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Hope you had a good Christmas (I had Xams). Hope that's a valid excuse for not updating :-)
So now the story.
Chapter 8. Home At Last
To say that the Living Room of Grimmauld Place was packed would be an understatement. In the span of the recent sixteen years, there hadn't been a meeting so large. Early, in the morning, around fifty Order members had assembled to discuss and contemplate the Dark Lord's strategy and further course of action. Dumbledore had already begun assignment of groups and the tasks that had to be done. The meetings and discussions had taken a large amount of time. Five hours later a somewhat ruffled gathering trooped out, some a bit regretful that they could not see Harry Potter (Mrs. Weasley had cleanly refused them). Dumbledore had escorted Snape and McGonagall to the door. The twins had already left for the Joke Shop in the morning itself.
Remus, Moody, Kingsley and Tonks were sitting in the main living room as usual after the gruesome meeting as the girl put it. In spite of the various developments discussed in the meeting, Remus couldn't shake off the tiny thought of the talk he had had with Harry last night.
Tonks was sitting on a chair looking a weary. She had been in the meeting for the first two hours. It was nothing compared to that of the people sitting around. Five hours of discussion nonstop could easily drain anybody's patience. Though it was three hours for her Tonks was but the youngest.
"Great job", she articulated sarcastically. Moody growled distastefully. Remus cast aside his thoughts for the time being.
"First he orders us to guard Harry in that Dursleyan madhouse and now he asks us to guard that madhouse from You-Know-Who". She snorted distastefully, her head tilted onto a palm of her hand.
"Three hours proved too tiring eh?" Kingsley's deep voice was easily audible.
Nobody else spoke further, the matter had been discussed at length, she of course wasn't in the whole meeting.
Tonks and Sirius had been quite close, Harry was more closer to Sirius, Tonks even though liked him, never showed her affection openly Sirius always being there. The unsolicited incident last year had held her for a long time in silence. With Sirius no more, her affection was beginning to shift, to another very obvious person.
Knowing this, Kingsley and Lupin chuckled quietly.
She continued angrily as everybody feigned deafness, "Is it possible that Harry will survive? If he stays here then there wont be any problem? Well, I know that it is risky at the Burrow. This place is safe".
"Of course it is-", Dumbledore replied slowly. "-but not for the boy".
"Albus-", started Moody. All the heads turned around as Dumbledore entered the room. Thin lines of worry were deeply etched drawn across the aged headmaster's forehead. "Please sit down, I can explain". Tonks returned a glare and settled back onto her chair.
Dumbledore resigned himself to a chair. She repeated, "Why is it unsafe for him? No one amongst us has been attacked".
Dumbledore nodded, "In a way I do agree. Tonks, do you think Harry and Sirius were close enough?"
She looked at the headmaster disbelievingly , "Of course, only a blind person couldn't see it".
"If he gets up every morning looking at portraits of Sirius waving at him, what do you think it would do to him?"
Tonks replied slyly, "I'll have them removed".
"When he walks down the cor-".
She interrupted him strongly, "I refurnish the house".
"It will be extremely difficult to make him forget Sirius", said Dumbledore kindly.
She said hopefully, "With us around him he may turn away from Sirius".
"Have you?"
She couldn't answer.
Kingsley patted her shoulder. Lupin could understand perfectly, there wasn't a place in the house that wouldn't remind Harry of Sirius. The incident last year would have instead reinforced the thought of Sirius, rather painfully.
Tonks asked still apprehensive, "If Voldemort can attack Harry in that madhouse why should he stay there, I know about that charm you all had discussed today", Dumbledore looked at her kindly, a tinge of sadness in his eyes, "It will be easier for us to protect Harry and his relatives from Voldemort in that house alone rather than him from Voldemort and his DeathEaters. Why the DeathEaters cannot enter that house you already know?"
He had a point.Though reluctant, she nodded in acceptance.
Lupin for his part was a bit doubtful, Tonks had but made a valid point. Harry was attacked at Privet Drive. If Harry could be attacked by Voldemort.Tonks had not the knowledge of the charm, unlike others in the Order. He made to ask a question but he was interrupted. Not by Tonks or Moody but a shrill cry of terror emanating from the adjacent room. The tiny thought that had been hovering unnoticed at the back of his head initially now returned into full focus.
