Chapter 23
Thursday, 18 June 1996
Hogwarts, Scotland
Harry set down his quill when time was called. His last OWL, History of Magic, was done. The previous two weeks had been… not as bad as he'd thought. Having Katie and Hermione helping him study, and a library of his own, had really helped. The only thing he thought he'd done quite poorly on was Divination, which neither girl studied. He packed his quill and ink away, and collected his parchment.
As he turned his test in, Harry reflected that he'd most certainly done the best on his Defence OWL. Between a natural talent for the subject, Sirius as a professor for most of the year, and the extra tuition provided by the Young Auror Program, he'd really nailed it. Charms and Transfiguration had both gone extremely well, also. Potions, surprisingly, had also been fairly easy, thanks to Auror Hammer's tuition. The few months since she'd taken over from Snape, his knowledge and confidence in the subject had grown by leaps and bounds. Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, and now History of Magic had all also gone well, though perhaps not quite as well as his wanded subjects, though, Harry supposed, he'd find out how true that was when grades were returned. He stepped out of the Great Hall rather pleased with himself. His mood was only improved when he saw Katie standing there waiting for him.
"How does it feel to be done with OWLs?" she asked with a genuine smile.
"Bloody fantastic," Harry swore casually, smiling back.
"Mr. Potter, language," McGonagall said as she approached them.
"Sorry, Professor," Harry said sheepishly.
"I'm glad I found you together," McGonagall said, ignoring Harry's apology. "I have an issue to raise with you both." She pulled them over to a quiet corner of the entry hall. "There's the matter of the quidditch team. Miss Johnson was captain this year, but she's graduating. Her opinion is that I name Mr. Potter captain. I'm hesitant to do so without your opinion, Miss Bell. You are senior."
"I don't want it," Harry said quickly.
"Pardon me?" McGonagall asked, slightly shocked.
"I'd be rubbish," Harry elaborated. "I don't know the first thing about quidditch, really. I know see snitch, catch snitch. That's it. Katie'd be a much better choice for captain."
"No, I wouldn't," Katie countered. "To get a good team, you should really have someone who can be captain for a few years, to shape the team. Angelina would've had two, if it hadn't been for the Triwizard Tournament last year. If you were it, you could have two years to helm the team, and rebuild it."
"But I don't know anything about the other positions," Harry protested.
"What about the other players?" McGonagall asked, resigned that the two senior players didn't want the job.
"Ron'd be next," Katie said hesitantly.
"He's got the strategic mind for it," Harry allowed, "but I'm not sure he's got the temperament. He hasn't spent much time with the team outside of practice, I don't know how much of the chasers' or beaters' tactics he knows, and he's not the best student already. I'd hate to pile this on top of that. If you were asking me," he said, turning to McGonagall, "I'd say give it to Ginny."
"That's perfect!" Katie gasped. "She's had training as a chaser and seeker, and she's seen how Angelina is with the chaser line. She's quite good, and she'd have three years to put her stamp on the team, which is better than two."
"I'd have no problem following her lead," Harry added.
"Nor me," Katie agreed. "You should give it to Ginny, Professor."
"Miss Weasley is only a reserve player," McGonagall wavered.
"If they allowed a chaser line of four, she'd've been a starter," Katie told her. "She's as good as I am, she just didn't have the seniority this year. She'll be a starter next year for sure, even if she doesn't get the captaincy."
"Very well," McGonagall said, still sounding unsure. "I'll consider Miss Weasley."
"You'll not be disappointed," Katie said, sure of herself.
-oooo-
The rest of the month seemed to fly by. With the OWLs done, classes were mostly light-hearted, with little revision. McGonagall showed them neat, but ultimately useless bits of transfiguration involving various types of clothes, and Flitwick demonstrated hair care and other vanity charms. Harry recognized the one Malfoy had used prior to the assault resulting in his legal troubles.
