A/N: Not mine, etc., etc. Here is chapter eight! Nine is on the way. I've had a hard time deciding where eight ends and nine begins, but this is the final result. Many thanks to all my reviewers: k00lgirl1808, Flybird, Anynonymouse, AmiBlack, pegoheart144, Skye0906, and Pepperjack. Thank you all for the encouragement. A special thanks to k00lgirl1808 for being the first to review, and to Skye0906 for all the detailed and wonderful comments. You all make my day! I hope you continue to enjoy!
Chapter Eight: Pleasant Reunions
"They're late," Harry complained.
"Be patient," Professor Thornby said at his shoulder. "They'll get here when they get here."
Harry sighed, knowing she was right. Somehow, knowing didn't make waiting any easier. All five of them were standing in the breakfast room facing the fireplace. The house-elves had spent the better part of a morning cleaning it. It wasn't really work to them; they had been all too happy to oblige, and there was not a speck of soot to be seen.
Long minutes dragged by until even the adults began to shift their weight a bit. Bellaton pulled a pocketwatch from his robes and glanced at the face.
Green flames roared up in the fireplace. Harry, who was nearest, put up a hand to shield his face from the sudden brightness. The fire subsided, and Arthur Weasley stood where it had been. "Hello, Harry!" he said, striding forward. "Glad to see you're looking so well."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said.
"Good lord!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. "You must be Sirius Black."
Sirius raised an eyebrow and smiled thinly.
"How do you do?" Mr. Weasley said, taking Sirius' hand and shaking it enthusiastically. "Dumbledore filled us in, of course, but it's still a bit of a shock. Glad to hear you didn't do it. Nasty business, that."
Sirius' eyes widened, and his face broke into a real smile. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Weasley."
The appearance of more green flames halted the introductions. Hermione fairly flew out of the fireplace to throw her arms around Harry.
"Oof! Hi, Hermione!"
"Harry!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it's wonderful to see you! We've been so worried. Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine!" Harry laughed. "You sound just like Madam – oof!"
Ron had emerged from the fireplace and had Harry in a crushing grip. "Hiya, Harry!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "We're finally here!"
"Hello, Ron! All right?"
"All right," Ron said happily. "Sorry we're late. Mum insisted on sending food with us." He pulled a jar out of a large leather sack. "Tomato preserves." He looked up and saw the adults for the first time. "Sirius!" he exclaimed.
Hermione turned and saw them too. "Professor Lupin!"
"But you didn't say anything about them!" Ron said.
"We wanted to surprise you," Lupin said with a smile. "Ron. Hermione. How are you both?"
"Very well, thanks," Hermione said. "And you?"
"Can't complain," Lupin said. "How about you, Sirius? Can you complain?"
"Not at all," Sirius said.
Harry looked over to their new professors. They stood patiently, watching the happy reunions. It was up to him to make the introductions. "Um. Mr. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, these are Professors Ardoc Bellaton and Celeste Thornby. They're new teachers this year."
Another round of handshakes and pleasantries was exchanged.
"Well..." Harry said uncertainly.
"Go on, Harry," Professor Thornby said. "We'd like to talk for a bit before Mr. Weasley leaves."
"See you in Diagon Alley in a month, son," Mr. Weasley said.
"'Kay. Bye, dad!" Ron said, already starting to move.
"Goodbye, Mr. Weasley!" Harry and Hermione called.
"Come on!" Harry said, and he, Ron, and Hermione took off down the hallway.
"Blimey! Two new teachers!" Ron exclaimed. He craned his neck to look up at the great staircase and the vaunted ceilings. "What a house!"
"Dumbledore told us about it," Hermione put in. "I'm sure it must have a fascinating history!"
"You'll have to talk to the professors about it," Harry said. "As far as I know, no one has written Alverbrooke, A History yet. Maybe you can be the first."
"Where are we going?" Ron asked.
"The solarium. It's one of the best spots. You're going to love this house," he said. "My absolute favorite room is best seen at night."
They entered the plant-festooned room, and Harry's friends oohed and aahed. "Oh, I love orchids," Hermione sighed. "They have amazing properties, you know."
"They're not bad to look at, either," Ron smirked.
"Oh, that most of all," she agreed.
They took seats on cushioned lawn chairs. "Glad you're not dead, mate," Ron said cheerfully.
"Dumbledore took my parents and me to the Burrow, and we all had a sort of conference there," Hermione said. "We all heard what happened."
"The Dursleys really are daft, aren't they?" said Ron. "Dumbledore said you almost didn't make it."
"That's what he told me, too," said Harry. "And no, the Dursleys aren't very bright at all." He told them the story of the poisoning and the rescue. Ron and Hermione listened attentively, although it seemed that they had indeed heard most of it before; they nodded along at times. When he mentioned the attack on Hogsmeade, their heads jerked up.
"You mean that the Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade just because you got away from them?" said Hermione incredulously.
"Well, yes, I suppose… but Dumbledore seemed to think it would have happened sooner or later anyway. I guess I was just a catalyst."
"Bugger," Ron breathed. "Everyone just figured they did it because it was an evil thing to do, and now we know the real reason."
"It's not much of a reason, is it?" Harry said sadly. He continued with the story, and when he mentioned the spell that Professor Thornby had used to save his life, Hermione gasped.
"Donum Vitae?" she said. "Dumbledore didn't tell us that. That's incredibly advanced magic!"
