Harry, "I only hope that it will be soon enough to change some minds."

Dedalus Diggle

November 6th, 2003, 11:29 pm

Chapter 31 - Progress

Sunday evening, Harry was to be released. His skin had all regrown. Madam Pomfrey let him down from the hover charm. Harry winced in pain.
"What did you expect?" snapped Madam Pomfrey, "Your skin and nerves are newer than a newborn baby's. Just one more thing we have to do now."
She began pulling on some large thick rubber gloves and Harry recoiled. "Oh, relax, you big baby. These are just so I can apply skin toughener without toughening my own hands." Then she took a jar of salve and started to apply it to the bottoms of Harry's feet, and his elbows and knees. "This will keep these areas from being too raw and tender when you get back to daily life. Better put on a second coat since you've been running this year."
"Do you have some I can take internally?" asked Harry.
"Why? Are you going to eat with goblins?"
"I don't want it for my stomach. I want it for my heart," said Harry.
Madam Pomfrey stopped and looked him in the eye, "Potter, there are potions to numb your emotions - alcohol's one of the easiest. Small amounts are no big deal, but understand you should never try using any sort of potion to run from your problems or hide from your emotions. You might stop dealing with your emotions for a while, but they'll come roaring back. And you won't have dealt with your problems, which usually get worse in the meantime. Face your emotions and your problems, and you'll have a much better chance of a happy conclusion. Understand?"
Harry nodded. "And since we're talking," she continued, "I know Edgecombe told you I was a bit put out by all the work you send me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And so I am, but you keep sending them to me. I'd much rather deal with minor hurts now than major hurts later. We're getting a better quality of injury already from your group. Keep it up."
And with that, she let Harry put on the clothes Ron had brought him and return to his dorm. It was already dark outside, but not too late. The Gryffindor students were mostly in the common room, some playing games, some reading or doing homework. Ron and Hermione were quibbling over something. It was good to be back. Mrs. Weasley was right - after three days off, Harry was anxious to get back to his routines. After a minute or two, he was noticed and greeted. Those that hadn't visited him in the Hospital Wing congratulated him on the great show on Halloween.
"Maybe you should thank Malfoy," said Harry, "it would have been dull without him."
Parvati Patil giggled "I think Professor McGonagall is taking care of all the 'thanking' he needs from Gryffindor for a long time."
"Harry," called Jack Sloper, "Glad you're back - are you going to be ready for the Hufflepuff game this weekend?"
"I'm ready now," said Harry, "I am so in need of doing something."
It felt great to be back in classes the next day. Harry had only missed one day, but with the weekend involved as well, it felt like he had been away much longer. He got back a Potions essay which was thoroughly marked-up by Snape, but all Snape could find to criticize was the handwriting. At Herbology, Professor Sprout held up a mirror for him to see the wisps of purple hair near his ears: "Better cut back on the murtlap for a while," she warned.
Getting back to Apparation class was the best. Harry had been Apparating full body for almost a month, so Madam Hooch decided to give him the test needed to move on to Apparating with objects. Harry had to retrieve twelve small magical objects from around the Quidditch stadium in less than five minutes without squinching. Harry was so excited to be able to move on that he was done in fifteen seconds. "You beat the old school record by 8 seconds," Madam Hooch observed, "Your father set that and Charlie Weasley tied it. Flying and Apparating skills just seem to go hand-in-hand." After that Harry spent the rest of the class session practicing Apparating different places with a chair. He once needed to get Madam Hooch to help him extricate the chair from the wall. The rest of the class was doing tolerably well, for the most part. Many, including Hermione, Ron, the Patil sisters, and Lavender Brown, were Apparating their whole arms dependably and were starting to work on feet.
At Occlumency that evening, nothing was said about Halloween or the lethifold. Harry and Snape went straight to practice. Harry was managing to protect his negative emotions most of the time, and was rarely using spells to ward Snape off. More often than Harry liked, he found himself catching glimpses of Snape's mind. Try as he might, he found it harder and harder to hate Snape as he came to understand bits and pieces of his life and perspective. Still there were clearly mountains of information in Snape's mind that remained hidden. The session left both Harry and Snape rubbing their heads, Harry rubbing his scar, which always hurt after long sessions of his mind being invaded, and Snape rubbing his temples from looking into Harry's love and concern for the school and others he cared about. As Snape dismissed Harry, Harry heard him grumble "How he carries that about…"
At the DA, enthusiasm was high generally, but particularly for the Patronus. Some people said they just never wanted to face anything as hideous as a lethifold or a dementor without a proper weapon. Others said they figured if it meant that much to Harry to face that monster to show them how it's done, that they had better learn it. As the weeks went on, progress was apparent. By Christmas break, they still were on level 1 fighting spells, but the reliability, aim and control was clearly there. The upper classmen were as good as your average adult wizard, but only the members of the original DA and a few others looked to be ready to meet a trained fighter. Although Neville still lagged in Patronus and Apparation skills, as a fighter he was becoming frightening - only Hermione, Ron and Harry could stand up to him for long, and he was utterly implacable on offense or defense. By Christmas, several others had been able to produce corporeal Patronuses, including the twins, Andrew Goldstein, Katie Bell and Susan Bones, and had tested them against the lethifold. A few had trouble producing their patronus against the lethifold at first, but Harry or Professor Weasley would intervene to put the lethifold back in its box. Then Harry would talk them through their fears and soon they were able to conjure the Patronus even under pressure. Harry felt like he could conjure a Patronus just by thinking of the progress he had seen.

Dedalus Diggle

November 6th, 2003, 11:31 pm

Chapter 32 - Dots

In early December while Ron and Harry were discussing tactics after a quidditch practice (Gryffindor having won its match with Hufflepuff 390 - 80, Hufflepuff being in a rebuilding year and the weather preventing Harry from getting the snitch sooner), Hermione came up to them with a piece of parchment each. Each one had 22 small box outlines and each box had a number of dots in it.
"Here, maybe you two can figure something out," said Hermione.
"What's this?" asked Harry.
"I got tired of trying to figure out the holes in the gum wrappers while looking at the patterns on the wrappers. Even though the holes avoid the pattern, it was just hard to follow and think about. So I made an outline of each wrapper and the pattern of dots within it."
"Wow, Hermione," said Ron, "what spell did you use for that?"
"None, Ron," said Hermione, "honestly; you full-bloods think everything has to be done by magic. I used a quill to trace the wrappers and make a mark through each hole."
"Has it helped?" said Ron, peeved at being scolded.
"It's easier to look at, but nothing so far. That's why I've made copies for you."
"That was quite a lot of work," said Ron.
"Oh, Ron! Why would it be? I just charmed a quill to copy the first one. Why wouldn't I use magic to do something like that! Don't you ever think?"
Harry suppressed his grin and said "Maybe we can ask around to people and see if they can figure out the code. But we should probably not say what it's from - I know, let's say it's a special project for your father, and we'll let him know to go along with it."
"Won't he ask questions?" asked Hermione.
' "Probably not," said Ron, "but so what if he does - we're just trying to see whether a bunch of tatty gum wrappers have a hidden code."
"Speaking of your family," said Harry, "what are you going to be doing for Christmas break? I hate to be blunt, but I had kind of hoped for an invite."
"Oh, sure," said Ron, "Absolutely, you're invited to spend it with us - RIGHT HERE! Mum decided it was so much fun to spend Halloween weekend here that she wants to spend Christmas, too."
"Oh, well, that's not so bad, is it?" said Hermione, "this place is rather charming in the winter and you can practice magic and quidditch and have the run of the place."
"Yeah, well, I couldn't bear to mention this before, but when she visits they play 'games,' if you know what I mean," said Ron.
"You don't mean Exploding Snap, do you," said Harry with a smile.
"I went down to see Dad in his office that Friday after Halloween, and when I opened the door, he was in his teaching robes holding his pointer stick and Mum was sitting in the detention desk writing lines. And she had her hair up in pigtails like when she was a student here! And if I had any doubt where that was leading, they both blushed when I came in."
Hermione suppressed her giggling, "Well, that will teach you to knock before entering."
Then Harry added "Just be glad you weren't any later - you might have gone blind."
"That's not funny, you two! I could be emotionally scarred for life from something like that! I had to go to the Prefects loo and bathe for an hour to feel clean again," objected Ron.
"Oh, Ron," said Hermione, "They are a married couple, madly in love with each other. Do you think you and Ginny were found under pumpkins?"
"Well, he might have been," said Harry.
"Well, thanks a lot for the sympathy," said Ron with exasperation.
"Ron," said Harry, "Is it that bad that your parents love each other?"
"Maybe not - but that doesn't mean I need to be reminded of it."
"Well, I think it's lovely," said Hermione, "In fact I'll be returning here Boxing Day, as my parents are going on a romantic holiday cruise together. And to my mind, it's wonderful - they almost never can get away from their dental practice."
"A cruise!? Where?" asked Harry.
"The coast of Norway."
"The coast of Norway!? In the middle of the winter!? In the North Sea!? Conditions will be dreadful - they won't be able to get topside at all!" said Ron.
"That's the idea," said Hermione with a wink, turning to go back up to the girls' dorm.
"Well, now I know where she gets it from," said Ron, "The whole family's mental!"
Harry laughed, but he didn't think they sounded irrational at all.

Dedalus Diggle

November 7th, 2003, 3:38 pm

Chapter 33 - Insight

Harry, Ron and Ginny were sitting at one of the tables in the Gryffindor common room as all those who were leaving for Christmas Break were going. Hermione had left early and insisted that Harry and Ron take a copy of the bubble-gum wrapper dots to the library during the Break to look for some sort of wizard code or communication system there. After all, she reasoned, the Longbottoms were both aurors and would probably know all the most subtle and complex codes in the magical world.

"When in doubt, go to the Library, right, Hermione?" said Ron.

"If you have a better plan, I'd like to hear it," she replied, "Besides would you rather sit around thinking about your parents playing games in the DADA classroom?"

"That's a low blow, Hermione! Now I'll have to do something drastic to get that out of my head."

They waved good-bye to her and promised they would spend some library time, but as soon as the portrait-hole closed, they tossed the parchment on the table and started a game of wizard chess. Soon Ginny joined, since all her other friends had already left. Neville walked by and asked what the parchment was, and Harry stammered a few seconds before saying it was a page from their quidditch playbook.

"Oh, cool," said Neville, "looks more organized than quidditch usually seems."

"Yeah, well, uh," said Ron, "these are approximations of positions. We adjust according to our opponent."

After Neville left, Ginny said "Okay, it must be pretty good or you two wouldn't have made up a lie like that. Spill."

"Oh," said Harry, "These are the dots from the Droobles wrappers that Neville's mother gave us. Remember, we told you about them when I was in hospital. Hermione plotted them so she wouldn't have to look at the sick swirling pink wrappers. We just figured we shouldn't say anything to Neville."

"Because you didn't want to remind Neville of his parents' situation?"

"Yeah, or give him false hopes of recovery."

"So what have you got - or should I say, what has Hermione got, since you two lunkheads couldn't solve anything."

"Well, I like that," said Ron, "we've gotten just as far as she has."

"Yeah," laughed Harry, "nowhere."

"Well, you two go on with your game and let me see if I can come up with anything."
They were there for about twenty minutes when Colin and Dennis Creevey came by. They called good-bye to Harry and Ron, and Colin made to pat Ginny on the shoulder as he was passing.

"Hey, who do you know who's blind?" he asked.

"What? Why do you ask?" said Ginny.

"Well, you've got that Braille letter there," he said, "Look at this Dennis, doesn't that look like the books great-uncle Bruce used to read."

"Really?" said Harry, "I've heard of Braille but never seen it. It's a system of raised dots that represent letters so that blind people can read," he explained to Ron and Ginny.

"Well, that's what it looks like if the dots aren't raised," said Dennis, "except for those stray dots. Look at that, Colin; these have got one stray dot beneath the Braille dots. Well, if you didn't know what it was, why'd you have it?"

"Our parents got us a bunch of puzzles to keep us occupied during the Break," said Ginny, "they're getting all romantic, reliving their student days together, and didn't want us interrupting."

"Yeah," said Ron, "as if we'd get within a mile of 'em like that."

Colin turned his back to them, wrapped his arms so his hands were reaching around to his back, and made smooching noises.

"Aargh! No, I can't take it," laughed Ginny, "I'll be off food for a week."

"So what do each of these represent, guys?" asked Harry.

"Couldn't tell you, Harry," said Dennis, "It's not something you generally learn unless you need to. Uncle Bruce would read to us from Braille books, but we couldn't figure it out when he did it. Sorry."

"No problem - at least you pointed us in a promising direction," said Harry, "Have a great holiday. Think those happy thoughts - I want to see your Patronuses."

"Take lots of pictures," said Ron.

And both Creeveys pulled out cameras and took a shot of Harry and the Weasleys before leaving.

As soon as the Creeveys were out the portrait-hole, the three of them headed to the library. They used the 'puzzle' excuse again, without the embellishment about Professor and Mrs. Weasley, to explain to Madam Pince what they were looking for and why.

"Very clever," she said "to give young wizards a puzzle written in a muggle code - wizards would be so unlikely to recognize it. Or, I guess from what you're describing, it is more of an alphabet. Curious. But I'm afraid you won't be finding any such thing here."

They left the library and stood together to think. Ron said, "Now who do we know with access to a muggle library or bookstore?" Ginny glared at him like he was the biggest troll in Britain until he said sheepishly "Oh, of course, Hermione, she'd be living in one or the other given a chance. But she left hours ago."

"Well, I've got a friend with wings who'd love the trip," said Harry, "unless you'd prefer to use Pig?"

"No, the weather is pretty nasty outside," said Ron, "I wouldn't want to send 'im ten miles, much less several hundred. Hedwig's the right size for these conditions."

They stopped by the dorm for a piece of parchment, on which they wrote "We think the dots are Braille - send us a translation key. H, R, & G." They got Harry's owl grooming kit and several owl treats and went up to the owlery. Hedwig stooped to them as soon as she saw Harry. Unlike some years, Harry had not ignored her, finding that when the press of his visions got too intense, holding and stroking Hedwig soothed him as much as it did her. She spread her wings and twisted her neck this way and that as they groomed her for the long flight. Ginny fed her the owl treats as the boys took care of her feathers. Then they attached the parchment and told her where it was to go. She nipped Harry affectionately and took off through the owlery eaves.

Dedalus Diggle

November 8th, 2003, 4:25 pm

Chapter 34 – Big Plans

As Harry, Ginny and Ron left the owlery, Harry said “Well that’ll take a couple of days. No sense in lurking about the library when we have such a good lead. Let’s head to the gym – there’s just enough time for a good workout before dinner.”
The others agreed, and they stopped by the dorm to pick up their gym bags. As they were exercising, Ron said to Harry, “Y’know, Harry, in the DA we’re learning a lot about facing off against one or a few people and trading spells, but if there’s a battle, especially if we have to defend Hogwarts, it won’t be like that at all.”
“Well, I reckon not,” Harry agreed, “there was some of that at the Ministry of Magic, but a lot of it was a big running skirmish.”
“And if there’s a big attack,” said Ginny, “we’ll have to be using much bigger groups to fight if we hope to have a chance of standing our ground.”
“Okay, do you have something in mind,” asked Harry, as he laid down for a lift.
Ron spoke through gritted teeth as he curled a dumbbell, “I thought we could stage a battle: divide into teams, try to capture something, and then hold it against the other team, something like that.”
“That’d be cool, wouldn’t it?” said Harry.
“Sounds like fun, too,?” said Ginny through her sit-ups, “if we don’t get too many injuries.”
“Yeah, it could get dangerous. I guess we’ll need to get approvals and make sure that Madam Pomfrey is ready for it,” said Harry, “and I think Hermione and I had better stay out and act as referees. Or rescuers. Maybe Madam Hooch would help us out on that, too, this is rather like a sporting match.”
The workout passed quickly as they made plans. They thought Spring Break would be the best time to do it, since there would be no classes then, there would be time to recover from injuries, and the fifth and seventh years preparing for OWLs and NEWTs would be desperate for a diversion by then. They called it Spring Skirmish. They decided to divide up by the already established teams of the DA, which would serve as platoons, with each original DA member acting as the lieutenant in command of each platoon.
When Harry asked about who would lead each side, Ron blushed a bit and admitted that he had hoped to lead one side “I can picture it now, like directing an enormous combination of wizard chess and quidditch. It’d be awesome.”
“Well, I don’t think anyone would dispute that you’re qualified, Ron,” said Harry, “How about you, Ginny, are you interested in leading a side?”
“Not against him – he may be a lunkhead, but he knows strategy. Why don’t you write to the other original DAs – see who’s interested.”
“Oh, that reminds me, what about Fred and George? Do you think they would close their shop to do this? Or maybe one of them could get away and leave the other,” said Harry.
“Well, let’s owl everyone and see what they all say. The owls won’t be busy during the break, so it won’t hurt to write lots of letters – probably do ‘em some good,” said Ron.
Over dinner they mentioned their idea to their mother and father and the rest of the staff and students who were there. There was general enthusiasm for the idea, along with some healthy concern over injuries. Plans to avoid major injuries and heal minor ones were discussed. Even Snape was supportive and asked if his assistance would be needed. Harry looked at Ron and Professor McGonagall before saying “Well, certainly extra observers and rescuers for the injured would be welcome. But after what happened with our last project, I would really appreciate Malfoy being occupied at the time.” Hagrid suggested that the goal be to capture and hold the paddock behind his hut, with the two forces starting on opposite sides. In addition to Madam Hooch and Snape, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Weasley offered to serve as additional referees, so Harry could concentrate more on coaching and Hermione could concentrate on countercursing people. Mrs. Weasley knew enough about healing to offer her assistance to Madam Pomfrey, in case it should be needed, and the offer was accepted.

