Ends and Means
Hello everyone. Welcome to my tenth chapter of Ends and Means. Firstly, I'm sorry it took a little longer than usual to update. I got my Ps about a fortnight ago so I've busy driving my car (who I've named Harold grins) So yes, I've been a bit busy lately so to make up for it, this chapter's a bit longer than the norm (I usually aim for 2000-2500 words per chapter).
Instead of replying to all reviewers separately, this time I'm just gonna make some general statements as most people asked or commented about the same things.
To everyone who complimented me on the fic so far, thank you so very much! beams
I also want to thank everyone who gave me ideas on why the train stopped. I chose the one I did 'cause I was already thinking along these lines and it also seemed to be the least suggested (which means it's the most unexpected). Thank you though, for all your ideas. It helped break my writer's block for which I'm grateful.
In regards to pairings, relationships, etc, I've stated quite a few times that I haven't planned this fic out. I have a basic plot line I'm working with and several scenes I want to include but I haven't gone so far to plan out who's gonna end up with who. So I'm afraid I can't tell you if there's gonna be slash or warn you of pairings. When I know what the pairings are myself, I'll let you know (though I think that may spoil the story). Until then, I don't mind if you say you like or hate certain pairings but please try to keep it civil. Being told that the thought of Ginny and Malfoy together makes u wanna barf is neither helpful nor necessary.
Lastly, I know that Harry is not as angry as you expected him all to be but please bear in mind that he's had a few good weeks at Luna's to relax and calm so please don't expect him to still feel it necessary to rain down Hell upon everyone. Speaking as someone who finds it difficult to stay angry for more than half an hour, I don't find the 'must make everyone die horribly cruel deaths for what they've put me through' Harry to be particularly realistic but then, maybe I'm just naïve. So instead, my Harry will react to the situation he's in as it demands. Whether he's happy, sad or angry, it will be a reaction not an ongoing feeling. I do think a bit of retribution is still necessary though. I'm thinking of political manoeuvres, physical/magical revenge and maybe the odd prank. What do you think?
By the way, the bunny's fine… this time.
Chapter 10: Entries and Exits
Harry fought to maintain his balance as the train abruptly jolted to a halt. Positioning himself closest to the door, Harry signalled for everyone to remain silent as he strained his ears to hear even the slightest sound. He frowned as he heard multiple footsteps muffled by carpet and the loud chattering of voices drawing nearer. Why were the intruders being so loud and giving away their positions?
Curiosity fought with caution within Harry and after a few seconds of intense internal debate, curiosity won. With the word stupefy on his lips and after a brief signal to those in the compartment with him, Harry quietly slid the door open a crack and peeked out.
He immediately wished he hadn't as on spotting him, one of the intruders screamed "There he is!" which prompted camera flashes to flare, blinding him momentarily.
"What the hell?!" he cried as he swiftly yanked the door shut again before casting a complex locking charm on it. This did nothing to stop voices from drifting through it however and Harry had to bite back a groan as he realised it was the paparazzi that had stopped the train.
"Why couldn't it have been Death Eaters?" Harry complained in his mind. "So much easier to handle."
"Mr Potter, is it true that you have been undertaking secret training these past few months?" one reporter yelled out.
"Is there any basis of truth to rumours regarding you being the 'Chosen One', destined to rid the world of You-Know-Who?" another asked.
"Do you really look up to Albus Dumbledore as both a mentor and a grandfather?" a third questioned, making Harry's hands curl into fists.
"Have you really accepted position of Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic?" the particularly nasal voice of Rita Skeeter rang out.
"SILENCE!" a thunderously deep voice ordered, effortlessly cutting through the chatter of the reporters. Heavy footfalls could be heard approaching the door and Harry automatically tensed, waiting to see if the door would be blown off its hinges. Instead however, he was mildly surprised when there was a quiet knock on the door. He was even more shocked when the person spoke again.
"Mr Potter? This is Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic. May I please have a word?"
Rather than answer straight away, Harry turned to Neville.
"Fudge got kicked out of office?"
"Yeah," Neville replied. "It happened about a week into summer holidays. Scrimgeour beat Fudge in a landslide victory, which was kind of expected after the whole Department of Mysteries fiasco. I'm surprised you didn't already know this."
"I've been a bit busy lately with other things. I haven't really had the time to catch up with the news. Plus I don't even bother reading the Prophet any more. Not after that rubbish they put in it about me last year," Harry shrugged.
"Mr Potter? Are you going to let me in or not?" the Minister's voice sounded again, albeit a bit less polite this time.
