Harry Potter and the Unspeakable Time
Chapter 7: Train Rides and Other Dangers
Platform 9 3/4
King's Cross
London, England
August 31, 1975
Harry's POV
Harry was reminded of his first trip to Hogwarts as he passed through the barrier onto the train platform, which made it easier for him to act like it was his first time boarding the train. He was aware traditionally the train left September the first, but for reasons that were only vaguely stated the Express was leaving a day early. Not that he or his team got any official notification of this. Instead he found out from the Marauders who had received their notifications three days ago. Soon it was apparent the team was not going to receive any letters, which started an earnest debate not only between the members of Team Gamma but between the elder Potters and the Marauders about what was going on. It was finally decided they were better off not letting on that they suspected anything. Instead they'd show up a day earlier than the old man expected them, thus hopefully avoiding whatever potential traps could be set up for them. Thus they were all present with the rest of the students, and dutifully pretending it was their first time boarding the train. James had sent Sirius, Remus and Peter ahead to claim a compartment while he showed them around. Harry himself felt a little guilty lying to his father about his knowledge, but it was necessary. This guilt led him to watch his father instead of looking around the platform while they were given their tour.
'Harry, you need to act a little more awed. You're attracting a little too much attention from James,' Luna's voice advised in his head. Harry blinked and noticed the odd look the Head Marauder was giving him and stammered off an apology, feigning nervousness. Since this was close enough to the truth, and one of the standard reactions from first years, the excuse was readily accepted. Harry then started looking around while hiding a blush that anyone not in Team Gamma would have thought to be from embarrassment. Those that knew him well knew it was more a slight shame from being caught staring at the younger man. This happened from time to time, though this was the first time his father actually caught him. Harry had never known too much about his father, even though it was well known in his time he always wanted to know more. So now Harry had the chance to watch both of his parents grow up and become parents. Only one problem, right now they were mostly Ginny's age. Harry wasn't sure what to think about that really. They had traveled far enough back in time that James and the rest of the Marauders were in their fifth year while they were in their sixth. Fortunately none of them had prefect status here, so they would not be responsible for disciplining their own parents.
If Harry were completely honest with himself, he found that thought both a blessing and a curse. One of the only memories he had of James and the rest was from Snape's pensieve; the event that was to occur later this year still weighed on his mind a little. Harry and the others had watched the Marauders while they were at Potter Manor, and often sat back to discuss what they saw. So far, with only a limited amount of evidence which was admittedly gathered when they were on their better behaviors, the fifth years weren't as bad as the memory suggested. Harry had indeed shown them the memories as part of their intelligence gathering, which had caused nearly all of them to look askance at James for a little while. Only Hermione voiced an opposing opinion, even though they expected her to be of the same mind as Harry. She had argued, with some success, that this evidence was definitely biased as it came from James's main childhood rival. The hatred Snape had toward James was the stuff of legends, thus even if it were a pensieve memory it was not fully reliable. While pensieve memories were impossible to fake without it being obvious, it said nothing of what happened before or any other factors. Harry was not totally convinced, but had to admit that she had a point. Harry himself was one of the first to believe the worst of Malfoy for example, so Hermione's defense could very well be accurate. In the end they had stated they would watch and see this year. Harry found himself both wanting to stop that event for his own future's sake and leaving it alone. On one hand he could avoid a lot of pain for himself, but on the other hand it could mess things up. In the end they'd have to leave it alone, he well knew. But it didn't make things easier.
Harry's musings were broken by a shout from their guide. Harry snapped his eyes toward the man in time to see him saunter toward a group of young women congregating a car down from where they were. As the group came closer, Harry's eyes locked upon the woman in the middle. His heart actually skipped a beat at the vision before him: his mother. She was every bit as beautiful as his photo album showed, though it appeared she had just a little more growing to do. He noticed she looked both happy and unhappy to see James, as an amused smile flashed on her lips before being replaced by irritation.
"Oy, Evans!" James shouted as he walked toward the woman. "Good to see you back." Harry cringed at this greeting even as he felt the sympathetic annoyance from his two mates. Harry may not have too much experience with the opposite sex, but even he knew you didn't address the woman you wanted to be with by their last name while greeting them like this.
"And I can see you're back as well, unfortunately," Lily responded with a slight scowl on her face. Her friends started to giggle at this as they took a step back. Harry could tell they chose to be an audience to the beginning of the annual Potter-Evans mating dance. Harry himself decided to play the ignorant and unfamiliar guest and follow along behind James. The rest assumed their roles and followed.
James put his hand over his heart as if he were stabbed there and faked a step back almost into Harry. "Ouch. You wound me Evans. But you know you are actually glad I'm around. Your life is more interesting with me in it. Go on, admit it." James tried to give her a nice-guy smile that was rather ruined by his cocky attitude.
"Yeah, I'm glad you're here," she began in a seductive voice that sounded so much like a set up to Harry he had to smile, "That way I can make sure you're not luring some poor unsuspecting fourth year into something they'll regret." The young women laughed at this as she fired the zinger off James's starboard bow. Even Harry couldn't help but to laugh at that, which broke him out of his almost hypnotized state. This attracted Lily's attention toward him, and by extension his friends. "Hoodwinked some new people into doing your dirty work James? Where's Black, Remus and Pettigrew?"
"Inside trying to find a compartment for us," James answered a little bit. It was fortunate that James had missed the look on Harry's face prior to this, as it made the introductions a bit easier. "They're actually friends of the family that my Dad extended familial protection over. The two with light brown hair are Ryan and Gwyneth Whitcomb and the darker haired stocky young man is Nathan Lambeth," he explained as he motioned toward them. "And last but not least is this young trio. The young man with longer light brown hair is Halstead Penwell. He's accompanied by his girlfriends Haleigh Galway and Lilith Leedham. Haleigh is the one with red hair."
Harry smiled and stepped forward at the introduction taking the hand offered by Lily in his hand and bowing over it. "And who is this rather attractive young woman?" he asked with as charming a smile as he could manage.
James seemed a little put off by this display as he answered, "This is Lily Evans from Gryphendor house," he said a little bit sullenly. Clearly James did not like the way Harry was acting.
Of course this behavior was guaranteed to put Lily off, so the woman apparently decided to play along with an obvious pure-blood greeting and blush a little. "As he said, I'm Lily Evans. These are my friends: Alice, Janice, Gabriel, and Jessica. It is a pleasure to meet such a well-mannered gentleman." As she removed her hand, she looked toward the group behind Harry and James and asked one of the more obvious questions, "Was Potter being truthful when he mentioned girlfriends? Or was the plural part of some part of his . . . imagination?"
Luna came forward and chuckled as she offered her hand to Lily, "Lilith Leedham, one of Halstead's girlfriends. It's true that Haleigh and I are both his girlfriends in many of the ways James meant. I know it's unusual, but it works for us. Why fix what isn't broken?" With this the gallery of young women erupted in knowing smiles with Alice voicing a loud agreement. It was obvious to everyone that it was a willing triangle, which let the young women accept it easier. Hermione blushed a little bit as she came forward and nodded in agreement while pressing closer to Harry in slight shyness.
Lily took a moment to look a little closer at the sextet before nodding in agreement. "Well if it works for you, then no-one has a right to say anything about it." Harry let go of a breath he hadn't known he was holding. It meant a lot from him to hear that acceptance for reasons he was both sure and unsure of. But at least his own mother didn't disapprove of this. He could feel a part of himself relax now at the same time he felt a tiny part of Hermione's resistance taper off. Harry simply tightened his grip on Hermione's hand for a moment and smiled at her. He sent a wave of comfort and support toward her, which he could tell was amplified by Luna. "Is something wrong?" he heard Lily ask. Apparently she caught some visual sign of their relief.
"No, not really," Harry answered as a slight blush filled his cheeks. "It's more that this relationship is a recent development. While we're all committed to each other, we still have some adjusting to do. It is a new relationship, and an odd one at that. So there's naturally going to be some obstacles to overcome." He smiled widely as Lily gave a wide approving smile and continued, "But that's all part of any relationship, so I know we'll get through it."
