Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 10 – Explanations
Harry slowly started slipping into unconsciousness. However, he knew he had to keep on fighting. For what, to that he had no answer. But he knew he had to hold on for just a moment longer...just one moment longer...
"Don't worry Harry" the familiar figure said as it reached Harry and lifted his head. "I won't let you die on me"
Harry forcibly opened his eyes for one last time that night. No, he was not hallucinating. He had succeeded and felt like the happiest man on earth. With a smile on his lips, he could only say one last word before he slipped into the depths of unconsciousness.
"Tonks"
&&&&
"This cannot have happened" the hissing voice of Lord Voldemort seemed to be laced with venom.
"McNair". The trembling figure of the death eater stepped forward.
"My Lord" McNair said as he bowed in front of Lord Voldemort.
"Crucio". The other death eaters trembled as they saw the ferocity with which the dark lord was torturing one of their own. After a prolonged torture, Voldemort broke the spell.
"Do you fools know what you have let happen?" Voldemort asked as his eyes surveyed the members of the inner circle of the death eaters. "You will pay for this failure". With that, Voldemort cast the cruciatus on each of the death eaters present. Finally, after 5 minutes had passed, which seemed to be 5 years to many, Voldemort's anger seemed to shift from his own men to the person he hated the most in his life at the moment.
"Harry Potter" Voldemort said in the same venomous voice. "You have destroyed the veil. Now I will destroy Hogwarts"
"Harry...Harry" a feminine voice seemed to be calling Harry from somewhere far beyond. "GET UP". Finally Harry seemed to stir slightly and opened his eyes a little bit.
"Tonks" Harry said with a weak smile as he saw the concerned face of Nymphadora Tonks in front of him. He felt Tonks clearing the sweat from his face. After all, it had been a long time since he had had a vision of Voldemort. However, before he could even mutter a word of thanks to Tonks for waking him up from the terrible vision, his weakness got the better of him and he fell into a deep sleep once again.
&&&&
"Hi"
"Hello Tonks" Remus said as he looked up from the book in his hand.
"How are you doing now?" Tonks asked. Dumbledore had asked Madam Pomfrey to see to it that Fred, George and the rest of the D.A. members recovered fully from their magical exhaustion and injuries. Remus had insisted that he would be able to take care of himself.
"Better" Remus said somberly.
"Don't worry...he will be up soon" Tonks reassured Remus who was eyeing Harry lying on the couch. Harry had been lying there for the past three days without much movement.
"How did all this happen?" Remus asked for the first time since Tonks had been back. "You..." Remus looked lost for words.
"I don't know" Tonks said, looking just as confused as Remus.
"You have to know something!" Remus said. "We saw you...die" Remus's voice choked slightly as the memory of Tonks's painful death resurfaced.
"I know that" Tonks said. "After I died, I kind of expected to see Sirius" Tonks said in a faraway voice. "But my soul could not move on to the next world. Every time I tried to go, something seemed to hold me back. It was almost as if someone was holding me on a lease"
"How do you try to move on to the next world?" Remus looked even more puzzled than before.
"I can't explain it" Tonks replied. "It was just a feeling that I had...something I knew I had to do"
"And you don't feel like that now?"
"Of course not!" Tonks replied. "I can't even remember the feeling now. I just know that I had this feeling to move on to the next world and that I could do it if I wanted"
"And you could not" Remus added.
"No, I could not" Tonks said. "Like I said, it felt as if someone was holding me back. After a while I gave up and started moving around Hogwarts"
"Hold on a second" Remus interrupted. "You mean..." he gave a disbelieving laugh. "You mean you were haunting Hogwarts like Peeves?"
"Haunting? No!" Tonks looked shocked, her eyes growing bigger. "Peeves...yikes...NO. He is so disgusting. He does all sorts of...yuck" Tonks made a face to suggest it was really disgusting and followed it up with an involuntary shudder.
"Anything bad?" Remus poked Tonks with a twinkle in his eye.
"You wouldn't believe it..." Tonks started explaining when she saw the glint in Remus's eye. "Hold on old man, you are trying to make fun of me"
"No" Remus said innocently. "I was just querying as to what happens when a female ghost meets a male ghost"
"Argh" Tonks gritted her teeth in mock anger and her eyes narrowed sharply. "If you had not been recovering..."
"Then what?" Remus said in a challenging voice.
"I will show you one day what I am capable of, Remus Lupin" Tonks said, sticking her nose high up in the air.
"Anyway, what were you saying?" Remus turned serious once again.
"Well..." Tonks also regained her explanatory look. "I started moving around Hogwarts. Not like Peeves or Nearly Headless Nick but I could move through the walls"
"What do you mean?" Remus queried.
"I mean, I could not assume a shape like Nick or Peeves" Tonks explained. "But I could move through the walls of Hogwarts. However, astonishingly enough, I could not move through any other inanimate object"
"Like?" Remus asked again.
"I tried to move into an armor one night when Harry was walking down the corridor. I couldn't do it" Tonks said.
"I see" Remus said. "Strange"
"Very much so" Tonks agreed. "It was as if I was tied to the castle in some way". A minute of silence passed as both of them got lost in their own thoughts.
"Tell me something" Remus said suddenly. "You said you wanted to move into an armor suit when Harry was passing by". Tonks gave an affirmative nod. "That means you could see everything?" Remus queried.
"Yes" Tonks said. "Only if I was present there, that is". Her voice trailed off at this point as she remembered the times when Harry would walk listlessly through the corridors of Hogwarts. She could feel the sadness he was feeling. It was almost as if they had kept sharing the bond between them even after her death. She had suffered with him during those times and once she tried to reach out to him mentally. It had not worked. However, she had noticed that Harry had this habit of touching the walls of the corridors whenever he walked alone. Since she was able to move through the walls, once she had tried to touch him when he was in contact with the wall. And to her great surprise, she had been able to feel him!
On that day, Tonks had also seen the reaction of Harry and knew that he had also felt something. He had seemed very frustrated and sad but once he had unknowingly made contact with Tonks, he seemed to calm down. By the look on his face Tonks could tell Harry did not know why he had suddenly felt much calmer. However, he seemed to notice that the contact with the walls made him feel better because he made a regular habit of touching the walls of Hogwarts whenever he was alone.
"Tonks"
"Uh?" Tonks was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of Remus.
"You seemed lost in your thoughts" Remus said. "I called your name twice but you did not respond"
"Oh" Tonks understood. "I was just thinking of something. Why were you calling me?"
"Your Harry seems to be moving" Remus said.
"I se...my Harry!" Tonks shot up to her feet so suddenly that the chair was thrown backwards. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands as the chair cluttered loudly on the floor because she thought Harry would most probably be disturbed by the noise. To her relief, she saw that Harry had not reacted much and was just murmuring something deliriously. Tonks quickly went over to pick up the chair but managed to trip over it.
"Oh well" Remus said as he saw Tonks's antics and rolled his eyes. Even death had not been able to change Tonks.
&&&&
"KATIE!" Angelina, who was chatting with Alicia, couldn't help but scream out when she recognized the heckled face of the girl coming towards them. Alicia looked around to see Katie barely managing to walk towards them. Both the girls rushed towards their friend and caught hold of her just as she seemed to be about to collapse. They led her the rest of the way inside Angelina's tent.
