Harry Potter and the Lord of Immortality

by Awakening5

The war is beginning, and Voldemort seeks to cast fear into the hearts of the wizarding world as reality hits: he is immortal. Harry Potter struggles to accept his new role in the war and find a way to destroy the man who can't die. AU 6th year. Canon ships, especially HG.

10. Discussion and Deduction

A/N: I'm grateful for the feedback for the last chapter-the opinions regarding Dumbledore and Sirius were mixed, and sometimes extreme. This chapter will help add another point of view, but there is a larger power at play than we've truly seen yet.

I hope you enjoy this chapter; it marks an important step in Harry and Ginny's relationship.

-0-0-0-

Chapter 9: Discussion and Deduction

"Well, who was it?"

"I don't know, my Lord. He got by the wards without even taking them down—I don't know who could've done that."

"And you didn't see him?"

"No…he was in an invisibility cloak and then behind cover. But he was good."

"Yes, your dead and fried companions can attest to that, Harton."

"So…what now?"

"We proceed. We make it seem as though Rodgers was our only plant in the Ministry. It's a pity…"

"Yes, my Lord. Rodgers was talented."

"No…a pity that this mystery man killed him, so I couldn't."

-0-0-0-

She couldn't ignore the feeling anymore. Something nagged at her, and she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep until she found out what it was. Rolling out of bed silently—so as to not wake Hermione—Ginny crept to her door and slid into the hallway.

She walked downstairs, uncertain if this is where she needed to go. One look into the sitting room told her she had found the source of her discontent sitting on the couch, gazing into the fire. His eyes seemed lifeless, despite the fire's glow lighting them up.

Ginny remembered the last time she saw him with that look on his face. He had come to visit them in the Hospital Wing shortly after the Department of Mysteries fiasco. Even when he was feeling like hell he had come to see how they were. That's when Ginny knew she had merely buried her feelings for him, and not gotten over him. He was so selfless and loving—despite everything.

But the look he had on his face then—guilt, pain, torment—it was back now, as he stared morosely into the fire.

She tried to make noise as she approached him so that she wouldn't frighten him. But he was so lost in whatever painful reverie he was in that he didn't notice her until she rested a hand on his shoulder, softly saying, "Harry."

Before Ginny could blink, Harry was out of the couch, spun around, his wand pointed right between her eyes. It seemed to dawn on both of them at the same time what had happened. While Ginny was tempted to laugh and try to make light of the situation, Harry's reaction told her that would not be the course to take this evening.

Harry's eyes widened in fear and then disgust as he dropped his wand. It clattered to the floor and Harry let out a strangled sob as he backed up a couple of steps.

Ginny immediately stepped around the couch and took Harry in her arms. She had no idea what had happened or what he was going through. But she wouldn't leave his side until she had helped him in some way.

After what felt like hours, but was likely a minute or two, a hyperventilating Harry finally wrapped his own arms around her and let out steadying breaths. Ginny knew he wasn't crying, but he was doing the next closest thing Harry Potter would ever do to crying. His body was shivering slightly and she felt him squeeze her tighter, as if begging for some of her strength.

Minutes passed and finally he released her. He wouldn't look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I don't want you to have to see me like this."

Ginny was actually touched that she had seen him like this, and that he hadn't shut her out immediately.

She still held onto his arms and looked up at his eyes, even if he wouldn't look back. "Please don't be sorry, Harry. You may not want to be seen like this, but I want to be here for you when you are."

He finally looked down at her. "Thanks," he said softly.

Then, without words, they both moved to the couch and sat down.

Ginny waited. She was still holding one of his hands, needing him to know she was there with him. Ready to give strength and encouragement if he would receive it. After some time, Harry ended the silence.

"What would you think of me, Ginny, if I killed a man?"

There it was. Ginny could not have been more surprised. Not at what his admission was, but that he had done so with such bluntness.

"Well, Harry," she responded, wanting to choose her words carefully, but not wanting Harry to think she was walking on eggshells. She would be honest. "It certainly depends on the circumstances…but because I know you as well as I do, then I am certain it wouldn't change my opinion of you at all."

Harry looked at her, shocked. "What?"

Ginny tightened her grip on his hand, needing him to understand her. "Harry, you are the most pure and loving guy I've ever met—and I have six amazing brothers and a father who would take that title from anyone else in the world. If you were to kill someone, I have no doubt that it was because of the war we are in and circumstances outside your control."

Harry looked away, a faraway expression on his face. Ginny waited.

"But it doesn't change the fact that I did it…"

No more pretense. He admitted it.

"And that doesn't change the fact that you and I are both here. The fact that you are this broken up about it is proof of your devotion to what's right. The fact that I'm here, Harry," she said, reaching up and guiding his face back to looking at her. "It shows that in no way do I judge you or think less of you for it."

Silence. "It was an accident, wasn't it?"

Harry nodded.

Ginny swallowed. She knew she was risking making the situation worse by bringing this up. But it felt right. "You realize that you've done this before? Accidentally killed someone?"

Confusion crossed Harry's face. "Twice, sort of…" Ginny said. "Ron told me about Quirrell."

The confusion disappeared and Harry looked startled back at Ginny. "Wow…I guess you're right."

Ginny swallowed. "And then there was Tom…"

Harry's eyes widened in response. Despite talking daily for the entire summer, the Chamber never came up. "Yea…but he wasn't really alive, was he?" Harry asked tentatively.

Ginny knew he didn't mean it to hurt her, and she had to remind herself that she was supposed to be comforting him at this moment. Yet, she still responded softly, "He felt pretty alive to me."

Harry cringed and reached forward with his free hand to hold her arm. "Gin, I'm so sorr—"

"No," Ginny interrupted. "Don't be. I…I just want you to understand something, Harry. When I was lying there in the Chamber, I wasn't unconscious."