During the last week of term, Harry had talked with McGonagall about his NEWT courses. Barring a disqualifying OLW score, which was unlikely, he planned on continuing all the wanded subjects, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures. He'd elected not to continue Divination, or History. To fill the time, he had received permission to begin independent study in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, which he was excited about. If he worked hard, he'd be able to sit the OWLs for those subjects when he sat the NEWTs for the rest.
The leaving feast saw Ravenclaw win the House Cup, and Gryffindor (of course) taking the Quidditch Cup. The celebration that night after the feast was muted, with only the team in attendance.
The next morning, 26, June, Harry left his trunk after breakfast, met Katie in the common room, and headed down to the Hogwarts Express. The elves would pop the trunks down to the station, where the students collected them for the ride home. None of the students with manor trunks needed to take the train, Harry understood. They could've just stayed in their trunks and had the elves pop their trunks home, but there was tradition to be observed, and it was a nice way to spend several hours, luxuriating in having nothing particular to do.
The first thing Harry realized when he entered one of the compartments was that he'd become entirely too used to his private train and the amenities it provided. The compartment on the Express was cramped by comparison, and so the first four friends to arrive got spots. Those friends were Hermione and Justin and Neville and Hannah. The twins, Lee, and their girlfriends all took the next compartment over.
Ron whinged about how unfair it was and took the next compartment down, sitting with Vicki. They weren't dating yet, but they were friendly, something that Harry could tell irked Lavender, who spent far too much time looking at Ron, in Harry's opinion. He'd actually considered telling Lavender how small Ron was, but then he'd realized that she, of all people, should know Ron's size, which left him perplexed as to what she saw in the redhead. Ron ended up saddled with Demelza, Jimmy, Jimmy's friend Richie Cootes, and Luna.
Susan and many of the rest of the Hufflepuff fifth years took the compartment on the other side of Harry from the twins. Also close by were the Slytherin 'outcasts' who were friends with Harry, which now also included Millie, Ginny and her new boyfriend Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Padma, and Lavender.
Harry was deep in a discussion with Katie and Hermione about what to expect studying ancient runes when the train began moving. The conversation slowly shifted to arithmancy, and then to summer plans.
Hermione's family was vacationing in France for a few weeks that summer, and Justin was invited along. It had taken a long time for Hermione to fully forgive the boy for his faux pas, but it was now far behind them, and they seemed to be going strong. Harry thought she might be feeling a little guilt over the trip to Eden, but he didn't know for sure.
Neville and Hannah weren't planning on going anywhere, but they did plan to see quite a bit of each other. Neville took the opportunity to ask Harry for some help in planning the rest of his trunks, as he fully intended to acquire more. He wanted some expert input on what sorts of things were needed. Harry promised to help him, though, in truth, it wasn't hard. The planning was mostly in one's head, and the actual agriculture was handled by the elves. Planting in the temperate zones had occurred in March, and the first harvest in the tropical zones were already far behind them, but Harry had barely noticed.
Now, when he took the train anywhere in Pottershire, Harry noticed elves in the fields working. Depending on what he was doing, he'd occasionally stop, and help them for a bit, learning the elves names, and a bit about them and their families. He'd also pick up tips on how to tend the crops, or tricks to make things go easier. Neville decided that that was something he'd start doing as well, though he didn't have nearly the staff that Harry did, though he was working hard to change that.
Right after the trolley lady passed, Harry felt the train grind to a halt, and Hermione was thrown across the aisle into Justin's lap by the change in momentum. As Justin picked her up off the floor, Harry peered out the window, trying to discern a reason for the stoppage. Suddenly, his blood ran cold.
Outside, about twenty meters from the train, were two dozen masked Death Eaters and a dozen dementors. Harry could feel a nearly electric jolt as wards dropped into existence around them. Then the Death Eaters started to move.