Dedalus Diggle

November 8th, 2003, 4:47 pm

Chapter 35 - goblinsweresoldtombbug

Hermione responded to their Braille request in a day and a half. Hedwig brought the message in at breakfast and accepted a couple of sausages before flying up to the owlery. She sent a Braille translation key. She also sent a parchment obviously written in Braille, or at least in Braille-pattern dots. After breakfast they took the letter back to the Gryffindor common room to translate it from Braille. She had written “You gits - if you are going to owl me a letter write me more than that. Anyway, I find that all of the patterns we thought were letters are actually numbers. Since the odd dot of each combination was through a letter, I think that is the key. That explains why she used all the same type wrappers. Tell me what you get. See you in a few days.”
Harry ran up to get the wrappers. They spread them out and figured out the number that corresponded to each one. When they finally wrote down the letters in order they read “goblinsweresoldtombbug.”
“Oh, good,” said Ron, “Now that’s all cleared up. Let’s go establish world peace!”
“Now, Ron, it meant something to Mrs. Longbottom,” said Ginny, “she made a point of giving Harry exactly the same number of wrappers as there were letters and to mark them all to give the proper order.”
“And Ron, while she clearly isn’t all there, I am certain she had some sense in giving me the wrappers – you had to see her look.”
“Fine, we’ll take it seriously – may as well over break. So what do we know from this?” relented Ron.
“Okay, it could say ‘goblins were sold tomb bug.’ Or ‘goblins we resold tomb bug.’ Either makes some sort of sense,” said Ginny.
“Or it could say “Go blin swer es old tom bb ug,” said Ron.
“Ron, if you aren’t going to take this seriously, why don’t you just owl Hermione with what we have and let her work on it,” said Ginny.
“I’ll just do that.”
After Ron went upstairs to write to Hermione, Harry said “You know, there’re two things that we can look into that are pretty sure to help if there’s anything here. It’s clear that any sensible division of these letters refers to goblins and to a ‘tomb bug,’ and it would have had to have been something Mrs. Longbottom was working on before she lost her mind. How else could she have found out about anything worth telling?”
“Good thinking, Harry. But how do we start on those?”
“Let’s go up to Ron and my room – you get him to ask Hermione about what ‘tomb bug’ might mean, and I’ll use my mirror to talk to Dumbledore about Mrs. Longbottom – since she was in the first Order, he may have a good idea what she was up to before the Death Eaters got to her.
Up in the dorm, behind the closed curtains of his four-poster, Ron had gotten well into a letter to Hermione. Ginny poked her head inside to tell him to put the additional question in there about ‘tomb bug.’ As soon as she did, however, he yelled at her and pushed her head out of the curtain.
“Ron, what’s wrong with you. It’s just me and you’ve got your clothes on!” yelled back Ginny.
“Can’t a guy have privacy anyplace,” said Ron.
Ginny got a sing-song voice “Ickle Ronny doesn’t want us to see what he’s writing to Hermione. He must be writing a love note and dotting the ‘i’s with little hearts. O-o-o-ooh!”
“Shut up, Ginny, or I’ll tell Harry some of the things you used to do with his picture.”
“Ron, shut up, he’s right here!” hissed Ginny.
“Aah, hit you where it hurts, didn’t I” cooed Ron.
“Ron, that was a long time ago,” said Ginny.
“Then it doesn’t matter if I tell him, hmm?” said Ron, “Hey, Harry, guess what Gin…”
“SHUT UP, Ron. I’ll write my own letter to Hermione – how much do you want me to put in it?”
The next thing Harry heard was some rustling and out popped some parchment and a quill. “Truce,” said Ron.
“Truce,” said Ginny, picking up the quill and parchment, wearing a smirk, “and we’d best be quiet now, Ron, Harry’s calling Dumbledore.” She hitched herself up on Neville’s bed to write her letter.
Harry got out the mirror, hopped onto his bed, and pulled the curtains shut, in case the Weasleys started to squabble again. He had a sunken feeling in his chest over it – not that he found it unfortunate, since he knew they teased with love for each other. Rather it was the knowledge that as well-accepted as he was by the Weasleys, he would never know such sibling intimacy as that. Suddenly he felt very lonely indeed. He noticed that Sirius was not in his portrait and wondered where he had gotten off to. He held up the mirror and called to Professor Dumbledore, who soon appeared.
“Well, Harry, this is a pleasant surprise. We were just at breakfast an hour ago. You don’t usually call me so soon. Is something up?”
“No, Professor, we’re just working on a mystery and thought you might be able to help – if you have the time.” Harry then described all the circumstances of his receiving the wrappers and what their investigation had led them to.
“Well, Harry, I may be able to move you a bit further along on both questions. Several ancient sun-worshipping cultures, most notably the Egyptians, believed that the scarab beetle represented the sun god, Ra. This is because the most noticeable species of the scarab family are the dung beetles. They are often seen rolling pellets of dung to their burrows to lay eggs in. The rolling of the pellets reminded the ancients of the movement of the sun across the sky, so they pictured the sun god as like a dung beetle rolling the sun each day. Also the emergence of the young scarabs from the buried balls of dung made them think of resurrection and victory over death. Despite their occupation, the scarabs are quite handsome insects and were very popular as themes for jewelry, especially since such jewelry had religious meaning as well. And of course, to place a representation of a god on or into a tomb was a sort of prayer for immortality. Scarabs decorated many Egyptian burial sites, as well as religious structures and objects. Ancient Egyptian wizards, too, accepted the notion of the scarab as a representation of the divine. They were often used as charmed objects. Which brings us to Alice Longbottom.
“She was tracing the path of one particular scarab charm used at an Egyptian religious site. It happens to be the one Bill Weasley is at right now. He has already told me that he told you and your friends what the inscription at the site said. He left out that the key to opening the site is believed to be a scarab beetle charm. Since scarab beetles represented immortality in ancient times it was thought likely that the instructions or directions inside are an incantation or recipe for immortality. This is another of the projects that Voldemort has pursued in his quest for immortality. The goblins have controlled that site for quite some time, but no charm-breaker they have brought in has been able to open the structure. The goblins want Bill to crack the charms, but the greater concern for both the goblins and the Order is for Bill to keep Voldemort and any Death Eaters out. Alice Longbottom was following the trail of the scarab that opens the site. It was supposed to have been carried north and eventually to Alexandria, Egypt, from which Joseph of Arimathea was supposed to have embarked on his voyage to Britain with the Holy Grail.”
“Dobby’s hullabaloo!” said Harry.
“Ah, you were listening when Professor Flitwick was explaining things. Yes, the scarab was what Voldemort was seeking when Dobby’s hullabaloo was exterminated.”
“So, either the legends are untrue, or the hullabaloo took it someplace else,” observed Harry.
“Yes, because if they had the scarab where they were killed, Voldemort would have it now, and he would already have raided and opened the site where Bill is.”
“So Mrs. Longbottom’s message confirms that she learned that the goblins actually got the scarab.”
“Exactly, Harry, unless of course she is completely deluded, and one cannot be too certain with a woman in her condition.”
“But when she handed me the wrappers, I could see such a glint of awareness and intelligence in her eyes – I really believe she knew what she was doing. Actually it was deeper than her eyes, it was in her mind.”
“I’ve seen the signs for some time that you have the makings of a legilemens. That is perhaps another talent you acquired from Voldemort – a more generally useful one than parseltongue. Professor Snape has been describing to me how your mind has grappled his, rather than just shielded. That’s the sure sign of someone with the knack for legilemency. I had instructed him to try to develop that capacity without telling you. It both strengthens your defense and is of course a source of immensely useful information once you learn to control it. You’ve been getting glimpses of his memories? Yes, he was showing you how to delve into another’s mind. He is quite good, don’t you think? It has been quite a sacrifice for him to allow you access to his mind. I hope you will never question his loyalty again.”
“My mind understands, Professor, but sometimes it is hard to take to heart,” said Harry, “So does that mean that Mrs. Longbottom did actually confirm that the goblins acquired the scarab?”
“Clearly she believes she did. That’s all the legilemency can show – the state of her mind. My concern is that this may have been what the Death Eaters tortured her for and that they may have therefore learned this. She would have had no way of knowing what happened to Voldemort when he tried to kill you. That was Frank Longbottom’s area of expertise. And they knew well enough that he would never have told her – too much of a security risk. In fact he did not even know. But she also had information they wanted – the location of the scarab. So they took turns alternating torture between the two of them – making each watch the other one being tortured till he or she passed out, then reviving that one to watch the other in turn be tortured until that other passed out; this went back and forth for days, until neither seemed to have had anything left in their minds at all. Except maybe the confirmation of the presence in Britain of the scarab.”
“Professor Flitwick said it was reputed to be in a Gringott’s vault,” said Harry.
“That is a distinct possibility. Gringott’s and Hogwarts are two places that Voldemort has never had dependable access to. In your first year, he was able to guide Professor Quirrell to a break-in of one of Gringotts’ vaults, but the security reacted immediately and he was barely able to escape after learning the philosopher’s stone had been removed.”
“Is it here?” asked Harry.
Dumbledore smiled, “It is a healthy mistrust on your part to question whether I have told you everything. But no, not to my knowledge, it is not here. My guess would be in the vault of the hullabaloo that was killed.”
“Would that have remained unexamined all this time?” asked Harry.
“Yes, so long as not all members of the family, the hullabaloo, have been accounted for.”
“Are you saying that whatever is in there belongs to Dobby?”
“IF he can prove that he is the sole survivor of that hullabaloo.”
“What about Professor Flitwick?”
“Although he is related by blood, his mother left the hullabaloo to marry Fangorn Flitwick, so Professor Flitwick would only inherit when all members of the hullabaloo had been accounted for. And before you start getting suspicious, let me assure you that Filius Flitwick would never seek to harm Dobby to acquire an inheritance.”
Harry laughed lightly. “I’m glad you said it, but I could not possibly harbor such suspicions of Professor Flitwick.”
“There's something else you should know. Another interpretation of the inscription would have the instructions be for something that can be enjoyed presently. If you think about it immortality only shows itself as the years pass: anyone may be immortal until death proves otherwise. But the words seem to indicate a power or quality of present value."
Harry nodded, "So if Voldemort is looking for immortality from it, but it is some other power, then it is a 'power the Dark Lord knows not,' correct?"
"Yes."
"Which would perhaps give someone - me, for instance, - the 'power to vanquish the Dark Lord?'"
"Very possibly."
“And Mrs. Longbottom was told of the Prophecy, just as my parents were?”
“Yes.”
“And she knew that the boy with the lightning bolt scar was the one who needed that power.”
“Her actions seem to confirm that.”
"So that’s what Mrs. Longbottom’s message is all about. What do we do about it?” asked Harry.
“What would you suggest?” countered Dumbledore.
“We could try to prove Dobby’s identity.”
“With the tension between wizards and goblins at this time, they would not accept the coincidences which convince us of Dobby's origin,” replied Dumbledore.
"So how could he convince them?"
"All I can think of would be a demonstration by him of character so goblinlike, so unelflike, that even they would not deny his identity. But what that would be I cannot say," answered Dumbledore.
“And for now, the protections that are on the site are keeping the formula safe, aren’t they? And so long as Voldemort is distracted in Egypt, we can build our strength here,” said Harry, “May I tell my friends about all this?”
“Ron and Ginny Weasley have already heard it,” said Dumbledore as Harry heard a rustling of his bed curtains, “and you may certainly tell Miss Granger. And you may as well tell Professor and Mrs. Weasley – they know most of it already, and of course, since Bill is at the site, it concerns them intimately. But I believe it should go no farther than that.”
“Thank you, Professor. I’ll see you at lunch, I suppose.”
“I think so, Harry, if nothing prevents me, I don’t miss meals.” And with that Dumbledore’s face faded out.
“Alright, you two,” called Harry, “how much did you hear?”
Both Ron and Ginny were blushing, but had naughty grins “Pretty much all of it,” said Ginny. “What was that stuff about “A Power the Dark Lord knows not.”
“Will you trust me if I say you are better off not knowing? I’d prefer not to lie to you.”
“Well, if those are the choices, I think we’d both rather just accept that some things can’t be told – but it sounds very ominous“ said Ron, “So that’s it then – mystery solved, let sleeping dogs lie, and we’ll just forget about it.”
“Even though it contains either the power to defeat Voldemort or the power to make him invulnerable?” added Ginny.
“Reckon so,” said Harry, “got any other ideas?”
“No,” admitted Ginny. Then she took the letter she had written to Hermione and started tearing it, “I won’t need this anymore, I’ll just owl Hermione about what we learned. We can talk details when she gets here on Boxing Day. Here, Ron, give me yours and I’ll throw it out too.”
“Um, no, that’s okay, I’ll, erm, take care of it later,” said Ron.
“Aah,” said Harry, “just a little about the message, and a lot about you two, eh?”
“Oh, shut up, Harry!”

Dedalus Diggle

November 10th, 2003, 2:07 am

Chapter 36 - Christmas

The Christmas Feast almost looked like it could have been held at the Burrow. Since the Weasley parents and Ron and Ginny were already planning to be present for the Feast, Professor Dumbledore invited the rest of the Weasleys to join them, and all but Bill - and of course Percy - did. The Weasleys took this time of being safe and together as an opportunity to truly celebrate their mutual love, and the atmosphere was quite infectious. Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Harry needed little encouragement to join the mood, even though Harry maintained his reserve which had by now become instinctive. Soon the few other students and most of the rest of the staff were just as full of the Weasley Christmas spirit as were they. Only Filch and Snape seemed unaffected.
Molly Weasley took the opportunity to introduce Winky around to those of the Weasley clan who had not met her. As when Dobby visited the Burrow, the Weasleys insisted that Winky sit with them and share the meal and companionship. After all, they said, she was soon to be a Weasley. She was more controlled in her reactions than Dobby tended to be, but her eyes remained rimmed with tears throughout the celebration. She was asked the other elves’ reaction to her imminent placement, which the Weasleys referred to as an adoption, and she said they were all happy for her. She let on that more than a few seemed more happy for themselves, as she had not been a very pleasant elf to be around.
After the feast, games were started. At first, everyone was so full they could play nothing other than indoor games. Gobstones and Exploding Snap, of course, but also other wizard games Harry had not seen before. There was ‘rotten potato’ in which a charmed bladder full of stinky goo could only be held and thrown by a levitating charm; it was tossed amongst the players back and forth across a circle, and when it touched someone rather than being caught by a charm, it exploded its nasty contents all over the person. There was a charmed piñata which actually flew and the students had to hit with a puncturing spell as it circled the Hall. There were two variations on ‘musical chairs’: ‘mystical chairs’, in which there was a chair for each person left, but one of them would disappear when someone sat on it; and ‘maniacal chairs’ where the chairs didn’t want to be sat on, so you had to catch and subdue one to keep your place in the game. There was ‘legerdemain limbo’, in which you could use shrinking spells to help get under the limbo stick. Harry had given Professor Weasley a muggle dartboard set and he insisted on games with everyone he could corner.
The whole Hall was filled with laughter. Until, that is, it was noticed that Ron and Snape were locked in a grudge match of wizard chess. As much as Ron might have wanted to ease relations with Snape, Harry knew that there were two games for which Ron would never accept defeat – quidditch and wizard chess. Time and again Ron would build an edge over Snape and then look up at him and smile. Then Snape would exchange a few moves and be right back in the game. Suddenly Harry realized that Snape was using legilemency to see Ron’s plans. He wrote a message to Ron saying “Don’t allow him to make eye contact,” and held it up behind Snape. Within fifteen moves after that, Ron had checkmated his potions professor.
Snape stood and congratulated Ron “Well done. I would have had no respect if you went easy because I am a professor.” Then looking into Ron’s eyes, he suddenly turned and said “Potter! Mr. Weasley here is grateful for your help. I did not know I was playing against a team. What sort of help did that entail?”
“Far be it from me,” said Harry, with a grin and holding open the folded note from his pocket “to tell Ron about strategy. I just thought that he also should not be playing against a team – especially when that other team would include himself.”
After the chess game, the Weasleys got together and challenged the rest of those present to a game of quidditch. The Weasley team was to consist of Ron as keeper, Charlie as seeker, the twins as beaters, and Ginny and their parents as the chasers. The Hogwarts team consisted of Harry as seeker, a chaser each from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams who had stayed, Professor Flitwick as the third chaser, Madam Hooch and Hagrid as beaters and Professor Snape pressed into service as Keeper. Professor McGonagall was pleased to officiate.
The air was quite crisp as they took to it. Tactics were adapted to the circumstances. Even the most powerful broom available did not give Hagrid enough speed and mobility to roam the pitch, so he staked out a position near his team’s goalposts both to keep bludgers away from that end and to provide another immense obstacle to making scoring runs. Any bludgers that came near that end of the pitch were immediately batted all the way to Ron’s end, and Ron got ample practice dodging them. When Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were able to get the quaffle, they would try to get it to Ginny who, with the excellent handling and speed of her Firebolt, could make a run at the goal around Hagrid and take a shot. The Chasers for Harry’s team had no particular coordinated strategy but had excellent reflexes and mobility, as well as a general sense of the play. The biggest problem they had was that Fred and George Weasley were only too happy to be back in a quidditch game at Hogwarts and didn’t mind getting very physical; Madam Hooch, however, countered that with her own very physical game, directed against the twins and Ginny primarily.
The score seesawed until Harry caught a glimpse of the snitch. However, Charlie had been dogging him the whole game, knowing that he was rusty while Harry was at peak conditioning and had a better broom. So instead of making directly for the snitch, Harry dove toward the nearby Hufflepuff banner about ten feet off the ground. It would have been a true Wronski feint if Harry had headed for the ground, but Harry just wanted Charlie occupied, not hospitalized. Charlie was in hot pursuit, craning his neck to see where Harry saw the snitch, getting closer and closer to the banner. Suddenly Harry dove and button-hooked around the banner, but Charlie couldn’t pull out in time and pummeled into the thick brocaded cloth. He got tangled and tumbled to the ground. Harry darted back to midfield where he had seen the snitch go and was able to grab it just seconds before both Weasley twins would have converged on him. Harry ducked and the twins collided with each other, but only obliquely, so that when they fell to the ground, they only wound up bruised and sore, laughing for the sheer joy of the game. The catch of the snitch gave Harry’s team a 120 point victory. After Harry set down, he saw Charlie Weasley stomping toward him. Charlie grabbed Harry in a headlock and rubbed Harry’s head with his knuckles – Harry’s first big-brotherly noogies.
“Take advantage of an old guy, will you?” said Charlie.
Harry grinned and laughed. Ron said, “Well, you aren’t going to take that from him, are you?”
Harry shook free and began to grapple with Charlie. Harry had six months of intensive training behind him, but Charlie had both size and years of wrestling with dragons to toughen him. They pushed and shoved and wrestled fiercely until finally they both got tickled about the situation and started laughing. Once they started, they had trouble stopping and even more trouble wrestling. When they finally calmed down, they realized how cold they had gotten. Everyone walked back up to the castle together for hot mulled wine by the fireplace. Even Snape seemed less tense than usual.
The nest day when Hermione arrived, it was no surprise to Harry, Ron and Ginny that she had a stack of books on ancient Egypt, scarab beetles and archaeology. They had to admit that the materials really were quite fascinating, even if as muggle books they totally failed to address ancient spells and the like. This was actually something of a comfort, as they realized that anything that they learned through these books would be known by Voldemort, a notorious master of all forms of lore. After the celebrations of the previous day, they were all content to read these books and discuss what they learned, apart of course from the breaks they took for meals, exercise and sparring practice. Later that evening they discussed what sort of thing might be in the site Bill was helping to protect. Hermione leaned toward a recipe for a potion, while Ron favored an incantation. Ginny thought it must be for either resurrection or immortality in some form. Harry favored the idea that it was some sort of protective charm. He also claimed that if it was ever revealed it would be a big surprise to everyone, but he didn’t know why he felt that way.

Dedalus Diggle

November 10th, 2003, 4:11 pm

Chapter 37 - Village People

Near the end of January, Harry, Ron and Hermione were working on a Potions essay together when Hermione said somewhat quietly "There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up." Harry had been anticipating this inquiry for some time and was prepared.

"Uh-huh. Don't worry, I'll let you and Ron have your time together. I'm not going."

"Hey, mate," said Ron, aghast "It's not like that."

"Harry, would you stop feeding those rumors?" said Hermione, "We're excellent friends - just like you and I are."

"Sure! Sure you are," teased Harry, "besides it doesn't take me to feed the rumors - remember Seamus's little comment in DADA at the beginning of the school year? I didn't put that idea in his head."

"How could I forget that!?" said Ron, as Hermione rolled her eyes and turned red.

"So, Ron, has you father explained it all to you yet?" said Harry.

"Why - you need me to fill you in?" snarled Ron.

"Alright, relax," said Harry, "Seriously I'm not going to go. It was a right cock-up last time." At the first Hogsmeade weekend that year, Harry had been jumpier than Mad-Eye Moody, expecting Death Eaters at every motion or sound. Hermione had had to countercharm four students and three villagers Harry had hexed, and those were just the ones he had fired on. He couldn't enjoy himself at all. There was at least the consolation that Malfoy and his crowd gave them lots of room,

"Well, you don't have to be that edgy," said Hermione, "Dumbledore wouldn't let you go if he thought there was danger."

"Oh, yeah, Dumbledore has never let me get into a dangerous situation, has he?" said Harry sarcastically.

"But doesn't your scar tell you Voldemort's still out of the country?" she asked.
"Yeah, well, he's got plenty of stooges to do his dirty work, doesn't he? No, I really would just rather stay here. You know me - I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry.