Ginny had never told anyone this before. It terrified her to remember it. But if she could tell anyone, it was Harry, who was currently looking at her with worried eyes. "At least not in the traditional sense. It was more like that moment where you can feel yourself drifting to sleep, but stretched out over hours. Every minute I felt my thoughts get more jumbled, my mind becoming less clear, my body becoming weaker. At first I was very aware of my beating heart and breathing, but by the time you had arrived, my mind was a swirling mess and I couldn't create a coherent thought or observation.

"You see, Harry, he was draining me of life. So believe me when I tell you he was alive—because it was my life he was using. He picked up your wand," Ginny said, recalling when Harry had told the story to her family and Dumbledore. "He spoke with you, he could use magic.

"And then you killed him Harry, and in doing so gave me life again."

Ginny waited for a reaction, but his face was just a jumble of emotions.

"Now, I'm not saying it's our right to be judge and jury, Harry. But what happened in that Chamber before the war started is now a prime example of what every battle in this war is like. Sometimes death happens when we are fighting for each other. It's not pleasant, and the moment we cheer at taking someone's life away we are no better than him. But that doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do sometimes."

There was more silence. Ginny vaguely heard the fire crackling, but was too lost in her thoughts and concern to pay it any attention. Harry looked down at his hands and after a few moments, he spoke. "I think it's hitting me particularly hard because I know it won't be the last time. You're right..it's war. Plus…"

Ginny felt like he wanted to tell her, despite trailing off. So she prodded him. "Plus?"

"I've got to kill him, Ginny. The prophecy…it said it's going to be me. Well, one of us will kill the other."

On the one hand, this information was terrifying. On the other hand, it was entirely expected by Ginny, who had assumed as much the second they stopped in front of the orb in the Department of Mysteries.

"And when you do it, Harry, you will once more by giving me life—along with the whole wizarding world." Ginny spoke with confidence, because she was confident in Harry.

Harry's eyes darted up at hers. "You're not…surprised, scared by it?"

Ginny smiled warmly at him. "Surprised? Not a bit. I'd be lying if I said this didn't worry me a little, though. But not because I think there's a chance you'll fail. You killed a basilisk and a teenage Voldemort when you were twelve. I have no doubt you will succeed again."

Harry let out a long breath. "Ginny…I just have to level with you, here. I don't want to put this burden on you at all, but I…feel like I need to."

The way Harry was shifting anxiously on the couch, Ginny had a strange suspicion that the root of his consternation this evening was not that he had killed someone, but what he was about to confess to her. "I think it's about time you share your burden, Harry. Instead of carrying everyone else's. Please, go on."

Harry shook his head softly. "I don't know why…maybe I'm just desperate to understand what has just happened…"

Ginny waited patiently. Seemingly coming to the conclusion that it didn't matter why he was opening up to her so long as he could understand better, Harry continued. "As you know, I've been training with Sirius and Dumbledore all summer."

Ginny couldn't help but hear a little anger when he spoke his mentors' names, and that shocked her. But she kept quiet, expecting she would find out shortly.

"They developed a room similar to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts—except designed for dueling practices and even mission training that Order members might do."

Ginny nodded, fascinated. Of course, given the prophecy, it made sense that they were trying to give Harry as much preparation as possible. Harry took a long breath and forged on. "Tonight…they led me to believe I was in a training program—a mission to the Ministry, actually. As it turns out, the simulation was reality."

Ginny felt her jaw drop. Then anger started to flow through her being. "They let you go on a dangerous mission under the pretense that it was fake!" Ginny whispered furiously. "What if you had gotten hurt or died because you thought it was fake and took unnecessary risks?"

Ginny assumed that Harry had been thinking the same thing, and that she was empathizing with him. But Harry's response was curious. "Nah, that wasn't too much of a concern for them, I'm sure. I've never taken a mission lightly—always convincing myself they were real and not doing anything stupid.

"Sure, as it turns out, I was in a lot of danger…but because of my training and instinct, I made it out just fine. Just not before…" Harry trailed off, and Ginny realized what had happened. He had killed someone—a Death Eater most likely. But because he was under the false pretense that it was fake, the death he caused wasn't planned or thought through at all. He had just killed someone, quite unceremoniously. Knowing Harry as she did, this likely caused him to feel more guilt than he would have otherwise.

"So, you're feeling betrayed because they put you in a position to cause real pain without you even knowing it?" Only Harry would be more upset about unwittingly causing pain than feeling it.

Harry, who had been staring into the flames again, looked back at Ginny sharply. "Yeah…exactly."

"Harry, I need you to know that what you did—whatever you did—it is part of war." Ginny leaned down and picked up Harry's wand, forgotten on the ground where he had dropped it. "You don't have to be happy about it, but you can't let it destroy you, either!" She handed the wand back to him.

Harry slowly reached out and with a sigh took his wand back. "Yeah…I think I get that. Like you said about Tom, sometimes death happens in battle when we're fighting for our lives." Harry paused, and Ginny could tell he was still very concerned about something as he looked at his wand thoughtfully. "But how could they do that? Why would they do that to me?"

Ginny knew he wasn't talking about any Death Eaters he had faced—he was talking about Dumbledore and Sirius. At Harry's imploring tone, Ginny realized he wasn't asking rhetorically, either. He really wanted to know—he needed to know—why these men whom he had trusted would betray him.

"Harry…I want you to know before I say anything that I don't agree with what they did. Although my reasons are because I think it's foolish to put you in any unnecessary danger."

Harry nodded, but looked hopeful that she had some sort of answer for him. "But?"

Ginny thought for a moment. "Did you ever take any music lessons as a child? Or anything hard that was rewarding, really?"

