The House of Wolves, 8th years
Summary: Harry and the others are blackmailed by the headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, to finish their school year that they missed in order to fight in the war. How will they cope and how does Severus Snape play his role?
Chapter One: The House of Black
Harry POV:
War is hell. It taught us many things, things that normal people in normal societies have no reason of knowing or enacting. That's what makes us stand out. Not many people will watch a person stick a hand in their coat or pocket and think 'Oh god, he's going for his wand' and then start to react accordingly. It's not embarrassing, I know, because it's saved our lives quite a few times. But things can get a bit awkward when our reaction draws attention and it wasn't warranted. It's the little things that add up, because you don't really think anything's wrong until something big happens. Big things are just small things added up, after all. I sigh as I toss aside the Daily Prophet and take a sip of tea…War is hell, even when it's over.
I don't know how long I've sat in the kitchen staring at the wall, but the suns finally rising and the others will start coming down soon. I take this as my chance to actually do something productive. There's a few of us living in Grimmauld Place, or the 'Ancestral House of Black'. No one wanted to separate after the war, having gotten used to each other's company that warranted security and comfort. Mrs. Weasley had thrown a teary fit when she discovered that none –not even her own children- were going to be going to The Burrow. Mr. Weasley had understood the best, mainly because George accidently stunned the man when he walked up on him without him seeing. It wasn't that they didn't want to, it was out of fear of accidently harming one of them. Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and him all lived in the House of Black. Percy had moved back into The Burrow, well he was forced actually, and the eldest siblings, Bill and Charlie returned to their jobs. This didn't stop Mrs. Weasley though, everyone had to go over on the weekends and have dinner. I grin, Mrs. Weasley was a mother hen.
"I spell food!" I heard a grumbling voice exclaim.
"Good morning, Ron. Sleep alright?" I asks, sitting a plate in front of him. Ron grinned and thanked him for the food. Ron was wearing a green tank top and red and gold gym shorts. His scars on his shoulder and calf stood out vividly. Splintching really did a number on him. Ron nodded his head to his question, though, so that was good.
"Yeah, Hermione gave me a dreamless sleep potion. Speaking of, Fred and George are up as well, they'll be down in a few minutes. Last I heard, they were fighting over who took a shower first." Ron grinned. I laugh, it sounded like them.
"Where's Ginny?" Ron asks. I grimace slightly.
"She left for Luna's around two this morning." I inform. Ron nodded his head in understanding, his face going solemn. It was no secret that they all suffered night terrors, but Luna didn't have anyone to be there for her immediately. Mr. Lovegood was in no condition to comfort his daughter for various reason. The most prominent was, was that Luna –despite her forgiving and easy going nature- simply could not seek comfort or security through her father because he betrayed Harry, Ron and Hermione by selling them out to be tortured at the hands of the death eaters at Malfoy Manor…
"I wish she'd move here. She's more than welcome" Ron sighs. I nods my head, but a grin broke out of my face. It was nice to hear Ron claim this house as his as well. Ron blushed scarlet when he realized what he said.
"I-I mean, that is, if you were okay with it, that is" Ron stuttered over his words.
"It's fine Ron. I agree whole heartedly. This is as much your house as it is mine, well, as well as Hermione's and the others, you know." I laugh and wave him off. I finish placing all the food on the table before sitting down myself. There was a plenty of food for all of them. Bacon, toast, eggs, ham, sausage, grits, orange juice, apple juice and pumpkin juice.
"Where's Hermione?" I asks, saving Ron as he still looked a bit pink. Ron bit into toast before replying.
"She's upstairs getting ready. Last I saw, she was putting on make- up and then going to do her hair…don't know why she bothers, she's gorgeous either way" Ron claims just as Hermione walked down and heard the last bit of what Ron said. I smile at the blush Hermione gained and the oblivious Ron who continued to eat.
"Nice, Ron" I utter. Ron looked at me confused, so I nod my head in Hermione's direction. Ron snapped his head to look and –accordingly- started to choke on his food. Both Hermione and I roll our eyes.
"Thank you, Ron." Hermione says still blushing even as she violently pounded on the red heads back to dislodge the food he caught in his throat.
"Ah, young love my dear-" Fred started as he popped into the kitchen, just as George popped in after him.
"-brother, knew you had it in you!" George finishes. Sometimes, I wonder if those two really did have telepathy. Ron merely glared at his brothers before fixing Hermione a 'hearty' amount of food for her.
"RON!" Hermione explains go wide eyes. The look clearly said 'I'm not going to be able to eat it all'.
"You need to eat more, 'Mione! Not that you don't look good as you are but…" Ron trailed off wisely, he was just digging a deeper whole with each word. Hermione sighed.
"You look great, Hermione, but you really should eat more. You're not eating enough and it's starting to show; that's what Ron meant to say" I save my best friends from my other. Hermione looked down at the food with a frown and Ron seemed grateful at his intervention.
"I just…don't have much of an appetite." Hermione says just barely above a whisper. They all knew Hermione wasn't starving herself, at least not on purpose, but she really was going pale with the lack of food. They were grateful and relieved that she wasn't actually going too far as to lose too much weight, but they were afraid that it would escalate.
"We know, but you've got to eat" Fred says sitting down and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe not as much as what our dear brother expects though" George chips in helpfully, causing Hermione to giggle despite the serious and awkward situation they were all in. Hermione looks at all of our worried faces before nodding.
"I'll try" Hermione offers.