Half the common room overheard that statement and guffawed. "Oh, shut up, all of you," said Harry, grinning.

The morning of the Hogsmeade visit, Hermione fussed over Harry before she and Ron went to the village. "Now you're sure you're going to be okay?"

"What am I? Seven! I've got lots to do, and I'm used to spending time alone. Here: here's a couple of galleons - get me some sugar quills and other stuff like that - nothing goblins or vampires would favor. Oh, and a couple of bottles of butterbeer. Thanks. You two run along now and play nicely."

"Alright, Harry, if you're absolutely sure," said Hermione.

"Hermione, he'll be okay," said Ron, "Besides, after all that he wouldn't admit to wanting company even if he did. Give him a break."

Harry grinned. Ron understood. That was what was so valuable about him as a friend: Hermione's mothering could be really nice, but having a friend like Ron who understood how he thought - most of the time - was invaluable.

After watching them head out of the castle, Harry went back to the Great Hall for a piece of buttered toast and preserves. He had finished most of his homework the night before with Ron and Hermione, who didn't want that hanging over them while they were in the village. He decided he would get his gym bag and take his time with a morning workout.

As he headed to the Hall door, he heard his name called "Harry, Harry!" It was Marietta, "You're not going into the village either?"

"No, I get a little too edgy in places like that."

"So I've heard," she said with a bemused smirk.

"How about you? Why aren't you headed in?" asked Harry.

"Well, y'know, I'm a seventh year, it's not such a big deal anymore, and…" she trailed off.

"Harry smiled "Cho dumped you."

"Yeah."

"Let's see - it's not the Gryffindor Seeker, that's me. It's not the Ravenclaw seeker, that's her. I don't think she fancies Malfoy"

"Ick" said Marietta, with a laugh.

"So that leaves the Hufflepuff Seeker, "said Harry.

"You've observed the pattern, have you?" said Marietta.

"Mind you, I can't blame a girl for seeking Seekers," said Harry with a wink.

"Oh, get off, you! You're not that full of yourself!" she laughed.

"No, I'm not." Harry said seriously, "Thank you, that's one of the nicest things anyone's said about me."

"That's a shame. You really have a lot of nice qualities - I mean besides the rushing into awful danger all the time to save the world," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, I'm really not, um … Say, I was going to go to the gym. Want to come, too?" asked Harry.

"Sure, sounds good. I'll get my bag and meet you there," said Marietta, as she tossed her hair and trotted toward the stairs down to the Ravenclaw dorms.

Harry bounded up the stairs to get his gym bag. This could be pretty nice, he thought, having a friend to work out with.

When they got to the gym, they found it filled with first and second years, who couldn't go into Hogsmeade yet.

"Coach!" went up the call from all around the exercise room. Despite having worked personally in the DA with almost every student there, Harry was treated more as a combination professor and star athlete by the younger students. Marietta had to stifle her laughter at the obvious hero-worship most of them exhibited. Harry rolled his eyes and smiled. He never encouraged that attitude, he thought, but he sort of understood it since he had spent so much time hiding from the Boy Who Lived image. He didn't play it up even now, but if it got the others to prepare for the war, he wasn't going to discourage them.

Harry wasn't even sure how he got caught up in it, but somehow he got goaded into a bit of showing off. Some of the younger students had started chattering around him during his early sets of lifts, talking about how he was taking it easy and could lift a lot more; others said that he was lifting all he could already. Marietta was making gestures that variously teased him for the attention and taunted him to show off. Harry started lifting considerably heavier weight than he was accustomed to and to do more repetitions. He was still careful not to tear anything, but he was pushing his limits. Marietta stepped in to 'spot' him on several lifts, which he had hardly ever needed before. It was after 11 before he knocked off and he and Marietta headed to the locker rooms.

Dedalus Diggle

November 11th, 2003, 6:15 pm

Chapter 38 - Pain Relief

After they showered and dressed, Harry suggested they sit together for lunch. They seemed to be the only students their age around, except for some fifth-years who were already showing signs of OWL-stress, and so were not good company. Since most of the school was at Hogsmeade, there would be no problem with either of them sitting at the other house's table. Indeed, with the camaraderie of the DA, it was not at all unusual to see students of various houses at each other's tables, except at the more formal meals. They sat across from each other.
"You were a real idiot at the gym, you know," said Marietta.
Harry smiled, "I reckon. I know I overdid it."
"Why did you do it?" she asked.
"Dunno. There was such a pack there, and I felt like I was part of it as they cheered me on," Harry answered.
"Yeah, I think I can understand that. I probably should have tried to slow you down, but it got kind of funny," said Marietta, "We can do a lot of stupid things trying to feel like we fit in, can't we?"
"What? Do you feel like you're not really a part of things, like you're … isolated?" asked Harry.
"Oh, absolutely," replied Marietta, "Especially this year."
"I thought it was just me," said Harry, "because I'm, well …"
"You're special, right?" said Marietta in mock anger, "And I'm just common, am I?"
"No, not at all!" said Harry, aghast, "Actually I'm finding very much that's special about you."
"Oh, yeah, what?"
"I guess mostly that I've been able to share my feelings with you and you share yours with me."
"Thanks. That's very sweet."
"But I didn't know that others felt so separate," said Harry.
"Well, I guess I can see how you can feel like you're so unique - things haven't been normal for you since you came to Hogwarts, have they?" said Marietta, with Harry rolling his eyes in agreement. "But most people feel that way much of the time. It seems to come on as a teenager. For the past two or three years, I've had my friends, and we've been very close, but still there's always a gulf. I remember as a child feeling very connected, even if I didn't always understand the world. Now I feel like I'm not really fully a part of the world." Then she added with a laugh, "and it doesn't help when your best friend blows you off whenever a handsome snitch-hound comes along!"
Harry grinned. "That may have been the worst quidditch position for me. Everyone else is always in the flow of activity around the quaffle, coordinating plays, blocking the other team, stealing the quaffle, all that. I circle around, watch for bludgers, sometimes run a bit of interference, and hopefully catch the little blighter. Even as a member of the team, I'm kind of separate."
"But you are very good at it. There's nothing wrong with that. I'll bet the Keepers feel separate, the beaters feel separate, maybe even the chasers. At some point we all realize that each of us is on our own game plan, different from the rest," observed Marietta.
"That sounds so bleak," said Harry.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Marietta, "I really don't mean it to. Some people beat that feeling. They get wrapped up in something bigger than themselves that they really care about."
"I feel like I'm wrapped up in something bigger than myself, but I just want it to be over," said Harry.
"The War?" she asked.
Harry nodded, "There's no escape for any of us from that. But we can only move cautiously if we hope to see it through alive."
"He would really come for us then?"
Again Harry nodded, but more slowly, "For me first, but then the rest of you. He wants immortality and unfettered power, and since I was born, I have been seen as the thing in his way. That gets really old."
Marietta gave a small smile, "I'll bet it does. So how about you - what does the famous Harry Potter want."
"I want it to be over," he said. Then, "No, I want that, of course, with Voldemort and all the Death Eaters gone, but I want to be like Professor Weasley."
"Really?" said Marietta, with genuine surprise, "He's a nice enough guy, I guess, but he's a little goofy and rather poor, isn't he?"
"Goofy maybe, but he's the richest man I know," said Harry, "Have you seen him with his family? He's mad in love with all of them, and they love him, too. Even when Percy turned his back on them last year, Professor Weasley couldn't stop loving him. He's angry with Percy, yes, but he loves Percy and all his family without reserve. It's just fabulous."
"Wow, that puts him in a new light to me," said Marietta, "and you, too. You could seek glory or fame or power, but what calls your heart is love. That's awesome."
"I guess, but it hurts a lot," said Harry, "I'm so keenly aware of the dangers that are brewing that I get visions of everyone I care about dead or terribly hurt."
"You don't just brood about it, but actually see it?" asked Marietta and Harry nodded, "Have you… have you ever seen me that way?"
Harry nodded, "Several times. A few minutes ago I saw you in a pile of rock debris on a street; you were unconscious, maybe dead."
Marietta gasped and put her hand over her mouth, "mangled?"
"No, not mangled, quite beautiful, in fact, if such a thing can be beautiful."
"Oh, well, then, as long as I leave a beautiful corpse!"
"Marietta!"
She laughed at him. "Harry, you say you get these visions about everyone you care about right? And that's almost everyone, right? Well, I'm not going to take it personally then. I mean I'm thrilled you care about me enough to see my death, but I can't live my life avoiding all streets or anyplace there's rock. Besides, you called them visions, not premonitions. It's just your fear and concern playing out in your mind. Come on, let's go do some sparring - it'll get your mind off of all this."
Harry tried to get up but had difficulty. "Oh-oh! All that lifting this morning has me so sore and stiff I can barely move."
"You are such an idiot. I should leave you this way until Granger could rescue you. Come along. We've got a liniment in the Hospital Wing that will heal the muscles and tendons. You're not the first git to overdo exercise. Madam Pomfrey will give me some and we'll go to the Room of Requirement for a massage."
"A massage, I don't know, Marietta," said Harry.
"Now what are you worried about? Is there a part of you I haven't touched already? Not that I know of. You need the liniment worked into your muscles and I'm a healer trainee with massage experience. Would you rather hurt?"
"No, no, I guess you're right. It's not like I have any secrets around you, is it?" admitted Harry.
Marietta helped Harry get up from the table. They laughed as he walked like a rather feeble old man, hobbling up the stairs. Marietta made a side trip without Harry to the Hospital Wing for the liniment and still got caught up with him before he got to the hallway to summon the Room of Requirement. She paced back and forth three times while thinking of a massage room. When the door appeared, they found a massage table in a fairly small room, with soft aimless music playing. Harry started to get up on the table.
"What are you doing? I can't rub this liniment on you in your robes!?" said Marietta.
"Oh, of course," laughed Harry. He took off his robes and his shirt. He had put fresh gym shorts on after his shower.
"Lay on your front first," said Marietta, "just like with the murtlap."
"Okay, but don't levitate me - I've had enough of that," said Harry.
"No, I wouldn't do that. I've got to rub this in pretty hard to make it work." She said as she poured some of the liniment on Harry's left calf and began rubbing it into the muscle."
"Yeowch, that hurts," said Harry.
"Well, what did you expect - you hurt your muscles and now we've got to work this in deep. Oh get back down, you big baby!"
Marietta worked on his muscles one by one. Harry got used to the pain and started to feel relief. They chatted as she worked her way up. She leaned close over him as she worked on his trapezoids and neck muscles. Harry felt her hair tickle his back. She gave him a little slap on the shoulder and told him to roll over. He shifted around and she started from the foot again. They continued to talk about feeling alone and isolated, about their fears and their dreams, about how nice it was to have someone to talk with.
Finally she reached his shoulders again and she leaned across him to work on both sides at once. Harry looked up into her face as she was concentrating on his shoulders. She noticed that he was looking at her and returned his gaze. He put his hands up and around her shoulders. They drew together and began to kiss.

Dedalus Diggle

November 12th, 2003, 2:41 pm

Chapter 39 - Secrecy

Before too long, Harry and Marietta decided they should be elsewhere than the Room of Requirement. Still, they wanted to spend more time together. They sparred for awhile, although Harry had been reluctant without someone to unhex them. Marietta had laughed "Then don't hex me with anything you can't unhex. It's not like I'll get anything past you."
They spent an hour sparring, and just as Marietta foresaw, though she cast spells as fast as any other student but Harry, he deflected, blocked, converted or dodged every spell. On the other hand, while Marietta could keep up with protecting herself when Harry held back, as he approached his full speed, she was soon overwhelmed, even though he limited himself to Level 1 spells. Several times he had to unjinx her, but she took it with a smile and kept on going.
"Wow, Harry, I don't think I've ever seen anyone fighting like that!" she said breathlessly, "Have you?"
"To be honest, not quite that fast, not in a battle. Last year when my godfather was killed, he was almost that fast. And this summer, I sparred against Neville Longbottom's grandmother - she was that fast. You know, that feels kind of stupid, saying I sparred against someone's grandmother. But she easily outdid me - Neville said I held out for five minutes, but it felt like twenty."
"You - lasted that long against HER!" said Marietta, "I guess she's not one for holding out her credentials, but my mother told me about her. She was one of the top auror combat trainers until about fifteen years ago. My mother said she retired when Death Eaters tortured Longbottom's parents."
"You know about that?" asked Harry.
"Of course. It's not a secret, really, although too many parents neglect to tell their children about the dark days of the first War. The trial of those Death Eaters was a big deal. My mother told me all about those times. She stressed how we need to be loyal to the Ministry and cooperate to assure mutual protection."
"You'll forgive me if I don't find the Ministry is all that protective," said Harry darkly.
"No, I can understand that. That's one of the things I've come to understand since, well, what happened last year, that people in the Ministry often have their own goals and use the Ministry as a tool to get them. It's like what you and the others said in that article in The Quibbler. Lovegood passed copies around the dorm. I owled a copy to my mother. She thinks I'm a radical now. Oddly it's not because I believe beings' rights should be respected, but because I think we should expect the Ministry to serve us, rather than the other way around. She's been in the Ministry so long that she sees us all as honeybees bound to serve the hive."
"Hmm, you know, that doesn't sound so different, really, from the goblins' hullabaloos," said Harry thoughtfully, "but somehow when there are only twenty to maybe a hundred or so goblins per hullabaloo and all the members discuss things face-to-face before the glamdring makes a decision, it doesn't seem so oppressive. But the Ministry isn't really like a hullabaloo: there are tens or hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards just in Britain. Most have never seen Fudge or any member of the Wizengamot, other than Dumbledore and those involved in testing, much less been able to discuss things with any of them."
Marietta nodded, "There's a use for a government that covers more people than our own families or communities, since there are issues too big for just that but it can easily become an instrument of plunder and oppression. How do we prevent that?"
"I don't know. I used to hear my uncle complain about the muggle Ministry over the very same things. Funny thing, though, he didn't call it oppression when the British government was giving no-bid contracts to his company."
Finally having been hexed enough, Marietta suggested they go for a walk around the grounds. Harry agreed and they each went to their dorms to put their things away and change to thick clothing. They started out at a stroll, but gradually picked up the pace due to the considerable cold. Harry hadn't intended to, but somehow he started telling Marietta about different adventures he had run into virtually everywhere on the grounds. For some things, like TriWizard Tournament events, Marietta told him how those had seemed to students who didn't really know him. It was refreshing to have that different viewpoint, and Harry was particularly pleased to hear her tell him when he looked foolish or a prat.
Finally Harry stopped "I've been awful - all we've talked about is things I've done."
Marietta smiled, "You've done a lot."
"Yeah, I reckon, but … I don't want to sound like I'm all full of myself."
"Silly boy," teased Marietta, "quite the contrary. You haven't been telling me about how brave or clever or powerful you've been. You've been telling me how grateful you've been for help you've gotten and how overwhelmed you've felt - frightened, embarrassed and above all worried about others. I've heard boys making far more of themselves with far less to base it on." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and they hugged.
Marietta sighed, "We're back at the castle. The rest will be back soon. I guess this is it."
"Yeah, I'll be with my friends tonight. They'll want to talk about Hogsmeade and the Spring Skirmish and things. Can we get together tomorrow?" asked Harry.
"I'm afraid that wouldn't do. Harry, it's been a lovely day. Very special."
"I feel like we've found something special between us," said Harry. Marietta bit her lip. Harry continued "No, don't do that - Hermione always does that when she's about to tell me something she thinks I don't want to hear."
"Harry, I agree - we have found something very special. I want us to keep it special by keeping it a secret."
He frowned. "Do I get a reason?"
"Oh, Harry, I have several of them. One of them is that I violated a sacred rule amongst girls: I kissed my best friend's ex-boyfriend."
"But that was last year," objected Harry, "and Cho and I only had one real date, and we didn't even make it all the way through that one."
Marietta smiled, "Yes, I know all about it. You were both quite foolish. But it's enough that I'm supposed to keep hands off."
"But I thought that rule was honored more in the breach than the keeping. I always hear about girlfriends trying to steal boyfriends away. And this isn't stealing. It's my decision," Harry was starting to rant but not loudly, as Marietta just shook her head. Harry continued, more calmly "That's not the big reason, is it?
"No, I guess not. I'm not ready to be called Harry Potter's girl."
"But Marietta, it's not an acquisition. It's a relationship - at least, I thought it was," said Harry.
"Yes, Harry, oh, please don't think I don't want to be with you. But do we have to be public about it?" asked Marietta, with big, wide, sad eyes.
Harry shook his head and said with a weak smile, "I'm going to have to ask Professor Weasley for a lesson on resisting girls' magic."
"It doesn't sound as if he's ever tried to fight it," said Marietta.
"But then his girl doesn't mind admitting they're together. But if we have to be secret, I'll go along. At least for awhile. I don't want to sneak around like Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater."
"I remember that. Oh, they thought they were so clever. All the Ravenclaw girls knew," she said.
"Can't I talk about …us … with anyone?"
"Who do you have in mind?"
"Well, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore, my portrait of my godfather."
"Can you count on Granger to keep a secret?"
"Absolutely. She's very good at helping me keep secrets when I need to - she's better at thinking up cover stories."
"I've seen the way you two work together - she'd know in an instant anyway. Alright then, those three. You're really on that kind of a level with Dumbledore?"
Harry nodded. "You know," he said, "there must be well over a hundred first and second years who've seen us walking arm-in-arm today. And look around - probably thirty of them saw us kiss."
She laughed. "I'm not fanatical about secrecy. I just don't want to become an 'item' yet."
Harry tilted his head downward and peered into her eyes. "Are you sure you want anything beyond today with me at all?"
"Yes. And no. If it weren't for the war and the danger around you, I'd be certain. I just don't know about letting myself feel committed to someone who …"
"Might be gone anytime?" Harry said matter-of-factly, "I can understand that."
"Thanks, Harry, I'll really try to work out my issues about this."
"So what happens now? Publicly, you're just another DA team member I know."
"And the healer who's seen the most of you," she grinned and winked. "We'll find some opportunities to get together, I promise."
Harry gave her one last kiss and let her go on up to the castle alone. He wanted to walk and think some more.

