A/N: I've had a few calls for action, and I just wanted you to know that it's coming up soon. Many thanks to everyone who continues to review; I've been down in the dumps again and they really cheer me up.
Jemma Blackwell: Lucius Malfoy publicly denied ever having been a Death Eater; he claimed to have been under the Imperius Curse, and it's the only way he avoided prison. Whenever someone says otherwise it tears down his credibility. By staying out of prison, Lucius can continue Voldemort's work. Draco knows what his father is, of course, but he can't stand it when someone calls him a liar. Didn't get into the detentions. Sorry. This chapter is a month after the last one. I guess that could be a chapter in the "Back Stories".
athenakitty: More about Percy in this chapter and the next!
Danae: What 'last remarks' are you referring to? Your reviews have only ever been sweet and kind. Don't worry, the characters aren't without romantic sensibilities, but I've just chosen not to deal with them in this story. That should change in the next one.
totallystellar: Hello again! I missed your reviews and your inspiration dust. I love Harry too. :-) Action coming soon! There's always a battle at the end of the year…
Jedi Buttercup: Nice to hear from you again too! I had a lot of fun writing about McGonagall giving Fudge and Malfoy the smackdown.
chuckleseviltroll312: Waiting for the next chapter? Here it is. Let the vicious cycle begin anew.
Wolfia: Thanks for the Latin advice! I've changed Chapter 34 according to your instructions. I won't doubt your textbook. Azkaban and Fudge will be dealt with very soon.
PhoenixTearsp322: One of these days I'm going to have to take out Phoenix and read page 322. I've never been called eloquent before – thank you so much!! You seem to be very well spoken yourself. Aww, and you called my story 'exquisite' too. I felt so warm and fuzzy when I read your review. Thanks for the wonderful pick-me-up; I really needed it.
Dramaqueen: Welcome, welcome! I'm glad you like my take on Harry after Cedric's death. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Chapter 36: An Early Warning
A whole month passed before Harry or his friends heard anything more about Professor Thornby's trial, but they were far too busy to think much about it. The O.W.L.s were just a few weeks away and were their biggest concern. Even the less dedicated fifth years were studying like mad. Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent so much time in the library that they were beginning to feel as if they lived in it. When they weren't eating, sleeping, or in class, they were tucked away in the stacks. They even stopped going to the Dueling Club, which Bellaton was now running by himself.
At the beginning of May Hufflepuff soundly defeated Ravenclaw in a rousing Quidditch match. Slytherin and Ravenclaw had both lost twice, and the points stood such that it was Gryffindor who would be facing Hufflepuff in the championship. This meant that Harry and Ron had Quidditch practice as often as they could squeeze it in. This time, however, they weren't the only ones with tight schedules. Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia were all seventh years and had N.E.W.T.s coming up, which were supposed to be even worse than O.W.L.s. Katie Bell was the only person on the team who wasn't going insane, so Angelina let her take over leading the practices and working out strategies.
Another driving force in Harry, Ron, and Hermione's lives was the Daily Prophet. Every morning they scoured it for news while they ate breakfast. For most of the month after the hearing, the paper bore nothing but bad tidings. Now that Professor Thornby's trial was certain to take place, the smear campaign against her began in earnest. One morning Hermione unrolled the paper to find the headline 'BAD APPLE FROM BAD SEED' above two pictures of Professor Thornby. The first was a family portrait. A young girl with long hair, big eyes, and one missing front tooth sat on the lap of a pretty woman. The tall, fair-haired man standing behind them alternated between smiling for the camera and beaming proudly down at his family. In the other picture an adult Professor Thornby was wielding the quarterstaff against someone Harry didn't recognize, but she was trouncing him thoroughly.
"I guess they couldn't find a picture of her looking ugly," said Ron. "That's what they usually do when they want to slander someone."
Hermione glanced critically at the fighting photograph. "I doubt that there are many pictures of her at all, much less of her looking ugly," she said. "Look how happy her family seems. It's sad knowing what happened to them, isn't it?"
Harry skimmed through the article. Nothing in it surprised him. The main thrust was on her parents' poor judgment that had gotten them killed. It accused Felix Thornby of trying to rig the Ministerial election, just as Malfoy had done. It also brought up her lengthy stay beneath the Sorting Hat, and the writer asserted that it was Professor Thornby's dishonest nature that gave the Hat pause. Her disappearance from society after graduation, her ability to Sing, and her skill with weapons were all cited as evidence of how dangerous she was.