"What happened? We have been worried mad about you" Angelina asked, her eyes wide in fear. However, Katie did not respond. Katie's face seemed to be bruised along with her wrists. It seemed like she had been beaten up.
"Seems like someone beat her up" Alicia said thoughtfully as she scanned the limp figure of their friend. "But why would someone physically beat up a person in the wizarding world?"
"I don't know" Angelina said before adding "And I don't care about it now. We need to get her to the hospital wing quickly. God knows where she was for the past so many days"
"Let me check her once" Alicia said as she took out her wand. Looking at the puzzled look on her friend's face, she explained. "Not everyone has the luck to make it to a quidditch professional squad"
"Why don't I like that explanation?" Angelina asked shrewdly as Alicia scanned Katie's body with her wand. Angelina knew that Alicia was not the type of girl who would give a straightforward answer so easily. She was always known to play with her friends a bit before letting them on in the truth. It was one of the irritating bits about Alicia but it also was the fun part about her. Whenever they would get bored, Katie and Angelina would try to guess what Alicia was trying to hide from them.
"Well..." Alicia replied in her trademark voice which meant that she had been caught again by her friend. "…I took some healer's lessons in these past few months. I thought it would be better to become a healer in these times than a quidditch player"
"That's more like my Alicia" Angelina beamed at her friend. Her respect for her Alicia went a notch higher because she knew how much quidditch meant to her and how tough it must have been to even think of some other profession just for the sake of helping people in the times of a war.
"Our Alicia" a groggy voice corrected Angelina.
"Katie...thank god you are ok" Angelina said with a huge sigh of relief at seeing her friend speak again.
"She's only bruised" Alicia said in a very professional manner. "A couple of charms hit her but nothing more"
"My...hands" Katie said in a pained voice. "What happened?" she asked in a bewildered manner as her gaze shifted from her bruised wrists to her friends concerned faces.
"We were going to ask you that very question. You have been missing for around a month now" Alicia replied as she cast a few healing charms on Katie. The bruises looked sufficiently better once she was finished.
"What on earth happened to you?" Angelina queried, her face contorted in a very concerned look.
"I don't know" Katie said as she got up and looked around. She saw that she was in Angelina's tent. She guessed she had somehow come to that place. But how?
"What do you mean you don't know?" Alicia asked. "You came here looking as if you had just taken the beating of your life from someone and you say you don't know anything?""I seriously don't know" Katie replied as she flexed her body slightly to see if she felt any pain or not. "Last thing I remember I was walking towards the library...hmmm..." Katie looked slightly confused as she thought harder. "No" she said finally. "I was going to meet Dumbledore"
"You sure?" Alicia asked. "You look confused"
"Actually I am slightly confused" Katie admitted. "I was going to Dumbledore's office when...hmmm...a group of first years came up and asked me for the directions to the library. I gave them the directions..." Katie's voice trailed off at this as she seemed to be lost in her thoughts again.
"And then?" Alicia prompted Katie after a few seconds.
"I don't remember correctly" Katie said in a confused manner. "For some reason I decided to visit my grandfather at St. Mungo's and..." she looked at her two friends in a helpless manner.
"St. Mungo's?" Angelina's eyes went wide in fear.
"What?" Katie asked in surprise as she saw the same fearful look on Alicia's face as well. However, her surprise turned into fear very soon as she got no answer from her friends.
"No" Katie shook her head in disbelief. "Don't tell me that they destroyed it too". Her gaze shifted from Alicia to Angelina and back to Alicia. At last Angelina gave a slight nod of her head.
"It can't be" Katie was shaking her head in shock. "It's not possible. I mean...there were aurors there..."
"There was a big fight" Alicia said. "But I don't think anything happened to the patients"
"You sure?" Katie asked with a renewed vigor even though she was not willing to believe her friends this time. "Everyone's safe?"
"That's what Dumbledore said to us all later on" Angelina said.
"Dumbledore said that?" Katie looked sufficiently relieved at this. If anyone at Hogwarts could trust anyone's word without questioning twice, it was the word of Albus Dumbledore.
"Yes" Alicia confirmed. "Apparently many people had relatives at St. Mungo's. So he made this announcement just before the prophet came in that day"
"How long have I been gone? What did the prophet say?" Katie asked curiously. Though she knew that the prophet made things looked bigger than they actually were, still they had some truth to it.
"You have been gone for about a month now" Angelina said. Katie looked astonished at hearing this and she mouthed the word 'WHAT!'. Alicia took on the responsibility of answering her second query.
"The prophet said that there was a fight between something like about a hundred death eaters versus ten aurors" Alicia said with a smirk on her face. "Can you believe the extent of their lies? I mean, how can someone win against hundred death eaters?"
"I don't know" Angelina said with a shrug. "It could be true"
"Are you mad?" Katie looked back to her old self, completely oblivious that she had been almost dead on her feet a few minutes ago. "A 1:10 ratio is a no-win situation"
"Not unless you put in Harry in it" Angelina said calmly.
"Harry?" Katie looked stunned for a minute. "Our Harry?"
"Don't tell me you believe that story!" Alicia said to Angelina. "There is no way Harry could have reached that place, least of all fight off so many death eaters"
"Our Harry?" Katie asked again.
"C'mon Alicia!" Angelina said. "You know how many times he has sneaked out of the castle"
"And landed at St. Mungo's inside a minute or so?" Alicia retorted. "No way!"
"Our Harry?"
"He could have apparated there" Angelina argued. "After all, everyone knows where St. Mungo's is. And knowing Harry, he must have already learnt to apparate"
"C'mon Angie" Alicia argued back. "Even if he has learnt to apparate he couldn't possibly fight so many death eaters. These are just rumors"
"Our Harry?" the voice asking this question was starting to sound a bit groggy again.
"Well...I wouldn't put it past him" Angelina said. "I remember the D.A. training in the summer. If Moody made us do all that stuff, then Harry must know them all too if not more"
"Oh c'mon!" Alicia threw up her arms in despair. "It's a rumor"
"Our Harry?"
"Yes!" snapped two angry voices.
&&&&
"Hello Harry" Tonks said sweetly as Harry seemed to wake up finally. He had been delirious for the past few days due to a fever caused by magical exhaustion but had recovered quite quickly. Today he looked much better and seemed to have been refreshed by the prolonged rest.
"Hello...sweetie" Harry said in an off-handed manner and started searching for something fictitious so as to avoid Tonks. Tonks was looking in a bewildered manner at Harry, trying to decide whether she should be angry or happy at being called sweetie. Her eyebrows were knit together as she found that she was unable to decide on the matter. However, when she saw Harry stealing a glance and snickering at her apparent indecision, she became furious.
"How dare you call me something like that?" Tonks thundered. Remus was not present at that moment and hence only Harry's ear-drums were affected by the high-pitched voice of Tonks.
"Called you what sweetie?" Harry asked innocently.
"THAT!" Tonks shouted again, pointing her finger. "Sweetie...you called me sweetie. I don't want to be called sweetie"
"Ok" Harry said in a resigned manner. "I will call someone else sweetie"
"What!" Tonks looked aghast. "Someone else? Sweetie? Are you mad Harry Potter?"
