- Aside from OCs and AUs everything is the property of J. K. Rowling-

-Chapter Eight- Locking Down and Opening Up-

'Do you mind not poking me with that thing?'

Harry chuckled, and actually laughed when Daphne turned to glare daggers at him. Madame Pomfrey merely tutted and continued scanning the blonde girl for injuries. The aurors had seen the two criminals disapparate and, after securing the area and examining the body of their deceased colleague, had escorted the students back to Hogwarts and the tender care of its resident healer. The fact that none of them were injured, at least physically, didn't seem to impress the matron as she fussed around and prodded at all of them.

Harry knew that both Snape and Flitwick were outside the doors to the Hospital Wing, seething. Well, Snape would be seething; Flitwick was probably toddling around in anxious circles, stroking his beard. Madame Pomfrey had dismissed them from her domain as soon as they'd turned up, demanding to see their students.

'Poppy.'

Harry had a feeling that Albus Dumbledore would prove tricker to banish.

'Albus.' The healer nodded briskly at him, before continuing about her work as the headmaster swept in, the two heads of house close at his heels.

'My dear children.' The ancient man began, looking incredibly sorrowful. 'I am profoundly sorry for what you were made to witness and endure this afternoon, and I must apologise profusely for putting you in danger.'

'It was my fault, professor.' Blaise said, looking surprisingly guilty. 'I got Agatha to escort us to Hogsmeade. I didn't know what a risk we were taking.'

Dumbledore shook his head slowly.

'The blame must lie entirely with me, Master Zabini.' He said. 'You are students at my school, and your protection whilst here is entirely my responsibility. I was made aware of Auror Reid's plan, and raised no objection. I am glad to see you returned safely, but I must beg your collective apology for allowing you to be exposed to such danger.'

'Are any of you injured?' Professor Snape's voice was as sneering as usual, and his black eyes avoided Harry as he spoke, but at least the words themselves showed some measure of concern.

'No, professor.' Daphne said immediately.

'I can detect no injuries, save for Miss Davis' sprained ankle and Mr Flamel's grazed shoulder, both of which are now healed.' Madame Pomfrey declared briskly. 'Although I would recommend that you gentlemen,' he she indicated Flitwick and Snape, 'speak to your students individually about today's events. They have all gone through a traumatic experience, and I'm quite sure they would appreciate someone to talk to.'

Professor Flitwick nodded and murmured his agreement immediately. Professor Snape's lips twisted a little, but the look in his eyes when he glanced at Daphne, Tracey and Blaise seemed suspiciously like concern to Harry.

'Do they know where Black and Lestrange have gone, professor?' Harry asked at headmaster.

'I am afraid I do not know, Harry.' He replied. 'The aurors here are seeing to the defences of the school, and another team has been sent from London by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to hunt for our escapees.'

Harry nodded, having expected as much.

'I suggest that you all write to your families this evening.' Dumbledore continued. 'The Daily Prophet will be out in the morning, and I doubt that they will desire to be informed of today's events by the newspaper.'

'It's a little late for that, Albus.'

They all turned towards the tall, muscular man with short white-blond hair who'd stormed into the Hospital Wing.

'Father!' Daphne exclaimed, sounding surprised. The man went immediately over to stand by his daughter, who was perched on the bed she'd been assigned, and put his hand on her shoulder, inspecting her carefully for injuries before returning his attention to the assembly.

'Lord Greengrass.' The headmaster greeted.

'Could we speak?' Daphne's father asked, his voice tight.

'Of course, of course.' Professor Dumbledore agreed immediately. 'I will trust you gentlemen to look after your students.' He said to Snape and Flitwick, before leading Lord Greengrass from the room.

'Poppy, are you willing to release my students to my care?' Professor Flitwick asked.

'Where's Dumbledore?'

The healer was cut off from her response by the entrance of a thickset grey-haired woman wearing a monocle and scarlet battle-robes covered with a significant amount of gold brocade.

'I fear you have just missed one another, Madame Bones.' Professor Snape said silkily, surprising Harry by dipping a short bow towards the woman. 'I would imagine he has taken Lord Greengrass to his office.'

The woman frowned, monocle flashing dangerously.

'Nikhail is here?' She asked sharply. Her gaze swept around the students sitting on the beds around her. 'No injuries?' She didn't wait for a response. 'Good. Which one of you is Mr Flamel?'