The previous night Harry and Remus had managed to wrap up their talks quite late in the night. Remus had found it exceptionally difficult to digest the fact that Harry had seen the Muggle torture. Of course, the boy had carefully avoided the subject but the hatred and immense pain in those green eyes proved to be an untainted mirror into Harry's soul. A day after, as proof, the front page of the Daily Prophet had carried a photo of the savaged Muggles and the pitiable child with its legs twisted, its skin …
It is said grown-ups seldom have nightmares, the same ceased to hold true for Remus. The whole battle replayed in his mind in all its entirety since that incident. Adding to his misery, the newspaper headline flashed in the end. It was with great difficulty that he had managed to keep that lousy paper out of the childrens' sight. The worst part, during his job for the Order, he had found out was that the child at St Mungos was comparable to a bag of bones and barely alive, the healers were still trying to set it straight. Better dead than alive…
Lupin shuddered to think what all this would do to the boy. He had never actually bothered about the supernatural, considering the fact that the wizarding world had in an era even classified werewolves as one. Last night once Harry had gone to bed, he had fervently prayed hoping that the one Muggles called God, would listen. In a way it was for the best that Sirius had died, he would have died much worse a death seeing Harry in such pain.
Shoving off his disturbing thoughts he proceeded forwards into the room, Dumbledore had had Moody place a shaken Harry upright on the bed. There were dark circles under the boys' eyes. Harry it seemed had woken up in the midst of a deep slumber. A callous desire of skinning Voldemort alive usurped him momentarily.
"VOLDEMORT'S GOING TO ATTACK … HE IS IN A WEEK …"
Moody placed a hand on the unsettled boy's shoulder and forced him to lie with his back to the wall. Dumbledore spoke soothingly, "First, calm down, Harry".
"He's … Voldemort's going to attack again … His Death Eaters – Lucius Malfoy, will attack in a week", his breath was ragged and harsh.
"Did you see anything else, Harry?" asked Dumbledore kindly.
"No … Professor".
"Do you know where he will be attacking?"
Harry stared open mouthed at the headmaster and slowly shook his head.
"No harm done, Harry". Moody nodded his head.
Gradually, he lapsed into pindrop silence. Seven people excluding him, were now present in the room. Feeling embarassed he turned his head to the wall.
Sitting on a the bed, he drowsily watched a point on Dumbledore's shoulder, reflected faintly upon the smooth face of the wall. If Dumbledore touched him, that dormant snake would arise. If he looked Dumbledore in the eye, a desire to kill would engulf him. If he looked around, he risked Voldemort seeing through his eyes. If he loved someone, Voldemort would kill them. The wall visible behind Dumbledore held a portrait of Sirius which kept looking at the people in the room … Harry closed his eyes before tears could spill.
"Nothing else. That's all", he replied somewhat unsteadily. He could hear several footsteps file out of the room. He felt someone's soft touch on his shoulder. He turned and his eyes met Tonks'. He remembered Sirius again Tonks is related to me, her mother Andromeda is my fav…. He simply turned over facing the wall again. He desperately wanted to forget all that had happened last year … but he knew he couldn't, he was the chosen one, a marked man.
He tuned his mind to the month of June. Voldemort had attacked him. He had fought bravely but Voldemort again couldn't kill him. Harry lay on the bed. The question presented itself again. Why couldn't Voldemort kill him? He, Harry had saved Dudley by a hair's breadth, he had duelled Voldemort and this time even as Harry came to grips with the fact, he was surprised by Voldemort's inability to kill him. The prophecy had predicted about the fight between them in which one would die. I couldn't kill him, he couldn't kill me.
He pondered all that he could, but he didn't remember anything unusual except that Voldemort looked bothered as he had disapparated. Harry had ended up for a great deal of time in St. Mungos.
There was only one way, the logical one. Harry got up and walked towards the adjacent room from where Remus's and Dumbledore's voices were faintly audible. He waited at the edge of the door, peering at Dumbledore hoping to catch his attention.
When everybody entered the hall again, nobody spoke. All were lost in thoughts. After some time a disconcerted looking Tonks, Kingsley and Arthur Weasley took their leave and left. Molly Weasley accompanied them to the door. Dumbledore was left with Remus who turned towards the headmaster instantly.
His voice quivering he said, "He saw the last battle at Bracknell Forest. Virtually the whole battle. He asked me about what happened to the Aurors and the Muggles. Professor, he asked me about the kid. He referred to the Muggle infant and its parents by their names. He actually saw them being tortured", his voice shook and died. It was simply too much even for him.
"To describe Voldemort's atrocities, mere words will fail us Remus".
Lupin decided to ask.He looked at the headmaster and asked, "What was the reason for a Reductor, Professor? Couldn't Voldemort have used the killing curse?"