"Fuck!" Harry cursed. He had to think fast. Running out into the corridor, he called out, "Dobby! Winky! Orym!" The three house elves popped into the corridor. Without waiting for them to acknowledge him, he started giving orders. "There are 25 Death Eaters and a dozen dementors attacking the train. Dobby, I need you to go to the Ministry and tell Madam Bones. Tell her to bring reinforcements. One of the Middleshire trunks will be on the train, and she can use that to get here. Got it?" Dobby nodded and popped away.
"Orym," Harry continued, turning to the next elf. "Can you pop through anti-apparition wards with people?"
"Yes, Harry," the elf nodded.
"We need to get every student off this train and onto Platform 9¾ at King's Cross Station in London, right bloody now. The trolley lady and driver too. I need you to pop them through the wards. Go and gather other elves to help, but we need to hurry! Go!" Orym nodded and was gone in an instant.
"Winky," Harry continued, turning to the littlest elf. "I need you to go to the Black House at Grimmauld Place and grab the Middleshire trunk, and take it to Madam Bones at the Ministry. Then I need you to get the spare Middleshire trunk, and bring it here. Put it in this compartment." He pointed to his compartment. Winky also nodded and left. Harry turned back into the compartment, and started hearing muted pops throughout the carriage.
He opened the door and saw that Neville and Hannah were already gone. Just then, two elves appeared, grabbed Hermione and Justin and popped out with them before they even had time to protest.
"They're going to Platform 9¾," Harry informed her, crossing to the window. Just then, Winky popped in behind him, depositing a trunk on the floor of the compartment, then waited. "Thanks, Winky. You can help Orym with the evacuation. Stay safe," he said as he glanced out the window. He heard her pop away. The Death Eaters had reached the train, and were climbing aboard. The dementors were hovering around the outside. Harry suspected they were supposed to prevent escapes. Turning around, he saw that Winky and Katie were both gone.
He moved back to the door and poked his head out, then quickly retracted it. There were three Death Eaters moving down the corridor. Fortunately, they were looking in the compartments, and hadn't seen him. Harry felt his stomach drop and his bowels loosen as he pressed himself against the wall separating him from the corridor. Fortunately, he was able to control himself, remembered what Moody said, and perked up his ears. Because of his position, he could also see fairly far down the corridor in the opposite direction, and could tell they were the only threat in the car.
"Where the fuck are they?" one of the Death Eaters asked. Harry did wait for a response, but pulled his wand and dove into the corridor. As he entered the danger zone, he was looking down the passage. The men's wands were pointed at the ground, and they weren't looking at him. One was peeping into one of the compartments, and another was looking out the window.
"Bombarda Maxima!" he roared even before he hit the floor. The ball of white light left his wand true, catching the Death Eaters off guard. He struck the first in the chest, and he disintegrated. Behind him, the other two Death Eaters were knocked to the ground and covered in blood, bone, and gore.
"Confringo!" Harry cast, aiming lower. The blasting curse left his wand as the second Death Eater sat up, shaking his head to clear it. The bright orange spell took his head right off in a second fiery explosion.
The third Death Eater was already rising as the second body fell. He cast a bright purple spell at Harry who deflected it with his wand using a technique he'd learned just a few months prior in Young Aurors, and quickly countered.
"Diffindo!" Harry yelled, running on pure adrenalin and his Young Aurors training. "Diffindo! Diffindo!" The three red spells raced toward the Death Eater who defended with a shield charm. Harry didn't let that stop him. "Bombarda Maxima!" he cast again, then, "Diffindo! Diffindo!" The white spell shattered the shield and knocked the Death Eater back, but he'd been prepared to receive the attack and remained on his feet. The two severing charms gouged a deep cut into his chest and severed his arm. The man dropped to the floor with a thunk and started bleeding out. Harry hurried down the corridor and sent a final severing charm at his neck, to ensure he wouldn't get back up.
Quickly checking behind him again, he went to the door between the carriages and peeked through. He saw another three Death Eaters in that carriage, moving away from him.
