Chapter 17: A Brief Respite
Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his high backed chair in his office. The powerful man had several oddly shaped gizmos in front of him that spun wildly which troubled him. All of the machines were linked to different parts of Harry's health; one for his magic, one for his mind and one for his general vitals. There were also some which monitored the wards around Privett drive and Grimmauld Place. Thankfully the wards were the only machines not reacting violently to anything but that was where the good news ended.
'The boy's vitals constantly spike in the morning for no apparent reason and his mind seems to be significantly more strained than usual. What plagues your mind Harry?' The old Headmaster thought. His train of thought was broken when there was a loud knock at the door. Sensing his professor's presence he called out
"Come in, Severus"
The phrase 'come in (name)' dispelling the locking charms on the door for a brief period allowing him to enter. The Potions Professor strode purposefully into the office and with a flourish of his cape he sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Dumbledore asked politely. By the exaggerated scowl on Snape's face it was one of two things; Voldemort is planning something terrible or the Professor had run into Harry Potter.
"Voldemort is aware of the connection between him and the boy. As we speak, he enacts a plan that I have very little details of to attack Potter."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful and stroked his well-groomed beard. "Most troubling. Although I do believe he will find significant difficulty in penetrating Harry's mind, we mustn't underestimate Tom's craftiness. Harry has erected a solid and considerably large wall around his mind, nothing fancy like mental tripwires or fake memory scapes but it will take significant force to overcome his defences."
"Very well if the brat continues to refuse our help then we'll just have to hope he doesn't act foolishly. Small chance as it may be."
"You underestimate him, old friend, Harry is quite the resourceful young lad, more so this year than any other. His pragmatism and cool headedness saved Arthur's life and he has taken strides to learn occlumency on his own."
"Hmph. Enough praising the boy Albus, I have more news. The Dark Lord's servants have once again failed to produce a plan to acquire it. The Dark Lord said he will conjure the plan himself seeing that the Death Eaters assigned were too incompetent." Severus said with a satisfied smirk.
"This is good news indeed. The order will make no new moves in light of this information, the Dark Lord as of right now is unlikely to mount a full assault on the ministry so the weapon is safe."
"If that will be all Albus, I have potions to attend to." Snape said standing up and twirling on the spot to make for the door.
"Actually, I do have one more topic for discussion tonight, if you'll indulge an old man."
Keeping a blank face, Severus turned slowly and hid his annoyance. Taking a seat once more he motioned for the aging headmaster to continue.
"Thank you, I wanted to know what you think happened to Delores, I find her death being an accident highly unlikely." The headmaster asked.
"If you're asking whether the Dark Lord had something to do with it then I would say it is almost certain that he had nothing to do with her death. The woman would make even the worst death eaters disgusted."
"Hmm I thought as much, I have a theory if you'd entertain it." At Severus' continued blank stare, Dumbledore continued. "The instruments in front of you monitor Harry in all aspects of his health. The night Delores died his mental and magical monitors were spinning so violently that they were bright red and hot to touch. Thus indicated to me he was experiencing strong emotions and his magic was acting in proportion to his emotive state."
Severus, understanding the implications, expressed the smallest hint of shock. The notion that 'the Potter brat' was capable of such violence was almost impossible.
"I see you understand what I'm thinking. I first entertained the idea that Voldemort's breakout was the reason for such a flare in emotions but the timing doesn't match up, the breakout was much earlier in the morning whereas this occurred at eight seventeen. If you'll recall, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger were scheduled for detention at that time and we both know how fiercely protective Harry is of them.
Severus found his voice to protest, "Albus, surely…. surely, he is not capable of what you suggest, not… Lily's son" he said weakly.
Giving the man a sympathetic look, Dumbledore addressed his fears. "Right now, it is all conjecture, I have no proof nor any particular inclination to go looking for it. If you wish to do your own investigation, be my guest. However, do not act on anything without my permission, this is still my school after all."
"Yes Headmaster" Snape replied, his mind running a mile a minute, effectively fixated on discovering the truth. The bat of the dungeons left the office muttering to himself as Dumbledore watched him, pleased.
'Harry is keeping me at arm's length. Severus' skills will be more effective in discovering the truth. Not much else makes sense other than foul play and I truly hope Harry isn't the culprit - he's too important for him to turn dark.' The ancient wizard thought going back to studying his gizmos, trying to discern fact from fiction.
"Sirius!" Harry called into the mirror. He was sitting in the dark study in the chamber of secrets recovering from the last DA session. The Patronus charm used constantly can be extremely tiring which his students were coming to understand. He figured with everyone trying to find a quiet place to rest, this was the best time to catch up with Sirius and hopefully Remus.
"Harry? Harry you there?" A muffled voice said from the other end of the connection.
"Sirius? What's going on?" Harry asked worriedly.
Suddenly the mirror was bathed in light and Sirius' sheepish smile took up most of the 'screen.'
"Sorry kiddo, forgot I put this in the old undies drawer, gave me a right fright when I heard you yelling out of my boxers." Sirius said laughing at his own expense. Harry joined him for a moment but then contemplated whether he should feel gross or not. "So, how goes Hogwarts? I heard about Umbridge, was that you?" He asked not very tactfully.
