A/N - JKR owns everything familiar. Me --- not so much.
A/N - I felt bad for taking so long with the last chapter that I decided to go ahead and write another one today --- I trust it won't cost me too many reviews from ppl skipping Ch46.
Chapter 47
Quick Question
Harry awoke just over two hours later to the familiar environment of the Hospital Wing. Even before he opened his eyes, the distinctive smell in the air and the feel of the bed and sheets left no possibility that he could be anywhere else.
He listened for a second before deciding whether or not to open his eyes. He couldn't hear anyone else in the room so he opened his eyes and instinctively reached for his glasses that he knew would be waiting for him on the nightstand next to the bed. Before he let his mind return to the chain of events that brought him here, he briefly wondered how many trips to the Hospital Wing were required before one got his very own bed that no one else could use. Perhaps he would even be allowed to decorate the walls directly above it and maybe he'd be allowed to keep a change of clothes here soon. He spent a few seconds trying to determine the exact number of Quidditch posters he'd be allowed to hang on his portion of the walls.
Dumbledore's voice brought Harry out of his reverie. "Hello Harry. How are you feeling?"
Harry had to stop and consider the question. "Fine."
His headmaster regarded him closely for a couple of seconds before responding. "I doubt that's entirely true but I suppose you're doing as well as could be expected." Dumbledore was interrupted by Madame Pomfrey who was bustling over with a giant slab of chocolate --- it reminded Harry of his trip over the Winter Break to meet Tiny and his friends when he had visited the giants' candy store.
Harry visibly cringed. He had no idea how Ron could like chocolate so much. But then again, he reasoned to himself, Ron's mind probably didn't associate chocolate with Dementors the way Harry's mind automatically did. Slowly, Harry reached out and accepted the offering. He just held the candy in both hands until Madame Pomfrey insisted that he eat it if he ever wanted to leave the Hospital Wing. Finally, Harry started nibbling at the chocolate.
Once the nurse saw Harry start eating the chocolate, she left the two occupants alone by busying herself in her office. Dumbledore continued speaking. "Harry you know that I have to ask you what happened."
"I was going to ask you the exact same thing. Have you talked to Filch?"
"Mr Filch, Harry," Dumbledore gently corrected. "Yes I have. He told me quite an interesting story. After you tell me your version, I would be only to happy to tell you his." Dumbledore was smiling at Harry, patiently waiting for him to tell his tale.
After replaying out the scene in his head, he began. "There's not much to tell really. After we brought the seventh years down to meet you, Mr Filch turned and started walking back to the castle. I wasn't sure whether or not I should follow him or head back to the Quidditch pitch but I decided to go with him since he was heading back to the castle and I really wanted to check on the fifth and sixth year Gryffindors. As we got closer to the castle I started feeling cold. I knew what it was. We saw eight more Dementors approaching us but apparently they were different from the last group --- these were not trying to die."
Harry paused to collect his thoughts. He didn't like thinking back to what had happened but he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't let him off the hook so, deciding the quicker the better, he rushed ahead.
"I waited for Fil --- er --- Mr Filch to do something but then I remembered that he was a --- er --- he's a --- "
"He's a squib Harry. It's not a nasty word but rather a fact of life that he tries to keep hidden."
"Er --- right. So then I cast the Patronus Charm at the group and it seemed to work on three of them. At first I didn't think this group would be any more difficult than the last group. I thought I could corral them to the Quidditch pitch but by the time I realized this group wasn't trying to die, it was too late. We had both dropped to our knees and although I kept chanting the charm, I knew I was getting weaker. I didn't think we would make it. I --- I --- I passed out."
Harry's story concluded, he continued to nibble on his bar of chocolate while waiting for the headmaster to tell him what else happened. As he spoke the last sentence, Harry dropped his gaze to his sheets and refused to look up. Dumbledore considered Harry's story for quite a while before he began speaking.
"There is no shame in how you acted today Harry. You should be proud. I am."
Harry knew he was getting too old to count on Dumbledore's reassurances for all of his actions, but he couldn't help being comforted by them. Harry nodded causing Dumbledore to continue.
"Argus told me almost exactly the same thing you did. He said he decided to go back to the castle because so many of the staff were on the pitch that he wanted to keep an eye on things in the school. After the encounter with the Dementors his version was the same until the very end. He said he was about to pass out when you cast one last but extremely powerful Patronus Charm on the remaining five Dementors causing them to back up several meters. The most interesting thing though was that instead of pursuing you both again, they turned and fled. I was unaware of all of this. The seventh years finished their training and we all returned to the castle about thirty minutes ago which was when I was told of the incident."
Harry's mind was going in several directions at once. He decided to start with the area that didn't involve thinking about the Dementors.