"No" Harry replied as he sat up. "I just want to call someone sweetie. Since you don't want to be called sweetie...hmmm...maybe Hermione won't mind"
"Hold On!" Tonks said. "Hermione?"
"Yeah" Harry said with a shrug. "Hermione's quite nice and..."
"Yeah, yeah" Tonks nodded her head. "Hermione's nice. She's intelligent unlike dumb Tonks"
"Dumb Tonks?" Harry queried. "Did you change your first name?"
"No" Tonks replied without thinking much. "I..." her voice trailed off as she understood what Harry had said. She looked angrily at Harry for one long minute.
"What is the matter?" Harry asked a bit nervously since Tonks did not stay silent for too long if she knew someone was just making a little fun of her.
"You have been pulling my leg for many a month now" Tonks said slowly.
"Which leg?" Harry asked instantly.
"Which leg? Hmmm?" Tonks wondered aloud before realizing she had said more than was required once again. By now, Harry was laughing like a mad man.
"You have gone mad Harry Potter" Tonks said in mock sadness though there was no mistaking the smile which seemed to light up her eyes.
"I have" Harry said as he got control over himself and caught hold of Tonks hand. "Your love has made me mad"
"Wh..." Tonks choked as Harry kept a firm grip on her hand. For some reason, her heart started pounding against her chest with the power of a sledgehammer. Many times in the past year she had wondered how she would react if a situation of this type of a situation popped up and she had always been convinced that she would have some witty remark ready which would put Harry in an uncomfortable position. But now no witty remark came to her mind. Rather, nothing came to her mind. It seemed as if she had forgotten everything she had ever known and Harry's words were the only thing she had heard in her entire life.
"I...uh..." Tonks muttered something incomprehensible under her breath as she tried to regain her composure.
"Some dinner please" a voice said from somewhere behind Tonks. Tonks looked around to see Remus standing there with a smile playing on his lips. Though she was mentally cursing Remus for his supposed naughty thoughts, she could not help but think that he had just saved her from an embarrassing situation.
"I will get you something" Tonks said as she hurriedly got up from her seat beside Harry's bed and rushed away, pulling her hand out of his grip. Once in the kitchen, she touched the portion of her hand where Harry had gripped her. Touching it, she smiled shyly before starting to fix dinner for everyone.
&&&&
"Better now Harry?" Remus asked once dinner was underway. The uneasiness of Tonks seemed to have passed away though she kept stealing glances at Harry from time to time who was also doing the same.
"Yeah" Harry said. He looked to be deep in thought which seemed to trouble Tonks.
"A couple of days back you were delirious" Tonks said hesitantly. "You were sweating...as if you were..."
"I had a vision" Harry explained before Tonks had a chance to raise the topic. Tonks gave a deep sigh and waited for Harry to continue. Harry gulped down a part of the sandwich on his plate with the help of some pumpkin juice before looking up to meet Tonks and Remus's gaze.
"Nothing to worry about" Harry said as he saw the look on their faces. "I think I saw him because I was injured and, because I had not been able to meditate, my mental shields were down"
"Did he break into your mind?" Remus asked in a concerned voice. Even though Tonks herself was very concerned, she did not dare to ask Harry anything at the moment. Remus was much better at this since he was able to maintain a calm exterior.
"I don't think so" Harry said thoughtfully. "He didn't try to show me anything. I think he was too angry with the death eaters to notice my presence"
"What did you see?" Remus queried, all the while keeping a straight face drained of all emotions.
"Lord Voldemort was angry because he somehow knew that the Power had been destroyed" Harry said as the face of an angry Voldemort came to his mind.
"We all know how powerful Voldemort is" Remus said. "All of us are bound to every magical object on this earth. Since Voldemort is more powerful than us, he is able to sense the linkage between himself and the more powerful magical objects. That could be the way he might have felt the Power of Hogwarts being destroyed"
"You mean to say we are all linked to all the magical objects on this planet?" Tonks asked in slight bewilderment.
"Yes" Remus clarified. "However, we are unable to detect that linkage. Only wizards like Dumbledore or Voldemort are able to feel them in a particular manner. They can just feel their existence or destruction and nothing else. They cannot wield that object"
"I see" Harry said, trying to understand as much as possible. It made sense in a way. "Does that mean they can pin-point their locations?" Harry queried.
"No" Remus replied as he drank some pumpkin from the glass in front of him. "They can just feel the existence of the objects and nothing, I repeat, nothing else"
"Got your point" Tonks said on behalf of both herself and Harry. Harry just nodded his head.
"So, Voldemort is just angry?" Remus said with a look in his eyes suggesting that Harry knew more than he was letting on. Harry knew that look well enough and thought it best to share the last bit of information he had about his dream.
"He is coming to attack Hogwarts soon". Tonks breathed in sharply at hearing this. Remus, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.
"This is going to happen sooner or later" Remus said. "We have to be ready for him". Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement. He knew that he had to fulfill his destiny and it seemed that that time was going to come sooner than he had thought.
"Harry" Tonks said in a tentative voice. As Harry looked up, she asked. "What did you do?".
Harry looked at Tonks for a moment and smiled. He knew this question was going to come sooner or later. He would have to explain how he had brought Tonks back to life. This would mean going over in detail as to how he had formulated his theories. This was going to be a lengthy explanation which he would have to repeat to the D.A. members as well.
"I will be back in a minute" Harry said as he got up and started to proceed towards the fourth compartment.
"Where are you going?" Tonks asked.
"To bring Ron, Hermione and the others here" Harry said. "I don't want to explain the same thing twice". With that, he vanished into the fourth compartment.
&&&&
"He destroyed the Power of Hogwarts for god's sake!" Hermione was having trouble controlling her emotions ever since she had got better. It had been a couple of days since the event at the Chamber and they had been released from the medical wing.
"C'mon Hermione" Ron said, throwing his hands up in the air. "He did it for Tonks. We all now know how much Tonks means to him". At this, Cho, who was present along with Soha and Neville, sighed. Soha looked sympathetically at Cho.
"How did he bring back Tonks after all?" Hermione asked curiously. "I guess that does not matter. The thing is he destroyed..."
"...the Power of Hogwarts" Ron completed her sentence. "Yes...we all know that and I think you are making a big fuss about it"
"Oh, now I am making a fuss" Hermione said angrily as she shot up from her seat in the Room of Requirements. "Do you know what a great magical achievement it was? From what I could dig up in the past 8 hours, Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw themselves created it"
"So?" Ron asked calmly. Neville, Soha and Cho squirmed in their seats as they could feel a storm brewing up.
"So?" Hermione eyes went wide in surprise. Was Ron never going to understand anything at all? "This could have defeated all the death eaters in one shot. This could have saved us all"
"And what about Tonks?" Ron continued in the same calm voice.
"Harry could have found some other way" Hermione shot back.
"Maybe by destroying Hogwarts and using it's magical energy?" Ron suggested.
"I didn't mean that" Hermione looked slightly uncomfortable. "What I meant is that..."
"Tonks is not worth the Power of Hogwarts?" Ron continued. "Maybe the Power of Hogwarts is more important to you than Tonks"
"Yes" Hermione said vehemently. "It is more important than one single person. It could have saved many lives if it was not destroyed. But now...now we have one dead person back and one of the greatest magical inventions destroyed"
"Hermione, tell me something" Ron said with a sad look on his face. "Does Harry's happiness mean something to you?"
