Chapter 37
Unexpected Ally
"It does not matter how expected or unexpected help can be. What matters is how unlikely it is to come if one never asks."
General (ret.) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk
Harriet stared at the wall of Professor Dumbledore's office. She felt numb. She didn't know how to process anything that was happening. Even with Daniel and Aurora sitting either side of her, holding her hands, she felt in a state of total shock.
"The Ministry is in shambles over this," said the tall, black Auror in the middle of the room.
Harriet remembered him. His name was Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was one of the few Aurors Harriet had ever really felt comfortable around.
"We have had to relocate the entire Auror office over this," Kingsley explained.
"A wise move," Professor Howe sighed. "Kinney won't try anything like that again… so from a practical value it won't mean much, but a chance to start anew can't go amiss."
Harriet studied Professor Howe. He did not look at all like himself. For once, Professor Howe looked almost defeated. He was lounging back in his usual chair, staring off into space, the corner of his eye twitching as he thought hard. Harriet felt as though she could see and hear the gears turning in his head as he tried to make sense of what had happened, to see where he had made the mistake. The sight was more than slightly disconcerting to Harriet.
"Yes, Professor," Kingsley agreed. "The entire office is demoralized. Fudge has done nothing but berate them for hours. He's now going to be using Dementors as his personal guard from here on."
"We have been blind," Professor Dumbledore sighed, leaning back in his chair behind his desk. "We have been foolish, and blind. There are no two ways about it."
The room fell silent at this.
"We allowed ourselves to become divided in our struggle to find the true threat," Professor Dumbledore continued. "And in the end, the threats have proved one and the same."
"Well… we need to piece together what we know of both threats," Professor Morrisey mused. "Solomon Kinney I think is the most pressing."
"Quite agreed, Jonathan."
"Kinney?!" Daniel said, rising to his feet as well. "How the hell is Kinney the primary threat? He wasn't the one who spent months here right under our nose, teaching Harriet private lessons—"
"You agreed to the private lessons as well, Daniel," Professor Dumbledore reminded him. "We were all fooled by Crouch Junior's performance. Now is not the time to place blame. Now is the time to act."
"Kinney's the threat because clearly Kinney is the alpha dog in this situation," Professor Morrisey said, putting his hand on Kinney's letter, which was lying on Professor Dumbledore's desk, for emphasis. "It is clear this is not the first they've worked together. Disguised as Dawlish, clearly it was Kinney who carried out the murder of Crouch Senior."
Professor Morrisey sniffed. "But the wording of this letter… Kinney says he has a new toy… that to me says that in this arrangement, Crouch Junior is not on top."
"That… is well reasoned," Professor Howe admitted.
"Ergo, it is him we need to focus on, as Crouch Junior is now his pawn. It seems quite clear to me that Crouch Junior has renounced his allegiance to Lord Voldemort, at least in part. If you ask me, he seems bent now on making Harriet his new dark lady of sorts. Which is good news for us."
"How the hell is that good news?!" Aurora asked, disgust in her voice.
"Aurora, my dear," Professor Dumbledore said calmly and kindly, "this buys us time. Precious time. If their ambition was to cause Harriet physical harm, we would have to think that they would have already done so. But as it is… if their ambition is kidnap, that is a much more difficult proposition. Now more than ever."
"What did he mean… play along…?" Daniel asked.
"As for that… we cannot know," Professor Howe sighed. "Does it mean anything to you, Harriet? From all your time spent with him?"
Harriet shook her head.
"Well, much must be broken down now," Professor Morrisey said. "We can assume that Crouch Junior took Mad-Eye's place in that attack on his house last summer. From there, he kept Mad-Eye alive, using his hair for Polyjuice, and milking him for all the information he could get about who we are and how we relate to Mad-Eye in turn."
"That seems the most likely, yes," Professor Dumbledore agreed.
"H-how is he?" Harriet managed to ask.
"He will live," Professor Dumbledore replied giving Harriet a soft smile. "He is in a terrible state, but he will recover. He is being moved to St Mungo's as we speak."
"Back to the topic at hand," Professor Morrisey grumbled. "In the process, Crouch Jr has received a first-hand assessment as to just how powerful young Miss Potter is."
"But I'm—"
"Yes, you are," Professor Morrisey interrupted her, impatiently. "You performed Legilimency, however accidental, on a full-grown and very powerful wizard. You survived a curse no one else had ever survived, you're a Parseltongue, you excel in defensive magic, and you have a grit and determination far beyond your years. You thwarted two previous attempts by Voldemort to return to power. Believe me, my dear, they are right to consider you a potential successor to Voldemort."
"The hell does that mean?" Daniel asked, his eyes flashing.
Professor Morrisey held up a quelling hand. "Only that she is very strong. From the descriptions of Harriet's visions, we can surmise that Lord Voldemort is presently in a very weakened state, even if he has regained at least a temporary body. I'm sure when Crouch Junior compared the two side by side, it became easy for him to see who would prove the better master to follow in the days ahead."
"Okay… so where does Kinney fit into this?" Daniel asked.
"I imagine Kinney's just been doing reconnaissance all this time," Professor Howe said, slowly leaning forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "He most likely put Dawlish under the Imperius Curse as Dawlish was escorting him from the country. I should have warned Fudge not to send anyone with Kinney alone… I misjudged how ambitious Kinney was… I surmise he was using Dawlish to gather information for at least a year."
Professor Howe looked up at Kingsley.
"Kingsley, was Dawlish with the Minister the night of the attack on the World Cup?"
Kingsley thought. "Yes, Professor."
"Well, that gives us something of a timeline," Professor Howe mused, starting to seem more like himself. "I think that all last year, Kinney let an Imperiused Dawlish do all his work for him. Then, sometime prior to the World Cup, he returned. Right after the spectacle of the World Cup attack, that is most likely when he finally took Dawlish's place permanently… gathering his intelligence first hand. I doubt there's a single secret about the Ministry, outside of the Department of Mysteries, that he doesn't know at this point."