"Harry!" came a shout from behind. He turned around and saw Tonks running down the corridor in her Auror uniform, wand out. He quickly moved out of the doorway, putting a solid wall between himself and the Death Eaters in the next carriage. Behind her were Shacklebolt, Hammer, and a dozen other Aurors.
"The students should be gone to King's Cross by now," Harry reported. "There were about 25 Death Eaters. They're now mostly aboard the train, I think. I got three of them. There's also about a dozen dementors floating about outside. I think they're there to ensure everyone stays on the train." Harry looked around. It looked like Valentine's Day and Halloween had exploded in the corridor. The walls were so coated with blood as to look painted red. The windows were likewise tinted red with blood, casting an eerie pal over the corridor. The floor was so littered with body parts that Harry didn't know where he could step without stepping on someone. When he'd passed them the first time, survival had been his only concern. Now, though, the cavalry was here, and he could relax a bit.
"Good report," Shacklebolt acknowledged, stepping gingerly over a body with a silver mask next to it on the floor. "You did a good job. Now, let us handle it from here. Get to King's Cross and wait with the rest. We'll debrief you when we're done."
"OK," Harry agreed. "Be careful." He stepped into a compartment to let them pass. It was empty, of course. "Dobby!" The elf popped in immediately. "Take me to King's Cross." Dobby grabbed his hand and they were gone.
"Harry!" Katie cried the instant after Dobby dropped him off at Platform 9¾. The platform was packed with students milling about. "What took you so long?" She wrapped him up in a desperate hug.
"Had to hold the carriage long enough for reinforcements to arrive," Harry shrugged. "It took longer than I thought it would for the Aurors to get there."
"What!?" Katie shouted. She looked him over, appearing sceptical that he didn't look worse for wear.
"When Winky left with you, the Death Eaters were already boarding the train," Harry shrugged. "If I hadn't slowed them up, then they would've been standing around waiting for Tonks to pop her head out of the trunk and offed her. Couldn't have that."
"Harry," Katie growled.
"There were only three of them," Harry protested.
"Three!?" Katie asked, shocked.
"I got the drop on 'em," Harry reported. "Took out the first one with a bombarda maxima, and the second with a confringo. The third was a little harder. I had to deflect a spell, and bust his shield, but he died too. I was about to go after some more in another carriage when Tonks and the rest showed up. That reminds me… Orym!" The older elf popped in.
"Good work getting everyone out," Harry commended him. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"Train driver was hurt, but Gibby and Rolly took care of bad man who hurt him and brought him here," Orym reported, pointing to a man propped up against a wall. The trolley lady was tending to him.
"No elves hurt?" Harry clarified. "No students?"
"No," Orym said adamantly. "Elves is quick. Quicker than bad men."
"I'm glad," Harry said. "When it's safe, can you and the rest of the elves go back to the train and bring everyone's luggage here? I'd hate for people to be stuck here for hours because they don't have their trunks and whatnot." Orym nodded and popped away.
Harry took a frustrated but grateful Katie's hand, and led her over to the train driver and trolley lady. The train driver was older, with jean overalls and a dirty button-down shirt caked in blood. He was chatting with the woman as she held a cloth to his head.
"Are you gonna be alright?" Harry asked, crouching down.
"Blimey," the man exclaimed. "You're Harry Potter!"
"Yep," Harry agreed with a grin. "And you're the train driver."
"Burt Townshend," the man informed him. "A real pleasure." He shook Harry's hand.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Harry asked the trolley lady.
"I'm no healer," the lady prefaced, "but I'd imagine so."
"Just a bump on the noggin," Burt said casually. "Some bleedin' Death Eater had me at wandpoint and told me to stop the train. When I did, he stunned me and I fell against the throttle and it gave me a royal wholloping."
"Dobby!" Harry called out. The excited elf popped in. "Dobby, this is Mr. Townshend, the train driver," Harry informed him. "He was injured during the attack on the Hogwarts Express. Mr. Townshend, this is my personal elf, and friend, Dobby. Dobby, would you take Mr. Townshend to St. Mungo's and make sure he's seen by a healer?"