"Of course she's dangerous," Harry muttered as he finished the article. "But only to Dark wizards."
The inflammatory articles about Professor Thornby weren't the only unpleasant things to show up in the paper. The Avada Kedavra killings, which had died down for a few months, started up again with the deaths of the Rogers, an elderly couple. Word quickly spread around the school that the dead had been close friends of Dumbledore's. Rumors spread like wildfire until Professor McGonagall finally confirmed them. There was an immediate outpouring of support from the students, but Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen for almost a week after the article was published.
Some good news finally arrived on the day before the championship Quidditch match. The Daily Prophet finally reported what everyone had been waiting for: Professor Thornby would stand trial on the second Saturday in June. It seemed that despite Madam Bones' efforts, the trial date had been set almost as far from the hearing as possible. Harry was feeling horribly impatient with the magical legal system, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it, especially if Dumbledore could not.
That same morning, the four Weasley children received word from the Burrow that their father had found work. "Mum didn't really specify what," said Ron as he related the letter's contents to Harry and Hermione. "It sounds like it pays more than working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, though."
"Well, that's good," said Hermione.
"As long as it's got something to do with Muggles, I don't know that Dad will care," said Ron. "Anyway, at least there was some good news. The rest wasn't so great. Mum says that they haven't heard from Percy in more than a month."
"I thought you didn't care about Percy anymore," said Harry.
"I don't care for me," said Ron, "but he's hurting Mum. He has to know it."
Hermione frowned. "He moved out of the Burrow, right?"
"Right," said Ron.
"Well, if he really has decided to forsake all of you in favor of Fudge, then I wonder how you can be surprised that he's not in contact," said Hermione.
"Mum knew where he was living after he moved out," said Ron. "She says he must have moved again without telling them. She went to his flat looking for him and everything was gone."
"Maybe he's trying to completely sever his ties," said Harry.
Ron looked completely dejected. "If I ever see Percy again, I'll knock him senseless," he said. "Mum's been a wreck these past few months, I just know it. How can he be so unfeeling?"
"Ron, have you considered the fact that this might not be his choice?" Hermione said softly.
"What do you mean?" said Ron.
"I've been doing some more reading," said Hermione, "about the Imperius Curse."
A hush fell over the group. "Imperius?" breathed Ron.
"When Mad-Eye Moody – I mean Crouch – told us about the Unforgivables last year, I took out a few books from the library on the subject," she said. "When you told me how Percy acted at Professor Thornby's hearing it got me thinking. Everything fits: the glassy eyes, lack of recognition, complete separation from family and close friends, and strange behavior all around."
"But it's possible that he could just be a smarmy git," said Ron.
"Yes," said Hermione. "But if Fudge wanted to put him under the Imperius Curse, he had the perfect opportunity. Percy was already separating himself from your family, so more extreme behavior might just be seen the way you're seeing it. No one would ever guess."
"But why would Fudge do it?" said Ron. "Percy was already devoted to him."
"Maybe he was having second thoughts," said Hermione. "One thing's for sure – he wasn't under any curse at the Ministry Gala. You should have seen his face, Ron. He was worried sick about you."
"Maybe he disagreed with Fudge about Professor Thornby," said Harry. "She did save your life, after all. That's got to mean something to him."
"Who knows," said Hermione. "It's just a possibility, that's all, but it's not remote. Everyone says that Fudge is different nowadays. You two heard him sanction murder. Who's to say he hasn't started using the Unforgivables as well? With Lucius Malfoy as his advisor, anything could happen."
"She's right," said Harry.
Ron scrubbed a hand through his red hair. "Well, what should I do?" he said. "Should I tell my parents, or Dumbledore?"
"I'd start with Dumbledore," said Harry. "He'll know what to do."
"They're only suspicions," said Hermione, "but he should at least be aware of them."
"He hasn't been around since his friends died," said Ron. "We ought to tell someone." Harry watched his friend out of the corner of his eye. Ron's unhappy expression made it plain that whatever Percy had done, he still cared very much about him.
Somehow Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't manage to get around to finding either Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall, who was an obvious second choice. There was simply too much to do. Harry and Ron attended a last minute Quidditch practice that ended up just being a friendly game of three on four ("We all need to relax a bit before tomorrow," said Angelina), and while they were on the field, Hermione went to the library. Harry and Ron joined her afterwards, and it wasn't long before Katie found them and ordered them to go to bed early. "You need your rest," she said.
