Yay, update! I start my second summer class tomorrow, but I'm going to try and keep updates fairly regular. Don't worry if I miss a weekend every once in a while, because that usually (not always, but usually) means a longer chapter that needed a bit more editing work.
I know I don't say it very often, but I really do appreciate all of the reviews, follows, and favorites that I've been getting. My family is well used to my phone beeping at me all hours of the day when I get an email alert from FF. Thanks for making this even more enjoyable for me :-)
When Harry got back to the Common Room, he was surprised to see that Brianna wasn't in there, nor were the twins. He spotted Ron and Hermione in a corner, talking quietly, and sighed. It was time to face the music.
"Harry," Hermione breathed, relieved to see that he was alright.
"Have a seat, mate," Ron said, summoning over a chair while Hermione set up a privacy ward. The common room wasn't as crowded as the night before, but it was still populated.
Harry sat down, and looked at his friends. He really should give them more credit, he thought. They weren't looking at him with pity, or anger. "Sorry about, you know, before," he said lamely.
Ron waved that thought away. "Stuff it," he said without any rancor. "You doing better?"
Harry thought about that. "Not really," he said, deciding to be honest. He chuckled when his friends looked surprised at his honesty. "Where's the others?" he couldn't help but ask.
Ron shrugged. "Out looking for you. I tried telling them that you would come back when you were ready, but they wanted to find you."
"I think George is looking for people to join in another pickup game of Quidditch, though," Hermione told him. "It's getting far too serious here at the end of terms the last few years. He doesn't want it to end of that note their last year. I think they'd consider it a failure as the pranksters."
Harry let out a chuckle at that. "True, it's their last year here. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't want to go out with a bang."
They spoke quietly for a few minutes, before deciding that it was time to find the others. They had just walked out of the Tower when they literally ran into them.
"Harry!" Brianna yelled, grabbing him in a crushing hug. "Don't you ever run off like that again, you had me worried!"
Harry hugged her and whispered an apology before looking up at Fred. "Where's your better half?" he asked.
Fred grinned. "He's on the pitch. Found a few people interested in playing. You in?"
Harry looked down at Brianna, who smiled. "Want to learn to play?"
Her eyes lit up, and she nodded quickly. "I'd love to!"
So their small group went back into the Tower to grab their brooms, and then made their way to the pitch, where they found close to thirty students from all the houses already there. Harry wasn't surprised to see the Ravenclaw team already there. They were all crying silently as they held their brooms and stared over the pitch, but their faces held resolve.
Harry stepped forward. "How about we start with warm ups, and then we'll draw for teams," he suggested, his voice carrying easily over the silence on the field.
Everyone just nodded, and took to the sky. Harry mounted his Firebolt, then looked at Brianna. "We'll start the easy way," he told her, motioning for her to get behind him.
Brianna chewed her lip in nervousness, before climbing on, and she wrapped her arms tightly around her boyfriend.
"Ready?" he asked, and felt her nod. He smiled slightly as he took off. He always loved flying, from that first class all those years ago. It was as though he was leaving his problem back on the ground, and could outfly them. He started out slowly, both in speed and in moves. After a few minutes when he felt her relax slightly, he decided to pick things up. He started upping his speed a bit, and took the corners a bit sharper. He grinned at her squeak in surprise before he shot almost straight up.
"Harry!" she cried, holding onto him for dear life.
Harry laughed and leveled out, quite a bit above everyone else, before he pointed the nose of his broom back down and streaked towards the ground. For a moment there, he thought Brianna had cracked one of his ribs as she squeezed his midsection tightly.
Harry pulled the broom back to level much earlier than he usually did, and let them skim along the grass for a few meters before he slowed to a stop.
Brianna jumped off the broom, shaking slightly. "Are you insane?" she demanded, letting her internal organs catch up with her.
Harry chuckled. "Always have been," he quipped, then turned a bit more serious. "Are you alright? I was trying to hold back a bit since it was you first time…"
"That was holding back?" Brianna asked with a grin, now that she had relaxed a bit. "You really are crazy."