"What kind of question is that Ronald Weasley?" Hermione asked in a stone-cold voice. "You know how much his feelings matter to me"
"Then why are you not happy that he has Tonks back?" Ron said in an almost pleading voice.
"Because this is not the time where a single person's life becomes more valuable than that of the refugees at Hogwarts" Hermione replied stubbornly. "At this time, I believe we should let our brain take the decisions, rather than our hearts"
"So, if you had been in Tonks's place and I knew that the Power of Hogwarts could bring you back, I should have done nothing?" Ron asked with a curious look on his face. At this, Hermione looked stunned for a moment and started muttering something under her breath.
"Ron" Cho spoke when she saw Hermione muttering uncomfortably under her breath. "What Hermione is saying is that maybe, just maybe, we paid too big a prize for bringing back Tonks"
"I see" Ron said. "I beg to differ. I think that after all these years, the guy named Harry Potter needs a break from all the sadness and tragedy he has been through. He needs someone who he can love". Ron paused as he looked at the expressions of the others. Neville was nodding his head in a gesture which suggested he agreed with Ron while Cho and Hermione remained non-committal, each due to their own personal reasons. Soha squirmed uncomfortably in her seat when Ron looked at her. She did not know how to react because she did not know much about Harry's past. She had heard things but had never seen them in person. Hence she felt it was best to remain neutral.
"I hope you all have not forgotten the pains he had gone through to save so many lives in his first five years" Ron continued. "If You-Know-Who had got to the philosopher's stone, then god knows what might have happened till now. I just..."
"I am sorry" Hermione said abruptly.
"What?" Ron asked with a slightly puzzled look on his face.
"I am sorry I said all those things about Tonks and Harry" Hermione said in a low voice. "I guess I was just thinking too much in my own interests". No one said anything for a moment. Seldom was there a moment in Hogwarts over the last six odd years that Hermione Granger had done something wrong. Even rarer was her acknowledging her mistake in front of so many people.
"Thank you for opening my eyes Ron" Hermione looked at Ron appreciatively.
"Oh...you guys are here". The door of the Room of Requirements had opened at exactly that moment and Harry Potter was standing there.
"Hi Harry" everyone in the room chorused in unison by accident. Cho, Soha and Hermione broke into giggles at this. Even Neville could not hide a smile.
"I need you guys to be with Remus and Tonks" Harry said. Seeing the curious looks, he continued. "I don't want to explain twice how Tonks came back. Take this and you will find yourself at the required place. I will be there in a minute or two more after I find Professor Delacour". The others took the portkey Harry had handed to them and he vanished from sight. Almost instantly they found themselves in the same room they had been in a couple of days ago. All they could do now was to wait for Harry to come back with Fleur and clear the mystery about how Tonks came back.
&&&&
"So?" Remus said once Harry had joined everyone there. Everyone who had been there when Tonks had come back was present in the fifth compartment of the trunk which now resembled a small conference room.
"Yeah...I am just thinking where I should start from" Harry said as he started pacing the room. He looked once at Tonks as he tried to arrange his thoughts.
"Well...hmmm..." was all Harry said as he kept pacing around. After a few moments, he said. "I will just start randomly, ok?". No one said anything in reply because they knew Harry was not waiting for one. "Let's see, you guys know what the Power of Hogwarts is. Let me point out what I had found out about it". Casting his mind back to what he had read in Dumbledore's office, Harry started his explanation of the Power of Hogwarts.
"The Power of Hogwarts was created by Godric Gryffindor and the other founders to protect Hogwarts from Slytherin" Harry said as he sat down. "He created the Power after one of the most tragic happenings he had seen. It was after Salazar Slytherin had split from the group. He had created a small army to take over Hogwarts. He had spent many a year in hand-picking the candidates. When they were ready, he declared war on Hogwarts"
"At that time, Hogwarts did not have enough security measures against wizarding attacks. There were charms to safe-guard it against muggles but no one had expected some wizard, least of all a small army, to attack Hogwarts". Harry paused for a moment to drink some water and then continued again. "Well...Slytherin's plan of taking over Hogwarts would have succeeded but one of his recruits betrayed him"
"This guy came from a decent family. Salazar had spotted him during a wizarding duel championship and recruited him. This guy was one of his best guys. However, he defected to the other side a few days before the actual attack. Later it was learnt that Rowena Ravenclaw had been the one who had been responsible for the whole thing". Seeing a few raised eyebrows, Harry continued his explanation.
"Basically, Rowena Ravenclaw had anticipated that Slytherin might try to take revenge someday for his being asked to leave Hogwarts. She was also the person who had the job of approaching families of students for enlisting at Hogwarts. During these times, she had come across three to four families whose sons and daughters had mysteriously disappeared. Acting on a hunch, she setup the wizarding duel championship"
"As the tournament progressed, Rowena approached a seventeen year old wizard who looked certain to win the tournament. She mentioned Hogwarts to him and he seemed very excited. He wanted to come and learn whatever he could. However, Rowena told him that he would only be accepted if he worked for her on a particular mission"
"There were rumors that a highly trained wizard was at the tournament and recruiting wizards and witches for training. Rowena told him that this wizard would in all probability approach him and he was to accept the offer and spy on him on her behalf. He agreed"
Harry stood up and started pacing the room again. At that moment the room was so quite that he could hear the breathing of quite a few people. "As he was instructed, he spied upon Slytherin for over a year and passed on the information to Hogwarts. This person was Simon Potter"
"WHAT!" Hermione stood up in shock. "Simon Potter? The first leader of the Order of Phoenix?"
"What?" This time it was Harry's turn to be shocked. "I did not know that. What do you know of him?"
"I found about him in these past few months when looking up some stuff on the Order" Hermione said with an embarrassed look on her face. It was always so typical of her digging up stuff most people did not know about. "Simon Potter is one of the first in the line of Potter's, which is your family, whose life was well documented. Godric Gryffindor was said to have created a secret society and had handed over its reins in the hands of Simon Potter who, though he was quite young, had been able to gain Gryffindor's trust"
"Must have been the spying part which earned him the trust" Harry commented.
"It was also said that Simon Potter had been given possession of many powerful magical objects though no one could ever find out anything about them" Hermione concluded.
"Thanks Hermione" Harry said as Hermione resumed her seat. "A couple of things have been cleared up then. It seems now we know more about the Order of Phoenix. To continue from where I had left off, based on Simon Potter's reports, the remaining three founders had decided that they would have to create something to protect Hogwarts if a war came upon it. It was then that they got together to create the Power of Hogwarts"
"Rowena Ravenclaw created the spell work and started creating the Goblet of Fire. The Hat and Sword were to be created by Gryffindor. It required a mighty amount of magical energy to be put into place. Anyway, the founders started creating the Power. However, mid-way through, Slytherin attacked Hogwarts. Mind you, Simon Potter had already declared his loyalty to Hogwarts. It was then that a great battle took place".
Harry stopped for a few moments as he tried to think of how to phrase his next sentences. "The founders and their apprentices fought long and hard to protect Hogwarts and continue creating the Power. The war went on for many days in which time the Power was almost ready and a last amount of spell work was needed from Gryffindor. It was at this moment that Slytherin learnt that a magical object was being prepared"
"That fateful night, Slytherin attacked Hogwarts with all his forces. There was a fierce fight before Slytherin came face to face with Gryffindor himself" Harry's voice trailed off at this moment as he felt some emotions welling up inside him.