"Professor, that means you spent well over an hour with the seventh years facing the Dementors. That seems like a long time. Didn't they do ok?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes Harry, they did just fine. They only have a few more months to learn everything we can teach them so I kept them a little longer. I wanted them to go last so they could help us dispose of the last sixteen creatures."
Harry nodded his understanding. He wanted to know more about how he cast that spell that drove away the Dementors but he had a feeling Dumbledore already told him everything he knew about it. Besides, he couldn't think of a way to phrase it without sounding like he doubted his abilities, and he definitely didn't want to do or say anything to make Dumbledore treat him like a child who didn't believe in himself. Unsure of what to do or say next, Harry remained silent.
Shortly after Dumbledore left, Madame Pomfrey told Harry that he too could leave but to return if he felt anything out of the ordinary. After promising her that he would, Harry headed up to Gryffindor Tower.
On his way back to his common room, he realized that none of his friends had come to visit him, which was extremely unusual. He wondered if they even knew what happened to him. When he entered the common room he noticed that there wasn't a single fifth, sixth, or seventh year down there.
Unsure of what he was going to find, he walked up to the room he shared with the other fifth year Gryffindor boys. He entered the room to find everyone sound asleep on their beds. Relief poured through his veins. He wasn't exactly sure what he expected to see but he knew that he would have bet ten galleons that Neville would have still been trembling. Harry was glad that all his friends were sleeping peacefully. He didn't need to look in any of the other rooms to know that almost half of the Gryffindor students were currently asleep.
Not wanting to wake anyone, Harry went back down to the common room to finish his homework for the weekend. Now that the beginning of March was upon them, the OWLs were starting to get too close for comfort. He managed to finish his homework before turning in from this incredibly exhausting day.
Harry knew exactly how tired his friends were but nonetheless, he was still surprised that they managed to sleep through the night.
Sunday, mercifully, proved to be a relatively normal day. Most of the older students dragged around their house Towers. Since Harry had already completed his homework, he decided to take this opportunity to stroll around the grounds. Ron wanted to blow off his homework and go with him but Hermione would have none of that. Eventually, she berated Ron into following her back to Gryffindor Tower to work on his homework.
Harry didn't really mind that he was going alone; he wanted to spend some time in his sphinx form. He hadn't really gotten a lot of practice with that lately. When he got outside he realized that he really didn't know where to go where he would remain safe but not give away his animagus form.
The first thing that occurred to him was to take a leaf out of Remus' book and use the passage under the Whomping Willow to go to the Shrieking Shack. Unfortunately, too many of the staff knew about that passage and Harry knew that he would be in a lot of trouble if he was caught since none of his year group had been allowed to go to Hogsmeade at all this year without a professor.
His second choice was the Forbidden Forest. Especially if he stayed just inside the forest near the outskirts, he should be safe. In the end though the experiences from the previous day kept him from going anywhere near the forest.
He started to turn around and go back to his room to get his Invisibility Cloak when he suddenly remembered he no longer needed a cloak to turn invisible. Feeling decidedly thick, Harry walked to the side of the castle to turn invisible when no one could see him do it. He had never tried to keep the spell on while he was in his animagus form, but there was no time like the present.
First he turned himself invisible, then he transformed into his sphinx form. Almost immediately he did what came the most natural to him --- he spread his wings and leapt into the air. After flying around for a few minutes he realized that what he really wanted now was to see his mother's face again. Deciding that the lake would provide his best chance to catch a glimpse of himself, Harry started flying in that direction. When he reached the lake, he hovered less than a meter above the surface.
Initially, Harry was extremely surprised that he didn't see his own reflection. Briefly he wondered if what little cloud cover there was prevented the water from reflecting his image. Finally, again feeling rather dense, Harry remembered that he was invisible.
He was torn.
Although he desperately wanted to see his mom's face again, he knew that he would be taking a chance letting himself be seen by whoever might be looking his way. Deciding to remain hidden, Harry continued flying around. He knew he could transform whenever he wanted and see his mom's face later.
Harry spent the afternoon flying around and speaking a few phrases aloud every now and then just to stay in practice. To try to challenge himself, Harry decided to try to speak about what he wanted to do when he grew up. He concentrated as he thought to himself.
\\ I could play Quidditch --- // He stopped abruptly. Deciding that nothing rhymed with Quidditch, Harry decided to start a new train of thought.
\\ I would make a fine bartender. I would be helpful, caring and tender. // Harry briefly wondered whether or not it was fair to rhyme tender with tender. Back to the old drawing board, he decided.
\\ I guess I could work with Fred and George. I could work in the backroom doing storage. // Harry wasn't sure that that rhymed. He was pretty sure though that, had he tried, he wouldn't have been able to say it aloud.
\\ I would like to be a candy taste tester. At least then I would be looser and rester. // No. "Rester" was obviously not a real word but "more rested" didn't rhyme with tester. He had to keep going.
\\ What do I want to do? I could work in a zoo? // Well, at least this one rhymed but he most definitely did not want to work in a zoo.