"How do you know?" Daniel asked. "What if he was just Dawlish from the start?"
"Well, if Dawlish was with the Minister at the same time Kinney was murdering Igor Karkaroff… even Kinney can't be in two places at once. Furthermore, there was a murder in Paris shortly after the end of last school year," Professor Howe explained. "A man connected with the Great Plains secessionists was poisoned outside a café. He had been speaking with a man matching Kinney's description."
"I thought Kinney was working with the secessionists?" Aurora asked.
"I think we have to accept that at this point, Kinney has gone rogue," Professor Morrisey said. "Solomon Kinney's one love is causing chaos. Well, the US is in a war. Who would notice his chaos in that mess? But here… here in magical Europe where we've all gotten fat and complacent? We're too much of an opportunity to pass up."
"Solomon Kinney is a predator," Professor Howe added. "He has moved on to more fertile hunting grounds."
"So how the hell do we stop him?" Daniel asked.
The room fell silent.
"At present all we can do is trust in one another, and keep moving forward," Professor Dumbledore replied. "There are two clear threats that face us: one is Lord Voldemort, the other is Solomon Kinney. Now that we have confirmed Lord Voldemort has indeed returned… we have no choice but to reinstate the Order of the Phoenix."
"The what?" Aurora blinked.
"The Order of the Phoenix," Kingsley explained. "It was our secret order that fought Lord Voldemort the last time he was strong. Daniel himself was a member."
"And proud of it," Daniel chimed in.
"We'll need all the old crowd…" Professor Dumbledore mused. "Arabella Figg, Daedalus Diggle, Remus and Sirius of course…"
"And what of Diggle's new flame?" Kingsley asked, suppressing a smile.
Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "Of course. Trust me, Madam Bishop has wanted this all her life."
Kingsley nodded and left the room at once. Professor Dumbledore turned to Professor Morrisey.
"Jonathan… you know what I am going to ask you to do?"
"Of course, Albus," Professor Morrisey said. To Harriet's great surprise, he actually smiled and laced his fingers together, turning the palms out and cracking his knuckles. "It is high time Solomon Kinney finally had some trouble of his own…"
Harriet gripped Daniel's hand tighter as Professor Dumbledore turned to the three of them. Her heart sank. He was going to send Daniel away too.
Daniel squeezed Harriet's hand back, giving her the most comforting look he could.
"As for you, Daniel," Professor Dumbledore said. "You and Aurora are to take Miss Potter to the hospital wing straight-away. There she is to enjoy some rest and relaxation after a harrowing experience. Afterwards, I want you to remain here to help in keeping Harriet as safe as possible."
Neither of the three spoke for a moment.
"What?" Daniel asked, in total surprise.
"Our numbers are not great, but we should have enough people that if we begin to act now, we will need you here where you can do the most good."
Harriet looked up at Daniel. Daniel looked from Harriet, to Aurora, to Harriet again, and smiled.
Hogwarts never failed in its quest for good gossip. By the following morning, the entire school new all about the murder of Mr Crouch. The details were much hazier, however, on what had happened to 'Professor Moody.'
Many students thought that he was off to catch whoever had killed Mr Crouch. Some thought that 'Professor Moody' had been killed as well. One or two even thought that 'Moody' himself had done the killing.
Harriet hated knowing better but not being able to say anything, to set any of them right. Kinney had murdered Mr Crouch, then helped Crouch Junior escape. Crouch Junior had been Professor Moody all along, working for Lord Voldemort. But who would believe her? What proof did she have?
As the days went by, Harriet did her best to focus on classes and acting as though life was completely back to normal. This was far easier said than done. For one thing, they no longer had Defence Against the Dark Arts classes until further notice.
It did not help that the lack of this class kept reminding Harriet of the private lessons Crouch Junior had given her. She kept thinking about how often he had talked to her about how little difference there was between right and wrong. Every time she did, she wanted to stab something with her quill. He had been trying to soften her to the Dark Arts all along. And Harriet had been drinking it up…
The last thing to weigh on Harriet's mind was Neville. Every day she saw him and it tore her up inside now that she knew the truth. That night in the Hospital Wing, Daniel told her the whole truth about Neville's parents. They had both been tortured by the Death Eaters that Harriet had seen in the trial: Bellatrix Lestrange, along with her husband, Rodolphus, and brother-in-law Rabastan.
They had not killed the Longbottoms. Instead, both had gone mad, and were now permanently living in St Mungo's Hospital. Harriet was having difficulty wrapping her mind around it. Her parents were dead, but Neville's were still alive and couldn't even recognize him. Harriet wondered if that was possibly worse. She couldn't imagine how she'd feel if James and Lily were still alive and yet had no idea who she was. Or Daniel and Aurora…
Despite all her inner turmoil, one of the things that was helping Harriet get through the best was, unsurprisingly, Daniel. He was making a point of sending Harriet a letter and small box of sweets every day. Every letter was full of encouragement and care. Harriet had taken to putting each inside her jewellery box in the secret compartment underneath, and she went to bed every night contented with the taste of the sweets on her tongue and the feeling of a full stomach.
The latest one read:
Dear Harriet,
Just sending you warm thoughts as I watch the sunrise. I have to take Sirius in for another of his check-ups today. St Mungo's says his health has improved dramatically with a proper diet, and he's almost to one hundred fifty pounds already.
I just want you to know how proud of you I am. There has been so much going on and you always remain so strong and keep going. There are plenty of people four times your age who can't handle what you go through.
However, always know that whenever things get bad, you can always come to me, or Aurora. We will always do everything we can to be there if you need someone. Whether it's something serious, or you just need a friendly shoulder.
Always.
All my love,
Daniel
The next best thing helping Harriet keep going was Fred. In the aftermath of the murder and Crouch Junior's escape, Harriet was finding it hard to go anywhere without Fred around. Normally she thought she would find this annoying, but in the case of Fred it was entirely welcome. He was always making her laugh, whether or not she felt like laughing.