"Because he couldn't. Yet a small part of the puzzle remains to be solved", replied Dumbledore. "Remus, you must be hungry. Even before the past sixteen years, I never have conducted such a long tiring meeting. You had better proceed to breakfast, there is lot of work still to be done". Lupin nodded and made off.
"Hello Harry", Dumbledore entered the room and the door locked itself. The next minute Harry was upright on the bed and Dumbledore was seated in a comfortable looking chair. The two of them were under a Silencing Shield. "It is good to see that you aren't brooding and carrying on".
Pulling away his gaze fom the Sirius in the portrait, Harry kept looking at Dumbledore's shoulder. After a few seconds, he broke the silence, "Why didn't he kill me?"
"Because he couldn't kill you", stated Dumbledore simply.
Harry stared at Dumbledore's shoulder.
The headmaster turned on another light in the room, which glowed more brighter and the Sirius on the far wall was not visible.
After thinking for a while, Harry replied, "Is it that charm?"
There was no trace of cheerfulness on the headmaster. Dumbledore replied, "Yes. I must admit that I had overlooked the fact that Voldemort had your blood. However, as Hermione had deduced much later Voldemort attacked Mungos and you at the same time. However, we were prepared for Mungos, the ministry had its Aurors positioned at proper places. You were left in the house and my guess proved true, well to some extent".
"Gu-What guess? Voldemort nearly killed me and I was able to fight him", Harry felt numb, Dumbledore had known. "I think he did want to kill me, Professor".
Dumbledore looked straight into Harry's eyes but Harry was still looking at the headmaster's collar. "The Killing curse, Harry is out of question".
Harry looked surprised but it slowly dawned on him that-
"You forget that I have told you, in the house or anywhere Voldemort can select the Killing curse but to cast it is entirely different", Dumbledore cut in uncharacteristically.
"Then how did I fight and how did I survive? Why did he attack Mungos?"
Dumbledore looked thoughtful, "Harry, I would answer your last question first. The attack at St Mungos was for distracting us so that you would be stranded. To answer the first question to my own and your satisfaction, here is exactly where you come in. Harry, I must ask you to relate your duel with Voldemort. Please tell me all details as it were".
Harry though still puzzled, shrugged and related the whole incident starting from Voldemort's entry. Dumbledore was in deep thought and as Harry made to take a breath he could see Dumbledore's intense concentration easily evident from the wrinkles on his face. "Just to kill me, Voldemort attacked St Mungos!"
"Voldemort rolled off the rug, didn't he?"
"Yes", even as he replied, Harry realized how foolish it sounded. He added hastily, "-but that was what happened, I'm not lying".
"I never said that you are lying, it means that my guess proved correct".
Turning to him, the headmaster asked slowly and clearly, "Harry, do you remember any odd sensation in your body".
Harry replied instantly, "No".
"Could you think a bit deeply, Harry. Did you really experience no sensation at all?"
"No, Professor".
"When Voldemort entered?"
Harry could remember his scar almost aflame, "Professor my scar was hurting very badly".
"Anything else, Harry? Anything similar or out of the way", Dumbledore seemed anxious.
This was getting a bit out of the way, "I wanted to hex Dudley". The headmaster smiled and reiterated his statement. "During the duel?"
Harry was quite irritated, "I just wanted to kick Volde-".
"That will do, Harry", Dumbledore's eyes were definitely twinkling.
"So what happened?" Harry didn't have any hope for an answer. He simply relaxed on the wall and waited patiently.
Dumbledore took in a deep breath, "Harry, the charm is now resident in both, you and Tom. When he entered the house, wanting to harm you the charm within his own body repelled him. Of course, the charm in the house naturally forced him to abandon that thought. The charm in your blood too repelled him but you did not feel the repercussions? Strange-". It was then that Dumbledore and Harry looked at each other at the same time. A sort of flicker passed through Dumbledore's eyes and the headmaster relaxed visibly.
Harry felt that Dumbledore was still doubtful.
"One last thing, Harry. Did you really wish to murder Voldemort? I need to know this is very important".
He replied half heartedly, "I was saying so, I wanted to kick Voldemort out of my house, you didn't let me finish". Dumbledore's mouth opened slightly. "Oh, being around with younger people like you ah- brings out my youthful way of thinking once in a while".
Harry smirked, for once he did believe Dumbledore completely.
"Harry, it is your power, that capability which you have used to a large extent unknowingly and the charm when combined purged him out of the house".
Harry fired another question immediately, "What is my quality? What is that power that you told me of?"
"Haven't you figured it out yet!"
Seeing the surprised look that Dumbledore was giving him, Harry feeling foolish, reflexively mouthed, "Professor, I'll … find out". "Couldn't you keep shut Potter?", he whacked himself mentally.