"That's all we asks. Now…where's Ginny?" Fred asks interrupting himself.
"Luna's" I inform yet again. Both twins and Hermione nodded solemnly.
"Right…Fred and I have decided to hire help to run the joke shop for a bit." George explains when Fred immediately stuffed his face. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in shock. The joke shop was the twin's baby!
"We…uh…" Fred cleared his throat as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Aren't all that comfortable around-"George continues.
"Fireworks and lots of people yet" Fred finishes with George nodding. I wipe my face and turn around to face the wall of the kitchen.
"Harry?" Hermione asks noticing him turn, gaining everyone's attention. I shake my head trying to signal that I was fine, but God knows I wasn't.
"Harry?" Ron piped up standing and walking over to me. I glance at him and see him frown at whatever expression was on my face.
"We're all pretty fucked up, aren't we?" I voice. The kitchen goes silent. For the next few minutes we just sort of sit in silence staring at each other. That was, until Hedwig flew through the window with Hogwarts envelopes.
…
Ginny didn't know what to expect when she came back from Luna's. Maybe Ron and Harry fist fighting again, maybe Hermione hexing the twins, hell, even the twins destroying the living room again, but not what she saw. All she heard when she stepped out of the fire place was;
"She's gone mad!"
"What's she thinking!?"
"-bloody hell-" and so on and so forth.
So she walked into the kitchen and very calmly sat next to Harry who was merely re-reading a letter with a frown.
"What's going on, Harry?" Ginny asks. Harry looked up surprised before merely handing her the letter. Ginny read the letter, frowned, and then reread it. To sum it up, Minerva McGonagall was a Slytherin in Lions clothing. She wanted all of them to attend their 'last' year of Hogwarts…
"Well?" Ginny asks. Everyone looked at her. Ginny sighed.
"Are we going or not? Because, I for one, refuse to go by myself or leave someone behind" Ginny elaborates.
"I hate to say this, but we've all got issues-"Fred says sitting down again.
"Ones that could cause harm to others…it'd be rather immature of us just to-"George continues as he too sat down.
"-risk people like that." They finish together.
"But, this will probably be the only chance we get to finish our schooling" Hermione pointed out.
"Yes, but whose going to deny any of us a job?" Ron counters, not an ounce of arrogance shown, only resignation.
"I doubt Professor McGonagall would invite us back without taking measure to ensure others safety." Ginny points out.
Harry listened as the battle of yay or nay took place, taking up most of the evening. In the end it was decided that it was too much of a risk for them to be around other people at the moment. And the safety of others came before their education, even if it did put out Hermione.
…
Severus Snape watched as Minerva McGonagall read a letter that was just delivered. Her face looked the sternest Severus has ever seen it, and being once a student, Headmaster and fellow colleague, that was saying something.
"Something wrong, Minerva?" Severus asks sitting down his cup of tea. Minerva took a deep breath before holding out the letter to him. Severus raised an eyebrow before taking the offered letter.
"Good Evening, Professor McGonagall,
We really appreciate the offer but we must decline. We sort of have a lot on our plates right now, being famous and all, so we thought we'd lock ourselves in Grimmauld place for the year. – Ginny Weasley, note my displeasure…can one go crazy staring at the same blasted walls for over a year?
What Ginny is trying to say, Minny, is that we are dealing with some issues that are a bit…explosive, if you will. We don't think you really need that right now"- Gred and Forge Weasley, Sorry, Ginny's a bit…restless. We would've loved to show you some new pranks of ours!
Professor, we thank you for the offer! We really do appreciate it and we don't take it lightly!-Hermione and Ron.
Sorry, Professor. To sum it all up, we've discussed the pro's and cons of us attending our final year. We are all in agreement that it would be beneficial, however, we fear the risk of us being around the other students. The cons and safety of the students outweighed the benefits. We know you would not make this invitation lightly, however, you haven't seen…how we get sometimes. It's not pretty and it's not safe. We thank you, though, for everything you've done for us.- Harry Potter, and don't worry about Ginny, she's only upset because she's been up since 2 a.m with Luna.
Severus handed the letter back and leaned back in his chair.
"So, what are you going to do?" Severus asks. He guaranteed that Potter and the others would have merely accepted the invitation had they seen the smirk that Minerva gained.
"Severus, I may be out for a bit before the starting feast. Please see to it that everything goes to plan" Minerva states.
"Are you sure you wish to leave me in charge?" Severus asks. It was no secret that not all was well when he was Headmaster. Students tortured, 'Professors' abusing their powers…
"Of course, Severus, I'd trust no one more than you" Minerva replied casually. But the edge to her voice let Severus know that she was being serious. Severus lowered his gaze and nodded.
"Besides, if memory serves me correctly, you were drugging the students with healing and pain potions" Minerva announced as if she read his mind. Severus hid his shock well.
"And where, pray tell, would you hear such atrocious rumor?" Severus asks, because he honestly thought he was good at being sly! Minerva smiles softly at him.
"The house elves, of course" Minerva answered. But Severus couldn't help but think that she left out something…hmm.
"How do you plan to get Potter and the rest of his army to come back?" Severus asks. Minerva smirked that Slytherin smirk again.
"Well,-" Severus listened and nearly choked on his tea a few times. Why was this woman a Gryffindor?! She should have been a snake…
… oOo oOo …
A/N The next chapter should contain the grand entrance to the D.A and Harry and co. being led by the headmistress herself. I have no idea when I'll update though…