\\ I could train to be an auror. I would be able to stop some horror. // That one was closer but then again he didn't want to decide on a career just because he could rhyme with it.
\\ Maybe I could be like my dad. I could --- // Harry was so surprised that he started plummeting to the ground. In his absolute and total shock, Harry had forgotten to flap his wings. He just barely kept himself from crashing into the school grounds. He was sure that his invisibility spell had worn off. Not caring at all about anything except finding Sirius or Dumbledore, Harry had almost reached the entrance when he realized that he hadn't transformed. No longer caring who saw him, Harry quickly transformed and entered the school.
He ran through the school straight to the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. Not knowing the password, Harry started spewing out any and every Muggle and magical candy that he could think of.
Nothing worked.
It took all of his self-control not to kick the gargoyle. Actually, he had tried that once before in his younger days and the only effect it had was to create significant pain that lingered for days. Since he knew kicking it wouldn't work, he decided to start yanking on it --- he was trying to force it out of the way.
"Potter! What are you doing?"
Harry turned around to see the caretaker looking him up and down. According to what Dumbledore had told him in the Hospital Wing, Harry had saved his life --- surely that worth a little slack now, even if it was Filch.
"I said what are you doing?"
Harry thought it was pretty obvious what he was doing but he didn't want to push his luck any more than was necessary. "I need to speak to the headmaster."
"He's not here." Filch turned to leave but Harry stopped him.
"When will he be back?"
"I'm not his secretary Potter. I just know that he's not here at the moment. Now I suggest you separate yourself from his gargoyle before people think you two are dating." With the all too familiar sneer, Filch skulked back the way he came leaving Harry alone with the gargoyle.
Harry was almost devastated. He desperately wanted to talk to the man --- no, he needed to talk to the man. He didn't know where Sirius was at the minute but he was pretty sure that he too was gone or else he would have seen Harry yesterday when he was in the Hospital Wing. Not knowing what else to do, Harry slowly walked back to Gryffindor Tower.
He was so distracted along the way that he forgot to hop one of the trick steps and felt his leg go crashing though it. In a moderate amount of pain, Harry struggled to free himself. He couldn't. Looking around he realized that no one else was anywhere nearby. He'd have to wait. Within the hour, he told himself, Gryffindors would start heading down for their evening meal. He'd just have to wait --- he would spend the time thinking about what landed him in this mess in the first place.
Fortunately, he had only been stuck for about ten minutes when he saw none other than Ginny Weasley heading towards him.
Harry's face lit up. "Ginny, you don't know how glad I am to see you."
Ginny looked puzzled. "Harry what happened to you?"
"I pulled a Neville," Harry said sheepishly.
She laughed.
"Could you please help me out? My leg is starting to hurt."
Ginny pulled him out and they walked back to Gryffindor Tower together. They hadn't walked two meters when they fell into a comfortable conversation.
"Ginny, what's new? I haven't seen you hardly at all this year."
She smiled. "It's just that I've gotten really close to some of the students in my year. I realized over the summer that if I didn't make friends in my own year, I wouldn't have anyone at all to talk to during my last year here."
Harry returned her smile. "Very clever. But that still doesn't explain why I haven't even seen you around the common room much."
Ginny didn't say anything.
Harry thought he knew. "Are these friends of yours in Gryffindor?"
She blushed slightly.
"That's okay Ginny; you don't have to tell me. But for the record, I think it's ok to have friends in other houses." Ginny smiled.
When they got back to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ginny turned to go the opposite direction. Harry was puzzled. "Aren't you coming in?"
"No, actually I was headed to meet someone when I ran into you. I'm already late." She rushed off as Harry entered the Tower.
He looked around the room until he saw Ron and Hermione sitting at a table in the corner of the room. Hermione was in her element but Ron wore a severe scowl across his face. The table was literally covered with books and parchments. Smirking, Harry walked over to them.
"All right you two? How's the studying going?" Harry asked in a somewhat better mood after his brief chat with Ginny.
Hermione's head snapped up. She was frowning at Harry and her eyes were narrowed in what was unmistakably a hostile gesture. "Oh no you don't Harry Potter."
Harry was taken aback. He looked at Hermione who was decidedly annoyed. They he looked at Ron who was just shaking his head.
Perplexed, Harry asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I think you know."
Harry looked to Ron who just shrugged his shoulders. Harry turned back to Hermione and said, "I'm sorry, that 'all right you two' crack was completely out of line." Instinctively Harry knew his sarcasm would not help things, but knowing he hadn't done anything wrong he couldn't stop himself.
"You think you're going to sit down here and distract us by starting a conversation. Well I won't have it." Hermione gathered all of her stuff, which was no small feat, and stormed up to her room.
Harry was shocked to say the least. Ron however was smiling. "Don't worry mate, she's been like that all day. I think the pressure of the OWLs is finally getting to her."