Harry and Ron did need their rest, both of them being tired from the weeks of unrelenting study and Quidditch practice. Unfortunately, they didn't get to sleep straight through until morning. When a knock sounded on the fifth year boys' door at two in the morning, Harry had a pretty good guess as to who was outside.
The rest of his roommates were sleeping like the dead, so Harry got up, pulled on his dressing gown, and answered the door. Just as he had expected, Leonard Fidemont was standing in the hallway. "Thanks," said Harry. "I'll be right down."
"No problem," yawned Leonard, and he headed back down the staircase.
Harry yanked aside one of Ron's heavy bedcurtains. Ron was flat on his back and snoring softly. "Ron," said Harry, shaking his friend's shoulder. "Ron." Ron yawned and rolled over. "Come on, wake up," said Harry, shaking him harder.
Ron blearily opened his eyes. "Whozat?" he murmured.
"It's me, stupid," said Harry. "Get up. Hermione's had another dream."
This was finally enough to rouse Ron. He staggered out of bed and followed Harry out of the dormitory.
Hermione was waiting in the common room on one of the plush red sofas. She had relit the fire and was staring into the flames.
"You okay?" Ron said sleepily as he sat down.
"Yes," said Hermione.
"It wasn't as bad as usual?" asked Harry.
"Oh, no, it was bad," said Hermione, "but at least I know what's going on now. I feel like I've already got a lot more control over this than I used to." She drew a deep breath. "I guess I could have let you sleep, but I thought I should tell you about it right away. It's my first dream since the one about... about the monsters, so I haven't really learned how to interpret them yet."
"But you know something anyway," said Harry.
Hermione smiled weakly at him. "Yes, I do. Fudge wants something from Professor Thornby, and he wants to use you to get it."
"What?" said Ron, now fully awake.
"I don't know what he wants, but whatever it is, she won't give it willingly," said Hermione. "He'll threaten you to force her to do his will."
No one spoke for a minute. Finally Harry said, "Is it guaranteed that Fudge is going to get his hands on me?"
"No," said Hermione. "I only know what happens if he succeeds. If he gets you, Professor Thornby will give him what he wants, and believe me, you don't want that to happen."
"How can you dream about this and not know what it is that Professor Thornby's got?" said Ron.
"It was all very abstract," said Hermione. "You'll just have to trust that I know what I know."
Harry stared straight ahead at the fire, but he wasn't really seeing it. "Why me?" he said. "You don't think Fudge knows about our connection, do you?"
"I guess it's possible," she said. "I'm not sure how he'd know, though. They can't have used Veritaserum to question her; they'd have to return her voice to be able to do that, and we know Fudge isn't comfortable with that."
"What if they found another Constrictor?" said Ron.
"That would do it," said Harry darkly.
"It would," Hermione admitted.
"Maybe he wants you for another reason," said Ron. "I mean, you are the Boy Who Lived and all. He probably hates you as much as he hates Dumbledore."
"Possibly," Hermione agreed. "Fudge has to know that Professor Thornby wouldn't be willing to sacrifice you of all people."
Harry didn't understand, and he said as much.
"Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort is back, and Professor Thornby does, too. She wouldn't let you be harmed because you have to be around to face him again," Hermione explained.
Harry didn't say anything, and his friends took it for lack of acceptance. "Come on, mate. Everyone knows that if someone's going to bring down Voldemort, it's going to be you," said Ron.
It hurt Harry to hear his friends voice the very thing he'd been trying not to think of for the past two years. He and Voldemort had crossed swords so many times by now that a final showdown seemed like a foregone conclusion, but it was absolutely terrifying to think of. As he mused on the grim prospect, something Dumbledore had said long ago tickled the back of Harry's mind... something about defeating Voldemort...
"That's not true," said Harry. "There are lots of ways that Voldemort could be defeated."
"Yes, but –" Ron began, but Harry suddenly remembered what Dumbledore had said.
"I could be used," he said softly. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other uncertainly. "Last summer, the day Professor Thornby took her oath, Dumbledore said that I could be a component of a spell to finish him off."
"What spell?" said Hermione. "How?"
"They didn't say," said Harry. "I got the impression that they were hoping no one else would figure out what it was."
"That can't be what Fudge wants you for," said Ron. "He doesn't believe that Voldemort's back, so he can't be looking for a way to get rid of him. Besides, all his Death Eater friends would steer him away from that line of thinking. I think the first idea makes the most sense."
