Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Warner Brothers bought me out.
"And what are you doing here, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall looked down at Harry with a trace of annoyance. "I do believe you should be in the entrance hall, mopping, not up here at my office."
Harry stood his ground. "I was just wondering when you thought my ego would be completely gone."
McGonagall scowled and gestured for Harry to come in. "I take it you figured out why I created this task for you?"
"Actually, Hermione did," Harry admitted. "You feel I'm dangerous because of my golem?"
"Of course you're dangerous," McGonagall replied. "You remember what happened during your first training session."
"But I wouldn't use it like that!" Harry protested.
"Would you use it against Voldemort?" McGonagall asked.
"Of course," Harry answered, a little confused.
"Death eaters?"
"Yes."
"How about a murderer who entered your house to kill you and your muggle family?"
"I don't know," Harry replied. "Maybe."
"What about a burgler?"
"I… I don't know," Harry replied.
"What about as a threat against the Dursleys so they would feed you better?"
Harry opened his mouth. That would be pretty effective… "No!" Harry said, a little louder than needed.
"Do you know precisely where you would draw the line on using it?"
Harry stared at McGonagall. He opened his mouth to answer, but realized he didn't have one.
"And that," McGonagall slowly finished, "is why you're dangerous."
Harry sat in complete silence. A moment later McGonagall said, "I'll leave you to think about that. And your training is completed. You can use the extra hour each day to study for you O.W.L.s."
Harry left the office, his mind spinning. As much as he turned it over, he still couldn't figure out where to draw the line. Against the murderer? Against the death eaters? As a means of defense?
"Harry?"
Harry turned around, to see Hermione walking up to him.
"Hermione," Harry said, smiling. "What are you doing here?"
"S.P.E.W. meeting."
Harry groaned, and Hermione said, "I know, I know; the last meeting of the year is always a pain, trying to wrap up all the tabled items until next year."
Harry looked at Hermione. For as smart as she is, she just doesn't get it sometimes…
"You and Lavender seemed to enjoy the chess match last night," Hermione said, conversationally, as they made their way down the grand staircase.
"Uh, yeah," Harry said, stopping on the 3rd floor to wait for the staircase to change the right direction.
"That's really enthusiastic, Harry. 'Uh, yeah'?"
"I don't know, Hermione," Harry said. "I'm thinking about ending the whole thing."
"What? You're thinking of… of breaking up with her? Why?"
"I don't know," Harry replied.
"You don't know?" Hermione asked, amazed. "You're breaking up with her for no reason?"
"No, really, I don't know," Harry replied, a little frustrated. "We've only been going out for a couple of months…"
"Closer to 4," Hermione interjected.
"… so, well…"
Harry looked lost for words, so Hermione supplied, "You don't know?"
Harry sighed. "Exactly."
"You're not making any sense, Harry."
"I know, Hermione. You won't tell anyone?"
Hermione said, "Of course not. But I don't even know what you're talking about."
Harry laughed. "Neither to do I. Hello Ron!"
Ron smiled as the other two Gryffindors entered the official 'Spew spot' as Ron called it. "You ready for another exciting spew meeting?"
Hermione it seemed had finally given up on correcting his pronunciation of the title, and Harry laughed, "Of course, Ron!"
Both stopped smiling, though, as Hermione pulled some books from her bag. "I found some other books about the shadow war and the decision of Mendelssohn's. I figured we could look over them, and then talk with Dobby and the other house elves about the affair."
Harry and Ron looked at each other. "Of course, Hermione," Ron said. Harry shook his head. If they had known last year what being head members of S.P.E.W. would mean, they probably would've shoved Hermione out the Gyrffindor tower along with her box of badges.
Harry groaned as he read his assigned book. The guy who wrote it could have easily been Gilderoy Lockhart's ancestor, because every other paragraph began exactly the same way. "And so, I, Linton Claremont Tillford, champion of the peoples of Tydnall, defender of the forests of Onida, and bearer of the third seal of Faulk…" Harry softly read out-loud, after yet another paragraph. "Honestly," he whispered.