Harry shook his head after thinking for a moment. And at that gesture, Ginny realized where Harry was coming from. She cursed the Dursley's for their lack of affection and love for the boy yet again.

Squeezing Harry's hand to assure him she meant no ill will, Ginny explained, "Well, when you grow up with parents or guardians who you trust, they will often make hard decisions for you. It can be infuriating, but for the most part, it's for your own good—because they've experienced life more and they understand what you need."

Harry nodded, but still looked a bit confused. "For example," Ginny continued. "When I was six, my mum got my oculin from Aunt Muriel. She can play a little, and knows all about music theory, so she would give me little lessons, and then tell me to practice. But I didn't want to—I hated it!"

Harry looked shocked. "But you said you loved it. You sound amazing, and the images you can generate are beautiful!"

Ginny smiled, blushing a little. "Thank you, Harry. And that's my point, I guess. Mum knew the end result because she had experienced it. So, even though I hated practicing the oculin at the time, my mum knew it was worth it, and made the choice for me."

Harry thought about this for a moment. He seemed to be warring with himself. "But she didn't deceive you…"

"Well," Ginny said with a slight smile. "She did tell me that if I practiced every day until I went to Hogwarts and still didn't like it, she'd buy me a brand new broom. I was convinced at the time that I would hate it, so I took her up on the offer, thinking I'd trick her. As it turned out, she had tricked me into practicing."

Harry allowed himself to smile, but still looked troubled.

"Look, Harry—the experience doesn't compare exactly to what you've just gone through. Again, I don't even agree with what Dumbledore and Sirius did—but I'm just suggesting that they made a choice for you, knowing that you might not be able to. And I have to ask, would you have chosen to go on the mission?"

Harry stayed silent.

"And if you had gone and knew it was real, would you have behaved in such a way that would have ruined the mission? Would you have killed the Death Eater if it was necessary? Or did Dumbledore and Sirius make that decision so that you didn't have to yet?"

More silence followed. The fire had dimmed considerably. Small flames were kept alive by a portion of a large log mostly exhausted of its fuel. But the fireplace was still hot from the coals that rested there. Ginny began to grow nervous that she had overstepped her bounds. After all, she was working on a lot of assumptions here. But Harry had seemed too broken over his mentors' betrayal for her not to try to help. And who wouldn't be broken over something like this? If she could mend that wound just a little, it was worth Harry being a little upset with her.

At last, however, Harry broke the silence. "You're an amazing friend, Ginny."

She tore her eyes from the fire to find him looking at her with a very sincere and pointed look. His face had lost much of the guilty and haunted look that it had housed just minutes earlier. Instead, she suddenly became very aware of how piercing those green orbs were, and how close he was to her. It instantly dawned on her that she had been holding his hand for a very long time. Up until this point, she hadn't even thought about it—it was just the natural thing to do when comforting someone.

"I…I just hope that I helped…" Ginny responded, suddenly nervous now that he had redirected the conversation to her. He leaned in to wrap her up in a strong hug, and Ginny smiled. Even though she felt very strongly for Harry—feelings that she could not deny were stronger than simply friendship—Ginny would gladly be just friends with Harry for her whole life if it meant she could help him like this. Be the amazing friend that he had just christened her.

As Harry whispered a few more words of gratitude, and Ginny responded with words of comfort, she made a conscious decision never to let her fantasies or unreciprocated feelings get in the way of being there for Harry. She would always care for Harry in that way—but she believed they would always be one-sided feelings. So she would bury them down, move on the best she could, and give her relationship with Dean a fair chance when they got back to Hogwarts.

Harry and Ginny spent at least another hour sitting on the couch talking that night. Harry, having already shared his biggest secrets of the night, decided to open up to her further. Ginny was happy to listen and learn more about the boy she cared for so much.

"I guess tonight just made it so real, you know?" Harry said after explaining how much fun he had been having over the summer with his godfather. "I guess I got so caught up in the training, I had forgotten why I was training. And they saw that, and gave me a rude awakening."

Ginny snorted. "I'll say…how are you feeling about it now?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know…and I suspect I won't know how I feel about it for a while. But after talking to you, I can at least understand what they were thinking to some degree. And…if I'm being honest…the thought that I have someone force me to practice the oculin sounds nice," Harry said, referencing Ginny's metaphorical comparison to his situation. He then smiled wryly. "It's just that with Harry Potter, things are never that simple."

They sat side by side, staring into the fire, which was now just glowing charcoal. Ginny leaned her head on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes lightly, realizing for the first time how tired she was. "You can say that again," she commented through a yawn.

Harry yawned shortly after her and slouched into the couch so that he could tilt his head back and close his own eyes. Soon, they had fallen asleep.

-0-0-0-

Molly Weasley hated the day of the Hogwarts Express trip. First, it signaled the last time she'd see her children until Christmas—and over three months was a long time for Molly to go without her youngest children. Second, and the more stressful reason, was how utterly hectic the morning was every single year. You would think we would learn, Molly thought to herself and she threw on some robes and left her room loudly, hoping to wake her husband.

Molly was determined to set the day off right and reduce the amount of stress at least a little bit. Therefore, she was up early to cook breakfast. In fact, she guessed that Harry and Ginny wouldn't even be awake for their morning run for another half hour. At the thought of her youngest daughter and Harry, Molly smiled. She saw what was happening. It wouldn't be long before she had to keep an eye on them for reasons other than their safety.

Molly had made her way down the stairs and was about to walk into the kitchen when something caught the corner of her eye in the sitting room. She could see a mess of black hair from the back side of the couch. Molly smiled sadly, wondering why the boy had slept in the sitting room. She crept silently over to the couch, trying not to wake him.