'I am Harry Flamel.' Harry said, feeling very young under the hard stare the woman directed at him.

'Excellent. Come with me.' She started striding towards the exit before he could respond.

Harry hastened after her, catching up in the corridor.

'Madame Bones.' The woman said, glancing down at him and extending a hand to shake even as they kept walking. 'Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Field-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Magical Britain.'

'A pleasure to meet you.' Harry replied, smiling, and then watching as his charm simply ran off the woman.

'Umm, Toxic Waste.' Harry offered as they came to a stop in front of Dumbledore's gargoyle and Madame Bones stood glaring at it for a few seconds, as though trying to will it into obedience. She glanced at him sharply as the staircase began to grind into motion, before stepping on.

She knocked on the gleaming door, but didn't bother wait for a response before pushing it open.

'Ah, Amelia!' Professor Dumbledore greeted with every appearance of good cheer. Lord Greengrass looked less delighted at the woman's arrival, but accorded her a respectful greeting. 'And I see you've brought Harry along with you as well!' The headmaster exclaimed, beaming down at him. It was only the fact that Harry had spent a significant amount of time sat across the breakfast table from the headmaster, examining his reactions, that meant he was able to detect the faint note of confusion in the set of the man's face.

'Albus. Nikhail.' The woman greeted shortly. 'Before we discuss the events of today, I'm informing you, headmaster, that from this moment Hogwarts is under lockdown. All floo connections save for the designated emergency exit routes are to be cut off immediately. The number of aurors guarding the school is to be doubled, and I will be stationing two squads of enforcers in Hogsmeade to protect the village. No students or staff may leave the grounds under any circumstances without explicit approval from the ground commander of the aurors on duty.'

Albus Dumbledore nodded gravely.

'I will not argue, Amelia.' He said. 'I have failed in my duties, and we must see to the protection of the children.'

'Indeed.' Nikhail Greengrass commented dangerously, before his eyes landed on Harry.

'Mr Flamel, was it?' He asked. 'I saw the article in the Prophet announcing your appearance at Hogwarts. Curious.' He frowned for a second before refocusing. 'Why are you here?'

Harry wasn't too sure about that himself, but thankfully Madame Bones replied before he had to think of something to say.

'I have brought Harry here for my own reasons, Nikhail, and would be grateful if you would allow the headmaster and myself some privacy.'

The frown returned, but eventually the man inclined his head curtly and stepped into the fireplace, disappearing in a billow of emerald flame.

'Well, at least that's him out of the way, for now.' Madame Bones commented after he'd disappeared, before conjuring a pair of straight-backed chairs in front of the headmaster's desk. She sat in one, and gestured sharply for Harry to take the other.

'Mr Flamel. The initial situation report I have received suggests that you attempted to engage with Sirius Black.'

'Then the initial situation report was incorrect.' Harry replied calmly. 'I successfully engaged with Sirius Black, and prevented him from joining the attack on Auror Reid.'

Madame Bones' eyes narrowed.

'Schoolchildren do not attempt to fight dangerous criminals. Auror Reid was a trained, experienced, and powerful combatant, who knew precisely what she was doing and had the tools to do it. You are a thirteen year old she was attempting to protect.'

Harry raised an impassive eyebrow.

'Auror Reid was.'

Madame Bones' face hardened, but Harry continued before she could speak.

'Auror Reid is now dead. She was killed in the execution of her duties by Bellatrix Lestrange. By Bellatrix Lestrange on her own. Auror Reid was talented. She was, as you say, trained, experienced, skilled, and powerful. She was also demolished. Bellatrix Lestrange on her own tore her apart. Had Sirius Black joined the assault she would have been killed even more rapidly. As it was, your aurors didn't arrive on the scene until both had apparated. Had I not stepped in, I think it extremely unlikely that it would be only Auror Reid's death we were mourning today.'

He saw his words have their impact, but Madame Bones would not be turned so easily.

'When you are instructed by a member of the armed forces to take cover, you do so.' She said crisply. 'And remain sheltered until it has become safe to emerge. This is not a game, Mr Flamel, and you deliberately put yourself in grave danger.'