Dumbledore smiled wisely, "When you strive for a goal, the worthiness of the acheivement will be well ascertained. Hopefully, those who aid you will benefit too". The headmaster returned to his thoughts, leaving Harry slightly bothered.
"When shall my Occlumency start, Professor?" Dumbledore turned to look at him.
"You will have to ask Professor Snape, Harry. Tomorrow would be a good idea".
All the hopes in him drained out steadily, "Tommorrow! er-Alright, Professor", the youthful sparkle in the ageing headmaster's eyes didn't go unseen.
"Ah, Harry, one last thing. Temper is a mechanism which silences reason in a person's mind. It should be prevented as far as possible. Many people do get angry, I do too. It is but the ability to control anger which moulds a person's character".
Harry nodded embarrassedly.
Dumbledore added subtly, "The time wasted on expressing anger may be utilised for other things more beneficial". Harry looked directly into the headmaster's eyes, "Was that some sort of hint?"
A silver streak of gold appeared between the two of them, distracting Harry completely. A phoenix feather.
The headmaster stood up. "Ah- I am needed at Hogwarts, I will be gone now, Harry. Always keep as calm as possible.I regret saying so little but other matters far more important, some of which you could guess, are in the waiting". On touching the feather, Dumbledore vanished.
Thinking about what the headmaster had said, Harry made his way out of the room. Now, he knew that he was protected by the same charm his parents had reserved for him, it was the charm that had saved him again but what great capability did he have?
"Quidditch!", he cried.
"You didn't whack Quirrell with a broom".
That was something that Lockhart would have claimed to have done.
"What did Dumbledore say?" Lupin's calm voice penetrated the dense clutter of solutions in his head.
Harry thought for a while.
"Its fine, if you don't want to tell me".
Finally Harry decided to let it out, "Dumbledore told me that I have a lot of power, which I use unknowingly to get out of trouble. Some capability that I always employ", Harry turned away. Singing his own praises was not what he revelled in.
Remus remained silent for a while.
Harry prompted him again, "Yeah … What is my strong point, if I do have any?"
Remus scrutinized Harry for a while and asked, "Seeker?"
Harry shook his head vigorously, "I even unknowingly use it, that is what Dumbledore says".
Remus seemed thoughtful, "Still, you haven't realized it … strange" and added quietly, "Really Harry, how dumb can you get?"
For an instant, Harry perceived himself talking to Sirius. Overcome by sudden emotion, he choked midway on his laughter and didn't hear Remus's sharp intake of breath.
To cover up his awkward feeling, looking the other way he queried, "er- A meeting of … five hours?"
Resolving to go without Sirius had been hard, adhering to his resolution appeared to be more trying.
Remus breathed freely but Harry was busy with his own thoughts.
"Yes, … Harry".
"Voldemort?"
Lupin replied in a hollow voice, his eyes scanning the elaborate designs of snakes carved on the walls by the fireplace, "This time we know quite something".
"Has he gained the service of any giants?"
"…Yes, he tried expanding his influence, we managed to unearth information related to a mass Death-Eater congregation culminating in the battle at Bracknell". Harry had a suspicion that Remus had considered a specific half-giant before answering. He also knew that Lupin would not convey more information than permitted.
"What is he after?"
"That remains to be found. He seems to divulge his thoughts only to a select few", replied Remus pensively. "This time he is more elusive, Harry".
Harry looked at the sleeping portrait on the wall fixedly, not wanting to meet Remus's eyes. His thoughts sifted smoothly to his best friends, he was missing them the most. A glimmer of hope in Privet Drive by means of his aunt had flared up. Now even that seemed to be going downhill. His only source of solace was the school now. It was a matter of time before Voldemort attacked the school too. As Dumbledore's office entered his thoughts the words of the prophecy flashed across his eyes. He stared at the floor trying to get to grips with his situation. One thing was crystal clear, he despised Voldemort more than anyone, even Snape.
Harry turned to Remus abruptly, "How will I get to school?" There was surely no special Hogwarts Express
The answer proved to be tantamount to distracting him efficiently, "For maybe this once, you'll travel marauder style".
He raised an eyebrow, a grin slowly forming on his face.
"What happened was that-" a larger smile made it way onto Lupin's face, "-one fine Saturday evening during an uneventful seventh year Christmas holiday, Prongs and … Padfoot were at James' house". He paused for effect and added concernedly, "Padfoot happened to discover that Prongs was awfully Lily this and Lily that", Harry couldn't help but snigger silently.