When she arrived, however, it took all of her presence of mind not to gasp and let out a noise of surprise. As if they had foreseen Molly's thought process of needing to watch these two, Harry and Ginny had spent the night together! Ginny was resting peacefully on the boy's shoulder. Molly felt her face heat up as anger began to overwhelm her. Fortunately for the two teenagers sleeping peacefully, Molly made one last observation before her anger gave her tunnel vision.

Both occupants of the couch were fully clothed. Ginny was in her pajamas, but they, along with her hair, didn't look all that mussed—which would have been sure signs of some extracurricular activity. Harry wasn't even in his pajamas, but in the same clothes he had worn when he left for Grimmauld Place the night before.

Molly's anger redirected from the slumbering kids on her couch to Albus and Sirius. What were they thinking, taking a mere boy and training him like he was an Auror. It was unacceptable! And after the way he put himself in danger at the Dementor attack, Harry was starting to believe it, too. It just wasn't fair that he be put through so much as a child. And as if on cue, Harry let out a contented sigh—one that a boy gives, not an Auror.

As Molly's anger dissipated and curiosity replaced it, she determined that nothing had happened between the two—yet. Molly's guess was that Ginny had come down for a drink of water at the same time that Harry had gotten home. They had started chatting and got really tired because of the late hour.

In fact, if she wasn't mistaken, they would be very embarrassed when they woke up in this position. Feeling generous, Molly decided not to add to the embarrassment of being present when they woke. She quietly made her way back to the kitchen, but not before pulling out one of Fred and George's extendable ears from her pocket. Yes, she was actually very proud of her boys and the success they were having, and had even bought a few of their items.

Molly made her way to the kitchen and pulled some pots and pans out of some cupboards much more loudly than she normally would have at this early hour. She listened closely through the extendable ear as Harry and Ginny woke.

"Oh, good morning…" came Harry's voice, and sure enough, it sounded a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah…sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that…" Ginny sounded no surer of herself.

Harry's voice came back, reassuring. "No, I don't think I would've been able to fall asleep otherwise—thanks for the company."

Molly heard some rustling as the two made their way to the stairs. "Anytime, Harry. And I mean that. Well, not necessarily the sleeping part…but the company."

"Thanks," came Harry's soft voice. And just before they left extendible earshot, Molly heard Harry flirtatiously add, "Oh, and don't rule out the sleeping…"

She didn't know whether to laugh or be appalled at his suggestive comment. Ultimately, Molly reeled the ear back in and smiled softly to herself. She was relieved she had realized her initial assumption was wrong. She was now worried at what would've kept Harry from sleeping, but happy that Ginny had been there for him.

Yes, it was only a matter of time.

-0-0-0-

"Well, that was a close one," Hermione commented, quite flustered as the doors shut behind them and the train started up almost immediately.

"Well, it's not my fault mum made such an amazing breakfast that I wanted to keep eating it!"

"No Ronald," Hermione said impatiently. "But it is your fault for starting breakfast two hours after it was finished."

Harry grinned at the pair arguing. He was grateful that Ron had been running late and was getting the blame. It took a lot of the attention of the fact that Harry had been running very late as well. This was due to his late night at Grimmauld place (and the Ministry), and then sleeping down on the couch with Ginny.

Harry felt his face warm at the memory, still not quite believing he had slept for several hours with Ginny curled up at his side. They had played it cool for the rest of the morning, certainly, but Harry knew there was some awkwardness over the situation. In the end, he didn't really care much, though. Ginny had been a godsend. In the hour he had been brooding before her arrival, he had only managed to make himself feel worse and worse, and more and more confused by his mentors' actions.

But within a couple of hours of talking with her, he had come to peace with what he had done at the Ministry, and begun to understand Sirius and Dumbledore's decision. Ginny really was something special.

Ron and Hermione were still at it when Harry shook himself of his thought process. "…and seven pieces of bacon! It's not natural!"

"I can eat my food however I like, Hermione!"

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh before giving up. "Fine…let's just get to the Prefect's meeting. We're already late."

"I'll take care of your trunks," Harry commented. "Go on."

Ron and Hermione gave him grateful smiles and departed quickly.

"You need any help with those?" Ginny asked, pointing to Ron and Hermione's things stacked at the door of the train.

Harry waved his wand, lifting the trunks into the air. "Nah, magic's got my back."

Ginny grinned. "Alright. Well…I agreed to find Dean…so…"

Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was already starting. They didn't even need to get back to Hogwarts before things changed. But he put on a smile, anyway. "Alright, but don't be a stranger. Laughing at the two lovebirds isn't nearly as much fun without you."

Ginny grinned. "I couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I?"

Feeling slightly better about Ginny leaving, he waved goodbye and they headed in opposite directions. It didn't take long for him to find a compartment that Neville and Luna were saving for him.

"Neville, Luna!" Harry exclaimed as he opened the door.

"Harry!" Neville responded, happily getting to his feet and greeting Harry.

"Hello, Harry," Luna responded calmly.

"Come in, come in!" Neville ushered Harry inside, watching the three trunks fly to the storage area behind him.

"How was your summer?" Harry asked the two compartment occupants as he seated himself across from Luna, next to Neville. Neville soon launched into an excited and surprisingly detailed outline of how his summer went. At first, Harry paid rapt attention, glad to catch up with his friend.

However, after realizing that Neville found each of the seven stages of his new Pot-ifer plant's growth to be the most enthralling bit of news, Harry tuned him out, giving polite nods and 'mmhmm's when he thought necessary.

"Then, the bulbs opened up…and what did I find?" Neville continued, nearly twenty minutes into the ride, unaware that Harry's eyes had long since glazed over and was thinking of how much better conversation Ron, Hermione, Ginny, or the actual plant Neville was talking about would be.