Dedalus Diggle

November 13th, 2003, 1:48 pm

Chapter 40 - The Strategy of Second Chances

Late winter was a very busy time. Preparations for the Spring Skirmish continued, with Ernie McMillan designated the other squad captain besides Ron, and ground rules being set to minimize injuries while maintaining the realities of warfare. The teams were divided up according to their team leaders. Fred and George decided they couldn't afford to shut their shop, so they drew straws and Fred got the short one, meaning he'd have to mind the store. His team members who were staying for Spring Break were to be divided up amongst the teams to even out the numbers. Excitement was very high throughout the school, except of course, among those Slytherins who had not joined the DA. Indeed upon announcement of the plans for the Spring Skirmish, another dozen Slytherins joined the DA, and Harry made a point of working especially with them to bring them up to par with the others of comparable age.
The progress of the DA in skills was also unabated. Most of the older students had already progressed to learning the Level 2 spells, and the younger students had mostly mastered the Level 1 spells. Speed and accuracy had been improved, as well as effectiveness of the Protego and other protective spells. It's amazing what getting hit a few times will do for your motivation to learn defense, thought Harry. There were now a full thirty students who had tested their patronus against the lethiform, including Ted Nott from Slytherin. Neville still could manage only a wisp - Harry tried and tried to work with Neville for a sufficiently happy thought, but they couldn't find one. Tonks came in to practice dueling with the senior DA group, and got trounced as often as she won, which built confidence tremendously. She got seriously irate with Harry when she realized that he was holding back against her, as if she were a junior student. To get him to go at her with everything he had, she changed her appearance to look like Bellatrix LeStrange and taunted him with "Ickle baby Potter." She had to spend the night in the Hospital Wing and vowed that she would never pull a stunt like that again.
Apparation was coming along excellently, as well. Harry had tested for moving objects and had proceeded to practicing Apparating living things. He began with an earthworm in his pocket, but by early March he was moving mice, nifflers and other small to medium-sized animals. Most of the rest of the sixth-year DA members also were doing fine with Apparating. The team leaders and Hermione were able to Apparate their whole bodies short distances - except for Neville, who still refused to give up, although he had never progressed beyond dependably Apparating his hand. When he tried doing his forearm, it appeared on the far side of the room, but not attached to his body. Although the pain brought tears to his eyes, he just stood up, fetched his arm, and went to Madam Hooch for unsquinching. The next class session, he was back again.
Harry would have liked to have spent time with Marietta, but opportunities were terribly scarce. She got Luna and Cho and their friends to join her next to Harry and his friends at the Hufflepuff-Slytherin game, but they talked as if they were merely fellow members of the DA. Still they sneaked the occasional glances, and touching of the hands. Occasionally Harry noticed that they had been spied by Hermione, with whom he had already discussed the situation, and she made small, secret smiles toward him. She had been suspicious at first of Marietta's desire for secrecy, but when she asked Harry if he had had the same feeling in trusting her that he had had when he saw the intelligence in Mrs. Longbottom's mind, and he confirmed it was so, she was convinced. She also was reassured that Marietta had agreed that she could be told in confidence. She helped cover for him at times, and enjoyed making double-entendre's concerning them that only she and Harry understood. It seemed to Harry that she was both happy that he had someone special and concerned that he could not express it openly.
In the Slytherin-Hufflepuff game, Slytherin decided they were going to take the opportunity against a much weaker Hufflepuff team to roll up the score, so Draco Malfoy passed up the opportunity several times to catch the snitch so the chasers could continue putting goals through. Hufflepuff managed to score 70 points, all but 10 of those on penalty shots, before Malfoy finally was forced to seize the snitch to keep the Hufflepuff seeker from getting it. Slytherin ended with 330 points.
As for the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw game, this was the opportunity for Ron to roll out his new professional-style quidditch offense. He had worked out a system of hand and whistle signals to call plays. It was a very sophisticated system, and worked as well as could be expected for the amount of practice time they had. Several times Ron gave whistle signals to Harry calling him in to make a dive across the path of Ravenclaw chasers trying to stop Ginny from scoring. Ravenclaw was kept in the game by the high skill level of their chasers, as well as Ron's workmanlike but not stellar defense. Then, with the score 120 - 100 in Gryffindor's favor, Harry heard the whistle for the interference play again. As he committed to the maneuver with maximum acceleration, he saw the snitch at midfield, not fifty yards from Cho, and very close to where he would have been patrolling if he had not been called into the play. As he completed the maneuver (he could not pull out without blatching a Ravenclaw chaser and likely injuring both himself and the chaser), he turned back to where he had seen the snitch only to see Cho beginning her victory flight with the snitch held high. He caught her eye, smiled, and made a gesture like he was tipping his hat.
In the locker room, they got word that Professor McGonagall wanted Ron, Katie and Harry in her office as soon as possible. She glowered at them all as they entered together, and Ron clearly would have hidden if he had not been nearly a head taller than either Harry or Katie.
"Well …" she demanded.
"Um, the new offense worked pretty well," said Katie timidly.
"Oh, that means we won the game then, does it?"
"Um, no."
"And why not, Potter," continued McGonagall.
"Because I was involved in a play at goal rather than in position for Seeking," said Harry quietly.
"And WHY was he out of position, WEASLEY!"
Ron took a deep breath and said loudly and firmly, "Because he was following my orders as captain in directing the play. It's all my fault, not Harry, not Katie's"
"Well," said Professor McGonagall more calmly, "That's the best decision you've made all day. But you're wrong. I made them assistant captains so they would keep you from making rookie mistakes like that! You got all wrapped up in the cleverness of your tactics and forgot about strategy, and strategy is something that they should have worked out with you beforehand. Plays involving seekers should only be called when opposing seekers have been disrupted by a bludger or the snitch is known to be far away from her. You had no idea where the snitch was and Miss Chang was in position to swoop onto it whenever it might appear. In chess terms, it's like sending your queen into a trap just to get at a pawn you've got a grudge against. You have the best seeker in Hogwarts' history with you and you use him like an extra beater! Does that make any sense at all?"
"No, maam," said Ron quietly, "I'll resign."
"Refused! What good would that do?" said McGonagall, "I can't turn the team over to these two - they didn't teach you strategy either. Besides, as boneheaded as that was, you're still a better captain than you are a keeper. No, I am highly disappointed, livid even, but I am not going to cut off my nose to spite my face. I cannot punish you for poor judgment. But I can assign remedial work. Here" she said, pulling an enormous book off her shelf and slamming it into Ron's arms, making him stagger, "here is the top work on quidditch strategy. It assumes you have developed a fair number of decent plays, as you have, and instructs you on how to call them. I want you to read this and give me four scrolls on how you will employ these ideas for the Slytherin game. I expect it in two weeks, and I want you two to read through what he has and make sure that it is all sound. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Maam," they all said quickly.
"Dismissed."
Over the following two weeks, Ron impressed Harry with how seriously he took the assignment. He knew Ron hated to lose at chess or quidditch, but Ron attacked the project with determination only rivaled by Harry's and Neville's work on becoming fighters. When Ron gave copies of his work to Katie and Harry after the Thursday DA meeting before he was to present it to McGonagall, they found he had actually written 9 scrolls. As Harry read through it, he realized that Ron had not just analyzed the book in terms of quidditch strategy, which was there in full detail, but had also broadened it to apply to chess and battlefield strategy. Harry realized that in this Ron had produced a work of art to equal the best of Hermione's essays in any class. While Harry had become the school's preeminent fighter and trainer, Ron had become the preeminent strategist.

Dedalus Diggle

November 14th, 2003, 1:45 pm

Chapter 41 - Skirmish

The morning of the Spring Skirmish dawned gray but dry. The excitement was evident throughout the Great Hall during breakfast. The din was irrepressible. All participants gathered at 8:00 a.m. before the front steps as Harry laid out the procedures. Both teams were given a designated area at either end of the grounds as headquarters. The interior of the castle was off-limits, but the various exterior nooks, crannies and cloisters were fair territory. The Forest edge was allowed only to ten feet deep; referees who thought someone was approaching violation were to fire yellow warning sparks (and as Harry noted, this would give away the offender's position, so it would be best to take no chances). No brooms or Apparating was allowed for participants. Only Level 1 and 2 spells were allowed. Squads were allowed to unhex their members as needed. In the event of injury preventing further participation, the injured member was to send up red sparks if able, or someone would do it for them if unable. A referee would intervene to evacuate that person, who could not return to the skirmish. Life-threatening injuries would bring on a cease-fire to be signaled by a very loud bang and a purple flare. Squads were to be awarded 1 point for every member not bearing any injuries when the end was called, an extra point for every member who entirely avoided being hexed or otherwise injured, 50 points for capturing the paddock behind Hagrid's hut (creatures had been removed to safe locations), and 100 points would be awarded if a team captured the opposing headquarters.
The skirmish was to start at 9:00 sharp. The squads were then sent off to their respective headquarters to establish position and set their strategies. The referees, all on riding brooms (both for observational and safety advantages), established pre-arranged positions that allowed them to observe the entire territory, with an emphasis on expected conflict points.
When Harry sent up the green flare to start the Skirmish, neither side could see much of the other's movements out of their headquarters. After about fifteen minutes, Ginny's platoon, part of Ron's squad, emerged from the edge of the Forest and seized the paddock, making great noise and firing many spells, looking for all the world like half of Ron's squad had been committed to an early seizure of the paddock. Ernie hastily gave orders for seven of his platoons to counter-attack before the position could be established. The counter-attackers engaged Ginny's platoon, which laid low but fired back fiercely. Suddenly, the counter-attackers found themselves surrounded. Ron had moved several of his platoons behind nearby ridges and hillocks. The counter-attackers found themselves cut off from the rest of their forces, pressed down in a ravine to avoid the spells being fired on them every time one of them showed any part of him- or herself. Ron was able to pin down those seven platoons with but two of his own. He assigned Marietta's platoon to hold the paddock and established forward lines along a ridge facing Ernie's headquarters.
As the day went on, the surrounded platoons tried several times to break out, but their crowding made it difficult for them to use their spells simultaneously, while Ron's forces were positioned to fire continuously into the opposing forces. The referees were kept busy evacuating the fallen members of the surrounded platoons and by noon, they had all fallen or been captured.
In the meantime, Ernie saw his squad had no chance unless he could eliminate a large portion of Ron's squad. He had a very strong defensive ridge on his right flank, so he kept two of his remaining platoons there, kept two on the far left flank near the Forest, and then concentrated the remaining firepower on the very center of Ron's squad and ordered an attack to divide Ron's forces. There was a hill with scattered trees in the center, and although nearly a dozen members fell in the attack, they were able to seize that hill. That enabled them to pin down Ron's forces near the Forest and keep them from being reinforced by the half on the opposite side. Ernie kept two platoons on top of the hill to enforce the separation, and sent the rest down the far side of the hill to encircle Ron's troops near the forest. This could have been blocked by Marietta's platoon from the paddock, but Ron gave the signal to hold ground, and instead ordered an immediate attack by four of the Forest-side platoons against the surrounding forces. Fierce wand-to-wand combat broke out all along that half of the field. Only rarely could the stationary forces on either squad fire into the melee, as there was too great a chance of hitting one's own troops.
It appeared to Ernie that all of Ron's Forest-side troops must be involved, so he ordered an attack by his remaining Forest-side troops. However, Ron's reserve platoons were ready for them and made short work of them. Rather than enter the melee, Ron sent them to encircle Ernie's right flank troops, who were quickly pinned down in gullies where a single platoon of Ron's squad could contain them. The younger students of the remainder were sent to encircle the hill in the center and the older students were sent to join in the wand-to-wand fighting. With Ernie's forces outnumbered 3-1, all but those on the hill were quickly jinxed or captured. Finally, at 4 p.m., Ernie sent up white surrender sparks. He had less than two dozen troops left and held only the crown of the hill. He was very gracious to Ron in defeat, and Ron had praise for Ernie and his squad as well. But everyone knew that Ron had seized the opportunity and mastered the situation.
The next several hours were spent on the injured. The referees, Harry, Hermione and Marietta went around the field, unjinxing those they could, stabilizing those that needed immediate assistance, and assigning other students to bring those that needed it up to the Hospital Wing. In the end there were some three dozen students, mostly from Ernie's squad, who had received such a combination of jinxes that Madam Pomfrey was needed to sort out the problems.
Even among the injured, at least those that were conscious, the enthusiasm was enormous. All the students felt that they had learned a lot about actual fighting and about their own ability to perform in combat. All, that is, except for Marietta's platoon. They had not seen any action. They were not involved in the initial feint to draw out and surround opposing forces at the paddock, and they had been kept at the paddock even when the battle had bypassed that area.
One pair of first-years from Hufflepuff who were in Marietta's team came to Harry, "Coach, we never got into any of the action - did Weasley think we couldn't fight?"
Harry tried to reassure them that they were getting training equal to anyone's, and that Ron just wanted to keep the paddock secure since that was the initial goal of the Skirmish. They accepted what he said, but he couldn't tell if what he took for reluctance was really there, or it was his own doubts about the situation.
After the field had been cleared, the uninjured students went to dinner, except the senior DA members who preferred to check on the injured in the Hospital Wing first. Of course, Hermione and Marietta, along with Mrs. Weasley, were in the thick of providing care, mostly administering potions, either orally or topically. The team leaders visited their own team members first, and then generally visited around. Madam Pomfrey reassured them that as busy as it looked, she'd have them all ready to go by the morning. She gave a wink to Harry and said "I can live with this."
Ginny called Harry over with a smirk on her face. She whispered "Have you noticed Dad over there in the rocker by the fireplace? He almost wrenched his neck when he saw Mum in the healer uniform and he's been sitting there watching her ever since with that goofy grin. She looks over every so often and gives him a smile. Sometimes she even blows him a kiss."
Harry laughed, "I guess she's not making it back to The Burrow tonight."
"Ewww," Ginny said, laughing.
"Oh, you and Ron need to get over it. It's delightful," said Harry. "Speaking of Ron, did you see where he went?"
"Oh, umm, yeah, over there with Hermione."
"Do you reckon he fancies the healer uniform, too?" teased Harry.
"Ewww! Hex me, Harry, Stun me. Obliviate. Anything!" said Ginny with a laugh.
Harry came up to Ron and said quietly, "Can we go outside and talk?"
As they got outside the Hospital Wing, Ron asked "What's up, Harry?"
"Ron, I'm concerned. You didn't use Marietta's team at all."
"They held the paddock."
"They didn't see any action - we wanted people to get some practice in action."
"I didn't need them. We needed to hold the paddock," replied Ron.
"By the time you had them in place there, you had the upper hand. If the battle shifted so badly that you could have lost the paddock, it already would have been too late."
"I didn't get a chance to put them in," answered Ron.
"In six and a half hours!?" said Harry, "Ron, you nearly got your right flank encircled and Marietta's team could have stopped it. I saw you order them to stay put, while you got most of the rest of your right flank involved in individual combat. Most of the people here are from that part of the battle. I think a few people got so wrapped up in it that they forgot themselves and went to level 3 spells. There could have been lasting injuries!"
"I had to have units I could rely on," said Ron.
"Well, the team members are as good as any other team - wait a second, are you saying you couldn't rely on Marietta?"
"I was concerned that when things got heated, she would waver."
"Ron, I thought we had been through this several times before. She deserves a second chance, but you just won't let up! Besides, what better time is there to find out who you can rely on than when it's a game!?"
"I play certain games to win, Harry," said Ron.
Hermione came out "Can you two take this elsewhere? We can all hear you in there. It's really not helpful."
"It's okay, Hermione," said Ron, stomping off, "I was just leaving."
Harry watched him leave, then looked for a second at Hermione and then went back into the Hospital Wing. There were a couple of others he had not yet visited. When it was over, he sat in one of the recessed windows thinking. After the ward got quieter, he heard a soft voice behind him.
"Thanks for sticking up for me," said Marietta.
"You heard?"
"Pretty hard not to. I guess everyone will soon know that I have something to live down."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it there. I was mad about how he treated you, and also how it was going to affect your team. They have to be confident they're getting proper help."
"I know. Maybe we can do a demonstration for them to show I know my stuff." She took his hand, "But it really touches me that you would stand up to your friend like that for me."
"Oh, well, we'll get past that. We've been through worse. He can be such a bonehead sometimes."
"Good. I'd hate for you to lose a good friend, especially, "she paused and then continued, "because of what I have to tell you now."
Harry turned to her, "I don't like the sound of that."
"It won't get better. Harry, I had quite a few hours out there to watch the battle and think. Remember that afternoon when you told me all those stories of the dangers you've faced here? What do they have in common?"
Harry thought a second, "I could have died."
Marietta nodded, "and why do you train so hard?"
Harry looked down, "Because I never know when Voldemort is going to try again to kill me."
Marietta nodded more slowly, "and why were you not at Hogsmeade that day?"
"Because I am so anxious about people trying to kill me that I hex everything around me that moves."
"Harry, none of us has any guarantee that we'll live past the moment we are in now. But the prospects are different for some than for others. If I were a life insurance salesman, I don't think I'd be writing any Harry Potter policies. I love you, Harry. I am ever so grateful for the second chance you gave me, and all the training, and standing up for me, but most importantly for the hours we've spent together. You are the most wonderful person I've ever known, and I'd say that to anyone. I love you, Harry Potter, but I just cannot allow myself to be in love with you. I couldn't bear to see someone killed who I loved as much as I could easily love you. Watching all that fighting made me realize I couldn't stand to live with that constant fear. I'm not brave like you are. Maybe it's just that I have a choice whether to bear it and you don't. Would you accept living with that fear if you had a choice?"
Harry felt sick to his stomach. "No, I … maybe. I don't know. I guess I understand what you're saying."
"You don't have to like it," she said softly.
"Well, that's big of you," said Harry bitterly. "So that's it, eh? 'Nice knowing you. Ta-ta. See you around. Don't call me, I'll call you.'?"
"Oh, Harry, I hope not. I hope we're still very special friends. I'll work out with you anytime, or go for walks; we can talk, and spend time together. Just please don't expect there to be a 'just the two of us.' Perhaps when this war is over, or if I become stronger, but I just can't give my heart to someone who attracts so much danger. Please say you understand."
Harry nodded and she hugged him. He hugged her back and buried his face in her shoulder. Under his breath, he swore. She pulled him even closer, "I agree."
She pulled away and left. Harry stood there a long time, leaning against the wall with his hands on either side of the window, looking out at nothing in particular, seeing just the blackness he felt.
After a time, he felt a hand on his back. It was Hermione: "Harry, are you alright?"
"Just dandy."
"No, you're not, Harry. I heard it all. I'm so sorry."
"Well, who can blame her. I've pulled away from everyone I love this whole year thinking I'd save myself some pain. Why should I expect her to do any different? I tried to avoid the pain and couldn't. She has a choice."
"I know. There's no one right here to blame. It's this awful war. The tension is terrible, but sometime sooner or later, it's going to come to open fighting, and we'll look back on this as a happy interval."
"Calmer, maybe. I don't see how this could be happy," said Harry, "Hermione? When is it my chance to love and to live? I tried not to love, but I couldn't make it that way. I don't want to be alone."
She hugged him and he hugged back, putting his head on her shoulder. "You're not alone, Harry. There are people who care very much for you. Not because of what they hope you'll do, but because of who you are."
They stood like that for several minutes. Suddenly Harry started back, pressing his eyes hard shut. He rubbed at his scar. He looked around in a panic. "Where are they, where are the Weasleys?"
Hermione looked around as well. Madame Pomfrey had heard him ask and said, "They left together ten minutes ago."
Harry ran for the door and yelled, "Get them! All the Weasleys. To the dorm. Bill's in big trouble. The site's going to be destroyed! I'll tell Dumbledore!" And he was gone out the door, with Hermione only a few steps behind headed to the dungeons.

