Chapter 2 - A New Circle
Mum noticed my eyes tracking Harry as he walked past us, blindly stumbling after Professor McGonagall. He had looked at me very briefly, then seemed to force himself to look away. I winced each time I saw his eyes fix upon a dead body. He shivered when he saw an especially young body. I didn't recognise her, but she couldn't have been older than a second year. I wanted to tear after them, but Professor McGonagall looked so fiercely determined and Mum's arms felt so comforting.
"You can't go to him yet," Mum cautioned me. If Professor McGonagall is dragging him off to some private place, it must be very important. It would be wrong for you to interrupt. I'm going to be alright. George is with me. Harry came from Professor McGonagall's office. I saw Neville go up. You should too. I've done all I can for you for now. Your friends can help you in a way I can't. They saw the battle differently than I did. I've seen this before. It's new to all of you. Go! George and I will be fine."
I felt guilty, but I allowed Mum to push me away. I walked toward the gargoyle. It looked like it had been mortally wounded. My mind was adrift as I mourned my losses and then I was at the top of the stairs and entering the headmaster's office. I saw Neville, with his back to me and watching Ron and Hermione bent over the giant brass bowl of Dumbledore's pensieve. I walked up and put my hand on Neville's back.
"Hello, fellow warrior," I greeted him.
"Oh, hi Ginny. They're watching Snape's memories. Harry thinks it's important for us to see them. He said they will explain a lot - why he had to do what he did."
Ron and Hermione finished and stepped away from the pensieve.
"Your turn," Hermione whispered. I could see tears running down her cheeks. She saw me.
"I'm not sure you should," Hermione warned me, as I took a step forward to follow Neville. Harry... it's so sad. Maybe you should talk to Harry first. You've already been through so..."
I could tell she meant well and wanted to shield me from pain, but how could I hold back from a sight Harry thought was important. I was into the pensieve a second behind Neville. I bawled my eyes out, right inside the pensieve. Poor Harry! What could I possibly say to comfort him. How could Dumbledore be so cruel to such a loyal little boy... and leave Professor Snape to make the explanations. Snape! My Harry had to learn all of this from Snape.
As soon as I left the pensieve, Hermione's arm was around me, then Ron made it a three-way hug. This made me feel a little better, but it took a while until my tears stopped. I saw Luna and George at the pensieve. Hermione was smart enough not to say anything. Ron wasn't.
"I'm sorry. Tough on Harry, at least I know why Snape was so mean to him. And why he could be such a silent prat. Dumbledore?"
"You're not helping her, Ron," Hermione admonished him.
I watched Luna bent over the pensieve, wondering how she would react to the scenes which had so jolted me. I was shocked, but I also had a much better idea of what Harry's life had been like and what he had suffered and not shared with me. I thought of myself as Harry's girlfriend, but there was so much about him that I hadn't known. As far as I knew, Luna had never loved Harry, although they did seem somehow drawn to each other.
"Ginny!"
That highly emotional shout startled me from my thoughts. I looked up and there was my Harry - dirty and worn, but more magnificent than I had ever seen him. I rushed at him, wrapping my arms around him in a bear hug and then a snog to end all snogs. "I missed you so much, Harry!"
"I missed you too. You're the only reason I hesitated about walking to Voldemort. I didn't want to die, without... I've been with Professor McGonagall. The dead bodies... small children! I'm so sorry about Fred", Harry whispered back to me. "I've seen way too much death today, but the loss of Fred really hurts, and it must be so many times worse for you. I'm angry but too sad and spent to do anything about it."
"Yes, I couldn't cry at the time, because you can't cry and fight, and I knew I needed to fight. Afterward, I just collapsed all over Mum. She's in worse shape than I am. George is still completely numb. I don't know when any of us are going to be normal. I feel like I must be a terrible person. Even while I was grieving and comforting Mum, I couldn't stop myself from looking around, trying to find out what had happened to you. That was probably a dumb thing to say. Oh, these tears... the pensieve.
"It would be easier on Mum, if Dad hadn't been called back to the Ministry. Shacklebolt wanted him and he didn't think he could say no. I could tell how much he hated to leave us. I told him that this fight isn't over yet and we all just have to keep pushing forward, as long as we can. Mum told him he had to go. She said the rest of us would be fine. I hope she's right.
"Things haven't been easy for you, either, Harry. The pensieve, that was horrible. To make you surrender to Voldemort like that, and to go all alone, without a fight. I can't believe Dumbledore could do that. I never saw that side of him. I got along with him alright, but you loved him. You must feel totally betrayed."
