A/N: Hello again. This wasn't quite as quick of an update, but it was still fast. I am slowly realizing that the chances of me finishing this before DH comes out is pretty much nonexistant, but it is okay. I will still write MY version of things even if it becomes completely AU, which makes me sad, because as you all know, I am a slave to canon. But speaking of AU, one more little AU thing about this fic. Professor Zabini is mentioned in this chapter, and those of you who've read GUFT know that he was the potions professor in my story. I haven't decided yet if Slughorn is going to be in this fic, but I don't think he is actually necessary, so he probably will not be. But if he is, just pretend like you've been put under the Sororamor Charm and that you have two separate memories, one of a Professor Zabini and one of a Professor Slughorn. :) (Stupid HBP messing up my story!)
Anyway, on with the review responses.
Drayvin04: I'm glad you love this story, so I hurried up and updated. :)
Rebecca Lynn: I'm glad you were impressed with the quick update, this one wasn't quite as fast, but it is a bit longer, so that makes up for it. I know you hate Voldemort . . . we all do. But he must know what's going on. Necessary evils, you know. I hope you like this chapter.
Gossipchick: I'm glad my writing leaves you wanting to read more. I hope this chapter can tide you over.
Ecstace: Oh, I know! You have no idea how long I've been wanting to write the telling off of Vernon. It felt amazing and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. And I like the description of "chilling" for the last part. I'm always nervous about writing Voldemort, because he's a tough character to pull off. I don't want him to be a caricature, because he is such a complex character . . . yes, evil, but there's more there. And there will be quite a bit of him in this story, so I'm glad that so far I'm pulling it off. :)
Bahzad: Well the story is named after the spell, so you know it's going to play a big role. :) I hope this update was quick enough for you.
Lily's Petal: Happy belated birthday. I'm glad I could give you that present. And I'm glad that my writing makes you hate Snape less. He's not quite the loveable Severus he was in GUFT, but I am going to work on redeeming him, because deep in my heart, I want to believe that he will be redeemed in Deathly Hallows as well. :)
SiriuslyLoopyLupin: I never thought about the fact that in the actual stories Snape wouldn't have known who the prophecy referred to. I've always held the assumption that he would have known that it at least COULD have referred to Lily and James' son. But if what you said was true, I could see him accidently causing Lily's death being the thing that made him switch sides. Because while we know he hated James, we really have never had any real indication of his feelings for Lily, just that he called her a mudblood that one time, and if you've read GUFT, you know my feelings on the fact that she seemed surprised by it, as if he had never called her one before. Interesting . . . I will have to think on that . . . for 21 days, because after that I'll actually have the book! Excited! Still, for the sake of my story . . . it wasn't him. :)
storylover1992: I'm glad you liked Snape trying to probe her mind. I was definitely going for him being way out of line there, and I'm glad that made him more believable. Yay. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.
Believeinmagic14: I hope I didn't make you wait too long. Hope you like it. :)
LilyJamesaddict: Ha ha . . . that's really funny that you forgot this was a sequel. It would have been funnier if you didn't remember until after you sent me a nasty email saying that I was copying someone else's work or something. Hee. Anyway, you'll see Remus' reaction in this chapter . . . and his reaction to Petunia.
Chapter 4: Reunions and Truths
Harry was standing next to one of the people he hated more than anyone else in the world, besides Voldemort, of course, and possibly Wormtail and Bellatrix Lestrange, and maybe even the elder Malfoy. No, Harry definitely hated Snape more than the elder Malfoy . . . and really, Harry began to realize, he hated a lot of people.
But his point. He did have a point.
He was standing next to a man that he hated very much, and yet, he could feel no hate in his heart as he looked at the Burrow. It had always filled him with such a sense of happiness. The family he had always wanted was there, his best friend was there, but for the first time he looked at the Burrow and he knew that the girl he had fallen for was there. The girl that he could not be with.
Quite suddenly the happiness ebbed just a bit. Yet, he was still happy that he was going to get to see her. And also a bit nervous about his Aunt meeting her.
