Chapter Seventy-Two: Promises and Prefects
"I knew it!" Ron yelled, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"
"They were bound to clear you," Hermione said, relief still plain on her face. "There was no case against you, none at all…"
"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I'd get off…" Harry said with a grin.
Fred, George, and Ginny were indeed doing a kind of war dance while chanting, "He got off, he got off, he got off!"
Daphne was inclined to join them, even while Mr. Weasley told Sirius about their short run-in with Lucius Malfoy.
"He got off, he got off, he got off!"
The war dance really did look like a lot of fun… Well, when in Rome…
Daphne walked over to Fred, George, and Ginny, and stepped in between Ginny and Fred.
"He got off, he got off, he got off!"
"Hey, come on, now, that's enough!" Mr. Weasley yelled at them, but none of them bothered to listen.
Daphne glanced at Harry, Hermione, and Ron, all of whom looked very amused. Then Ron shrugged, got up, and joined in as well. Hermione shook her head in exasperation, but even while chanting, Daphne could see that she was amused.
"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF!"
"SHUT UP!" Mrs. Weasley roared. She probably wasn't amused, then.
The happy mood lasted well into the evening, until after dinner Dumbledore strode into the kitchen, smiling warmly at all of them.
"Good evening, all," he said. "If I might borrow Harry and Daphne for a moment…"
Harry and Daphne got up and followed Dumbledore into the empty drawing room, where he invited them to take a seat on the sofa, while he himself sat down in an armchair.
"First of all, Harry, congratulations on the verdict. I do apologize for leaving without talking to you, but I had urgent business. Furthermore, I thought it prudent to not seem overly close to you in the Ministry, so as not to give Cornelius any additional ammunition against you," he said.
Harry nodded. "I understand, sir," he said.
Dumbledore smiled briefly and then became serious. "Good. Now, I have been given to understand that you have, already, been made aware of Lord Voldemort's plans to a degree, at least far enough to know that he seeks a prophecy, is that correct?"
Harry and Daphne both nodded.
"While this is, yet again, not the way I would have chosen to impart this information to you, it may nevertheless be for the best. Edmund tells me you've begun practicing your Occlumency again since coming here; that is a smart decision. It is even more important now that Voldemort has regained his body. Harry, you will find that your Occlumency will also aid you with the pain in your scar."
Harry nodded again. "I've noticed, Professor. It also seems to be stopping…a recurring dream I've been having."
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I see. And what dream is that?"
"It's a long corridor, ending in a locked door. Does it have something to do with the prophecy?" he asked.
"It does. The door you are seeing leads to the Department of Mysteries, which holds the Hall of Prophecy. In it are kept the records of each prophecy known to the Ministry, including the one concerning you and Voldemort. It is my theory that Voldemort believes he will be able to destroy you once he knows the full contents of it."
"And…is he right?" Harry asked.
"No," Dumbledore said. "But it is essential that he does not find out. I believe your Occlumency is at least strong enough to reveal that to you…but it isn't yet enough for me to tell you the prophecy itself. Yes, Harry, I know it. I am the one who initially heard it, long ago, when a hopeful applicant to the post of Divination teacher requested an audience with me in the Hog's Head."
Harry's eyes widened. "Professor Trelawney," he said.
"Indeed. Much like the prophecy she made to you in your third year, she fell into a trance. One of Voldemort's spies overheard the first part of the prophecy, but he was discovered and thrown out. Nevertheless, it caused him to target you. 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies'. These are the lines of the prophecy Voldemort already knows, setting him on his ill-fated path to kill you."
"And now he thinks that the rest of the prophecy will enable him to finish the job?" Harry asked.
"He does, and while he believes that, we will be able to build up our strength much as he is building his," Dumbledore said.
"Professor," Daphne said hesitantly. "In one of my own visions…I see you and Voldemort fighting. My visions have all been of Harry's future so far…and the vision immediately preceding that one was of shelves and glass orbs.
"But…we all know not to go to the Department of Mysteries, and that Voldemort can't use anyone else to take the prophecy except Harry…so what could it mean? Does it mean that, for some reason, Harry will still end up there? Or is there a large amount of time between both visions?"
Dumbledore considered that for a moment. "Alas, Miss Greengrass, I cannot tell you. Your visions, seemingly, are more direct than actual prophecies, yet they should still be treated as if they are prophecies. That is to say, you cannot assume, one way or another, that acting in a certain way will bring the vision about, or prevent it from coming to pass.
"As I am not gifted in the art of Divination, I fear I will be of little help to you. These particular visions are worrying, however, and I shall endeavor to find someone who can help, someone more educationally inclined than Professor Trelawney, and less reticent than the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest."
Daphne inclined her head. "Thank you, sir."