Dedalus Diggle

November 15th, 2003, 3:22 am

Chapter 42 - To The Rescue

Harry came through the portrait-hole to the Gryffindor common room at a run. "Coach!" went up the cheer from the mass of Gryffindors still burning off the excess energy from the Skirmish. They all wanted to bring him into their activities, but he just pushed madly through, yelling "It's an emergency" repeatedly. Harry saw Ron standing with several others talking animatedly. Ron scowled toward Harry, but Harry grabbed him by the collar, yelling "It's Bill!"
Harry flew up the stairs with Ron close behind. He threw open his trunk and pulled things aside carelessly to get to the mirror. Grabbing it, he jumped onto his bed, calling for Professor Dumbledore before he even landed. There was no immediate response. Sirius's portrait asked "Harry, what's wrong?"
"Sirius," said Harry, "It's Bill Weasley. He's in grave danger. I need to speak to Dumbledore. Can you go through the school portraits to find him?"
"I'm on it!" said Sirius, disappearing from the portrait. Ron tried to ask what was happening, when Ginny came in, saying "What's going on?" Not five seconds later she was followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley, followed by Hermione.
"Mr. Weasley! Can you contact Bill? Everyone at the site is in danger."
"Harry! Harry!" It was Dumbledore's voice from the mirror. "What is it, Harry? Sirius said there was an emergency."
"Voldemort's given up on trying to break into the site directly. He's going to do something to the site to keep others from it, too. He waited till dark so that all the goblins and wizards who have been working on it would be killed too, so they couldn't come back later to keep working on it!"
"Okay, Harry. I can take care of it. You and all the Weasleys go to Professor Weasley's office. I'll talk to you there," Professor Dumbledore said quickly, then disappeared from the mirror.
Harry stood there panting for a few seconds. Then Professor Weasley said "Alright then, let's all head down. Give us the details when we get there, Harry. Take the mirror with you, in case the Headmaster prefers to speak with you that way. Hermione, you come, too."
As Harry started for the door, Molly Weasley stepped in front of him and caught him in a bear hug. "I don't know what we'd do without you, Harry."
He stepped back, "Without me! Without me, none of these awful things would have happened. Bill wouldn't be under attack. Professor Weasley wouldn't have been bitten last year. Percy wouldn't have split with you last year if the Ministry weren't calling me a fruitcake. Ginny wouldn't have been possessed. You Weasleys are being torn apart because of me - and you hug me and thank me? You ought to be hexing me into St. Mungo's!"
"No, Harry! We'll have none of that. Those are evil things to be sure, but they were caused by evil people. You may be the focus, but you are not the cause and you cannot feel guilty. We knew what we were getting into when we accepted you into our home. We will not allow you to take blame for all this. Goodness knows you have enough to carry without taking Voldemort's guilt as well."
"Absolutely," said Ron, putting his arm around Harry's shoulder.
Ginny took Harry's hand in both of hers "Harry, I'll not be having you taking the blame for what happened to me. Mum and Dad had taught me enough that I should have known better than to mess with a possessed object. I was the fool: you were the hero - got that!"
Harry nodded and gave her a hug. "I am so sick and tired of living with all this danger."
Arthur Weasley put a hand on his shoulder. "Of course you are, Harry. You'd be a fool to feel otherwise. The most dangerous thing you ought to be facing is the next quidditch match. You should be able to date girls without having visions of them dead or hurt. I wish I could tell you when it would end, but I can't. But I can tell you this much - you'll have a pack of Weasleys with you all the way."
"Thank you. I cannot tell you what that means to me," said Harry.
"Alright, then, let's head down to my office," said Arthur, "Dumbledore'll be expecting us there."
"Erm, Professor Weasley," said Hermione shyly, "perhaps I should run on ahead and, erm, tidy up a bit … considering how things were when I got down there."
Arthur glanced at his wife then said "Oh … yes, Hermione, that would be a good idea."
Ron looked at his father and then his mother and said "Why, what's the …" then he winced and said "Oh, Mum! Dad!"
"Ewww!" said Ginny, laughing.

Dedalus Diggle

November 16th, 2003, 3:58 am

Chapter 43 - Disaster Averted

Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys gathered at Professor Weasley's office and sat quietly. Harry hung on to the mirror and stared at it as if it might run away. Arthur Weasley used the Floo network to keep Fred, George and Charlie informed, while Molly Weasley got Winky to bring in some tea and a few butterbeers. Harry never looked up as he explained what he could figure out about the situation. He didn’t get very far before Dumbledore appeared in the mirror.
“Disaster averted!” he reassured them.
“And Bill?” said Molly.
“He’s uninjured.”
“That’s weak, Albus,” said Arthur, “what is his situation?”
“When I reached him, he and a company of goblins were at the excavation and a sandstorm had just started. They thought it was just a typical desert storm and were going to wait it out. I told Bill what Harry told me and Bill said the storm was turning fiercer than most. He gathered all the goblins next to the structure and conjured a shell over them. The sandstorm filled in the entire excavation, so they are currently buried under 60 feet of sand.”
Both Weasley parents put their hands to their mouths and Hermione gasped.
“They have enough air for days, and the rest of the goblins in the area are even now digging them out. Unfortunately there are anti-Apparation-spells in place to protect against sneak attacks, so they can’t get out that way. It would take less time to dig them out than to adjust the spells. But as long as they aren’t attacked again, they will be fine.”
“They won’t be attacked,” said Harry.
“He’s returning here, Harry?” asked Dumbledore.
“Yes,”
“Alright, Harry,” said Dumbledore, “we need to go through exactly what you are able to tell about Voldemort’s thoughts. First, take me through exactly what you knew of the attack.”
“Yes, Professor. I had been feeling his frustration growing for months. Finally, he decided that his efforts there were unavailing and there was a more promising path. He has not given up on getting what’s in the … he thinks of it as a shrine. He didn’t want anyone to open the shrine while he was away from the area, so he decided to make it inaccessible and to kill all those who were working on opening it. He felt himself very clever at coming up with a way to do both with one act, but I could not tell exactly what the plan was. I knew it was something like a flood, but not exactly that.”
“You have come a long way, Harry,” said Dumbledore, “especially for reading from so far away. I hope that he is not equally able to read your mind.”
“I believe he is, but he is rather contemptuous of me, so he only bothers when he wants something. Also, the more love I feel, the more unpleasant it is for him to look into my mind.”
“Well, you’re surrounded by people right now that are more than willing to help in that regard.”
“I know, and I am so grateful that they have refused to run from me. Goodness knows they ought to.”
“What do you know of his current plans?”
“He still wants access to the shrine and whatever’s in it. He thinks he has safeguarded it and is traveling back either to Britain or very nearby. He has people placed with some sort of capacity to get to it, but he’s waiting for something to happen to strike. I’m not sure what, but it seems to have to do with the law to make the goblins take down their anti-Apparation spells.”
“Of course, “said Arthur, “the spells come down and he sends Death Eaters in for a quick raid.”
“Perhaps,” said Dumbledore, “But the vote on that won’t come until late next month and that article in The Quibbler has done a marvelous job raising public sentiment against it. We stand a very good chance of getting it rejected.”
“Professor,” said Harry to the mirror.
“Yes, Harry?” said Dumbledore.
“I know that what Professor Weasley said makes sense, but I don’t think that’s it. There’s something about overcoming the goblins’ self-defense.”
“I wondered about that, Harry for two reasons. First, the goblins are quite formidable in their own right, especially in defense of their homes and property. And second, the new law would require removal of anti-Apparation spells from the homes, but it would not do so for the vaults. The spells on the vault containing the scarab itself, assuming it is there, must be overcome. The goblins can open the vaults, of course, but it is hard to imagine what would motivate them to betray the owners of a vault – it goes against what is almost the deepest magic of their kind.”
“Almost the deepest, Headmaster?” said Ginny, “what is deeper for them?”
“Excellent question, Miss Weasley: protection of home and obedience to their glamdring, and the glamdring could not bring himself to order violation of the sanctity of the vault for anything less than protection of lives. But there are other ways to defeat protective spells long enough to remove a small package – unfortunately quite a number of them so we can’t be sure what to protect against.”
“Harry, does your scar tell you anything else?”
“Voldemort is going to sleep about now, quite pleased with himself over what he has done to Bill and the goblins there.”
“That’s another reason I didn’t want Bill to suddenly evacuate. If he had, it would be obvious that you were reading Voldemort’s mind. He seems not to yet be aware of the range and detail you are capable of.”
“Well, the less he thinks about me, the better I like it.”
“I understand, Harry, but we both know that will be only a temporary respite.”

Dedalus Diggle

November 17th, 2003, 4:45 am

Chapter 44 – Quidditch Cup

Near the end of April was the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff game. Ravenclaw intended to use the match to run up their score against a much weaker team, but the Hufflepuff seeker proved again adept at finding the snitch, although he couldn’t beat out his more experienced opposite in getting to and catching it. When Cho grabbed it, she secured a 210 – 20 point win for Ravenclaw. This gave Ravenclaw a total of 770 points toward the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with only the Gryffindor-Slytherin game to go. Going into the game, Slytherin had 570 points and thus needed 200 points to win the Cup, and Gryffindor had 520 points and needed 250 points to win. Tensions were high between Slytherin and both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, but the rivalry between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was not sufficient to overcome the camaraderie of the DA. Indeed, the Ravenclaw students were just as active as Gryffindor’s and Hufflepuff’s in protecting Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team from pre-game attacks by Slytherin.
The morning of the game was a picture perfect mid-May day. Both teams took to the air knowing full well that their plans extended beyond just winning the current game. Harry pointed out to the rest of the team that Slytherin was using both Crabbe and Goyle for beaters, which usually was a sign that a very physically aggressive game was planned. Both Seekers knew that while victory depended on their abilities, they also were not to go for the snitch before their Chasers had scored sufficient points to win the House Cup. At the toss of the Quaffle, Katie Bell was able to grab it and just as she was tossing it to Ginny she was hit hard by Crabbe acting as if he was trying to knock the Quaffle away. Madam Hooch issued a warning. Ginny in the meantime had already made for the goal and scored.
On the next play, Slytherin had the Quaffle and were working it toward the goal. Ginny intercepted the Quaffle but was immediately elbowed in the nose by Goyle, causing profuse bleeding. Madam Hooch called Goyle for cobbing and Ginny was given a penalty shot, which was blocked. Slytherin retrieved it and again was working toward the goal. Harry saw Draco Malfoy give a hand signal to Crabbe and Goyle. They both ran interference to allow Slytherin to make a scoring approach on the goal, and then circled around. They both began converging at top speed on the right goal just as the Slytherin Chaser made a slow half-hearted throw toward that same goal. Ron proudly headed off the quaffle and was immediately sandwiched by Crabbe and Goyle and dropped from his broom. Harry just had time to pull his wand and levitate Ron before he hit the ground. There was a time out while Ginny retrieved Ron’s broom. Harry tried to set Ron down, but he could only stand on one leg. Hermione, who had been serving as the team trainer since she started healer training, ran out and checked him.
“Both bones in your lower leg are broken, Ron,” she said, “Madam Pomfrey can fix you up – I’ll take you up to the Hospital Wing.”
“NO!” shouted Ron, “Splint it. I’ve broken it before. I’ll keep playing. I may not be the best Keeper in the world, but there are no substitutions in Quidditch, so I’m all we’ve got. We have no chance without a defense.”
Katie looked worried. “Ron, are you sure? That’s got to hurt incredibly.”
“I’ll be alright. I won’t have to put weight on it once I’m in the air,” insisted Ron.
“Well, alright, but here’s an idea,” suggested Katie, “we’ll make Slytherin think we’re going to toss the Cup Ravenclaw’s way. Harry will act like he’s trying to get the snitch immediately, and they’ll dog him instead of you.”
“Harry,” said Ron, “it’s time to see what kind of moves you can make. You can’t last long with all three of Malfoy and his goons after you. It’s time to try a Wronski feint like you did at Christmas, only this time, put them into the ground.”
“I hate to injure anyone, but I watched them plot what they did to you, so I’ll do it,” said Harry.
After they were back in the air, Ginny and Katie took and made the penalty shots called on Crabbe and Goyle for blatching. Harry let the game go for awhile, during which time, Slytherin was able to score four goals. Ron was unable to effectively block with his leg in a splint. Harry then made a swing toward the stands and gave a poorly hidden smile, thumbs-up and blown kiss toward Marietta. He and she knew it was toward her, but to everyone else, who had known that he and Cho had dated last year, it looked like he was telling Cho that he was going to swing the Cup toward her team as a ploy to get back in her favor again. The gesture was not lost on Malfoy, who signaled to Crabbe and Goyle. Harry immediately began his snitch-hunting pattern, with Draco keeping nearby and Crabbe and Goyle patrolling just a little further off. Then just as Slytherin’s Keeper blocked a shot, Harry began a full speed stoop toward the ground, appearing for all the world like he was going for the snitch. He even made little adjustments like he was seeing it shifting position. Draco was right on his tail and Crabbe and Goyle not far behind, but losing ground because of the strain on their brooms of handling so much more weight. Harry was stretching for the snitch not six feet from the ground at an 80 degree angle, when he suddenly withdrew his hand, locking his legs and arms around the broom and turned sharply under so that he was hanging from his broom as it came to within two feet of the ground before arcing back upward. Draco was caught completely by surprise and plowed straight into the ground, broom and all. There were several crackling sounds, as both broom and bones cratered into the soft, but not soft enough, sod. Crabbe and Goyle, who had lagged behind, were able to brake their brooms just enough to plant their feet hard without breaking their legs.
Madam Hooch called time as Slytherin’s trainer came out. Malfoy had obviously broken too many bones to stay in the game, to say nothing of having a three foot shard of broomstick through his upper thigh. He was levitated and removed toward the Castle, but not before he called to Crabbe and Goyle to “Keep on Potter.” The teams took to the air again, and true to their instructions, Crabbe and Goyle kept near Harry, but took every opportunity they could to pound the bludgers toward Ron and to personally collide with Gryffindor's chasers. As the game wore on, Gryffindor was looking more and more haggard. Katie signaled to Ron who called time out.
They met at the base of the goal, not setting down due to Ron’s leg.
“What’s up, Katie?” asked Ron.
“Ron, Harry, team, we have to make a decision. We’re getting beaten up awfully out there. You can’t stop goals, and we haven’t scored in almost an hour. They already have 160 and we only have 40.”
“So what are you saying?” asked Ron.
“I’d rather see the cup go to Ravenclaw. They’ve been playing good and clean quidditch. I’d rather Harry end this now, let us enjoy beating Slytherin and let Ravenclaw have the Cup.
“Katie, I can’t believe you’re giving up,” said Ron.
“Ron, I’m a seventh-year. Having another Cup would mean an awful lot to me. But I have to be realistic. We just can’t take anymore. We’ve all been hit by the bludgers. We haven’t been scoring goals. If we wait much longer, even Harry catching the snitch won’t give us the win, so Slytherin will end up with winning both the game and the Cup. I’d rather just end it as soon as Harry can catch the snitch, salvage the dignity of winning the game and let Ravenclaw have the Cup.”
The rest of the team agreed, so Ron said “Alright. At least the rest of us will have next year. But at least do your best to score – maybe you can play up the fouls and get some foul shots in. Let’s not entirely give up yet, alright?”
“You got it, Cap’n” said Katie, with a salute.
The break seemed to do the team some good. Sloper and Kirke began to be more effective keeping the bludgers aimed at Slytherin players, and the chasers were able to get several fouls called and made two of them. But then on a scoring pass, a Slytherin chaser blurted Ginny’s broom and sent her right into the goal post. Her shoulder was visibly dislocated. She refused to leave the field, but was unable to throw or even run interference effectively. Slytherin began scoring again.
Finally Harry spied the snitch against the green of the Slytherin banner. He rocketed toward it with Crabbe and Goyle converging to where he was obviously headed. Harry saw it was going to be tight, and he would need to use the same buttonhook maneuver he had used to avoid the banner at Christmas. Just as he was about to grab the snitch, it darted to his right. He buttonhooked to the left and then around the banner to the right, coming up on the opposite side of the banner to grab the snitch. As he did, he saw Crabbe and Goyle, having already collided with each other, pound into the Slytherin banner. They lost their brooms, so they quickly grabbed hold, as they were some 80 feet above ground. Harry heard a tearing and realized that the banner would not carry their weight. Suddenly it let go. They began tumbling to the ground. Harry grabbed his wand and levitated them gently down.
Gryffindor was ahead 200-190, but the acting Slytherin captain protested to Madam Hooch that Slytherin should get two penalty shots for Harry’s use of his wand on opposing players. Madam Hooch ruled that as the use of the wand came after the snitch had been caught, the game was already then over and no foul was committed. A rousing cheer came up from the Gryffindor fans and a tumultuous din from the Ravenclaw fans. Harry set down and went to check on Ginny and Ron. Hermione was attending to them, as well as the other Gryffindor chasers, preparing them for the trip to the Hospital Wing. Harry was just able to see that they were going to be taken care of, when he was seized by the Ravenclaw team and fans chanting “Coach, Coach, Coach, Coach.” They lifted him up to carry him off the field. The Gryffindor team smiled and waved him on, Katie shouting “Go on, you deserve a celebration – catch up with us later.” Harry tossed his broom to Neville for safekeeping and allowed himself to be the centerpiece of the Ravenclaw celebration. He was among friends and he had after all just secured his own team’s win in the game, if not the Cup.