"Dobby will, Harry," the elf promised, bouncing about, excited over being called Harry's friend. Burt tried to stand, and finally succeeded with help from the trolley lady. Then Dobby seized his hand and popped him away.
Harry turned around and saw that other elves had started popping luggage onto the platform, and students were already looking through piles of trunks to find theirs. Katie then took his hand and led him over to where the Weasley children, along with several other friends, had congregated.
"Harry, do you know what the hell happened?" one of the twins asked.
"One minute we were staring at Death Eaters coming at the train…" the other explained.
"And the next, some elves popped us here," the first told him.
"Nobody can tell us anything!" the other concluded.
"I saw the Death Eaters, too," Harry said. "I could fix the problem, so I did. I got my elves to get everyone here, where there are Dark Mark wards installed. I also tipped off Amelia Bones, and then I waited until they got there, via trunk connections."
"The berk fought three of them!" Katie said in disbelief. "Harry, think next time!"
"I did," Harry said firmly. "I came up with a plan, executed it, and did what was necessary to protect my friends. It worked, too: I'm fine, you're fine."
"C'mon Katie," Angelina said. "Lighten up. You've seen the stuff they had him do at Young Aurors. It was more advanced than what we were doing as seventh years."
"It was more advanced than what we did in the academy," Tonks said, surprising them from behind Harry. "Wotcher," she said, ruffling his hair as she joined the group.
"Is everything OK?" Harry asked.
"Like you said, all the students are OK," Tonks agreed. "We lost a couple Aurors, but we bagged close to twenty of Riddle's followers, not counting the three you offed. Shack's cleaning up at the site with some of the others. The rest of us are here to start witness interviews. Who wants to go first?" she asked, looking pointedly at Harry.
"Fine," he sighed. "But make sure you send someone over to St. Mungo's. The train driver got a mean looking gash on his head, so I sent him there."
"Will do," Tonks said, casting a messenger Patronus and sending it off. "Alright, wonderboy, spill the beans." She took out a notepad and a dictaquill and set them up. Harry, resigned to what might be hours of interviews with various Aurors, began his tale.
It didn't take too long. The entire battle had taken perhaps ten minutes from the train stopping to Shacklebolt telling him to go to King's Cross. He did add in the bits about Burt Townshend, though, which occurred after that. He also provided a pensieve memory, though there wouldn't be a trial, as there had been no Death Eaters captured, and identifying those who escaped would likely prove impossible. It was more to complete the record.
"Bloody quick thinking," Tonks said as she stoppered the memory. "You'd make a great Auror. I bet you'd beat Bonsey's record to Head of Department."
"I dunno if I wanna be an Auror anymore," Harry said. "I kinda like just farming."
"Sure," Tonks laughed. "You're a farmer, and I'm a security guard." She slapped him on the back. "It's OK." She went quiet for a moment, then she said, "I'm not technically supposed to tell you, but you did a fucking amazing job. The first twat you offed was Lucius Malfoy."
"What?" Harry asked in wonder.
"We IDed him from his house ring and want," Tonks said. "There was also lots of blond hair all over the place. The other two guys were low-level arseholes. One had been in Azkaban for about four years. The other one had graduated from Hogwarts two years ago, and had been working in Knockturn until we warded the alleys to hell and back. I don't think either were anyone you knew."
"Thanks," Harry said. "Did we get anyone else big?"
"You didn't hear it from me," Tonks whispered conspiratorily, "but we got several inner circle Death Eaters. Remember Bellatrix Black?" Harry nodded. "We got her husband – former husband – Rodolphus. We also got the remaining Carrow sibling, and a former Unspeakable, Augustus Rookwood. In all, it was a pretty good day."
"Who got away?" Harry asked.
"Only one we know for certain was Bellatrix," Tonks replied. "She wasn't wearing a mask."