"Yeah, but be aware it will take some time," James decided to pop in, "After all, Evans still has yet to accept we're meant to be, and I've been asking her to go out with me for ages." Harry could feel Hermione wince at the same time he did, followed by an irritated huff.
"I wouldn't go out with someone with an ego as overinflated as yours if my life depended on it Potter. So grow up and accept that fact." With that Lily turned around and headed off in a huff. After some disapproving sniffs from her friends, they disappeared as well.
"James," Ron spoke up with a deep exasperated sigh, "I may only have the emotional range of a teaspoon, but even I can tell you don't assume someone is yours like that. I hate to say it mate, but you just lost ground there." Harry could feel Hermione's shock at this statement, but before she could respond the train's whistle blew followed by Sirius sticking his head out of a window and waving at them from further down the train. "Think about it mate. In the meantime the train's about to go. We should get aboard." With this Harry agreed vehemently and started to rush everyone aboard. 'You can corner Ron later Hermione,' he sent to the smartest witch as they boarded the train.
It took them a few moments to find the rest of the Marauders, but when they did another problem appeared. None of the compartments were big enough to support all 10 people, yet Charles had left explicit instructions that the two groups were not to be separated until they arrived at Hogwarts. There was a little initial grousing from Sirius and Peter over this, but Charles had held firm and explained this was a family affair that had to be met. A good half-hour lecture on familial duties had left both boys almost begging to stay with the time-travelers. Thus they were not going to separate even if lives were on the line. Remus and Hermione started to debate what to do when Harry took out his wand and muttered a few words, followed by two more spells.
"Ha . . . Halstead! You'll imbalance the train!" Hermione exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice.
Harry laughed and shook his head, "Relax Haleigh. I added both a conforming charm and a stabilizing charm to the compartment. There's no way this compartment will throw things off." Hermione looked like her lower jaw was about to fall through the floor as she ran through the implications of the mental list Harry was thinking of. Some of those had to be done wandlessly to get them done as quickly as they were. This only caused Harry to laugh more as he reached over to kiss her lips.
"Oi! Get a room!" Ron and Sirius both exclaimed at once.
"Don't we already have one?" Luna shot back innocently right afterward. This caused Neville, Ginny, and Peter to break out in laughter while the rest started to set their trunks up in the racks. Luna herself reached out and grabbed the two kissing people to pull them into the room. As the door closed behind them she leaned in and gave them both a brief butterfly kiss on their joined lips while rubbing their arms. "Come up for air sometime soon," she whispered attractively before skipping away.
Harry could feel Hermione jump ever-so-slightly at the kiss, for it was something she still wasn't fully used to. Harry considered it very fortunate that not only was Luna not easily insulted but that she was very understanding of Hermione's predicament. He ended the kiss to see Hermione flush a little in embarrassment before she whispered an apology toward Luna. They than sat down in time to see the train start to move and leave the station. At first the compartment was quiet as both Marauders and time-travelers found themselves not able to discuss anything they normally would have. Of course the tension between the original Golden Trio and certain parts of the Marauders didn't help matters.
While the rest of Team Gamma seemed to be rather blase when it came to Pettigrew, Ron, Hermione, and Harry could not seem to shake their animosity toward the future traitor. This was shown in a variety of ways, both hot and cold. At first Peter was almost pointedly ignored by the three which caused some rather awkward and embarrassing moments with James. Finally Luna and Ginny stepped in, with Ginny taking James aside while Luna handled the Trio. After that discussion Harry made a promise to himself never to disappoint Luna that badly again. It felt as if he were in the bottom of a deep pit by the time she was done discussing things with them. Hermione was nearly in tears and Harry was ashamed. Finally they promised Luna they'd work to treat him civilly. As they were the first to cave in they had to help convince Ron, which took some time. The result was a cool truce between them and the rat. None of them would ever feel comfortable around each other, and they would try to avoid Peter as much as possible when they weren't with the Marauders, being as polite as possible any other time. Harry knew a problem would eventually arise because of this, but he would have to take things as they came.
The train soon built up speed as the ten teenagers started to settle down to conversations and games. Ron and Remus started a game of Chess while Luna, Sirius, Ginny, and Hermione started a game of exploding snap with Peter cheering them on. Harry sat in silence looking out the window as Sirius and James started to talk quietly. Most of the trip passed rather quietly with Ron each splitting two wins apiece before Ron joined the exploding snap game while Remus and Hermione started talking over arithmancy. Finally Harry noticed the day had passed on into early evening. Given what Charles told him and his prior experiences he guessed they were about an hour out of Hogsmeade. Standing up, he cleared his throat and announced, "If I'm reading things right, Hogsmeade in about an hour. Guys, we need to go get our robes on before the rush. Except for Remus of course, since he's already dressed," he said, wagging his eyebrows up and down.
"Oh by all means, he can stay here and see what you boys won't see for a while," Hermione responded with a sly smile of her own.
"Er . . . I meant that he didn't need to change, but he still had to leave?" Harry paled at Hermione's suggestion and spoke before realizing that she was teasing him.
"Just what I thought you'd say." Hermione then shoved a set of school robes in his hands before shoving Harry out of the door with the rest of the boys. Soon they found their way to some bathrooms while Remus stood outside the compartment as a guard.
A short while later they all returned to the compartment. The women were just putting the finishing touches on each other's hair as they entered. "Your hair looks great, both of you," Harry commented lovingly before lightly caressing each pair of lips with his own. No sooner did he finish giving Luna a kiss as the door to their compartment was forcefully pushed open revealing Severus Snape and Theodore Nott Sr. Whatever they were expecting they obviously were not prepared to see six wands drawn and pointed at them. Automatic reflexes had spurred Harry to react so he was closest to the door but out of the way of spellfire from further within. "What do you want?" Harry asked a bit coldly, ignoring the surprised objection from Hermione in his mind.
"I had thought I saw a couple of Slytherins here," Severus sneered back. "I'm here to rescue them from the clutches of you Gryffindors ."
Harry personally thought Severus sounded as snide and foul as he did as a teacher, and had to resist the urge to hex the man. "Oh, I'm sure they don't need saving. Especially since they're currently pointing their wands at you. Wouldn't you say?"
"No, that just means you have them under compulsion. Now lower your wands before I deduct house points."
Harry then noticed a prefect badge on Severus, which was interesting knowledge. With one hand he motioned for the others to lower their wands, though no one put their wands away. Nott had his wand out, and there was not one team member that wanted to be caught flat footed. Before he could say anything else though Remus spoke up, "Nott, lower your wand or I'll deduct house points from you." Harry had to smile at the reminder of geese and ganders.
Once Nott lowered his wand Harry decided to speak up about the accusation. "Now I would hope that you were speaking figuratively right now, unknown Slytherin. I would hate to demand the Headmaster adjudication for unsubstantiated accusations. You have no reason to accuse us of doing anything more than sitting in a magically enlarged compartment. And before you start on about improper use of magic," he interrupted before he could be accused of anything more, "There is nothing that states we cannot do so, provided we are allowed to use magic outside of school and that we restore the compartment to its original state before we exit the train. And seeing as how I am the one who cast the spell, and I'm legally emancipated, and we haven't arrived in Hogsmeade yet, I am well within my rights."
Harry had never seen Severus turn that shade of red before. He found it quite interesting but nothing could match his uncle, so he was unimpressed. "The fact that any Slytherin would willingly sit in a compartment with Gryffindors and pull wands on a Slytherin prefect is proof enough. Now release them at once."
"You wish Snivillus," Sirius mocked in return. "You don't know who these people are, do you? They're new transfers from Ravenshire. So why don't you and your pet dog scamper on back to whatever hole you crawled out of and let us enjoy the rest of our trip in peace?"
Harry could hear a crowd starting to gather outside and hoped this would all end soon. But it seemed like fools would be fools as Severus developed a wide grin on his face. "Oh really?" he asked sarcastically before turning to address Ron and Ginny, "My condolences on your loss, but I'm afraid if they were hanging around the parents of these people I can see why. Why don't you come with me and we'll help you make true friends?"
"What precisely do you mean by that?" Ginny returned in a low but dangerous voice that caused Harry to cringe as she appeared to get angrier and angrier.