"It was a jolt, but I had to move past it. I'll tell you the whole story, but Dumbledore arranged for my mother and father and Sirius to be with me. The worst part was when I had to walk past you on the lawn. I feared I would never see you again and I missed you more than anyone. I almost gave up the struggle right there, but I knew if I didn't keep going, that Voldemort would kill you and everyone else I cared about. Only I could. Professor McGonagall's at the bottom of her stairs. I need to talk to all of you before she arrives. She said she'd wait, but you know her as well as I do."
I saw that George and Luna were out of the pensieve. Harry must have noticed before I did. Harry led us into a far corner of the room, one devoid of framed headmasters and brass instruments. He spoke at little more than a whisper.
"McGonagall insisted upon talking to me. She wants me, really all of us, to return to Hogwarts. She says I'll be safe at Hogwarts. She thinks I'm damaged. Part of me says she's trying to manipulate me, but the bigger part says I am damaged. I feel so different. My head has never felt like this. She doesn't think I can defend myself. Voldemort was a special case. We were linked, and he foolishly followed the prophecy. She says we can't fight the Death Eaters the way they normally ambush people and apparate-fight. She promised to teach us that trick and..."
We all leaned in as Harry's whisper became barely audible: "... and protect me." He shivered as he said it. I think revulsion rather than fear.
"There's more. She wants us to help her protect Draco. He's in as much danger as I am - as all of us are. The Death Eaters hate the Malfoys. There are Death Eaters left."
"No!" Ron shouted. "I don't want to be here. I'd sooner kill Draco than protect him. I won't be a.."
"I think it can be okay," Harry soothed Ron. "We'll be on our guard in case he turns bad."
"He already is bad, mate."
"That makes this even harder," Harry complained to Ron. "Professor McGonagall asked me for a special favor and I said yes. I...:
Harry was interrupted by an "ahem" from the top of the stairs and I saw a look on the Professor's face that said a meeting had been called to order, before ours had ended. Professor McGonagall was much bossier than I remembered. I wasn't finished talking to Harry. We had important things to say to each other. We all did.
Harry followed McGonagall's lead and stepped away from me. I groaned as his arms left my body. Harry just stared at my face. "I can see where you were cut, and your mother fixed your face. All the clean patches on your face trace healed wounds. Don't worry, you look great. It's just strange to see you like this and realise how beaten up you must have been. Hermione looks half destroyed. I should fix her face. She doesn't have a mother here to care for her."
"Ron will take care of her," I told Harry.
Hearing my words, Ron promptly set about healing the cuts to Hermione's face and magically cleaning away most of the blood and grime. McGonagall looked impatient, but this had no impact at all upon my brother. I was proud of him and more than a little resentful toward McGonagall. She had intruded upon our moment and was determined to make it hers.
"Ahem, if I have Harry's and Ron's permission to continue, I've called you all together to share what has happened and to warn that the battle is not over," said Professor McGonagall.
We all grudgingly gave her our attention.
"We've just learned that the Carrows escaped, and other Death Eaters likely made it over the walls. I regret that I didn't have the fortitude to finish some of them off, when they were lying on the floor insensate. The Carrows certainly deserved it. The Death Eaters have a way of continually returning to the fight."
"Don't feel badly about that," Hermione replied. "I couldn't use a curse worse that 'Petrificus' during the battle. Still, I think that caused someone to fall from a broom."
"I did," Ron replied matter-of-factly. "Avada Kedavra. I heard someone fall, too. Couldn't tell whom in the dark, but I got at least one of them. I'm not sorry. They killed Fred."
McGonagall rushed in to get the discussion back on track. "I was present at the founding of the Order. Most of its members have been taken from us. Many were your age when they joined. Now it's time to add a new generation. As the new leader of the Order, I want you to join as full members. I'll understand if you want to stick within your own circle. If you choose that, the Order stands ready to support you. I hope that we will freely share information, so we can both be more effective. For the moment, I think it best we keep things informal. She gave us a modified riff of what she had used on Harry. Harry whispered to me what McGonagall had told him about Ron needing to return to Hogwarts.
I objected, "Don't believe her. Ron will be just fine, whichever course you choose. He's a lot stronger than she pretends to think."
I received a glare from McGonagall and she went right back to talking. I think she must have heard me.
"As you know, Kingsley Shacklebolt has agreed to be the temporary Minister of Magic, until an election can be held. He asked me to be the new Headmaster of Hogwarts, and I accepted."