"Hey, you know what?" Fred asked, a week later, as he and Harriet cuddled on the couch in the common room.
"What?" Harriet asked, nibbling on a liquorice wand.
"We haven't had a date in a while…" Fred replied, contemplatively.
"That's true…" Harriet admitted.
It had indeed been a while. And yet, somehow it didn't feel right to think about. Harriet wasn't sure why. She'd never been really close to Mr Crouch, in fact, she hadn't liked him much at all.
"Oh come on," Fred said nudging her side. "It'll cheer you up, get your mind off of life for a while."
"Yeah…" Harriet pondered, before smiling. "Yeah, that does sound like a great idea."
Fred beamed. Just then, the portrait hole opened.
"E-excuse me, Harriet?"
Harriet looked around. It was Toni Middleton, the American Ravenclaw girl who Hyland fancied. She looked rather anxious as she looked around the common room, obviously feeling out of place. Harriet rose and walked over to her, smiling as politely as she could.
"Hello, Toni, right?"
"Yeah," Toni smiled. She held out a letter. "I wanted to give you this at dinner but I didn't get the chance, then it seemed silly to send an owl… I was going to give it to Scott to give to you but he said it would mean more if I gave it to you myself… that's how I got the password by the way."
Toni gestured to the still open portrait hole.
Harriet kept smiling. "Oh that's okay, I've been in your common room enough over the years. Thank you though," Harriet said, taking the letter from Toni.
"It's… it's just a thank you… for—you know—finally finding him."
By 'him' Harriet knew Toni meant Hyland. Which wasn't strictly speaking true. It was more like Hyland (or rather Jerrad) had found her. Harriet looked back up at Toni, wondering how much she knew.
"Have they said anything to you about where he was? What happened to him?"
Toni shrugged looking miserable. "No, but Hyland seems to be doing better. We're writing most every day now. It's harder with him living in London, since Hogsmeade's gone."
Harriet bit her lip, her empathy for Toni growing.
"Anyway, thanks again and… thanks." Toni went slightly red and climbed back out of the portrait hole. Harriet watched it close before looking down at the letter as she made her way back over to Fred.
"Something juicy?" Fred asked as Harriet sat.
"Don't think so," Harriet said, opening the letter. "Just a thank you, she said."
Harriet drew out the letter and started to read.
Dear Harriet,
I can't thank you enough for finding Hyland again. I've been going frantic ever since the attack on Hogsmeade, I thought I had lost someone all over again and it was tearing me apart, but all anyone would tell me is that Hyland is okay. Not even Aberforth would tell me anything.
Harriet paused, pondering. Aberforth? Who's Aberforth?
Hyland's become like a brother to Taylor and me. The thought that we lost him was just getting too much. Especially when so few people seemed to really car, or like they weren't worried about him at all. Is that what magic is like over here? If you're a muggle they really just don't matter?
Harriet felt her stomach starting to knot a little. She knew full well why no one would tell Toni anything about what had happened. She also felt a pang of sympathy for Hyland, as he so clearly had deeper feelings for Toni, while she apparently only thought of him 'like a brother'. Harriet's next sensation was guilt as she stole a glance at Fred, then over at Kieran who was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Marcus, Jackson, Dean and Seamus.
Sorry this letter's short, and I know I'm being a chicken and not saying this in person but I just didn't know how to say it out loud. Thank you again.
Toni
"Well that was nice of her," Fred said, having read along with Harriet.
"Yeah," Harriet admitted, putting the letter back in the envelope before pocketing it. She cuddled up under Fred's arm again, resting her head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling a bit more confident in her decision for another date.
"So, our next date… next Saturday?" Harriet asked.
"You're on," Fred grinned.
Harriet snuggled up closer and sighed contentedly.
With the end of year exams looming, most of Harriet's friends were starting to get distracted by studying. They were still taking time to help Harriet out, but these hours spent in empty classrooms felt more like work than fun. Hermione did impress everyone on Thursday when she revealed that she had created a spell all on her own.
"It's called Four-Point Spell," Hermione explained, holding her hand out flat, palm up, her wand resting on top of it.
"Four-Point Spell?" Scott asked, his eyes glowing with interest.
"Yes," Hermione replied proudly. "You hold your wand like this, and say Point Me."
Hermione's wand twitched then spun around on her hand as if supported on an invisible axis to point the opposite direction of where it was pointing before.
Harriet looked out the window to see which direction the wand was pointing.
"So, it points north?" Harriet asked.
"Precisely!" Hermione beamed. "You try!"
Harriet held up her wand as Hermione had demonstrated.
"Point Me," Harriet told her wand. Just as with Hermione's wand, Harriet's wand pivoted, just like a compass needle, to point due north.
"Cool!" Dora said, immediately trying with her own wand.
"Mine's not working right," Ronnie pouted. Her wand kept alternating between pointing east, or right at Dora.
"Well, it can take some practice," Hermione said kindly.
Ronnie sighed. "I'm always so rubbish at this, I should have been a Squib. Then I could just play football and be important that way."
"Oh, Ronnie," Hermione intoned, putting a hand gently on Ronnie's shoulders. "You are great at football, your team's winning the school league."
Ronnie just shrugged again. Marcus gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, would you like to go out and practice some? It's staying light out a lot longer now."
"Meh," Ronnie said dismissively.
Harriet kept watching her friend as the conversation turned to the upcoming exams. Ronnie looked even less interested in this subject than before. It occurred to Harriet that despite now dating one of her brothers, and all the time she had spent at the Weasley's, Harriet and Ronnie had drifted apart over the last couple of years. They didn't particularly share many similar interests. Harriet liked Defence Against the Dark Arts and playing Quidditch. Ronnie liked football and—come to think of it… what does Ronnie like? Harriet thought to herself as they gathered up their things and prepared to return to their common rooms.
Ronnie was average at best in most every class. She didn't put in much effort, because as far as Harriet could tell, she just didn't care. Harriet kept pondering this as they passed Professor Sutler's room. The pang of empathy rose once more in Harriet's stomach. Just then, Professor Sutler emerged from his office. He paused spying the students and smiled.
