The Gift From Death Year 5

by Obvian

The Fifth year in the series. (adopted from Powerofthewolves18 with permission)

18. Fifth Year Part 10

I own nothing. J.K.R Owns everything :(

Chapter 18: Fifth Year (Part 10)

21, August, 1998...

"Where are we starting?" Ron asked after Minerva had put the memory in the pensieve for Harry.

"With us getting the booklist." Harry answered, You'll get to see my real reaction to you becoming a prefect and the reason behind my mood all night, he added silently over the pack bond, You may not like it.

"Alright." Ron shrugged, answering both at the same time as the memory started.

On the very last day of the holidays Harry was sweeping up Hedwig's owl droppings from the top of the wardrobe when Ron entered their bedroom carrying a couple of envelopes.

"Booklists have arrived," he said, throwing one of the envelopes up to Harry, who was standing on a chair. "About time, I thought they'd forgotten, they usually come much earlier than this -"

Harry swept the last of the droppings into a rubbish bag and threw the bag over Ron's head into the wastepaper basket in the corner, which swallowed it and belched loudly. He then opened his letter. It contained two pieces of parchment: one the usual reminder that term started on the first of September; the other telling him which books he would need for the coming year.

"Only two new ones," he said, reading the list, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, by Miranda Goshawk, and Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard."

"Theory?" asked Lily, frowning. "It looks like the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher won't be teaching very much in the way of practical stuff."

"Which is why the DA was started." Hermione smiled.

Crack.

Fred and George Apparated right beside Harry. He was so used to them doing this by now that he didn't even fall off his chair.

"We were just wondering who set the Slinkhard book," said Fred conversationally.

"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," said George.

"And about time too," said Fred.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked, jumping down beside them.

"Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back," Fred told Harry, "and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."

"It was quite difficult." Albus commented, making them all jump and spin to see him standing in the same portrait as he had stood in the night before, "I apologise, I didnt mean to startle you."

"It's fine, just announce yourself next time." Minerva told him.

"Not surprising, is it, when you look at what's happened to the last four?" said George.

"One sacked, one dead, one's memory removed and one locked in a trunk for nine months," said Harry, counting them off on his fingers. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

"What's up with you, Ron?" asked Fred.

Ron did not answer. Harry looked round. Ron was standing very still with his mouth slightly open, gaping at his letter from Hogwarts.

"You look shocked." Frank commented.

"You'd be shocked too. Just wait and see why." Ron shrugged.

"What's the matter?" said Fred impatiently, moving around Ron to look over his shoulder at the parchment.

Fred's mouth fell open, too.

"Prefect?" he said, staring incredulously at the letter. "Prefect?"

"I thought Harry would've of got it." Ron admitted.

"So did we all." Hermione nodded.

James looked slightly horrified, "The son of a Marauder become a prefect? The very idea is outrageous!"

"Well you were Head Boy, so you can't talk, Prongs." Sirius snorted.

"And Remus was a prefect, and he's a Marauder." Lily added.

"But - but - that's different!" James protested, "And Remus is the good one, so of course he was going to get the badge!"

Remus gave a wry smile. "And because Albus probably hoped I'd be able to control you two, which I failed miserably at doing. And might I remind you that you and Padfoot teased me quite a bit after you found out I was made prefect, Prongs?"

"Details." Sirius waved the comment aside.

George leapt forwards, seized the envelope in Ron's other hand and turned it upside-down. Harry saw something scarlet and gold fall into George's palm.

"No way," said George in a hushed voice.

"There's been a mistake," said Fred, snatching the letter out of Ron's grasp and holding it up to the light as though checking for a watermark. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect."

"That's not true." Albus said softly, "I knew exactly what I was doing."

"Which was...?" Ron asked.

"Giving you a confidence boost and making sure Harry didn't have anything else to worry about." he replied as though it was obvious.

"That makes sense I suppose." Lily nodded.

The twins' heads turned in unison and both of them stared at Harry.

"We thought you were a cert!" said Fred, in a tone that suggested Harry had tricked them in some way.

"We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!" said George indignantly.

"Winning the Triwizard and everything!" said Fred.

"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against him," said George to Fred.

"Yeah," said Fred slowly. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble, mate. Well, at least one of you's got their priorities right."

He strode over to Harry and clapped him on the back while giving Ron a scathing look.

"Prefect - ickle Ronnie the Prefect."

"Ohh, Mum's going to be revolting," groaned George, thrusting the prefect badge back at Ron as though it might contaminate him.

Ron, who still had not said a word, took the badge, stared at it for a moment, then held it out to Harry as though asking mutely for confirmation that it was genuine. Harry took it. A large 'P' was superimposed on the Gryffindor lion. He had seen a badge just like this on Percy's chest on his very first day at Hogwarts.

"My badge was silver." Percy said. "So shouldn't you not recognize Ron's badge?"

"I thought it was like it. I knew it wasn't the same but it was still recognisable." Harry shrugged.

"Fair enough." he shrugged.

The door banged open. Hermione came tearing into the room, her cheeks flushed and her hair flying. There was an envelope in her hand.

"Did you - did you get -?"

She spotted the badge in Harry's hand and let out a shriek.

"I knew it!" she said excitedly, brandishing her letter. "Me too, Harry, me too!"

"No," said Harry quickly, pushing the badge back into Ron's hand. "It's Ron, not me."

"It - what? I -"

"Ron's prefect, not me," Harry said.