"What did … Padfoot do?" Saying Sirius seemed to be painful.
"Adviced your dad to travel Marauder style in the night, of course your dad rejected outright. Took a good part of the night to convince Prongs. Finally, Padfoot informed Prongs that your mum um- was er- pining piteously and your dad instantly set out on his quest".
Harry snorted loudly. "and?"
Lupin chuckled and spoke sheepishly, "The tiny flaw, in the plan was that Padfoot miscalculated the location, the time happened to be midnight and Prongs landed in your aunt's bedroom".
Harry laughed so hard that he rocked back and forth on his chair precariously and no sound came from his mouth.
It was after quite some time that he managed to calm down.
Lupin smiled and continued absently, "Thank providence. I remember Padfoot suggesting the next day, which we found the hard way was the day your aunt was to get married" His words were drowned in a loud peal of laughter again. Lupin shook his head disapprovingly.
"No wonder … the Dursleys … hate … me … passionately", he choked out still struggling to gain control over himself and trying hard not to imagine his aunt's condition.
After he had calmed down, Lupin dropped a soundless bombshell, "Now its your turn".
Harry looked at Remus cautiously, his cheeks beginning to turn red from pink. "Remus, I don't have any gir-".
Lupin cut in coolly, "Be ready in the living room at 5'o clock with your fully packed trunk. Some preparations are required". Harry goggled at Remus travel? Journey? He glanced at his watch, 1'o clock in the noon. An owl entered the room. Maybe post. Harry couldn't help noticing that he and Remus were getting along quite nicely. He grinned mentally, "nicely would be an understatement".
Remus grinned lightly as he took the owl post. Harry grinned back but he was pondering who is Remus hinting at? With that he turned to his room and surveyed it. By the time he reached his room, many ideas were swimming in his head vying to come to the forefront. Time is ripe, what does he intend to do? Prepare the journey? I'bet it is the PortKey.
Remembering the reason for what the Marauder style was used he blushed shyly, to his own horror. And who did he say was my girlfriend? However feeling uneasy, he decided on completing his Potions homework, reading the the new books that he had purchased and pack his stuff within the four long hours that lay in between.
On completing his Potions homework in an hour and a half, Harry strolled around the room. Turning a deaf ear to his protests, Mrs. Weasley hauled him to the kitchen for a late lunch. Coming back, he had brought back a Daily Prophet lying orphaned in the kitchen. It was then that he discovered the photo of the dead Muggles and the poor kid. Hatred and anger slowly coursing through his veins, he left for the drawing room noisily, getting a tongue-lashing by Sirius's mother in the process. He whipped out the Perfect Guide to fighting the Dark Arts. A practice session of various spells and jinxes had followed in varying degrees of difficulty. With Mrs. Blacks's words still resonating in his head, he concentrated all his hatred and anguish in his practise.
Two hours later, his mental agony had started giving way to weariness. "Accliviate". A thin line of brownish green light was ejected from the end of Harry's wand. It hit the ground. Harry carefully placed a step on the same place and his leg slipped. The spell had worked after all. "Finite", the ground was back to its former state.
"Wraithus impedimenta". A doubly powerful stunner hit a chair at the far end of the room, sending it skidding four backwards. This had worked too. Harry doubled up by practising all the jinxes and curses that he could. In the past two hours, he had mastered the Slip Jinx, Spell Magnifier, the Heating Spell, a Clamping charm and some more. Quite tired he sat down on the bed. Most of the spells were not much of a problem. For some, he required what the book said 'More Magical Ability'.
"Dumbledore had said that I have a lot of strength which I always use but don't realize, maybe like Parseltongue?", he reckoned.
What bugged him was that in his frenzy of learning various spells he had managed to substantiate the fact that the power of a curse, jinx, spell or charm could be increased.
I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant. I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete. These words of Bellatrix Lestrange came flowing back. Harry, now exhausted from all the practice seated himself on a chair and pondered over the statement, with the heartfelt desire to boil Voldemort in bubbling hot oil silently flowing through him. Flipping over the Bibliography of the Intermediate Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts (Grade 3), he singled out Magic.
There were six sub sections: Introduction, Types, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced: An Introduction, Intricacies.