"Ah, hello there all," he said cheerfully.
"Hello, sir," Harriet smiled.
Professor Sutler's smile faltered slightly as he spotted Ronnie.
"Ah, Miss Weasley… I was wondering if I might have a word with you?"
Everyone looked around at Ronnie. Ronnie had a defeated look on her face. "Okay, Professor…" Ronnie mumbled.
Professor Sutler's kind smile remained as he stepped aside and beckoned Ronnie into the room. Ronnie gave them all a sad little smile as she disappeared into the room. Professor Sutler, meanwhile, gave them all a kind look and even a wink as he closed the door.
"Huh," Marcus pondered, scratching his cheek. "Wonder what that's about…?"
"I hope it's not her grades," Hermione said, sadly. "Ronnie's… she's suffered enough there…"
"Although, that is the safest bet," Dora muttered. However, unlike usual, where Dora's comment would be taunting or even a little mean, Dora sounded even sadder than Hermione did.
An hour later, Ronnie still had not returned. Harriet knew that Professor Sutler was hardly the vindictive sort, and surely Ronnie was in no real trouble. And yet, her worry about her friend was starting to build. By bedtime, Ronnie was still absent.
Harriet, who was exempted from end of year exams, and so did not need to study, kept glancing at the portrait hole. She was starting to get so worried she couldn't even enjoy the Ice Mice that had come with Daniel's latest parcel.
"I'm going to go check on her," Harriet said, rising.
"I'm sure she's fine," Hermione said, trying to sound comforting.
"I know, just…"
Harriet headed off without saying more. She was about halfway down the staircase when she saw someone approaching, their nose buried in a book. Harriet was so unaccustomed to seeing the girl this way that it wasn't until she passed a lit candelabra as she approached that Harriet realized it was Ronnie.
Ronnie must have heard Harriet's footsteps, for she looked up and her face split into a wide grin.
"Harriet!" Ronnie called and hurried up the rest of the stairs, still taking care, despite her haste, to hop the trick one.
"There you are," Harriet smiled. "We were worrying about you."
"Look at this!" Ronnie exclaimed, holding the book out towards Harriet as they reached each other.
Harriet looked down at the book. It was very old, and battered all over. Harriet could just barely make out the title on the faded cover: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"It was his first copy he got when he was a kid on his first trip to Diagon Alley!" Ronnie grinned. By 'his' Harriet took it she was referring to Professor Sutler.
"It's got all his notes and stuff in it too," Ronnie continued, opening the book once more to show Harriet.
Harriet had to marvel. There were small scraps of paper stuck between every page, each one covered in scrawled notes and illustrations.
"Wow, he let you borrow this?" Harriet asked.
"No, he's letting me have it!" Ronnie said, closing the book and clutching it to her chest.
"Even with all his notes in them?" Harriet asked, quite taken aback at this generosity.
"He said he has them all compiled properly for his new book soon," Ronnie explained. "He said it was time it was passed on to another animal lover."
Harriet blinked. She didn't exactly remember Ronnie being that much of an animal lover. She'd never paid much attention in Care of Magical Creatures that she could remember.
"That's amazing Ronnie," Harriet smiled. "But, why…?"
"Well…" Ronnie shifted awkwardly. "He said when he was teaching Care of Magical Creatures… I was the best in the year."
"Really?" Harriet asked, both impressed and surprised. "Even better than Hermione?"
"Yeah, I got extra credit on that essay he gave us after the Snidgets…" Ronnie admitted, looking at once embarrassed and proud of herself. "I wrote two extra feet. But after we went back to Hagrid, he asked Hagrid how I was doing and Hagrid told him I wasn't doing as well. So he wanted to make sure I was okay and… anyway he also gave me this!" Ronnie went on, pulling another book from her bag. This one had a large red cover, and an artwork of a small bird with a bright red breast and green back and cap with a long, solid looking beak. The title read: The Complete Book of British Birds.
"Oh wow," Harriet said, starting to force her enthusiasm slightly.
"He said he noticed I liked birds best," Ronnie said, her voice full of pride.
Despite her own lack of knowledge or enthusiasm for the subject, Harriet couldn't help but smile. She was just feeling so happy seeing Ronnie finally so happy about something.
"So he gave me this one too." Ronnie continued holding up the bird book. "He said Fantastic Beasts gives a good overview of the magical birds of Britain, but this book goes into detail on the non-magical ones, the ones we see in our gardens all the time."
Harriet kept grinning. "Cool, let's take them back and show the others."
"Are you barmy?!" Ronnie exclaimed, slamming the book shut and hugging it to her chest alongside Fantastic Beasts.
"What's wrong?" Harriet asked, confused.
"I can't let people know I like stuff like this!" Ronnie explained, looking around as though worried about eavesdroppers. "They'll think I'm a… a nerd like Hermione or something!"
"Ronnie!" Harriet gasped. "That's terrible!"
Ronnie grimaced. "Okay, that was mean, but…" Ronnie trailed off.
"Ronnie," Harriet said kindly, putting an arm around her friend's waist as they started back up the stairs. "You gotta stop thinking everyone's going to treat you like Fred and George do just because you're not like Fred and George."
"I don't wanna be like Fred and George," Ronnie pouted.
"You're not," Harriet smiled. "You're still that tough kid who told the whole school her real name's Ronnie when the whole school was giggling at her."
Ronnie paused. "But… my real name is Ronald."
Harriet shrugged. "Well, like… I guess…" she thought hard on how to put her meaning into words. "Like me and Daniel and Aurora and the girls… yeah we're not like… blood family, but they're still pretty much my family. So… I guess if family can be whatever you want it to be… then your name is whatever you want it to be too."
Ronnie's face brightened, even though her blush faded.
"So, birds, huh?" Harriet asked, her grin growing.