While they had not specifically talked about her, Harry trying to steer clear of anything related to the wizarding world during their conversations, he had briefly mentioned a girlfriend. He was beginning to learn that his Aunt was very observant and he knew it wouldn't be long before she figured out there was something between him and Ginny.
Harry shook his head, knowing that he could not think that way. He and Ginny could not be together, not as long as Voldemort lived.
He looked to his left and was amused to see a beaming Aunt Petunia, who was gazing at the Burrow as if it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. That made him realize exactly how different this new Aunt Petunia was, as the old one would have found it dirty and unruly.
Gazing to his right, he was even more amused by the look on Snape's face. He looked absolutely horrified, and frankly Harry couldn't blame him. He was about to walk into a house full of people who believed him a murderer.
Harry motioned for both of them to follow him and he made his way up to the Burrow's front door. He knocked and waited for the answer.
"Who's there?" Mrs. Weasley asked cautiously.
"It's Harry."
Forgetting all Ministry safety regulations, Mrs. Weasley flung the door open and threw her arms around Harry.
"Oh Harry, we weren't expecting you for a few more days. Ron said you'd be coming on your birthday . . ." Mrs. Weasley trailed off, taking in the sight of Aunt Petunia and then Snape.
She pushed Harry protectively behind her and raised her wand. "Why are these two horrible people with you Harry? What is going on?"
Harry was absolutely shocked to see Mrs. Weasley raising her wand in such a manner. In all the years that he had known her, he had never once seen her raise her wand with the intent to hex, but he could see in her eyes that that was exactly what she intended to do. Strangely enough, most of her anger seemed to be directed at his Aunt Petunia, rather than Snape.
"It's quite a long story, Mrs. Weasley, well really, two long stories, one of which I'm still not sure that I believe. But I can assure you that my Aunt is not here to hurt anyone, least of all me, and Snape . . . well, I think the Order should probably be assembled sometime soon so Snape might be able to tell his story. See if anyone believes him," Harry said, placing his hand on Mrs. Weasley's wand arm to gently lower it. She looked at him and gave him another hug.
"In any case, it is very good to see you, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said.
Aunt Petunia stepped up and said, "I know this will only serve to confuse you more, and we will get into that whole story later, but I wanted to properly introduce myself and also ask whether or not Bill is here, because I would really love to see him again."
Mrs. Weasley looked like Aunt Petunia had just slapped her, "Again? Why would you have ever met my son . . . wait."
Harry wondered if it was going to be like this every time Aunt Petunia re-met someone from her forgotten past. If so, he knew she was going to get really tired of explaining everything.
"I never met you, but Bill talked about you in passing. You and Lily were very close. You danced with Bill at her wedding . . . he told me that. Why am I only remembering this now?"
"Maybe you should try to call the Order together as soon as possible, so that I don't have to tell the story over and over again," Petunia said, smiling.
Mrs. Weasley nodded, still shaking her head a little, as if trying to clear it, when Ron came bounding down the stairs.
"Harry, mate. I thought I heard you . . . what the bloody hell is HE doing here?" Ron said, his wand already in his hand and leveled on Snape.
With that, Harry couldn't take it any longer. He broke into peals of laughter. Mrs. Weasley reprimanded Ron on his swearing and Ron just continued to glare at the former professor.
Snape looked at Harry as if he had gone insane, which Harry thought he just might have, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Perhaps you should have Arthur or Alastor or whomever is in charge of the Order now call a meeting immediately, or I am afraid I will be annoyed to death by wands being waved ineffectually in my face every five minutes," Snape sneered, causing Ron to turn an amusing shade of red.
"Yes, yes, a meeting. Lots to discuss," Mrs. Weasley said, turning and calling out to her husband, while motioning the unlikely trio into the house.
Harry seriously hoped that everything was so chaotic because of the arrival of two very surprising people, and not because the Order had fallen apart when Dumbledore had died. Everyone was running around like mad men and women trying to organize a meeting, and it worried Harry deeply. Even with the Ministry now in the know and sort of on his side, Harry knew that the Order was the best support he had in his quest to kill Voldemort.