"Ron?" said Hermione, her jaw dropping. "But - are you sure? I mean -"

"I was quite shocked." Hermione admitted.

"You all were." Ron shrugged.

She turned red as Ron looked round at her with a defiant expression on his face.

"It's my name on the letter," he said.

"I -" said Hermione, looking thoroughly bewildered. "I - well - wow! Well done, Ron! That's really -"

"Unexpected," said George, nodding.

"No," said Hermione, blushing harder than ever, "no it's not - Ron's done loads of - he's really- "

The door behind her opened a little wider and Mrs. Weasley backed into the room carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes.

"Ginny said the booklists had come at last," she said, glancing around at all the envelopes as she made her way over to the bed and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pyjamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing - what colour would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," said George, smirking.

"You stuck him in?" Charlie asked the twins.

"Best to get it over with." Fred muttered back.

"Match his what?" said Mrs. Weasley absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.

"His badge," said Fred, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. "His lovely shiny new prefect's badge."

They all chuckled over this.

Fred's words took a moment to penetrate Mrs. Weasley's preoccupation with pyjamas.

"His - but - Ron, you're not -?"

Ron held up his badge.

Mrs. Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermione's.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What about Fred and George?" demanded Sirius. "Oh, and Ginny?"

"They didn't want to be prefects." Molly shrugged.

"You have a point." Ginny grinned, "No way would I want to deal with all that responsibility."

"We never cared for the position either." the twins added.

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours?" said George indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

They chuckled over George's reply.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step!"

"As long as you don't be a prat about it like me." Percy mused.

"That's impossible." Ron smirked, "Considering I had Harry to make sure I didnt forget to have fun, Hermione to help with the duties and Ginny to hex me whenever I was a prat, I'd say it was impossible."

"Glad we could help." Ginny chuckled.

"Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh, Ronnie -"

Fred and George were both making loud retching noises behind her back but Mrs. Weasley did not notice; arms tight around Ron's neck, she was kissing him all over his face, which had turned a brighter scarlet than his badge.

They laughed over Mrs. Weasley's fussing over Ron.

"Mum don't - Mum, get a grip -" he muttered, trying to push her away.

She let go of him and said breathlessly, 'Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?" said Ron, looking as though he did not dare believe his ears.

"You've got to have a reward for this!" said Mrs. Weasley fondly. "How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," said Fred sourly, who looked as though he sincerely regretted this generosity.

"Or a new cauldron, Charlies old one's rusting through, or a new rat, you always liked Scabbers -"

"No rats!" everyone yelled.

"Mum," said Ron hopefully, "can I have a new broom?"

Mrs. Weasley's face fell slightly; broomsticks were expensive.

"Not a really good one!" Ron hastened to add. "Just - just a new one for a change -"

Mrs. Weasley hesitated, then smiled.

"Of course you can - well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy too. I'll see you all later - little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks - a prefect - oh, I'm all of a dither!"

They all chuckled again.

She gave Ron yet another kiss on the cheek, sniffed loudly, and bustled from the room.

Fred and George exchanged looks.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" said Fred in a falsely anxious voice.

"We could curtsey, if you like," said George.

"You weren't going to leave him alone were you?" Sirius laughed.

"Of course not." they grinned.

"Brilliant." James smirked.

"James and Sirius acted exactly like that." huffed Remus. "They were there when my Mum found out I was made prefect. She was very proud of me and after she had left the room, they began acting like that."

"It was necessary." James shrugged.

"How?"

"A Marauder prefect. Come on Moony, it was funny." Sirius told him.

"Oh, shut up," said Ron, scowling at them.

"I told you guys to shut up as well." Remus commented.

"And I asked if you would put us in detention if we didn't." Sirius remembered, "Then you threw up your hands and said, 'Will you at least try to behave sometimes?'"

"And we replied with 'Depends how boring things are'." James grinned.

"You knew them well enough to know they wouldn't listen." Lily sighed.

Remus shrugged, "They didn't listen to you either."

"They didn't listen to anyone." Minerva frowned.

"Not true, we listened to the DADA teacher, depending on who it was, and Albus." James pointed out, "Occasionally you too Minnie." he added smirking.

"Or what?" said Fred, an evil grin spreading across his face. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try," sniggered George.

"He could if you don't watch out!" said Hermione angrily.

Fred and George burst out laughing, and Ron muttered, "Drop it, Hermione."

"We're going to have to watch our step, George," said Fred, pretending to tremble, "with these two on our case -"

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," said George, shaking his head.

And with another loud crack, the twins Disapparated.

"Those two!" said Hermione furiously, staring up at the ceiling, through which they could now hear Fred and George roaring with laughter in the room upstairs. "Don't pay any attention to them, Ron, they're only jealous!"

"Believe what you will Hermione, I don't think they were jealous." Regulus smiled.

"I don't think they are," said Ron doubtfully, also looking up at the ceiling. "They've always said only prats become prefects"

"Oh really?" Charlie said, "I think I'll tell Bill you said that and he'll help me prove you wrong later."

The twins gulped, "Now, now, Charles. We were only 17, we've learned our lesson already." George said.

"Yeah, we don't think that anymore. Just that Percy was a prat about it. And Draco." Fred added.

"I'm still telling Bill." Charlie stated.

"- still," he added on a happier note, "they've never had new brooms! I wish I could go with Mum and choose - she'll never be able to afford a Nimbus, but there's the new Cleansweep out, that'd be great - yeah, I think I'll go and tell her I like the Cleansweep, just so she knows."

He dashed from the room, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

For some reason, Harry found he did not want to look at Hermione.

"I noticed that." Hermione huffed.

"Sorry, you wont like what's coming up much either." Harry sighed.

He turned to his bed, picked up the pile of clean robes Mrs. Weasley had laid on it and crossed the room to his trunk.

"Harry?" said Hermione tentatively.

"Well done, Hermione," said Harry, so heartily it did not sound like his voice at all, and, still not looking at her, "brilliant. Prefect. Great."

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Erm - Harry - could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They'll be really pleased - I mean prefect is something they can understand."

"Yeah, no problem," said Harry, still in the horrible hearty voice that did not belong to him. "Take her!"

He leaned over his trunk, laid the robes on the bottom of it and pretended to be rummaging for something while Hermione crossed to the wardrobe and called Hedwig down. A few moments passed; Harry heard the door close but remained bent double, listening; the only sounds he could hear were the blank picture on the wall sniggering again and the wastepaper basket in the corner coughing up the owl droppings.

He straightened up and looked behind him. Hermione had left and Hedwig had gone. Harry hurried across the room, closed the door, then returned slowly to his bed and sank on to it, gazing unseeingly at the foot of the wardrobe.

He had forgotten completely about prefects being chosen in the fifth year. He had been too anxious about the possibility of being expelled to spare a thought for the fact that badges must be winging their way towards certain people. But if he had remembered - if he had thought about it - what would he have expected?

Not this, said a small and truthful voice inside his head.

Harry screwed up his face and buried it in his hands. He could not lie to himself; if he had known the prefect badge was on its way, he would have expected it to come to him, not Ron. Did this make him as arrogant as Draco Malfoy? Did he think himself superior to everyone else? Did he really believe he was better than Ron?

No, said the small voice defiantly.

Was that true? Harry wondered, anxiously probing his own feelings.

Hermione's eyes widened, Harry, what if it was partly the connection between you and Voldemort? You may have been getting some of his feelings too.

Didnt think of that, he replied with a frown, it could've been, I don't know.

I'm better at Quidditch, said the voice. But I'm not better at anything else.

That was definitely true, Harry thought; he was no better than Ron in lessons.

"Except in Defense." said Ron.

"He was better than most of the 7th years though, pretty hard to beat." Ginny pointed out, the twins nodded in agreement.

Harry just chuckled, "It's my best subject, like how no one can beat Neville in Herbology."

Neville grinned, "Everyone has to be good at something, even if it takes a while to find out what they're best at."

But what about outside lessons? What about those adventures he, Ron and Hermione had had together since starting at Hogwarts, often risking much worse than expulsion?

Well, Ron and Hermione were with me most of the time, said the voice in Harry's head.

Not all the time, though, Harry argued with himself. They didn't fight Quirrell with me. They didn't take on Riddle and the Basilisk. They didn't get rid of all those Dementors the night Sirius escaped. They weren't in that graveyard with me, the night Voldemort returned - And the same feeling of ill-usage that had overwhelmed him on the night he had arrived rose again. I've definitely done more, Harry thought indignantly. I've done more than either of them!

"You can't be mad at Hermione being prefect, are you Harry?" asked Remus. "There's always been a female prefect with a male, and Hermione's the logical choice among the fifth year girls in Gryffindor."

"No..." Harry hesitated, "It... may have been partial leak-over from Voldemorts feelings, through that stupid connection." he explained, "Remember I'd get random bursts of emotions as well as the visions. I didn't start recognising which emotions were whose or what they were until my 6th year."

Everyone suddenly looked understanding.

Hermione shuddered suddenly, "Imagine Lavender or Parvati being a prefect, we were the only Gryffindor girls in our year."

"We all agree you were the best choice." Ron said quickly, "I don't think we'd survive if one of the gossip girls were prefects."

"We might have survived if it was Parvati." Ginny said, "Padma could keep her from getting distracted."

But maybe, said the small voice fairly, maybe Dumbledore doesn't choose prefects because they've got themselves into a load of dangerous situations - maybe he chooses them for other reasons - Ron must have something you don't -

Harry opened his eyes and stared through his fingers at the wardrobe's clawed feet, remembering what Fred had said: "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect -"

Harry gave a small snort of laughter. A second later he felt sickened with himself.

Harry frowned, "Definitely not something I'd think on my own." he commented.

"It'll be leak-over then." Albus frowned, "I didn't know it had started that quickly."

Ron had not asked Dumbledore to give him the prefect badge. This was not Ron's fault. Was he, Harry, Ron's best friend in the world, going to sulk because he didn't have a badge, laugh with the twins behind Ron's back, ruin this for Ron when, for the first time, he had beaten Harry at something?

At this point Harry heard Ron's footsteps on the stairs again. He stood up, straightened his glasses, and hitched a grin on to his face as Ron bounded back through the door.

"Just caught her!" he said happily. "She says she'll get the Cleansweep if she can."

"Cool," Harry said, and he was relieved to hear that his voice had stopped sounding hearty. "Listen - Ron - well done, mate."

The smile faded off Ron's face.

"I never thought it would be me!" he said, shaking his head. "I thought it would be you!"

"Nah, I've caused too much trouble," Harry said, echoing Fred.

"Yeah," said Ron, "yeah, I suppose - well, we'd better get our trunks packed, hadn't we?"

It was odd how widely their possessions seemed to have scattered themselves since they had arrived. It took them most of the afternoon to retrieve their books and belongings from all over the house and stow them back inside their school trunks. Harry noticed that Ron kept moving his prefect's badge around, first placing it on his bedside table, then putting it into his jeans pocket, then taking it out and lying it on his folded robes, as though to see the effect of the red on the black.

"I was trying to find a place to put it without losing it." Ron shrugged.

Only when Fred and George dropped in and offered to attach it to his forehead with a Permanent Sticking Charm did he wrap it tenderly in his maroon socks and lock it in his trunk.

Mrs. Weasley returned from Diagon Alley around six o'clock, laden with books and carrying a long package wrapped in thick brown paper that Ron took from her with a moan of longing.

"Never mind unwrapping it now, people are arriving for dinner, I want you all downstairs," she said, but the moment she was out of sight Ron ripped off the paper in a frenzy and examined every inch of his new broom, an ecstatic expression on his face.

Down in the basement Mrs. Weasley had hung a scarlet banner over the heavily laden dinner table, which read:

CONGRATULATIONS RON AND HERMIONE NEW PREFECTS

She looked in a better mood than Harry had seen her all holiday.

"It was the best news I'd had in a while." Molly smiled.

"I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," she told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny as they entered the room. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron. I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled," she added, beaming.

Fred rolled his eyes.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after Harry had got himself a Butterbeer.

"Oh, Alastor, I am glad you're here," said Mrs. Weasley brightly, as Mad-Eye shrugged off his travelling cloak. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages - could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

"No problem, Molly -"

Moody's electric-blue eye swivelled upwards and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen.

"It really was disgusting when he did that." Alice commented.

"Drawing room -" he growled, as the pupil contracted. "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it - yeah, it's a Boggart - want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

"No, no, I'll do it myself later," beamed Mrs. Weasley, "you have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually -" She gestured at the scarlet banner. "Fourth prefect in the family!" she said fondly, ruffling Ron's hair.

"Prefect, eh?" growled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and his magical eye swivelling around to gaze into the side of his head. Harry had the very uncomfortable feeling it was looking at him and moved away towards Sirius and Lupin.

"He was watching you." Sirius grinned, "You could normally tell with Mad-Eye."

"Well, congratulations," said Moody, still glaring at Ron with his normal eye, "authority figures always attract trouble, but I suppose Dumbledore thinks you can withstand most major jinxes or he wouldn't have appointed you -"

"Trust Moody to look at it that way." Dora snorted.

Ron looked rather startled at this view of the matter but was saved the trouble of responding by the arrival of his father and oldest brother. Mrs. Weasley was in such a good mood she did not even complain that they had brought Mundungus with them; he was wearing a long overcoat that seemed oddly lumpy in unlikely places and declined the offer to remove it and put it with Moody's travelling cloak.

"More illegal or stolen things, no doubt." Arthur mused.

"Well, I think a toast is in order," said Mr. Weasley, when everyone had a drink. He raised his goblet. "To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects!"

Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them, and then applauded.

"I was never a prefect myself," said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved towards the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato red and waist-length today; she looked like Ginny's older sister. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

"I'm not surprised," Sirius mused, "Andy was something of a rebel and troublemaker herself, though she did avoid being caught and was made prefect."

"What is it with you and revealing things away today?" Cissy asked him as Andy glared at him.

"I have no idea actually." he frowned, the twins snickered and he rounded on them, "What did you do?"

"Nothing." George shrugged.

"What would make you think we'd try and prank a Marauder?" Fred inquired.

Sirius looked at them suspiciously while they just looked amused.

"If you didn't do anything you're acting quite happy about something." James pointed out.

"If we looked innocent no one would beleive us. No one ever believes us anyway -"

"- But we didn't do anything this time." Fred finished. "We don't have a product that makes people reveal things their not supposed to or wouldn't normally -"

"- We're not making one either. Too much trouble from customers, we wouldn't want them upset with us." George shrugged.

"They have a point." Remus smiled, "Something like that would be way too risky."

"Somehow I can't imagine you as a troublemaker." Dora mused, looking at her Mother, who chuckled.

"I was just a little. And most of that 'troublemaking' was because I was defying my parents. I believe the majority of the times I got in trouble at school was Bella or one of the other Slytherin's starting arguments and fights with me." she shrugged, "Mostly because they didn't like the way I behaved or who I talked to."

"Our parents bribed their parents to get them to spy on you." Cissy told her, "They didn't trust you at all."

Andy chuckled, "I thought that."

"Like what?" said Ginny, who was choosing a baked potato.

"Like the ability to behave myself," said Tonks.

"Pomona did say you weren't as bad as Sirius was." Minerva told Dora.

"I was able to find very efficient ways to hide." she shrugged, "Simply making myself look like another student worked brilliantly if she was looking for me in a crowd."

"So that's what you did." Andy commented, "I'd wondered how you never got caught as much as I thought you would."

"Wasn't exactly going to tell you was I?" Dora asked her Mother rhetorically.

Ginny laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra large gulp of Butterbeer and choking on it.

"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.

Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual bark-like laugh.

"No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Lupin. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

Harry's mood suddenly lifted. His father had not been a prefect either. All at once the party seemed much more enjoyable; he loaded up his plate, feeling doubly fond of everyone in the room.

"It's a good thing I didn't make prefect then," said James. "Harry's not so disappointed at not making prefect since I didn't."

"I think it was more along the lines of I was subconsciously thinking about what you and Mum's reactions would be like." Harry admitted.

"Which is why it's a good thing we mentioned it." Remus nodded, "We would've eventually anyway."

Ron was rhapsodising about his new broom to anybody who would listen.

"- nought to seventy in ten seconds, not bad, is it? When you think the Comet Two Ninety's only nought to sixty and that's with a decent tailwind according to Which Broomstick?"

Hermione was talking very earnestly to Lupin about her view of elf rights.

"I mean, it's the same kind of nonsense as werewolf segregation, isn't it?"

"You did have a point," Remus told Hermione, "But unlike Werewolves, House-Elves actually like being enslaved. Except for Dobby, and even he preferred work. He just wanted a decent master or mistress to work for and some wages."

"It all stems from this horrible thing wizards have of thinking they're superior to other creatures -"

"Not all of them." Albus smiled.

Mrs. Weasley and Bill were having their usual argument about Bill's hair.

"- getting really out of hand, and you're so good-looking, it would look much better shorter, wouldn't it, Harry?"

"Oh - I dunno -" said Harry, slightly alarmed at being asked his opinion; he slid away from them in the direction of Fred and George, who were huddled in a corner with Mundungus.

"Doing trade with him," Lily said disapprovingly, shaking her head.

"He was helping us out." Fred shrugged.

"With what?" Molly asked with narrowed eyes.

"Umm... We needed something for our Skiving Snackboxes." George said.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Venomous Tentacula seeds." Fred admitted.

"It's not illegal, just non-tradeable." Dora told them, "You seem like your waiting to be arrested." she smirked, "Which isn't possible since you have a permit and I'm not an Auror anymore."

"How'd you know we have a permit?" George frowned.

"It's in the ministry files. I saw yours just before I quit." she shrugged, "Everyone in the Order had files, the known members anyway. Not to mention Kingsley said it a few days ago when you explained about the mixes you were trying to get for pets."

"Oh yeah..." Fred muttered.

"Boys, you should've went with a more reliable supplier. Mundungus was dodgy, he had a reputation of disguising some of his stuff to make it sell better." Molly scolded the twins.

"We weren't allowed to leave the house without you or Dad, what else were we supposed to do? Invite a salesman over?" Fred asked sarcastically.

"They have a point Molly." Arthur sighed, "I trust you get your stock from more reliable people now?"

"Yeah, Lee's cousin." George nodded, "Completely safe and reliable."

"Oh, I think I've heard of him." Dora said, "Kieran Jordan isn't it? Kingsley had to check him out a few years ago, just a routine spot-check and the dude figured it would be good to disguise one of his items into a stick when it was really a rare type of stone. Claimed it was so people didn't steal it."

"He's weird that way but still more reliable than Dung." Fred shrugged.

Molly still looked disapproving but Arthur shook his head and she dropped it.

Mundungus stopped talking when he saw Harry, but Fred winked and beckoned Harry closer.

"It's OK," he told Mundungus, "we can trust Harry, he's our financial backer."

"Look what Dung's got us," said George, holding out his hand to Harry. It was full of what looked like shrivelled black pods. A faint rattling noise was coming from them, even though they were completely stationary.

"Venomous Tentacula seeds," said George. "We need them for the Skiving Snackboxes but they're a Class C Non-Tradeable Substance so we've been having a bit of trouble getting hold of them."

"That's one plant I haven't got at home." Neville mused, "Not the easiest to look after, but still manageable."

"You said that when we kept getting attacked by it in Herbology." Harry told him, "I swear that plant hates everyone except you."

"It doesn't attack Neville at all." Luna explained to the others, "It's only done it once."

"And that was my own fault for almost getting rid of the wrong stem while trimming it." Neville shrugged, "That one likes me." he grinned.

"Ten Galleons the lot, then, Dung?" said Fred.

"Wiv all the trouble I went to to get 'em?" said Mundungus, his saggy, bloodshot eyes stretching even wider. "I'm sorry, lads, but I'm not taking a Knut under twenty."

"Dung likes his little joke," Fred said to Harry.

"Yeah, his best one so far has been six Sickles for a bag of Knarl quills," said George.

"Be careful," Harry warned them quietly.

"What?" said Fred. "Mum's busy cooing over Prefect Ron, we're OK."

"But Moody could have his eye on you," Harry pointed out.

Mundungus looked nervously over his shoulder.

"Good point, that," he grunted. "All right, lads, ten it is, if you'll take 'em quick."

"Great plan for that one Harry." George grinned.

"Wasn't a plan. Mad-Eye was actually watching me, I saw him out the corner of my eye." Harry smirked, "If he could see me he could see Dung."

"Cheers, Harry!" said Fred delightedly, when Mundungus had emptied his pockets into the twins' outstretched hands and scuttled off towards the food. "We'd better get these upstairs -"

Harry watched them go, feeling slightly uneasy. It had just occurred to him that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would want to know how Fred and George were financing their joke shop busiess when, as was inevitable, they finally found out about it. Giving the twins his Triwizard winnings had seemed a simple thing to do at the time, but what if it led to another family row and a Percy-like estrangement?

"Unlikley. I was just being stupid." Percy muttered.

Would Mrs. Weasley still feel that Harry was as good as her son if she found out he had made it possible for Fred and George to start a career she thought quite unsuitable?

"Nothing would change." Molly smiled.

Standing where the twins had left him, with nothing but a guilty weight in the pit of his stomach for company, Harry caught the sound of his own name. Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice was audible even over the surrounding chatter.

"... why Dumbledore didn't make Potter a prefect?" said Kingsley.

"He'll have had his reasons," replied Lupin.

"But it would've shown confidence in him. It's what I'd've done," persisted Kingsley, "specially with the Daily Prophet having a go at him every few days -"

Harry did not look round; he did not want Lupin or Kingsley to know he had heard.

"I knew you had." Remus smirked, "The give away was that you froze."

"Oop's." Harry winced.

Though not remotely hungry, he followed Mundungus back towards the table. His pleasure in the party had evaporated as quickly as it had come; he wished he were upstairs in bed.

Mad-Eye Moody was sniffing at a chicken-leg with what remained of his nose; evidently he could not detect any trace of poison, because he then tore a strip off it with his teeth.

"- the handles made of Spanish oak with anti-jinx varnish and in-built vibration control -" Ron was saying to Tonks.

Mrs. Weasley yawned widely.

"Well, I think I'll sort out that Boggart before I turn in - Arthur, I don't want this lot up too late, all right? Night, Harry, dear."

She left the kitchen. Harry set down his plate and wondered whether he could follow her without attracting attention.

"You all right, Potter?" grunted Moody.

"Yeah, fine," lied Harry.

Moody took a swig from his hipflask, his electric-blue eye staring sideways at Harry.

"Come here, I've got something that might interest you," he said.

From an inner pocket of his robes Moody pulled a very tattered, old wizarding photograph.

"Original Order of the Phoenix," growled Moody.

"That's not going to improve your mood is it?" Sirius asked Harry.

"Not at all." he sighed, "Especially not when it was sprung on me like that."

"Why wouldn't it?" Alice frowned.

"He told me what happened to most of the members and I knew about you and Frank beforehand." he explained, "Everyone in that picture looked so happy and untroubled it was very depressing finding out what happened to them."

"That would kill anyone's mood." Frank nodded, "Mad-Eye must've genuinely thought you'd like it."

"He only did things like that when he thought it would help." Dora agreed.

"Found it last night when I was looking for my spare Invisibility Cloak, seeing as Podmore hasn't had the manners to return my best one... thought people might like to see it."

Harry took the photograph. A small crowd of people, some waving at him, others lifting their glasses, looked back up at him.

"There's me," said Moody, unnecessarily pointing at himself. The Moody in the picture was unmistakeable, though his hair was slightly less grey and his nose was intact. "And there's Dumbledore beside me, Dedalus Diggle on the other side - that's Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken, they got her whole family."

"Poor Marly." Lily and Alice sighed.

"She was our dorm mate." Alice explained, "Quite a good friend when you got past her twisted sense of humor."

"And the constant teasing." Lily smiled sadly.

"That's Frank and Alice Longbottom -"

"That really won't help." Remus sighed.

"Not when you knew exactly what happened to us." Frank agreed, wincing slightly.

Harry's stomach, already uncomfortable, clenched as he looked at Alice Longbottom; he knew her round, friendly face very well, even though he had never met her, because she was the image of her son, Neville.

"You look young." Neville commented.

"We were only 20, I believe." Alice shrugged, "When was that one taken again?"

"The December after Harry and Neville were born." Lily reminded her, "They were with Molly taking a nap right then."

"All the kids except Bill, Charlie, Percy and the twins were." Molly smiled, "If I remember right they were trying to blow something up."

"Probably." Fred shrugged.

"- poor devils," growled Moody. "Better dead than what happened to them - and that's Emmeline Vance, you've met her, and that there's Lupin, obviously - Benjy Fenwick, he copped it too, we only ever found bits of him -"

"Benjy Fenwick was a fun guy." Frank smiled, "One of my dorm mates, at order meetings he and I would sometimes play guitar to keep people amused."

"shift aside there," he added, poking the picture, and the little photographic people edged sideways, so that those who were partially obscured could move to the front.

"That's Edgar Bones - brother of Amelia Bones, they got him and his family, too, he was a great wizard - Sturgis Podmore, blimey, he looks young - Caradoc Dearborn, vanished six months after this, we never found his body - Hagrid, of course, looks exactly the same as ever - Elphias Doge, you've met him, I'd forgotten he used to wear that stupid hat - Gideon Prewett, it took five Death Eaters to kill him and his brother Fabian, they fought like heroes"

"They really did." Molly sighed, Arthur put his arm around her comfortingly.

"- budge along, budge along -"

The little people in the photograph jostled among themselves and those hidden right at the back appeared at the forefront of the picture.

"That's Dumbledore's brother Aberforth, only time I ever met him, strange bloke - that's Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally - Sirius, when he still had short hair - and - there you go, thought that would interest you!"

Harry's heart turned over. His mother and father were beaming up at him, sitting on either side of a small, watery-eyed man whom Harry recognised at once as Wormtail, the one who had betrayed his parents' whereabouts to Voldemort and so helped to bring about their deaths.

Everyone flinched at the reminder.

"Eh?" said Moody.

Harry looked up into Moody's heavily scarred and pitted face. Evidently Moody was under the impression he had just given Harry a bit of a treat.

"Yeah," said Harry, once again attempting to grin. "Er... listen, I've just remembered, I haven't packed my -"

He was spared the trouble of inventing an object he had not packed. Sirius had just said, "What's that you've got there, Mad-Eye?" and Moody had turned towards him. Harry crossed the kitchen, slipped through the door and up the stairs before anyone could call him back.

"Thanks for the save." Harry told Sirius.

"Anytime, I could tell it was upsetting you." Sirius smiled sadly, "I told him not to show you it. I was going to do that, preferably not in a room full of people. And I would've asked you if you'd wanted to see it beforehand."

"He sprung it on us too." Remus nodded, "We didn't know he had it until he handed it to me. Talk about a shock." he shook his head.

He did not know why it had been such a shock; he had seen pictures of his parents before, after all, and he had met Wormtail but to have them sprung on him like that, when he was least expecting it - no one would like that, he thought angrily -

And then, to see them surrounded by all those other happy faces - Benjy Eenwick, who had been found in bits, and Gideon Prewett, who had died like a hero, and the Longbottoms, who had been tortured into madness - all waving happily out of the photograph forever more, not knowing that they were doomed - well, Moody might find that interesting - he, Harry, found it disturbing - Harry tiptoed up the stairs in the hall past the stuffed elf-heads, glad to be on his own again, but as he approached the first landing he heard noises. Someone was sobbing in the drawing room.

"You don't mind if I show this do you?" Harry asked Molly.

"Not at all, it might explain to the boys and Ginny why I acted like I did." she replied.

"Hello?" Harry said.

There was no answer but the sobbing continued. He climbed the remaining stairs two at a time, walked across the landing and opened the drawing-room door.

Someone was cowering against the dark wall, her wand in her hand, her whole body shaking with sobs. Sprawled on the dusty old carpet in a patch of moonlight, clearly dead, was Ron.

"What!" they all gasped in shock, except Molly and Harry.

"Boggart." Molly said.

"Oh."

All the air seemed to vanish from Harry's lungs; he felt as though he were falling through the floor; his brain turned icy cold - Ron dead, no, it couldn't be - But wait a moment, it couldn't be - Ron was downstairs - "Mrs Weasley?" Harry croaked.

"R - r - riddikulus!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed, pointing her shaking wand at Ron's body.

Crack.

Ron's body turned into Bill's, spread-eagled on his back, his eyes wide open and empty. Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever.

"R - riddikulus!" she sobbed again.

Crack.

Mr. Weasley's body replaced Bill's, his glasses askew, a trickle of blood running down his face.

All the women were crying silently and the men all looked pale. The Weasley's eyes were wide.

"No!" Mrs. Weasley moaned. "No - riddikulus! Riddikulus! RIDDlKULUS!"

Crack. Dead twins. Crack. Dead Percy. Crack. Dead Harry -

"Mrs. Weasley, just get out of here!" shouted Harry, staring down at his own dead body on the floor. "Let someone else -"

"What's going on?"

Lupin had come running into the room, closely followed by Sirius, with Moody stumping along behind them.

"Thank goodness," said Lily, wiping her eyes. "They will take care of things."

"Of course we will. Mad-Eye was watching Harry, that's how we knew what happened." Remus explained.

Lupin looked from Mrs. Weasley to the dead Harry on the floor and seemed to understand in an instant. Pulling out his own wand, he said, very firmly and clearly: "Riddikulus!"

Harry's body vanished. A silvery orb hung in the air over the spot where it had lain. Lupin waved his wand once more and the orb vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Oh - oh - oh!" gulped Mrs. Weasley, and she broke into a storm of crying, her face in her hands.

Charlie looked at his mother, "That's why you were so protective? You were scared one or more of us would die?"

Molly nodded weakly, "I'd already lost my brothers in the first war, I didn't want to lose one of my children."

"But it happened anyway." Fred grumbled, "I was stupid for not ducking during that explosion."

"We've all done stupid things." Regulus assured him, "Take the Mark on my arm for an example." he twitched his left arm to show he meant the Dark Mark.

"Or me getting distracted during a duel, allowing my own evil cousin to kill me." Sirius muttered.

"Molly," said Lupin bleakly, walking over to her. "Molly don't..."

Next second, she was sobbing her heart out on Lupin's shoulder.

"Molly, it was just a Boggart," he said soothingly, patting her on the head, "just a stupid Boggart -"

"I see them d - d - dead all the time!" Mrs. Weasley moaned into his shoulder. "All the t - t - time! I d - d - dream about it -"

Sirius was staring at the patch of carpet where the Boggart, pretending to be Harry's body, had lain. Moody was looking at Harry, who avoided his gaze. He had a funny feeling Moody's magical eye had followed him all the way out of the kitchen.

"It did." said Sirius.

"D-d - don't tell Arthur," Mrs. Weasley was gulping now, mopping her eyes frantically with her cuffs. "I d - d - don't want him to know - being silly -"

"You know I wouldn't think that Molly." Arthur frowned, "You should've told me."

"Maybe." she shrugged.

Lupin handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose.

"Harry, I'm so sorry. What must you think of me?" she said shakily. "Not even able to get rid of a Boggart -"

"Don't be stupid," said Harry, trying to smile.

"I'm just - s - so worried," she said, tears spilling out of her eyes again. "Half the f-f-family's in the Order, it'll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this - and P-P-Percy's not talking to us - what if something d-d-dreadful happens and we've never in - in - made it up with him? And what's going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who's g-g-going to look after Ron and Ginny?"

"You don't think we'd let them be left to fend for themselves." Albus said, "The Order would've helped as much as possible if needed, thankfully it wasn't needed but the point still stands."

"Yeah, we wouldn't've been alone Mum, depressed yes, alone no." Ginny smiled sadly.

"Molly that's enough;" said Lupin firmly. "This isn't like last time. The Order are better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to -"

Mrs. Weasley gave a little squeak of fright at the sound of the name.

"Oh, Molly, come on, it's about time you got used to hearing his name - look, I can't promise no one's going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time. You weren't in the Order then, you don't understand. Last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one -"

They all flinched.

Harry thought of the photograph again, of his parents' beaming faces. He knew Moody was still watching him.

"Don't worry about Percy," said Sirius abruptly. "He'll come round. It's only a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open; once he does, the whole Ministry's going to be begging us to forgive them. And I'm not sure I'll be accepting their apology," he added bitterly.

"Not everyone in the Ministry could think Voldemort couldn't return or think that he hadn't even if they thought it was possible." said Lily, frowning at Sirius.

"Most did think he hadn't though." Percy muttered bitterly, "Myself included."

"And as for who's going to look after Ron and Ginny if you and Arthur died," said Lupin, smiling slightly, "what do you think we'd do, let them starve?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled tremulously.

"Being silly," she muttered again, mopping her eyes.

But Harry, closing his bedroom door behind him some ten minutes later, could not think Mrs. Weasley silly. He could still see his parents beaming up at him from the tattered old photograph, unaware that their lives, like so many of those around them, were drawing to a close. The image of the Boggart posing as the corpse of each member of Mrs. Weasley's family in turn kept flashing before his eyes.

They all shuddered.

Without warning, the scar on his forehead seared with pain again and his stomach churned horribly.

"Cut it out," he said firmly, rubbing the scar as the pain receded.

"First sigh of madness, talking to your own head," said a sly voice from the empty picture on the wall.

"Oh shut up, Phineas." snapped Sirius, Regulus, Cissy and Andy.

Harry ignored it. He felt older than he had ever felt in his life and it seemed extraordinary to him that barely an hour ago he had been worried about a joke shop and who had got a prefect's badge.

"That's the end of the memory. Minerva you've been awfully quiet, something wrong?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Nothing, just thinking about something." she smiled. "I won't say what until I've run it past Kingsley though."

"Fair enough. Where is he this morning anyway?" Ginny inquired.

"At the Ministry doing something." Percy shrugged, "He didn't say what he's doing."

"Probably paperwork." Harry mused, "He seems to get a lot of it."

"Comes with running the Ministry." Kingsley said as he walked in, "Good morning, and your right Harry, it was paperwork." he added.

"Good morning." they all replied as he sat down.

"On a scale from one to 10 how annoyed are you all feeling right now?" Kingsley asked the four bed-bound teens hesitantly.

"Not very." Hermione shrugged after getting the other's answers silently. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Some annoying news I'm afraid." he sighed, he took out a copy of the Daily Prophet morning edition and handed it to Harry.

"'LYCAN OR DANGEROUS BEAST; can we really trust these beings?'." he read out.

"Turn the page."

"What! 'HARRY POTTER AND FRIENDS GOING DARK. Is our saviour going dark and dangerous and taking his friends along for the ride?'" he growled, "What the hell! Can't they control themselves?!" he demanded.

"I didn't know they'd printed it until the damage was done." Kingsley sighed, "Apparently because people don't know a lot about Lycan's they're getting branded as dark, even though you're not..."

"I notice they don't say who wrote the articles." Ginny frowned looking at the paper.

"Meaning no one can be arrested for it. We've got Skeeter already though, she's denying everything but is being kept in for questioning anyway." Kingsley explained, "I've managed to shut down the Daily Prophet offices until further notice too, they're not allowed to print anything or even get stories until I lift the temporary block on the offices." he added.

Neville frowned and pulled a Galleon out of his pocket and looked at it closely for a minute, "It was Smith." he said, "Seamus and Dean bumped into him and he was boasting about it."

"I hate him. I officially hate him." Harry growled.

"Smith?" Lily asked.

"Zacharias Smith, Hufflepuff a year or two up from us." Hermione supplied, "And a complete git, he abandoned the DA in the end, he's been kicked out already."

"Send a message to them getting them to hand Smith in, his Fathers the manager of the Prophet. I'm sure he won't be happy his son's ruining business." Kingsley smiled predatorily.

"How'd you know it was him?" James frowned.

"Contact Galleons." Neville explained, "Hermione's idea."

"It was so we could communicate with the DA for meeting times and send messages without getting caught or overheard." Luna nodded, "Quite clever."

"Especially since none of the Death Eater's could figure out how you were communicating last year and thankfully didn't ask me." Draco smirked.

"Now the coins are used to send news and updates to each other." Ginny smiled, "A lot of us don't see each other through the holidays and such and it's nice to have a way to communicate quicker than owls."

"There's a better explanation later on in the memories, we weren't even going to tell you that much... I dont know what we're going to do about this though." Harry sighed.

"Ignore it until we're out of here." Ron shrugged, "Not much else we can do."

"I'll get Daddy to run a story full of information about Lycan's, it'll clear up a lot of the fears." Luna said, "Nothing personal mind you, just some information about how we always keep our minds unless it's full moon but even then we have more control than Werewolves and are friendly towards humans."

"We should've made that clear when we first told people about them, I can feel another press conferance coming soon." Harry sighed, "But that's a great idea Luna, we can put pictures of a few of us around people, maybe even do a public walk in our wolf forms." he mused.

"That might just scare people more." Lily pointed out.

"We'll think of something." he shrugged, "For now let's continue."