Chapter 53 – Harry Gets Laid Out

Harry was sent to the headmaster's office while Dumbledore and Professor Sprout supervised the moving of Justin and Sir Nicholas to the infirmary wing. Harry was almost curious enough to stick around and find out how they were going to move an incorporeal body but Dumbledore's tone left no room for argument. He wondered what he had ever done bad to get caught up again at exactly the wrong moment. It was very frustrating; if only those stupid potions hadn't come up missing from the Ministry.

'Harry, I'll meet you in Dumbledore's office. I'll be right along!'

'Thanks Hermione but no. If you don't mind, ask Ron or somebody else to escort you down to the second floor and warn Myrtle! Whatever killed her before can still hurt her or at least petrify her. Sir Nicholas looked totally horrified!'

'I'll go ask Ron or Neville then. Are you going to be ok?'

'I don't have much choice in the matter. I didn't do it but I was caught kneeling next to Justin's body. Listen in and help me if you can while I have another chat with Dumbledore.'

When Harry got to the entrance to the headmaster's office, the gargoyle sprung aside and Harry woodenly mounted the stairs and sank into the chair he usually occupied in front of the desk. 'What a mess' he thought to himself.

Harry looked around the office and finally spotted the sorting hat sitting alone on a chair in one of the corners. Harry stood up and went and picked up the magical item. He thought back to his own sorting; he had argued about being sorted into Slytherin and the hat had accommodated him. Harry wondered now if he had done the right thing; maybe he'd know more about the Heir of Slytherin and the Chamber of Secrets if the decision had gone the other way.

"The majority of the answers one most needs can be found within one's head rather than looking in someone else's." Harry turned around and saw that Dumbledore, McGonagall and Professor Burbage had entered the office and were standing together and watching him. Harry put the sorting hat down and retreated back to his seat. "I didn't do it." It wasn't much but Harry felt he had to say it anyway.

"No one had accused you of anything Mr. Potter" came from Professor McGonagall.

"Cedric Diggory did." Harry's voice was flat and unemotional.

"His was just a reaction to the scene he found you all in." Dumbledore's statement was interrupted as Fawkes flamed into the room and flew to his perch. About ten seconds later the headmaster's floo flared up and a large man emerged from the flames and looked around. He nodded to Dumbledore and started the introductions. "My name is Gawain Robards. I was summoned by the Ministry of Magic to investigate the problem that was reported."

'Hermione? An auror just flooed in here to investigate what happened to Justin and Sir Nicholas. There's no need to come down here. I'll be up after all the interrogations and such are done.'

'I'll be waiting up no matter how long it takes. I know you didn't do it.'

'Thanks Hermione. If you don't mind listening in you can get everyone's testimony- at least while I'm in the room.'

Hermione Granger put her bookbag down by her seat and settled in for a long evening of anxious waiting. She and Neville had made a quick trip down to Myrtles' bathroom to warn the ghost of what had happened to Sir Nicholas. The girl had gotten startled and immediately dived into one of the toilet bowls and disappeared.

Hermione opened a book but was really 'observing' the headmaster's office as Professor Sprout and then Cedric Diggory arrived and started telling Auror Robards what they had seen that evening.

Xxxx xxxx

It was after midnight when Harry reluctantly woke up Lady Nelson and passed into the Gryffindor common room. He heard something heavy hit the floor and then Hermione was in his arms and holding him close.

"That was horrible. I thought Auror Robards was going to haul you away to the Ministry for more questioning."

"Dumbledore wasn't going to let that happen especially after the 'Prior Incantato' spell was performed on both my wands and proved I hadn't cast any major spells. A good bit of talking by the headmaster kept me out of trouble for having two wands but Robards seemed to understand finally."

"You must be exhausted Harry. All that talking about Sir Nicholas's and Justin's condition by Madame Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick."

"Dumbledore and Professor Sprout are still trying to understand why Justin was out and wandering the corridors. He evidently said something about needing to get something out of the kitchens to one of his dorm mates. Cedric went and found Professor Sprout when he overheard a compulsion being mentioned from Justin's friends. They were searching for him when they found us all together."