Looking around for an adult he could ask who would actually answer his questions, his eyes landed on Bill. He cringed a little as he took in the eldest Weasley child. While not as bad as they were the night he had been attacked, his scars were still quite horrific. It pained Harry to see him that way, and from the look on his Aunt's face, Harry could tell it pained her as well.
"Bill? My God, Bill, what happened?" Aunt Petunia said, rushing to him.
Bill looked at her for a moment and then said, "Forgive me, but have we met?"
"Only once or twice, and it was a very long time ago, but Lily spoke very highly of you," Aunt Petunia said with a small smile.
Harry watched as an odd stream of emotions seemed to overtake Bill. At first was the confusion that Harry had now become accustomed to seeing, but then, it was a look of utter sadness, yet also . . . love.
"Lily," he said softly to himself. Then he looked up at Petunia and pulled her into a hug, "Petunia."
Harry felt as if he was intruding on a very private moment. He hadn't even known that Bill knew his mother, but clearly based on his reaction to seeing her sister, he had known her well . . . and cared deeply.
His aunt and Bill broke apart and before Bill could began asking the inevitable questions, Harry cut in. "You knew my mother?"
Bill looked at Harry and sighed.
"Yes, I knew her quite well. Your father, too. I've always wanted to tell you about them. I know you have so few connections to them, but it was hard. It was so hard for me to talk about them, especially Lily and I was just never able to find a way to bring them up. Now that your Aunt is back, I know that she will be able to tell you so much more about Lily than I ever could," Bill said.
"Back? So you're not confused?" Aunt Petunia asked.
"A bit, but at the same time, no. Lily always told me that she would find a way to protect you. And she was brilliant. I'm sure there was some sort of spell that has now been broken, and I assume that's what all of this running around is about. Letting the Order know that you're back," Bill said.
"Well, yes, there is me and also, him," Aunt Petunia said, motioning to Snape who was sitting in the corner being watched very closely by Ron.
"But . . . okay, now I'm confused," Bill said.
"I'll let my Aunt explain why Snape's here, but first I wanted to ask you a couple questions that I'm not sure anyone will answer," Harry said, cutting his Aunt off, which earned him a firm glare.
Bill looked around to check that his mother was otherwise occupied and said, "Go ahead, Harry. I'll answer what I can."
"What's happened to the Order? Why is there all this chaos to call a meeting?"
"Well, there hasn't really been an Order since Dumbledore died," Bill said. Harry was about to raise a protest when Bill held up his hand. "I mean there is still an Order, but it's in a bit of shambles right now. You know after we learned that Grimmauld Place belonged to you, we moved back in as headquarters, well when Dumbledore died the secret died with him. We couldn't tell any knew members where our Headquarters was. Plus, with Snape a known deserter . . . or maybe . . . we thought . . . anyway, it wasn't safe to have that be Headquarters anymore. With us being unable to choose a new Headquarters, things have been a bit hectic. Alastor and Remus have sort of taken over as co-heads of the Order, but both are difficult to contact at the moment."
Harry nodded. Without a headquarters or a set leader, he could see why the Order had dissolved into the mess he was seeing now. He thanked Bill and left him to catch up with his Aunt.
He found Ron still staring intently at their former professor.
"What's going on, Harry? Why is he here?" Ron asked.
Harry was impressed by his friend's restraint. Harry had told him that he needed to find out some things before he would be able to talk, and Ron had waved Harry off to do so without a single question. However, now that Harry was back, he could see the questions would be coming.
"He says he's on our side," Harry said, his own disbelief evident in his voice.
"Right. On our side. Killing Dumbledore helped us out so much," Ron said, looking at Snape with disbelief. "He really expects us to buy that?"
Harry shrugged, "Dunno. But I do know that he couldn't have come to my house if he wanted to hurt me, so I figure let him tell his story to the Order and see if they believe him."
"You sound like Hermione," Ron said.
"Is she here?" Harry asked, wanting very much to get her opinion on the subject.
Ron nodded, "Arrived yesterday to help with the wedding preparations. I think she's out with Ginny and Fleur. Bridesmaids stuff."