"I didn't know. Isn't that kind of quick to pick a new Minister?" Hermione asked.
"You think?" McGonagall answered. "But please let me stay on track or I'll forget to say something or say something inappropriate. There is so much work to rebuild the Wizarding world that the Minister asked Mr. Weasley to serve as Deputy Minister. Mr. Weasley will shortly meet the Muggle Prime Minister. The Death Eaters caused a lot of damage in the Muggle world and their Prime Minister isn't convinced that we can sort out our own affairs."
"Does the Order still exist, now that Voldemort is dead, and our side controls the government? Does Shacklebolt want the Order to continue?" Hermione demanded to know.
It seemed a completely reasonable question, yet Professor McGonagall seemed very surprised that it was asked.
"...I'm sure he does... it stands to reason..." McGonagall finally replied. "It's the sensible thing to do. A time could come very soon when the Ministry is no longer in friendly hands, and the Order will be all that any of us has to rely upon. Besides, with running the government comes rules to follow. Kingsley is likely to want some things done that he can't be on record asking the aurors to do for him - important things which must be done if the Death Eaters are to be finally vanquished. The Order can also be his eyes and ears outside the Ministry. It's too early for him to know whom he can trust, apart from Arthur and possibly a few aurors and others he knows from the days before Thicknesse took over. But enough of that! Here's to our shared future - the new government, the Order, and Dumbledore's Army!"
Full wine glasses materialised in front of us.
"Cheap stunt!" I told Harry. I didn't know if the Ministry even had a flag. One had never flown over Hogwarts. If one existed, I'm quite sure it would have unfurled before our eyes and fluttered crisply in a magical breeze.
Glasses clinked, and wine flowed down parched and tired throats. "To Dumbledore's Army!" shouted Luna. "Yes, to all of us, and to those yet to join us", said Hermione, in a surprisingly quiet voice. I overheard her whisper to Ron: "she just took charge of us, didn't she? She was so sly, I almost missed it."
I had drunk my wine to steady my nerves, but I didn't join in the toasting. I was upset about what McGonagall had said about Harry and Ron.
"Let me build on your enthusiasm", said Professor McGonagall. "I've suggested to Harry that all of you return next term, to finish your educations and to use the school as your base of operations. At least for now, we don't know how much Harry's partial death and his killing of Voldemort have hampered his magical talents and ability to protect himself. Until we know, it's safest for you all to stay here and to help me keep Harry safe, while he regains his strength."
I saw Harry wince as McGonagall said that. A large part of me rebelled on Harry's behalf. How presumptuous was she to suggest that my Harry, the hero who defeated Voldemort, couldn't defend himself?
McGonagall continued before I could give voice to my outrage. "Dumbledore found Hogwarts to be a great place from which to run the Order. The school's magical protections are both better than those anywhere else in the Wizarding world, but also so expected for the students' protection that they do not attract undue notice."
"I'm happy living in the real world", said George. "I have a business, and if we have a battle to finish, we need to be out in the world protecting the new government. I won't hide while my family and business are unprotected. That wouldn't be fair to Lee. This is where Fred died. Fred and I left in a blaze of glory, and not for scholarship. Returning alone would be too strange. I wasn't that keen on Hogwarts' rules when I was here, and I'm not eager to be treated like a child."
McGonagall replied, "I have no desire to treat brave fighters like children. I remind you that most of the real action, including the last battle, was here. The staff and students played the key roles. This school has always been central to the Wizarding community. We need to make it safe, so parents will send the next generation here. We must teach survival skills, but also bridge the gaps in the Wizarding community and teach a unifying philosophy. Hogwarts will change, for good or for bad. I want you to help me to change it for the good. I need your help to save Hogwarts - I hope that all of you love Hogwarts as much as I do. It has not escaped anyone's notice that Voldemort and most of the Death Eaters are from Slytherin, or that most of the Slytherin students fought on Voldemort's side. This school cannot be allowed to create the next generation of Death Eaters. I was shocked to see so many Slytherins attacking their own school. You didn't seem surprised at all. I need your guidance to understand the world as you see it.
"As to your last point, I'm willing to interpret the rules flexibly for adults returning to Hogwarts. I have no interest in hounding you with petty infractions, but I expect you all to set a good example for the younger students. For your return to have meaning, it must be about study and serious work, not about Quidditch and Weasley novelties. I will be interested in your supplying as many as possible of your inventions that you feel may have combat value."