"It says 'power of a person defines the intensity of a spell', hence it must deal in the basic layers of magic", reasoning thus, he flipped the pages over to Intricacies and found further groups. A certain title caught his eye-
Intensity of Magic Spells and Curses
Casting spells of high intensity refer The Singular Sinewy SpellBook Anastasia Heather
Generating curses of high power refer Your Source for HiPower Magic Miranda Goshawk
Demystifying Defense against the Dark Arts refer Perfect Guide to Defense against the Dark Arts: I and II Tom Steele
Magnifying your Magical Ability refer Perfect Guide to Defense against the Dark Arts: III Tom Steele
The fat book lying in his new bag, on the table was titled, 'Perfect Guide to Defense against the Dark Arts: Volume I, II and III Limited Edition by Tom Steele'.Harry smiled, Dumbledore had said "There is work to be done".
Lupin was on his way back to Grimmauld Place, alongwith Tonks. Of course, both were travelling by their broomsticks now having had a chance. The Order work was quite time consuming, still he had managed to finish it with a few spare minutes.
"Thinking about Sir-Harry, aren't you?" Tonks seemed equally thoughtful.
No response. After a short pause she spoke again.
"Can you tell me something?"
"What?"
"How did you know that Harry was attacked at Grimmauld Place?"
Lupin merely shrugged.
"That was cool magic, Remus".
Lupin smiled to himself, unless he was extremely mistaken, that had been definitely even above magic.
"Did Harry really see the battle at Bracknell Forest?"
"Yes".
"All of it!"
"Yes, he did".
She remained silent for a while.
"What do you think Harry will be doing now?"
Lupin looked at her, a bit surprised. Seeing the restless look on her face he replied, "Waiting for me". She scowled at him and turned to look at the landscape below. Understanding that he was getting too silent for her, smiling lightly he asked, "Fancy a race to Grimmauld Place?"
"Now you're talking sense", she put on a huge burst of speed. Lupin laughed and disapparated straight away.
After a few seconds, both of them were welcomed into the living room when Mrs. Weasley opened the door. "Remus you are early, Tonks!".
Lupin began, "She's got some time off-". "-Which amounts to a half hour so here I come", replied Tonks.
She threw Lupin a nasty glare and asked, "Mrs.Weasley, Where is Harry?"
To this Mrs. Weasley adopted a worried look, "He's in the drawing room, from what I saw he is practising a load of magic. He seems to be deep in practise and-" she turned to Lupin, "-it has been going on from the past two hours continuously. From what I gather he hasn't halted even once, after I noticed the paper in the kitchen is missing, that one-".
Lupin replied regretfully, "He has seen all that first hand Molly, the paper is nothing". Mrs. Weasley took four shaky steps backwards and dropped onto a chair unsteadily. Tonks spoke up quickly, "I'm going to have a look". Lupin nodded and led a shaken Mrs.Weasley to the living room. She didn't seem fine. When Tonks was well out of earshot, Molly Weasley caught Lupin's robes and tugged at it.
When she started speaking, Lupin was shocked beyond belief, "Harry found that newspaper cutting. He ran all the way to the drawing room and … he knocked over a penstand". She looked on the verge of tears, "Remus, … Mrs. Black … the shrew yelled at him. She … she screamed about him murdering Sirius and being a Mudblood, not caring for her son. She didn't stop there. "It was terrible, Remus. The bloody bitch followed him-". Mrs. Weasley had begun to sob. Lupin had never in his life heard Molly speak like that about anyone.
She spoke faster, her words overflowing in a rush of emotions, "He was an absolute mess. I didn't know what to do, Remus? I'm very sorry. Harry ran all the way to the other room. She was still yelling in that room for quite some time. I managed to shut her with a good jinx. Harry hasn't come out since then", she looked as if holding her tears behind with utmost difficulty.
"Please, throw that picture out, break it, jinx it, do anything but do away with it, please". She clapped her apron to her face and sobbed incessantly. Lupin stood tongue-tied. He recovered from the shock with great efforts and somehow managed to comfort her. He strode off to the photo at a fast pace, looking very disgusted. What had Harry done to deserve all this?
In the drawing room Tonks unaware of the exchange was silently glancing Harry practising various spells. He conjured up a wall.
Pleasantly surprised she remarked, "Wotcher Harry, that was great but it needs a paint job. What are you up to?"
She received a smile, "I'm er-practising spells".
"I can see that. What is … oh- This is a lovely book, Harry where did you buy it?" Tonks was leafing through the Limited Edition book authored by Tom Steele.
"That's a gift".
"Ron? Or is it Hermione?"
"Mr. Fortesque", his cheeks were surely hotter, he could feel it. "um-I was practising some spells for … school". "What's got into them?"
She looked unconvinced, "Great, if my memory doesn't fail me these aren't in the school syllabus-" Harry grinned awkwardly. "DA? Hmm, lets see what you know, friendly duel?"
Harry waited for a while and nodded.
