Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
A/N: I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not sure how often I'm going to be able to update this story from now on. I am no longer able to write as much as I have for the last few years, but I'm going to try to keep posting every week if I can, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that. I will be posting all of my stories twice a week now. It will either be late Sundays/early Mondays and late Thursdays.
Thanks to MaeSilverpaws1, who is beta-ing this story.
Chapter Fifty-Five
A New Hiding Place
Harry discovered that it wasn't as hard as he thought it was going to be calling Remus, Professor Lupin. He was able to think of it as his own personal prank against his classmates, not that they were ever going to get it; it was just easier thinking of it this way. It also helped that after their first lesson, everyone really liked Remus and they were actually excited about what they would learn in the next class. Harry wasn't sure what he would have done if someone had something bad to say about Remus, but it didn't seem like Harry was going to have to worry about that much. The only thing that he didn't like about their first class was the fact that Remus had obviously stopped him from facing the Boggart the class was learning about.
It was a rather clever idea to have the first class be about facing something that you're afraid of and then forcing it into something that made you laugh. After the first person gave it a try and succeeded the whole class was able to do it. Everyone in the class was eager to prove that they could laugh at their fears too. However, Harry didn't get the chance to do this, because Remus had stopped it.
"Harry? Is something wrong?" Ron asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Go on ahead of me," Harry said, walking to the front of the class where Remus was.
"Come on," he heard Hermione say and he knew that his friends had left.
"Yes, Harry, can I help you?" Remus asked and Harry turned to look at the door, making sure they were alone before he said anything.
"Why did you do that?" Harry said angrily, "why didn't you let me face the Boggart?"
Remus sighed, "I'm sorry, Harry, I was afraid of what you might summon. It looked as if you weren't sure yourself."
"I … er … no, I wasn't sure," Harry had to admit. He had thought of several things that he was afraid of, but he wasn't sure what he was most afraid of. He couldn't help but think about what had happened over the summer when he had seen what came out of the locket. He thought of what the locket had said about his mum being killed because of him and how he still had that enemy around him, he worried what could happen to the people he cared about now. He feared that his friends were in more danger because they were close to him. Then he had thought of the reason why there was danger, the snake like face of Voldemort had formed in his mind.
"It isn't wise to face a Boggart if you don't know what you're afraid of," Remus said.
"You don't always know when you're going to face a Boggart," Harry pointed out.
"True, in fact you usually don't know when you're going to face a Boggart in real life," Remus said. "However, this was a controlled exercise and I gave everyone time to think of what they were afraid of and find a way to make it funny to them."
"And you noticed that I didn't do that," Harry frowned.
"Yes," Remus sighed.
"Would you have stopped the Boggart if it wasn't me?" Harry asked, his voice demanding the truth.
"Probably not," Remus said after a long pause and Harry glared at him. "I'm sorry Harry, I was afraid of what your Boggart would be. I know it wouldn't be a monster or anything that your classmates would conjure. I thought it might even have been Voldemort himself, which would have fueled everyone else's fear, taking away the advantage we have over the Boggart, perhaps making it even stronger."
"I did think of him," Harry admitted. "But I thought of other things before that too."
Remus didn't ask the question that he obviously wanted to, waiting to see if Harry was going to share on his own.
"I thought of what happened with the locket," Harry mumbled and Remus sighed, getting up so that he could put his hands on either side of Harry's shoulders.
"Harry, that wasn't really …" he started to say.
"I know," Harry said, not able to look at the werewolf in the eyes. Harry didn't mention his other fear. The one that involved his friends getting hurt or killed because they were close to him, he couldn't find the words to voice that part of his fears. He didn't really want to talk about what he had just said either, it was enough that he had to think about it, he didn't want to talk about it too.
"I don't know if it was a good thing that you let everyone see your Boggart," Harry said, obviously trying to change the subject.
"I believe I heard one of your classmates say that I was afraid of a crystal ball," Remus said.
"That doesn't mean someone can't figure out that it was a full moon," Harry shrugged.
"I think I'll be safe," Remus said with a reassuring smile.
"You're just lucky that Hermione knows the truth," Harry muttered and Remus chuckled.
"You're right, she did figure out what I was when she was only ten," Remus smiled, "she would have known by the end of this week."
"It would have taken at least a few months," Harry said rolled his eyes. "Remus?"
"What is it cub?" Remus asked.
"Is the full moon really what you're afraid of most?" Harry asked.
Remus paused for a long time before saying, "It's what I've feared the longest. Even now … I fear the full moon and the change that it will make in me. But no, it's not what I really fear the most."
"What is?" Harry asked softly this time.
"Something happening to you," Remus answered and then he added in a whisper, "and the very most, that I would do something to you."
Harry looked at Remus sadly, who wasn't looking at him. Remus was obviously thinking that he might lose control of himself when a full moon came and attack Harry. Harry had decided then that he had to try even harder than he already was to become an Animagus. He wasn't sure if he could do anything for Remus's fear about him getting hurt, not with the threat that was hanging over his shoulder, but he could make sure that Remus didn't have to fear being dangerous to him anymore.