"Poor Justin!"

"Another muggle-born attacked even though he had some magic in his background. I guess I'm having a hard time understanding why people are being paralyzed instead of killed outright. We know the monster killed Myrtle the last time around; why isn't he killing now? I'm not complaining but I'd like to understand the difference."

"Me too. I've been wracking my brain all evening trying to see a pattern here. The only thing I've come up with is that somebody is trying to frame you for all this and either have you expelled or killed."

"That's what I've come up with also. Thank Merlin I don't have to leave this tower until we leave for the train Monday; I'll arrange with Patchum to have my meals sent up here."

"Don't do that Harry. I'll go to meals with you."

"Thank you but I'm staying up here. There's no need for both of us to be exiled over the weekend. Don't look at me like that; I'm not trying to forbid you to stick around with me but Madame Pince will be up here in a minute if you fail to show up in the library!"

Hermione laughed. "I guess she could learn to do without me for a few days but I understand your concern. You'd best get to bed and try to get some sleep. You've had a difficult day Harry. We'll work on our homework tomorrow."

"Good night then gracious lady." Hermione curtseyed in return but reached for Harry's hand and pressed it to her chest.

"The heart that beats here will always be yours. Never forget how much I care for you" Hermione squeezed Harry's hand and pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss. She hurried back to get her bookbag and then headed up the stairs with a final wave to her boyfriend.

Xxxx xxxx

Harry steadfastly refused all offers of company and going out of the tower for breakfast and lunch the next day. He allowed Hermione to come in and talk and eat breakfast with him but insisted she go and have a normal Friday without him. Hermione left only because she saw how upset Harry was getting about being dragged out in public.

Hermione came back to Harry's dorm room about 4 that afternoon. She sat up on the corner of his bed and calmly ask him if would go with her to supper in the Great Hall. When he declined Hermione brought her wand out from her pocket and cast a 'Petrificus Totalus' on him before he could react. The full body bind spell snapped his limbs rigid and he could only start yelling at his friend about not being fair.

Hermione then cast a silencing spell on Harry and then calmly went back and opened the door to his room. Neville, Ron, Fred and George walked in and picked up the spell bound boy and carried him downstairs. Harry's mouth was moving but all the people that he passed on the stairway could not hear a peep out of him.

Harry was carried to the middle of a full common room and set carefully on his feet. He finally stopped trying to talk because of the spell that was on him. He was almost ready to reach out for Hermione magically and use the bond magic to break the spells but then he was turned around. To see Professor McGonagall sitting directly in front of him in a chair; and she did not look very friendly!

"If you won't listen to your friends, then you will stand there and listen to me Mr. Potter. Thank you gentlemen for your assistance. Miss Granger, nice spellwork." Harry felt the four who had dragged him out of his bed withdraw but Hermione stood beside him to make sure he wouldn't topple over.

"I'm going to cancel the spells holding you Mr. Potter but do not think you will escape from what I have to tell you." Professor McGonagall made a brief pass with her wand and Harry sagged a little as the stiffness left his legs. Harry sheepishly asked if he could be permitted to sit but McGonagall just shook her head no.

"You are guilty Mr. Potter." There was a gasp from every person who had crowded into the common room when they heard that Harry had been forcibly removed from his room.

"You are guilty Mr. Potter, not of the regrettable incident with Mr. Finch-Fletchley last night but of abusing something very important; the friendship, trust, and loyalty of your friends, dorm mates and housemates. Hiding away from everyone because you want to 'spare' everyone the embarrassment of your company is at least dishonest and implies a solid lack of confidence on your part. Without even a peep to defend yourself from some vague accusations that you know are patently false shows a singular absence of courage which EVERYONE present knows you have an abundant quantity of. Your failure to appear in the school today only lends credence to the supposition that you were caught in the act and are being punished. That is not acceptable to me, your friends, this house or the headmaster! It should not be acceptable to you."