'Madame Bones. I responded to the situation as I decided I must, and to protect myself at least as much as any other. I would have no hesitation in doing the same again under similar circumstances. I see, however, that neither of us will be moved on the issue. Instead perhaps, rather than attempting to castigate me, you could explain why it took such an inordinate amount of time for a response from the aurors stationed at the school, when Auror Reid sent a patronus message to them before engaging with Lestrange?'

Madame Bones stared at him through her monocle.

'Rest assured, Mr Flamel, that all of the necessary investigations will take place in due course.' She said coolly, although she didn't seem keen to press him further on his intervention. 'For the time being, it is my responsibility to make the school and the the village safe, and attempt to hunt down Black and Lestrange.'

'Of course.' Harry replied politely. 'In that case, I will return my common room and allow you to get on with your duties.' He stood and left the office without waiting for a response.

To his surprise, he found Daphne, Tracey and Blaise all huddled together with Liram and Anthony when he arrived at the Ravenclaw common room. He could tell by the looks he received as he walked across the room to join them that some of the news about what had happened in Hogsmeade was beginning to filter into the school.

'Hey Harry.' Liram greeted, making space for him on a sofa.

'Hi. How are you all doing?' Harry asked. He'd made the same inquiry as they were escorted back to the school by the aurors, but back then they'd all still been running on adrenaline.

'Ok, I think.' Tracey said, examining herself as though looking for previously undetected injuries.

'What did Madame Bones want with you?' Liram asked.

Harry shrugged.

'To tell me off for attacking Black.'

There was silence for a few long seconds.

'You probably saved our lives.' Daphne said, looking at him.

Harry didn't really want to tell them that protecting his friends had been one of the last things on his mind when he'd flung himself at the criminal.

Liram was nodding.

'Yeah. I mean, if you hadn't attacked Black… If you hadn't attacked Lestrange…' He paused. 'There's no fucking way any of us could have stood against them.'

'I barely did.' Harry bit out, slightly surprised that he was acknowledging as much openly without using it as a tactic. He'd never been one to admit to weakness. 'If they hadn't decided to flee… I couldn't have lasted much longer.'

His friends looked at him soberly, all apparently realising just how much danger they'd been in.

'Harry, can I speak to you?'

He looked curiously at Daphne, knowing that for her to make a specific request, rather than just make conversation as they walked down to the great hall together for lunch, meant that whatever she wanted to speak about was serious.

'Of course.' He replied, surprised when she grasped his hand and dragged him back down the corridor to an empty classroom.

He leant back against one of the desks and waited patiently as she paced in front of him. She looked up eventually, and swallowed before speaking.

'I'd like to apologise for my behaviour these last few weeks.' She began. Her voice was calm and smooth, but the fingers of one hand twitched slightly nervously. 'You have done nothing to deserve the way I have been treating you, and I have not acted as a Greengrass should.'

Her stare was flat and direct as she finished her apology, not giving an inch.

Harry, still not sure what had caused her behaviour, and certainly not expecting such a blunt turnaround, tried to work out what he wanted to say. He could hardly deny her coolness towards him, but it seemed a little clumsy to accept an apology when he couldn't really see that any genuine offence had been caused. Thankfully, she seemed willing to help him out.

'You want to know why I've been the way I have.' She asked, although it didn't sound like a question.

He smiled wryly.

'It might help me a little.'

Her lips twitched back at him before she sighed faintly.

'The others think I'm jealous of you.' She began. 'Even Tracey, who I've known since I was four.'

Harry raised an eyebrow.

'I take it they're wrong, then?' He asked calmly, quietly pleased that his own doubt over Liram's explanation had apparently been correct.

Daphne glanced down briefly.

'Not entirely. I was jealous of you.' She grimaced. 'I am jealous of you.'

'But?'

'But that would never have been enough for me to let it show. I've been jealous of you since you did that wandless magic on the train, Merlin, since you introduced yourself as a Flamel. And it was a shock, to find someone who was not only better than me at magic, but belonged to a family more famous, wealthier, even more powerful than my own. You see, I've always been able to comfort myself with the knowledge that those who are as clever as I am are not as well born, and those who are as well born as I am are not as good at magic, and so on. I have always been able to hold an advantage over people my own age, even people a little older. With you I don't have any edge.' She looked at him steadily. 'I'm beautiful, of course, but you're pretty good-looking yourself, and appearance has never been as much of an advantage or burden to a man as it has to a woman.'