They ended up getting Brianna one of the school brooms to use, and she seemed to be doing a bit better, flying next to Harry for the rest of the warm up time. When it came time to draw names for teams, she begged off. "It's one thing to learn to fly, but I don't think I should push it by adding the game right now."
Harry understood her reasoning, and motioned to where Hermione was sitting, and figured the girls could spend some time together. There had also been quite a few more people who'd come out during their warm ups, so they had a pretty good crowd going.
They decided to start with familiar teams, and had another Gryffindor/Ravenclaw game, with one of the reserve Chasers in the game, and Cho had taken over as Captain.
No one wanted to think about this by doing pre-game pep talks, so they just started. They kept score, but only because Lee wanted something to do during all of this, since he was finished with school now as well.
If you asked Harry later, he would tell you that he didn't remember much of what happened during the games. He knew that the games didn't end with the catch of the Snitch, since both he and Cho had caught it a few times. After a while, they had decided to hit the deck and draw names for new teams, since there were other players from reserve teams, and the House teams wanting to play as well. So they took turns playing, and did so until it was time for dinner.
All Harry could really think about was the fact that he actually managed to out fly his mind that day. It didn't matter what had happened the day before. It didn't matter that he'd killed a former classmate, or that he had nearly been killed more than once. All that mattered was the wind in his hair and the broom between his legs. It was a kind of meditation for him, and he knew that it was truly better than any other meditation exercises he'd done before.
When they all finished for the day they realized that dinner was about to begin, so they all hurried to shower in the locker rooms, and made their way back to the castle. Harry kept Brianna tucked into his side from the moment he emerged from the showers.
They entered the Great Hall as one, all thirty of them, getting a few strange looks from everyone. Harry noticed the somber expressions that everyone wore, and felt the relaxation of the day bleed away. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
Harry and Brianna sat with the Ravenclaws that night, lending what silent support they could. He noticed that Dumbledore didn't give a speech, but he supposed that the headmaster was simply waiting until the Leaving Feast, as all the Heads had told the Houses about Roger.
The next thing that Harry was aware of was everyone leaving the Hall, and he looked over to Brianna. "You've got to get back," he stated.
She nodded sadly. "Yeah, I should have been back already."
He stood and pulled her up. He folded her into his arms, using her as an anchor. The fact that she had been there for him through all of the hell the past 24 hours had been a blessing. "Thank you," he said simply, but meaningfully.
She understood. "Anytime," she whispered into his shoulder. They met for a brief but passionate kiss, before Sirius walked up to them.
"You ready?" he asked gently, and they both nodded.
"Call me tomorrow," Harry told Brianna, who nodded at him.
"Meet me at my office?" Sirius asked Harry quietly, who just nodded at him.
Harry knew that Sirius was taking Brianna to one of the few Floos that allowed travel, so it would take a few minutes, so he took his time walking back to McGona – no, Sirius's office, he reminded himself. Merlin, that was strange to think about.
As he took a seat inside the office, he took a few minutes to collect himself. He knew that McGonagall was going to be alright, but it was still strange to think about her not being his Head of House. He jumped slightly when the door opened again, and Sirius walked in.
"She get home alright?" Harry asked, playing with the hem of his sleeve.
"She did," Sirius confirmed. "I think Marco will have a few questions for you the next time you speak with her over the mirrors, but I already warned him not to badger you about it."
Harry just gave Sirius a look of thanks, who nodded in understanding. He decided to start the conversation by telling Sirius about the offer he had lent to Blaise.
Sirius considered. "I know Manuel, actually. I think if Blaise offers an olive branch, he would love to see his son. I never did believe all the things that his ex told about him. If he needs some time to get his house ready, though, I don't have a problem with letting him stay. And I've already spoken with Nott about him staying with us. He's going to talk to his mom, and let us know the day of the Feast."
Harry nodded. "What's the plan for the summer?" he asked, curious. It was the first time they would have the entire summer together, and he was looking forward to it.
Sirius leaned back in the chair. He wasn't sitting in the one behind the desk, but sitting next to Harry. "Part of the depends on who stays with us, and for how long. I'll have quite a bit of work to do this summer, in light of the attack yesterday, but we can figure a few things out. If we have time, do you want to spend two weeks or so at Beauxbatons?"