"Is the train OK?" Harry wondered.
"Patch a few holes, clean up some mess, a new coat of paint, it'll be right as rain," Tonks predicted confidently. "Since there weren't any students on board, they pretty much stayed in the corridors, where we could trap them. Anti-appartition wards work both ways." She grinned. "Silenced feet, come up behind… Easy as cake."
A commotion by the entrance drew Harry's attention. Parents had begun arriving, either because they were notified, or because it was getting closer to the time the train would usually arrive, Harry couldn't tell. He picked out Sirius and Remus, who were looking around frantically for him. Harry waved, bringing the two over. Sirius wrapped him up in a hug.
"Are you OK?" Sirius asked.
"Heard about our little adventure, did you?" Harry asked with a wry grin.
"It's all over the wireless," Remus said. "Not that Padfoot needed that. He heard it right from the Director's mouth when she finally decided to send him a Patronus to let him know she'd be late for a date and why."
"We might've swung by the Ministry to find out where you were," Sirius allowed. "Amy wants to put you in for an Order of Merlin for saving all the students."
"I didn't DO anything," Harry protested. "The elves saved the students. The elves moved the trunks. The elves notified the Aurors."
"And you had the presence of mind to call them and tell them what to do," Remus reminded him.
"Not to mention those three Death Eaters you killed while you were waiting for us to show up," Tonks reminded him.
"You tagged three of them?" Sirius asked, sounding quite proud.
"He blew Lucius Malfoy's whole body apart," Tonks whispered conspiratorially. "He was the first one to bite it."
"Merlin's beard!" Sirius nearly shouted before looking quickly around. Katie spotted the group and came over, her own interview done.
"They were coming toward the trunk the Aurors were going to arrive from," Harry shrugged. "I had to secure the bridgehead."
"Did you know he killed Lucius Malfoy?" Sirius asked Katie, whose eyes went wide.
"NO!" Katie protested, starting to get angry. "He didn't tell me that tidbit." She glared at him.
"Didn't know until just now," Harry replied. "Tonks told me. They found his ring and wand on the first body I blew up."
"Christ, Harry," Katie sighed, rubbing her forehead. "You can be… frustrating, sometimes."
"He's worth it," Sirius said, wrapping an arm around his godson.
"Yeah," Katie agreed, smiling wryly. "I know."
"Katie!" a voice called. Harry looked towards the entrance and saw Sam hurrying towards her. He wrapped her up in a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"I'm fine, Dad," Katie informed him, returning the hug. "Harry made sure we got clear."
"Really?" Sam asked. Katie nodded.
"He had his house elves bring everyone here to safety before the Death Eaters even boarded the train," Katie described.
"You're a bloody hero," Sam said, releasing his daughter and grabbing Harry up in a hug of his own. "Thank you."
"I don't wanna be a hero," Harry sighed as Sam released him. "I love Katie and want her to be safe, but no one on that train deserved to be attacked by Death Eaters. Besides, the house elves did all the work, and if anyone asks me, I'm giving them all the praise. I just had the idea."
"You're still a bloody hero, and a noble one at that," Sam said, returning to Katie's side.
"He's also a sneaky git," Katie said, a grin on her face at last. "He got everyone else off the train, but stayed behind just to make me worry."
Amelia picked that moment to arrive, exchanging greetings all around, before she turned to Tonks.
"Are we done here?" she asked. "There're some worried parents who want to see their children home as soon as possible."
"I'm all done, Chief," Tonks replied. "I've got all the memory evidence and testimony I need from Harry. I think Proudfoot, Savage, and Williamson are done too." She looked around briefly, finally locating them by a crowd of Hufflepuffs. They didn't look like they were working. "There they are." She pointed them out.
"They look done to me," Amelia observed. "I think we can release the students to the custody of their parents and guardians. If we need more information later, we know where to find them."
"I don't think most people really saw much of anything anyway," Tonks agreed. "Train stops, Death Eaters and dementors outside, elf shows up and pops them here, their things arrive sometime later. End of story."