"Sure. Why not?" Harry grumbled before disabling the locking charm he had put on the door earlier. He then proceeded to yank the door open, pull Scrimgeour inside and shut and locked it again without giving the press outside a chance to take a photo of him.
"Now, how can I help you, Minister?" Harry queried, folding his arms and leaning comfortably against the door, his wand still ready in his hand. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him in amusement as Scrimgeour shot a glare at him, looking obviously flustered by Harry's brusque treatment of him. Making a conscious effort to swallow his temper and his pride, Scrimgeour cast several silencing and privacy charms around the small compartment. Noticing Scrimgeour looking pointedly at Ginny, Malfoy, Luna and Neville, Harry nodded to indicate that he could speak freely in front of them.
"I'll get straight to the point, shall I?. Mr Potter, as we all know, He Who Must Not Be Named has returned and consequently, mass panic is sweeping the nation. The Ministry is doing all it can to reassure the people but after that whole Department of Mysteries debacle, I'm afraid that many have lost faith in the Ministry and its ability to protect and preserve our way of life. Thus, I'm here to ask you on behalf of the Wizarding Britain for your assistance in boosting the morale of the community," Scrimgreour declared.
"How so?" Harry asked, carefully studying the man before him.
"Very well. You could easily inspire more faith in the Ministry and myself by perhaps telling the press outside how we are working diligently together in order to defeat You-Know-Who. You could perhaps, express your gratitude to the Ministry for updating Hogwarts' wards, which now stop people from entering the grounds on brooms. You being seen entering and leaving the Ministry of Magic on frequent occasions would also go a long way to the reassurance of the general population."
"So essentially, you want me to be your poster boy," Harry stated with a grimace.
"It will be well worth your while," Scrimgeour promised. "Plus it would be for the greater good of the Wizarding World."
Unbidden, a feral snarl ripped from Harry's throat and the temperature of the room began to rise steadily.
"Don't you ever say those words to me again. I will not be bribed or guilt tripped into lying to people and telling them everything will be okay! I will not be your bloody poster boy! I am utterly sick of people using me as a pawn in their sick little power struggles and I won't let it happen to me again! Now if that's all you have to say Minister, I suggest you leave and take those vermin reporters with you," Harry ground out as he pushed the Minister towards the doorway.
"You will regret this, Potter. I am the Minister of Magic. I will not tolerate being manhandled or slandered by one such as you. You just lost yourself a powerful ally," Scrimgeour growled.
"As if you would do anything useful anyway. Now get out!" Harry commanded, shoving him through the now open door before slamming it in the angry Minister's face.
Fuming, Harry leant against the door and began to take deep breaths in an effort to rein in his temper. He flinched as he felt a hand on his arm but relaxed immediately upon seeing Luna's concerned face looking up at him worriedly.
"C'mon, Harry. Calm down. They're gone now," she coerced, gently uncurling his hand, which was fisted around his wand.
When she had deemed that he was back in control of his emotions, she led him back to his seat before squeezing in next to him.
"Well," Neville broke in lightly, "I don't think they'll be back to bother you again anytime soon."
"Impressive display of temper, Potter. Extra points for controlling the situation too. There's hope for you yet, it seems," Malfoy acknowledged, as the train began to start moving.
Harry rolled his eyes at him, muttering a sarcastic 'thanks'.
"I wonder how they knew were here," Luna mused.
"Well, I thought it would be obvious that I'd be aboard the Hogwarts Express today," Harry pointed out.
"Actually, there was mass speculation that you wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts this year," Neville explained as he settled once more into his seat, Ginny now sitting next to him as Luna had taken her spot.
"Really? Why?" Harry inquired, as he pulled out his school robe from his luggage and shrugged it on.
"No one knew where you were," Neville replied. "The Minister apparently tried to find you at your relative's place but you were already gone. He then checked in with Dumbledore who told everyone that you were taking a well-deserved rest in an unknown location. A lot of people took that to mean that you had either run away, were undergoing secret training somewhere or that Dumbledore had sent you off on an urgent mission. There have even been all these Potter sightings reported in the Daily Prophet. Some people have gone as far as saying you were seen leaving the Chinese Ministry of Magic with a sack full of diamonds."
"That's just stupid," Harry grimaced.
"True but then, so is most of the population," Malfoy pointed out.
"The crux of the matter," Neville continued, "is that no one was really sure you were going to be aboard today. Otherwise I expect the Minister and the press would have ambushed you on Platform 9¾ rather than stop the Hogwarts Express when it was already travelling."