To Harry's eternal consternation, he never did find out what Neville found when the bulbs of his Pot-ifer plant opened up, for they were interrupted by the door sliding open. Harry instantly shook his head out of his funk and his hand went to his wand. But he quickly released his wand and felt a smile come to his face. Ginny came inside, leading a nervous-looking Dean inside the compartment.

"Ginny!" Neville said, his Pot-ifer plant forgotten for the moment. "Dean, so good to see you two!" Luna also gave an airy welcome before going back to her Quibbler magazine.

Harry, however, found the smile that had come to his face had still not left. "Ginny, I didn't expect you so soon!"

Ginny smiled back at him. "Upset you couldn't get rid of me, Potter?"

Harry's smile turned a bit mischievous. "Yeah, but I figured you couldn't stay away for long."

"It must be your irresistible…" Harry was excited to hear what quality Ginny found irresistible, but she quickly closed her mouth when Dean cleared his throat. Harry's smile faded quickly as he realized he had completely forgotten Dean had come in with Ginny.

"Hey Dean! Good to see you, mate!"

Dean grasped Harry's outstretched hand, but still seemed visibly nervous. Harry didn't blame him and felt a little bad about continuing his banter-filled relationship with Ginny right in front of her boyfriend. He made a mental note to dial it back when in others' company.

"Anyway," Ginny said conversationally, seemingly coming to the same conclusion as Harry. "It wasn't even me who suggested it. Dean said he was anxious to get to know my friends better, too." Ginny smiled up at Dean, and Harry was glad that she seemed happy.

"Erm, yeah…" Dean said. "So…how was your summer?"

A foolish question, Harry thought. Even though Dean had been looking at Harry when he said it, it was Neville who answered.

The following twenty minutes, while nearly an exact repeat of the previous twenty, were much more entertaining to Harry this time around. Ginny engaged Neville mock-excitedly as he elaborated in far too much detail his plant's perfunctory progression throughout the summer. Harry found himself holding back laughter and joining in within minutes and continually snuck smiles with Ginny. Dean seemed quite surprised at Ginny's profound interest in the Pot-ifer.

"Then, the bulbs opened up…and what did I find?"

"What?!" Harry and Ginny exclaimed together after the previously interrupted bulb question was repeated after twenty minutes.

But, as Harry would come to realize, he wasn't destined to know what emerged from those tricky Pot-ifer bulbs. For Ron and Hermione chose that exact moment to swing open the door and interrupt the excited boy's explanation.

"I'm not saying they're stupid," Ron was complaining adamantly. Harry released the hold of his wand that he had instinctually handled when the door opened. "I'm just saying that they are small and insignificant."

The two pushed into the now crowded compartment, oblivious to its occupants. "You were a first year not too long ago, Ron Weasley. Were you small and insignificant? Would you have liked to have been told to 'scram' by a prefect?" Hermione huffed as she sat down between Harry and Neville. Ron squeezed between Ginny and Luna, staring right back at Hermione.

"It would've been better than the twenty minute lecture on studies that Percy gave me!"

Hermione scoffed. "You're right there, because clearly that didn't work!"

Harry glanced at Ginny who grinned back at him in mirth. Beside her, Dean just looked uncomfortably at the fighting pair.

"Ahem!" Harry said loudly interrupting Ron's retort. It seemed to break the pair out of their meaningless argument and bring awareness to their surroundings.

"Oh, hello everyone!" Hermione said, her tone of voice changing instantly. "How was your summer?"

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes when Neville took an excited breath. As he launched into his story once more, Harry heard Ginny stifle a giggle.

After yet another repeated ten minutes (the Pot-ifer had reached three feet and was losing its greenish hue), Dean excused himself to use the loo. Harry decided that this was a good time to speak with his friends about the DA.

"Sorry, Neville, I've got a few things to say to you, if you could hold off on your summer details for a minute."

"But Harry!" Ginny started, seemingly devastated at the interruption. Harry saw a slight smirk behind her mock frown.

"No, Ginny," Neville placated while Harry grinned at Ginny. "It's fine. We've got a long ride ahead of us."

Depressed at this revelation, but determined to discuss the DA with them before Dean got back, Harry dove right in. "I never really got to thank you guys at the end of last term for the help you gave at the Ministry. You were brave and loyal, and I don't know what would've happened without your help. I'm sorry I got you into it, but I'm grateful that you were willing."

Seeing only warm smiles and nods of acceptance, Harry continued. "I know I can trust you five completely. And that's why I wanted to ask for your help with the DA this year."

Hermione and Ginny immediately looked excited, Ron looked confused, Neville had a terrified expression on his face, and Luna just looked dreamily back at him. Taking these expressions as the go-ahead to explain himself, Harry pressed on.

"I've got a…rather busy schedule this year without the DA. But Dumbledore and I think it is imperative that we keep the club going to give further practice and experience to those who want to be prepared for the pending war."

"I agree, Harry…but how can we help?" Neville asked worriedly.

"Look, the only reason I could teach it last year was because Hermione helped me prepare and people generally respected me. After your trip to the Ministry and battle with the Death Eaters, you lot are every bit as qualified as I was last year. Dumbledore wants the club to meet three times a week to allow for different student schedules. I simply can't teach that many times. So I was thinking that I'd cover one of the days each week, and the five of you would all teach on the other two days—if it works for your schedules, of course."

"But what could I teach?" Neville asked, clearly not liking this suggestion.

Before Harry could respond, Luna spoke up. "Teach whatever you want, Neville—anything practical, that is." Harry held in a chuckle that the hunter of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks was telling someone to do something practical, but was surprised to find her plan made sense. "I believe I will focus on emergency healing charms, as I have a bit of a gift with them. And if I am to teach it, I will only get better."