For perhaps the first time, Harry was grateful for his glamoured form.

'But, as I said, it's not really jealousy that caused my behaviour.' She paused. 'I'm being very open with you, perhaps too open, but I feel the need to be in order to make a proper apology.' He lips twisted again. 'My father would not be impressed by my weakness.'

'So what is your weakness?' Harry asked, grinning, trying to lighten the situation. Daphne smiled at him gratefully before responding.

'You make the world seem very big.' She frowned. 'Or very small.' She continued hastily as he raised an eyebrow. 'I have grown up surrounded by certainties. I have every advantage of birth and brains and position. The world has always been mine to take, but you, you more than anyone else, make me feel small. You broaden my horizons with your talk of foreign societies and strange magics, but they're things I don't know about. Your parents have lived for hundreds and hundreds of years and have achieved everything that we, as magical people, as humans, strive for. The people my parents play with value the accumulation of wealth and longevity, but Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have already won the game. So you see, it's not that I'm jealous of you as an individual, although I am, but that I'm scared of what you represent, of the world you've opened up to me, and that I can't control.'

Harry stayed still, leant against the desk, staring at the girl standing in the shaft of sunlight in front of him.

'Thank you.' He said eventually, with more honesty in his voice than he thought he'd ever heard before. 'Thank you for trusting me enough.'

She let out a chuckle.

'I don't know that I had any other choice, really.' She paused. 'You see, I'm ambitious, and I want to be closer to you than anyone else.' She turned her head briefly at a sudden bang in the corridor outside, before returning her attention to him. 'You've opened up a new world to me, and I may not be able to control it, but I want to be a part of it.'

Harry didn't know what to say. He stood there, wondering whether Daphne was asking him out. His confusion must have shown on his face, for she smiled slightly.

'That doesn't mean I want to be your girlfriend, yet.' She said. Her voice was calm, but she couldn't completely hold back her blush. 'But I hope that my honesty with you, my ability to appreciate the difference between being a privileged posh bitch in her first year at boarding school, and the games we play and stakes we play for as adults, wanting to change the world, makes you think of me as more similar to you than anyone else here.'

Fuck. She's audacious. Harry thought, unable to repress his grin. She's good, too.

'It does.' He agreed. 'No one else in our group is truly aware of the stakes, is ready to play the game yet.'

'Nor am I.' Daphne said, shrugging. 'Yet. But they say the first step to wisdom is realising how little you know.'

Harry grinned.

'That's what they say.'

The atmosphere in the school became more subdued as the days rolled closer to All Hallow's Eve. The Ministry had tightened security massively after the death of the auror in Hogsmeade. Pairs of scarlet-cloaked wizards could be seen striding the grounds, and the ominous tattered black cloaks of dementors drifted along the distant line of the wards. Hogsmeade weekends had been banned, and Harry knew that the headmaster had quietly ordered Argus Filch to close off all of the passageways into and out of the school. Even Quidditch practices now had to happen under the eye of a supervisor. Fortunately, Professor Flitwick had proved more than willing to come down to the pitch and watch training when he was free, and Sullivan Fawley had managed to persuade a few of the more Quidditch-interested aurors on guard duty to be there when he wasn't available.

Ravenclaw wouldn't play their first game until just before the Yuletide holiday, but Fawley was driving them hard. Harry, as Seeker, wasn't suffering as much as the rest of the team, who all had to work together as a well oiled machine, but Sullivan was demanding, and there were specific plays that demanded the Seeker drop out of their search and support the rest of the team, all of which he had to learn from scratch. All the other members of the team had either been on it before, or been members of the reserves, and thus already knew most of what they were doing. Professor Flitwick, when he came to watch, was at least quiet, but the aurors who took his place sometimes applauded loudly at particularly impressive demonstrations, or shouted loud opinions about tactics and formations. They were nice enough people, but could prove remarkably irritating when Harry was trying to concentrate.