"Which leaves the question, how did they know you were on board, Harry?" Luna pondered.
"Maybe someone sent an owl saying that you were here, Potter," Malfoy smirked, looking pointedly at Ginny who glared back at him.
"Maybe but who…" Harry paused, thinking back to earlier on. He was suddenly struck by an epiphany that made his insides squirm and his temper rise. Two distinct parts of their earlier conversation filtered back in to his mind.
---
"Since when do you call him Draco? Why is he sitting with us anyway?" Neville inquired, placing his wand back into his pocket and sitting back down next to Luna.
"A lots changed over the summer, Neville. Suffice to say, that Draco is now on our side," Ginny uttered as she withdrew a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill from her front robe pocket. She quickly scribbled a note and then, after giving it to the owl, threw the owl out the window.
"What was that, Gin?" Harry queried, shifting his legs to get comfortable once again.
Ginny blushed.
"Oh, um… it was nothing really important. Just a job I was asked to do," she mumbled.
"Right…" Harry responded, not caring enough to pursue the subject.
-----
"Anyway, how are you, Harry?" Ginny continued tentatively.
"I'm fine now, thanks. Staying at Luna's place was relaxing and heaven knows I needed a break."
Are you… are you still mad at everyone?" she questioned quietly, her hands twisting and untwisting in her lap.
"I can't say I've forgiven everyone just yet. I am still a bit upset with how I was treated but I told you all earlier that I would try to work things out with you guys and I still plan to do that. Just don't expect me to instantly forget everything and start doling out kisses and flowers 'cause that's not going to happen."
"Thank Merlin for that," Malfoy shuddered. "You seem to be doing fine when dealing with me and the Weaslette though," Malfoy pointed out, dodging the slap from Ginny about the 'Weaslette' gag.
"That's because Ginny hasn't really done anything to upset me and I'm used to you being an arse," was Harry's reply.
For some reason this comment made Ginny flush. On seeing this, Malfoy grinned causing Harry's eyes to narrow. Something was obviously going on between those two.
---
"Ginny…" Harry growled, his voice deeper than usual. "That owl that you sent earlier; what did you write and to whom did you send it to?"
Ginny blushed.
"I-It was nothing important, H-Harry," she stuttered, refusing to meet his eyes.
"You said that it was a job you were asked to do. Were you hired by the Ministry to owl them if I was here?" Harry demanded standing up and aiming his wand at her menacingly.
"N-no! Of course not!" She answered looking fearfully at the murderous look on Harry's face.
SLAM!
"Harry! We heard you were here…" Hermione stated rushing into the compartment. She stopped though when she saw Harry with his wand levelled at Ginny. Ron was not so smart.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY SISTER!?" he roared, racing over to confront Harry.
Harry didn't bother removing his gaze from Ginny's as he felt Ron approach. His magic flung the red-haired boy away from him and into a wall before he was even close to Harry.
"I said, 'WERE YOU HIRED BY THE MINISTRY TO OWL THEM IF I WAS HERE?'" Harry yelled, his wand now on her throat.
"NO, I WASN'T," she sobbed, causing Harry to snarl.
"She's telling the truth, Harry!" Hermione broke in from where she was trying but failing to revive the unconscious Ron. "It wasn't the Ministry that put her up to the job but Dumbledore. He just wanted to know whether you were on board or not."
"The Ministry must have intercepted it," Ginny cried weakly. "I'm so sorry!"
"Why? I told Dumbledore that I would be back at Hogwarts on September 1st. Why did he ask you guys to do this? How could you guys do this?" Harry asked, the temperature of the room once more increasing.
"We didn't want to, Harry," Ginny cried, "but Dumbledore told us that we had to for the greater good of everyone. He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Please believe me!"
Shutting his eyes, Harry began to silently count backward from ten, expelling his breath as he did so. When he was sure he could speak civilly, he addressed them whilst keeping his eyes firmly closed.
"At the moment, I can't bear even looking at you guys. I am going to say this once and once only. For the time being, I do not want to speak, look at or even breathe near you three. I will come to you if, that's if, I ever forgive you. Until then, I suggest you make yourselves scarce whenever you see me. Turning his back to them, he faced where he knew Luna was still sitting and opened his eyes.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to hold onto my temper for much longer if I stay here," he began.
"You're going to fly the rest of the way to Hogwarts," she finished for him. "Yes, I think it's for the best. Have you got your Firebolt?" she asked, glancing at Neville.