"I don't plan to return to Hogwarts," Ron was adamant. "We need to get on with our lives and there's work to do outside Hogwarts. We learned a lot this year - things that were never taught here. A lot of our classes were bad. It is as if they were designed just to keep us busy and not causing trouble for the Ministry. You know that's true. We had to teach ourselves how to fight the Death Eaters. There is more to learn out there than in here. Dad is going to be at the Ministry. Now will be the best time for Harry and me to find Ministry jobs. Anyway, George and I must be with Mum. She has taken Fred's death really hard... not that I didn't, but Mum will fall apart if she's on her own."
"You'll be able to continue your adventures. I'm not asking you to spend all your time here. There are several expeditions I want you to undertake. There are many resources at Hogwarts, which I would put at your disposal: the restricted library, Dumbledore's private library including a collection of memories that I can't access myself, full greenhouses, magical creatures, and Professors Slughorn's and Snape's storerooms. Madam Pomphrey is a combat nurse. You can still fight, but it's great to have a safe, warm place to sleep, with good food on the table. Dumbledore could take decisive action from Hogwarts as easily as if he were sitting in the Minister's chair. If not, he would have been Minister. He got out into the world when he had to. And your mother won't be alone, Ron. She agreed to replace Professor Snape and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think she is a resource we haven't made enough use of."
That caught Ron by surprise! His flustered response sounded like a mumbled "well... dunno ... maybe, have to think on it. Harry..."
"I've always wanted to remain a part of Hogwarts", said Neville, "but I'll graduate this year and have to leave."
"Since you saved this school, the faculty will name you Professor immediately. I expect another vacancy. In the meantime, you can assist Professor Sprout in herbology. We want an arsenal of potions and we'll need lots of herbs. If you're interested, the job is yours."
"I'm interested."
"I'd appreciate it if all of you would consider the possibility of staying here."
"I think Dumbledore would want me to come back", said Harry.
The pensieve experience must have severely affected Ron, since his response was a very loudly whispered: "Screw Dumbledore!"
Professor McGonagall gave him the stare, but my brother out-stared her and she ended staring at her own hands on her own lap.
"Hogwarts really has the finest library of magical books I've ever seen, and I do want to graduate", Hermione sounded more than a little excited. The enthusiasm was spoiled, knowing it was aimed at shielding Ron.
"I don't really have any choice", I said, "Mum will make me come back, probably Ron too."
"Not going to happen. I'm old enough to make my own decisions and unlike a certain member of my family, I actually finished my sixth year." My brother had fully recovered his defiant equilibrium. I was proud of him.
Professor McGonagall realised again that she was losing control of the meeting. "Good. I need to know your final answers tomorrow. There is one more order of business before we eat and take a nap."
Everyone objected that they were too excited to nap.
"Very well," agreed McGonagall, "we'll eat and talk." An Elf brought trays of sandwiches and cakes and flasks of butter beer. We relaxed a little as we ate.
Hermione asked, "explain why you said we should consider the benefits of Muggles and youth."
"You need to start looking beneath the surface of things, to really understand this world. In many ways, Hogwarts was intended to keep you from seeing certain things as they really were. It was called 'protecting the young'. You have the advantage of youth to approach things with freshness and creativity. Hermione can compare ours to the Muggle world.
"Let me use Snape and house Elves as examples. I think you'll agree that potions are very basic to Wizarding. They once were the greatest weapons in our world. Centuries ago, more Witches and Wizards were killed or controlled by potions than by curses. It should have surprised you to discover that Snape's potions book, despite falling apart with age, had the same content as the new books. Yet, Harry knows that as a student, Snape was able to greatly improve upon his book's instructions. Every other Wizard was willing to memorise and repeat the instructions in exactly the same way they have been followed for hundreds of years. You could have bought a nearly identical potions book two hundred years ago. We now know that at least one boy tinkered with his potions instructions over and over until he found a better way. Think of the creativity and determined effort required to achieve that. I find it interesting that Snape, the Professor, did less to improve potions than did Snape, the student. He researched and learned to make many esoteric potions, but these were old recipes that he discovered in the library.
"Snape created the curse that Harry found in the margin of the potions book. It is a very special curse, since it worked, without any practice whatsoever, for a student who didn't know what it was supposed to do, other than harm an enemy. In class you had to visualise the end result, practice, and move by inches to master charms, curses, and transfigurations. Even a simple spell like 'Leviosum' required a lot of practice. You've learned to use 'Leviosum' without vocalization, just by thinking it. That's because 'leviosum' is just a simple mnemonic to quickly trigger the practiced memory by which your mind performs the spell. If you had thought about that, Snape's curse would seem as astounding as it is. I've searched extensively, but never found any mention of that curse. Snape must have invented it."