"You will find it's not what you know, it's who you know. And when you take a side you suffer the consequences," Severus intimated. "Besides, this young man is obviously related to Potter. So I'd say its probably a good. . . . "
That was as far as Severus got before finding a wand pressing into his throat and pointed at his brain. Harry himself didn't know he moved until he could see the reflection of his burning green eyes in the Slytherin's own. "Complete that sentence, Snivillus. Give me an excuse to rid this world of your greasy stench." Nott would have helped, but instead he found himself at wandpoint by Hermione and Luna. Harry saw a fear grow in Severus's eyes as the man realized Harry was about to kill him.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for drawing a wand on a prefect. Now let me go."
Harry was not about to fall to such an obviously faked display of bravery. Especially when he was as close to losing his temper as he was. Instead he pushed both Slytherins out into the hall and Severus into the wall behind him. "I'll let you go, for now. But if you ever insult my parents again, I will make you wish you and I never met. And that's not a threat Snivillus, that is an ironclad promise," he growled softly in his ear. Severus paled as he looked into the Gryffindor's eyes, fear leaking into his own. Harry could smell the fear as the pale man's bladder released, and took a step back with a predatory smile on his face. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding Severus." With this Harry turned and walked back into the compartment, shutting the door behind him.
After the two Slytherins left Harry sighed and looked at his friends. "Sorry about that, some things are rather tender for me." Seeing the Marauders nodding he turned then toward Ron and Ginny. "Sorry, I fear I just made your lives a bit harder in Slytherin."
Ron shrugged in an "it could not be helped" kind of way and was on his way to responding when the door opened suddenly. For the second time in the train trip the team had their wands drawn again and pointed at the doorway. This time the Marauders were reaching for their own as well before James at least froze, immediately followed by Harry. In the doorway stood Lily Evans, and she did not look happy. "Care to explain what you think you were doing?" she asked crossly.
Harry himself could not move or respond. Before him stood his mother, who he had met under better circumstances on the platform. Now he was almost alone and personal with her, and in trouble. He wondered if this is what it would have felt like to have her disciplining him. For just a moment he studied every detail of Lily's face in almost rapturous wonder even as his mind, as well as the voices of Luna and Hermione bid him to answer. Unfortunately he did not move or react until James cleared his throat rather violently. When Harry looked over at his father, he discovered the Marauder was looking at him rather pointedly, with just a little jealousy in his eyes. Harry finally realized what his gaze must have looked like which broke him out of his stupor. "Sorry Ms. . . . ?"
"Evans, Lily Evans. I'm the fifth year female prefect for Gryffindor. Now, why were you holding a Slytherin at wand point in the corridor? Who are the other three with you?"
Harry could feel Luna's wince at the last question, which caused him to shudder as well. And it was not lost on him the similarities between Hermione and Lily just then. So with apparent ease he started to answer her questions. "Reverse order on the questions. These are my friends Ryan and Gwyneth Whitcomb and Nathan Lambeth, Ryan and Gwyneth being the Slytherins while Nathan is the Hufflepuff. The other two ladies you've already met. And as far as that . . . man, he barged in here and tried to take Ryan and Gwyneth away from here. He received an initial reception to the one you just received, which I apologize for. When we made it clear they did not want to go he accused us of using magic to compel them into staying. Then he insulted their parents and the rest of ours."
James looked at Harry with apparent awe as the older boy (Harry was currently older than his father by a year) in awe. But before James could voice his thoughts Lily responded once again with a nod and her fists on her hips. Harry still could not break the parallels between his love and his mother. "And that gave you the right to resort to threats and violence how?"
Harry sighed and looked down toward the floor, his face slowly turning red in embarrassment. But before he could answer Luna spoke up, "Ms. Evans, please forgive Halstead. You must understand that it's been a long summer for all of us. Mr. Snape came in here in a threatening manner, then insinuated that our friends would meet the same fate as their parents unless they went with them. Rather more than insulting really. I mean the Dark Gnandersmashers must have really gotten to him. And considering what we've been through, and the fact we all had to fight for our lives, can you blame us for trying to rid ourselves of such an infestation? Really, if you look at it, Halstead did Mr. Severus a favor."
Lily looked toward the Gryffindor female with a bit of bewilderment, her anger instantly dissipated by Luna's comments. Harry in the meantime resolved to thank her very thoroughly as he could feel the amusement building in Luna. "Dark Gnandersmashers?" Lily finally asked.
"Oh, they're very dangerous beings, Ms. Evans. Their presence has been known to spark bullying, hatred and violence. And once you are infested with them it is so very hard to get rid of them. The spell to do so can't be learned by anyone else other than the Light Gnanders, who are their mortal enemies. Unfortunately the Dark Gnandersmashers tend to drive off anyone who would help the victim find the Light Gnanders. And if they can't drive them off then they drive their victims to horrible acts of violence, rape, torture and even death." Luna stepped up beside Harry and snaked her arm around his waste before continuing. "Halstead's actions were a sure fire way to alert a victim to the fact they are indeed victims, so long as they are aware of the Dark Gnandersmashers. Do you know if Mr. Severus knows about them?"
Lily was apparently trying to shake the cobwebs from her head for almost a full minute before she answered, "I don't think so, Ms. Leedham . . . "
Luna to her credit gave the woman an earnest smile of friendship before answering Lily, "Oh well then I think someone should really let him know about them, don't you? I'll be happy to get a couple of reference books out of the library and show you what they look like. Unfortunately they tend to be invisible a lot so you have to look for symptoms instead of trying to spot them. You really need a pair of rudimega glasses to see them. Pity really."
Harry could tell Hermione was trying her best to hold in laughter, and for the most part was succeeding. The others of the team were trying their hardest, though corners of lips were twisting upwards as Hermione spoke, "Lilith, what are the symptoms?"
"Oh . . . let's see . . . sudden unexplained changes in behavior toward the darker side of things, gradual withdrawal of friends with opposite goals from the Gnandersmashers, increases in rude and violent behavior, betrayal of friends and relatives and a sudden decline in good will toward others. Later this can lead into uncontrollable threats of violence and eventual decline into darkness."
Lily looked like she was torn between shock and complete disbelief. Harry felt sorry for her really, as the first time anyone had the Luna experience it could be rather daunting. She also seemed rather conflicted as to what to believe and what to do. Finally his mother seemed to decide upon a wait and see approach by saying, "Very well then. I'll let it slide this time. But be aware that violence is not the accepted way to solve disputes at Hogwarts. In the meantime, I should go find Severus and make sure everything is okay." She then closed the door slowly and made her way down the corridor in the opposite direction Snape had gone.
After he was sure that Lily had gone he turned his attention toward Luna with a look which was a mixture of disbelief, shock, and mirth. She simply smiled and looked back toward the rest of the group. "What? It's only the truth you know," she said with her typical wide-eyed face. In his mind he heard her silently apologize toward him combined with a sense of protection. Harry didn't know if he was upset so much as astonished. But he was relieved to get free of the lecture he knew he would have received if Luna hadn't distracted her. Finally he shrugged and commiserated with the Marauders about that and other things while they waited for their train to arrive at its destination.
A short time later the train slowed to a stop at Hogsmeade. Per previously discussed plans they decided to wait for the rest of the students to disembark before they actually left. So as the last students not in their compartment climbed out of the train the group pulled everything out of the compartment so Harry could remove the charms. That accomplished they made their way off they deposited all the trunks back into the compartment and then made their way toward the carriages, only to find one more remaining. This seemed just as odd to Harry as the bump up on arrival days at Hogwarts. While Harry could have accepted the team not receiving a letter as an oversight, the fact there was only one carriage there was smacking of a greater plot.
Finally Ron announced what was on the minds of nearly everyone else, "So how do we get up to the school then, walk?" This comment caused James to glance between him and other three Marauders questioningly. It was as if they were all having a conversation of some kind.
Harry, not wanting to go through trust issues this early, nor willing to let on he knew more about this school than the Marauders thought, said, "I would assume so Ron. The spells won't work on the carriages like they did on the train I think. I can spot a couple of runes on it that would forbid it."
"It almost looks as if someone doesn't want us here," Neville commented as he hung his right arm by his side ready to release his wand from his holster. "Wands out you think?"