Harry looked up at Hermione, and sniggered; she looked exactly the same as she did in the commons each day. Today she simply had another book in her hands. Ron, however, was looking more pale by the moment.
"Ron, dramatic piece there?" Harry asked.
Ron set the book down on the table. "Read it," Ron said in a low voice. Hermione looked up from her book as well, and Harry read out loud.
Diary entry, 1/43/11735. Ayr Mendelssohn
I had desperately hoped my brother and I could have set aside our differences, considering what was at stake. Not so – obviously his oft mentioned 'pride seed' contaminated him more than he suspects. "Hoary tales" he called them. I was there. I saw what happened that day.
Unfortunately, given my brother's standing, my account of the defeat of the shadow legion was swept aside, and I am forced to watch our entire civilization celebrate in ignorant bliss. Therefore, I have set the entire encounter down in writing, in the hopes that it might find a reader willing to acknowledge the unfortunate future in store.
It was little less than a year ago, and my regiment was hunting down the last vestiges of the shadows, which had recently attacked the small village of Cogswell. However, as my unit converged upon a small group upon their scattered numbers, they disappeared. Perhaps I should make myself clearer. They did not elude us, or slip by our guard. They simply vanished – the shadows upon the ground simply were no longer.
I held my ground, and motioned for our two Patroni to cast their spells. Neither the familiar bear or wolf from either of them found any traces of the enemy. I had first believed the enemy had a new weapon – a means of escaping us, which would not bode well for our side, so close to our hour of victory. But, instead, a haggard figure burst forth from nothingness before our eyes.
It seemed ethereal, like the shadow legion we were hunting, but it could be partly seen, shimmering in the air. "Summon us," it called in a deep voice. I was confused – why would we wish to summon any of its kind?
The lecherous figure smiled and croaked, "When the time comes, of course. I leave you these."
The man disappeared, and three gems appeared at his feet. A topaz, an amethyst, and a sapphire; all about 5 mis in length. As I curiously picked up the stones, a whisper ran through the woods, in the same voice the gaunt man had spoke. "Gather them together and summon the legion again, when the time is ripe."
I nearly dropped the stones in fright. I looked back, and saw that my men were terrified as well. Not surprising, because apparently these stones were somehow capable of bringing about a second coming of the shadow creatures. Fighting them had already given me nightmares to last a lifetime; and all we accomplished was a delay of sorts?
I look down on them now, a year later. They gleam a little from the candlelight on my desk, not hinting at the evil they were intended for. I have given thought to their fate, and have decided tomorrow I will embark on a journey. As far as I can go, in separate directions, I will sew the stones. I can only hope that if I give them enough distance, the stones will never be brought together again. For if that happens, I grieve for my descendants.
Harry looked up, and saw that the worry he was feeling was mirrored on Ron and Hermione's faces.
"We need to talk to Dumbledore," Hermione whispered softly.
---
Well, we're nearing the homestretch. All that's left is for Voldemort to make an appearance, gather the stones, summon the legion, and rule the world :)
Rathien: Can do!
Erinamation: I think you're the master of 2-3 letter reviews :)
Loser Kid:Thanks!
Katani: If you really want some kicks, find the chapters in my first few stories where Malfoy is treated… less than respectfully by me. You know, the chapters when I kill him, grind him to dust, have him get the snot beat out of him, etc – and look at the reviews. I thought there were several people that were going to come after me. Oh, you can probably tell, Harry's not going to stick with Lavender forever. I don't see Ron breaking up with Parvati within the next few months, but I don't see him going out with her forever, either. I guess it just depends on how I feel when I write the chapters :)
Chaser: It's just the 'Love it. Please update soon' command – I just thought I'd spice up my response than just 'Thanks' every time.
Castus: Haha, and it was a good loss!
Myrhfire:You've been talking with Erinamation, haven't you? :)
Anyway, feel free to review.