Secretly Harry was starting to wonder how the trio was going to get through the next few months. One of his best friends was studying to death and the other was showing signs of a temper that Harry never knew existed.
Ron asked about Harry's day but Harry didn't say much. He still felt stupid that he hadn't thought to ask Dumbledore or Sirius earlier about what had been troubling him most recently and he didn't quite feel like talking about it yet. Suddenly he remembered that he really hadn't talked to Ron since his classmates had faced the Dementors.
Harry knew what he was going to ask next would be difficult; but he didn't know how difficult. "Ron, do you mind telling me how you all did yesterday down at the Quidditch pitch?"
Ron visibly paled. "Well --- I guess you answer enough of my questions that you don't want to that it's only fair." Harry didn't interrupt. He sensed his friend was talking himself into it.
Ron continued, "I don't know how you did it Harry --- you know --- back in our third year. It was truly awful. Almost half of us passed out. I remember thinking --- thinking that --- that --- "
Ron was obviously trying to recount whatever horrible memory he had suffered yesterday. Harry couldn't decide whether to push Ron or tell him to forget it and move on. Finally he settled on just staying quiet.
" --- that you --- that you were dead."
Harry's eyes widened with shock. "What?!!! But since I've never died you can't have that memory. Dememtors only drudge up existing horrible memories."
Ron couldn't meet Harry's eyes. Ron was sporting unshed tears and he was obviously fighting to regain control of his emotions. The only time Harry had ever seen his friend in this much pain was back during second year when Ginny had been taken by the basilisk. It tore Harry up to see his friend in this much pain but he had to know.
"Harry, when you portkeyed back after the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year and laid unmoving on the grass --- "
Ron stopped to take several deep breaths. Sensing Ron's uneasiness, Harry was careful to keep his eyes focused on the table and not his friend.
"Well, let's just say that I thought you were dead. And on top of that I kept thinking about how horribly I treated you up until the first task. When it was really happening after the Tri-Wizard tournament, I only thought you were dead for a minute or so --- albeit the worst minute of my life. But when the Dementors were around me it just kept playing over and over in my head. It didn't matter that I knew you were alive, I still couldn't shake the feelings of despair."
Ron wouldn't look up. He wouldn't risk meeting his friend's gaze.
Harry had one question but he didn't dare ask it. He was surprised when his best friend answered it anyway.
"Even when the basilisk took Ginny, I never thought she was dead. Back then, I was able to do something to help save her. But with you --- "
Ron's voice trailed into silence. Harry was starting to understand some of the basis of his friend's anger. Harry was also starting to truly understand what having a brother felt like.
"I was never able to conjure a Patronus. I couldn't concentrate on a happy thought. All I could think of was --- " Ron couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't force himself to say it again.
The two boys sat there silently for a little while, each lost in his own thoughts. It was only when the twins came over to grab them for dinner that Ron or Harry spoke again.
The atmosphere during dinner was decidedly pleasant, much to both Ron and Harry's relief. The talk quickly turned to Quidditch in general and specifically Gryffindor's chances of winning the House Cup. Hermione must have still been in her room either sulking or studying because she wasn't at the dinner table.
Apparently, Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to cheer up their housemates from yesterday's experiences. The reason Harry knew this was that the Slytherin table and chairs, with the students in them, was suddenly rising into the air. It didn't stop until they got about five meters in the air. Some of the Slytherins were obviously starting to panic. Crabbe and Goyle were both doing something Harry never thought they would do --- they were leaving food on their plates. Draco however, looked like he couldn't care less if he got hurt. Most of the rest of the Slytherins looked scared.
The good thing about a prank against the Slytherin is that, theoretically, anyone could pull it because no one outside of Slytherin particularly liked any of them. The twins were chuckling but so was almost everyone else in the Great Hall, including a few of the staff members. Fred and George didn't fully lose their composure until Snape cast a spell to lower the table.
It had the opposite effect!
The table rose another five meters in the air. Ron and Harry turned to the twins demanding, "Brilliant - what did you two do?"
Fred said quietly, "We put a reverse spell on the table. Every time someone tries to lower the table, it will raise it instead."
Ron and Harry also started cackling loudly.
"Priceless"
"Amazing"
The laughter at the Gryffindor table continued long after the Slytherins were back on the ground.
No one noticed the headmaster approach their table until he was standing directly behind the twins, who exchanged brief glances with each other. Although they were always likely candidates whenever something amiss happened, it was usually McGonagall who punished them not the headmaster. They were more than a little nervous when Dumbledore spoke.
"Harry, I believe you had a question for me."
Dumbledore chuckled as the twins released their collective breath. Harry stood up and followed the headmaster to his office.
"Please have a seat."
Harry did.
"Now, what can I do for you?"
"Professor, what did my parents do for a living?"