Harry glanced over at Hermione and raised his hand to close her jaw which hung open in surprise. She looked away embarrassedly, and Harry responded to Luna. "That's a perfect idea, and exactly what I was thinking. Students will be able to go to one of you to specialize in the war effort, or else they can go to each of you to get a generalized education. So I was hoping that you could all pick something to study, practice, and then teach?"

After a moment of silence, Ron clapped his shoulder. "Sure thing, mate. I think it's a great idea. I'll have to think for a little while before I know what to teach, but I'm in."

"Me too," Hermione said, apparently over her shock that Luna had said something practical and smart.

"Sure thing, Harry," Ginny said, and Harry smiled widely at her.

Then all eyes turned to Neville. "I don't know, Harry. What could I possibly teach…?"

Harry wrapped his arm around Neville and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Mate, you'll think of something. And you'll be a great teacher because you've got qualities that can't be taught. With a little practice, you're going to be a leader and hope to the rest of Hogwarts."

Neville, still scared out of his gourd, nodded slowly. "Okay, Harry. I can do it."

Dean rejoined the group just moments later, pecking Ginny on the cheek as he did. Harry smirked at Ron's glower. The dark-skinned boy still looked so nervous in this group of friends, but seemed to try to make an effort to join in. "So, Harry," Dean with a quick glare in Neville's direction. "How was your summer?"

Harry smiled at Dean's irritation at Neville and began talking about his summer. "It was just great! I don't know if you get the papers, but my godfather survived the battle at the end of last term."

Dean nodded excitedly. "I saw that! How did he survive it?"

Harry shrugged. Not only did he not understand it, but Harry wasn't too keen on telling many people of Sirius' experience in limbo. "No idea," he said before changing the subject. "But on top of that, I spent most of the summer at the Burrow, and it was brilliant."

Dean glanced at Ginny, a little hurt. "I thought you said no one could visit?"

Ginny looked guilty, and Harry had pity on her. "That's my fault. Something about me being Voldemort's number one target made Dumbledore extra cautious about the protection of their home." It occurred to Harry that Ginny hadn't even told Dean in her letters that he had been staying there. He felt a little bad about being the cause of any possible fight between them. "I'm sorry," he continued. "I'll make it up to you by trying to keep Ginny's brother off your back about dating her."

Dean gave a nervous chuckle and Ron glowered at Harry. Harry just smirked before Ginny's inquisitive look caught his eye. When his eyes found hers, she looked away quickly.

Dean shook his head. "It's alright mate…I understand the need for protections…"

Soon, every cabin member was sharing their summer activities and talking excitedly about the coming school year. They played games and enjoyed sweets from the cart that came by. It wasn't until Ron brought up that he dropped Herbology that Neville was reminded of his Pot-ifer plant.

"Oh, that reminds me. So the bulbs opened up and—"

Harry gripped his wand as the door slid open and Neville was interrupted once more, this time by Malfoy.

"Well, well, well…" Malfoy drawled as Harry tightened the grip on his wand in its holster. "If it isn't the Magnificent Ministry Six." Malfoy's eyes scanned the compartment until his eyes fell on Dean, who was holding Ginny's hand. "And the Weaslette's plaything has joined the crew! How wonderful." Crabbe and Goyle grunted their laughter behind Malfoy.

Harry raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

Malfoy smirked. "Just a friendly warning to you, Potter. Something I've been thinking about this summer. Watch your back—you never know when you'll be struck." The threat was clear; Draco knew some of Voldemort's plans. He'd likely learned from his father, recently broken out of Azkaban.

Harry decided to try to goad a little information out of him. "Why? Because you don't have the courage to fight me face to face?"

Smirk still present, Malfoy continued. "Not all of us have the stones to lead our friends into a death trap, Potter." Harry tried not to let it show, but Malfoy's words did actually get to him. He had been stupid in his bravery. But he had learned from it.

"Harry, Malfoy may be right that you need to be worried," Ginny said, shocking everyone. Malfoy's face lit up with glee until Ginny continued, with a smile on her face. "Complimenting your unmentionables and talking about striking from behind—I'd certainly be afraid if that's what Malfoy has been thinking about over the summer."

The compartment burst into laughter as Malfoy's face grew red. "Why you…" his wand was out, but not before Harry's own wand was pointed at his chest. Dean was now standing between Malfoy and Ginny, blocking any attempt to curse her.

"Turn around, Malfoy," Harry said dangerously. "Unlike you, I'm not afraid to fight if you get out of line this year."

Knowing he was outgunned and outmanned, Malfoy sneered and turned with a billow of his robes. Crabbe and Goyle scampered after him down the hall.

The room settled down quickly as Harry shut the door and sighed. He sat back in his seat and felt a hand on his knee. Looking up, he saw Ginny leaning across the compartment looking at him concernedly. "You didn't lead us into a death trap, Harry. We all chose to go and rescue Sirius, ok?"

Harry let out a small laugh and shook his head. How had she known Malfoy had gotten to him? "Thanks, Gin." Looking around the room, he saw four other heads nodding in agreement. The group insulted Malfoy a couple of times before moving on to other conversations.

The day stretched into the late afternoon by the time Neville resumed the story about his plant, deciding to give a ten minute recap of the twenty minute story Harry had already heard three times. He was zoned out, staring at the passing trees outside with window when he vaguely heard the words, "…and the bulbs opened up and revealed the most beautiful…"

Harry should have known from experience that an interruption was imminent now that Neville was about to reveal the bulbs' contents. Even so, his reflexes were rapt as he heard the door begin to swing open yet again and his hand went to his holstered wand.

When the open door revealed nothing but a strange shimmer in the air, Harry immediately pulled out the wand and cast a shield charm in the room. He was aware of the tale tell sign of a disillusionment charm. He heard a young, feminine voice whisper "obfendo!"