Dedalus Diggle

November 18th, 2003, 4:19 am

Chapter 45 The Snogging Hat

It seemed odd to Harry to be carried off from the Quidditch pitch, still in his Gryffindor robes, on the shoulders of all these Ravenclaws. But then, he thought, these are all friends and they are celebrating the results of something I did, and I’m happy for their happiness. Harry knew that Madam Pomfrey would have no trouble handling his teammates’ injuries. He decided to relax and enjoy the tide of celebration.
As they made their way to the castle, Harry noticed Luna Lovegood gesturing to him. She kept tapping her crown with the palm of her hand and pointing to him. Harry checked his head but felt nothing. Finally she slipped him a scrap of parchment. He opened it and found it said “hit your head on the lintel.” He hoped it would make sense when they got the to Ravenclaw dormitories and decided he would play along. Luna was not a practical joker, after all, so it was probably good advice. They proceeded down to the dungeon, making no effort to hide the route or the password from Harry. Harry was thrilled with the trust and the change from previous years. They came to a dark oaken panel flanked by two sets of armor and Stuart Ackerley spoke the password to the left-hand set. The panel lifted (“very like a muggle garage” thought Harry), and they entered a narrowing tunnel. Before long they had to shift him to just two shoulders, and Michael Corner and Terry Boot were selected.
Harry saw a cherrywood lintel that couldn’t have been more than seven and a half feet up over a stone door barely wide enough for one large man. Su Li ran ahead and opened the door with a touch and Harry finally saw what Luna meant about hitting his head, only the note had said to do it, rather than warning him to watch out. As they approached the lintel Harry prepared himself and clunked his head against it so that it was much noisier than it was painful. A cheer went up from all the Ravenclaws, so Harry understood it to be some sort of House tradition. Finally they were all inside, but before Terry and Michael would put him down, Cho jumped onto a large rectangular table and pressed a jingly three pointed jester’s hat on Harry’s head.
“What’s this?” said Harry, reaching up for the hat.
“Oh, no, Harry, don’t remove it,” said Cho, laughing happily, “all our guests get to wear the snogging hat when they first visit.”
Harry looked at her sidelong, “Snogging hat – is it enchanted and what do I have to do?”
“Oh, yes, it’s enchanted – if you try to pull it off before you meet the terms, your hair will stay attached to it and grow to fill in the space between it and your head. What you have to do to remove it is get a kiss from every girl here,” explained Cho.
“Well, finally a charmed object I can appreciate,” said Harry, “Alright Cho, you’re right here. Let’s have a start.”
“Not so fast, Harry, a couple of speeches first. First me, as the captain of the team, I want to thank you for a masterful catch and not letting our last game get in the way of things. By the way, so everybody knows, that was a grand ruse making Malfoy think you were planning to throw the cup our way. One thing you learn as a Seeker is that most anything the other Seeker does is a trick. And seeing as it’s you and we’re celebrating, we also are thanking you for what you’ve done for us and the whole school with the DA. We’ve all become more confident, better sorcerers, and better friends with all the other houses. We know you’ve put a lot of yourself into it, and we really appreciate it. There was a time when you were just the Boy Who Lived and our quidditch enemy, but now you are our friend and our coach.”
“Coach! Coach! Coach! Coach!” went up the cheer until he lifted his hands. He worked himself off of Michael and Terry’s shoulders onto the table. “Let me assure you,” he said to them all, “that the appreciation is mutual. And not just from me, but from students throughout Hogwarts. I have been so impressed with all that you have accomplished this year, and I know that I have been made a better and stronger sorcerer by sharing this training with all of you. It feels a bit odd to be celebrating losing the Quidditch Cup, but it’s alright by me. For nearly two years, and particularly this year, my eyes have been on a far greater prize than the Cup – a time when we can all live without fear. And I am thrilled to spend some time with you good friends who have worked so hard to bring us all closer to that time.” Harry beamed at them, and they cheered. He turned to Cho, who was still on the large table, “C’mere Cho, you’re first.”
“Well, alright then, I guess I’ve got to show the others how. After all,” she winked at the Ravenclaw girls, ‘I’ve done this with him before.”
She tilted her head upward and let Harry bend down a bit to kiss her. Instead of the expected light peck though, he gave her a solid and enthusiastic kiss, lasting no less than a quarter of a minute. He lifted up, gave a jingle to the bells on the snogging hat, and grinned at her. She acted dizzy and mouthed “Whew!” while miming wiping sweat from her forehead. The crowd cheered and Harry jumped down from the table, and then lifted Cho down. He went about the Ravenclaws, greeting and jostling with the boys and collecting additional kisses from the girls. Food and juice and butterbeer were brought in, and Professor Flitwick himself made a point of bringing Harry a butterbeer. At that point, Harry finally got a chance to have a seat and chat for a few minutes and look around the Ravenclaw common room. It looked very much like a very plush and comfortable library, with books lining most walls where there were not fireplaces or magically conjured picture windows. There were balconies surrounding the central area with various tables, nooks, and alcoves for study, games, or conversation.
“Wow,” said Harry to Professor Flitwick, “I had no idea what Ravenclaw’s dorms were like. I’d better not tell Hermione about this, or she’ll be too jealous.”
Professor Flitwick laughed and chirped “Yes, she would indeed have done well with us. But she has done alright where she is.”
“Oh, absolutely. I know I’d be lost without her,” said Harry.
“Perhaps her placement had as much to do with you as it did with her, although from what I have heard, being around you has brought out the best of Gryffindor qualities in her,” observed Professor Flitwick.
“I don’t know as I can claim any credit. I think being very brave is a part of the job description for being my friend.
They heard a slight whimper and then quick footsteps. They turned and saw Marietta hurrying away.
“Don’t discount your influence, my boy. I can’t tell you how much easier teaching has been this year. All the students in the DA have been mastering all their skills much more readily, and I can see them behaving more kindly and cooperatively with others. I don’t know if it is the sense of a higher purpose, or spending time in a large group, or maybe, it’s just you rubbing off on them, Potter, but it certainly makes teaching easy. Keep it up! Oh, I don’t know if you’ve had much time to stay in touch with Dobby with all you’ve been doing, but he and Melony are growing yet closer still. I have little doubt that if the goblins could recognize Dobby as one of them, we’d have a marriage in no time. Aah, but goblins too often value gold only for the glitter.”
As Harry listened to Professor Flitwick, his scar started to hurt and then became very intense. He grabbed at his forehead and started rubbing it.
Professor Flitwick nodded knowingly and smiled, “Forgive me for enjoying your pain, Potter, but it represents good news indeed. The Wizengamot was set to vote today on the Apparation Charm law. Now I can play the mind-reader: The enemy is angry because the law has been turned down. Does that fit with what you are feeling?”
“Yes, mostly,” said Harry, “but there’s something more. There’s disappointment that there won’t be a rebellion just now, and he’s determined to pursue another plan.”
“Well, Potter, we’ll keep our eyes and ears open then, shall we not? I’d better go and report to the Headmaster. Before I go, though, it looks like you could use some help with that hat. Let’s see, I saw you already with Miss Brocklehurst, Miss Patil, and Miss Li. How about Miss. Quirke and Miss Turpin?”
“Yeah, I’ve kissed them. I think I’m only missing Luna and Marietta,” answered Harry.
“Well, than, I don’t see Miss Edgecombe around but there’s Miss Lovegood over there. I’m sure she’ll give you the help you need. I’ll see you Monday, if Dobby and Melony don’t ask to drop in on you during their date this evening.”
“Either way, I’ll look forward to it,” shaking Flitwick’s hand and then walking over to sit next to Luna.
“I suppose you want a kiss,” she said offhandedly.
“Well, not if it’s going to bring you down.”
“Oh, it’s not,” she said with a smile, “not me anyway.”
“What do you mean?” asked Harry.
“Marietta. I see things, you know, that many others don’t pay attention to. Of course, I miss some things that others catch. But she hasn’t relaxed since the game start and those Slytherins were playing so roughly. She reacted a little when the others were hurt, but looked like she would cry when you got hit, or when you did that maneuver that got Malfoy. And she watched you speak to us all with very faraway eyes. Oh, and she has watched every kiss you’ve shared this afternoon. I don’t think others have noticed, but I notice.” Then Luna smiled, “and it’s not the sort of interest one has from afar. You two have been seeing each other, haven’t you?”
Harry smiled, “You clever Ravenclaw. Yes, we did for just a little bit. Then she broke it off.”
“The danger?”
“Yes, how’d you know?”
“Well, she reacted most adversely to the risks and to the kisses. But the best way to keep you from kissing others is to be there to give them herself. We don’t pull out the hat for guests who have steadies. That leaves the danger. Besides, I already know she doesn’t deal well with danger.”
“Wow,” said Harry, “if it wasn’t my life you were dissecting, I’d want to listen to you all day explaining things.”
Luna started laughing hysterically, like he had just recited the funniest limerick ever. “Harry, you could have done that anytime. Ah, but you do have a lot to take you away from such things, don’t you? Oh, well, someday, you’ll be able to dip your hands into the water for a long cool drink.”
“Uh, okay. Say, do you know where Marietta is?” asked Harry.
Luna shot out her hand through an open spot on a shelf and grabbed a piece of cloth. “Right here – listening all the time. Marietta, you come here and talk to him. Harry, here’s your kiss. I can’t tell you if or how you’ll get the last one you’ll need.” She gave him a quick kiss and left the two of them alone at the alcove she had been in.
Marietta sat next to him. “So, do you want a kiss and to just get it over with?”
“No, not just yet,” answered Harry.
“Well then, what?”
“You know I’d like to have a lot more, openly, till … I don’t know till when. I want to be able to find out more about us and see how far things really could go. I still care for you Marietta. I still hurt for you.”
“I do, too, Harry. And I hate it. I just can’t deal with it. You weren’t even injured and I was nearly a basket case. What would I do if you were really hurt? I just don’t know how to be brave. That’s why we can’t …,” she trailed off.
“Alright then,” said Harry, “Just give me a last kiss, just enough to let me get this hat off, if that’s all you can stand of me.”
Marietta stood up, drawing Harry up with her. She looked deep into his eyes and lifted up to kiss him, pulling him close, wrapping herself up in him, losing all sense of time in him. Suddenly, they both heard “Whoooo-ooo! Snog him, Marietta!” It was Cho, fully into celebration.
“Marietta,” she said, “we have got to get you a boyfriend, if that’s how you kiss Harry just to get the snogging hat off. You’d do wonders for a boy like that!”
Harry smiled knowingly, looking into Marietta’s eyes, “Yes, she could make a boy very happy indeed.” Then he turned to Cho, tossing her the hat “Thanks for having me over here. Congratulations again. I’ve really got to get up to the Hospital Wing and check on my team.”
Cho hooted again and yelled, “Thanks again, Harry. See you Tuesday.” Then she turned to Marietta and said “Come on, you can’t mope around after a kiss like that. Let’s go find some games.”
Harry walked over to the stone door, which opened as he approached it, and reached up and patted the lintel as he passed through. Then the stone door closed behind him.

Dedalus Diggle

November 18th, 2003, 10:48 pm

Chapter 46 - Heliopaths Attack

As is usually the case, the weather in May was delightful - mostly clear, but with frequent enough rains to make all the land verdant. Most of Hagrid's creatures were in mating season, and there were extra class sessions for the 6th and 7th years on the special problems of breeding magical creatures. Apparation class was culminating in testing for licensure, and everyone who stuck out the whole class passed the basic personal Apparation license test - except for Neville. He asked Madam Hooch if he could take the program again the next year and she promised he could. Harry passed the highest level Apparation test, the ones usually given only after 3 years of personal Apparating, setting new records on all portions of the test.

The DA's progress was a thing of wonder. The Spring Skirmish had only served to whet students' appetites to practice and improve their skills all the more. Harry made a point of staging an exhibition with Marietta for the benefit of her students, without saying that he wanted to show them she was as capable as anyone else. He had been tempted to arrange for her to square-off against Ron, but he was not sure she would restrain herself. Ron was a slightly better fighter, but why take chances.
As May proceeded, Harry thought that outwardly everything seemed to be going swimmingly. But Harry could feel in his scar that dark matters were afoot. He did not know what form they would take, nor when they would arise. He could only wait.

On the last Sunday of May, Harry awoke with his roommates as usual and joined the streams of students heading out to the lake for the early morning run. It was a credit to their determination, thought Harry, that the numbers had not dwindled even though testing, including OWLs and NEWTs, were to start in just a week. The predawn twilight had just begun as Harry rounded the last bend of the shore of his first circuit of the lake. Suddenly Dobby and Melony apparated in front of him. Melony was wringing her hands and Dobby was hopping from foot to foot.

"Harry Potter! Harry Potter! They're attacking," shouted Dobby.

Harry looked up at the castle. "Who's attacking what, Dobby? I don't see anything going on here!" The students were starting to gather. Professor Weasley also was coming around the shore bend.

"What's happening here, Harry? Some sort of problem?" he asked.

"Begging sirs' pardon" said Dobby, "Melony has just come to me by herself to get help. Minister Fudge is leading an army against Gringotts"

"Fudge!?" said Harry, "Melony, did the goblins start a rebellion?"

"No, Mr. Potter, with the Apparation Charm law being rejected, things have calmed down a lot in the hullabaloos."

Hermione spoke up, "But Melony, why did you come here? There must be a couple of thousands of goblins under Gringotts - defending their home they are a match for all the ministry's aurors."

"Well, Miss, first it's not aurors. We know most of the aurors and there's not one among them. But what's worse is that they have a couple of huge beasts that shine sunlight. Several goblins were killed by heliopathy at the doors. And these beasts are strong enough that they broke down our main doors. We had to retreat from the lobby underground. That's when I came here."

"So The Quibbler was right about Fudge creating a private army with heliopaths," said Ron, "Dad, you can call in aurors, can't you?"

"Normally I could, but the aurors are all occupied. The Death Eaters who were captured last year are at the Ministry and were restored to their proper ages in preparation for trial this week. A couple of hours ago an attack commenced by other Death Eaters to free them. All the aurors, and all our friends good at combat are there, including Dumbledore and Flitwick."

"A diversion," said Ron, "but which is the diversion for the other."

"It doesn't matter now, Ron," said Harry, "there's no one else who can save the goblins."

"Harry, I can't let you go," said Professor Weasley, "Oh, what am I saying, I couldn't stop you if I tried."

"Someone needs to deal with those beasts," said Harry, "then the goblins could deal with the wizards. But we can't get to the beasts from the rear: that's where the army will be, behind their heliopaths, driving them on to break through barriers and kill any goblins. Melony, can you get me into your hullabaloo?"

"Like this, I am only strong enough to Apparate myself," said Melony, "Dobby is not a wizard so he can Apparate himself. He would not be able to bring a wizard in, but I told Grishnack of your pledge of support and he modified the charm to accept you. He reckoned it couldn't hurt, and now it may pay off."

"Alright, then, Dobby, would you get my robe and wands before we go?" said Harry, and immediately Dobby disapparated and seconds later popped back.

"You know, Dad," said Ron, "Harry can try to do something about the beasts inside Gringotts' and we can assemble outside and try to dislodge the army from there. Or if the goblins can counterattack, maybe we can hold Fudge's army inside the lobby so they can't disapparate and escape."

A cheer went up, "Yeah, let's go."

Professor Weasley raised his hand to quiet them. "This is wrong, children. Very, very wrong." Then he looked around at them, "Now here's what we'll do. Harry, you and Dobby see if you can do anything about the heliopaths. Take no poor risks and get out if you have to, but if there's anyone who can come up with a plan, it's you. And never, ever let Mrs. Weasley know I let you do this! As for the rest of you, Ron and the rest of us who can Apparate will go to the alley beside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I'll go to the alley first and you all can guide off of me. Ginny and Lovegood will lead the third years and higher who can't Apparate to my office to get there by Floo Powder - oldest first, please! We will just position ourselves to prevent any of Fudge's army from escaping, unless Harry Apparates to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and tells us he could not do anything about the beasts. Ron, McMillan - the three of us will reconnoiter to establish a positioning plan and possible strategies for counter-attack. The rest of you please just stay here. We'll already have plenty of firepower if we get a chance to use it."

Another cheer went up. Dobby had popped off again and returned in seconds with robes and wands for Professor Weasley, Ron and Ernie McMillan. "I would have gotten the elves to help me with the rest, but they won't take clothes, sir," he explained.

"That's fine, Dobby, this will give us a head start. Harry, you, Dobby and Melony had better get into Gringotts' right now. If you can't do anything about the heliopaths, we won't have the strength of the goblins, and we'll have a very different problem. But be very careful, son, we love you very much."

Harry wanted to hug Professor Weasley for what he had said, but instead nodded and then said "Melony, you and Dobby go first. I'll guide off of you."

"Make sure you squat," she said, "you know the ceilings are very low for wizards."
Then Melony and Dobby disapparated as the first rim of the sun appeared, bloody red. Harry was not two seconds behind, and the reconnoiter team went as soon as they had thrown on their robes. Then the rest headed for the castle.

Harry apparated behind the main door of Grishnack's hullabaloo. Grishnack, with perhaps five dozen goblins behind him, was speaking to Melony. "We knew you were going for help, but we thought that would mean more aurors. All you could bring was an elf and a boy!?"

Harry startled as a deep slow familiar voice rumbled behind him. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Not just any boy, Grishnack. Well, Potter, I said you'd have to decide where you stand. I see you've made your choice."

Dedalus Diggle

November 19th, 2003, 6:06 pm

Chapter 47 - Part A - Graphorns

"Mr. Shacklebolt," exclaimed Harry, "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you, Potter," he replied, "seeing about defending an oppressed minority. I see the goblins altered the anti-Apparation Charm for you as well. I'm glad you made the decision to stand with us."

"Elf," Grishnack said to Dobby, "I told you before you were only allowed in here as an injured guest, and that you should stay away. Why are you here?"

"Melony asked me, sir," said Dobby, "And beg pardon about your rules, but Dobby is here to fight for the goblins, not against them, and you do not have too many fighters here who can tolerate light."

"Well said. Hard times lead to strange arrangements," said Grishnack, "but is there anything that can be done? We have been unable to stand against these beasts. Shacklebolt tried stunning them and even the killing curse, and the spells glanced off."

"You've seen them then. What do you know about them?" Harry asked Shacklebolt.

"They're graphorns, Potter. They've broken through the back of the lobby and are progressing down the ramps of the vault chamber. Last I checked they were already on level 4, still moving down with just three levels to go."

"Graphorns! The Quibbler was right again. But they only generate a weak light. Fudge's army must have modified them to generate very strong sunlight. Perhaps in the course of modification, their other defenses have been weakened."

"You couldn't tell it by me. I hit them with my best spells - nothing!"

"Hagrid talked with us about graphorns this year. Now what was it he said," Harry said while stroking his chin and thinking. "I remember: he said he had only seen them brought down by a dozen wizards hitting them with stunners at the same time. But if these have been modified, maybe three stunners at the same time will be adequate. Let's you, Dobby and I pop out to the chamber and hit them with a stunner each and see what happens."

"There are side tunnels at each level for security," said Grishnack, pointing to a framed map on the wall, "they overlook the ramps and you will be able to Apparate there and attack."

They coordinated their Apparation plans and their timing. They counted down, then with a crack, all three disapparated. Ten seconds later they reapparated.

"Well?" said Grishnack.

"Nothing," said Shacklebolt, "even though the elf was able to use a stunner from each hand. And they have just reached level 6 now."

"Four stunners and still moving: then there is no hope," said Grishnack grimly, "you three may as well escape. Goblins do not abandon their homes."

"Not just yet. I have an idea," said Harry, looking at his watch and counting on his fingers.

Dedalus Diggle

November 20th, 2003, 1:01 pm

Chapter 47 Part B - Turnabout

"How fast can you repeatedly Apparate, Mr. Shacklebolt?" asked Harry.

"About once a second. Why?"

"Not good enough, and you're too large for me to take fast. How about you, Dobby?"

"About the same, sir, why?"

"Dobby, will you trust me to Apparate you?" asked Harry.

"Dobby trusts that Harry Potter can do whatever he says he will do," replied Dobby.

Harry pointed out on the map. "We need to hit the graphorns with at least twelve stunners at the same time. But they don't have to be from different beings. I can apparate five times a second, even with a medium-sized creature, if I use my left hand wand. It takes a second and a half for a stunner to reach the sixth level from the topmost side tunnel. Dobby, you'll be on my back, and I'll use my left hand wand to Apparate to the mouths of each of the seven security side tunnels adjacent to the graphorns. See - here. I'll use my right hand wand to fire between each Apparation, and you will fire with both of your hands. The spacing is regular so that all twenty-one stunners will reach the graphorn at the same time, if we have aimed well."

"Okay," said Dobby.

"OKAY!?" shouted both Grishnack and Shacklebolt. Grishnack continued, "He says he's going to Apparate faster than anyone else is known to do, taking you with him, while the two of you fire stunners between each Apparation, with virtually no time to aim, and if either of you fires a stunner while you are Disapparated it will recoil upon you, and all you say is 'okay'?"

"Dobby trusts Harry Potter."

Harry smiled, "Anyway, it's the only plan we've got. Dobby, get up on my shoulders, with an arm extended on each side of my head. Look at the map and see how you need to shift your aim with each Apparation. There won't be time to visually aim. We'll go for the front one first. Ready? On the count of three - One, Two, Three!"

With a crack they disappeared. The seconds ticked by. No one drew a breath. After ten seconds, which passed like twenty minutes, they returned with a crack.

"Woo-hoo!" they cheered.

"One down, one to go," shouted Harry.

"You did it?" said Shacklebolt, awestruck. He disapparated, and in five seconds returned. "They did it - the front one is collapsed and the invaders are trying to get it off the tracks."

"Can you do it again?" asked Grishnack.

"We aim to," said Harry, "Let me catch my breath - that took a lot out of me."
Suddenly they heard a great thud.

Shacklebolt disapparated and then reappeared. "They got the first one off the tracks. That was it landing on this level."

Harry took a deep breath, "At least they make a big target."

"I've got to see this" said Shacklebolt, "I'll go to this other tunnel over here, Potter, and I'll add my own stunner in for good measure."

"On the count of three, then" said Harry, "One, Two Three!" and with a crack, the three of them disapparated. As before Harry Apparated from tunnel to tunnel, he and Dobby firing stunners at the graphorn, which had reached the seventh level adjacent the security tunnel. The last stunners they fired were almost point blank. As they fired those last spells, a stunner from above struck Harry in the chest, throwing him out from under Dobby and against the tunnel wall. He bounced back off it and fell, just as the light from the graphorn was extinguished. The great beast collapsed and rolled on top of Harry's left leg, cruching it.

Shacklebolt reapparated into the hullabaloo's home. "Tell the other hullabaloos - the heliopaths are down! They can attack."

Twenty goblins disapparated to the other hullabaloos of Gringott's and in seconds, Harry saw all the doors open wide and howling streams of enraged goblins rushed out screaming "Fight like mothers!" The sound was deafening as the battle was joined. Harry was trapped by the graphorn on his leg as Minister Fudge, looking completely dazed and addled, climbed over it and drew his wand "Time to get rid of you, you troublesome pest!" But before he could pronounce any spell, Dobby fired a cutting spell at him that ripped him into two pieces.