Harry smiled, an actual, true smile. "That would be great." He really did like the French school, and he found himself missing it on occasion. "Or are you just wanting to see Caroline again?"
Sirius swatted him lightly on the arm. "Watch the cheek, mister," he said sternly, but his eyes were bright, glad to see Harry acting somewhat normally. "I was thinking we could get a few things figured out, and maybe spend the first few weeks of July in France. We'd be back in plenty of time for your ceremony."
Harry nodded. "After that, then, I'd like to spend some time at Gringotts, to figure out exactly what I need to do as Lord Potter."
Sirius hid a wince. He knew that he needed to reschedule his meeting with Rangnok, but that would have to wait for now. He had far too many things to worry about as it was. He would find a way to check out dear Bella's vault later. "We'll talk with them, as well as the Ministry. I'm sure you can find an advisor."
Harry nodded. He knew that he would be relying on Sirius a lot as it was, but his father had other things on his mind. "Do you think I could start learning Gobbledygook, then? I've read about how much goblins respect you more if you speak their language." He needed something, a project, to keep his mind off of what had happened. Not to mention he had been wanting to learn it for a while.
Sirius nodded. "They do, and we can start that tomorrow, if you want. I have a couple books on it back at the house, so I'll swing by there later and pick them up." He watched Harry's reaction, and then continued. "Have you thought about having another DA meeting before the end of term?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I did. I'll have one more for each class, and then I'll have a short one with everyone the day before we leave."
"Sounds like a good idea," Sirius told him, then sighed as he looked at the mound of papers on his new desk.
Harry understood. "I'll head back to the common room now, if that's alright."
Sirius stood. "You know where to find me if you need something. Even if it's just to talk," he reminded him.
Harry nodded at that. He wasn't going to bother him if it was something small, but he knew that he was going to take advantage of the fact that, for once, he had his father at the school if he needed it.
After a quick hug, Harry left to head back to the common room. He found that his friends were all still waiting up, and Hermione was knitting while Ron and Neville played chess. Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and Pavarti were playing Exploding Snap while the twins were pouring over papers in another corner.
He took a moment to drink in the sight. This was normalcy. This was what he was going to fight for, regardless of what anyone might think of that. This was family, and this was what he was going to remember when it came time to fight again.
Harry should have seen this coming, he really should have. He rubbed his temples as he felt a headache just beginning, and made plans to stop by the Hospital Wing as soon as he was finished here, if only to escape. Of course, that would be just as bad, since he knew that Pomfrey still wasn't happy with him. He sighed as he resigned himself to this fate, wondering how he could have let himself be caught unawares like this.
"Slow down, everyone!" he called to the twenty students that were waiting for him by his usual seat at breakfast. "Now, let's try this again. What's up?"
Kari, a fourth year Slytherin that Harry had met the day before during the pickup game, stepped forward bravely. "We want to join the DA," she stated, and everyone else nodded.
Harry sighed. "Alright, you do realize that we only have one meeting left before summer, and I was planning on doing this again next year, right? It's not like you'll learn all that much before going home."
"It would be nice to have an idea of what happens during the meetings," a sixth year Hufflepuff said, looking downcast.
"We'll learn what spells are usually covered, so we know what we should practice before we go home," her friend said.
Harry rubbed his temples again, and looked over at Hermione, who was hiding her grin behind her hand as Ron shook with silent laughter next to her. He vowed to get back at them for laughing at him during this. "You can join us, but you'll be bound by the same rules that everyone else is. When you get there, you'll sign the parchment so that I can make sure no one is a Death Eater," he continued, ignoring their indignant looks, "and then I'll have a crash course with all of you. Come to the one Wednesday night, which is the beginner class. I want to see where everyone is at."
Some looked pleased, and others looked upset, but they left him to his breakfast. He sat down on the bench and groaned. Just what he needed: more work before break.
"I think you handled that alright," Hermione said, still grinning, but went back to eating her bacon.
He shot her a baleful look. "Well, I'm glad you think so, because I'm going to need you to come and help cover that class while I handle the newbies."