"Hermione's a bridesmaid?" Harry asked in disbelief, ignoring the way his heart lept a little in his chest at the mention of Ginny.
"No, no, but Ginny is. And she drags Hermione along for moral support. I think Ginny's likely to kill Fleur before the wedding. I mean, Ginny's come around just like Mum has . . . fact that Fleur still wants to marry Bill even though . . . well, you know, Ginny says it shows she has a heart and isn't all bad. Still finds her annoying though," Ron said, all the while still watching Snape as if he might jump up and run at any moment.
Harry turned as he heard the back door fly open with a bang and saw the three subjects of their conversation. He noticed that Ginny looked quite angry, which made her all the more beautiful.
He shook his head, knowing that he could no longer have those thoughts about her. He also knew how well he had been able to handle those thoughts the last time he was not allowed to have them.
"Honestly, can I bloody well help it that I have red hair. I'm sorry that pink is her favorite color and that it is all my fault that she can't have bridesmaids in pink . . ." Ginny's tirade to Hermione came to a halt as she noticed Harry sitting on the staircase watching her.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled running and pulling him into a hug. "You aren't supposed to be here yet. Ron and I were going to come and get you on your birthday. What happened?"
Ginny had held Harry's gaze the whole time he was enveloped in Hermione's hug. She looked as if she wanted to talk to him, hear why he was there early, just be near him, but instead she gave him a small smile and walked into the other room.
He felt his heart break a little, but he knew she was just doing what he had asked. He couldn't be with her . . . not while Voldemort was alive and could use her against him.
Harry was about to launch into his explanation of Snape showing up on his doorstep and his Aunt actually not being the horrible woman she had been for so many years, but before he could even begin, he was cut off by the Burrow door being thrown open once more.
Remus was standing in the doorway, out of breath and sweating. He looked around the room and asked, "Where is she? Where is Petunia?"
Petunia snapped her head toward the door, hearing her name, and was immediately on her feet. She practically flew across the room and threw herself at the man that she had not seen in so many years. Bill had just finished filling her in on what had happened to all of his sister's friends . . . and she now knew that Remus was the only one left.
As he held her, she felt it all overtake her. Her sister and James were dead. Alice and Frank were in St. Mungo's. Sirius was dead as well. Something she had already known, but had only now connected in her two memories. Amelia was dead as well . . . just recently. And Peter, oh Petunia's blood boiled at the thought of Peter. But Remus was still alive. Remus was still here. Remus had been all alone, having lost everyone he had ever called a friend.
She began weeping in his arms, for him and for herself. It was as if Petunia had been given her whole life back, only to have it snatched away once more.
"What broke the spell, Petunia? You remembered earlier today. I know exactly when, because in that instant, I remembered, too. It was so strange. One moment I only knew you as Harry's horrible Aunt, and then the next . . . you were Petunia," Remus said, trying to hold in his own tears.
"Severus broke it," Petunia said.
"Severus?" Remus said, spitting out the name. "That murderous traitor . . . that horrible, despicable . . ."
"Do you really believe it Remus? Really? Besides me, you knew him better than anyone, do you really believe him capable . . ." Petunia started.
"He's not the man you knew, Petunia. Even when we thought he was on our side . . . he's not the same . . ."
"I believe him when he tells me he is on our side. He has a lot to answer for, but I believe in him. I always have. He has the right to tell his story, and as I understand it, you are the one who can arrange for that to happen," Petunia cut Remus off.
Remus sighed and said, "I suppose we can hear him out. I will contact Alastor and we will contact the members of the Order. We can have the meeting here, and we can determine whether or not Snape is on our side and you and I can explain exactly why you are here, and how."
"Why I'm here . . . Remus, how did you know I was here . . . I mean, at the Weasleys?" Petunia asked suddenly.
Wrinkling his forehead in thought Remus said, "You know, I don't know. I just . . . did. I remembered who you were and the spell we did, and then, I just knew where you were. At first you were at home and then I knew you were at the Burrow. That's . . . odd."