"W . . . . why would we need our wands out?" Peter asked, looking confused.
Harry shook his head. "Not right now, but keep them ready in case." They all had on their wand holsters on both arms, but by planned convention only their school wands would be used here. Even though it was standard procedure to be ready to draw their wands at a moment's notice, he figured it would be prudent to give the others a reason for their upcoming actions. Finally he answered Peter's question by saying, "There should be at least one more carriage here, as there are ten of us. That, combined with the fact we never received the letters you got about our early departure means that something his wrong here. Given where we came from, we aren't going to take a chance about anything." James seemed to support this, along with Remus. This quickly convinced the other two Marauders and they were quickly on their way.
Interestingly enough nothing happened on the hike up to the castle except for a very insistent thestral trying to get some of them to board the carriage. Team Gamma entered the grounds before the Marauders, and the gates closed right behind Peter, who was the last one to enter. The Marauders seemed to relax on their way up to the front door, and it was looking like Team Gamma could to. But just before they reached the front door there was a melodic till of alarm followed by three things: a burst of flame, an explosion of ice, and a mound of dirt erupting from the ground. The entire group stopped, and if it weren't for the feelings of alarm he was getting from Hedwig, he would have considered it normal. Instead he paused as the majestic phoenixes seemed to hover in the air slowly flapping their wings as they floated down toward ground. The Marauders stopped as well to blink at the spectacle before them. Each of the new trio was looking at their familiar attentively, communicating on a nonverbal level. "Lilith . . . "
Luna looked up at the door, then followed her familiar's advice and looked above the door, but found nothing. Hermione, picking up on a comment through their bond, drew her wand and started a long murmured incantation while going through several wand movements and pointing it at the archway above the door. Luna was the first to see the stones making the door frame above the doors glow, followed by Harry then Hermione through their shared bond. Soon it started to glow to everyone else, but nothing seemed to happen. Finally Harry pulled out his wand and motioned Neville and Ron forward. Hermione's voice started to become more audible and more pronounced as she cast. Then the others started to join in tandem after they got the beat and words that Hermione was casting over and over. Finally the glow coalesced into recognizable patterns. Harry held up his hand to indicate that they should stop as Hermione did. The chant died off, leaving the patterns to glow for another few minutes. "Can you decipher them?" Harry asked Hermione quietly.
Hermione shrugged in a helpless gesture, but her inside voice to Harry and Luna were completely different. 'They're compulsion runes, Harry. I have no idea who put them there, but I know they're relatively new, comparatively speaking that is. I don't understand all the parts, but they seem to have one of about five effects. They'll inspire either recklessness, cold indifference, callousness, isolationism, or indifference. The only thing I can make out of the runes I don't understand is that they're triggering runes, but what they're based upon I don't know.' As the runes started to fade, he looked between the two of them and carefully schooled his face. "I don't like the looks of those. Anyone have any clues as to what they are?"
While the other three of the Ministry Six were not convinced by Harry's proclamation, but weren't about to give them away either. The Marauders seemed equally confused, save Remus. He looked at the runes for a few moments and said, "I can recognize the type of runes, but not anything else. Does anyone have any parchment and quills on them?" Hermione quickly took out some and passed them to Remus who quickly tried to copy down what he could before they could fade away. Peter seemed more focused on Harry, Hermione and Luna than the runes, and his face was far too inquisitive for Harry's comfort. But he shook off the creepy feelings the rat's gaze and looked at each of his group. "Suggestions? We don't have long before a professor comes looking."
Luna was the first to speak saying, "It took quite a bit of power to just be able to see those runes. To actually take them down would be even harder, not to mention attracting sniveling protags and whoever would send them to monitor this. I can set a spell on us to shrug off the effect of that ward. It doesn't look fatal, or there would be a mass of bodies here." Harry smiled warmly at his girlfriend and nodded. The rest seemed to mull over that suggestion and agreed. So thus Luna went around and cast a spell on each person. The phoenixes then trilled happily and flew up to land on their respective person's shoulders, and Luna picked up her snorkack so they could all go inside. The magic from the wards tried to settle over them but the spell prevented it, and as soon as they stepped toward the great hall the shields shattered, taking the magic with them.
They passed the group of first years and entered the great hall, seemingly oblivious to Professor Standish who had been watching them enter. The noise of the hall seemed a welcome relief to the entire group, a relief that soon died as the hall went quiet and they all looked toward the door. Professor McGonagall got up and headed toward the group, her face set in her normal stern expression. "May I ask who you all are, and why you're in Hogwarts student robes?"
Harry stepped forward, but paused as James cleared his throat. A glance back told Harry that James was full well meaning to do what he thought his job was as he stepped forward to answer her. "Professor, on behalf of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, I present to you the Ravenshire Survivors, who have been accepted here at Hogwarts."
The look of confusion on Professor McGonagall's face was not missed by anyone as she responded, "What do you mean, Mr. Potter? I was told the Headmaster received a letter last week stating they decided to seek further private education."
"Indeed," the aforementioned headmaster interjected as he approached, "I received the letter a mere hour before we sent out the letters announcing the early Express schedule. We are not prepared to house these six."
James looked back to Harry in complete surprise, who looked back at his father with a questioning frown and raised eyebrow. He then turned back to the headmaster and professor and responded, "I really don't understand sir, they've been with my family for the past month. And while I cannot be with them every minute of every day, I have not heard them even think about considering not going. In fact, they've been looking forward to this trip all week. I hardly think they would back out so soon after being sorted, do you?" James didn't even have to lie, as he had heard some of the non-secret plans the group had made for attending Hogwarts.
Harry let his face turn thoughtful as he looked Dumbledore up and down. It wasn't for the first time that he wished he was a legilmens, but even if he were, he couldn't risk attacking Dumbledore in that manner. Especially not when he could easily turn it back on him. So instead he shrugged and said, "I'm sure your house elves are the best in the land, Headmaster. We're here and I am willing to go under truth spell to show that we definitely did not send any refusal letters. So I fail to see why you can't get them to set something up, even if on a temporary basis until our dorms are completely ready."
Dumbledore's eye twinkle seemed to lessen a bit but he still had something to say, "Did you not wonder why you did not receive the early travel letters? Not that I don't believe you, but I wonder why you didn't write when they received mail and you did not."
Harry shrugged as his friends let him be the spokesperson for the group. "Sir, I had assumed that you remembered where we were staying and thus sent the letter to James for all of us. But to be honest, I was concerned. I was more concerned when there was only one carriage for all ten of us. That's why we're a little late, as we had to walk up to the castle. Now, can we take our seats please? If you wish we can talk about his after feast, but we're holding everyone up, and I'm sure they're hungry." Harry refused to look the older man in the eyes, instead focusing on his nose.
Silence reigned for a good two or three minutes before Dumbledore gave up on things and smiled widely in that magnanimous grandfatherly expression of his and answered, "No Mr. Penwell, that will not be necessary. Professor McGonagall will escort you to a guest sweet where you will stay for the next week until further accommodations can be made for you. In the meantime, please feel free to sit with your individual houses."
None of the group felt like arguing and instead took a seat to await the sorting. Luna sat next to him while looking about in her typical spacey continual surprise expression she was famous for in their time. He reached under the table to give her hand a gentle squeeze just before the Sorting Hat started to sing.
"Each year I am sat upon you
To find which house is your due.
Whether you be of the Gryffindor sort
Where bravery is said to rule,
Or if Ravenclaw is where you be,
Where Wit is the rule to beat.
If you belong in Hufflepuff true
Then loyalty and hard work be your due.
If Slytherin is to be your home
Then cunning and ambition roam.
But whatever your house I ask
For you to remember this task.
For the sake of Hogwarts unite
Or you will not survive this fight.
Each has an important role to play
So please heed the works I sing
And let the Sorting Begin!"