"Yeah!" Ronnie began, her eyes brightening even more. "Like they can totally fly, some for months, without magic, all because of the way their wings are shaped. I mean imagine that, you just kick off the ground and you just… fly! For days and weeks and months! You can circle the whole world; eat, sleep, everything in the air! And their respiratory system is like almost totally different from ours. They have a larynx like us but that's actually not how they make sound, they make sound through a syrinx. And they don't just have lungs, they have air sacs. And they don't even have a diaphragm, they use the air sacs…"
Harriet just kept smiling and nodding as she and Ronnie continued up the stairs. It did not take long for Ronnie to start speaking in technical jargon that was far over Harriet's head. They were just about to the portrait hole when Ronnie stopped.
"I think that's what I like about Dora so much…"
"What?" Harriet asked, taken off-guard by this statement.
"I think she's like a bird…" Ronnie observed. "She's pretty… and she dresses really nice all the time and I guess that's kinda like a bird's plumage, huh? And she protects what's hers so much…"
Harriet rolled her eyes.
"And she sings really nice…"
Harriet blinked, once more surprised.
"Dora sings?"
"Mmmhmmm," Ronnie said. "She's kinda like me though. She doesn't want people to know, cuz she thinks they'll make fun of her. She has a hard enough time being in Slytherin house while being a Flamel."
"How do you know she sings then?"
Ronnie blushed a little. "Remember second year, when we were brewing the Polyjuice Potion?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, one day I was going to check on how things were going, and she was in there alone and singing. It was really pretty. She got really mad though that I overheard her… so I haven't said anything since."
Harriet hugged Ronnie's waist tighter.
"So like… I guess I see Dora as my like… nightingale."
Harriet felt her heart grow. "Awwwww, Ronnie that's so sweet…"
"Yeah, well don't get used to it," Ronnie said bumping Harriet with her hip. "I can still kick your butt in most everything else."
"You do the same as me except in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"You're getting private lessons from Mad-Eye Moody!"
"I was still best before that."
"…Fine… I'm still strong than you."
"That right?"
"Yep, see?"
"Okay! Okay! You win… now put me down."
"No."
"Please?"
"…No."
Harriet shivered as the chill, damp night breeze washed over her. The weather had warmed considerably, with June mere days away, but the night was still cool as Harriet and Fred snuck out onto the top of the Astronomy tower. While Daniel still had Harriet's invisibility cloak, he had apparently forgotten she still had the Marauder's Map, which Harriet was now pocketing.
The house elves had once more outdone themselves, preparing delicious looking curried chicken sandwiches, a bowl of Waldorf salad and a carafe of raspberry lemonade. The smell of the sandwiches in particular was making Harriet's stomach grumble.
"Nice to have another clear night," Fred said, looking up at the stars.
"Yeah," Harriet smiled, looking up at them too as she and Fred settled in below the parapet, out of the wind. "Which ones are ours again?"
"All of them, duh," Fred said cockily.
Harriet elbowed him gently, before cuddling up closer. Fred winked and began serving them food. Harriet wasn't entirely sold on the salad, but the sandwiches were delicious. She supposed the salads reminded her too much of living back at the Dursleys while being forced to follow Dudley's diet.
"Ahhhh," Fred sighed in contentment as he leaned back against the parapet, rubbing his stomach.
"Mmmhmmm," Harriet agreed. Secretly, she was wishing they'd taken one or two more sandwiches.
"So, thought about what you're going to do when you win this thing?" Fred asked.
Harriet snorted. "Fred, I don't even know how I'm going to win this thing."
"You're going to do great," Fred replied confidently. "You always win at everything."
"With help," Harriet admitted.
"Everyone needs help, all the time."
Harriet gave Fred a sceptical look. "Says you."
"Hey, I couldn't do anything without George," Fred admitted. He smiled even brighter at the stars. "He's pretty amazing… yeah he's busy with Erica a lot, but he still always makes time to work on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes with me."
Harriet hugged her arm tighter around his waist. As she did, she rested her head against his shoulder. He smelled quite nice, having clearly not only just bathed before the date, but also shaved. The skin of his cheek on her forehead was softer and smoother than she remembered.
"Someone put some effort in tonight, huh?" Harriet asked, smiling.
Fred shrugged. "Hey, you're worth it."
Harriet felt her cheeks get quite warm. She hugged tighter against him.
"Hey, Fred?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you heard anything from Percy?"
Fred sighed. "Not yet. Can't imagine how he's feeling. The git loved Crouch."
"You know he'd probably be nicer to you if you stopped calling him that all the time."
"We'd stop calling him that all the time if he'd stop acting like one," Fred muttered. "Always been like that. Always trying to tell George and me what to do. Mum's perfect little prefect…"
Fred sighed, clearly wanting to change the subject. Harriet looked up at the night sky again. As she watched, one of the owls swooped past on its way to the owlery. Glancing at Fred once more, a thought occurred to her.
"Fred?"
"Yeah?"
"If I was a bird… what kind would I be?"
Fred looked back down at Harriet, quite bemused.
"What bird would you be?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Huh, guess I've never really thought about that."
"No?"
"No… I like you as you. Why would I like you as a bird?"
"Just… just curious," Harriet muttered. She didn't know why she felt so put out. Maybe she wanted to hear Fred talk about her the same way that Ronnie had talked about Dora.
Harriet bit her lip. That wasn't all. She wanted to hear Fred talk about her the way Krum had talked about Aello as well. She wanted Fred to look at her the way Krum had looked at Aello. To hold her that way…
"Harriet?"
Harriet didn't answer. Instead, she pulled Fred down into a hard kiss. She felt Fred freeze for a moment, before he slowly relaxed and kissed back.
It was nothing like the kiss with Dora. Harriet didn't know if she'd say it was better or worse, simply different. Harriet didn't know what truly made her do it, except a sort of hunger that she felt through her whole body.
She felt Fred run a hand through her hair. Then the hand moved over her shoulder. She reached up and rested her own hand on his, all the while her eyes closed, their lips together.