Petunia nodded, thinking it was very odd, indeed, but knowing they had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. Everything needed to be cleared up so that a wedding could take place and Harry could be on his way.
The Order had grown. Harry supposed he shouldn't be surprised. After the wizarding world had accepted that Voldemort was back, Dumbledore had probably been bombarded with people wanting to join and help.
To accommodate all of the members of the Order, which Remus had been able to round up almost immediately, Mrs. Weasley magically expanded the living room.
Snape was being kept in another room, watched by Mr. Weasley, so that he would not raise too many questions before the meeting could actually begin. Aunt Petunia was sitting quietly in a corner, unnoticed, talking to Remus.
His Aunt was dabbing at her eyes again and Harry was beginning to wonder exactly how close she had been to his godfather. He knew that's who they were talking about as he had heard them mention his name several times. He didn't want to upset his Aunt, or himself really, by talking too much about Sirius, but if she had known him well, he'd like to hear more about Sirius when he was younger. He decided to ask her about him sometime in the near future.
Hermione and Ron were huddled with Harry discussing what exactly was going to happen if the Order determined that Snape was actually on their side.
"If he's telling the truth, he can help us, Harry," Hermione said.
"Help us? Even if he is on our side, he's still a massive git. He hates Harry, why would he help him?" Ron said.
Harry was much more apt to agree with Ron, although he had learned by now that Hermione was often right . . . although he had not forgotten the fact that neither of them had believed him last year about Malfoy, and he had been right.
"What about your Aunt? Where does she fit into this?" Hermione asked, expertly ignoring Ron's comment, much to Ron's annoyance.
Harry shrugged, "I really don't know. At the very least, I want her to come to Godric's Hollow with us. I think she deserves to have a chance to say goodbye to my mum, too."
Ron looked about to change the subject back to Snape when Moody started gruffly calling for everyone to find a seat.
Aunt Petunia went up to the front of the room and Harry looked around seeing a couple of faces register recognition and then confusion. She told her story about how Lily created a spell that altered people's perception of the world without actually giving any information about the spell. People began murmuring to each other. Only a few people in the room had known Aunt Petunia before the spell and they seemed to be trying to figure out which of their memories were real.
After his Aunt finished telling her story, Harry stood up to join her at the front of the room. It had been decided that if Harry stood up there with Snape, the Order would be more likely to listen to what he had to say. Harry was not pleased with the arrangement, as he did not want anyone to think that he necessarily believed his story.
When Snape walked into the room, more than a few people reached for their wands, but Moody and Remus motioned for them to listen. Harry tried very hard to resist rolling his eyes as Snape told the same story he had told earlier that day. Once again, it wasn't that he for sure didn't believe Snape, it was just hard to believe that Dumbledore would find Snape to be more important than himself.
As he looked around the room he realized that most everyone else in the room was thinking the same thing, because there were a lot of disbelieving faces.
"We can't trust him. Dumbledore trusted him and now he's dead," someone called out from the back.
"He's been a spy for years. He is a skilled Occlumens. He could be lying right now and we'd have no way of knowing," Professor McGonagall added.
Harry was surprised by this as she had always seemed to trust Snape just as much as Dumbledore had.
"Veritaserum," Remus suggested. "We could give him Veritaserum to see if he's telling the truth."
"That won't work," Harry said suddenly. He was remembering what Dumbledore had told him about the antidote to Veritaserum. "Snape probably expected us to use Veritaserum and could have taken some of the antidote already."
Snape looked annoyed by this statement and was about to speak up when Aunt Petunia said, "I have some Veritaserum that the antidote won't work on."
Everyone turned to look at her in shock.
"Petunia, my dear, no one can make Veritaserum that strong. It would be lethal," Professor McGonagall said.
Aunt Petunia shook her head and said, "No, you just have to increase the number of Jobberknoll feathers by two percent and then add some shavings from a bezoar to counteract the added poisonous properties."
Harry stared at his Aunt in shock and then realized that everyone else was staring at her as well. He had no idea if what she said was true, but she sure did sound like she knew what she was talking about. From the way Snape was staring at her, it looked like he thought she could be right as well.