She smiled brightly and walked to the center of the room, knocking over a chair as she passed.
They duelled for some time, then Tonks gave him some tips on how to hold the wand, dodge and some curses that were useful in battle. She was equally surprised to find that he had already practised some of them from the book.
"You can do a Slip Jinx?" she looked amazed.
Harry looked at her oddly, it wasn't difficult at all. He aimed at the floor below a chair, it tilted backwards smoothly and fell with a squish on the floor. "That's excellent Harry, really well done. People generally do not aim it sensibly or the target does not get adequately slippery". Harry was feeling a bit hot around the collar, he muttered, "That wasn't hard". She beamed at him and Harry was reminded very much of Hermione.
"You need to go to Hogwarts now. Remus is in the living room", she motioned him to go on. They trooped out (Tonks had bewitched his trunk to follow them). In the living room, Lupin and Harry exchanged grins.
"Ready?"
"Yes".
"Come here, Harry. Bring your trunk too".
As Lupin muttered an incantation, Harry realized what they were going to do he snorted in disdain, the simplest and safest mode of transport for now. Exactly at 5:30, that is four minutes later, Lupin gave him a nod. Harry managed to glance it after which everything in front of his eyes dissolved into blurs.
At Hogwarts, the term was to be started the next day, since there was no one for Defense against the Dark Arts. However, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville were sitting around a table waiting for news. Fred and George had visited them briefly. They had learnt that the twins had put up a bigger shop at Hogsmeade. Many students had gone out, some third years, second years and all first years were sitting in the comon room.
"I was sure the twins would do something like that", said Hermione disapprovingly. She added further, "Nice to know that their business is going fine".
"Yeah, you should have seen mum's face when she found out. She couldn't yell at me so guess what, the twins took the whole brunt of it", Ron added gleefully.
"She was too surprised to even believe that Ha- … how they could have done that but now she really warmed upto them", replied Ginny breathing deeply. Neville looked clueless as to what they were talking about. "Asking of Harry, what is he doing now? The Daily Prophet says that he was nearly killed by You-Know-Who directly".
"Professor Lupin says that he alright", Though she knew what actually happened in the battle at Diagon Alley, Hermione was quite anxious.
"Thats a bummer. He should have come by now", replied Ron thoughtfully. "Wonder who our DADA prof will be?", said Ginny, desperate to change the subject.
"I think it could be Snape", replied Hermione now thoughtful. "He has been behind the post for quite some time".
"I'd rather have Um-Umbridge", stuttered Neville now frightened, "Not P-Potions and DADA, never". Ginny suppressed a smile. She dropped her head onto the table looking thoughtful.
"On second thoughts, it can never be Umbridge", grinned Ron. "Neville, did you see anything else about the prophecy", asked Hermione curiously.
The reply said, "I don't know Hermione. Only Harry could have, still I doubt it".
"Didn't you remember something when it broke?" Ginny and Ron exchanged glances.
"I did hear something-", the other three were hanging on to his every word, "- but it was jumbled up. There was too much noise around, Why?"
Hermione wore a look of pure curiosity and answered softly, "I just wondered what it could have contained".
"I overheard my gran once talking about prophecies in the Department of Mysteries, maybe … d-dad told her. She was saying something about thoughts stored in it and sealed with magic", he looked at the ground.
Nobody pressed on the subject any further. All the four were silent for a while.
"How's he doing now … after last year?" asked Neville looking concerned.
Hermione bit her lip she really did not want to answer. Ron spoke instead, "He is better".
"I doubt it", replied Neville, making the others stare at him. "Hope he gets over it. Oh-no, I have some homework left, C-can you help me with Potions? I couldn't get these two done". Ron's sharp look went unnoticed. Jerking out of her thoughts Hermione replied, "uh-oh I can but – alright give it here, Neville". He nodded thankfully and handed her a book.
She began checking his notes automatically and indicated corrections by marking them.
"I hope Harry were here, its really awful-", murmured Ginny nearly asleep. Realizing what she had said she added hastily, "-without DA. It was something worth". As Neville stared at her, she blushed uncontrollably. "I do hope we continue it. My gran was never more proud of me", replied Neville. All the three had noticed something. He didn't seem as shy as before. They were a bit surprised when he reddened slightly, "Do you know where Maria is now? Do you write to her?"
It took a moment for Hermione, Ron and Ginny to understand what he was talking about.
Ron blurted out, "NO". Neville was stunned by that outburst. Hermione replied regretfully, "We didn't get to talk to her, she hasn't even written back".