"I'm going to want to talk to you later," Amelia informed Harry.
"I figured," Harry allowed, then he turned to Sirius. "Are we headed back to Grimmauld?"
"Yeah," Sirius replied. "That's where we'll keep the trunks."
"Oh, the trunks," Harry said, realizing he'd forgotten something. "Dobby!" The excitable elf popped in. "Can you take my trunk to Grimmauld Place, and then collect the Middleshire trunk on the train and take it to Sam's store? I think we'll leave the trunk at the Ministry right where it is, if that's OK with Amelia. It would seem to be useful there." He'd have to apologise to Lady Greengrass for not asking permission later. He didn't think she'd mind much.
"It is, indeed," Amelia nodded, both his implied question and agreeing to its usefulness. Dobby didn't wait, popping over to a collection of luggage and popping away with a trunk.
"I'll see you later?" Sirius asked Amelia, moving in for a quick hug.
"Yes," Amelia agreed, pecking him on the lips. "I'll be by around seven, probably. Sorry, but the Minister…"
"I understand," Sirius said. "It's not everyday you take out twenty-two Death Eaters." Amelia nodded.
"Would you lot like to come with?" Sirius asked Sam and Katie.
"I'd planned to take her home, but if you'd like to, now that I've seen she's fine…" Sam said, trailing off.
"It's no problem," Sirius said. Katie smiled. Harry called Dobby to take her trunk away. Katie hugged her dad, and he apparated back to the shop. Remus kissed Tonks goodbye and Sirius led them out into King's Cross proper. A quick ride on the Victoria line to Highbury and Islington, and a short walk, and Sirius let them into Grimmauld Place.
"What the…" Harry said in wonder as he stepped in. It looked completely different.
"Thirty house elves renovated it for me," Sirius replied, looking around with a smile. "I actually like it now."
Harry wandered farther into the house. Gone were the heavy curtains and green motif. The public rooms of the house were covered in period appropriate wood panelling and gold wall paper. The new curtains were thinner and red, with gold trim. The furniture was also upholstered in a rich red. There were more and better lights, bigger windows, and most importantly, no portrait of Walburga Black stuck to the wall.
"What'd you do with Walburga?" Harry asked.
"Elves unstuck her, and I tossed her in the fire," Sirius said simply. "What a vile bitch."
"Who?" Katie asked, confused.
"There was a portrait of Sirius' mother permanently stuck to the wall," Harry explained. "And she was always yelling, spouting the worst pureblood shit you ever heard."
"You burned a portrait of your mum?" Katie asked, astonished.
"Like I said," Sirius clarified. "She was a vile bitch. I left home as soon as I could, and lived with Harry's dad at his parents' home."
"OK," Katie said, changing the subject. "Where's your trunk, Harry?" Katie asked him.
"Probably in the room I was in this summer," Harry said. "C'mon."
"You kids behave, now," Sirius joked as they disappeared up the stairs. Harry rolled his eyes. The trunk was situated at the foot of the only bed in the room. Sirius had obviously taken care to make the room 'Harry's', though Harry did note that the bed was most definitely large enough for two.
"So," Katie said, flopping onto the bed. "How long are you going to wait before taking the trunk over to your Aunt and Uncle's?"
"I don't think I will do," Harry replied. "I mean, the only reason I was there was so Voldemort and the Death Eaters couldn't get to me, but now, I have the trunk, and they can't get me there. This house is under fidelius, and it has Dark Mark wards. They're not getting in here, and if they do, they're not getting in my trunk. If they get into someone else's trunk, they're going down to the Dark Mark wards there, too." He fell silent and sat next to Katie.
"I think I've had enough of my Aunt and Uncle's abuse," he said at last. "I've given it considerable thought the last few months. I don't really care if the Death Eaters find them and kill them. I don't care if Dumbledore doesn't like it either. He's… I don't know, he's not telling me something, it seems."
