Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

Harry Slithers-in: Not the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 11: Death at the MoM

Harry looked out the window. He was relieved to see the newcomers were Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Hagrid opened the door and let them in.

"Make yerselves at home an' I'll make some more tea," Hagrid said. Ron sat next to Harry and Hermione sat on his other side. Fang, you until now had been lolling at Tracey's feet, now started using Hermione's lap as a headrest.

"You two don't seem too surprised at Hagrid's appearance," Harry said.

"We came down last night," Ron explained.

"Ron wanted to boast about his Quidditch debut," Hermione added.

"Here yer go," Hagrid as he placed two cups of tea on the table. "Harry an' Tracey were askin' abou' my holiday on the continent."

"We had just heard about the aftermath of Golgomath's takeover," Tracey said.

"So you haven't heard what happened next?" asked Hermione.

"Righ' abou' that. Turns out Golgomath did like some humans, jus' not us."

Harry thought it inappropriate to point out that neither Hagrid nor Madame Maxime were wholly human but he was more interested in what happened next, although had a fairly good idea of what it would be.

"A couple' o' people were visitin' him every day an' I'm pretty certain they was Death-eaters. One o' them looked like he was in charge of negotiatin' an alliance an' Golgomath seemed interested in what he was sayin'. At least he weren' danglin' them upside down.

"So we sneaked back into the camp and talked one o' the giants who had supported Karkus an' was still alive, there weren' many o' them either. He told us they were from some guy named The Dark Lord an' I realised he must mean You-Know Who.

"We crept back to our cave an' watched for a couple o' days. We thought we'd identified a coupla' giants who might help us but then Golgomath sent out his friends an' they attacked all those who might've helped us. There weren' many survivors after that and the few who did survive were badly beat up so we left."

"So there won't be any giants joining our side," Ron said, sounding disappointed.

"Well, there might still be a chance, if some o' them decide to leave Golgomath's rule," Hagrid said.

"Do you think that might happen?" Tracey asked.

"Yer never know." Harry thought Hagrid was up to something but decided not to press the issue.

The four of them left the hut together and returned to the castle. Along the way they discussed what Hagrid had said and Harry realised both Hermione and Tracey were thinking along the same lines he had been; that Hagrid was still trying to convince some giants to join them and his injuries were as a result of his so far unsuccessful attempts. They were concerned there might be giants nearby and this could be a potential source of trouble but felt for now they should keep their suspicions to themselves.

In the Great Hall Harry and Tracey sat down to eat when Pansy asked them, "What were you doing with those Gryffindors?"

"We're all prefects so we were discussing our duties," Tracey explained. "Also, Hagrid's back and we were talking to him."

"So that oaf's back?" Draco asked. "I guess that means Care of Magical Creatures is going to go downhill again."

Harry was about to speak but Tracey cut him off. "Hagrid has got a new creature for you to study. He wouldn't tell us what it was but, looking at his face," Tracey nodded to the main entrance where Hagrid had just entered the Hall, "I think you might have some exciting lessons coming up."

Pansy and Draco both went very pale when they saw Hagrid's face, although they were by no means the only ones. The buzz of conversation around the hall stopped suddenly and, when it restarted, it was obvious there was only one topic.

Harry looked Tracey in the eye and said, "You're evil; you know that?" Tracey smiled mischievously.

After classes the next day Pansy and Draco approached Harry and Tracey. They had obviously had Care of Magical Creatures that day and did not look pleased.

"You lied to us Davis," Pansy snarled. "We were working with unicorns, the same as last week."

"Those Gryffindors knew that, too. I do not appreciate being made to look stupid in front of a Weasley," Draco added.

"I wasn't aware Ron and Hermione knew what the lesson was about," Tracey said, trying to sound innocent. "I certainly didn't intend for you to take it seriously and I had no idea what creatures you've been studying. Anyway, something did that to Hagrid and I was worried he might have brought the creature concerned back from his holiday." Pansy and Draco stalked away in a huff.

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The final week of the school term arrived with the teachers issuing record amounts of homework to the 5th years. By the last day of the term Harry wondered if he had enough time over the holiday to actually do it all. All the 5th years were grumbling about the work but Professor Snape made it clear he approved of the workload.

"Need I remind you again," he began, "that, less than six months, you will be sitting a series of examinations that will have a major influence on your futures after you leave Hogwarts. Many careers, and indeed many subjects, require a minimum level of competency before you will be allowed into them. That means continually reviewing your work and taking every opportunity to test you. Of course, if you wish to do badly and spend your working life as a garbage person, you may 'relax'. I shall be most displeased if any of you do take that course of action, however."

Harry would be spending Christmas at Hogwarts. He and Tracey would be leaving on Boxing Day to return to Tracey's house where they would be able to study Occlumency without drawing attention to what they were doing. Saturday's Daily Prophet, however, contained a surprise that changed their plans. The headline read "Murder at the Ministry of Magic."