Dumbledore now turned back to Harry. "In any event, Harry, I fear that our amount of contact this year will be low. I say this because your year at Hogwarts will be quite unlike other years. The Ministry is exerting uncommon amounts of pressure, against which I cannot act too directly. If I do, all students shall suffer for it.
"Furthermore, Voldemort has, as of yet, not discovered the connection that exists between the two of you. If you continue to practice your Occlumency, this will hopefully remain the case. As a precaution, however, I must distance myself from you, if I'm able.
"If he realizes that you and he are connected, he might attempt to use you to spy on me. Until Professor Snape assures me your Occlumency is strong enough to resist any and all attempts by Voldemort to invade your mind, we cannot converse regularly."
His eyes, with their usual twinkle but serious all the same, moved from Harry, to Daphne, and then back. "I am telling you these things because I have, of course, heard of your 'Order of the Lightning Bolt' speech. From it, I gather there is a sentiment among you that I, and others, do not appreciate the things you have done for us and the risks you have taken.
"I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not the case. However, praise must not be the reason for you to act or fail to act. I have my reasons for telling you certain things and withholding others, and very few of those reasons have to do with your age or my assessment of your abilities. None of them are nefarious, and all are intended to stop Lord Voldemort, fully taking into account the prominent role you, Harry, shall have in that endeavor.
"I must, therefore, insist that from now on, you will not attempt to uncover any additional information from members of the Order of the Phoenix, and I would like you to pass along this request to the Order of the Lightning Bolt as well. This war affects us all, and you will play your part in it. However, you must remember that sometimes it is necessary to act not in your own, direct interest, but for the greater good."
He smiled ruefully, as if remembering something from long ago.
Even though Dumbledore hadn't raised his voice at any point, Daphne felt ashamed, far more than she'd been at Mrs. Weasley's indignant anger. Judging by Harry's slightly hunched posture, he felt the same way.
"Do not see this as a rebuke," Dumbledore said. "I do not fault you for desiring trust and respect. In return, however, I ask the same thing. Rest assured that I will ask Sirius, Arthur, Edmund, or Amaranth to inform you if there is something I feel you should know.
"You may, of course, always ask them, or any other member of the Order, to inform me of anything you think I should know. Should they attempt to dissuade you, and you feel it is truly vital information, remind them that phoenix song is meant to be heard with the heart. Do not do this lightly, however. It is meant only for the most dire of situations."
Once again, he looked from Harry to Daphne and back. "Do you both understand and agree with what I have told you?" he asked.
Both of them nodded. "Yes, Professor," they said at the same time.
Dumbledore smiled warmly at them both. "Good. Now then, you should return to your party. Good night to both of you."
With a nod, he strode out of the room.
"Well," Daphne said when Dumbledore was out of earshot. "Now I feel like an idiot."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, me too…" he said softly. Then he smiled. "But I feel somehow…relieved, too."
Daphne grinned. "Yeah. Strange man, that Dumbledore…"
Over the next few days, the good mood everyone had been put in because Harry got cleared remained, for the most part.
Daphne and Harry had told the others about their conversation with Dumbledore, and while she was sure Fred and George would continue to use their Extendable Ears anyway, she was more than content to listen to Dumbledore's request.
Snape had come by several times, and Daphne and Harry had resumed their Occlumency practice under his guidance. Harry in particular was dedicated, probably in order to find out the rest of the prophecy as quickly as possible.
His enthusiasm also spurred Daphne on to work hard, though she felt like she'd hit a wall in that regard. Shifting her focus in emptiness away from Harry was proving immensely frustrating, and bouncing around Snape's attacks with different memories never kept him away from his targets for long.
He was now instructing them in guarding several secrets at once, and while Harry was beginning to get quite adept, Daphne still wasn't able to protect even one such secret for very long, even if she tried to confuse Snape by forcing older secrets into her mind.
The only moments she was truly able to shut him out was when he strayed too close to the memory of Harry dying in the clearing, and all of those moments had been accidental. It frustrated her tremendously, because she was afraid that, sooner or later, Snape would break through and see it.
She'd tried to enlist Dad's help, but his instructions were far more technical since he hadn't learned Occlumency until he was an adult, and he wasn't bothered by the divinatory indifference that plagued Daphne.
When the final day of the holidays arrived, Daphne felt like her Occlumency had gotten weaker because of her frustration.
She was shaken from her angry musings by Ginny, who entered the room carrying the Hogwarts envelopes for Hermione, Daphne, and herself.
Daphne tore it open and read it through without much interest, seeing she'd only need two new books for the year.
Hermione, however, was much more enthusiastic. "Look!" she said, holding up a shiny badge. "I've been made Prefect!"
She expectantly glanced over at Daphne. "Haven't you–?"
Daphne shook her head and turned her envelope over. "Nope. I'm pretty sure I'm too Gryffindor to be made a Slytherin Prefect," she said with a faint smile.