O
"This isn't going to work," Harry said frowning. He was standing in the passageway behind the mirror on the fourth floor with all of his friends. Hermione had told him the other day that they were ready to move on to the next step in the Animagus training and actually start trying to transform. He had been so excited that he told Fred and George, who agreed to meet them that Saturday morning with the rest of the group. It was true that Ginny and Luna weren't quite ready for this step yet, but Hermione said that it would be best for them to be there for every stage of this so it would make it easier on them when they were.
"What do you mean it's not going to work?" Hermione asked, looking confused.
"We can't practice here," Harry shook his head.
"I know we'll be a little cramped, but there should be enough room in here for all of us," Hermione said.
"That's not what I mean," Harry shook his head.
"Then what do you mean?" Fred asked. "Because if we're not going to try to transform now, I don't know why you bothered us with this."
"I thought we were," Harry said. "But I just thought as I walked in here …"
"Yeah?" Neville said, for Harry had stopped there.
"Well … er … Moony knows about this place," Harry said. "He knows about all of the passageways in and out of here."
"That's true," Fred said frowning.
"And he knows that we know about them too," George added.
"You don't think he'll tell anyone about that?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry shook his head. "As long as nothing dangerous or out of control happens, he doesn't care if we use the passageways."
"Good," the twin and Ron said in unison.
"So what are you worried about?" Ginny asked Harry.
"I was just worried about what he would do if he came in here," Harry said frowning. "We still have two more potions that shows what form a person's Animagus is, not to mention the books we have about it."
"He would know right away what we're up to," Hermione said, suddenly alarmed.
"Do you think he'll react badly if he found out?" Neville asked.
"Padfoot said that he yelled for a long time and didn't talk to them for a week when he found out what they had done," Harry sighed.
"Really?" Ron asked shocked. "I thought he would have been happy that they were there for him."
"He was," Harry affirmed. "But he was still angry about how irresponsible they were to try to do something that could have caused them harm. I'm actually not really looking forward to when I show him I'm an Animagus as well."
"What are we supposed to do now?" Ginny asked. "Wait until he leaves?"
"No … that will be a year at least, and who knows, maybe he'll be able to stay longer," Ron grumbled.
"He is the best Defense Professor we've had yet," Fred agreed. "If it wasn't for this problem, I would be all for him staying on."
"The solution is obvious, we'll need to find a place to practice that Professor Lupin doesn't know about," Luna said in a matter of fact voice, or at least as close as her voice got to that.
"The problem with that, Luna, is that Moony knows this places better than we do," Harry sighed.
"Hm … that is difficult," Luna sighed. "But that doesn't mean it's impossible."
"She's right, nothing's impossible," Fred agreed. "Besides, I think it's about time that we find a place that the Marauders haven't."
"Yeah, we can't always live in their shadows," George added.
"I supposed this means that we should look for a new place to hang out in now," Harry said pleased by the solution they had come up with. They split up in groups of two to search the castle and Hermione asked to be the one to be with him.
"What is it?" Harry asked when they were alone, walking towards the second floor and trying to find a secret passageway that wasn't on the Marauder's map (or the ones that they had made themselves).
"Do you really think that Moony (she used this name because they were in the corridor now and didn't think it was wise to call him Remus) is going to start looking in the old passageways?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You never know," Harry shrugged.
"It seems unlikely to me that he would," Hermione said.
"I thought you would appreciate that I'm being cautious," Harry said.
"I do, it's just not like you," Hermione said, "which makes me think that you have another reason for doing this … or that you're worried there's a reason you have to do this."
Harry grimaced. "Okay, I'm a little worried that he might think that I'm up to something. I believe that he had no idea that Padfoot and my dad were trying to transform, but I'm a little worried that he might recognize the signs they went through."
"Do you really think that's possible?" Hermione asked biting her lip nervously.
"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "But if anyone could, it would be Moony."
"Harry, maybe we should hold off on this for a year," Hermione said frowning.
"You can wait however long you want, but I'm not going to," Harry said, "I'll practice in a vacant classroom if I have to …. I don't care; I'm going to do this!"
Hermione frowned, not expecting him to have reacted that strongly. "Harry …?"
"I don't know what this means to the rest of you," Harry started to explain. "But to me, it's not just so I can change forms. Of course I think that will be awesome … but if it was just that I could have waited. I need to change so that Moony doesn't have to be afraid anymore."
Hermione looked at him sadly for a moment, before turning her attention to the corridor. "I'm sure we'll find a suitable place soon, though I'm telling you now, it's not going to be in a classroom. It would be much too easy to be caught by any of the professors, not just Moony."