"I think it's fair to say that Wizards aren't willing to share their secrets," Harry replied. "There's no way of knowing how many improvements were made over the years and lost when their creators died."
"That's profound, Harry, and certainly part of the problem. Wizards are way too secretive and unwilling to cooperate with each other. But, you should also consider that Hermione's insight into the status of house Elves could only come from the Muggle world. To a Wizard, the enslavement of house Elves doesn't cause a moment's thought. It's just the natural order of things. The Elves accept it in the same manner. Hogwarts doesn't just teach Wizarding culture, it hammers it into your brains, until it becomes second nature, even to the Muggle-born. By making the Muggle-born feel inferior, those like the Malfoys force them to hide any trace of their Muggleness. A lot of potentially very useful new ideas and inventions from the Muggle world are thus locked out. I hardly think that is an accident. We always hear that this or that Muggle invention simply won't work here in the presence of magic, or anywhere else in our world. I doubt that is completely true. Ron did fly a Muggle car to Hogwarts and it did continue to operate in the Forbidden Forest."
"I was never ashamed to be Muggle-born," Hermione complained, "but I did feel a strong need to prove that I could be a better Witch than any pure blood. Doing magic which they were unable to do was the best revenge upon those who taunted me. I haven't given up my Muggle knowledge. I spend my summers studying chemistry, physics, geometry, calculus, and economics. It reminds me of my roots and that I can do a lot of things that Wizards can't. It also reassured my parents that they hadn't totally lost their only child. Only... now they have, I had to make them forget me."
Hermione looked very sad as she sat silently for a moment, looking as if she was fighting back tears. Her voice was both very determined and a little shaky when she was able to speak again.
"I will always be proud of my parents - proud of their achievements, how they raised me, and how brave they were to allow me to come to Hogwarts. I don't feel the slightest regret that I'm not pureblood. If you think the Slytherins made me feel inferior, or if you think they forced me to change in any way to satisfy them, then... then you just don't know me at all. I'm as proud of my family as any of you are of yours."
Now she was crying. The rest of us sat in silence. McGonagall looked both guilty and a little surprised that her words could have this effect upon Hermione.
"I know you didn't mean to insult Hermione," I told McGonagall, fixing a fierce glare upon her. "It's just the sort of incidental prejudice to which even friendly pure-blood Witches subject the Muggle-born."
McGonagall looked a little abashed, but also gave me a dirty look. I put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. I wanted to comfort Hermione and let her know that I saw her as the equal of any pure-blood Witch. I also saw this as a rebuke to McGonagall.
Hermione wiped her eyes and regained her voice. "I do think a little about the workings of the Wizard world. One reason I don't feel at all inferior, in addition to being better at magic than any of the Slytherins, is that I see a lot of problems in this world. There was one thing I wanted to ask, but it never seemed the right time. You lent me a time turner to allow me to schedule more classes. Later, I was told that time turners were no longer available, because the Ministry's whole supply had been destroyed. Can't the Ministry simply manufacture another batch of time turners?"
"No, they can't. There is not a Wizard alive who knows how to make a time turner. We don't know if they were made long ago by Wizards, or by Goblins. There are many such things stored in the Ministry which nobody understands. I hope you'll help us to understand them. It's not just Muggle technology which we don't understand. We've forgotten some of the best inventions of our own forebears.
"On the subject of inventiveness, I understand that you were puzzled when Dumbledore willed his deluminator to Ron. I know you now say 'of course, Ron was to use it on the quest for Horcruxes', but I think there's more to it than that. That was Dumbledore's only invention. Listing the uses of dragons' blood was more a rediscovery and categorising of what already existed. Most of his publications were an old professor's conceit, which didn't really add to our box of tricks. That deluminator was very precious to him. He had a very good reason to pass it on to Ron. Arthur Weasley is the most inventive living Wizard and has as great a fascination with Muggle equipment as anyone I've ever met. George has also proven his creativity. I think Dumbledore was trying to encourage Ron to pursue the inventive bent that his father and the twins have shown. They and Snape have been the most creative among us. If we are to survive, we need our Peverell's."
As we ate and drank and generally relaxed our bodies, I felt my anger seeping away. Hermione also seemed calmer. Even Ron looked mellow. Could McGonagall have added a potion to the wine?