The entire hall did not seem to know what to make of this and thus it was another few minutes before the sorting actually began. Finally the last person was sorted (into Hufflepuff), and Dumbledore stood up to announce, "Before we begin this feast, I wish to introduce you to the first transfer students Hogwarts has hosted in a century. You have heard their origins I'm sure, so without further ado I give you Halstead Jeremiah Penwell and Lilith Leedham, sixth year Gryffindors, Nathan Lambeth of Hufflepuff house, Haleigh Joyce Galway of Ravenclaw, and last but not least Ryan Bartholomew and Gwyneth Melynda Whitcomb of Slytherin. They will be spending their last two years of education with us, so I urge you to welcome them with open arms. And as I'm sure they're as hungry as you, I'll forgo the rest of the announcements until after feast. In the meantime, dig in!"
Luna gave Harry's hand a final squeeze before letting go so they could both eat. The meal was relatively quiet as they spent their time just making small talk with the people around them. Ron and Ginny pretended to ignore the glares from the other Slytherins while both Neville and Hermione both remained quiet during the feast. Soon the meal was done and Dumbledore rose yet again and called for attention, "Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few beginning of term announcements. All first years should be advised that the forest outside the castle is forbidden from all students unless you wish to endure pain or even death. Some older students should keep that in mind as well," he added with a glance toward the Marauders. "Secondly quidditch tryouts will be on the third weekend of the month, see your head of house or your team captain if you are interested, and they will tell you what positions are open. Also please be advised that there is a war brewing in our world, so you are advised to follow all school rules for your safety. Speaking of which, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you there is to be no spell casting in the hallways between classes, and to be mindful of the list of banned items posted on his door. Finally I would like to introduce you to Professor Grace Sumners who will be taking this year's Defense against the Dark Arts classes. She is an auror on leave from the Ministry, and she has asked me to announce anyone wishing to approach her to talk about her career should ask her after class for an appointment at a later date. Now I ask for the fifth year prefects to lead the first years to their dormitories, and wish the rest of you a good night."
James stood up immediately and approached Harry, who was not aware of him due to his watching Professor McGonagall headed his way. He gave a quick hand sign to his friends to stay, more out of habit since they would have to come to him anyway to find out where they were staying tonight. But interestingly enough Harry also saw Professor Sumners approach behind McGonagall, which in some part he should have suspected given their rather spectacular arrival. "Mr. Penwell, the Headmaster and the Heads of Houses would like to see you and your friends in the Headmaster's office. Afterwards we will take you to your accommodations."
Harry was about to answer when two voices interrupted the conversation. The first was from the Defense Professor, "I will have to ask to be a part of that discussion, Professor. As there appears to be some kind of collusion against this group I am bound by law to investigate."
The second was from James himself and was done after the teen had shoed his friends up to the tower without him, "And I will have to go as well Professor. This group is under the protection of the House of Potter, and as such I must be present in cases such as this. At the very least I must accompany you so I can summon my father to this meeting."
Harry could sense a genuine bit of concern from James, which surprised him due to the fact he had been keeping his father at arms length. They weren't antagonistic, indeed they had several things they recognized and liked in each other. But Harry considered him a bit too arrogant and haughty, even if it were to a much lesser degree than he was led to believe from Snape. But still he did not think James would have been as concerned about them as he was appearing to be. "That won't be necessary, Mr. Potter. I assure you we can get to the bottom of this on our own. I can also promise you that they are in no danger from anyone here." Turning next to the Defense Professor she added, "While you are normally correct, Professor Sumners, may I remind you that you are on leave? No one is being charged of a crime and therefore your presence is not needed."
Harry himself frowned at the response his head of house was giving, and began not to like where this was going. Apparently James did not like it either, and for once the arrogance he had was needed to back up his position as he drew himself up to his full height. "Excuse me, Professor McGonagall, but as the Scion of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, I must inform you that the protection of my house had been extended and granted over these six people, known as the Survivors of Ravenshire. They have fully accepted this, and as a result fall under my house. Therefore I must decline your invitation on their behalf, for both tradition and Ministry law dictates that they may not be questioned about any actions, wether their own or from others, without having the option to have either the Head or his Scion present. As you seem to be insistent upon violating these statutes, then I am forced to admit them sanctuary from any and all questioning regarding this incident. And since you have rather indirectly implied that they will not receive their room until after this talk, I am forced to escort them back to Hogsmeade where they will floo home. If you would be so kind as to forward their luggage to the Three Broomsticks?" This said, he turned to Harry and motioned them to come along.
Simultaneous shouts of "WAIT!" were heard on the hall from both professors. Before McGonagall could start to lecture however Sumners broke in, "Master Potter, I'm very sure that won't be necessary. I'm sure that Professor McGonagall will recognize your points as both legal and reasonable, just as I'm sure she'll remember that even an auror on leave is never truly off duty unless the leave is administrative in nature." Professor Sumners arched her brow at the older woman, her face set to remind the transfiguration teacher just who she was talking to, "And that as such I am legally bound to investigate crimes such as tampering with Owl post and denial of education. I would hate for this school to come under such scrutiny, undeserved or otherwise."
Professor McGonagall looked like she was weighing things in her mind for a few tense moments before she finally came to a decision. "Ten points from Gryffindor for your rude insinuations and comments, Mr. Potter. Ten more points for talking back to a professor. But if you two wish to follow us, you may."
Harry had to fix Ron with a glare to keep him from speaking up against such a ruling before he spoke up for the first time. "With all due respect professor, I'm not sure what more can be said that wasn't already, save to verify these mystery letters weren't from our hands. And I will exercise all of my rights when we get to the headmaster's office. So if you will please lead the way?"
McGonagall raised her eyebrow in inquiry to Harry's statements, but he made it clear he was not going to answer any more questions. Finally the woman turned stiffly and led the group of eight people up to the office. A fudge fantasy later brought them into the room where Dumbledore was seated behind his desk with Flitwick, an empty space, and Professor Standish on his right with Professor Sprout and someone he did not recognize on his left. The man on his left looked to be middle-aged and somewhat large. He looked like the kind of guy that led a very comfortable life. And if the looks of excited hunger were any indication, Harry could quickly figure out why. As the door closed Professor McGonagall made her way to her spot behind the desk while Professor Sumners stood off to the side so she could be in between and yet facing everyone.
Before James could protest anything the old man in the room spoke to his professor, "Minerva, I thought I told you we should do this quietly and alone? I do not recall asking for Mr. Potter's assistance nor that of Professor Sumner"
The woman addressed gave the headmaster an apologetic look and was about to respond, but once again James beat her to the quick, "Excuse me Headmaster, but if I'm going to lose house points for doing my duty, I might as well lose them for doing this properly. I, James Charles Potter, Scion for the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, do hereby serve notice there are to be no talks between you and those known as the Survivors of Ravenshire regarding the problems in their attendance of this school without either myself or the Head of House Potter present. Any attempt to circumvent this declaration will be considered an insult upon House Potter which will be redressed according to both Magical Law and tradition. This one instance tonight prior to my serving notice will not be forgiven, for you were fully aware of the protections my Head of House placed upon these people. Therefore you and Professor McGonagall have both insulted House Potter tonight, and further insult was provided by your Transfiguration Professor when she punished me for performing my duty as House Scion. As punishment for this no further questions will be asked of these six people until such time as my Head of House is summoned. Furthermore they will stay here but not attend classes until this matter is solved, even if we must go to the board of governors to do so."
Harry could feel the shock from his friends, more so from Luna and Hermione. "James , don't get yours . . . "
"Halstead, silence," James bit back. "There has obviously been a conspiracy here to keep you from entering this school. I fear for your safety, and the Headmaster wishes to sweep this under the rug. I for one do not wish to do so. Auror Sumners," he said, turning toward the Defense Professor, "Do you have some spare floo powder on you? I would ask you to contact the Ministry and ask for the presence of some on-duty aurors. At the same time, if you have some extra I wish to ask to borrow some so I can contact my father after you're done?"
"THAT WILL BE ENOUGH YOUNG MAN!" Professor Standish called out. "You will apologize for your wrongful allegations and take 50 points from Gryffindor and serve a month of detentions, every single day, with Filch. You have no right to overrun everyone else. You will leave now so the interested parties may resolve these issues."
James's wand was out in a flash and pointed directly at the yelling man's face. "No, I will not take the punishment nor will I sit your detention. I will appeal both yours and Professor McGonagall's punishments with the board. You cannot stop me from exercising my legal rights, nor the rights of my family. You cannot legally punish me for doing so either. Any further attempts to do so will cause me to withdraw myself. If I do that, I'm sure The Prophet will be very interested to know why the Scion of House Potter chose to leave Hogwarts right after opening feast."