"What happened next?" Fleur asked in a hesitant voice.
"Oh...sorry" Harry said. "In that fight, Slytherin trapped Gryffindor using treachery. He was about to kill Gryffindor when Rowena Ravenclaw appeared and saved Godric"
"What happened next?" Tonks was the one who posed the question this time. She had a feeling she already knew what happened but she wanted to hear it from Harry himself.
"Rowena Ravenclaw died trying to save Godric Gryffindor, the love of her life" Harry said with a sigh. Complete pin-drop silence ensued. It was after a couple of minutes that Harry spoke again.
"The death of Rowena Ravenclaw stunned even Slytherin who had a weak spot for her. He was said to have left the fight in a dazed state and did not return to Hogwarts again" Harry said.
"But the Power of Hogwarts was still not finished at that point, was it?" Neville asked.
"It wasn't" Harry confirmed. "It was at that time that Godric Gryffindor, overcome by rage and sorrow at losing his love, tried to perform a ritual to bring back Rowena Ravenclaw which almost led to his own death. He did not succeed...Simon stopping him before it was too late. After that Simon convinced him that Rowena would have loved nothing more that to see the Power working since she had created most of the spells behind it. You see, Simon had come to love her almost as if she was his elder sister"
"Godric Gryffindor acknowledged Simon's statement and started working on finishing the spells. However, he secretly modified a few of the spells and added some new ones which led to the creation process to carry on for a further eight years"
"Eight years?" Hermione looked stunned again. "It is a long time"
"Yes" Harry said. "It is a long time to create a few additional spells. But the spells he created was beyond anything the wizarding world had seen. Maybe Rowena Ravenclaw would have been able to create them in half the time..."
"What were the spells?" Hermione asked slightly impatiently. After all, if Harry estimated that creating the same spells would have taken Rowena Ravenclaw four years, then those spells ought to have been very complex.
"Those spells are known as the Binder of Spirit". At this, Hermione looked confused. Somehow, this piece of information was not documented anywhere.
"These spells were created by Gryffindor in an attempt to bring back Rowena" Harry continued. "He couldn't bring her back since she had moved on to the next world and her spirit was gone. Hence he created a spell which would refuse to release a spirit even if it wanted to move on. This spell would work only in a special case where one person gave his or her life to save that of the other person they loved. And this spell would activate itself automatically if the wielder of the Power of Hogwarts lived while the other died"
"I am getting confused" Neville said. "You mean the person who wields the Power can bring back anyone they want?"
"No Neville" Harry said. "They can only stop the spirit of the one they loved from moving on to the next world, that too if the person had died trying to save the wielder of the Power. This was exactly what happened with Tonks"
"So, if I had died a normal death..." Tonks said.
"...then you would have moved on" Harry completed the sentence. "If you had died during some other fight, then also you would have moved on"
"So Godric Gryffindor made this a special clause to avoid a repeat of what happened to Rowena?" Remus asked.
"Yes" Harry replied. "That is the reason Tonks's spirit could not leave Hogwarts. Also, she could not be seen because she was not a normal ghost, but rather held on here due to a spell"
"And you knew she was here from the start?" Cho asked. She felt slightly envious of Tonks.
"No, I did not know because the spell auto-activated itself" Harry said. "I could somehow feel that something was out there but I could never relate it with Tonks. That's why I wandered off in the corridors...trying to think what it was"
"Then how did you know that I am still here?" Tonks looked puzzled.
"Some luck and some deductions" Harry said. "One evening Nearly Headless Nick told me to let go. I got the same message from a few other people too". Harry looked meaningfully at Remus who nodded his head slightly as he remembered his conversation with Dumbledore.
"I did not know why people were telling me to let go" Harry said in an angry manner. "I was obviously not letting go of Tonks's memory and certainly I was not going to forget her all my life". Tonks silently looked at the floor to hide her misty eyes. "Godric Gryffindor had made the spell into such that if I had let gone of my feelings, then the spirit, in this case that of Tonks, would have been able to move on. I couldn't let go of my feelings...so Tonks got stuck. Sorry for that Tonks, about keeping you stuck here"
"No…ok" Tonks said in a choked voice. She did not dare to say anything more lest she should burst into tears.
"What about the diary then? And how did you know how to bring her back?" Luna asked these questions in a serious tone which was quite unlike her.
"Everything started off when I accidentally found this diary" Harry explained. "Somehow, whenever I was near it, I felt calmer, more composed. Then one day I found all the information about the Power of Hogwarts and putting 2 and 2 together was not that hard. I started searching for the counter spell. I found the counter spell information right in the middle of the text describing the Power of Hogwarts. It said that Gryffindor had created a fourth object with the help of Helga Hufflepuff. This was the veil"
"Initially I had thought that I would just need to resurrect the Power and would be able to bring back Tonks. I had overlooked the significance of the veil. But then I remembered something I had read somewhere...that the veil was created to allow the destruction of the powerful objects like the Goblet"
"But why would Godric Gryffindor create something which could destroy the Power?" Cho asked.
"Maybe because he was afraid that if Slytherin or his followers got hold of the Power, then they might modify its spells and use its magical power for some evil purpose?" Remus suggested.
"Exactly" Harry agreed. "I came to the same conclusion too. This was one of my assumptions. Even though the Power was made to protect against Slytherin, if he ever took over Hogwarts, he could make it into an un-penetrable fortress. And we did see how the fake Moody used a powerful confundus charm during the tournament, didn't we?"
"I could not find any exact information on how to perform the counter-spell" Harry continued. "The only thing mentioned was that a person could only be brought back if the wielder was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. I could not make any sense of what the ultimate sacrifice could be. If I died in trying to bring back Tonks, then it would mean that Gryffindor created a spell which would be unable to re-unite two people. Somehow this seemed improbable to me. I was very frustrated...angry...as to what it was that I was missing. I was so angry that one day I even thought of destroying Gryffindor's glove which I wore on my arm but somehow I found that I revolted as soon as my adrenalin went away"
"That was it" Harry said as he stood up in his excitement. "Destroying the glove was something which I could not think of easily. It was then that I understood what Gryffindor had meant by the ultimate sacrifice. For him, the ultimate sacrifice at that moment would have been to destroy the Power if he could get back Rowena. That's when I knew what had to be done...that the Power had to be destroyed"
"As for the diary..." Harry continued. "...Tonks, did you somehow feel a part of yourself missing when your spirit was wandering in Hogwarts?"
"Now that you mention it, yes" Tonks said with furrowed eyebrows. "I could not remember a few things and felt a bid odd in some places. It was as if a part of me was not there" Tonks looked very thoughtful as she tried to remember what she exactly felt like. "At that time, I thought it was due to my being dead"
"Right" Harry said. "You see Tonks, you had somehow found a diary quite similar to one created by Tom Riddle"
"That can't be" Ron looked aghast. "Don't tell me You-Know-Who left behind more of those"
"I don't think so Ron" Harry said. "But Tonks found something similar". Harry explained to others the information he had about Tom Riddle's diary and how he had saved Ginny from it.