"Mr. Potter, it is your character that draws friends and supporters that hold you dear to their hearts. It is also your decisions and actions that help define your place in the world. Your friends didn't abandon you in this time of troubles. You abandoned them without even allowing them the opportunity or decision to stand by and support you. That decision on your part was woefully misguided. That is not the way that a Gryffindor should think of themselves or act toward their friends. Is that understood Mr. Potter?"

Harry's shoulders had slumped as he heard the words coming from the witch he very much respected. He raised his head up at the end and almost everyone could see the tracks of the tears that ran down his cheeks. "Yes Professor McGonagall. I can see the point and didn't realize what I was doing. I appreciate my friends 'help' in assisting me to come down and listen to you."

"You may sit down now Mr. Potter." The rest of the students started moving away but the voice from the center of the room froze them in their tracks. "AND listen while I finish telling the REST of your housemates what else I think!"

"That little dialogue was intended for Mr. Potter but I hope the rest of you heard the message in it and take it to heart. No one should be alone here. You are all Gryffindors and supposedly the bravest of the four houses. Bravery is all well and good but it is not everything. One should have the wisdom to judge when to be brave. One should also have the capacity for compassion and understanding or at least appreciating the individual personalities and problems of those around you. And except for a handful of students that came to me at lunchtime today with a certain problem, the rest of you are seriously lacking in that area. You have certainly lauded and laughed at the accomplishments of one Harry Potter when he was in the spotlight for your benefit but did one of you think to stand up and try to defend him in the halls today? Are there Lions and Lionesses in this room or sheep that are led by others fears and opinions? In case you haven't noticed it yet, Mr. Potter does not want or seek out any attention for himself. That is not quite the same as not desiring friends who care or other people who might understand him. Unfortunately it is Mr. Potter that we have an example of now now but take a look around this room and think about what you could really say about the young man or young lady that is standing next to you. Do you have the wisdom and compassion to be brave enough to really know them? Have you not a lick of sense when it comes to Harry?"

Professor McGonagall stood up from her chair and took a step closer to peer down at Harry. "Mr. Potter, Harry…perhaps as a way of apologizing to your dorm mates and other friends for your errant behavior, you could perform some … Christmas music for everyone tonight? About seven thirty? And maybe convince some other people, like Miss Granger, to participate?"

Harry brightened up then and spoke up. "That seems like the least I could do for the people that I've wronged here."

"PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!" came the excited voices from George and Fred. Harry laughed and looked around at the smiling faces in the room.

He turned back to Professor McGonagall and made a little bow. "Thank you ma'am. I certainly deserved that reminder."

Harry was surprised to see Minerva McGonagall wink at him quickly. "I'm only paying off on an old debt to a couple of friends named Potter. I trust Albus and I will see you in the Great Hall for supper?"

Harry laughed easily at that remark. "Wild hippogriffs couldn't keep me and my friends away."

Professor McGonagall nodded once and then hurried toward the exit portal. Harry scratched his head a little distractively as he was surrounded by a bunch of his housemates. Harry felt a pinch to his butt and turned to find Hermione smiling at him!

Xxxx xxxx

The hastily organized Christmas concert that evening lasted well over an hour between Harry, Hermione, and few other Gryffindors that could be talked, cajoled or otherwise threatened into performing.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall claimed some of the front row seats and seemed to have a decent time in socializing with the students who were brave enough to come up and make conversation. Professor Flitwick appeared and surprised Harry by thanking him for alerting the headmaster of the situation with Justin and Sir Nicholas. He also stood up on his chair once and made a public statement that said he didn't believe Harry had anything to do with the attack on his house member. That led into a round of applause that was directed at both Professor Flitwick and Harry.

Harry took a request from the diminutive professor and sang a wonderful rendition of 'Adeste Fideles' in Latin that had the professor smiling as a full organ seemed to fill in Harry's voice and the chorus. Harry took time with his mandolin to play some traditional favorites and even consented to sing one or two slow songs so that a few older couples could dance together. He finally relented and sang 'Blue Christmas' for Hermione with a slight Elvis tone in his voice. She gave him a kiss on the cheek after he finished and they both received some catcalls and whistles from the gallery.

