Not a child anymore

'I heard he smashed her against the wall!'

'Is that right he then flew right out the window with his Firebolt?'

'He didn't even use his wand!'

'And the snake? You saw the snake? He attacked her the same way he did with Justin!'

In the few hours that followed Harry's escape, the gossips were getting out of hand. By the end of the day, he was a legend. Nobody knew why he had gone away and where. But his classmates made such a good job to tell what had happened, it ignited a revolt among Hogwarts students. Apart for some Slytherins, loyal to Umbridge, and some Ravenclaws, considering themselves above such petty distractions, breaking the decrees became a competition.

Also, all the gazing and pointing, that Harry had suffered from during the beginning of the year, was now targeted against Ron and Hermione. They knew him so well, they must have been aware of his plan, right?

Where had he gone? Would he come back at some point?

Was he on his way to fight You-Know-Who?

Or would he join the Death Eaters?

McGonagall walked through the corridors in a hurry. In all her life she had never seen such an effervescence at Hogwarts. On one hand she could have secretly rejoiced of the student's renewed energy to challenge Umbridge's stupid decrees. But on the other hand, Harry had fled the school Merlin knew where. As for why… She had a very bad feeling about it.

When she entered the Headmaster's office, he was turned towards one his windows, his blue electric gaze fixated on an invisible point only he seemed to see.

'You have to go get him!' She said as soon as she set foot in the office.

'Good day to you too Minerva,' replied Dumbledore calmly.

'You have to help him!' Continued Minerva in a stern voice. 'You have to get out there, find him and fix this mess!'

'Mess?' Chuckled Dumbledore. 'Indeed, I heard she was pretty shocked after his retaliation. In normal circumstances I would be in the Infirmary starting an investigation, but from what I have gathered so far, student's deeds are no longer my prerogative.'

'Prerogative… Do you think this is a joke?' Asked McGonagall completely outraged. 'He is out there, alone with a dark mage on his tail. And one can be sure He will unleash every power he has to seek the boy once he finds out about his escape!'

'Believe me Minerva when I say that no one takes this matter more seriously than I do.' Dumbledore turned towards his Deputy Headmistress. His voice might have been peaceful, but his face had rarely been so grave. 'I have tried to right my mistakes and, up to a certain point, I think he did forgive me. I have rarely seen such kindness in anyone.' His voice wavered a bit and he cleared his throat. 'Harry has been hiding me something. A secret so dark he'd rather keep it to himself than share it with me.' He left the window and approached his phoenix who was watching the scene closely. 'I gave him all the information I could in the time he allowed me.'

McGonagall frowned. Allowed?

'He didn't flee,' continued Dumbledore. 'He went forward. He has discovered the very secret I have been looking for since he lost his parent's. I don't know how he did it, but that's what gave him the confidence to set out.'

'But you can't leave him alone!' Said McGonagall. She was starting to sound discouraged.

'We have to respect his choice and not burden him more than what the Ministry and the dark forces will,' replied Dumbledore softly. 'He is taking the attention away from the Order. This is our opening to advance on our strategy and continue to build our side.'

'You talk about him like he is one your pawn,' growled the Head of Gryffindor.

'And yet he's not,' said Dumbledore withstanding her darting eyes. 'I have blinded myself during the past few years thinking I could spare him the truth. I thought I would find a way to leave him alone. And well… I failed Minerva, it's as simple as that.'

Was he… crying? She had never seen the blue eyes so bright.

'He's just a child…' said McGonagall eventually in a low voice.

'Harry Potter has never been a child,' replied Dumbledore in a harsh voice. 'Find someone who's spent his youngest years away from his kind, tortured in the family he had been placed in, under the very nose of the wizard who had sworn to look after him no matter what! Find someone who has never known a peaceful year at Hogwarts, the school I am supposed to protect, and has known ordeals many adults wouldn't have been able to survived.' His voice was almost broken. 'Find someone who has witnessed Lord Voldemort reborn, the murder of his classmate and has been called a liar for this.' He was talking so softly it was hard to hear him. 'Find this person and then go tell them they're just a child, Minerva. They won't believe you.'

Minerva stood quiet. Maybe Albus Dumbledore truly cared in the end.

'What can we do then?' She asked trying to hold her tears back.

'The Order has work to do and, thanks to him, we'll have a broader scope of action,' replied Dumbledore who had gained all his composure back. 'As for me I will still look for my answers.'

He approached McGonagall and put his hand on her shoulder.

'Before the end,' he whispered, 'Harry will need us. And we will have to be there for him.'

'He will need you.'

'I wonder how Harry resisted jinxing them all!' Said Ron furiously while glaring at a group of third years whispering and glancing at Hermione and him. 'Don't you have anything better to do?!' He shouted at them while they were running away.

'Ah Ron, we thought it was you…'

'Such a beautiful voice…'

'It would be a shame to keep it for you!'

'Just let it out!'

'What do you want?' Grumbled Ron as he saw Fred and Georges joined them at the table Hermione and he had set camp to study.

'Well, she asked us to come,' replied Fred while nodding toward Hermione.

'And since we are gentlemen, we came promptly.' Finished Georges with a lively voice.

Hermione glanced around them. The library was almost empty. She pulled the bunch of parchment Harry had given them before leaving and indicated to the boys to lower their head so she could whisper.

'I have read everything that Harry has left us,' she started with an exciting voice.

'Of course, you did,' smiled Rom.

'This is brilliant,' she continued with bright eyes while pointing at the parchments. 'I don't know where Harry learned all that but this is exactly what we need!'

'What do you mean?' Asked Fred who was keenly curious.

'I have been thinking for a while that maybe we should start doing things ourselves.' Ron looked at her interrogatively. Fred and Georges eyes were sparkling. 'We have to learn Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves! Now more than ever! It is way more important than anything else'

In other circumstances, Ron would have teased her. More important than anything else? What about homeworks? But now wasn't the time for jokes. He nodded.

'To be honest,' she said with a low voice, 'I wish Harry would have been there to teach us… But those parchments will be more than enough to give us the training we need if we ever have to face V-Voldemort.'

The boys looked at her with an admirative look.

'And where do you suggest we do that?' Asked Ron. The idea pleased him, but the school still was under Umbridge's surveillance.

'Harry answered this question for us,' she replied with a smile. 'The Room of Requirements. He explained the purpose of this Room and I went to check in "Hogwarts: A History". This will be the perfect place!'

She then proceeded to tell them about the the Room and when she was done, only one question remained.

'When do we start?' Asked Georges. He had never been so motivated in his life to learn something and the feeling was thrilling.

'Actually,' said Hermione with a concerned look, 'I was thinking that maybe we could invite anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort. Oh, don't be pathetic Ron. I think it would be only fair to offer this chance to other people.'

'Well,' said Ron after a few seconds of silence. 'Harry warned us V-… You-Know-Who would come at Hogwarts. So, I agree with you. We have to get ready.' He took a deep breath and passed his hand in his hairs. 'I have the feeling this is what he wanted us to do anyway.'

They decided to start talking about their endeavour to the people they trusted the most and as quiet as possible. Then, they would meet them in a place of Hermione's choice. She refused to tell them where immediately while smiling mysteriously. And to finish, they would start the training no later than next week. February was on its way and time was ticking.