"So Tonks got a similar diary?" Hermione asked when Harry had finished explaining to the others. "But how is that possible?"
"I think Tonks knows the answer to that one" Harry said as he looked at Tonks. Tonks, in return, gave him a blank look. "Tonks..." Harry said. "...you ever wrote anything in a diary? A separate diary for that matter?"
"Yes, I maintained a diary" Tonks said. "And...hmmm...yes, I had written in a separate diary for once. It looked very similar to mine and I had mistaken it for my diary. I found it at my office"
"Anything else?" Harry queried. Tonks shook her head negatively.
"Someone then placed the dairy on your table intentionally and you started writing into it" Harry continued but was interrupted by George.
"Intentionally? Who could do so and why?"
"Yes George...or is it Fred?" Harry said. "Anyway, I say intentionally because this diary was needed to bring Tonks back and whichever person did it knew about what he or she was doing. I don't know who that person could have been but this is the only logic coming to my mind"
"Why would a diary be needed when Godric Gryffindor created all those spells?" Hermione asked. "Was it some sort of a focal point?"
"Right as you always are Hermione" Harry said which made Hermione go turn slightly red in embarrassment. "The spell which Gryffindor had created stopped a spirit from moving on but how could he stop the spirit from moving away to different parts of the world? And if the spirit of the person moved off to someplace else, how was he going to perform the spell to bring that person back to life?"
"Unable to find a solution to these issues, Gryffindor's spell required a part of the person's spirit to be stored in something which he could get hold of" Harry explained. "In this way, he could focus his counter-spell on the item and the rest of the person's spirit would automatically be drawn towards it. As to how this happens, I have no idea"
"Hence, when Tonks wrote in that diary, an infinitesimally small part of her spirit was transferred to it" Harry said. "Hence I used the diary as the focal point and the whole of Tonks spirit knew where she was needed"
"But how did you know that the energy had to be channeled through the focal point?" Hermione asked, slightly astounded at Harry's logical reasoning.
"I did not" Harry said. "Rather, I remembered how we had an earth quake when the Goblet was destroyed. My thinking was, would Gryffindor want to cause a catastrophe in trying to bring back Rowena? No. Also, he had mentioned that a huge amount of energy had to be channeled through the focal point. So, since a huge amount of energy would be radiated when the Power was destroyed, it was logical that this had to be channeled through the focal point"
"Well...this is what had happened in my mind from the starting of this year and thankfully, some of my assumptions proved correct"
"Wow" was all the Ron could manage. The others still seemed to be digesting this whole flood of information.
"But..." Hermione was the one who spoke up. "...how did you know that Dumbledore agreed with you?"
Harry smiled at Hermione. "Let's say I assumed he knew what was happening and since he did not stop me, I took it as a positive sign"
&&&&
"Come in" Albus Dumbledore was seated in his office when somebody knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal the towering figure of Rubeus Hagrid.
"Good morn' Sir" Hagrid said as he entered the office.
"Hello Hagrid" Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile. "Please have a seat". As Hagrid sat down, Dumbledore conjured up two glasses of pumpkin juice for either of them.
"'t was not needed" Hagrid said as he gulped down the whole glass in one shot. Dumbledore just smiled at him and refilled the glass.
"So, how are you?" Dumbledore asked after Hagrid seemed to have had his fill. "All of us missed you very much"
"I cou' not bring many" Hagrid said dejectedly. "Only 15 of my fellow men decided to join to 'ur side"
"But that is very good news" Dumbledore said in obvious delight. "The fact that you got 15 giants to shun Lord Voldemort's offer is a great diplomatic victory for us"
"He has 'bout 40 giants wit' 'im" Hagrid said in a slightly irritated voice. "'t is no diplomatic victory Sir"
"You are wrong Hagrid" Dumbledore said as he sensed Hagrid's disappointment with his own self. "If you had not gone and communicated with them, then we would not have had a single giant on our side. You have just made us fifteen times more stronger". Hagrid seemed slightly happier at listening to this but his face turned grave again.
"Do 'u think we will win 'tis war Sir?" Hagrid asked in a tentative voice. "Harry 'on't get hurt, right?". Dumbledore looked sympathetically at the half-giant in front of him.
"Hagrid, this is a war" Dumbledore said at last. "Everyone is going to take some decisions...including Harry. All we can do is fight Lord Voldemort's army and hope Harry will be able to save us all"
"'u really think Harry can kill Riddle?" Hagrid asked as he shivered visibly. Somehow, even the human face of Tom Riddle struck fear in his heart.
"I don't know Hagrid" Dumbledore replied. "Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry. That could mean something". Dumbledore knew that Harry's secret was not for him to reveal.
"But the prophecy!" Hagrid said quite enthusiastically. "Tis Prophet says Harry is 'posed to kill Riddle"
"They also say I am an old man who has lost his mind" Dumbledore said with chuckle. "Do you believe that too Hagrid?"
"No sir" Hagrid said in a slightly embarrassed voice and looked away so that he would not have to meet Dumbledore's gaze. However, he could not stop himself from blurting out his query once again.
"Sir, do 'u think Harry defeat Riddle?"
"To tell the truth Hagrid, I don't know" Dumbledore said. "We can only hope someone is able to defeat Lord Voldemort and hopefully it will be Harry"
"Why don't 'u take care of Riddle, Sir?" Hagrid asked as Dumbledore looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "You are more powerful than him and can easily defeat him if you wanted"
"I am flattered by all this praise" Dumbledore said after a few seconds. "No, I am not joking" Dumbledore said when he saw Hagrid's face fall slightly. Knowing Hagrid's nature, Dumbledore knew that Hagrid thought that he was just trying to be nice but that was not the case. "As to why I cannot defeat Lord Voldemort, I think that story will have to wait for another day" Dumbledore said, giving Hagrid an indication that he would not be able to make any progress on this issue.
"'opefully I will be alive to listen to it Sir" Hagrid said as he stood up to leave.
"Hopefully I will be alive to tell it to you" Dumbledore said as his eyes seemed to twinkle madly as he saw Hagrid's shocked reaction.
&&&&
"WAKE UP"
"Oh no" Harry said groggily even as he covered his head with his pillow. However, Tonks pulled it away in a split second.
"You know you should not be in my room" Harry said as he wished for a new pillow and the room provided one.
"And why can't I be in your room?" Tonks asked in a playful tone. "Let me just fold up your blanket for..."
"NO!" Harry said with a start. "Stay away from me"
"Oh dear" Tonks said as she scanned Harry face's and her eyes traveled downwards. Instantly Harry doubled up.
"You can't see through these" Harry said, blushing madly.
"Who said I couldn't?" Tonks queried as her eyes came to a stop at an area which Harry least preferred. "All I have to do is make a wish and this room will allow me to see through everything"
"Right" Harry said in a playful tone himself. "Now that you mention it, I see you are wearing some nice muggle clothes"
"You - would - not - dare" Tonks said as her narrowed eyes shifted their focus to Harry's face.
"Why not?" Harry continued in the same teasing tone but he seemed to be having second thoughts seeing the look on Tonks's face.
"Try me" Tonks said as she took a step forward. Harry looked at her face for a second before his eyes traveled below her neck and a naughty smile came on his lip. The next thing he knew was Tonks had jumped on him on the bed and was strangling him.