"You never told me that you had discovered a way to make Veritaserum stronger," Snape said accusingly.
"Professor Zabini asked me not to tell anyone. He said Veritaserum was controlled quite stringently by the Ministry and there could be dangerous repercussions if they found out about my discovery."
"This is all very interesting Petunia, but where exactly do you have the potion. You've been living as a muggle for years. I can't imagine you kept a bottle of Veritaserum in with your seasoning salts," Bill said.
Aunt Petunia raised an eyebrow and Bill just smirked back, "Lily collected all of my magic related things and stored them away for me, in case we ever lifted the spell."
"Well how do we get it, where is it?" Remus asked.
"Severus knows the spell to retrieve my things," Aunt Petunia said.
"How can we trust him to retrieve the potion and not something else?" Harry asked.
"The spell retrieves a trunk full of all of my magical things. He has to bring all of it or nothing, the only thing that could be called on its own was my wand, which he already retrieved for me," Aunt Petunia said. "Besides, he's telling the truth, so he should have no problem with taking the potion, right?"
Aunt Petunia gave Snape a very pointed glare, which he ignored, merely nodding and waving his wand, making a trunk appear.
After a few moments of rummaging in the trunk, Aunt Petunia pulled out a small bottle filled with a clear liquid.
"It is very strong, so one drop should be more than enough," Aunt Petunia said, handing the bottle over to Moody.
"Alright then Severus, go ahead and open up," Moody said gruffly.
For a moment it looked like Snape was going to refuse, but he relented and opened his mouth, letting Moody drip a drop onto his tongue.
After a moment, Moody began the questioning, "Did you kill Dumbledore?"
In a flat, expressionless tone that Harry recognized as the same tone Barty Crouch Jr. had spoken in when he had taken Veritaserum, Snape answered, "Yes, I did."
"Did you do it on Voldemort's orders?"
"No, Draco was the one ordered to kill Dumbledore," Snape said.
"Were you ordered to help Malfoy?"
"Not ordered, but asked."
"Voldemort asked you to do something?" Moody asked incredulously.
"No, not Voldemort. He did not want anyone to help Draco. He was actually quite angry that I disobeyed orders, but because Dumbledore was dead, which is what he had always wanted, he forgave me. I was asked by Narcissa to help Draco to keep him safe. I made an Unbreakable Vow to help him . . . and to perform his task if he failed."
"So you promised to kill Dumbledore before he even asked you to?"
"Yes," Snape said, and despite the fact that the potion did not allow any emotion to register in his voice, Harry could see a feeling of shame very apparent on his face.
Moody was about to continue his line of questioning when Petunia spoke up, "Why?"
Snape looked like he was trying very hard not to answer, but the potion was too strong to resist. "I didn't have much of a choice. Bellatrix was already very suspicious of me . . . suspicious where the Dark Lord was not, and when Narcissa asked me to make the Vow, I couldn't refuse. Plus, I didn't want to see Draco hurt. I care about the boy, and I knew he was on a fatal mission. The Dark Lord wanted to punish Lucius for his failure. I made the Vow hoping that Dumbledore would be able to find some way around it. I never expected that I would actually have to kill Dumbledore . . . and if it came to that I was determined to refuse to do so, and just let the Vow take my life."
Everyone in the room was supremely shocked. If the potion was truly working, then Snape had to be telling the truth. He was willing to give up his own life in order to save Dumbledore's.
"Then why did you do it?" Harry asked, unable to keep his emotions in check. "If you had decided that you would rather die than kill Dumbledore, why do it?"
"Because, as I already told you, it was what Dumbledore wanted. He said that I was too important and couldn't die. But more than that, the circumstances that we were put in gave me no real choice. If I wouldn't have killed Dumbledore right then, the Vow would have taken my life, and then the others would have killed Dumbledore anyway, and possibly Draco for his failure. Killing Dumbledore saved both Draco's and my life, which is what Dumbledore wanted."