Grishnack, Melony and Shacklebolt came out looking for Harry. When they found him, Shacklebolt protected them while Grishnack levitated the graphorn and Dobby and Melony dragged Harry out to the cover of the tunnel. All above them, every color of spell was flying every which way.

"Melony, tend to him, let no harm come to him - he is a true goblin friend" said Grishnack, "I must join the battle."

"Dobby," said Harry, "Go with him - show him just what kind of a being you are."

"Grishnack," said Shacklebolt, "you goblins are more than a match for these. I would never be forgiven if I left Potter under these circumstances."

"So be it, my friend, we would have him safe as well" said Grishnack, and then to Dobby, "To the battle then!"

"Fight like mothers!" squeaked Dobby, as they disapparated to the battle.

"Mr. Potter," said Melony, "if you can tell me what to do, I will try to ease your pain until you can get to a wizard healer. I'm afraid my remedies might not be appropriate for other than goblins."

"Let me see about him," said Shacklebolt, "one can't be an auror without knowing a bit about battle wounds."

Shacklebolt squatted down to Harry and began checking his crushed left leg. Then he checked Harry's pulse at his neck. Suddenly he pulled a long thin stiletto knife out of his robe and held it to Harry's throat, as he reached with his other hand, grabbing Harry's wands and tossing them aside.

"I thought they'd never leave. Now it's time for this nasty little goblin to get me what I came for."

Dedalus Diggle

November 21st, 2003, 1:45 pm

Chapter 48 - In the Darkness

"What are you saying? What is this about?" asked Harry quickly. He suppressed the urge to summon his wands or try Expelliarmus. With the tip of the stiletto pressed against his throat, those would be too slow.

Shacklebolt smiled "There's something here I came for. I've been working for years to get it, and I'm not about to get this close and go away without it."

"The scarab?" asked Harry.

Shacklebolt's laugh was deep but cold, "2 points Gryffindor - you've done your homework. Yes, my master has need of it."

"But … you're an auror!? Don't they check for the Dark Mark?" asked Harry incredulously.

"They'd be foolish not to - but not all of the Dark Lord's servants bear the Dark Mark, and not all bonds can be detected," replied Shacklebolt.

"So it was you who had Fudge under the Imperius!"

"Arthur would be so proud - 2 more points Gryffindor! But that occurred only recently, actually. That bloated fool hated these vermin as much as I do. I merely needed to nudge his mind toward private schemes to destroy them, nothing as crude at first as the Imperius. He devised the idea to modify graphorns. I made sure he put me in charge of the project, privately of course. I was happy enough to oversee development of a weapon to lay these rats' nests bare, but my real goal has been to get the scarab for my master. That is why I have posed as their friend. I fooled them as easily as I have fooled everyone else. It's good to enjoy your work, Potter - too bad you'll never have the chance to know. By the way, how is it that you are not unconscious from my stunner? It has brought down bigger men than you before."

Harry glared at him, "I've been treated with lots of murtlap this year." Then seeking delay in hopes someone would arrive, he said, "But you fought the Death Eaters last year at the Ministry."

"Yes, cover must be maintained, and lacking an excuse to not go, I had to put in an appearance and make it believable."

"You protected us all by modifying Marietta's memory last year!"

"Cover must be kept - besides, I knew my master needed you to retrieve the prophecy concerning the two of you for him."

"And you were at Gringotts' the day Griball disappeared."

"Yes, I needed a goblin to test our heliopaths on, and he went off by himself to sulk. I followed him and lent a sympathetic ear, then suggested we go to my home for some goblin mousewine. I was well-known down here as the goblins' best but secret friend, so he actually believed I had such a vile brew. The heliopaths worked wonderfully, as you obviously have heard.

"So the plan was to drive the goblins into rebellion so that you could kill them all with heliopathy, and then break into the vault to steal the scarab."

"Exactly, Potter! Five points Gryffindor! And it was working very well, too, until you and your friends calmed the goblins and got the anti-Apparation law blocked. Then my master lost patience. That's when we realized we could combine missions - let Fudge's private army wipe out the goblins, with me here to collect the scarab, while my master's other servants broke into the Ministry cells."

Harry looked at him suspiciously "Are you really Kingsley Shacklebolt?"

The wizard with the knife at his throat just smiled.
"Well, both plans are failing, Shacklebolt. Dobby and I have stopped your heliopaths and forces already are protecting the Ministry."

"Ah, well, I do not know what is happening at the Ministry. As for my part in the day's events, while it is unfortunate that more goblins were not exterminated - yet - I think matters will turn out well nonetheless. All your vermin friends are occupied but this one, and she has been ordered by her glamdring not to let harm come to you," Shacklebolt stood and faced Melony, "Melony - what would you do to keep harm from coming to Harry Potter?"

She bowed her head, "Glamdring's orders - I must do anything to protect him from harm."

Seeing an opportunity with the stiletto away from him, Harry shouted "Expelliarmus." Nothing happened except Shacklebolt laughing, "Why do you think I am using a muggle weapon - I saw you perform the disarming spell without a wand. It doesn't work on muggle weapons. And before you get any ideas about summoning your wands, let me assure you that I am an expert knife thrower and can have this blade in you before you get to the word 'wands.' Now, then Melony, open that vault there, number 717, and get me the small wooden box inside," ordered Shacklebolt.

"NO, don't give it to him," shouted Harry, "It's worth more than either of our lives."

Melony wavered. Shacklebolt squatted down toward Harry and stroked the tip of the blade down Harry's face and then his neck before he plunged it through Harry's right shoulder under the clavicle, then roughly pulled it back out. Harry stifled a scream and grabbed at the wound with his left hand.

"Voila!" said Shacklebolt unctuously, "there are many more places I can harm him before he is dead, Melony - Do I need to demonstrate them for you to obey orders?"

"Forgive me, Mr. Potter, I must."

Melony approached vault 717 and placed her finger at the lower left edge of the door. As she ran her finger around the edge, it glowed and separated. Harry noticed that Shacklebolt was watching Melony and had let the stiletto come a couple of inches away from his throat. Suddenly Harry grabbed the blade in his left fist and with his right arm punched as hard as his summer boxing practice had taught him, then with his right leg he kicked fiercely into Shacklebolt's crotch. Shacklebolt staggered back, Harry feeling the double-edged blade slicing through the flesh of the hand he had grabbed it with. Then, cursing at Harry, Shacklebolt lunged. Melony, seizing her opportunity, leapt at Shacklebolt, and both of them fell backwards against the door of vault 713, as the lights began to fade out. The door dissolved against their weight, and Harry realized that it would reappear when they had fallen through.

As Shacklebolt fell, Harry yelled, "Accio Melony!"

Shacklebolt fell through the open door, his eyes full of shock, as the door reappeared in front of him, entombing him. Melony came flying to Harry and he caught her like a father who was tossing a child. It was only then that he saw, by the dim flashes from the battle far, far above him, the glint of light off the handle of the stiletto, buried hilt deep into her chest. Harry called to her and gently shook her, and felt where he thought there should be a pulse. He found no response.

Harry began to cry. Soon there was not even the light from the battle but it didn't matter to Harry. He clutched Melony's limp body in the depths of the cavern and cried on and on, dripping tears from his cheeks, feeling the release at once of the tension and fears for all the deaths he had envisioned over the year. He thought of all the good times and hard times he and Dobby had been through, and all the dreams Dobby had for a life with Melony. Every so often, he felt warm liquid running down his hands. He did not know if it was his tears or Melony's blood. He was not even aware of his own injuries as he began to rock gently in the absolute blackness and continued to weep.

Dedalus Diggle

November 22nd, 2003, 6:37 am

Chapter 49 Part A - Recovery

Harry did not know how long he sat in the dark clutching Melony’s body like that. He startled when he heard several cracking sounds nearby. He heard Grishnack’s voice.

“Shacklebolt! Potter! Where are you? Have you left?” He lit some lights as Harry said “Over here.”

“Melony,” said Grishnack, with as much warmth as Harry had ever heard from him, “what’s happened?”

“Shacklebolt was a traitor, in service to Voldemort. He made to kill me, and she leapt at him, … because you ordered her to protect me.”

Grishnack told another goblin to get a healer as he checked Melony’s eyes.

“She couldn’t possibly have survived this, could she?” asked Harry.

“I don’t think so. I’m no healer, though. We goblins have developed many methods of dealing with muggle weapons, so if there’s any spark left, there’s hope.”

A healer from another hullabaloo arrived and began examining her. “Keep holding her, boy. Your touch and tears have kept her alive but just barely. I have to perform the reversing charm.”

Grishnack explained “One of our tools against muggle weapons – the reversing charm undoes much of the damage done by muggle weapons if it is performed as the weapon is removed. Then she can be given blood restoration potion.”

The healer performed an intricate series of hand movements and incantations in a language whose syllables Harry could not even pronounce. She grasped the handle of the knife as she continued to incant, and slowly withdrew it. Melony’s flesh wriggled around the blade as it was pulled, and she gave a slight shudder. The healer withdrew from a pocket a small bottle of blood restorer and put it to Melony’s lips. It trickled down her throat, and within seconds the pale green she had turned was returned to the bullfrog green a goblin should have.

Melony opened her eyes weakly, and said “Is he okay? I tried to protect Potter.”

Grishnack smiled warmly, “Yes, he will be fine, and so will you. You have done very well, Melony. We are proud of you.”

“Boy, can you carry her to my clinic?” the healer asked Harry.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” said Harry, pulling his robe from across his crushed leg and showing her.

She gasped and said to another goblin “Find him a wizard healer, fast. He is our true friend.”

“If the battle is over,” said Harry, “my friends Hermione Granger and Marietta Edgecombe should be there – they’re healer trainees.”

“Yes, the battle is over,” said Grishnack, making a gesture to a goblin indicating he should go up to get Hermione and Marietta, “your friends ended the battle where we could not. They held the enemy in the lobby until we goblins smote them with irresistible force. When the remainder emerged into the light, your friends disabled them all.”

Harry smiled. The DA had come through. In a few seconds, the goblin who had gone came clattering down the tracks in a railcar, bringing Hermione and Professor Weasley with him.

“Harry,” said Professor Weasley, “he said you’d been hurt.”

Hermione immediately began checking his leg, “This is beyond me right now, Harry, but Madam Pomfrey will know what to do.”

“There’s also this,” said Harry, pulling the robe up over his right shoulder, “Shacklebolt did this – he was a traitor.”

“No!” gasped Hermione and Professor Weasley.

Harry nodded, and then showed them his left hand, sliced to the bone of both his palm and fingers where the blade had pulled through his fist, “I guess this will need some attention, too.”

“Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix him up, Hermione?” Arthur asked her.

“Yes, of course. It will take a few days, but we can do it.”

“It sounds like the DA did brilliantly. I hope there weren’t any casualties,” said Harry.

Hermione bit her lip and looked away. “Oh, no,” said Harry, “Who? What happened?”

Dedalus Diggle

November 23rd, 2003, 4:01 am

Chapter 49 Part B - The DA in Battle
“Harry, we were sure you would find a way to beat the heliopaths and that if we could hold Fudge's army in the lobby, the goblins would take care of them,” began Hermione, “so when Ron, Ernie and Mr. Weasley surveyed the area around Gringotts', they were looking for well-protected positions to move our forces to. Ron realized it was going to take time and he noticed a gargoyle above the Gringotts’ entrance that was still stable after the front was smashed. He commented when he got back to those who had apparated that one of us on that gargoyle could hold them in at least until we could get the others in place. Before Ron could even ask for a volunteer, Marietta said she had it and disapparated. Then we heard the crack from the gargoyle and she gave us a thumbs-up. Harry, she was brilliant, stunning everyone that tried to get out of there until we got all our forces in place. She single-handedly kept them from escaping and disapparating until the goblins were practically shoving them out the door. Then one of Fudge’s wizards blasted the gargoyle, and she fell with all that stonework. Cho and I tried to levitate her, but with all the debris, all we got was stone. The remainder of the army came rushing out and they were caught in a crossfire from the students that would have leveled a mountain. It’ll take St. Mungo’s months to sort out all the hexes for trials, at least for those who survive. As soon as the firing was over, I ran over to Marietta, but there was nothing I could do.”
“Was she crushed?”
“No, she fell on top of the debris. She wasn’t gone when I got to her, but …”
“Did she say anything?”
Hermione bit her lip. “Harry, don’t …”
“TELL ME,” Harry pled desperately.
“She said to tell you she loved you, and that she had been brave. She … she said ‘thanks for the second chance.’ “
Harry suddenly got excited, “But if she could say all that, then maybe … Accio Wands!” Both wands flew to his hand.
"Harry, don’t!” cried Hermione as he disapparated. She looked around frantically and found the goblin who had brought her in “Can you please bring me back up there?”
He took her to the lobby and she picked her way through the debris and bodies to the entrance. She found Harry on the sidewalk amid the debris sitting beside Marietta facing her, his crushed left leg splayed out. He was hugging her torso desperately and crying, as her head lolled back on her neck, eyes wide open. Hermione came up quietly and put her hand on his shoulder, “Harry, I’m so sorry.”
“Hermione,” he said through gasps, “do you know what a legilemens sees when he looks into the mind of someone who has just died?”
“No, Harry,” answered Hermione quietly.
“Be very glad for that. I couldn’t possibly tell you and I love you too much to try.” Harry let Marietta’s body slump to the sidewalk and put his face down into his hands. Hermione gently stroked his shoulders.

Dedalus Diggle

November 24th, 2003, 3:12 am

Chapter 50 Part A - Sorting out

After a few minutes he felt a larger firmer hand gently grasp his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Harry,” said Professor Dumbledore. “There’s nothing that can be done here, but there are matters to be addressed with the goblins downstairs. Are you up to it?”

“I’m strong enough, if I don’t have to move my leg. Emotionally - I’ve been replaying the deaths of loved ones in my mind since Sirius died. And at this point, I’m about cried out. I can move on. I’ll grieve later,” said Harry, “What happened at the Ministry?”

“A few escaped, a few others were captured. We’ll deal with those details later,” replied Professor Dumbledore.

“Aren’t you afraid to be near me, that Voldemort will try to possess me?”

“What does your scar tell you?”

“That with the intensity of emotions I am feeling now, he wouldn’t be able to bear even looking into my mind, much less occupying it,” answered Harry.

“And that’s what I expected,” said Dumbledore with a faint smile.

Dumbledore splinted Harry’s leg so it would not hurt so much. He also had with him Flitwick and several members of the Wizengamot: Madam Bones, Madam Marchbanks, and a few others whom Harry could not name. Before leaving Harry retrieved Marietta’s wand: he wanted to return it to her parents, though it was broken in two. They went into the lobby and found several goblins involved in the clean-up who agreed to take them all down to the seventh level. When they arrived they found Dobby down there already with Grishnack. He squeaked with joy seeing Harry was not harmed any more than he was.

“Harry Potter! You are alright. And I have been told you saved Melony. Dobby is ever so glad!”

“How is she, Dobby?” asked Harry.

“Very weak, but she will be well, thanks to you,” said Dobby.

“I don’t know what I did, but whatever I did, it’s my pleasure,” said Harry.

Dumbledore smiled at Grishnack and asked if they might talk.

“You and I, or the Ministry and the glamdrings?” he asked.

“All the glamdrings, if you could,” said Dumbledore gently.

“I’ll get them here – we have much to sort out, I think.”

While all the glamdrings assembled, Dumbledore conjured Harry an easy chair with a large soft ottoman to cradle his leg. Hundreds of other goblins gathered as well to hear the parley.

Grishnack then began, “We know you want our support, but your Minister leading an army against us is hardly the way to make friends.”

Dumbledore nodded, “I couldn’t agree more. But can we sort out all of what happened, and then we’ll see where fault lies.”

Grishnack then described the initial attack and the progress of the graphorns, the arrival of Shacklebolt, then Dobby and Harry, and then Harry and Dobby’s defeat of the graphorns. He described discovering Harry’s injuries and freeing his leg, and leaving him with Melony and Shacklebolt. He told of the counterattack, with several other glamdrings inserting various details, and then the driving of Fudge’s army into the crossfire of the DA. Harry verified the earlier parts of the story, then described how he was hit with a stunner but protected by the murtlap, how the graphorn crushed his leg, and then Fudge tried to kill him but Dobby intervened. Harry made sure that it was known that Fudge was under the Imperius curse and that it was Shacklebolt who had done it. Then he described all that occurred when it was just he and Melony and Shacklebolt. Then he and Grishnack together related the story of Melony’s injuries and rescue, and Grishnack acknowledged that Melony had told him enough to confirm what Harry said about Shacklebolt. Harry preferred not to tell about Marietta.

“Excellent, then,” said Dumbledore, “Shacklebolt admitted that he was working for Voldemort and that Fudge was under the Imperius curse. Can we at least accept that this was not an action of the Ministry, but rather another attempt by Voldemort to hurt and divide magical beings?”

“That much is clear,” said Grishnack, “but it is also clear that you wizards have tolerated persons in high position who have been our enemies.”

Madam Bones spoke up, “That is certainly true, and it is a shameful thing.”

Grishnack nodded, “You want alliance. That requires trust. Dumbledore has our trust. Potter here has even more – he has not only our trust but our undying loyalty. He has faced great danger on our behalf. He has spilled blood to protect our homes. He has shed tears over the life of a goblin. From here on out, an attack on Potter is an attack on goblins, and we will come to his aid, sunlight permitting. But how can we have trust in the Ministry?”

Harry spoke up, “Grishnack, one problem I have noticed is that even though the goblins are considered equal magical beings under our laws, they have no members of the Wizengamot. May I suggest a number of seats be made available to representatives of the hullabaloos?”

“That can be done,” said Madam Bones.

“That is a good step, we goblins have kept to ourselves, but it is clear that we must be involved in the larger magical world” said Grishnack, and the other glamdrings murmured their approval. “But another thing is critical – your Minister of Magic has a great deal of power. We must insist on the right to veto any choice of Minister, to ensure that he or she will be a goblin friend.”

“That is appropriate,” said Madam Marchbanks, “and we will be acting to select someone immediately. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, our first choice would be Dumbledore,” said Grishnack.

“Ours, too,” said Madam Bones, “but he always turns us down.”

“Oh, I am much too old for such duties,” Dumbledore said disingenuously, “besides, I have other more pressing concerns.” He smiled and winked at Harry.

“I know of others who have spoken well of goblins,” said Grishnack, “but that would include Shacklebolt. I am afraid we may not understand the duplicities of the wizard mind. What say you, Potter, you have been observant of such matters. Who should we trust to treat us fairly.”

“Well, of course, there’s Professor Dumbledore …” Harry thought, and then realized “Grishnack, I know someone whose good heart and kind manner is exceeded only by his acceptance and affection for other beings; someone who knows the Ministry very well because he worked in it most of his adult life. That only ended when he was fired for protesting the recent anti-goblin laws. He helped us write the article for The Quibbler protesting the Apparation Charm bill and rather than just letting it be signed by a bunch of children, put his own name on it as well. And when Gringotts' came under attack, he violated every rule of his position as a professor of Hogwarts to lead an army of students into battle against other wizards to help rescue the goblins. His own son was among the first on the scene with him. And not only that, but I know that he would at all times seek and heed the counsel of Professor Dumbledore. Could you accept Professor Arthur Weasley as Minister of Magic?”

“Harry, I don’t know about that, I was just a lower level bureaucrat” said Arthur, “I don’t know if the Wizengamot would accept me.”

“And he’s modest, too,” said Harry.

Madam Bones smiled, “Oh, you needn’t worry, Arthur, the few of us who wouldn’t welcome you in the position will resign over having goblins around anyway. You were only kept down by the very qualities Potter describes, and I think we would all agree they are qualities we would all value in the position.”