Issuing from the rippling air came a dull yellow curse, which hit high and rebounded off of Harry's shield, shooting straight up. The entire room shook at the contact as the spell blasted into the ceiling. A large portion of the roofing blasted to pieces, and great winds filled the small cabin as debris rained down on its occupants.

But Harry paid it no heed. He immediately fired a stunner at the shimmering air, and when the red light merely struck the wall behind it, he rushed out into the hallway, looking both ways for the familiar shimmer of a disillusioned person. But he didn't see a thing. Instead, he fired two locking charms down both lengths of the hallway to keep the offender in the train car. He hurried back into the compartment, where Hermione had begun to fix the broken compartment. Glancing around quickly, Harry determined no one was hurt beyond a startle.

"Neville, Luna," Harry said urgently. "I need each of you to go to either end of the train car. Don't let anyone leave or enter and look out for a disillusioned girl."

They both nodded, perhaps not understanding why, but obeying nonetheless. They quickly left the cabin. "Ron, Ginny…and Dean," Harry added, figuring it would be rude to leave his roommate out. "I need you to go cabin by cabin until you find the disillusioned girl who did this. I don't think she could have escaped." They each nodded as well, and left the compartment.

Harry turned to Hermione, who was just finishing up fixing the compartment. Her repairs were crude, the patterns of her ceiling not matching, and the material completely different. But she had patched the place up nicely. "Hermione," Harry said looking into his brilliant friend's eyes. "We need to find out how and why this happened."

Hermione nodded, the wheels in her head already turning. "Obfendo," she said, almost to herself. "The concussion curse used to briefly stun or shake a large group. It would've given her enough time to stun us each properly or whatever she wanted with us. It's in our text for this year. That means it was a sixth or seventh year, most likely. Not to mention the difficult disillusionment charm."

Harry nodded, though he did think she sounded younger than that. "And with Umbridge teaching last year, that means she was either very studious last year, or a sixth year who would look ahead in this year's text."

"That said," Hermione said with a frown. "This was clearly a planned attack—could've been planning for months, getting help from Death Eaters or studying books above her year."

Harry nodded. Circumstantial evidence would never prove anything, but it would help direct them towards the right person and motive.

"NOOO!" Harry heard from the hallway. He and Hermione rushed out to see Ginny pointing her wand at a young girl who was pressed up against the wall. "I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!"

Harry walked down the hall. Ginny looked torn, with her wand pointing at the pitiful girl. She looked to be a fourth year. She had an athletic build, tall for her age. Her blonde hair framed a tear-stained face. Harry noted that without the tears and given a year more to mature, she would be a very pretty girl.

And perhaps he was influenced by this or simply that his circumstantial evidence didn't point to a young fourth-year, but Harry immediately dismissed this girl as being the real culprit. He motioned to Ginny to lower her wand, which she did quickly. Apparently Ginny didn't believe this girl was at fault either.

The girl fell to the ground, still leaning against the wall and let out a sob. Harry kneeled down next to her. "Hey," he said, soothingly, grabbing her arm. "I believe you, don't worry."

Initially having flinched at the contact, the girl looked up at Harry with hope shining through her tears. "Really?"

Harry nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yeah. What's your name?"

"Haley," she responded though a sniffle.

"Okay Haley. Can you tell us what you can remember?"

Haley nodded slowly. "I came to the train this morning, put my stuff away in that compartment," she said, pointing feebly to an open compartment across the hallway, where Ginny had apparently found her. At this point, Harry realized the entire train car was peering out of their cabins to find the source of commotion. Dean and Ron had made their way over from where they were searching as well.

"I went for a walk after Denise and I had a row…and then everything gets fuzzy after that. I remember being told to walk up and down this hall every thirty minutes, and then to attack you with that spell after I'd been disillusioned."

Harry nodded sadly. "You were hit with the imperius curse." She let out another strangled sob. "Look at me in the eyes," Harry said.

After a moment, she looked back up at Harry. "I need you to tell me if you remember any other commands you were told." She shook her head. "Haley, I want you to listen closely, okay?"

The girl nodded. "I'm going to cast the spell on you again." The girl gasped, as did the compartment filled with her friends behind Harry. "You can only have one imperius master at a time, so I want to force out the other one in case he's merely commanded you to behave this way. I promise to release you the moment it's over."

The girl looked frightened up at Harry. Behind him, Ginny spoke up. "And Haley, if he doesn't, I'll hit him with the worst Bat Bogey Hex you'll ever see."

Harry smiled as Haley let out a small laugh. She nodded slowly. "Imperio!"

Harry saw the girl's eyes glaze over and he immediately released the spell. "Did it work?" Haley asked after shaking her head a few times, as if to clear it.

Harry nodded, smiling warmly at her. "Are you okay?"

She smiled bravely, and then an enormous blush came to her cheeks as her eyes widened at Harry. She let out a small 'eep.' It would seem that after the trauma had now passed, she suddenly realized that Harry Potter was crouched on the ground with her, holding her arm. Harry refrained from rolling his eyes and stood up quickly.

He turned around to find Ginny looking at the girl with lingering concern, but also amusement on her face. Harry finally rolled his eyes at Ginny, who held in a small laugh. After all, it wasn't too long ago that Ginny had reacted in a similar way to Harry.

After reassuring Haley that she'd be just fine, and to join her friends again, Harry walked down the hall. Ginny fell into step with him as Hermione led the way back to the compartment.

"Do you believe her completely?" Ginny asked as they made their way down the hall. "After all, I don't know that curse and I'm at least a year ahead of her in school.

Hermione nodded and explained. "If the one who imperiused her knows how and commanded her exactly how to perform the spell, she could do just fine. The only limit is whether her magical core was big enough, but that's not a terribly taxing spell, so she could do it without too much problem."