Harriet sighed contentedly as she flopped back on her bed. DIDS hissed in protest at being awoken. Harriet giggled and rather than letting him go back to sleep, pulled the tiny dragon over to her by his tail and proceeded to tickle his little belly. DIDS emitted a tiny squeal, writhed around though made no serious effort to escape.
It had been three days since the date. Harriet was still on cloud nine. She felt like she was floating everywhere she went. Fred was wonderful. Fred was perfect.
They were sitting together at meals now. They would walk hand in hand in the halls. Harriet didn't care about the looks anyone gave them. Screw the jealous mutterings of both boys and girls.
She giggled more, finally relenting on DIDS. The little dragon gave her a little snarl before crawling off onto her pillow, curling up to sleep once more.
Who cared about these weird plots going on? She was happy now. For once in this horrid year she was happy.
Things were still hardly 'normal' around Hogwarts. Harriet did have a moment of anger the previous day when an article was finally released about CrouchSenior's death. It mentioned nothing about him being murdered. By the sound of it, the Ministry was trying to cover-up what had happened.
Harriet started to worry again. What were Kinney and Crouch Junior up to? What was Lord Voldemort up to? What was this Order of the Phoenix doing to stop them? Daniel hadn't given her any details so far.
"Harriet?"
Harriet looked up from her bed. Hermione and Scott were standing in the doorway. Hermione looked anxious, as she often did when she had bad news, while Scott had a very grim look on his face.
"What is it?" Harriet asked, sitting up.
It was then that Harriet noticed that Hermione was carrying a copy of The Daily Prophet. She knew already, without Hermione even saying so, that Rita Skeeter had struck again.
"Oh no… what's she done now…?" Harriet asked.
Hermione grimaced. She crossed over to Harriet's bed, holding out the paper.
"I… I figured you might hear about this soon… so I just… thought this might soften the blow…"
Harriet grimaced as she picked up the paper. Harriet gasped. Hermione didn't need to tell her the page. It was right there on the front, just above an article in the sidebar, was a picture of Finn. He was leaning against a wall wearing drab, grubby clothing and looking shifty.
The title made Harriet's stomach churn.
Muggle Miscreant Makes Mockery of Memorial
By Rita Skeeter
As everyone who's anyone in the Magical world knows (and quite a few who aren't), coming in June is the gala event of the decade, the charity event to rebuild the beloved town of Hogsmeade. Much has been made of this event, which has garnered the top entertainment from around the wizarding world.
And so it was a distinct sense of shock when word came down that the musical entertainment would not be provided by a proper, respectable magical music group, but a band of Muggles from the unorthodox school of Rathlin Academy.
Now, in today's environment, one would normally consider this a beautiful show of solidarity between the magical and non-magical communities (despite the fact that the non-magical world is not supposed to know we exist). However, it can be exclusively reported that there is far more to the ring-leader of this little band than meets the eye, and a dark past that mocks the tragedy that destroyed an entire community.
The leader of the band picked to headline the entertainment for the event is a young man named Finnbar Negus. Finnbar is a quiet, unassuming young man, who it seems conceals a dark past. Finnbar Negus is not just another student at Rathlin Academy. Finnbar Negus is in fact the ward of Professor Sherrod Howe, Rathlin's headmaster. He has lived at Rathlin Academy with his younger brother, Colm, since Finnbar was nine and Colm was seven.
Now, why would two such boys find themselves having to live at a school? The tragic orphans of a terrible accident?
No.
After no small amount of digging, I, Rita Skeeter, have uncovered that Finnbar's parents are none other than Liam and Siobhan Negus, once known as famous Irish folk-singers in the Muggle world. Today, however, they are safely locked away in prison for their part in not only the 1984 bombing of a Muggle hotel in Brighton in an attempt to kill the Muggle Prime Minister of the time, Margaret Thatcher, that killed five innocent people, but also an attack on Ballygawley in 1985 that killed two, before being brought to justice after a bombing in Enniskillen in 1987 that killed eleven innocent bystanders and grievously injured a further sixty-three.
It seems that someone thought it would be terribly amusing to commemorate this tragic, terrorist attack by booking a band headlined by the son of terrorists.
Now, I know some of you are probably thinking: surely, we cannot blame an innocent child for the sins of the parents, can we? Well, while it is true that little Finnbar himself is unlikely to have taken part in his parents' explosive, deadly pastime, it cannot be ignored that Finnbar was raised by these monsters until 1988 when they were put away once and for all.
What sort of up-bringing can this boy have possibly had? How can he truly appreciate the tragedy of what happened? How can we know his sympathies lay not with those who lost their homes and livelihoods, but with the mad man Solomon Kinney himself? This is a child who was raised to hate Britain, how can we expect him to keep from extending that hatred to Magical Britain as well?
Surely, we can all agree that this insult to the memory of our beloved Hogsmeade cannot go unaddressed by the organizers of this beautiful event. We cannot let the offspring of terror and destruction make a mockery of this hallowing event, and hire a much more appropriate group to honour this event.
Harriet's hands were shaking.
Scott took a deep breath. "I… I don't know if any of it's true or not… but… Colm wrote this morning too… Finn's… they dropped him from the gala."
Harriet felt her anger growing. This wasn't fair, this just wasn't fair. This didn't have anything to do with Finn. This was about Rita wanting to book her own group for the event.
This had to end. Harriet had to stop Skeeter once and for all. Harriet rose from the bed. She grabbed her school bag, took out her ink, quill, and parchment, and headed for the door.
"I have to fix this…" she said, passing Hermione and Scott.
"How?" Scott asked, perplexed. "I mean…"
Harriet didn't listen. She was heading to the Owlery.
"I'm going to the Owlery. I'll be back."
Harriet hurried down the stairs and across the common room. Despite her hurry, she paused to look for Fred. Fred could help. Fred would know what to do. And yet, as she looked around, Fred was nowhere to be seen. Harriet sighed, and continued on her way. She got to the Owlery and saw Hedwig at once.
"Hedwig," Harriet said, her throat tight. "I need you."