Her eyes shot up. "What?" she demanded. "Why me?"
Harry poured some juice, his face impassive, but inside he was laughing. "You know the spells, and you've been helping me with a few of the stragglers in the advanced class, so I know you can help. Plus, you didn't seem concerned with helping me out during that," he said mildly, and started eating.
Hermione was doing a very fine impression of a fish as she gaped at him, trying to think of something to say, before wordlessly closing her mouth and nodding. A moment later, she grabbed a blank parchment, and started writing, mumbling under her breath as she worked over it.
Harry grinned as he watched her, knowing that he had made a smart choice. He turned to Ron. "Do you want to come and help out? I think the more help the better, especially if I get more people that show up."
Ron brightened and nodded quickly, his mouth too full to talk.
That day passed fairly quickly, to everyone's surprise. There was a week between the end of exams and the train ride home, and for a lot of the students, it dragged by. For Harry and his friends, though, they made sure to keep themselves quite busy.
From breakfast until lunch, the smaller group of advanced students worked in the Room. None of them wanted to spend time reading, so they worked on duels with uneven numbers. Harry was not the only one of the group that was on magical restriction for another day, so he, Anthony, and Daphne simply watched and critiqued.
During lunch, Ron and Harry read while Hermione worked on her plans for the beginner class. Ron was still working on the Redirection book that Sirius had sent to him. He was doing quite well in their practices, and he was nearly there. Harry thought that if he was unable to get into his friend's mind for ten minutes, then it would be time. Harry himself was reading a more advance potions book. The more he read his mother's potions book, the more he wanted to brew quite a few of them, because he knew well how much they would be needed during the war, as she seemed to have focused on healing potions the most.
After lunch was over, Harry went to Poppy for his check up. She'd had to postpone it one day, as she had needed to go to St. Mungo's for the day to help, as they were overwhelmed with all of the new patients in addition to their usual ones.
"Afternoon," he said, sitting down on his (usual) bed.
"Good afternoon. I hope you've been following my orders about magic?" she asked, starting to wave her wand over him.
"Of course," he replied with an easy smile. "Tomorrow morning at the earliest."
She nodded, focusing on her work. "You're good to go," she said, then grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back on the bed. "Ah ah, not yet. I meant health wise, but you still have a lecture, if I remember correctly."
Harry bit back a groan, and nodded meekly. "How could I forget?"
She sighed, and summoned a chair, sitting down. "Harry, I didn't give you this lecture over the summer, because I assumed you had gotten the lesson. Our bodies are different than Muggles' in a variety of ways. It is possible for a Muggle to die because they simply drained themselves; their bodies simply give out. It's unusual for that to happen, but it does. For magical people like us, it is so much easier. Not that our bodies will let us do it without giving us warning signs. Typical ones include dizziness, migraines, even blacking out."
Harry nodded in understanding. He could quite easily give himself headaches by pushing too hard during training, so he understood that part.
"That's our magical core giving our bodies a warning signal that it is almost used up. If a witch or wizard continues to use their magic beyond that point, they can start to use their life force, just like a Muggle would. Continuing to use magic can cause irreparable damage, including but not limited to a temporary or permanent loss of magic, brain damage, nerve damage, coma, or even death." Her face was entirely serious as her gaze bore into his. "When Remus stopped you, it was because I was afraid you were about to start drawing on your life force. I care deeply for Professor McGonagall as well. I consider her to be one of my best friends. However, I know that she would never forgive herself, or me, if you had sacrificed your life to save hers, especially when you knew that I was on my way to help."
Harry started shaking. He knew that there had been dangers of overusing magic. His grandparents' book had been clear about it, but hadn't gone into detail about this. "I didn't know," he whispered.