Harry sighed, the scene of the murder coming back to mind before he cleared. "Yes, Daphne and I got rid of her the same night Azkaban was attacked."
"Good riddance I'll say, she's made life difficult for some and downright torturous for others. You did the right thing and I'm sure most will agree with me." Sirius said matter of factly.
"That seems to be the popular opinion as of late. I'm mostly over it now, we still have too much to do without me getting hung up on the details. Have you discovered anything about the items?" Harry asked, referring to the Horcruxes. They had decided early on that in general discussion they wouldn't use the term for fear of giving anything away.
"No but I have discovered several libraries in the properties Remus and I have been scouting. In theory anything there should be in the grimoire but it's possible something was missed and I've got nothing better to do right now." Sirius said bitterly. Getting out of the house was good for him but they were running out of places to look at so it was back to captivity for him.
Harry nodded "Daphne did tell me about that, any good properties?"
Grimacing, Sirius replied "not really, we've got two more to go to that seem most promising. The Black Chateau on the isle of man and a country home in Yorkshire. The country home I've been to and it's certainly quite secluded, but it is a little small. The chateau is magnificent though, beautiful landscapes and off of the mainland. Linked to the floo so it is easily accessible that way but it is in need of repair. No one has been there in nearly a century because of the wars, the family wanted to be closer to the centre of power in case things got bad."
"Seems like you have a favourite." Harry said with a smile.
"Well a little bit of luxury never killed anyone, it also makes the most tactical sense. Off the grid but accessible to those in the know, fortifications in case of attack and large enough to house a standing force."
"I'll leave this to you and Remus, you two know more about logistics than I do. It needs to be operational before the year ends, I have a feeling Voldemort is going to make a major play soon" Harry delegated.
Sirius smiled. "You're getting better at giving orders, it will be done. How's the Greengrass daughter doing, any useful?"
Harry smirked at his Godfather, the question was innocent enough, but Harry knew better when dealing with Sirius. "Yes, she's more than useful. No nothing saucy going on so keep it in your pants you weirdo." Sirius laughed but Harry wasn't done. "She's quite intelligent, in a way different to Hermione. Very observant and direct in her approach, powerful too more so than Moody."
Sirius raised his eyebrow in surprise. "More powerful than Moody? Have you been duelling?"
"Every day for the past few weeks. She's strong and has a good repertoire of spells but she's used to traditional pure blood duelling instructors. I'm trying to teach her how to fight, not duel."
"An important distinction, how's that going?"
"Better each session, once she started seeing real progress it motivated her to listen more. She's got a lot of passion but not a lot of experience is all." Harry concluded.
"Whereas you've got both in spades" Sirius supplied.
"Unfortunately." Was the dry reply. His experience made him strong but it only had such an effect because it was dangerous and at times life threatening. 'Like Daphne tried to say; no pain no gain' he thought.
"Alright, on that note I need to go. Remus and I are going to check out the country house today just in case the chateau doesn't work out. Keep at it and keep your chin up, you're a good man Harry nothing has changed that."
"Thanks Sirius, goodbye." Harry said with a slight smile.
"Goodbye Harry"
The thwack of flesh on leather was heard rhythmically throughout the room of requirement. Daphne was doing her workout at night time now to accommodate for the duelling time in the morning.
'Fights, not duels.' She thought, remembering Harry's instruction. Duels were stuck inside a box of rules and regulations. Fights are what happen in war not duels and that's what they were training for.
Finishing her time punching the back she headed towards the makeshift shower the room created for her. Peeling of the sweat-soaked clothes she entered the shower to rinse off. As she stood there with the pellets of water raining down on her she thought about her next steps.
'Harry said he expects the war to pick up after this year. Something about Voldemort always making his big plays at the end of the academic year, how courteous of him. Taking stock of our resources is a pathetic realisation. We've got four, maybe five, battle ready witches and wizards against scores of death eaters, criminals and beasts. Even I am not confident in the face of those odds. We need a way of recruiting people to our side and not the conventional factions.'
Done with her shower she turned it off and stepped out. Absent-mindedly pulling on her school clothes she continued her musings.
'We're not established enough to bring in outsiders, only after some big wins will we be able to cultivate from the general population. No, it's got to be people already familiar with the real legend of Harry Potter and trust him enough to lead them. If only there was a list of people like that already in existence so we could just go down it and eliminate options methodically.'
A light rumbling occurred out of nowhere and a Doric style pillar with a piece of parchment on it protruded from the ground in front of Daphne until the parchment was at waist level. Daphne started forward and cursed the room for mocking her for in front of her was a list of names with the title: Dumbledore's Army.
'Not for long old man, not for long.' Daphne thought with a smirk.
"Incendio!" she cried and a column of flames hurtled towards her opponent who simply flicked his wand deflecting the flames to the side. Then she was moving, he had told her that moving constantly kept you alive and she confirmed that as she watched a spell pass where her head was a moment ago.