Grishnack conferred with the other glamdrings, then said, “He meets most of our requirements. We are also well familiar with his son Bill and his twin sons Fred and George – they respect us as equals, and we believe that reflects their upbringing. There is just one thing more. For reasons that are known to most of you, we are extremely averse to those slaves you call elves. We have never seen Arthur Weasley leave an elf at the entrance. Does that mean, Weasley, that you keep no slaves?”

Arthur looked very apologetic as he spoke, “We never had before. That was always something for the better established families. But just this past week, we have been informed that our application has been approved by the Department of House Elf Placement, and we now do have a house elf by the name of Winky.”

The grumbling among the goblins was sudden and intense. Then Dobby stepped out, “Beg pardon, may I speak?” The other goblins were unwilling to allow an elf to speak, but Grishnack silenced them “Without this being, who chooses to be free, none of us would now be alive. He has fought for us – we can at least listen to him.”

“Dobby just wants to say that he knows this elf that’s been placed. He has been friends with her since before she was given clothes by her former master. And unlike Dobby, she does not like being free. She has been very miserable. She wants a family. She needs a family. All you goblins has your hullabaloos – you too would be lost without your families. That’s how she was. She has been ever so happy since the Weasleys agreed to adopt her – and that is how they call it too – adoption, not acquisition. I has even seen the set of clothes that Mrs. Weasley has for Winky – they are in a box on a low shelf at their home. And Winky can have them if she ever wants freedom. But she doesn’t. Elves are like goblins in that they need families, but they are different in that they wants human families You want wizards to respect you in your differences. Can you not respect elves in their differences?”

Grishnack and the other glamdrings conferred again. Then Grishnack faced Arthur, “Weasley, we ask you, then – will you give your elf clothes so that you may become Minister of Magic?”

Dedalus Diggle

November 24th, 2003, 8:11 pm

Chapter 50 Part B - Just Rewards

Arthur looked at him for several seconds sadly, then shook his head and said "No. We have made a commitment to Winky. She wanted a family and we adopted her. She is now a Weasley. We would no more turn her out than we would reject our own children or those we consider as our own (he smiled at Harry). I am sorry, but if rejecting a family member is the price of the office, I must decline."

If Harry had felt envy for Arthur Weasley before, it was nothing compared to the admiration that welled up in him. But he was then surprised to realize that an enormous cheer had gone up amongst the goblins.

"That," said Grishnack enthusiastically, "is the sort of Minister we can support - one who keeps his commitments and properly values family. We would be happy to put goblin support behind Arthur Weasley, and with him we can work out alliance."

Madam Bones smiled and shook his hand, "We are happy with that as well. It will take some months to make the changes and arrangements, but we can make him acting Minister of Magic this afternoon."

"We have some other business to address," said Grishnack, "This eloquent elf has fought bravely and was crucial to saving our homes. He must be rewarded. Dobby, what would you have?"

"Grishnack, what Dobby wants is to be accepted as a goblin."

The murmuring was instant. "I can say," said Grishnack, "that you fought as bravely and fiercely as any goblin, but calling you one does not make it so."

"Pardon, Grishnack," said Flitwick, "but I believe he is."

"Glorfindel, what do you mean?"

"Do you remember that there was always one goblet unaccounted for after Voldemort exterminated the hullabaloo to get at Merlin's trove? I believe this is that young goblin, caught partway between his goblin character and partway toward becoming an elf by being raised by a Death Eater family at that time." Flitwick then related the whole history and the indications that Dobby was that goblin.

Another glamdring spoke up "But elf mothers have large eyes, too, and anyone raised among Death Eaters should have nightmares of the killing curse. Do you have any proof?"

"I think I do," said Hermione, "if I may speak. The vault of that hullabaloo is right here, number 717. It may be opened by a Gringotts' goblin, which Dobby clearly is not. It may also be opened by the rightful owner. If Glorfindel is right, then it will open for Dobby. Let Dobby try."

"Excellent," said Grishnack, "Give us your proof then, Dobby."

"I'm sorry, sir, Dobby does not know what to do."

"Just start your finger down here, and run it along the edge,"

Dobby placed his finger at the lower edge and ran it all along the seam. The seam began to glow and then the whole door disappeared.

"Well, then," said Grishnack, "goblin you are, though a frightfully strange one. Welcome, brother."

All the goblins cheered. "It's time you saw what was rightfully yours," said Grishnack. They walked in and there were heaps of gold and silver and all manner of ancient objects. Dobby saw one in particular and picked up a small old box. He handed it to Dumbledore. "Please sir, it seems that this is what all this destruction and fighting was about today. It would be safer with you."

Dumbledore smiled, "For safekeeping only - I believe soon we must take this and find what is in the site it opens."

"That can be done," said Grishnack, "our custom is for the proceeds in such cases to go one half to those who own the site and one half to those who provide the key, since both are equally necessary. I understand, however, that this site may hold a message of some sort which might tip the War one way or the other. I believe our counterparts in Egypt will agree to entrust this to you, Dumbledore."

"Thank you, Grishnack," said Dumbledore, "I believe that is a wise decision."

"Now, Dobby, or rather Gargamel, for that is your rightful name, you still have only claimed what already belonged to you. What reward may we give you?"

Dobby looked shyly, then said, "I am all there is of my hullabaloo. That is a sad and lonely arrangement. A hullabaloo needs more than just one. I wants the most precious thing in all of Gringotts' - will you allow me to ask Melony if she will marry me?"

"It is time she was wed. You are a most peculiar being, but you have proven yourself brave, loyal, honest and resourceful. Whatever your nature truly is, you will make a good glamdring for her, if she will have you."

Then Dumbledore said, "I believe we have then resolved our pressing issues. You need to tend to your dead and wounded, as do we. I believe Melony's recovery would be hastened were her suitor allowed to hold her hand in recovery, as she did for him, nine months ago. I believe Glorfindel would even be willing to act as a chaperone again today, if you deem it proper."

"Indeed I would," said Flitwick.

"Both are excellent suggestions," said Grishnack, "I'll bring you to her, Gargamel, Glorfindel."

Dumbledore then addressed the other members of the Wizengamot, "You know I will support Arthur, but I must insist on him serving out the year for our students. Arthur, it's just as well that you have this new position, as I am sure I would be forced to sack you for leading students into a battle."

"Oh, certainly," said Harry, "The Headmaster would never let his students go into any dangerous situations."

"I detect some sarcasm there, Harry," said Dumbledore with a grin. "Anyway, we must get you back to Madam Pomfrey."

"Before I go, may I ask something?"

"Certainly."

"I was here when Hagrid removed the Philosophers Stone from Vault 713. There was nothing else in there. Has anything else been put in there?"

"Not that I have been told of. Why do you ask?"

Harry paused thoughtfully, debating whether he wanted to say anything.
"That's where Shacklebolt is. I guess it could be someone who used Polyjuice Potion, or a Metamorphmagus. He didn't appear to be under Imperius. If someone has been substituted for Shackebolt, we'll need to know where the real one is."

"If not for that concern, Harry, I might have left the vault's resident where he is. I'll take care of it after we have you back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore picked up the stiletto from the floor, "I'd like to send you directly to the Hospital Wing, so Apparation won't do. Therefore, unless the Ministry objects to my making a portkey? - No? Alright then - Portus! Miss Granger, I think it best if you accompany Harry. On the count of three - one, two, three!"

Dedalus Diggle

November 25th, 2003, 1:54 pm

Chapter 51 - Difficult Meetings

The portkey took Harry and Hermione directly to the Hospital Wing. Hermione called out to Madam Pomfrey that they were there and that Harry had multiple wounds. Madam Pomfrey sailed out of her office tut-tutting about Harry's frequent injuries. They interrupted her and told her about Marietta. She continued about her business then, but was very silent, except to give instructions. Harry noticed several times that her eyes were very moist.

Mrs. Weasley was there by noon and she and Hermione took turns feeding him, since his right shoulder and left hand were both healing. Getting rest was not so easy, as Harry was visited by most of the DA, including all above second year, who generally wanted more to tell him about their participation in the battle than to hear about what happened with him. That was fine with Harry; he didn't care to relive his own part every few minutes.

When Ron visited, he complained about Harry losing them another Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but he did so with a smirk. Then Ron got serious, "Harry, I was wrong about Marietta."

"You mean that she had some backbone, after all."

"Well, that's true, but that's not what I meant. None of us could have known what kind of guts she'd prove to have. I'd be okay about making that mistake. I'm talking about never really giving her a second chance. We've all done foolish things, and have needed second chances. McGonagall should have sacked me from the team, not just being captain, but she let me have another chance. Whether Marietta proved to have courage or not, not giving her a second chance was my failing. I'm sorry."

"That's big of you, Ron. There've been times when neither of us has been willing to apologize for things we've done. Maybe we're doing a little growing up. It's about time - for both of us. If you really want to make it up properly, you can stay here while I meet with the Edgecombes. They're due in five minutes."

Ron didn't particularly want to be in that meeting, but he knew that if he was going to accept leading others into a battle, he had to accept dealing with the aftermath as well. Harry couldn't give the details that Ron could, so as hard as it was for him, Ron stood his ground and answered every question he could. Hermione came around, too, and told what she knew.

Then Madam Edgecombe said to Harry, "Mr. Potter, I need to ask something. From the tone of her letters, and what Miss Granger has told us, it seems that you and Marietta had become very close. Can you tell me anything else I should know about her this past year?"

Harry looked at her, then off into the distance, revisiting all of his memories, "She was a very loving and lovely person, kind and intelligent; strong, in her own way. She didn't shy from unpleasant situations. I guess I'm probably not telling you anything that you didn't know. But I'm glad that I had a chance to discover it. I grieve losing her, too. But as much as it hurts, I am so enriched by the love we shared that the pain is more than worth it. She made me realize that running from love to avoid pain only leaves one colder and lonelier. I will be ever grateful to her for that."

After the Edgecombes had left, Ron put his head down, propping it up by his forehead in his hands. "That really sucked!" he said, with disgust, "Here I was the git who had to place people, and got their daughter in harm's way, and they were acting all sweet and even appreciative. I wish they had yelled or something."

Hermione rubbed his shoulders, "Ron, you know you didn't ask her to go there. Still, you faced them really well, Ron. I'm impressed."

Harry reached over and patted his leg, "Good! I'm glad you feel this way. If we face another situation involving a number of fighters, you're almost certainly who we'd ask to take command. It makes me feel better about training people that you aren't taking this like its wizard chess or quidditch. You can't set the pieces back up and there are no referees. People get hurt, people die, holes get left in other people's lives: war sucks!"

Harry was kept until Tuesday morning. He dreaded the next DA meeting. Of course, the Battle of Gringotts' must be discussed and it would be up to him to say something. When all had assembled, he addressed them:

"I hope it scarce needs to be said how proud I am of all of you this Sunday. When there were people needing help, and there was something we could do, you all stepped forward. Those who did not make it because of age have nothing to be ashamed of - we know you were willing. We know you are able. Unfortunately, you are probably going to have other chances to prove your mettle. I also want to praise you all for accepting Weasley and McMillan's efforts to organize you. If you all had acted independently, no doubt many of you would have been injured or worse. At the least, you probably would have ended up hexing each other. Instead, there was not even one Hogwarts' student's spell which was not applied where it should be."

"Unfortunately, we also lost one of our own. We are saddened of course by the deaths of dozens of goblins, but Marietta Edgecombe was one of us, our friend. She was a very effective team leader, who spared no effort to help her team members. It was in no small part due to her willingness to take the most dangerous assignment Sunday that you were able to get into safe positions and avoid injuries yourselves. Never forget the generous, brave, selfless act of our good comrade."

"That brings me to another matter. Edgecombe's team needs a new leader, and next year we will need several new team leaders to take over for the seventh years who will not be able to return as Fred and Georgia Weasley have been doing. I have spoken with other team leaders over the past couple of days, and we will be asking other students to accept roles as team leaders over the summer. However, for the class sessions today and Thursday, our last two for the school year, we would like to ask Ted Nott to take the responsibilities in Edgecombe's team. All that being said, and now that we have all seen a bit of what we're training for, let's get back to business."

Dedalus Diggle

November 25th, 2003, 11:43 pm

Chapter 52 - Opening

It was decided that the scarab would be used to open the site that weekend. Harry, Dumbledore and Dobby (as he still preferred to be called) were going. Harry also insisted on Hermione coming along, and Dumbledore agreed. They were met by Bill Weasley and the glamdrings of the three hullabaloos which owned the site together. Harry was rather amused at the site of the three goblins dressed as midget Bedouins, but it served their needs.

They walked to the site underneath a large flying carpet, which protected them all from the harsh desert sun; the goblins stayed at the very center of the shade. The storm sand had already long been removed and the sides of the excavation thoroughly braced. Harry thought the site looked like a small windowless stone house, or even a chapel. It was devoid of ornamentation, except an inscription which Bill said translated roughly as "the path of great value." Dumbledore placed the scarab in the indentation above the lintel. The door glowed the green of new grass - a potent symbol of life in a desert land - and then swung open. They walked inside.

It was clearly very much a chapel, thought Harry. There were benches set at angles facing the dais at the front. They would seat perhaps 40 people at a time. There was a stone table on the dais, with a slender stand holding what looked to be a single large ruby, as big as a snitch. Behind the table was a simple bare wall. In fact, the entire house looked as crisp and unworn as if it had been newly carved, and was perfectly white and pristine, except for the ruby.

"There doesn't seem to be anything here, Professor," said Harry, "is there some secret to getting whatever we're supposed to be here for?"

"Of course," said Dumbledore quietly. "The ancient Egyptians were sun-worshippers See that little hole there in the ceiling - once we clear the sand out, the sunlight should illuminate the crystal, which will reveal the message, if any. That's why we came just before midday."

Dumbledore gave a tap to the hole with his wand and blew toward it - one puff, two puffs, three puffs. The third puff created a strong wind which swept through the hole, carrying all the sand out. A narrow shaft of sunlight shone through and struck the ruby, which began to glow from within. They closed the door and extinguished all their lights so they would be able to see. Soon red letters began to appear on the far wall.

"English, Professor?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Enchanted - it displays its message in the language of anyone who views it."
As the letters grew more definite, Harry removed his glasses and wiped the smudges from them so he could see the words clearly when they were fully formed. He put them back on, and saw what was written so long ago:

TO ACHIEVE PEACE, PRACTICE FORGIVENESS AND GOODWILL

The goblins snorted in disgust. "All that gold spent, for nothing! No treasure here, not even a usable formula. We can't even cut the ruby up since it's charmed. What a waste!" They left to wait in the shade of the carpet.

All Bill said is "Hm."

Hermione looked puzzled, and whispered to Dumbledore "I expected a magical formula or incantation, Professor. It's a lovely idea, but what magical power is there?"

"It is not power in the sense of being able to transfigure objects or move things about - and most certainly not to hurt people. But it is a set of instructions, very difficult to follow fully, that leads to very deep magic."

"But we all already know this."

"Everyone has heard it, or something very similar, Miss Granger, far fewer espouse it, but how many of us actually live it - from within themselves? None that I know of. We are all too busy in our petty concerns to see the things of great worth, both as common and profound as water. Why would such a worshipful place have been built, if people did not need to come to contemplate its meaning in the right frame of mind - to treat the instructions as more than mere platitudes? And why would it have been so well-protected, if not to try to ensure that those who find it do so with an intense hunger for wisdom? Look at Harry."

Harry had been standing like a statue ever since he had put his glasses back on. The only movement which betrayed that he was not petrified was a very rare blinking and the even rarer coursing of a tear down a cheek. Hermione watched him in awe as he continued to gaze fervently at the message.

"He is receptive," whispered Dumbledore. "He has paid an enormous price to see these words, and peace is indeed what he most intensely desires. It will take him time to bring the message from his conscious mind to infuse the core of his being. If he succeeds, he will find a path to peace, which will give him power which can overcome any evil which might be found within any being. It is well that Voldemort did not get here first, not that he would have valued it, much less heeded it, but that he would have destroyed it, like a large beast soiling a crystal-pure pool of water, rendering it unusable by those who come after."

"Professor, I know there was a prophecy about Harry, although I don't know just what it said - is this a part of it?"

"I'm not sure. I think it will guide and hasten Harry to what he needs to purify himself and unlock the power within, though he might also eventually have found it on his own."

"You spoke of it filling his entire being, of living by these words, of purifying himself - it sounds like he is to become some sort of a … a holy man."

"There are worse terms for a person whose character is molded to benevolence."

"Is he to treat everyone like that - even Voldemort and the Death Eaters!?"

Dumbledore nodded, acknowledging both that it was true and that it was a very difficult task to accomplish.

"But can Harry become like that and still be a fighter?"

"Do you think it incompatible for such a person to fight? Would he not be practicing the greatest kindness to put a stop to Voldemort? And a kind heart is not a sign of weakness but of an abiding strength. The problem for Harry has not been whether he can become powerful enough to oppose Voldemort, but whether he can maintain his soul in the process. Harry has for six years been coming to grips with the notion that he must face Voldemort. A very clever friend I had when I was a young man said 'Beware when staring into the abyss - when you do the abyss stares into you.' Not everything he said should be heeded, but this is apropos."

"I hate to admit not understanding that, Professor."

"Harry has to face Voldemort - that is Harry's abyss into which he must stare. To vanquish him, Harry can either become like Voldemort or the very antithesis. He has known instinctually from the time he put on the Sorting Hat that he must choose either path, and that he preferred the path Tom Riddle could not find. His soul is open presently, and I believe he is following his better nature on the way opposite of that taken by Voldemort."

"I feel like I'm about to lose my friend," Hermione sniffled slightly.

"Not at all, he needs you and all of us he loves desperately. That's what keeps drawing him back from all the hurts he has borne. Don't misunderstand - he is not otherworldly and unlikely to become so, though in many ways he may come to stand apart. But he has been set apart for some time already. Yet he has not and will not ever lose his need and love for those around him. I cannot see Harry ever becoming a hermit - that path is mere avoidance, almost a form of spiritual suicide, disengaging from the world. I was concerned he might choose that way in response to the prophecy and the dangers he exposes his friends to. You have all done a marvelous job sticking by him. Harry understands very well that to love people you must spend time with them. A wise poet once said 'Time, oh give me time, for time is the lover's gift."

"Was that Browning, or Shakespeare?"

Dumbledore smiled and winked at her "Boy George."

Hermione suppressed a giggle in that reverent place, then glanced at Harry to make sure she had not disturbed him. She whispered to Dumbledore "That clown!?"

"He has had his problems, no doubt, but there's not such a surplus of wisdom in the world that I'll refuse it wherever I find it. To profess love without spending time is hollow. Circumstances may interfere, but generally you give time to what you love, and as much as Harry has been trying to limit his emotional pain, virtually all of his time has been spent with and on behalf of all of you - all of us. No, Harry couldn't stand to abandon those he loves, and he is all the better for it, though he bears pain that neither of us can imagine; yes, even myself, Miss Granger."

Hermione watched Harry for several more minutes and then whispered again to Dumbledore, "In talking with Harry about his visions of deaths, there is something I have noticed, Professor: he never seems to see his own."

"I have noticed that as well. He may not be sharing such visions, but I think rather that he does not dread his own death the way he fears it for others. He certainly has not shrunk from danger. It is his love for others, for us all, which has kept him with us, that he might protect us all from what would happen if he failed."

It was more than three hours before the shifting of the sun caused the message to disappear. Harry did not appear to move a muscle in that whole time except to blink. When it finally faded, he turned to Dobby, Bill, Hermione and Dumbledore, "We can go now."