"Yeah, it's in my bag," Harry replied, catching onto what she was saying. It wouldn't do for Neville or any of the others for that fact, to know that he still had his wings. They had probably assumed that they had either vanished by themselves or been removed somehow and Harry wanted them to keep that assumption. Always best to keep a trick up your sleeve.
"Later," Harry uttered as he cast a Disillusionment charm on himself. Ignoring Hermione's muttering about rule breaking and dangerous activities, Harry pulled himself swiftly through the open window and onto the roof of the train, being careful to stay low so the howling wind didn't blow him off.
After making doubly sure that he was still disillusioned, he launched himself into the air. He was instantly blown backwards but by opening out his wings to their full span, the tugging wind soon helped him gain altitude until he was floating comfortably amongst the clouds.
The strong sense of freedom that he always felt when flying engulfed him, drowning out his anger and he let out a laugh as he began to swoop and spiral across the sky, following the Hogwarts Express, which slid like a snake through the countryside.
All too soon, the village of Hogsmeade came into sight. It shimmered with magic but it was nothing compared to the glowing castle it was nestled next to. Hogwarts seemed to be made entirely of magic, a great mass of swirling rainbow hues that seemed to outshine the sun. Fishing his darkened shades out of his mokeskin bag, he attached them onto his normal glasses, dimming the light and allowing him to see clearly.
The train had beaten him to the station and consequently, most of the students had already left for Hogwarts on the thestral-drawn carriages. By the time Harry had landed on the platform and cancelled the Disillusionment charm, the last carriage had left. Frowning, he realised he would have to walk up to Hogwarts as the newly updated wards around Hogwarts would prevent him from flying directly there.
A slight tug on his robe dragged him from his contemplation. Whirling around, he withdrew his wand from his pocket and pointed it at his unknown assailant.
Ghostly white eyes stared eerily back into his own, causing Harry to almost drop his wand in shock. He hadn't been expecting a thestral.
The thestral continued to watch him steadily, its skeletal snout releasing Harry's shirt.
"What?" Harry couldn't help but blurt out as the thestral began to sniff around his back, right where his wings would be residing if they were in plain sight.
"Can you… can you tell that I've got wings? That's impossible! The Dissimulo charm is supposed to hide it from all five senses! How can you smell them!" Harry asked, alarm coursing through him. He then proceeded to kick himself as he realised that the thestral couldn't answer him even if it wanted to.
Frowning slightly, he studied the magical creature before him, trying to spot anything that may explain the creature's ability to sense his hidden wings. It looked just like any other thestral except it was slightly bigger than he was used to and it had a curious splash of silver in the shape of a star on it's right flank.
Upon finishing its investigation of Harry's wings, the thestral regarded him for a moment more before sinking down onto the ground beside him.
"What are you… Do you want me to hop on?" Harry asked, feeling a bit foolish talking to the animal.
The star thestral, as Harry had decided to dub it for convenience's sake, just continued to stare at him. Sighing, Harry carefully climbed onto the beast. Remembering his previous experience with thestrals (and after forcing down the feelings of pain and sorrow that these memories evoked), Harry wound his hands firmly into the silky black mane and lodged his legs securely behind its wing joints. As soon as he had settled, the star thestral sprang unbidden into the air and towards Hogwarts.
"Wait! What about the…?" Harry's question died as they slipped easily past the wards and into the school grounds.
"So the wards don't stop animals from crossing? That's right, the Minister specified that only brooms would be stopped from getting through! Does that mean I can fly through with my wings?" Harry wondered as the star thestral flew towards the main entrance of the castle.
Instead of dropping him off at the door as Harry had expected, the star thestral flew through the open doors into the Entrance Hall and towards the Great Hall.
He created quite a stir as he entered the Hall in the middle of the Sorting. To most of the people present, he was riding on nothing but air, which caused many of the younger students and a few of the older ones to gasp or even faint. To those who could see the thestral beneath him however, both awe and terror filled their faces. One first year even screamed in horror and raced out of the room. Harry grinned as he saw this reaction and after a few laps around the room, he finally managed to persuade the star thestral to land, which it did… on the Staff table. The star thestral seemed to take great joy in knocking half the teachers' crockery and cutlery off the table before finally coming to a halt.
Feeling giddy from the flight, Harry vaulted off the thestral's back landing squarely on Snape's now cracked plate.
"Hi everyone!" he couldn't help but smirk as he surveyed the bewildered students and teachers around him.
A/N: (sings)
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