"Now now, I'm sure we can come to some kind of compromise. I cancel all punishments given to James Potter up to this point. The loyalty you're showing is admirable Master Potter but please let's keep our heads cool hear." Professor Standish looked like he wanted to say something, but did not after receiving a glance from Dumbledore. "Now, can't we please just deal with this with the people right here?"
Now it was Professor Sumner's turn to speak as she interrupted further conversation by announcing, "Ministry of Magic, Auror Headquarters." The flames turned green as she stuck her head into the fire. "Hi Mac, how's the wife? Good . . . Listen, there's been a problem up here at the school . . . Yes, it is rather early in the year, isn't it? Anyway there appears to have been someone who tampered with Owl Post and forged some letters from the Survivors of Ravenshire. Yeah, as if the poor dears haven't had enough to worry about. Something's fishy here. Can you send Rich over here to investigate? No, we're not going to do anything until help arrives. No, I think we can keep Harkness out of this for a little while at least. Okay, see you soon." She then backed up and looked at Dumbledore, "There's an auror who is going to arrive in a few minutes, please give permission," she announced in a tone which made it clear it was not a request. "And before you say anything, no this will not be kept silent. What has transpired today was a crime, and as such will be addressed accordingly." Then she handed James some floo powder so he could make his call as well.
As promised by Professor Sumners, the room remained quiet until both Charles Potter and the two men from the Ministry arrived. Harry recognized Jason right away, but did not let on as they were introduced, "This is Auror Richard Brown and Jason, head of the Department of Mysteries."
"May I ask what interest the Department of Mysteries has in this case?" Dumbledore asked without a single twinkle in his eyes.
"DMLE procedure states that two personnel be present in cases such as this, one from the Auror Department and one from any other department either a part of or attached to the DMLE. As the Department of Mysteries is a sister branch to the DMLE, and I was with Auror Brown when he was called, I opted to come and hear this case myself. Any objections Chief Warlock?" Jason had Dumbledore right then. It was well known the entire Ministry was both aware and interested in the fates of the Survivors, and the Department of Mysteries was no exception.
Dumbledore was many things: manipulative, secretive, disconnected from humanity, but one thing Dumbledore was not was stupid. Harry knew this and everyone else did to. Thus when it was put this way he had no choice but to accede. "Very well, I have no objections, Chief Unspeakable. I was merely hoping to keep whoever it was that did ths from knowing we were on to him, or that we suspected anything other than a clerical error. Alas, the impetuousness of youth has already taken that from us . . ."
"Don't you dare, Lord Dumbledore," Charles warned in a low voice. "My son did exactly what I would have done in this situation. And now that he has filled me in on things, I must first point out how ashamed I am in the Hogwarts faculty. Students are supposed to be taught how to function in the Wizarding World. They are supposed to be taught to follow the traditions of our world. And yet I hear of a teacher punishing a student for following those traditions. I am of a mind to discuss this matter with the Board of Governors, for obviously the faculty is in need of review when a simple declaration of protection is taken as insulting the faculty." Charles was not looking at Minerva, but Standish as he said this, his eyes fairly pinning the later's down.
"Your son," Standish replied through tightly clenched teeth, "Implied we are part of a conspiracy to keep these young whelps from receiving their education. That is a formal insult no matter how you look at it."
At this Harry broke out laughing so hard he had to clench his stomach for a minute. His other hand laid down on the table causing it to unconsciously land on one of the letters the Headmaster had been talking about. The rest of the room seemed to freeze for a moment in shock. Finally Harry was nudged by Hermione as Luna slapped his arm, which told him he needed to calm down. "Sorry . . . giggle I couldn't . . . chortle help it. I mean really, he never said or implied you were part of the conspiracy. He only stated you were trying to cover up that there was one, which D . . . Professor Dumbledore already admitted. It just struck me as funny that you could hear something that wrong." Harry brought up his hand to grasp the top of his head when he noticed the letter. "Hang on, what's this?" A closer look at the paper in his hand revealed the letter that Harry had supposedly written. "Oh, this is the letter you received, Headmaster. Here, let me verify right now I didn't write this. Hermione, can I borrow parchment and quill please?"
Jason and both aurors moved closer to Harry, as did Charles. Dumbledore however had to voice an objection, "Mr. Penwell, if what you say is true than that is evidence, and you really should not be marking on it, as it will destroy it."
After taking the quill and parchment from Hermione he let Jason inspect it. Once the Unspeakable was satisfied, he opened the letter and then copied the first two sentences on the clean parchment. "I'm not marking the evidence at all, Professor. Instead I'm copying the first two sentences in my own handwriting so a proper comparison spell can be used." Once he was done handed both parchments to the Unspeakable, who then cast the appropriate spell. A discussion between Jason and Auror Brown was not needed though as the spell results were extremely conclusive. "This letter is a forgery. It was not written by Mr. Penwell, for the loops and valleys are completely off. This letter was done by someone unused to forging handwriting of this type." Jason then cast another charm on the evidence before looking up at the group. "In order to clear the allegations Mr. Standish has insisted had been made, that spell will make the hand that actually wrote this letter glow for five minutes. Will everyone please put both hands forward?"
Just then the Deputy Headmaster drew his wand and started to fire cutting spells at everyone. Harry, who had been watching him, narrowly avoided being the first target by ducking. By the time the third spell was off though Harry was already up with his wand and called out "Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus! Incarcerus! Stupefy!" Standish was caught in the first spell which made short work of him with the other spells and soon the man was down on the floor.
Jason pulled a magic suppression collar out of his robes and slipped it around Standish's neck. "Good work young Mr. Penwell. You'll have a good career in Magical Law Enforcement some day. You or anyone else hurt?"
"Nothing but a little hair and pride," Ginny groused in return. She was holding a handful of red hair in her left hand while the hair on her head was about half the length of her original length. "But it will grow back."
Harry was happy that was all that happened, but he could not afford to focus on those feelings for the moment. "His hand is still glowing." That was true, even though it was fading fast.
Nodding once, Jason had to laugh as he stood up. "Yeah, but it'll grow back just like you said. And as for him, it will continue to do so for the spell doesn't draw from his power but mine. Now, about these students schooling?"
Charles, deeply upset by this nodded in agreement as he rounded upon Dumbledore, "Yes, what are we going to do about this, Lord Dumbledore? So far I must say I'm unimpressed with your level of protection. At least at my house there was no one trying to set traps for these young people."
Dumbledore paled slightly at the insinuation as he appeared to remember the conversation they had prior to sorting. Needless to say it did not take him long to decide on about the only course of action open to him. "Lord Potter, I have already made arrangements with the house elves to provide them with accommodations until their dorms are ready. We are prepared to teach them with the normal students starting tomorrow, we just do not have their accommodations ready tonight. Will that do?"
Charles appeared to take a few minutes in thought, then nodded once before turning to Harry and his friends. "What do you say?"
'Harry, I think we need to think about our stay here, more importantly our sleeping arrangements,' Hermione's voice whispered in his and Luna's head. 'I am not feeling very safe here. I think there's much more to this than meets the eye with Standish. I would feel better if at lest the three of us were together, preferably with a spare room and our own common area for the other three.'
'Are you proposing we sleep in the same bed together Hermione?' Luna's voice responded in similar tones. 'I thought you still weren't comfortable with everything yet. Not that I don't agree with you about staying together though. Ron and Ginny have each other in Slytherin, and Hufflepuff has never been a house for prejudice against its own house members. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are both different in that respect. They tend to look down upon things too radical from their own experiences. Thus they would be easiest to hide moles for further attempts. I just wish I knew what was behind this one. I doubt Standish was working alone.'