"Help" Harry said in a choked voice.
"Today, you die" Tonks said in a venomous voice.
"Why? What did I do wrong?" Harry asked as innocently as possible with Tonks on top of him. He slowly managed to loosen her grip to the extent that it was not the least bit painful for him but Tonks still thought she had him in trouble.
"You should be ashamed of yourself Potter" Tonks said angrily even though it was quite apparent that she was making up her expressions.
"Why should I be the only one ashamed?" Harry asked. "You don't seem to be ashamed at the way you are positioned right now?". Tonks's eyes went wide as she realized the way she was sitting on top of Harry with her legs on either side of him. Try as she might, she could not hide her blushing.
"That's not the issue here" Tonks tried to divert the attention.
"Ok" Harry said, a smile spreading on his lips. "I am quite comfortable. So, you were saying I should be ashamed?" Harry queried in a conversational tone. "Yes, I should be. What else do you think I should or should not be doing? I am all ears". It was quite clear to Tonks now that Harry was trying to prolong the conversation and get her to stay the way she was at the moment.
"I don't know" Tonks said with a shake of her head. "I think I should be going"
"As you wish" Harry said. However, as Tonks tried to move away, Harry held on firmly to her. The more Tonks tried to loosen herself, the tighter Harry gripped her.
"Let me go" Tonks said in a whisper.
"I won't" Harry said. Tonks looked deep into Harry's eyes and knew he meant it. He just wasn't going to let go of her anytime soon. As she looked on, she noticed that the sixteen year old Harry had now become a young man of twenty and was everything she could have wished for. Well, not everything considering he was still skinny compared to some of the other guys but she knew more than to fall for physical beauty. Harry had grown up to be a man which many a woman dreamed to have as their chosen one and Tonks felt really lucky to be his chosen one.
"What are you looking at?" Harry asked, his naughty look being replaced by a warm smile.
"Nothing" Tonks said as she found looked away shyfully.
"You look beautiful" Harry said as he released one of Tonks's hands and turned her face towards him. "Tonks, thank you for choosing me"
"You are welcome Harry" Tonks said. "But I would like to thank you for choosing me"
"No, I don't think so" Harry said. "I am the lucky guy here and don't you dare take away that from me"
"What about me?" Tonks pouted her lips in a childish manner. "Can't I be the lucky girl?"
"Do you want to be the lucky number one here?" Harry asked. Tonks, her childish pout still in place, nodded her head in an affirmative gesture. "You got your wish". With that, Harry pulled her towards him, cupped her face and kissed her flush on the lips. Initially Tonks's eyes went wide in surprise but soon she started kissing him back. They broke their kiss after what seemed like ages.
"That was nice" Tonks said, a smile playing on her lips. "Not a bad kisser"
"Thank you" Harry said. "All the girls at Hogwarts think the same"
"What!" Tonks said as she got hold of the pillow and stuck Harry a seemingly fierce blow. All the while, she remained seated on Harry. Initially it had seemed awkward but now it seemed quite natural to both of them.
"I also had a reputation of being a great kisser at school" Tonks said, her nose held high in a superior gesture.
"Maybe" Harry said. "But it is always difficult to maintain one's reputation outside of school"
"Oh, I can prove it if you want" Tonks said as she licked her lips. "Would you like that Mr. Potter?"
"Of course" Harry said, his grin getting broader. "I do have to certify you after all"
"Ok. But close your eyes." Tonks said as she brought herself closer to Harry's face. Harry closed his eyes and moved upwards to meet her lips when...
WHAM! A pillow hit him with great force as Tonks rolled over and stood up on her feet.
"That was for all the embarrassment you caused me" Tonks said as she rubbed her hands in glee. For a second she had been worried she had hit Harry too hard but seeing the look on his face she knew he was quite amused with the whole thing, and slightly irritated at not getting a kiss.
"Hey, I deserved that kiss" Harry said.
"Just you wait Potter. You will have to earn it" Tonks said as she walked out of the room with a smile plastered all over her face. Harry groaned at this. He knew he was in for a long, long wait. As he got up and proceeded towards the shower, he couldn't help but smile. After all, it was going to be a lot of fun wooing Tonks and he certainly wouldn't miss this for the entire world.
&&&&
"What is it now Potter?" Tonks asked as she saw Harry entering the kitchen behind her. She had seen him practicing hard in the training area and had decided not to disturb him. However, for some reason, he had stopped his spell training the moment he had seen her and had followed her to the kitchen.
"How are you Tonks?" Harry asked quite normally but Tonks could feel some strain in the voice. His voice sounded like this at times when he spent a lot of time thinking of something.
"What is it Harry?" Tonks said as she looked at him. From the thoughtful look on his face, she knew that her assumption had been correct. However, she could see his eyes burning brightly in their sockets. They seemed to have a new life in them ever since Tonks had come back and she felt quite flattered that she could make Harry feel so happy. However, she could not help but feel concerned at the moment.
"Nothing serious" Harry said in a reassuring voice. "It is something I had been thinking for quite a while now. I have a small request for you"
"Like what?" Tonks asked. From the look on Harry's face, she knew that he was not playing with her and was certainly not about to say anything romantic at the moment. She waited as Harry explained what he needed.
"You sure about this?" Tonks asked when Harry had finished his query request.
"I could have asked someone else to do it" Harry said thoughtfully. "But now, I would not dare to think of anyone else doing this but you"
"I will do it" Tonks said in a very emotional voice. She knew that Harry was showing great respect to her by making his request. There was no way she would say no to such a request.
"Thanks" Harry said with a smile and went back to his training.
&&&&
"How are you Harry?" Hermione asked when she arrived in the Room of Requirements and found Harry, Tonks and Remus waiting. She was still feeling guilty by the way she had protested Harry's destruction of the Power of Hogwarts. Though Harry did not know of this, she felt that it was her responsibility to be nice to him so that she could somehow compensate for her words. She knew it was an illogical thing but still couldn't help it.
"I am fine Hermione" Harry said in a friendly manner. His mannerisms had undergone a total change ever since Tonks had been back and he seemed much friendlier now. "Where are the others?"
"They are on their way" Hermione replied as she took one of the empty seats. Harry had called an urgent meeting of the senior D.A. members and had asked Tonks, Remus, the twins and Fleur to be present. Soon everyone started coming in and in another ten minutes all the invitees were seated and waiting for Harry to begin.
"Thank you for coming here" Harry started off formally. "I will get right down to the topic I wanted to discuss and that is Lord Voldemort". Ignoring the shivers of most in the room, Harry continued.
"I know certain people who have sent me some information about Lord Voldemort's movements and I am afraid to say that we are now approaching the period when he will attack Hogwarts itself"
"What?" Fleur shot up from her chair. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes Fleur" Harry said in a calm voice.
"How did you know?" Ron asked in a rather cold voice. The coldness in his voice was rather discomforting and chilling in a manner.
"Some friends told me". Harry replied with tact. He did not want to mention that Rano and one more vampire had brought him the news.
"So what do we do now?" Cho asked. "The headmaster must be told"
"I have already spoken to him" Harry said. "He knows the situation and is taking the necessary steps on his behalf. What I was thinking was that what are we supposed to do?"