"You've heard of it?" Harry asked, surprised.
"It's mentioned briefly in our history book for this year," she said. "About how so many people died trying to cast it and all."
"Cool," Ron said. "You mean there's something other than goblin rebellions in those books?"
"Honestly, Ron," Hermione said. "There's lots of interesting things in them! It's just that Professor Binns picks the dullest topics."
"History of Magic is going to be a little different this year," Harry said. "No more goblin rebellions."
"No way!" Ron exclaimed. "How do you know?"
"Professor Thornby is taking over," Harry grinned. "She says she's going to run the class in tandem with Professor Bellaton's Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
Ron and Hermione looked at one another and exchanged excited smiles. "Now that is good news," Ron said. "How on earth did they get rid of Professor Binns?"
"Something about sending him off to a Great Library somewhere to look for some vital information," Harry said. "I don't know how long it will keep him busy, but he won't be teaching for this year at least."
"So what are they like?" Hermione asked. "Professors Bellaton and Thornby, I mean."
"They're great," Harry said. "You'll like them, Hermione, they know lots of things that most people have forgotten. Professor Bellaton is lots of fun. He's always laughing about something. And Professor Thornby is... well, she's nice, and very smart."
"She's absolutely ripping," Ron said.
Hermione gave him a sharp look. "Ripping? And what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that half the boys in school are going to be drooling on their parchment instead of listening to her lecture," Ron said, shrugging.
"Nope," Harry said. "They'll learn right quick. She expects you to pay attention. I think she can be as strict as McGonagall when she wants to be."
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ron asked.
"They're starting up the Dueling Club again this year," Harry said. "I've been getting a few advance lessons."
"What? Now how is that fair?" Ron exclaimed.
"Well, they figured I could use all the help I could get," Harry said. He couldn't help smiling a little.
"That makes sense," Hermione said. "But there's something I don't understand – why did Dumbledore send the new History of Magic teacher to get you from the Dursleys?"
Harry sighed. "It's a secret," he said. "I can tell you, but you can't breathe a word to anyone else. Seriously. She might be killed if anyone found out."
"We understand," Hermione said, and Ron nodded. "Go ahead and tell us."
"She's my guardian," Harry said. "After I got better she took an oath to protect me with her life. That's why she's really at Hogwarts. The teaching job is just a front."
His friends were silent for a moment. Hermione's unfocused eyes stared ahead at nothing. Harry could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Ron merely looked poleaxed. "That's incredible, Harry," Hermione said at long last. "A complete stranger who's willing to give her life for you?"
"It is kind of romantic, isn't it?" Ron said.
"Sod off, Ron," Harry said. Ron sniggered, and Harry couldn't help joining in.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Seriously, though," she said. "It's wonderful that Dumbledore is doing something to protect you after all that's happened, but how do you know you can trust her?"
"I just know," Harry said. "Dumbledore cast a spell on us when she swore. Bellaton says it's called a Binder. She's… in my head somehow. Remus said I'd know if she turned against me."
"In your head like… like she knows what you're thinking?" Ron said.
Harry shook his head. "No, but I can tell when she's close by."
Ron frowned. "Do you know what this means, Harry?"
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "No more sneaking out."
"Exactly," Ron said.
"How can either of you even consider doing that anymore?" Hermione said indignantly. "You just told us that assassins are after you, Harry. You don't want to go making their job easier for them."
"Don't worry," Harry said. "I won't. You're going to have to watch yourselves, too. It's no secret that we're best friends."
"Wow," Ron said. "Assassins after the famous Harry Potter, and maybe his two best mates. It might be exciting if it wasn't us we were talking about."
"Well, you'll have a guardian, too, sort of. Bellaton's going to be the protector of all of the students," said Harry.
"Bit imposing, isn't he?" Hermione said. "He's going to look huge next to anyone except Hagrid."
"Not once you get to know him," Harry said. "You wouldn't guess it to look at him, but Herbology must have been his favorite subject. He spends a lot of time in here working with the plants. I don't think he's afraid of anything. Just wait until you duel with him! You'll think you've been hit by a hammer."
"When we duel with him?" Hermione said faintly. Ron swallowed hard.
"Yeah! They said they'd give you early lessons, too." He laughed at his friends' pale faces. "Don't worry, it's not really that bad. The combat room is enchanted to keep you from getting hurt. My disarming spells are already a lot better. It's loads of fun, I promise."
"Okay," Ron said in a small voice. "Whatever you say."
**********
That evening Harry showed Ron and Hermione the observatory. They entered the room after dinner, when the sun was just setting. The moment the door closed, the walls all vanished as they had before, leaving everyone seemingly standing on nothing with the sky all around. Ron and Hermione were completely astonished and delighted, just as Harry had hoped. They sat on the invisible floor and watched twilight fall as they talked. One by one the brightest stars appeared; more and more appeared as the sky darkened to inky blackness until millions of pinpricks of light surrounded them. The three of them ended up on their backs, hands behind their heads, staring up at the multitudes above.
"There are so many," Hermione said in a hushed voice. "They make me feel so small."
"Me too," Harry said.
"This is the bloody coolest thing I have ever seen," Ron said quietly.
Harry stared into the darkness. The stars twinkled above them like diamonds scattered across a swath of midnight velvet. "This is going to be the best summer vacation ever," he said.
He couldn't see his friends, but he was sure they were smiling as happily as he was.