A/N -Share your thoughts with me
A/N - I felt bad for taking so long with the last chapter that I decided to go ahead and write another one today --- I trust it won't cost me too many reviews from ppl skipping Ch46.
Chapter 47
Quick Question
Harry awoke just over two hours later to the familiar environment of the Hospital Wing. Even before he opened his eyes, the distinctive smell in the air and the feel of the bed and sheets left no possibility that he could be anywhere else.
He listened for a second before deciding whether or not to open his eyes. He couldn't hear anyone else in the room so he opened his eyes and instinctively reached for his glasses that he knew would be waiting for him on the nightstand next to the bed. Before he let his mind return to the chain of events that brought him here, he briefly wondered how many trips to the Hospital Wing were required before one got his very own bed that no one else could use. Perhaps he would even be allowed to decorate the walls directly above it and maybe he'd be allowed to keep a change of clothes here soon. He spent a few seconds trying to determine the exact number of Quidditch posters he'd be allowed to hang on his portion of the walls.
Dumbledore's voice brought Harry out of his reverie. "Hello Harry. How are you feeling?"
Harry had to stop and consider the question. "Fine."
His headmaster regarded him closely for a couple of seconds before responding. "I doubt that's entirely true but I suppose you're doing as well as could be expected." Dumbledore was interrupted by Madame Pomfrey who was bustling over with a giant slab of chocolate --- it reminded Harry of his trip over the Winter Break to meet Tiny and his friends when he had visited the giants' candy store.
Harry visibly cringed. He had no idea how Ron could like chocolate so much. But then again, he reasoned to himself, Ron's mind probably didn't associate chocolate with Dementors the way Harry's mind automatically did. Slowly, Harry reached out and accepted the offering. He just held the candy in both hands until Madame Pomfrey insisted that he eat it if he ever wanted to leave the Hospital Wing. Finally, Harry started nibbling at the chocolate.
Once the nurse saw Harry start eating the chocolate, she left the two occupants alone by busying herself in her office. Dumbledore continued speaking. "Harry you know that I have to ask you what happened."
"I was going to ask you the exact same thing. Have you talked to Filch?"
"Mr Filch, Harry," Dumbledore gently corrected. "Yes I have. He told me quite an interesting story. After you tell me your version, I would be only to happy to tell you his." Dumbledore was smiling at Harry, patiently waiting for him to tell his tale.
After replaying out the scene in his head, he began. "There's not much to tell really. After we brought the seventh years down to meet you, Mr Filch turned and started walking back to the castle. I wasn't sure whether or not I should follow him or head back to the Quidditch pitch but I decided to go with him since he was heading back to the castle and I really wanted to check on the fifth and sixth year Gryffindors. As we got closer to the castle I started feeling cold. I knew what it was. We saw eight more Dementors approaching us but apparently they were different from the last group --- these were not trying to die."
Harry paused to collect his thoughts. He didn't like thinking back to what had happened but he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't let him off the hook so, deciding the quicker the better, he rushed ahead.
"I waited for Fil --- er --- Mr Filch to do something but then I remembered that he was a --- er --- he's a --- "
"He's a squib Harry. It's not a nasty word but rather a fact of life that he tries to keep hidden."
"Er --- right. So then I cast the Patronus Charm at the group and it seemed to work on three of them. At first I didn't think this group would be any more difficult than the last group. I thought I could corral them to the Quidditch pitch but by the time I realized this group wasn't trying to die, it was too late. We had both dropped to our knees and although I kept chanting the charm, I knew I was getting weaker. I didn't think we would make it. I --- I --- I passed out."
Harry's story concluded, he continued to nibble on his bar of chocolate while waiting for the headmaster to tell him what else happened. As he spoke the last sentence, Harry dropped his gaze to his sheets and refused to look up. Dumbledore considered Harry's story for quite a while before he began speaking.
"There is no shame in how you acted today Harry. You should be proud. I am."
Harry knew he was getting too old to count on Dumbledore's reassurances for all of his actions, but he couldn't help being comforted by them. Harry nodded causing Dumbledore to continue.
"Argus told me almost exactly the same thing you did. He said he decided to go back to the castle because so many of the staff were on the pitch that he wanted to keep an eye on things in the school. After the encounter with the Dementors his version was the same until the very end. He said he was about to pass out when you cast one last but extremely powerful Patronus Charm on the remaining five Dementors causing them to back up several meters. The most interesting thing though was that instead of pursuing you both again, they turned and fled. I was unaware of all of this. The seventh years finished their training and we all returned to the castle about thirty minutes ago which was when I was told of the incident."
Harry's mind was going in several directions at once. He decided to start with the area that didn't involve thinking about the Dementors.
"Professor, that means you spent well over an hour with the seventh years facing the Dementors. That seems like a long time. Didn't they do ok?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes Harry, they did just fine. They only have a few more months to learn everything we can teach them so I kept them a little longer. I wanted them to go last so they could help us dispose of the last sixteen creatures."