"So you didn't hate Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"I loved Dumbledore. I hate that I killed him. I will never be able to forgive myself. That is why I came to you. I cannot stand you, Potter, but if you are in fact the one person who can kill the Dark Lord, then I want to help you. It was Dumbledore's mission to see him destroyed, and as some sort of penance, I want to make sure his mission is realized."
"I think we've heard enough," Remus said quietly. "I don't think there is any doubt that Severus is on our side . . ."
"One more question," Harry said, interrupting Remus. "Where is Malfoy?"
At this, Severus looked down, "The Dark Lord was extremely angry when the others told him that Draco was not going to kill Dumbledore. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry. He had him under the Cruciatus Curse for more than ten minutes. It's been weeks, and he's still not recovered. I wanted to bring him with me, but he's in no state to travel. I'm afraid the Dark Lord will kill him soon."
Harry felt an odd feeling in his stomach. He had always thought he hated Malfoy, but when he had seen him on the roof, unable to kill Dumbledore . . . unwilling to, something had changed. He pitied him. He felt sorry for the boy who really couldn't help being who he was considering the people he was raised by. He certainly did not like him by any means, but he didn't hate him either. And he didn't wish him harm.
Harry was about to say that they would try to save him when Petunia placed a hand on Snape's arm and said quietly, "We'll get him back."
Snape nodded, not looking up at anyone.
"That is definitely enough now," Remus said. "I want to thank everyone for coming. Since we now know that Severus will not be a threat to security, we might be moving back to our old Headquarters, if we can figure out how to lift the Fidelius Charm that is on it right now, and implement a new one with a new Secret Keeper."
Everyone began to leave and Harry made his way toward Hermione and Ron again.
The first thing out of Hermione's mouth was, "I never in a million years thought I would say this, but poor Malfoy."
Ron, looking like it physically hurt him to do so, nodded in agreement.
Harry agreed, "No one deserves the Cruciatus Curse, and certainly not for that long."
"You want to help him, don't you, Harry?" Hermione asked, that knowing smile on her face.
Harry couldn't help but smile a little and say, "You know me. I have a 'saving people' thing."
Ron grimaced and sighed, "I suppose we can't leave him in You-Know-Who's clutches. Besides, it will probably really piss him off if we're the ones to save him."
Harry laughed and said, "Well, I suppose that's a bonus. So we'll set off for the Horcrux hunt and the Malfoy rescue mission after the wedding?"
Hermione and Ron nodded, though Ron looked a bit nervous. When Harry asked him what was wrong, Ron said, "Well, I haven't actually told Mum that I'm not going back to school. I think she might be a bit angry with me. You know, even with Fred and George doing as great as they are, she's still disappointed that they didn't finish school."
"Some things are more important than school, Ron. She'll understand that," Hermione said, earning looks of utter shock from Ron and Harry.
"We've really been a bad influence on her," Ron said to Harry.
"Truly," Harry said.
Hermione swatted them both on the back of the head and said, "Well we should probably figure out the best way to tell your Mum. Maybe we should wait until the Hogwarts letters get here. It might soften the blow when she learns you've been named Head Boy."
"Oh I have not. Just because you're going to be Head Girl does not mean I'll be Head Boy," Ron said, though Harry noticed he stood up a bit taller.
The three continued to discuss the best ways to get Mrs. Weasley in a good mood before telling her that Ron would not be finishing his education. So far the best ideas were that Ron was going to be Head Boy, that Percy was going to return to the family, and that Harry was going to marry Ginny and become an official part of the family.
Harry tried very, very hard not to think about that last suggestion.
A/N: So those of you who are very familiar with my writing and have read Perfect know that I am not a fan of stories that write Draco as sympathetic, unless they are done in a certain way. Well, as I introduced in this chapter, there will be a sympathetic Draco angle . . . but believe me, he will still be Draco. One of the things I loved about HBP is that JKR made Draco into a fully developed character who I could feel sympathetic toward. I think he's going to play an important role in the final book, and I think it will be for the good side. He's still a massive git though. :) Oh, and other stuff happened in this chapter, too . . . feel free to comment on said stuff in a review. :)