At least he'd managed to reach a somewhat satisfactory balance in his lessons, Harry thought. He had, as expected, managed to pass the end of first-year tests without much effort, and all of his teachers had thus allowed him to pursue his own interests with a little guidance and supervision. The only frustration was that they pressured him to remain focused on material within their own subject areas, which meant that he was forced to make potions or learn about plants rather than spend his time studying things he was more interested in. Daphne's new desire for proximity seemed to have translated into regular conversations, normally in empty classrooms after shared periods of Magical Theory, about the governments and the political situations of Magical Britain and Europe. Lord Greengrass was a relatively powerful member of the Wizengamot, one of the few Dark wizards willing to vote against his magic and ideological vision for the sake of pragmatism or personal advantage. Daphne, as his heir apparent, was thus remarkably well-informed about the factions and maneuverings of both the Wizengamot itself and Minister Fudge's administration.

'Stop.'

Harry froze automatically, pulling back the half-cast curse from his wand as Ekaterina stalked over.

'You go too hard.' She declared. 'You fight with fire, and that is good, but it is wildfire, Fiendfyre, and that is bad. The fire should be cold, controlled. Emotion gives you strength, but it causes you to make mistakes.'

Harry nodded reluctantly. He knew he'd been pushing, he could feel the faint throb of magical exhaustion settling into his body. He felt inadequate, though. He'd seen Black and Lestrange fight, he knew how strong they were, and he knew how far he had to go.

'Take five minutes. Calm down. Then, we go again.' Ekaterina said.

'Ah! Good morning, Harry.'

The door to the headmaster's study had been slightly open, and so after knocking lightly and receiving no response, Harry had stepped cautiously inside. He found Albus Dumbledore halfway up a ladder, running a bony finger along a row of books. He turned his head as Harry came in, smiling down at him.

'I won't be a moment, do take a seat and tuck in.'

Harry did as instructed, helping himself to food.

'Aha! Here we are.' The headmaster muttered, drawing a large leather-bound tome from the shelf and gingerly making his way back down the ladder. He placed it carefully on his desk before joining Harry at breakfast.

'How have you been?' Dumbledore asked cheerfully.

'Fine, I think.' Harry replied. Their meeting in the week after the incident in Hogsmeade had been cancelled, for presumably the headmaster had far more important things on his mind than abstract discussions with a first year. As such, it was the first time he'd seen Dumbledore since the strange meeting with the Madame Bones in his office. 'I'm frustrated Black and Lestrange escaped, but I'm glad that none of my friends got hurt.'

Dumbledore smiled at him gently.

'Or you yourself, my boy. I know you told Amelia that you were attempting to protect yourself as much as anyone else by stepping in, but you put yourself in very great danger by attacking Sirius Black.'

Harry nodded. He didn't agree, but knew that debating the matter with the headmaster would get him nowhere.

'Sir,' he began cautiously instead, 'there was something I wanted to ask you about.'

'Oh yes?'

'I was wondering about the tent. The tent in the forest.'

Dumbledore blinked slowly and leant back in his chair.

'The tent.' He repeated ruminatively. 'Alas, by the time Hagrid had reported it to me and I had chance to inspect it, it had vanished. There was no trace of its presence. No magical residue that I could detect.'

Harry frowned, surprised. He hadn't broached the matter with Dumbledore before, reluctantly deciding that it was really none of his business… but with…

'Sir, do you think Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange were using the tent?'

The headmaster lifted a fluffy eyebrow.

'Why should I think that?'

'I'm not really sure.' Harry began, trying tread carefully. He didn't want to mention Blood Magic, for a number of reasons. 'It just seems strange to find a tent in the forest where it shouldn't be, and then two escaped convicts turning up less than a mile away from where it was.'

Dumbledore surveyed him, and Harry wished he could have made a stronger connection without revealing too much.

'Perhaps.' The headmaster said. 'But the tent has gone now, and I have spoken to the centaurs in the forest, who have promised to report any similar disturbances. Additionally, I have moved the school's wardline to run along the edge of the forest, rather than through it. I hope that reassures you?'

'Yes, sir.' Harry agreed, as close to meek as he ever got.

'Now, I would like us to talk about poetry this morning.'

Author's note: Another chapter, although admittedly not nearly as long the last. Hopefully this kinda explains Daphne's behaviour, if not completely, and deals vaguely credibly with the fallout of the events in Hogsmeade (one of the other major problems I have with JKR's books is the remarkably laissez-faire attitude the wizarding world, and the Hogwarts administration, has to the various crises that engulf Harry & friends).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you thought!