'The thought of leaving you alone in Ravenclaw, given what they put Luna through,' Harry started to think only to interrupt his own train of thought as he sensed Luna was about to, 'No Luna, it's not alright. It may be in the past, well . . . our past now, but you should never have gone through it, much less alone. I can't change things, but I will make sure they won't happen the same way again. Or at least try. It hurts us to see you in pain, no matter how much you hide it. You'd do the same for me, so why shouldn't we?' Harry could feel Luna's love through their link, as well as Hermione's assent to his words, so he continued, 'Anyway, what I said about Luna applies to you as well Hermione. I may not have been too great in helping you through the 'know it all bookworm' stuff before, but I won't let it happen again without an answer. Even Ron knows that now. We have each other, so I say we should try to stay together as much as possible. And the separate common room also gives us a place where we can talk in the pubic private eye as it were.'
'You know Harry, if I didn't know you very well, and if I weren't thinking along the same lines, I'd wonder about your sanity from that last comment.' Hermione's voice chided before getting serious again, 'Yeah, I have reservations about going that far Luna. Not the least of which is that most other people would be tempted to push for sex while we share a bed. But at the same time I do trust you enough to respect boundaries. And if I were honest, my problems with our relationship extend more toward issues from my upbringing than from anything else. Luna, I do care for you. And Merlin help me but you are making more and more sense to me each day,' she added with a mental chuckle and a physical smile toward the young woman. 'Not that I mind that in the least. I think sleeping together would be the next logical step for us really. That, and my gut tells me that it would help me overcome my problems, which would lead us closer. Please? I don't want to be alone anymore?' The last felt like a desperate plea from Hermione, as if she had been feeling so for some time.
That feeling only confirmed that something was wrong with her. He knew something had happened that was not directly related to them, but had decided to give her space, until now. 'Hermione, while I know that now is not the time to discuss this, I would like to hear what happened to you. I can feel your sadness, and while I know it doesn't directly relate to me, I would like to know what it is . . . Bah, I'm not very good at this kind of thing really. But if you want me to I'll try, for you.'
Hermione smiled and walked over to take Harry's hand, her face beaming. The other people in the room seemed to be staring at them, though Hermione and Luna were completely oblivious to them all. Luna quickly joined with them, taking Harry's other hand and offering a look of support to Hermione. 'Thank you for trying Harry. Please don't feel inadequate for not having the precisely right words. Given what you've been through in your life, what you said just now was a huge step. And yes, I'll tell you what happened, for I could really use your comfort right now.'
'So you're ready to talk about it now?' Luna asked as she caught the other witch's eye.
'Yes Luna, I am. But not here. We all know occlumency but we don't want to give the chance for Dumbledore to intercept anything. Speaking of which,' her voice whispered with something akin to realization, 'I think they're waiting for you to say something, not to mention wondering what's going on. Harry, I leave the secret of us in your hands, do what you have to, but you know what I want.'
Harry could feel agreement from Luna to the sentiment as he moved his eyes to first look at Charles, then to the faculty. "Actually, that's not alright," Harry replied to the question. "I may be a half blood, but I've heard of a muggle saying that fits this situation quite well from my standpoint, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." What that means where there is an indication that there's a problem, the problem is normally there. That Standish could perpetrate this kind of thing, and what his ultimate goal was when we showed up at Platform 9 and 3/4 tomorrow, is still not known. And until evidence points to the contrary, I have to suspect he was not working alone. Quite frankly with the way today has gone I can't afford to trust anyone blindly, even you Headmaster. As a result I must ask for the following changes to that plan: First, we six will be provided a room to stay in while we are waiting for more permanent arrangements as originally stipulated. We will be allowed to attend classes with our individual houses, but until permanent arrangements have been made we are under no obligation to do anything else we do not wish to with them, nor are we officially part of those houses. That means no docking or awarding of house points, no pressure from any of them, or anything. Second, three of us, consisting of myself, Ms. Leedham, and Ms. Galway are to have a suite together with our own common room when the permanent quarters are assigned. Third, the other three of the Survivors of Ravenshire will have access to our common room. Anyone else seeking permission to enter the suite needs permission from one of the six of us. We also reserve the right to periodically search for any monitoring, eaves-dropping, spying, or mind-altering charms. This suite must also have a password protected fireplace which must be connected to the floo network outside the castle. Finally we must be able to change any and all passwords, including entrance and floo, by ourselves without the aid of anyone else. Once we have all that, we will be officially part of Hogwarts and our individual houses. Only three of us won't sleep with our houses on a regular basis."
"I'm sorry Mr. Penwell, but I'm afraid I can't fulfill your requests," Dumbledore replied a little sadly. "It is against school rule for any student to be living outside of the common house dormitory. I'm afraid there's nothing I could do."
Harry stood still for a moment in conference with Hermione before he spoke up, "Haleigh, could you get your copy of Hogwarts, A History out please? I know you were reading it on the train." When she produced the book he had her help find the applicable page before answering Dumbledore. "Actually sir, there are circumstances that make this request just within school rules. I quote:"
"Any student married before leaving school, wither through Muggle or Wizarding rites, are permitted to take residence in the married student quarters. Furthermore any students engaged through either through marriage contract or soul bond may also take residence within aforementioned quarters upon reaching their legal adulthood or gaining permission from their families, whichever comes first."
"Quite simply sir while we may not be married, the three of us are engaged. And since we are emancipated, we fall under those rules. Thus what we want only bends the rules slightly, since there's nothing against the rules that says we can't change passwords ourselves."
"But how can you three, two young ladies and a young man, have marriage contracts?" Professor McGonagall asked with a shocked tone in her voice. "Your parents are dead, and you told me you didn't have any marriage contracts."
Harry ignored the pointed looks from Charles and Jason and smiled at Professor McGonagall. "You're right, we don't. But we are soul bonded." He gave re-assuring looks at Charles as he groaned and sent the man a wink. "And as for the reason for the floo and the access we asked for, we are all still undergoing therapy from the Battle of Ravenshire. We do not wish to have our Mind Healer parading around Hogwarts. It would give too much away to whoever is behind this."
'Harry, is that a good idea, telling Dumbledore about the therapy?' Hermione's voice asked nervously.
'Not really, but he'd find out about it within a matter of days anyway. We'd have to clear the visits through the Headmaster, Deputy Headmaster, or the Head Nurse. If we tell him now and give him a plausible cover story, we avoid having bigger problems later.' Harry turned his eyes toward the Headmaster and arched a brow. "In return we will agree to be quiet about this attack publicly, only saying there is an ongoing investigation about what happened and supporting your ideas for the cover-up story over the replacement of Standish so long as it does not reflect negatively upon us. Will you agree?"
Dumbledore sat there for a few long minutes, his eyes twinkling only slowly. Harry could feel a brush of legilimency against his mental shields, but nothing was there. Finally he nodded an agreement. "Very well, Mr. Penwell, the arrangement for your accommodations will be as you have asked. The only stipulation is that your Heads of House, in this case Professor Flitwick for Ravenclaw and Professor McGonagall for Gryffindor, know the passwords for your quarters and floo. Is there anything else you wish to request?"
Harry looked around the room to his friends with a questioning look. Each person shook their heads mutely as they moved up behind Harry. "No sir, there's nothing else we have. Is there anything else you need us here for?"
"No Mr. Penwell. Professor McGonagall, will you be so kind as to show them to their quarters?" The transfiguration professor agreed, and after a few parting words to the others all seven students followed her out of the office. After a few twists and turns they found themselves on the third floor at the guest quarters. "This will be your quarters for the next few days until we can got everything settled in. There are three bedrooms here, so please make yourselves at home." Everyone save James (who was not staying there) nodded and started to file in. As Harry went in last he heard the other two people start to move off while quietly talking amongst themselves.
"Well everyone," Harry said as the door closed, "Here we are." Ron gave an all clear sign and Harry relaxed a little more. "Okay, when we get our permanent rooms, the three of you," he started, indicating Ron, Ginny, and Neville, "Will be more than welcome to come into the common room at any time. We'll also meet there as often as possible to discuss common rumors and the like. In addition, we'll find a way to meet in the Room of Requirement for training, frank conversations, and other secret things. I want each of you to see if we can find a way to reach either that room or another more hidden one on a regular basis that doesn't draw attention to the fact we're having a meeting we don't want anyone else to know about. At the very least its good to have a back-up plan in case our meetings there are discovered." He took a deep breath and let it out, deflating as he did so. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty much knackered. Luna, Hermione and I have something to talk about before we go to bed, and we need to be on our guard for tomorrow. So I think we should all just turn in." With this he took Luna's and Hermione's hands and started to lead them to the supposed master bedroom for the suite.