Hedwig hooted and swooped down to sit beside Harriet on a bench.
"Thanks," Harriet said under her breath as she rolled out the parchment and began to write.
Dear Finn,
I just read that article. I can't believe Skeeter has gone after you like this. She's now attacked almost every one of my friends.
Harriet thought. Her eyebrows furrowed. Okay, maybe Rita Skeeter could overhear her conversations at Hogwarts, but could she read letters?
I have something I have to tell you. I haven't told anyone else this. Right now, I'm being blackmailed by Rita Skeeter. She's not only making me take part in this gala, but she's forced me to sign a contract giving her total control over interviews and all that. She's threatening the closest thing to a family I have ever known, so I have to do it, and I can't tell anyone. It's been horrid, but I've not known how to do anything about it.
I have to somehow get her to admit what she's done and for people to believe her. What she's doing is totally illegal, but it's her word against mine. She even got my aunt and uncle to sign the contract too, so it's my word against all of theirs. I don't know what to do, but maybe if we work together, we can both bring her down so she doesn't hurt anyone else.
I'm so sorry you had to get caught up in all of this too. This would have been an amazing break for you. But if we work together, we can do this. Let me know as soon as you can if you can help, or have any idea what we could do.
So sorry again,
Harriet
Harriet folded the parchment and put it into the envelope. She tied it to Hedwig's leg and stroked Hedwig's fluffy head.
"Get this to Finn, at Rathlin," Harriet said, urgently. "As fast as you can, okay?"
Hedwig hooted in a dignified way and at once spread her wings and flapped silently into the air and out the window. Harriet sighed. This was it. This was finally the moment. She was going to do something about it. She was going to get Rita Skeeter, she just knew it.
Harriet jumped as she heard voices coming from the open door to the staircase. She smiled at first as she recognized Fred's voice. Hermione must have told him where she was and he came looking for her. She was going to call to him when she paused as she heard George's voice as well, and he sounded none too pleased.
"—that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that—"
"—we've tried being polite. It's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did."
"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail! Besides, you're the one who wanted to drop this!"
"Yeah, that was before I ended up with my dream girl who happens to be the most famous girl in the world," Fred snapped.
Harriet's stomach was churning. Fred was going to blackmail Bagman? Fred? Fred had promised her it was over. And now he was blackmailing him? For her?
"Mate, Harriet's probably got more money than we could ever hope to make. The Potters were loaded. And really, you're worried about that now? You're only seventeen and fourteen! Just enjoy what you have now!"
"You're one to talk."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just think of how well you could take care of Erica with this."
"I won't be able to if we wind up in Azkaban!"
Harriet rose. She stormed across the Owlery and slammed the door open the rest of the way. She was fuming. How could Fred do this? How could he think she would be okay with this?
Fred and George both nearly jumped out of their skins as the door crashed against the wall. Harriet felt her shoulders rising and falling as she breathed angrily, glaring down at them.
"Oh, h-hi," Fred said in a very small voice. He couldn't even bring himself to try and put on his usual air of bravado.
"Fred!" Harriet said, her hands clenched. "You said you dropped it…"
"I… well… yeah I did…"
George looked as though he wanted to melt through the floor as Harriet glared down at his twin. Harriet was still trembling.
"You said… now you're blackmailing him… for money… for me…?"
"I… well… I-uh…"
Harriet kept staring at Fred. Slowly, her anger started to wan. She felt exhausted, and she really wanted to be alone. She started down the stairs towards the twins. Fred kept moving his mouth, as though he was trying to say something but no words came out. Harriet didn't care. She didn't want to hear them right now.
She passed between the two without looking at either. She didn't hear a sound from either as she kept descending the stairs. Whether they continued on to send the letter or not, Harriet didn't know. Nor, at the moment, did she particularly care.
The rest of the week Harriet felt the worst she had since Skeeter had first blackmailed her. She still wasn't speaking to Fred. How could he do that? How could he think she would have approved?
Sure, Fred didn't know anything about what Rita Skeeter was up to, but how did this make him any better than her? Harriet supposed the only real defence was that in Fred's case, Bagman had conned him and George first. Still, Harriet couldn't let go of the fact that Fred would do such a thing.
It gave her a twisted feeling in her stomach every time she saw Fred in the common room, or at meals, or passing in the hallway. Every time, Fred would give her a shamed look, avert his eyes, and either hurry away, or go back to whatever he was doing and pretend Harriet wasn't there.
If she was honest with herself, she wanted things to go back to the way they were. She wanted to see his face break into a smile when it caught sight of her in the hallway. She wanted him to come up and hug her from behind as she worked on homework or the final task with her friends. Why? Why did everything good in her life have to fall apart so fast?
To make matters worse, she had not yet heard back from Finn, either. Hedwig had returned without a reply. So Harriet still had no clue how exactly she was going to deal with Rita Skeeter, either.
Fortunately, Harriet was still receiving the daily treats from Daniel, and her friends were doing their best to help her deal with her being upset with Fred. Dora was the most cheerful, though Harriet thought that had less to do with trying to cheer Harriet up and more to do with her being happy that things were looking so bleak for Harriet and Fred.
Harriet also found herself hanging out with Nanette and Rosie more often. She still didn't know how exactly to relate to two second years, but they were still a laugh to have around. They sat in on almost all of Harriet's planning session for the final task with her friends. They kept giving ideas for how to get through the maze, and each idea got wilder than the last. Their ideas ranged from conjuring a brush-cutter to just hack her way through the hedges, to conjuring giant springs on her shoes to bounce over them.
Then, with only four days to go until the gala, Harriet was surprised with a visit by Daniel. She had just left the Great Hall after breakfast when she saw him walking in through the front doors, pulling a sizeable trunk behind him.
"There she is," Daniel grinned, laughing as he caught Harriet in her arms when she jumped up to hug him.
"Oof," he grunted, laughing harder. "You're growing so fast! Lucky I decided to stop in and check."
Harriet rolled her eyes as Daniel let her back down. Harriet looked down at the trunk.