Harry nodded his understanding. He wanted to know more about how he cast that spell that drove away the Dementors but he had a feeling Dumbledore already told him everything he knew about it. Besides, he couldn't think of a way to phrase it without sounding like he doubted his abilities, and he definitely didn't want to do or say anything to make Dumbledore treat him like a child who didn't believe in himself. Unsure of what to do or say next, Harry remained silent.
Shortly after Dumbledore left, Madame Pomfrey told Harry that he too could leave but to return if he felt anything out of the ordinary. After promising her that he would, Harry headed up to Gryffindor Tower.
On his way back to his common room, he realized that none of his friends had come to visit him, which was extremely unusual. He wondered if they even knew what happened to him. When he entered the common room he noticed that there wasn't a single fifth, sixth, or seventh year down there.
Unsure of what he was going to find, he walked up to the room he shared with the other fifth year Gryffindor boys. He entered the room to find everyone sound asleep on their beds. Relief poured through his veins. He wasn't exactly sure what he expected to see but he knew that he would have bet ten galleons that Neville would have still been trembling. Harry was glad that all his friends were sleeping peacefully. He didn't need to look in any of the other rooms to know that almost half of the Gryffindor students were currently asleep.
Not wanting to wake anyone, Harry went back down to the common room to finish his homework for the weekend. Now that the beginning of March was upon them, the OWLs were starting to get too close for comfort. He managed to finish his homework before turning in from this incredibly exhausting day.
Harry knew exactly how tired his friends were but nonetheless, he was still surprised that they managed to sleep through the night.
Sunday, mercifully, proved to be a relatively normal day. Most of the older students dragged around their house Towers. Since Harry had already completed his homework, he decided to take this opportunity to stroll around the grounds. Ron wanted to blow off his homework and go with him but Hermione would have none of that. Eventually, she berated Ron into following her back to Gryffindor Tower to work on his homework.
Harry didn't really mind that he was going alone; he wanted to spend some time in his sphinx form. He hadn't really gotten a lot of practice with that lately. When he got outside he realized that he really didn't know where to go where he would remain safe but not give away his animagus form.
The first thing that occurred to him was to take a leaf out of Remus' book and use the passage under the Whomping Willow to go to the Shrieking Shack. Unfortunately, too many of the staff knew about that passage and Harry knew that he would be in a lot of trouble if he was caught since none of his year group had been allowed to go to Hogsmeade at all this year without a professor.
His second choice was the Forbidden Forest. Especially if he stayed just inside the forest near the outskirts, he should be safe. In the end though the experiences from the previous day kept him from going anywhere near the forest.
He started to turn around and go back to his room to get his Invisibility Cloak when he suddenly remembered he no longer needed a cloak to turn invisible. Feeling decidedly thick, Harry walked to the side of the castle to turn invisible when no one could see him do it. He had never tried to keep the spell on while he was in his animagus form, but there was no time like the present.
First he turned himself invisible, then he transformed into his sphinx form. Almost immediately he did what came the most natural to him --- he spread his wings and leapt into the air. After flying around for a few minutes he realized that what he really wanted now was to see his mother's face again. Deciding that the lake would provide his best chance to catch a glimpse of himself, Harry started flying in that direction. When he reached the lake, he hovered less than a meter above the surface.
Initially, Harry was extremely surprised that he didn't see his own reflection. Briefly he wondered if what little cloud cover there was prevented the water from reflecting his image. Finally, again feeling rather dense, Harry remembered that he was invisible.
He was torn.
Although he desperately wanted to see his mom's face again, he knew that he would be taking a chance letting himself be seen by whoever might be looking his way. Deciding to remain hidden, Harry continued flying around. He knew he could transform whenever he wanted and see his mom's face later.
Harry spent the afternoon flying around and speaking a few phrases aloud every now and then just to stay in practice. To try to challenge himself, Harry decided to try to speak about what he wanted to do when he grew up. He concentrated as he thought to himself.
\\ I could play Quidditch --- // He stopped abruptly. Deciding that nothing rhymed with Quidditch, Harry decided to start a new train of thought.
\\ I would make a fine bartender. I would be helpful, caring and tender. // Harry briefly wondered whether or not it was fair to rhyme tender with tender. Back to the old drawing board, he decided.
\\ I guess I could work with Fred and George. I could work in the backroom doing storage. // Harry wasn't sure that that rhymed. He was pretty sure though that, had he tried, he wouldn't have been able to say it aloud.
\\ I would like to be a candy taste tester. At least then I would be looser and rester. // No. "Rester" was obviously not a real word but "more rested" didn't rhyme with tester. He had to keep going.
\\ What do I want to do? I could work in a zoo? // Well, at least this one rhymed but he most definitely did not want to work in a zoo.
\\ I could train to be an auror. I would be able to stop some horror. // That one was closer but then again he didn't want to decide on a career just because he could rhyme with it.
\\ Maybe I could be like my dad. I could --- // Harry was so surprised that he started plummeting to the ground. In his absolute and total shock, Harry had forgotten to flap his wings. He just barely kept himself from crashing into the school grounds. He was sure that his invisibility spell had worn off. Not caring at all about anything except finding Sirius or Dumbledore, Harry had almost reached the entrance when he realized that he hadn't transformed. No longer caring who saw him, Harry quickly transformed and entered the school.
He ran through the school straight to the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. Not knowing the password, Harry started spewing out any and every Muggle and magical candy that he could think of.
Nothing worked.
It took all of his self-control not to kick the gargoyle. Actually, he had tried that once before in his younger days and the only effect it had was to create significant pain that lingered for days. Since he knew kicking it wouldn't work, he decided to start yanking on it --- he was trying to force it out of the way.
"Potter! What are you doing?"
Harry turned around to see the caretaker looking him up and down. According to what Dumbledore had told him in the Hospital Wing, Harry had saved his life --- surely that worth a little slack now, even if it was Filch.
"I said what are you doing?"
Harry thought it was pretty obvious what he was doing but he didn't want to push his luck any more than was necessary. "I need to speak to the headmaster."
"He's not here." Filch turned to leave but Harry stopped him.
"When will he be back?"
"I'm not his secretary Potter. I just know that he's not here at the moment. Now I suggest you separate yourself from his gargoyle before people think you two are dating." With the all too familiar sneer, Filch skulked back the way he came leaving Harry alone with the gargoyle.
Harry was almost devastated. He desperately wanted to talk to the man --- no, he needed to talk to the man. He didn't know where Sirius was at the minute but he was pretty sure that he too was gone or else he would have seen Harry yesterday when he was in the Hospital Wing. Not knowing what else to do, Harry slowly walked back to Gryffindor Tower.
He was so distracted along the way that he forgot to hop one of the trick steps and felt his leg go crashing though it. In a moderate amount of pain, Harry struggled to free himself. He couldn't. Looking around he realized that no one else was anywhere nearby. He'd have to wait. Within the hour, he told himself, Gryffindors would start heading down for their evening meal. He'd just have to wait --- he would spend the time thinking about what landed him in this mess in the first place.
Fortunately, he had only been stuck for about ten minutes when he saw none other than Ginny Weasley heading towards him.
Harry's face lit up. "Ginny, you don't know how glad I am to see you."
Ginny looked puzzled. "Harry what happened to you?"
"I pulled a Neville," Harry said sheepishly.
She laughed.
"Could you please help me out? My leg is starting to hurt."
Ginny pulled him out and they walked back to Gryffindor Tower together. They hadn't walked two meters when they fell into a comfortable conversation.
"Ginny, what's new? I haven't seen you hardly at all this year."
She smiled. "It's just that I've gotten really close to some of the students in my year. I realized over the summer that if I didn't make friends in my own year, I wouldn't have anyone at all to talk to during my last year here."
Harry returned her smile. "Very clever. But that still doesn't explain why I haven't even seen you around the common room much."
Ginny didn't say anything.
Harry thought he knew. "Are these friends of yours in Gryffindor?"
She blushed slightly.
"That's okay Ginny; you don't have to tell me. But for the record, I think it's ok to have friends in other houses." Ginny smiled.
When they got back to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ginny turned to go the opposite direction. Harry was puzzled. "Aren't you coming in?"
"No, actually I was headed to meet someone when I ran into you. I'm already late." She rushed off as Harry entered the Tower.
He looked around the room until he saw Ron and Hermione sitting at a table in the corner of the room. Hermione was in her element but Ron wore a severe scowl across his face. The table was literally covered with books and parchments. Smirking, Harry walked over to them.
"All right you two? How's the studying going?" Harry asked in a somewhat better mood after his brief chat with Ginny.
Hermione's head snapped up. She was frowning at Harry and her eyes were narrowed in what was unmistakably a hostile gesture. "Oh no you don't Harry Potter."
Harry was taken aback. He looked at Hermione who was decidedly annoyed. They he looked at Ron who was just shaking his head.
Perplexed, Harry asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I think you know."
Harry looked to Ron who just shrugged his shoulders. Harry turned back to Hermione and said, "I'm sorry, that 'all right you two' crack was completely out of line." Instinctively Harry knew his sarcasm would not help things, but knowing he hadn't done anything wrong he couldn't stop himself.
"You think you're going to sit down here and distract us by starting a conversation. Well I won't have it." Hermione gathered all of her stuff, which was no small feat, and stormed up to her room.
Harry was shocked to say the least. Ron however was smiling. "Don't worry mate, she's been like that all day. I think the pressure of the OWLs is finally getting to her."
Secretly Harry was starting to wonder how the trio was going to get through the next few months. One of his best friends was studying to death and the other was showing signs of a temper that Harry never knew existed.
Ron asked about Harry's day but Harry didn't say much. He still felt stupid that he hadn't thought to ask Dumbledore or Sirius earlier about what had been troubling him most recently and he didn't quite feel like talking about it yet. Suddenly he remembered that he really hadn't talked to Ron since his classmates had faced the Dementors.
Harry knew what he was going to ask next would be difficult; but he didn't know how difficult. "Ron, do you mind telling me how you all did yesterday down at the Quidditch pitch?"
Ron visibly paled. "Well --- I guess you answer enough of my questions that you don't want to that it's only fair." Harry didn't interrupt. He sensed his friend was talking himself into it.
Ron continued, "I don't know how you did it Harry --- you know --- back in our third year. It was truly awful. Almost half of us passed out. I remember thinking --- thinking that --- that --- "
Ron was obviously trying to recount whatever horrible memory he had suffered yesterday. Harry couldn't decide whether to push Ron or tell him to forget it and move on. Finally he settled on just staying quiet.
" --- that you --- that you were dead."
Harry's eyes widened with shock. "What?!!! But since I've never died you can't have that memory. Dememtors only drudge up existing horrible memories."
Ron couldn't meet Harry's eyes. Ron was sporting unshed tears and he was obviously fighting to regain control of his emotions. The only time Harry had ever seen his friend in this much pain was back during second year when Ginny had been taken by the basilisk. It tore Harry up to see his friend in this much pain but he had to know.
"Harry, when you portkeyed back after the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year and laid unmoving on the grass --- "
Ron stopped to take several deep breaths. Sensing Ron's uneasiness, Harry was careful to keep his eyes focused on the table and not his friend.
"Well, let's just say that I thought you were dead. And on top of that I kept thinking about how horribly I treated you up until the first task. When it was really happening after the Tri-Wizard tournament, I only thought you were dead for a minute or so --- albeit the worst minute of my life. But when the Dementors were around me it just kept playing over and over in my head. It didn't matter that I knew you were alive, I still couldn't shake the feelings of despair."
Ron wouldn't look up. He wouldn't risk meeting his friend's gaze.
Harry had one question but he didn't dare ask it. He was surprised when his best friend answered it anyway.
"Even when the basilisk took Ginny, I never thought she was dead. Back then, I was able to do something to help save her. But with you --- "
Ron's voice trailed into silence. Harry was starting to understand some of the basis of his friend's anger. Harry was also starting to truly understand what having a brother felt like.
"I was never able to conjure a Patronus. I couldn't concentrate on a happy thought. All I could think of was --- " Ron couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't force himself to say it again.
The two boys sat there silently for a little while, each lost in his own thoughts. It was only when the twins came over to grab them for dinner that Ron or Harry spoke again.
The atmosphere during dinner was decidedly pleasant, much to both Ron and Harry's relief. The talk quickly turned to Quidditch in general and specifically Gryffindor's chances of winning the House Cup. Hermione must have still been in her room either sulking or studying because she wasn't at the dinner table.
Apparently, Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to cheer up their housemates from yesterday's experiences. The reason Harry knew this was that the Slytherin table and chairs, with the students in them, was suddenly rising into the air. It didn't stop until they got about five meters in the air. Some of the Slytherins were obviously starting to panic. Crabbe and Goyle were both doing something Harry never thought they would do --- they were leaving food on their plates. Draco however, looked like he couldn't care less if he got hurt. Most of the rest of the Slytherins looked scared.
The good thing about a prank against the Slytherin is that, theoretically, anyone could pull it because no one outside of Slytherin particularly liked any of them. The twins were chuckling but so was almost everyone else in the Great Hall, including a few of the staff members. Fred and George didn't fully lose their composure until Snape cast a spell to lower the table.
It had the opposite effect!
The table rose another five meters in the air. Ron and Harry turned to the twins demanding, "Brilliant - what did you two do?"
Fred said quietly, "We put a reverse spell on the table. Every time someone tries to lower the table, it will raise it instead."
Ron and Harry also started cackling loudly.
"Priceless"
"Amazing"
The laughter at the Gryffindor table continued long after the Slytherins were back on the ground.
No one noticed the headmaster approach their table until he was standing directly behind the twins, who exchanged brief glances with each other. Although they were always likely candidates whenever something amiss happened, it was usually McGonagall who punished them not the headmaster. They were more than a little nervous when Dumbledore spoke.
"Harry, I believe you had a question for me."
Dumbledore chuckled as the twins released their collective breath. Harry stood up and followed the headmaster to his office.
"Please have a seat."
Harry did.
"Now, what can I do for you?"
"Professor, what did my parents do for a living?"
A/N -Share your thoughts with me