Poppy leaned forward and grabbed one of his hands in both of hers. "I know, and that's why I'm telling you this now. You did a lot more magic than your classmates that day, Harry. Daphne and Clare only did healing, and the rest of them only fought. You, however, did both. You also did much more advanced magic than the rest, which is why you were in more danger. Now, quite a few of your classmates overstretched themselves, simply because their cores aren't used to this, like yours is. As adolescents, your cores are still growing, much like your bodies and brains, and as such they must be stretched and strengthened carefully. That's why you don't begin learning magic until age 11, and you start small and build to more advanced magic. However, all of you did quite a bit of magic at the village, and right after two weeks of draining exams and practicals; your cores did not have the time to replenish." She squeezed his hand a bit tighter. "Please, Harry, promise me that you understand this, and that you aren't going to risk yourself like that again."
Harry considered. That moment of healing McGonagall was burned into his mind, and his imagination could easily replace it with Sirius, Hermione, or Ron. His family. "I will make an effort not to do that again," was the best that he could do.
Poppy seemed to understand, though she wasn't happy about it. "Very well. Continue to think about it, and I will be here if you have any questions."
Harry stood and stretched his back a bit. "Could we have one more lesson before I leave?"
She gave him a weak smile, and nodded as she stood as well, banishing the chair back to her office. "Sure. How about Thursday?"
Harry thought, and nodded. He had his beginner class on Wednesday and the advanced class on Friday, so it worked perfectly. "Thank you," he said.
She knew that he meant more than for the lesson, and simply nodded.
Harry left the infirmary with a lot more on his mind than when he'd gone there. He'd known for a while that this war was likely to be just as deadly and dangerous as the last one. However, he was facing the moral dilemmas now that he was in a war, himself.
It was prophesized that he was the only one that could end this war, which could end up saving hundreds of people in the long run. Why, then, did he feel cheated, knowing that he didn't have the option of possibly saving someone that he loved?
Deciding that his 'saving people thing' had been doing the thinking for him, he shook his head to clear it. Brooding about it wasn't going to help him. However, there were dozens of things that he could be doing right then that would make a difference, and so he decided to put everything else out of his mind for the time being.
The rest of the day had been hectic, as he'd ended up talking with Clare and Daphne, then Anthony, and finally Blaise. They'd all had ideas of different things that could end up helping, so he had made a schedule to talk to each of them. He had worked closely with each of them, and wasn't going to brush them off. For now, though, he wanted to spend some time with his best friends.
Ron, Hermione, and Harry decided that they would go up to the Owlery to see Hedwig and Pig after breakfast. It had been a while since they'd been up there, and it was nice to spend time with just the three of them.
"Hey girl," Harry murmured when Hedwig flew down and landed on his shoulder. She nipped his ear slightly, to show her disapproval at being neglected. "I know, I'm sorry."
She seemed pleased with that, and with the treat that he gave her from his robe pocket. He went to stand at the open window, where he looked out over the grounds.
Ron was getting the same treatment from Pig, and Hermione was smiling at the owls' antics. There was silence, until Harry spoke suddenly.
"Guys!" he whispered hoarsely.
Hermione walked over to him. "What is it?" she asked.
"Hagrid's back!"
Ron rushed to the window to look, and sure enough, the large, familiar form of one of their favorite teachers walked into his cabin. He whirled around to look at his friends. "Did you know he was back?"
Hermione glared at him. "Of course not! Come on, let's go see him!"
The three of them ran down to the cabin, barely stopping to catch their breath when they got there, and Harry hurried to pound on the door.
"Not eve' been home an hour," a voice grumbled from the inside, before the door opened wide. His face broke into a grin. "Shoulda known it'd be yeh three. Come in."
The trio hurried into the cabin, and each gave Hagrid a hug, before they burst into questions.
"Where have you been?"
"Was everything alright?"
"What were you doing?"
"Alrigh', pipe down a bit, le' me get a cuppa," Hagrid groused good naturedly. Within ten minutes, they were all seated with a drink in their hands, before Hagrid started.
"Now, I can't tell ya everythin', ya know tha'," he warned, then shook his head, as if reminding himself who he was talking to. "Professor Dumbledore sent me an' Olympe to talk wit' the giants."
"Giants!" Hermione gasped.
"Yeah, there's a colony in France, so we though' that would be the best place ter start." Hagrid continued on to describe what happened when he went with Maxime to the colony. He began telling them about his arrival there, and then the arrival of the Death Eaters. He explained about the fight, and then his discovery of his family.