The group amiably chatted, with brief interruptions as the professor received reports of this or that section of the castle and grounds having its magical protections restored. Everyone felt a closer understanding of the professor as she revealed that she viewed her Quidditch obsession as something of a vice, that she had been a Chaser for the Gryffindor team, that she especially admired the Oxford dons who were able to create new knowledge, had a fascination bordering on Mr. Weasley's for Muggle customs and artifacts, that she understood a great deal more about Harry's extracurricular activities at Hogwarts than anyone suspected, that a Scottish Witch saw the world a little differently than an English Witch, and that she had carried out all manner of sabotage against Umbridge and the Carrows. She did not seem like a person who had dispatched half a dozen Death Eaters to the Beyond, but she had. She was justifiably proud to be a soldier, a teacher, and a scholar, and now she clearly intended to lead an army and rebuild a society. It cast a different light on their personalities to realise that it was Dumbledore who had never killed another Wizard. Dumbledore had taken Grindelwald alive. I made an internal groan as I realised that he had left the essential killing of Voldemort to my Harry.
Hermione raised another question, "If Wizards from Grindelwald to Voldemort wanted to subjugate the Muggles, why haven't we heard of Muggle-Wizard wars?"
"Because it was sheer madness," replied Professor McGonagall. "There were battles with Muggles in the past, just as there was war with the Goblins and a war with the Elves. Muggles have become a lot more numerous since then, and their military capabilities have increased tremendously. Just look at the numbers. About half of Wizard children from England and a slightly smaller fraction from Scotland and Wales are educated at Hogwarts. Each year's class is now less than 40 students. When I attended Hogwarts, our classes were twice as large. We live to an average age of about a hundred and twenty-five. Do the math. That makes only about 15,000 Wizarding folk in all of Britain, with about as many in continental Europe and perhaps 5,000 in Eire. On this whole world, there probably aren't more than 70,000 Wizards. To go to war with the Muggles would be the end of Wizards. What would we gain by defeating them, even if we could? There aren't enough of us to rule them."
As evening approached, a message was received that all of Hogwarts had at least temporary magical protection. "I don't expect an attack tonight, but it is a possibility," cautioned Professor McGonagall. "The professors and a few members of the Order are patrolling the corridors. The people at greatest risk are Harry and Draco Malfoy. I propose that we all sleep here tonight and that we invite Draco to join us. I don't propose that we share any of what we've discussed with Draco, especially not why there may be a special need to protect Harry. Any objections?"
"Not unless he behaves like an arrogant git," said Ron.
"His mother did help me," Harry told Ron. "Draco didn't fight against us today."
I said, "Good enough for me." No other voices were raised, so Professor McGonagall asked Luna to fetch Draco.
It was not an arrogant git that followed Luna up the stairs. In fact, Draco looked very small and was noticeably shaking, with dried tear tracks brushed off both his cheeks. His face was far too dirty for that little trick to hide the tears. He stopped and stood awkwardly halfway into the room.
"My parents have left," he blurted out. "I think the Death Eaters are chasing them. My mother says I must stay here for protection, because they want to kill me too. I just wish I could go and protect my mother. I'm not a child."
"I'm not sure what to think. My mother saved Potter, and Voldemort is dead, and my father doesn't seem to care, and nobody in Slytherin will look at me. I wanted to be in the fight, but my parents kept me in a corner like a child, while even Colin Creevey was fighting. I thought I was a favourite of Voldemort, but Mother says I was just supposed to die so Voldemort could punish Father. Then he was going to kill me just to make his wand stronger. Voldemort and Aunt Bella always terrified me. I guess most of you wish I were dead and aren't too happy to see me."
"Don't worry," said Harry, "Professor McGonagall asked us to watch your back, and we will. I'm not sure you've reformed, but I've learned to trust the Headmaster's judgment. If you behave we won't have a problem."
"I'm not going to give you a sleeping potion; I want you all to be reasonably alert", McGonagall said. "Harry, keep your wands handy, and I'd sleep under the cloak if I were you. The rest of you, spread out around the room and sleep on the floor. Dumbledore and I will keep watch. George, why don't you sleep opposite the stairs and keep your wand out. Ron and Hermione behind the desk, Luna and Miss Weasley behind the Pensieve cabinet …. Where's Miss Weasley? Potter, I'd better be able to tell Molly there's nothing improper going on under that cloak! Draco, over here by me."
"Just huddling together for warmth, Professor."
"You're acting like you think we are really in danger tonight", said Hermione, nicely diverting the Professor from Harry and me.
"Let's just say that a long and active life has taught me that it is wise to practice an over-abundance of caution."