"So… what's in there?" Harriet asked.
"Oh, a few of the designs for the gala," Daniel explained.
Harriet's smile became forced rapidly. That was definitely something she did not want to think about. However, the smile on Daniel's face disarmed Harriet too quickly for her to protest.
"Really think you'll like what I came up with," Daniel explained as they headed up the main staircase.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep," Daniel grinned. "Designed everything with you in mind."
Harriet paused. "Me?"
"Of course," Daniel chuckled.
Harriet felt her cheeks get warm.
They made their way to an empty classroom. Daniel shut the door and eagerly opened his trunk. Harriet stood back, watching as Daniel pulled out a standing changing curtain, and four dress forms, each already bearing and outfit. Harriet's eyes snapped wide open as she took in the outfits. Daniel had designed them with her in mind indeed.
The first was a grey cardigan with navy trim, and white and navy striped cuffs. It had a light-blue button up shirt, and a navy tie. The bottom was a dark blue and green tartan pair of shorts. At the bottom was a pair of navy knee-socks with a thick cuff and black loafers.
The second was a grey blazer with thin red and navy pinstripes. It featured a white button up shirt, with a black, ribbon bow-tie. The skirt was grey and tweed, with two pleats in the front of a lighter grey. At the foot was a pair of black knee-socks which also had a thick cuff, and brown loafers, although these had a two-inch heels. Atop the form sat a matching black beret.
The third had a slate grey, solid colour blazer with white button up shirt and also had a ribbon tie. The skirt was tartan blue and green like the first, but diagonal, and the skirt was a-line. For this outfit, the socks were a soft crème colour, with a navy stripe around the top, and the shoes were black mary-janes with heels.
The final outfit was a silver blazer with a black trim and pinstripes. It had a white button up shirt, and a black bowtie with little white polka-dots. It featured a matching silver skirt with black pinstripes. Finally, it had black knee-socks, brown lace up booties, and topped off with a light-grey hat of a similar style to Fudge's bowler.
"Wow…" Harriet whispered, looking them over.
"Heh… sort of… I don't know, schoolgirl-chic I guess you could call it," Daniel smiled, clearly pleased at Harriet's reaction. "I know you like that vintage sort of Nancy Drew look and well… I mean…"
Daniel fumbled for words. He clearly was feeling both awkward, and proud.
"Sorry," He muttered rubbing his neck. "Didn't think you'd like them so much. I mean… they're not exactly what people would wear in the street… these sort of shows demand a sort of dazzle and flair, but… I at least wanted you to be up there wearing outfits you'd feel comfortable in…"
Harriet crossed over to him, hugging him tight again.
"They're amazing," Harriet said, quite honestly.
Daniel's grin grew and he ruffled her hair. "Good… from what I hear, you'll only be wearing two of them. I've made a couple for each girl who'll be up there, but I picked out the four I made the most with you in mind, and figured you could pick out your two favourites?"
Harriet nodded eagerly. She went to the fourth outfit, and pulled it behind the changing curtain. One by one, Harriet tried on the outfits in the reverse order Daniel had pulled them from the trunk. She had to admit, she was having a very difficult time deciding. Each one she liked more than the last. In the end, she decided on the first and last outfits Daniel had taken out.
Harriet liked the first in particular. It was comfortable and the most casual, something close to what she might actually wear. The second didn't seem something she would normally wear, but it felt like the most stylish, and perhaps the one Daniel had worked the hardest on of the designs.
"Perfect," Daniel grinned, now taking Harriet's measurements to make the proper adjustments.
Harriet, however, didn't exactly feel perfect. She kept looking back at the outfits. All of them had felt a little tight around the middle and shoulders.
Harriet was able to quickly put this from her mind, however. They quickly found Aurora, and together they gathered the twins and went for a picnic in the grounds. Harriet did feel a small pain, remembering her picnic dates with Fred, but she was laughing too much, and feeling too relaxed.
Harriet sighed several hours later as she watched Daniel leaving, once more dragging his big trunk behind him. Harriet and Nanette bid Aurora and Rosie good night before heading off to Gryffindor Tower together.
"That was lotsa fun," Nanette grinned as they walked along. They were going slower than usual, as Nanette was focusing on not stepping on any cracks in the stone floor.
"Yeah," Harriet smiled.
"It's great having Mom and Dad so close now," Nanette said.
Harriet paused. Nanette was calling Daniel 'dad' now, as well? She supposed it made sense, it was just something Harriet had never considered before. If Daniel was 'Dad', and the twins were now calling him that, then surely, Harriet should start thinking of Aurora as 'Mum'. And the twins…
"OMIGOSH IT'S ADORABLE!"
Harriet came to her senses. Nanette was pointing at a nearby window. There was a small bird flapping outside it, making a low growling noise in apparent frustration. Harriet squinted to see the bird clearly through the dusty window. It was a puffin.
Harriet hurried over and opened the window. The little puffin settled on the window sill, apparently quite winded from its flight and attempt to get into the school.
"Must be from Rathlin," Nanette said knowledgeably. "Wow, he's tiny, even like… for a puffin."
Harriet shook her head. "Who the devil are you looking for?" she asked under her breath.
The little puffin just tilted its head to look up at her.
"Me?" Harriet blinked.
The little puffin clacked its beak and held out its foot. Harriet reached down and read the address on the envelope of the letter attached to its foot.
Harriet Potter
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harriet gasped. It was for her. A bird from Rathlin come here for her. It had to be Finn finally.
Harriet took the letter and tore open the envelope, reading as fast as she could. Not that it took very long, the letter was very short.
Harriet,
Meet Obelix. My puffin.
Harriet looked down at the little puffin again. It puffed up its feathers proudly and clacked its oversized beak. Somehow, it struck her as odd that a muggle like Finn would have a delivery bird. Then again, he did attend a school with witches and wizards. Maybe it wasn't so strange after all.
Harriet returned her attention to the letter. The rest of the letter only had three words.
I've got it.