Her and her opponent traded spells ferociously, each blocking those that they couldn't dodge with showers of sparks colouring the room due to excess energy. Her opponent kept inching towards her, making reacting to his spells more and more difficult, until he deflected one of her blasting curses into the ceiling, covering the room in dust and rubble. When she gathered her senses she had less than a moment before she saw him lunge at her. Ducking under his arm, she delivered two quick jabs to his ribs. He grunted but spun away to create distance, sending a banisher at her feet which connected.
She fell face first into the floor but the collision was abated by her arms protecting her face. The follow up spell was dodged by a quick roll to the side by her. Twirling back to her feet she fired off two bone breakers which she expected him to dodge or block. Preparing to defend the counter attack she was stunned to see him step forward and to the right - into a bone breaker which connected with his wand hand. The problem now was that he was so close that he was able to snatch her wand hand and step behind her, throwing her to the floor but keeping a hold of her wand as she fell.
The floor had been softened in case of this occurrence but the impact still hurt. Groaning, Daphne looked into the triumphant but pained eyes of Harry Potter. He offered his healthy hand to her and helped her up.
"Last lesson Moody taught me, don't assume your opponent is done unless they're incapacitated or dead. Your hesitation when I dropped my wand allowed me to get past your defence."
"Pfft don't expect me to believe that Moody broke his own hand to teach you this lesson you idiot." She said, snatching back her wand and analysing his injury.
"Well no, but it seemed like a good idea at the time." He said weakly, wincing when Daphne poked his hand with her wand. She closed her eyes and after a moment her wand jerked as a green mist was absorbed into his hand.
"Agh! What the hell did you cast?" Harry yelled in pain, it was on the same level as the break itself.
"Episkey you big baby. If you're foolish enough to break your own hand then you're able to take the mending process." She said forcefully. The sparring was becoming more intense each session and she was thankful for it. She had yet to win any of the rounds but she could tell that they were both improving.
"You did well today," Harry said as he gathered. "I could tell you were focused on moving which is good. The close combat was impressive as well, thought I'd catch you off guard but I'm clearly out matched there." He praised and joked.
Smiling at the praise, Daphne took a seat in front of him. "Well if you weren't so slow it wouldn't be a problem."
"Watch it, I can and will beat you with my off hand."
"Don't make silly challenges Potter, I've seen your aim. You couldn't hit a petrified dragon on a good day."
"You've got me there." Harry admitted with a good-natured laugh. Once again Daphne donned her signature smirk, but Harry could detect the hint of a real smile. The two sat in silence, recovering from their injuries in peace. Daphne, however, remembered what she found last night in the very room they sat in now.
"By the way, I found this in the room last night." She said, pulling a roll of parchment out of her school robes which sat next to her.
Harry immediately recognised the parchment as the DA list of members and became alarmed. "How did you find it? We hid it in the deepest part of that junk room for crying out loud."
"Magic is a truly wonderful thing. I was here last night getting in my daily workout and just as I was thinking we needed to expand our little alliance a list of possible candidates appeared right in front of me." She gestured to the DA membership list.
Harry contemplated the notion, sure he trusted some of these kids and some of them showed potential but would it be right to drag them deeper into the war?
'If not us, then who? The ministry and Dumbledore aren't doing anything. Is there an age limit for being able to fight for your own freedom?'
"I'm not so sure about that. These are innocent teenagers who would be painting huge targets on their backs, I'm not sure I could handle that. I'm prepared to sacrifice myself and my own soul for this conflict but not others."
"Ah so you're content to sacrifice my soul then? Black's? Professor Lupin's?" She challenged, calling out his hypocrisy.
Harry jumped to his feet in outrage, he was about to hotly reply but he noticed her damned smirk again. "Ah, I see. You almost had me"
"You understand then?"
"Yeah. Everyone has the right to choose how they respond to this conflict, offering them a choice to join me isn't equivalent to killing them. If anything it allows me to make the right calls to keep them safe."
"Exactly" Daphne affirmed smugly. "That is why I am going to join the DA. Survey the people there and their capabilities."
"No, that's not a good idea right now, too much anti-Slytherin talk for that kind of plan. Stay disillusioned, observe but do not interact. When you've identified who we can bring into the fold I'll go through the list myself and then we'll start the integration process." Harry commanded. After Umbridge's death the power imbalance shifted to the rest of the school's favour, many people were feeling vindictive and it wouldn't do for someone to take a cheap shot at Daphne in a misguided attempt for vengeance.
"Hmm, Granger said something to that effect as well. Very well, how would you like to go about changing that?"
"Excuse me?"
"The whole school hates Slytherins. The bullying that will commence when the war is in full swing will drive people either out of the conflict or into the Dark Lord's waiting arms. It is in our best interest to change that."
"Well if the plan is for you to come out into the open when Voldemort does then we can cross that bridge then."
"Fair enough." Checking the time, Daphne realised breakfast would be ending soon. "It's almost time for class we have to go." she said as she gathered her belongings and put on her robe.
"Yeah, double potions first thing, I've never been more excited." Harry said sarcastically.
"Snape isn't so bad if you keep your down"
"We don't have enough time for me to tell you just how wrong you are and why." He refuted. Even with his head down, Snape would actively target him and Neville. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Goodbye."