"Is it because he doesn't like killing in self-defence?" Katie asked.
"No, I think it's more than that," Harry answered. "Like I said, I don't think he's telling me something, something important. I don't know what it is, but I can see it in the way he looks at me, like he's… disappointed in me? I can't quite tell."
"You're not doing what he wants," Katie opined.
"That might be it, but what, exactly?" Harry wondered. "He didn't have a problem with me being emancipated, though he did ask that I go back to my Aunt and Uncle's, and he seemed pleased that I would. He also seemed happy to have Sirius free. It solved some of his problems in the Wizengamot…"
"Until you started going rogue," Katie pointed out. "Then he was very not happy with you, and Sirius, and all our newfound friends."
"He certainly didn't mind getting the twist on Malfoy, though," Harry pointed out.
"Maybe it's something to do with Voldemort?" Katie proposed.
"I dunno," Harry shrugged. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Are you kids decent?" Sirius asked jokingly, poking his head in. "Moony and I are gonna head back to Blackshire, are you gonna be OK here?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "We're probably gonna go to Pottershire soon."
"OK," Sirius replied. "D'you wanna do dinner at seven at Flusskneipe? Amy and I are going, and Remus and Tonks agreed to come too." Harry looked at Katie, who nodded. Harry nodded to Sirius.
"I'll go see if dad and Brenda wanna come too," Katie said, hopping up.
"The more the merrier," Sirius said happily. "Just let us know how many so we can alter the reservation." Then he was gone.
"Are you gonna come back to Potter House, or d'you want me to come to Middleborough?" Harry asked, rising.
"I'll come back," she replied. "There's plenty of time before dinner."
"OK," Harry agreed, "I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes. I wanna check on Neville, Hermione, and the rest, and make sure they're alright."
"'K," Katie said, kissing him quickly, "See you soon!" Then she disappeared into the trunk, leaving Harry alone in the room.
He glanced around momentarily, but didn't see anything to catch his eye. It was fancy, but nearly sterile. He went for the trunk and disappeared.
Thanks to the connecting trunks, the visits were the work of minutes. Harry swung by Longshire, Grangershire, Greenshire, Weasleyshire, the Necropolis, and Middleborough before heading back. Hermione wasn't home yet, no surprise, as her parents had about a half hour drive to their home in Richmond, London. Ron was similarly not at home. Instead, he was probably at the Burrow, doing God-knew-what. Most of the Middleborough residents were also not home yet, being instead, somewhere in Britain. When his friends were home, Harry didn't talk long, though he did make plans to see everyone soon to catch up. His primary task was to ensure that no one needed extra help. No one did.
When he stepped into the trunk entrance hall, he was perhaps five minutes late. Katie walked in.
"There you are," she said, exasperated. "It's about time!" Then she grinned and shifted to her normal, happy voice. "Is everyone OK?"
"They're fine, the ones who're home?" Harry replied.
"Good," Katie agreed. "Dad and Brenda're coming for dinner. I've let Sirius know. Now that our obligations are done, we're going to the train."
"Oh?" Harry asked. "Where're we going."
"Refuge d'Ile," Katie replied, dragging him out the front door.
"Any particular reason?" Harry asked.
"I've just been through a life-threatening event, and I wanna burn off my excess endorphins," Katie explained.
"And we need to go to the Refuge d'Ile to do that?" Harry asked. Katie stopped halfway down the drive and turned, grabbing his shirt front.
"I'm gonna shag you to within an inch of your life in a tropical paradise," she growled. "D'you have a problem with that?" The tone didn't reach her eyes, which were shining merrily.
"No," Harry said, shaking his head and grinning. "No problem at all. It sounds great."
"Good," Katie said, releasing his clothes, and taking his hand. "Because we've got four hours until we need to be at Bergdorf, and I wanna be naked and have you inside me for at least three of them."
Harry grinned as she led him down to the train. Life was awesome.
THE END.