The trio was silent as they were understanding about his mental dilemma at that point.
"I knew that it wasn't safe ter bring 'im back here, wha' with all the kiddies here. He's not used ter being 'round other people, see," Hagrid said, looking sad.
"Where is he?" Harry asked, leaning forward. He understood why Hagrid's brother couldn't come to the castle, but he did feel bad for his big friend, not being able to have family nearby.
"I left 'im near another, smaller colony, in France. I got an owl from Professor Dumbledore, tellin' me about the attack a few days ago." Now he looked grim. "Wha' happene'?"
Harry sighed, and the other too looked at their laps. "We were attacked at Hogsmeade, during out last trip of the year," Harry started, and told the tale, leaving out the gritty details. He still was having trouble thinking about them, much less telling everyone. The other two added their own perspectives during the fight, and Harry finished. "So, Sirius is Head of Gryffindor until McGonagall is back to full health. He said she should be alright by next term," he finished.
Hagrid looked furious that he hadn't been there to help during the fighting. "Professor Dumbledore tol' me about Roger Davies," he said, and paused when he saw the flinches that the name brought. "I'm sorry."
Harry nodded, ignoring the lump in his throat. This was getting ridiculous. Last year it was Cedric, and now it was Roger. He stood before his brain caught up with his body.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked, brows furrowed.
Harry jerked slightly. "There were a few people that wanted to talk with me. I think I should go."
Hagrid looked disappointed. "Well, ya know where ta fin' me," he said.
Harry went and gave him a quick hug. "It's great to have you back. We missed you," he said quietly, before hurrying out the door.
He ran up to the castle; all of his running made sure that he didn't get winded by that short of a jog now. He looked at the time and saw that lunch was still over an hour away. It gave him time to talk with one person. Making a quick decision, he made his way to the Ravenclaw common room, knocking on the gargoyle. He probably could have answered the riddle, but he didn't want to barge into their space like that, especially if they weren't expecting him.
Luna was the one to answer the door. "Harry! Who are you looking for?" she asked, a smile on her face, though it looked strained.
"I was trying to find Anthony, actually," Harry told her.
"He's inside. I'll go get him for you," she said, and hurried back inside. Anthony walked out only a few moments later.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" he asked, curious.
"You said yesterday that you had something you wanted to talk with me about. Is now a good time?" Harry asked, wanting something to keep his mind occupied.
"Sure," Anthony said, bemused. "Let's head to the usual place."
The usual place was actually the deserted classroom that they used for practicing their Runes. They made fairly good time, and set down their bags before sitting atop the desks.
"So, what was your idea?" Harry asked curiously, pulling out a notebook.
"Well, after the fight, I was talking with a few of my friends. We were trying to come up with ways that we could fight better. I mean, this was just the start, wasn't it?" His eyes were grave.
Harry realized that he wasn't the only one to make the connection that this was the war finally starting to pick up. "Yeah, it's the start."
"So anyway, we were thinking that everyone needs to fight with their strengths. My strength is Runes. It always has been. Do you think there's a way to use Runes for this war?"
Harry considered that question. "There's Death Wards," he mused aloud. "Those are Mastery level and beyond, though, so I don't think we could touch those. Not to mention the fact that they're illegal."
"What about Rune'd bands? Wear them on your wrist, or around the neck?" Anthony thought. "Might be able to get them to bounce low level spells, in case you're hit from behind."
Harry grinned, though it felt strange to do so. "I think I need to formally introduce you to the twins. You'll be good resources for each other."
Anthony grinned back. "That sounds great! I've always wanted to talk to those two; informally, of course."
"Sit with us at lunch. You'll have time to talk then," Harry promised.
They spent the next short time going through a list of Runes that they were capable of carving that might come in handy. It was a short list, but they agreed to get together during the first week of the fall term and reevaluate the list. It was a given that they would keep in touch by owl regarding this.
When they entered the Great Hall, Harry wasted no time in finding the twins, and quickly filling them in on Anthony's idea. When he left, he saw that Fred and George were looking quite happy about having another student wanting to work with them. It wasn't a secret that, while the twins were considered popular, and well known by the entire student body, they didn't have a lot of friends. People were worried about being considered guilty by association, so most of the twins' friends were in Gryffindor.