Shocked, Harry began reading the article. 'The Daily Prophet can now confirm that a body was found inside the Ministry of Magic yesterday morning. The deceased' name was Sturgis Podmore, a man who was banned from the Ministry of Magic in September after he was caught standing outside the door to the Department of Mysteries without having any legitimate reason for being there.

'Mr. Podmore was found dead with injuries consistent with being attacked by a snake which could not have entered the building without human assistance. This led to Madam Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement launching a murder investigation.

'One of the things the inquiry will surely focus on is what Mr. Podmore was doing at the Ministry along with how he was able to get past security despite them being aware he was banned from the premises. Madam Bones declined to comment on this speculation saying as it was a criminal investigation such speculation would serve no purpose.'

The article itself was alarming, largely because Harry knew Voldemort had a large snake which he would occasionally send on missions that required stealth. Sirius had mentioned this in a letter he had sent to Harry several months ago. Harry was about to mention this to Tracey when Professor Snape arrived.

"Potter, the Headmaster would like a word. When you finish eating I will escort you to his office."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied.

After breakfast Harry told Tracey he would be back as soon as possible. He followed Snape to the gargoyle where Snape gave the password and led him to Dumbledore's office where they knocked and entered.

"Good morning, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Please, take a seat."

"Does this have anything to do with the Daily Prophet story?" Harry asked as he sat down.

"Why would you think that story has anything to do with you?" Snape asked, sounding suspicious.

"Voldemort has a snake and that man appears to have been killed by one."

"Harry," Dumbledore said, "Although you are correct in saying Voldemort has a snake and I do believe it is the same snake that killed Mr. Podmore that has nothing to do with me inviting you to my office. The reason for it was I was wondering if you would be continuing your Occlumency lessons with Professor Malfoy over the Christmas break."

"I will be, but you could have asked me that in the Great Hall. That doesn't explain why you invited me here."

"I am happy to hear that. Of course you are correct I could have asked you that earlier but there is a matter I could not talk about earlier." Dumbledore paused for a moment studying Harry. For his part Harry made sure to not let Dumbledore see into is mind. Snape excused himself leaving Harry alone with Dumbledore.

"What the Daily Prophet did not say is that Mr. Podmore was at the Ministry on my instruction, aided in doing so by several Ministry employees so as to ensure the wrong people did not find out this fact. Harry, inside the Department of Mysteries is the Hall of Prophecy, and in it is a copy of every prophecy ever made and officially recorded. This includes the one concerning you and Lord Voldemort."

"There is a prophecy about me and Voldemort?" Harry asked, startled.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "The original prophecy was made to me by a person I have grown to trust, although not necessarily as a seer. Having said that she does have a number of successful predictions to her name even if the majority of them are very general.

"The prophecy concerning you and Voldemort basically says that a person, later identified as you, will have the power to defeat him once and for all. Voldemort heard part of the prophecy from a spy and thought that if you killed you he could never be defeated. This is not correct. If he had heard the full prophecy he would most likely never have gone near you. After Christmas I will share with you the full prophecy. I am satisfied your skills in Occlumency are of a sufficient standard that Voldemort will be unable to find out the contents from you and I now know you have the right to know the full truth."

"When you let me hear the prophecy can I bring someone with me?" Harry asked.

"You may do so, however that person will need to be skilled in Occlumency since it is preferable that only those who need to know are aware of its contents. I assume you are referring to Tracey Davis?"

"Yes, sir. I trust Tracey completely and I know she is at least as good at Occlumency as I am."

"Very well. Early in the new term I will contact you. The note will include the password to my office and the time at which you are to come. Bring Miss. Davis but do not inform anyone else of the reason for your visit. I will also let Sirius know and will invite him to come along. Sirius already knows of the prophecy and has a general idea of its contents but he does not know the full wording; nor, in fact, does anybody other than myself," Dumbledore said.

"Does that mean even the seer doesn't know the content?" Harry asked, surprised.

"No; she does not, nor do I think she would react well to this knowledge. I believe it is best for her own safety that she remain unaware of the contents."

Harry looked closely at Dumbledore but was unable to learn any further information. Apparently Dumbledore was also skilled in Occlumency. Harry broke eye contact. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes. Enjoy your holiday, Harry," Dumbledore said. Harry left the office.

By the time Harry returned to the Common Room most students were preparing to leave. He didn't tell anybody about his conversation with Dumbledore had been about but he mentioned it had nothing to do with any rule breaches he may have been guilty of. This didn't entirely satisfy his classmates but nobody asked for any more information. Later that day he told Tracey what his meeting with Dumbledore had been about and added she was welcome to come with him to the meeting in the New Year.