The trio remained silent as they took care of their belongings the House Elves had just brought in. They each set out a change of clothes for the next day as well as their normal bed wear. Harry felt shy around them as he wore the least, a pair of boxers with no shirt, but he was helped by the fact each of the others felt equally nervous. Finally they made their way to the bed and paused. "Erm. . . how do we do this?" Harry asked, drawing a blank.
Luna looked between them and smiled comfortingly, though there was a distinct nervousness in her voice as she spoke. "While normally I would suggest Halstead in the middle and each of us on either side, tonight I think Hermione should be in the middle, if that's okay?"
Hermione seemed fine with that, and even a little bit relieved as she said, "Anyone else and I'd be asking for some kind of escape route, in other words being on one side or the other, but I really need a hug from both of you for this." That said, she climbed into the bed and sat up against the headboard, leaving room for them on either side. Harry chose her right side while Luna chose her left, and they both climbed into bed and held her. Silence reigned for a little time before Hermione began to speak. "My parents did not know what was happening in our world, at least after second year. You have no idea how close they came to pulling me out of school over the basilisk incident. I had to assure them events like that were not common place, and beg and plead with them to allow me to return. You see, I'm an only child and therefore they are very protective of me. We didn't know the big picture back then, and therefore I didn't have any way to argue from a safety standpoint other than to keep the truth from them. So I had to keep them in the dark. And as much as I hated to lie, and as bad as I am at lying, I had to. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving you alone Harry. Even then I couldn't stand it. You meant too much to me."
"Did you . . . fancy me then?" Harry asked quietly.
"I don't know Harry. I felt it could have been you or Ron, but you didn't express interest and Ron . . . Well, he was always hurting me. I thought for a while it was what those psychiatrists say about a young boy taunting a girl he cares for because he doesn't know how to express it and wants her attention. Fourth year I could have strangled him for all the mixed signals he was giving out. And you were crushing on Cho, and obviously not interested in me that way." Hermione had gentle tears rolling down her cheeks as the frustration she was feeling then started to rise up to the surface, but she made no effort to wipe them away. Luna squeezed her in a comforting manner and did that for her though, thus allowing for her to continue. "And fifth year the dance continued, though I started to see Ron wanting . . . something. I don't know what. It was more than homework, and I almost had myself convinced it was a relationship. You were so angry at everyone, and you lashed out so much. It hurt that you were so angry with me. Even when you had reason to be. That made it worse you know. You were right to be angry over the summer. I should have tried something." She shook her head viciously as Harry made to interrupt again, her eyes all but pinning his mouth shut. "No Harry. I know you're sorry for remaining angry for so very long, but its as much my fault as yours. You kept the grudge throughout a good portion of the year and I both betrayed your trust during the summer and couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted. So we're both at fault there."
Harry wanted to rebut this, but knew better. Instead he simply nodded and filed it away to think about later. In the meantime, Hermione continued, "So my parents did not know what was going on in our world. Oh, they wondered why my letters home contained more gossip and fluff than anything else, and why I was centering more on Ron than I was on you, but they really didn't ask much. I guess they assumed it was either a crush shifting or there was simply more happening around him than you." She smiled at Luna's snort and said, "Which is what I wanted them to think. But that all came crashing down at the end of fifth year. While we were in the hospital Dumbledore sent a letter to my parents. He told them everything. It was almost as if he knew exactly what I had told them and what I hadn't. He filled in all of the gaps, and explained your part in the war. Somehow they got it in their heads you went looking for trouble. They were convinced that you knew it was a trap and demanded we go with you anyways. I came home to two very angry parents, who demanded to know why I lied to them. I told them what I could, and tried to reason with them, but their minds were made up. The were going to take me away and hide me. They even forbade me from seeing you ever again. So we fought."
Harry had to squeeze her tightly at that point, though he didn't know what to do otherwise. Finally he took hold of her hand and squeezed it lovingly as he waited for her to calm down. Eventually she continued the story, even though it was easy to tell she was still upset. "I was desperate Harry. To me they were taking away my life, my friends, and you. I couldn't stand that. Even though I wasn't aware of it consciously at the time, I was most upset at the thought of leaving you. Finally I ended the argument despite their wanting to continue by running to my room and locking the door. All I could think about was how to get away and get to you. Then Luna came to get me. At first she was a like a lifeline, something to keep me from drowning in my sorrow. Then she told me you needed me. That you were hurt. I had to leave then. I tried to reason with my parents one more time, telling them I couldn't leave others to die because I did nothing. But I never gave them a chance to respond. I went outside and we went away. Sun Tsu removed their bindings and let them up, and we disappeared without ever giving them a chance to say anything else."
Tears flowed down Hermione's face like a river now. Harry turned slightly to draw closer to her as he raised his back hand to stroke her hair. He recalled it helping him relax, so he thought he would do the same. He could see Luna rubbing her back while holding her other hand. She sobbed for a while as she hung her head. Finally the tears slowed again and she raised her head to look at them. "My relationship with my parents is nearly over. I left them barely saying goodbye, and as much told them it was my life and I would live it my way. I disappointed them horribly, and I don't know if they'll ever want to see me again. At least I told them I loved them before I left. But . . . when we get back I'll be at least 23 years old. For them it will have been a few months. For us it will be five or six years. We'll have changed so much by then. And the three of us will be married by then." Harry was shocked at that, for he wasn't even thinking about the marriage part of the equation. To be perfectly honest, he was taking this entire thing a day at a time and was just following his heart. "Relax Harry, I know you haven't thought about it yet," Hermione replied to his unspoken thoughts. "But you know that's where we're headed. I can't deny it any more. A part of me wonders why I tried to fight it for so long. But then there's this part. You see, I broke my parents' hearts by leaving like I did. I defied them. They were so angry that I left with people who attacked them. When Jason went to get their signatures, Daddy was apparently stone faced and just signed it, saying something about that being the way I wanted it. I can only think he saw it all as a betrayal."
Harry was out of things to say, and not just due to not knowing much about families. He wanted to say something, but could not for the life of him think of a single thing to say. Luna appeared to be the same way. Hermione though made it easy for them by continuing on, "And now when we go back, not only will I be five years older, but I'll be married. And not only will I be married to the man they wanted me to stay away from, but also to another woman. Harry, my parents are Christian, much like the rest of the English speaking Muggle World. Their religion won't recognize the marriage, and thus in their eyes I'll be a scarlet woman. Worse yet they'll know I'm bisexual. They raised me to think of bisexuality and homosexuality as wrong, and yet here we are. It's why I fought this so long, and my greatest fear. I'm afraid they'll turn their backs on me because of all this, and I'll be all alone in the world."
"But that's just it, Hermione," Harry said almost automatically. "You won't be alone. You'll have us. And we'll never leave you. I know I can speak for Luna on that score." Luna bobbed her head up and down furiously in whole hearted agreement. "And don't think for a moment you'll be alone when you face them again. We'll be right there by your side, fighting to keep them in your life. We'll stand by you and try our best to help you make them see that you're still the same sweet, loving, strong child that you always were. Nothing inside you has changed, save for this one thing. We'll do our best to make them see that. I promise you."
Harry could tell that helped, and that Luna agreed with him whole-heartedly. "Hermione, your parents love you. They never saw you as a trophy, as something to prop up to everyone else to be proud of. They raised you to follow your heart, and you did. Harry and I will help you make them see that. I don't think they'll choose their faith over you. It will be rocky at first, you know that. But I have every faith in your winning them over. And Harry's right, we'll be with you every step of the way. And no Blithering Humdingers will stop us from being there. That is a promise. I love you Hermione, and I'm sure Harry does too, even if he can't really define it yet. We're not leaving you."
"Thank you. . . thank you both so much," Hermione cried as she drew them close. Harry could tell they made headway in her tonight. He was thankful for that. He held her tightly as he started to slide them both into a laying position. Finally they hugged each other fully, and one by one they drifted off to sleep. Harry's last thought as he finally succumbed was that he hoped he could love them as much as they appeared to love him.