The concert finally wound down and the students drifted back to their dorms and the professors gave everyone their thanks and wandered back to their respective rooms. Harry found himself sitting with the twins, Ron and Hermione.

"I want to thank you all for the ride earlier but a simple sign that said 'Harry's being a git' might have worked."

Ron laughed. "That would have been way too subtle for you today. You got yourself in a horrible place and wouldn't let anybody in."

"Including me" said Hermione flatly. Everybody saw Harry visibly wince and he tried apologizing immediately. Hermione held her hand up and Harry dutifully became quiet. "The groveling and apologizing can begin tomorrow; I will have to think of something truly dreadful for you to do."

Harry immediately turned to the Weasley's. "No fair helping her either."

"No need to do that mate" Ron said as he stood up. "She's quite diabolical enough by herself. She's the one who went and talked to McGonagall after you refused her company at lunch!"

Ron, Fred and George left Harry squirming in his seat as Hermione glared at him. Hermione wished them a good evening and said that the remnants of Harry would be up in a bit. The twins bowed to Hermione and waved as they ascended the boys' stairway.

"And now what do you have to say for yourself Harry?"

Harry looked across the space to where his girlfriend sat. "I'm sorry and thank you."

"Anything else?"

"I seem to stick my size seven boot into it every time I open my mouth so I'll just sit here and you can tell me how much I've screwed up." Harry closed his eyes and waited for whatever came next.

He was surprised when a weight slowly settled into his lap and he opened his eyes to see Hermione snuggled up close to him. "I did pay attention when you said no jumping; I don't want to possibly hurt anything I might really want to play with in a year or two."

Harry smiled and lowered his head so that he was speaking close to Hermione's ear. "Thanks for the intervention then."

"You were cutting yourself off from everyone and I was a little scared that your bad mood might switch off our bond, even accidentally. Please don't keep me out of things; no matter how good or how bad. There's that couple thing – perhaps you've heard of it? We do things together and help each other."

"Well I do know one thing that I am looking forward to doing together with you. I was either singing or playing through the slow dances this evening and couldn't ask the prettiest witch here for a dance. I'll want a rain check for a few of those until we're at your parents."

"Mr. Potter, aren't you forgetting something?"

Harry had a panicked look on his face as Hermione pulled him to his feet. "Again? No, what have I forgotten this time?"

"That you, Mr. Potter, are an extraordinary wizard." Hermione kissed him on the end of his nose. 'And we can make music anytime you want!'

Harry pulled the slim witch into a closer embrace and the sounds of a soft violin filled the air of the Gryffindor common room. A young couple danced together and smiled as the lights dimmed around them.

Xxxxx xxx

The rest of the weekend went as normal for Harry and Hermione as they could possibly want. Other than most students staring at Harry and getting hurriedly out of his way as he walked through school, it was a pretty good time to be at Hogwarts. The blizzard blew out on Saturday and snowball fights and sledding regained a place in the students life's again. Harry made himself seen in a lot of different area and didn't flinch from anyone's stare or whispered look.

Monday morning came and everyone rode down in carriages from the school to the railroad station. Neville who, with Susan Bones, had rode with Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna said that there were a larger number of students heading home for the holidays than what had gone the previous year.

Luna took a look around at the crowd and promptly stated that it was due to "an abnormal absence of waltints around the school that made everyone more homesick than normal."

Harry grinned at Susan's look at astonishment but helped Hermione mount the steps to one of the passenger cars. The six quickly found an empty compartment and settled in for a nice comfortable ride to Kings Cross.

(A/N. I had no idea when I started this chapter that Minerva would tap me on the shoulder and ask for a chance to speak. We're going to jump ahead a bit in the calendar and story. If anyone cares what Harry and Hermione did during their holiday together, I'll start putting up A Very Granger Christmas in a few weeks if I can get to it. And now back to our tale – Captain Compass)