Neville looked at her knees and asked, "Will Harry know her? I thought she sounded a bit like him". Two redheads adjusted themselves in their seats uncomfortably. "I'll ask him".
All the three looked at each other, Ron smirked nastily and was rewarded with a death glare from both the girls.
"Excuse me, are you Mr Weasley", a small voice distracted them temporarily. Ron whipped around and saw a timid looking second year, who he recognised as Euan Abercrombie. "Yeah, what is it?"
The boy fingered his pockets nervously and asked in a small voice, "Sir, did you defeat You-Know-Who at the Ministry?". All the four at the table exchanged surprised glances. The boy shivered a little. "No, we didn't Dumbledore did it".
"But you fought his Death Eaters didn't you?" Ginny's and Neville's eyes were round as saucers. "Who told you that?"
The boy fidgeted uneasily and replied, "Many people noticed you leaving the school, suspended in mid-air".
Hermione looked amused, "All of us, yes we did together. Even Luna Lovegood was with us", Ron looked at Hermione maddeningly.
"Why do you want to know?" Ginny was on her feet. The tiny boy trembled scaredly and backed away. "B-because all second years were asked to write essays on Y-You-Know-Who, this time. I thought of add-dding this part t-too, if you d-don't mind".
All the four were staring at the uncomfortable boy disbelieveingly, Hermione spoke up, "Let Harry come back. We'll decide and tell you in the night".
The boy gave a big sigh of relief, "Eight'o clock?"
"Ten", replied Ron. The boy thanked them and went back to his seat, looking awed and triumphant. His friends were nudging him for questions.
"When is Harry coming back?" Neville asked again as Hermione got up from her chair still checking Neville's homework. "We don't know, he must be coming in a day or two", replied Ron.
Hermione had already walked to the fireplace still holding Neville's homework, only she was looking at the fire deep in thought.
Green flames erupted suddenly, a person revolved in it and Harry walked out. Seeing her he stopped and stared at her for a while.
"Hi Hermione, where's Ron". (don't tell me you expected that)
Openmouthed, she stood transfixed to her spot, his robes had bits of soot on it. All the books in her hand had fallen to the floor, she didn't seem to notice.
"HEY HARRY", he heard Ginny's voice. Neville was totally flabbergasted. Ron's eyebrows seemed to disappear into his hair.
Regaining consciousness, Hermione pinched her arm, it hurt. Looking at Harry she performed a charm, all the soot on him vanished. She hugged him tightly and suddenly pulled away looking guilty.
"Is your chest still hurting, Harry? I'm sor-"
"No its not and will never again. Its cured completely. My trunk is coming too", he cut across her. She picked up the books and walked back to the table. The trunk had come out too. Harry dragged it to the table where all his friends were exchanging bewildered looks.
"Hi Harry, is it really you?"
Harry smiled, "Hi Neville". Ron grinned, "Was that your idea?"
"Who allowed you to come by that?" asked Hermione. Harry smiled, "Mrs. and Mr. Weasley thought that it was the safest way to travel".
She raised an eyebrow when Neville was looking the other way. He grinned sheepishly. Ron interrupted, "How're you feeling mate?"
"Fine", which was true. The mere sight of his friends had flushed out all his worries. He didn't notice Ginny give Ron a sharp look.
"What about school?"
Ron cut in happily, "None, hope this never ends".
"Such a waste of time-".
"-reading those dull books. You agree Harry, don't you?"
Seeing Harry shrug and view the nonstop exchange between the two with a bothered expression, Ginny broke into silent fits of laugher. Harry got to see even Neville smile.
Finally, Hermione cast Ron a look of disapproval and turned to him, "You'd better inform Professor McGonagall, Harry".
Harry nodded and made off. He was at Hogwarts at last, home at last.
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There's Hermione Ron Neville and Ginny, hey Luna's coming don't worry.
I read JKR's interview in a site. She has said that Harry and Hermione have a platonic relationship now. Oh no?
Oh YES. Putting it blandly, it means that neither is attracted to the other in that way for now. Gimme benefit of doubt you guys.
That definitely does not rule out Harry and Hermione together ;-)
Note: An overly unenthusiastic reviewer has submitted more than one Howler, which does just it, howls aimlessly. Atleast use some better language. I do not mind even if, you giving just one review state the quirks or plus points which you find in my the story. If you don't specify what it is, I won't know where I'm possibly going wrong. That is all. Also, I admit to having not a good idea of Snape's attitude (don't snicker -_-). Please do mail me if you have some tips about good ole Snapey.
Happy New Year. One of my resolution, make this story as interesting as possible for you. Bye for now.
AND
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW