Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Chapter 9: Out of the Thick of Things
"A connection?"
"That's what he told me last night."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit on Harry's bed. The information that had been withheld from them for so long is now up for discussion among the three teens. Ron and Hermione listen eagerly to Harry's explanations.
"And you've been dreaming about the Department of Mysteries for a few days? Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asks, slight hurt in her voice.
"I thought it was nothing. People have recurring dreams all the time. It's not a nightmare like I usually have, so it didn't worry me that much. The main thing was wanting to get through the door at the end. My dad thinks that those are Voldemort's emotions, not mine," Harry says.
"Because You-Know-Who wants the prophecy that your dad told you about," Ron reasons. "And this prophecy is about you and him?"
"Yeah, that's what dad said. But they don't know anything else about it."
"But prophecies can be viewed by whomever they refer to. That means you could tell everyone its contents, Harry," Hermione explains.
"Telling me about the meetings was already a long shot for my dad. I'd like to see someone try to convince my parents, or Mrs. Weasley for that matter, to let me anywhere near the Ministry right now."
"Well, they should at least teach you Occlumency to help block your mind from You-Know-Who. If he finds out about this connection that you have with him, he could use it against you. You-Know-Who has been known to mess with people's minds to get what he wants. This would make it so much easier for him to do that," Hermione says, frantically.
"I think everyone just wants everything to be as normal as possible for me right now. Dad told me to just tell him if things get any worse."
"I get that everyone's trying to protect us, but I don't think we have much of a choice but to be in the thick of things," Ron says, annoyed.
"I know. I'm glad to have something to go on," Harry continues, "But I can't help wishing it was more."
Another Order Meeting takes place in the Grimmauld Place dining room. James Potter imparts some newly found facts about his son to the Order.
"His dream… I believe that Voldemort's emotions are becoming his. As he was explaining it to me, it was like he was annoyed, maybe even angry that he couldn't get into the Department of Mysteries. And as we all know, this is also Voldemort's objective."
The Order shares distressed looks and sighs. They all know what this means: the connection between Harry and the Dark Lord is intensifying.
"And what did you tell him?" Mrs. Weasley asks.
James gives a half-truth, "I told him I'd bring it up at today's meeting."
Dumbledore then stands. "Did the dream reveal anything that suggests that Voldemort knows of the connection?"
"Well, no. But—"
"Then he is safe for now," Dumbledore concludes. "Tell him to inform you immediately if it worsens. We will continue our shifts in the Department of Mysteries."
"Safe? Professor, this doesn't sound like Harry is safe. It sounds like we should be preparing him for the worst. Voldemort isn't going to beat around the bush once he finds out about this, and you know he will," Sirius says, his emotions flaring for his godson.
"Sirius, he is a child! He should be worrying about his grades, sports… kid things, not fighting a war!" Molly says, angry at even the idea of Harry fighting alongside the Order at his age.
"He's not a child! And if the prophecy really is true—"
"Prophecies are not always fulfilled, Mr. Black," Dumbledore says, "There are many in the Department of Mysteries right now that were never carried out."
"And what if this one does?!"
"That is exactly what Voldemort was thinking when he tried to kill infant Harry, solely on the pretense of this prophecy. We will not condemn ourselves the way he did on that fateful night," Dumbledore says. In a rare occurrence, his temper starts to rise.
Lily stands as well, "He's right, Sirius. We should do whatever we can to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass."
James runs his fingers through his hair. It's as though his mind is being split in two. Harry is his son; he feels obligated to have an opinion in this argument. But when Remus chimes in, he's spared from having to choose sides.
"Enough," Remus says calmly as he stands, halting the quickly heating argument. "I think we should look at this from a logical standpoint. There are times and places where our emotions should influence our decisions, and this is not one of them.
"With all due respect, I fail to see how preparing Harry for what could happen, would condemn us. We shouldn't do anything too rash," he looks specifically at Sirius. "But we can only protect him so much, now that Voldemort is back," he turns to Molly, Dumbledore, and Harry's parents. "I propose a compromise: we start teaching Harry Occlumency. There's no harm in that, yes?" The Order members all give some gesture of agreement, even if very reluctant. "And Harry doesn't have to know what the prophecy says just yet."
The meeting ends with everyone satisfied enough to avoid more confrontation on the subject. Professor Snape, the most skilled Occlumens in the Order, is selected to teach Harry, much to the displeasure of James and Sirius. But they agree to it, with Harry's long-term wellbeing in mind.
Once the Order meeting is over, the members disperse. Lily grabs Sirius by the arm and pulls him up to Sirius and Remus' room. Remus remains downstairs to help Molly with dinner. Sirius sits on his bed, with his eyebrows raised in confusion. Lily sits awkwardly on Remus' bed, not quite knowing how to begin the tough conversation.
"Sirius, I think we need to talk about Kreacher," Lily says slowly, trying not to come off as confrontational.
Apparently, this doesn't work. Sirius goes on the defense. "Oh, not you too, Lily. Kreacher is a jerk. Why hasn't that sunk in by now? You've heard his comments about Muggle-borns."
"Kreacher is the product of a horrible life, Sirius," Lily desperately tries to keep her emotions in check, as she feels her heart beat faster and faster. "He is to be pitied."
"Pitied? He doesn't deserve to be pitied, Lily! He sticks to the opinions of my parents, who by the way, hung the heads of other House-elves on display whenever they felt like it. And now, when they're long gone, he still makes these awful comments over and over and I know they hurt."
"Yes, Sirius. They do hurt. But Kreacher doesn't know any better — let me finish," Lily says when Sirius prepares to interrupt, "He has been trained to say these things. Your parents said things like that and worse to him when they were still alive, and he saw his fellow House-elves slaughtered. What do you think you would've done in his situation?!" Lily's eyes flare. "House-elves are slaves, Sirius! Let that sink in!"
Sirius' eyes fall to his knees as Lily unconsciously stands up in her fit of passion.
"When your parents were still alive you said they were horrible to the House-elves. Well, I bet, the only breaks he ever got from cruelty was when he made little comments like this. It's the only way he knows how to live, Sirius! It was his only way to survive."
By this time, Lily's in tears. She sits back down. But oddly, the tears don't bother her. When she's done speaking, she feels a curious lightness about herself. Proudness. A set of arms come around her before she even registers the fact the Sirius had gotten up.
James gladly removes his glasses and gets into bed after a long day. His head just pounding with conflicting notions and stress. He looks to his left, where his beloved wife is sleeping peacefully, having had a long day as well. To his disappointment, his tousling of the bed sheets wakes her.
"Oh, hey honey, I've been meaning to talk with you," she says, sleepily.
"Can it wait till morning, sweetheart? You're obviously tired."
"No, I'll forget," Lily says insistently, "This morning, at the Order meeting, you were awfully quiet when we were discussing whether we should include Harry more. You're never quiet unless you're hiding something."
James panics a little at this, but then asks himself, What did you expect? She's Lily. He decides to rip off the bandage.
"I told him about the Order meetings."
"You what?!"
"Shh, you'll wake everyone. I told him everything we know except what the prophecy says."
"So, he knows about the connection? I can't believe you told him without talking to me first!" Lily whisper-screams in outrage.
"Lily, we weren't doing anything but driving him crazy by keeping things from him. He's smart enough to know that none of us are really safe. He knows that we're in the center of this war. He's… not a little kid anymore," as James says the last bit, the pain that comes from it catches him off guard. He fails to blink away tears. Lily pulls her knees to her chest. She believes that she's done enough crying today. But in spite of this, Lily crawls into her husband's arms and lays her head against chest. Silent tears spill onto his shirt as Lily voices a fact something that's going to take them some time to come to terms with.
"Sirius was right. He's not a child anymore."
Sirius walks down from his bedroom to where Hermione and Ginny are staying. He knocks and hears a, "Come in," from Hermione. Past the door, he sees Hermione up with a charms book.
"Oh, um… hi Sirius." Things had been awkward between them ever since the argument. Neither one could seem to look the other in the eye. Sirius looks with slight worry at a softly snoring Ginny in the second bed. "Oh, don't worry. A chainsaw wouldn't wake her," Hermione reassures.
"What's a chainsaw?"
"Never mind. What do you need, Sirius?"
"Umm… So, you probably heard, but Lily talked to me earlier and I think I owe you an apology. I guess Kreacher just brought me back to some bad memories from when my parents were still around and reacted badly. I failed to see myself in his shoes. And when you tried to get me to, I ignored you. And I'm very sorry."
Hermione smiles at him. She puts her book down and hugs him as a show of good faith.
"So, are we good?" Sirius asks as Hermione pulls away.
"We're good."
A/N: Hey, folks! Chapter 9 was a little bit more serious than my other chapters, but it's definitely my favorite so far. I hope you all enjoyed as well! Chapter 10 may be a little late (I've got a lot of tests this week) but it will most likely be up by next Monday. As always, I'll let you all know of any schedule changes.