In truth, she'd completely forgotten that she was a fifth-year now, and if she'd remembered it she certainly would have expected to have been made Prefect, given that trying to stop people from bullying was part of her goals at school…though she supposed she contradicted Snape too often for him to consider her for nomination.
"Let's go check Harry and Ron," Hermione said excitedly, and Daphne and Ginny followed her up to the room Harry and Ron shared.
"Did you– did you get–?" Hermione asked when she slammed the door open. She clearly saw something, because she shrieked and said, "I knew it! Me too, Harry, me too!"
Daphne followed Hermione into the room and saw Harry awkwardly standing there with the badge.
"No," Harry said, pushing the badge into Ron's hand. "It's Ron, not me."
"Ron?" Hermione said, and if possible, her smile got even wider and she hugged him. "Ron, that's amazing! Ooh, Dumbledore must've recognized that you're–"
"Secretly a git," Fred said with a grin.
Daphne looked at Harry and grinned.
"I didn't get it either," she said, seeing that he looked a bit disappointed.
"You didn't?" he asked, sounding surprised.
Daphne shook her head. "Nope. We cause too much trouble, I think," she said.
Somehow, the notion that Harry hadn't been made Prefect either was making her feel much better about not getting the badge.
Mrs. Weasley entered the room with a basket of freshly laundered clothes.
"Ginny said the booklists had come at last," she said, glancing around at all the envelopes as she made her way over to the bed and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing…what color would you like?"
"Get him red and gold to match his badge," George said, smirking.
"Match his what?" Mrs. Weasley said absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.
"His badge," Fred said. "His lovely shiny new Prefect's badge."
It took Mrs. Weasley a moment to register what Fred had said. "His…but…Ron, you're not…?"
Ron held up his badge, and Mrs. Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermione's.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A Prefect! That's everyone in the family!"
"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" George said indignantly as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.
"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh Ronnie–"
Fred and George were making retching noises, and while Mrs. Weasley asked Ron what kind of reward he'd like, Daphne stepped closer to Harry.
"You thought it'd be you, didn't you?" she asked softly.
Harry grinned guiltily, but then he said, "I did, but honestly, I'm happy for him. He really deserves something like this, you know? Finally it isn't me for a change. You thought I'd be more jealous, didn't you?"
Now it was Daphne's turn to give a guilty grin. "Kind of? But I'm proud of you that you're not, or at least not much," she said.
Harry smiled, and any remaining traces of disappointment faded from his face.
That evening, Mrs. Weasley had organized an impromptu party for Ron and Hermione, which mainly involved everyone saying whether they'd ever been Prefects or not.
"I was never a Prefect myself," Tonks said brightly. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."
"Like what?" Ginny asked.
"Like the ability to behave myself," Tonks said.
Ginny and Daphne laughed, while Hermione choked on her butterbeer in a brave attempt to avoid needing to react.
"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.
Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh. "No one would have made me a Prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Remus was the good boy, he got the badge."
"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," Remus said. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."
"Don't sell yourself short now, Moony," Sirius said bracingly. "I'm sure we got at least one fewer detention because of your influence…"
Remus gave him a look and Sirius grinned.
Harry and Daphne definitely amused themselves at the party, and, knowing they wouldn't really get a chance to be alone the first day of school, they headed upstairs a bit ahead of everyone else.
They sat on Harry's bed in silence for a few moments, just leaning against each other as they'd done so often early in the holidays at the Dursleys'.
"I'm nervous," Harry said after some time. "About going back to school."
Daphne nodded. "Yeah, me too," she said. "What Dumbledore said about the Ministry…I don't know what to expect…"
"It feels so different from last year," Harry said. "Then, I was worried for the Tournament, but it didn't really feel…real, or something. More like a vaguely bad feeling. Now even Dumbledore needs to be careful. I guess that's what worries me most. I always thought of him as…well, someone who had all the answers, who could fix any situation simply by getting involved."
He smiled ruefully. "I know that sounds childish, but still."
Daphne shook her head. "No, I know what you mean. I mean, I know Dumbledore's made mistakes, but I still always felt that he could handle anything if it came down to it. But of course, this is a political war, and in politics it doesn't matter how strong you are magically. Just look at Fudge. I bet either of us could beat him in a duel, and yet he's more dangerous to us right now than Voldemort is."
She sighed. "Still, we said we'd trust him, didn't we? And he trusts us. Let's just wait and see. At least…at least we're together," she said softly.
"Yeah…"
But the kiss they shared afterward, though hopeful, also felt heavy and filled with uncertainty.
Slightly different setup from the canon, though of course, the story as a whole remains very close to it. Also a lot of talking, these past few chapters. You'll find that that will be a common feature during this year…