Harry nodded his head, glad that she understood what he was feeling and that she wasn't going to question him about this anymore. However, after an hour of looking around they had passed a few hidden passageways, but none they hadn't already known about. Right about then Harry felt his map grew hotter in his pocket, which meant that someone was sending him a message.
Hermione had obviously gotten the message too, because she was taking out her own map before he could move and she opened it the page that seemed to be writing a message as they looked at it.
Hey everyone, I think Luna and I have found something. Come and join us,
Ginny
P.S.
When are we going to think of nicknames for ourselves?
"She has a point, it's been awhile and we still haven't thought of anything to call ourselves," Hermione said after reading the message. Harry and Hermione quickly took the next left so that they could head towards Ginny and Luna's dots. It didn't take long to find the dots because not that many people were on the seventh floor.
"Don't look at me … we all have to think of our names," Harry shrugged.
They were still talking about this when they caught up with the others. They were the last to show up, since they had been farthest from the seventh floor.
"So where is this place you found?" Harry asked.
"Er … I don't know," Ginny grimace.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Harry asked. "You told us you found something."
"She was just telling us," Neville said looking at Ginny warily. "The room disappeared."
"Don't worry about Gin-Gin exploding again, she doesn't do that whenever Harry's around," Fred teased.
"Shut up," Ginny said turning red, and looking annoyed, though she couldn't stop herself for blushing.
"How could the room just disappear?" Harry asked, ignoring Fred's comment the best he could.
"I don't know," Ginny sighed. "We walked around this place about three times before we even discovered the door in the first place …"
"Why?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows.
"I was following the Runsilbes' trail," Luna explained. "They like to hide in secret places; they don't like to deal with people. I was sure that something must be here because I could see the signs the Runsibles leave behind …"
"They're not very good at hiding if they leave signs behind," Ron pointed out.
"Yes," Luna agreed, "it's lucky for them that most people don't know what their trails look like. However, I do and I was following them. I was sure there had to be a place around here and then there was."
"Yeah, on our third pass, there was this door," Ginny said, "and we figured we might as well open it and check it out. It was perfect … just how I imagined the room would be. There were plenty of room to practice and room to store the potion and the books."
"So what happened to this room of yours?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Ginny frowned. "I wrote the note to you and then Luna and I went outside to wait for you lot to get here. The next thing we knew the door was gone!"
"Hm … Fred, does that painting look familiar to you?" George asked looking at the tapestry of a troll doing ballet. Fred looked at it and gasped and then looked back to the empty wall.
"This is where that cupboard was that we used last year!" Fred said.
"Do you mean right here?" Ginny asked pointing to the space where the door had been.
"Yep, that's it," George said. "But it wasn't nearly big enough to let us practice in. Actually it was barely big enough to hide Fred and I."
"Well it was huge when I used it," Ginny shrugged.
"Fred, George … did you guys find this cupboard immediately?" Hermione asked.
The twins looked at each other thoughtfully, and then shook their heads.
"No, we ran around looking for a place to hide, Filch was after us, you see," Fred said.
"We must have passed this place a few times before we found the door," George added.
"What are you thinking?" Harry asked Hermione.
"There seemed to be a pattern here, doesn't there," Hermione said. "Both the twins and Ginny and Luna, passed this door … wall … whatever, a few times before it turned up …. Maybe we should do the same?" she added on questioningly.
"It's worth a try," Harry agreed and then he walked in front of the door a few times, thinking about a place that they could use to transform in.
"Harry!" Hermione said as Ron said "Wow!"
"See, I told you there was a door!" cried Ginny triumphantly.
Harry opened the door and his eyes widened; it was just as he had imagined it. It was the perfect place for them to go to learn what they needed.
"Hm … it looks different?" Luna commented when she looked over his shoulder.
"Really?" Harry said.
"Yeah, there's more desk area than there was before," Ginny said. "And there's a book case full of books? I wonder why it's different."
"Obviously you and Harry don't think alike when it comes to places to practice in," Luna said.
"What?" Harry said frowning. "Are you saying that this place became what I wanted it to be?"
"Huh? I think she's right Harry," Hermione said. "It would make sense why the room would look different than it did for Ginny or the twins."
"Er … does this mean the room could look however we want it to?" Ron asked, his face lightening up. "Think of the possibilities!"
"We are!" Fred and George said with smirks that were rather frightening.
A/N: So I really need some help thinking of what to use as nicknames for Harry and the others. So far all I have is;
Harry : Bolt (thanks to BeccaBaby for suggesting it).
Ron: Redpaw
Neville: Taz
Fred: Mayhem (thanks to DeceptionDefenestrater) or Heckle (thanks to V.L. Crawford).
George: Mischief or Jeckle or Wiley
I don't have anything for any of the girls and I really think that in the next few chapters I want to decide what they should be called. I also think that I should figure out what the group as a whole would call themselves. I supposed I could call them Dumbledore's Army, but I just don't see them suggesting that as the way things are at this point. If you have any names or ideas I would appreciate any suggestions.