Hagrid received a very loud welcome from a lot of the student body. The mood, which had been quite dark and heavy ever since Hogsmeade, lightened a bit that evening.
Harry did look over the four House tables, studying each face. Some were smiling sadly (as there wasn't really another way of smiling yet), some were still choking back tears. A few had their noses buried in books, while others tried to keep their minds occupied by talking with their friends. Harry noticed a lot of angry faces; the obvious ones were from Malfoy's cronies, and there were a few others sprinkled through the Hall. Thankfully, none of them were in the DA, so he assumed that the parchment was still working. He wondered if it was a permanent charm, or if he would need another one at the start of the following year. It was something that he would ask the headmaster about when he had the time.
As soon as the meal was over, he was flagged down by Daphne, Astoria, and Clare. He nodded to them, and they made their way to the classroom where he'd been talking with Anthony. He waved them inside, and closed the door, putting up the usual privacy charms.
"Alright, what's up?" he asked, leaning against a desk.
"A lot of students approached us after the battle," Clare started. "We knew that it was unusual for students to know so much healing, and they were all curious where we learned."
"We have a lot of people who want to learn as well," Daphne said, with a quick glance over at her sister.
Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. It was amazing how much people were willing to learn as soon as they had the war slapped in their faces like this. If it had been during the school year, he would have been pleased. He wished that if there had been an attack, it would have been during the term, so that people actually had a chance to work on the things they wanted to. "Give me a list of their names, and I'll talk to Madame Pomfrey. She's so much more qualified to teach than I am, it's not even funny. Tell them the titles of the two books I had you all read. That should give everyone a chance to learn over the summer, and they'll be more ready at the start of the fall term."
They were actually ready for that, which made him happy. Daphne gave him a list of eight names of people that had approached them, and told him that they had already advised them about the texts.
Harry thought idly that Flourish and Blotts should give him a discount whenever he went there, given how much business he'd been floating their way. He accepted the list of names, and told them that he would get back to the three of them about what Poppy said.
After they left the classroom, Harry went to find Ron and Hermione, who seemed to be waiting for him. They decided to go for a walk around the lake, which was rather calming.
"So, what are your summer plans?" Harry asked them after nearly 30 minutes of silence.
"I'm going to talk to my parents," Hermione said quietly. "I want to see if I can convince them to relocate for a while. Britain isn't all that safe for them right now, and I don't want anything to happen to them."
Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders when her voice wavered. "Charlie and Bill are relocating back here at the start of the summer. If your parents don't want to leave, I'm sure Bill can help ward their house. It'll be as safe as he can make it," he promised, feeling her pain right then.
Harry watched the two of them with a bit of a smile. He wondered if he needed to change his bet with the twins. With the way things were shaping up, it seemed like his bet of Christmas break of their 6th year was too late. "What about you, Ron?" Harry asked, picking up a stone and skipping it across the lake. It was something that Hagrid had taught him a while back.
"I'm not sure. Mum and Dad are glad that the older two are back into the area. We're just worried about Percy right now," he finished with a dark scowl.
Harry fought one of his own. "What's going on with him right now?"
"I have no idea. I got an owl from him during Christmas, basically telling me that I needed to start listening to Fudge, and break ties with you and Dumbledore. I didn't bother to reply to it, and I don't think he expected me to."
Harry felt for his friend. He didn't have much blood family anymore, and couldn't imagine what it felt like to have them turn your backs on you. "Think he'll come around now?" He left it unsaid that he meant Hogsmeade.
Ron considered as he scuffed his feet along the trail. "I don't know. I hope so. Fudge is going to get some backlash from all of this. I mean, quite a few of those Death Eaters that were arrested were the ones that bought their way out of justice fifteen years ago. That's not going to look to great for him."
Harry nodded in understanding. Hermione picked up the conversation, talking about a few of the laws that she had looked up over the past few days, and how she thought the trials would go. Harry tried to follow her words, but his mind was wandering. He had quite a bit on his mind lately, and had no idea of where to start getting it figured out. Sirius was going to be giving him his first lesson in the Goblin language that night after supper, so he would try and get some of this figured out then.