Harry stopped short before they turned into their compartment. He stood at the doorway and looked in. He visualized in his mind what the scene would've looked like from her point of view. Harry pulled out his wand and shot a spark into the air, mimicking the angle at which the spell had come at his shield.

"She shot high…" Harry whispered aloud. At Hermione and Ginny's inquisitive looks, Harry continued. "If someone had known how to give her a detailed command on the spell, that person would have known that the concussive curse is best shot low for maximum damage. Half of the curse's power is lost if the spell erupts at the head. She shot high…"

"So she got nervous," Ron offered from behind. Ron and Dean had followed closely behind and apparently caught the conversation.

Hermione shook her head. "The Imperiused don't get nervous. I suppose she could've fought off the command just enough to shoot high…why is that important, Harry?"

"Maybe her will strengthened at the last moment," Harry conceded. "Or maybe she was using someone else's wand…"

Ron made a strange noise as if he made a discovery. "Hey, yeah! When I got my new wand a couple years back, I found that I shot everything high for a while until I got used to the new length. It was longer than my old one."

Several ideas all ran through Harry's mind at once. Why would the person who cast the imperius curse give the girl a new wand to perform it? It was to be untraceable. This person hadn't banked on Harry deflecting the curse and catching up to Haley before she took the disillusionment charm off and returned to her normal life. Therefore, the real culprit would have commanded Haley to get rid of the wand, so that if wands were checked, she wouldn't be found.

He spoke to Hermione as he walked inside the compartment. "Go test her wand with Priori Incantatem, ask her about another wand and come back with what you've learned."

Hermione turned to leave, but stopped as Harry blasted the window off of the compartment wall. The winds immediately filled the compartment again as Harry walked up towards the hole he just created in the side of the train. "Go!" Harry shouted back at a shocked Hermione who went on her way. "Accio wand!" Harry shouted into the world that passed by them outside the train. He focused all of his thoughts on the idea of a wand lying outside beside the train tracks.

He kept his focus strong, despite not even knowing if this wand existed. He felt his magic slowly draining, which could be the cause of trying to accomplish an impossible task or of trying to summon a wand now over two miles away from the speeding train. But he kept it up, knowing a possibly disposed wand would be their only chance at finding this person.

After a few minutes, Hermione returned. "Haley's wand shows no signs of having cast the curse," she said softly, trying not to break Harry's concentration. Ultimately, he had to concentrate harder to hear her over the roaring wind, but he couldn't tell her that while thinking of summoning the wand. "She doesn't remember anything about another wand, but her friends said that when she came back invisible, the window opened. They freaked out."

"That's how I found them," Ginny concurred, over the wind. "They were screaming about how Haley was invisible."

This confirmed what Harry had suspected. She had been commanded to throw the dirty wand out the window. He strengthened his concentration, exerted more of his power to speed up the summoning, and hoped that it would arrive before he was spent. He felt all of his friends' eyes on him as sweat began to bead on his forehead. The wind from the speeding train quickly evaporated the liquid, but Harry felt no relief—his magic draining greatly. He realized that while he had strengthened certain "magic muscles," such as his ability to apparate quickly and often without tiring, the simple summoning charm still took a lot of strength when attempted on this large scale. It had never seemed like an important spell to get more proficient at.

Just as his legs began to shake, and he felt Ron wrap his arms around him to steady him, Harry saw a small object in the distance speeding along the train. Car by car, the wand slowly caught up to them until it flew in through the window, and Harry caught it in his free hand. Harry immediately went slack, allowing Ron to hold him up and then guide him into the seats in the compartment.

Harry sat down roughly with a long exhale. He took deep breaths for a moment, trying to regain his strength. He felt the fatigue dissipate slowly as his magic began to recoup. After she had repaired the window, Harry held the wand out to Hermione who had an impressed and concerned look on her face. Harry took a long look at the wand. It looked to be about fourteen inches long. Harry guessed the wood was oak, but couldn't know for sure. He had no idea what the core was, or how one could find out.

Hermione cut his ponderings short when she cast priori incantatem. The group huddled close together to watch as the wand's previously cast spells were revealed in reverse order.

Concussion curse, disillusionment charm, imperius curse, several disillusionment charms and several concussion curses all packed together.

Hermione smiled grimly up at Harry. "This is the wand, and it would appear whoever planned this needed to practice quite a bit. I think it's a student on this train."

"Probably a sixth or seventh year," Harry said weakly. "We should know soon enough. Ollivander never forgets who he sells his wands to. I'll have Dumbledore send notice to him as soon as we get to Hogwarts."

Ginny went to find Luna and Neville, and the rest of the group all sat down. They immediately began naming suspects. Malfoy was the first on the list. Most of the other guesses were Slytherins. Hermione suggested a Ravenclaw, someone Haley may have trusted. Ginny soon arrived back at the compartment, telling Neville and Luna all that they had learned. Dean stayed pretty quiet besides saying, "Is this what every school year is like for you guys? No wonder you always get so many points awarded and taken away from you…"

-0-0-0-

Somewhere on that train car, a student breathed a sigh of relief. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had nearly caught up to them. But, the student had managed to listen in on the compartment while the deductions were taking place, neither noticed nor suspected as they eavesdropped.

It was a good thing that they never thought to look at everyone's wand on the train to compare the dirty wand. After all, the student had needed to get one quite similar to their original to practice the spells effectively. It was also a good thing Ollivander wouldn't remember who the student was that purchased the wand. It had been stolen, after all.

-0-0-0-

A/N: There will be two things I refuse to address in responses to reviews: Who the real attacker is, and what what is in the Pot-ifer bulbs. I encourage you to throw out guesses as to both, but to keep some surprise in the story, I won't confirm or deny anything. Over the course of the story, I will both hint and mislead at who it is, if you're reading closely.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!