"You are the one who decides what to do" Hermione stated. "We are ready to do what you want us to do"
"I don't think so" Harry replied with a shake of his head. "We now need to make some collective decisions because I do believe that two brains are better than one"
"But you are better equipped than us in understanding how You-Know-Who might attack Hogwarts" Cho said. "After all, you are the only one who has faced him so many times"
"Then maybe I should go out and face him alone without the help of you people" Harry stated with a sigh. Why did everyone always have to make a big deal of how he had faced Lord Voldemort so many times and had come out of it alive?
"Can I say something?" Tonks asked with her right hand raised. Harry nodded, giving her the green signal to say what she had on her mind.
"I suggest we look at what we can do in a collective manner and then take Harry's opinion on certain issues" Tonks said. "For example, Harry would have no idea of how many aurors are there. We cannot expect him to know everything"
"Agreed" the twins chorused. "Harry mate, do you want us to start?"
"The floor is all yours" Harry said.
"We did some research of our own" George started off. "My assumption is we are outnumbered very badly unless we involve more people"
"Maybe we could ask the people of Hogsmeade to join us" Fred suggested. "Individually they don't stand a chance but if they come and work with us then we can defend Hogwarts better"
"Are we looking only at defending Hogwarts?" Fleur asked.
"I think we should concentrate on defending initially" George said. It was quite unusual of the twins thinking of defense. After all, for them, offence had been the best defense throughout their Hogwarts years. "Once Hogwarts is secure..."
"Hogwarts won't be secure until Lord Voldemort is defeated" Remus said before George could finish. "But I think we should concentrate on security first and the best people to ensure security within the castle are the D.A."
"You don't mean to say that we are just going to sit in here and see aurors getting killed by death eaters, do you?" Ron asked.
"No" Remus said. "From what I know of your group, most of you are inexperienced. Only some of you can take on a death eater, the majority cannot". Hermione and the others had no option but to agree with Remus. "However, since this is war time, everyone should be prepared to do attack. If someone loses his or her life, then that life lost will not be wasted". There was pin-drop silence in the room by now. "But this does not mean that you have to go head on first. Make sure most of the D.A. is protecting the people inside the castle. The few of you who are able to fight on par with death eaters should only think of attacking. And you can attack well only if you don't have to worry about saving others back in the castle"
"I agree" Ron said. "But we have to do something to let them know that we are not going to sit and watch them attack us"
"That's right" Soha said. "But can someone please clarify how many people are on our side?"
"Good question Soha" Tonks said. "I think I will be able to clarify some of them. We have a few giants, some vampires and werewolves on our side. Add to that the aurors and other wizards and witches..."
"Also veela warriors" Fleur said.
"Really?" Tonks looked at Fleur with her eyes wide open. Fleur smiled in return. "That's great" Tonks said on getting the confirmation from Fleur. "Veela warriors have quite a reputation and having them on our side is a definite plus. Plus from what Harry told me, there are some dragons also. Well, this is basically it"
"This is it?" Soha said looking quite crestfallen.
"What did you expect, an army of thousands?" Luna spoke for the first time. "You can only get that if you can please the god of Hanabbaratis"
"What?" Ron looked at Luna with a puzzled expression. Tonks, who had never heard Luna's comments previously, was looking intently at her and trying to ascertain whether she was joking or was serious.
"We don't have time for that at the moment Luna" Harry said before Ron or anyone else could say anything else. "Thanks for the suggestion though"
"You are welcome Harry" Luna replied. "But I do think we have enough to protect Hogwarts" Luna continued. "Vampires and werewolves can protect it at night while we can protect it at daytime"
"Right on the point Luna" Harry said with a smile at the girl and wondering for the millionth time how she could come up with such a simple answer in the middle of such a complex and serious discussion. Tonks, on the other hand, seemed stunned by the simplicity of the answer from the same girl who had said something about some god of Hana-something. She gave a shake of her head as if to clear it of any misunderstandings.
"I think we have a temporary solution for now" Harry continued. "We have to instruct the D.A. members to protect the castle corridors. They are to work in groups". Hermione, who had been quite silent throughout the meeting, nodded her head along with the others. "Some of us here might have to go on the offence along with the aurors. Of course we will know when the time is right". Another round of nods followed. "Plus we have some hope of protection at night-time due to the vampires and werewolves"
"But we are far outnumbered" Cho said in a low voice. "If we have one vampire on our side, I can bet You-Know-Who has ten on his side. Same for all others". Everyone knew in their hearts that Cho was correct. They turned to look in the direction of Harry for an answer.
"Yes, you are correct" Harry said. "But we have something on our side which they don't have. We know we are fighting for the right thing. We are fighting to save our loved ones. We are fighting to keep the world from falling into darkness". Harry's voice rose and there was no mistaking the zeal behind it.
"We are not trying to destroy anything. Rather, we are trying to make the world a more secure one so that our next generations don't have to face the menace named Lord Voldemort. This in itself gives us a reason to fight and win". Cho nodded her head as some of Harry's confidence and hope seemed to flow into her and the others. "And this is the reason why we will win!"
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"The situation is graver than we had initially estimated" Albus Dumbledore addressed the small gathering of Hogwarts professors in his office.
"What do you mean Albus?" Professor McGonagall queried.
"Lord Voldemort has started to call in all his death eaters" Dumbledore clarified. "We have come to know that a huge number of death eaters have started gathering at a hidden location"
"That would mean the Tom Riddle is getting ready to attack Hogwarts" little Professor Flitwick commented. "That boy had so much potential and yet..."
"I agree with you" Dumbledore said. "And yes, it would mean that Lord Voldemort has set his sights firmly on Hogwarts"
"Do we have any information as to how big his force is?" McGonagall asked, her eyes showing that she was hoping for the best but prepared to hear the worst.
"I don't know the exact figure but reports suggest that around a thousand death eaters along with giants, werewolves and other dark creatures are assembling". Dumbledore said in a grim voice.
"Oh - my - god" McGonagall said as Madam Pomfrey just opened and closed her mouth without a single sound ensuing. The others looked too stunned to comment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we need to organize our gathered forces as soon as possible" Dumbledore said as he stood up from his seat. "We can hope for the best but preparation for the worst is my recommended suggestion". Most of those present did not even utter a word as they filed out of the office. Even McGonagall did not say a word before leaving. After everyone had left, Dumbledore removed his glasses and cleaned them with a simple spell. He turned and looked out of the window of his room to see the setting sun and the horizon which seemed to be blood-red that evening. All the signs seemed to be pointing to the worst happening.
"I hope you can fulfill your destiny Harry Potter" Dumbledore said under his breath as he turned back to his desk and started working out issues required to get the light forces mobilized.
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A/N: Tenth chapter here. Hopefully my explanation of Harry not letting go of Tonks's memory justifies the angst in the first six chapters. If he had moved on, then there would have been no Tonks. I hope my explanation is not too bad though there might be some loopholes which I missed out on. Some parts might not make sense if you don't remember PoH.
Sorry about Hagrid's accent. I always get messed up there! Also, I am not good at writing romance. So please forgive me if the scenes were not up to what you were expecting. Just for the record, there will not be too many romantic scenes.
One more chapter to go before full scale war starts :)
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks for taking time to read up to here at least.
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