His friends seemed to realize that he had a lot on his mind, so they switched to simpler topics. They all had a lot to think about, which was why most of that afternoon was spent in silence as they tried to think through their own issues.
They returned to the castle for dinner, which flew by, and before he knew it, Harry was knocking on Sirius's door.
"Come in," Sirius called, and nodded when Harry walked in. "Have a seat, kiddo," he said, coming around the desk to sit next to him.
"How's it going?" Harry asked, eyeing the never ending stack of papers on the desk.
"Busy," Sirius said with a sigh. "I feel bad for giving Minerva so much trouble over the years; I never realized just how much work she had to do."
Harry chuckled. "Do you really feel bad for creating so much mayhem with the Marauders?"
Sirius allowed a grin and inclined his head. "Granted. Still, though, this is a lot, and I don't know how she does it. Of course, this is always a crazy time for teachers, with so much to grade, and very little time to do it."
Harry felt bad. "We don't have to do this tonight, you know. I can just read the books, and we can start when we go home for the summer…"
"Stop," Sirius said firmly. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you that you come first, but I don't mind repeating it. Before we start with that, anything you want to talk about?"
Harry nodded, and told him about his frustrations with so many people wanting him to teach them various things, but there wasn't much time before the end of term. "We have less than a week before summer, and no one can use magic until fall term."
"Actually, that might not be true," Sirius interrupted.
Harry cocked his head slightly in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I've been working with a few other parents who are quite concerned about that very fact. This is a time where we need to be encouraging our kids to practice, learn to defend themselves. So, we're going to try and push a law through the Wizengamot that says that anyone who has passed their fourth year exams can use magic in the presence of an adult wizard."
Harry thought about that. "It does open the door to being abused. After all, it could mean that Malfoy can join his daddy's friends on the raids, but I agree. It could make things a lot easier for the vast majority of students that want to learn and help during the war." He paused, thinking about something else.
Sirius caught onto it. "What's up?"
Harry hesitated slightly, wondering what the reaction would be to his next request. "I have a meeting with the beginner DA tomorrow between lunch and dinner. After that, I was thinking about testing Ron and Hermione's Occlumency again. They've been doing really well with me lately, but I was wondering…" Harry took a breath to keep from rambling. "Would you test them for me? If they're ready, I'd like to tell them a few things before summer starts."
Sirius sat back, thinking about that. It was true, that Harry needed to talk to Ron and Hermione about a few things. He was proud of Harry for going through the necessary precautions on this. "That sounds like a smart idea. Where would you like to do this?"
Harry sagged in relief slightly. "I'll use the Room of Requirement after dinner. I'll have the Map and my Cloak in case our conversation lasts after curfew."
"Don't worry about that. They're both prefects. I'll make sure that you don't get in trouble if you're with them," Sirius replied. Then he grew more serious. "Are you ready? You've been keeping quite a few things from them for a while now. You telling them everything?"
Harry took a steadying breath. "I need to. I'll tell them about Shadowpaw, the prophecy, and the Horcruxes. They'll be able to decide whether or not they want to keep following me after they know everything. I just needed to wait for exams, and for them to have better shields, just in case."
Sirius nodded. "Harry, they've followed you through everything. This won't change their minds."
"Let's hope not."
Bit of a cliffie, but not as bad as a few that I've had before. Yes, Harry will finally be able to tell Ron and Hermione about quite a few things. I always had known that he would them eventually, because no, he doesn't want to, but he feels that he needs was another thing that I never understood with canon; Harry went through hell with the forced Occlumency lessons, and when it becomes well known that he's pants at it, Dumbledore tells him the prophecy, tells him that he can tell Ron and Hermione who don't know anything about the art, and then tells him all about the Horcruxes. Rather inconsistent, in my opinion.
I've had a few people commenting about how Harry seems to be handling things too well. He's suppressing it right now; he needs to brood over it for a while first. Everything will come out later, but he's growing, and hardening.