As much as he disliked it, Harry had to agree. If Fudge didn't know that Professor Thornby was his magical guardian, he'd certainly guessed well in picking Harry to force her to comply with his wishes. Harry didn't think that she would do anything to violate the oath she had taken. It struck him as terribly ironic that she might do more damage to them both by keeping her word than by breaking it.
"Do you know when this is going to happen?" said Harry.
"I don't know when Fudge is going to try to take you, but he will try," said Hermione.
"So we don't have to go and wake anybody up right now?" said Ron.
"It can wait until morning," said Hermione. "You're going to be under a close watch from here on out, Harry."
"As if I weren't already," Harry sighed. "This will be the fourth time this year I've been in harm's way: poison, the suit of armor, Grayson, and now this."
Ron laughed dryly. "Let's not forget about the other four years," he said.
"You don't think that Fudge would settle for either of you instead of me?" Harry said abruptly. "We're always together, and you two have been in danger this year, too. Hermione, you were with me when the suit of armor attacked, and Ron almost fell to his death before getting seriously cursed."
Hermione and Ron looked very uncomfortable at the prospect. "All I got from my dream was who Fudge wanted and why, and that was you," said Hermione. "What happens if he fails, I can't say. I'm sorry; I wish I could tell you more."
"It's a lot more than we knew when we went to bed," said Harry.
"Speaking of which, we've got a Quidditch championship tomorrow afternoon," said Ron. "I don't know about you, Harry, but I'm going to need some more sleep."
At the mention of sleep Harry yawned. "Yeah," he agreed.
"You two sleep in," said Hermione. "I'll get up and find Professor McGonagall in the morning. I can tell her about Percy while I'm at it."
"That's awfully big of you," said Ron.
"No bigger than you two getting up to keep me company the night before the championship game," said Hermione with a smile.
"As if we wouldn't," said Harry.
Hermione smiled. "Good night."
**********
Harry tugged his elbow pads a bit tighter while Angelina lectured from across the locker room. He was surprised to feel butterflies in his stomach. He hadn't been nervous before a Quidditch match since his first year, and he had no idea why he should be now. Hufflepuff was going to be a formidable opponent, but they were nothing to get worried about. Harry thought that if he were going to be nervous about a match it would be one against Slytherin, if only for fear of the bodily harm he suffered every time they played each other.
"Hufflepuff is ahead of Gryffindor by two hundred and fifty house points," said Angelina. "Harry, that means that your main job is going to be stopping Edwards from getting the Snitch until we manage to get at least a one hundred point lead."
"Are we going to be able to do that?" said Alicia. "Hufflepuff is really good this year."
"Yeah. They really want this victory for Cedric Diggory," said George. "They can taste it already."
"If it weren't the last year for most of us, I might say let 'em have it," said Fred.
"How would our throwing the match honor Cedric's memory?" said Katie. "If Hufflepuff wants it, they're going to have to take it."
"Just don't catch the Snitch until we've got a leg up, Harry," said Angelina. Ron suddenly gave a great, gaping yawn, and she turned her eagle eye on him. "Did you go to bed when Katie told you to?" she snapped.
"Had to get up in the middle of the night," said Ron from behind his hand.
"Why?" Angelina demanded.
"Too much pumpkin juice at dinner," Ron said evasively.
Fred and George snickered, but Angelina, Katie, and Alicia gave Harry and Ron critical looks. "All right," Angelina said mildly. "You're up to the challenge, though? I'll call in the reserve Keeper if I have to."
"I'm ready," said Ron stoutly.
As the team left the locker room and headed for the gate, Alicia fell into step beside Harry. "Is Hermione all right?" she said softly. The twins were sparring loudly and couldn't hear.
"She's a lot better than she was last time," said Harry.
Alicia nodded. "Listen, we don't know what those nightmares are all about, but tell her that Angelina, Katie, and I are pulling for her, okay?"
Harry grinned at her. "Okay."
They had reached the gate. Everybody stopped walking, and Angelina turned to face the rest of the team one last time. "We've had a great run," she said. Her voice quavered a bit as she spoke. "I'm going to miss you guys next year."
"Oh, don't start tearing up," said Fred with a loud, false sniff. "It's just so contagious..." He sniffed again, and George started bawling loudly.
"Typical," said Angelina, rolling her eyes. "I'm just trying to tell you guys how great you all are, and you go making fun of me –"
Fred laughed and threw his arm around her. "Thanks, love. We think you're great, too."
"It has been a good couple of years, hasn't it?" said Katie.
"You lucky three still have some time left," said George.
"Then we'd better make sure we send the rest of you off victorious," said Harry. He stuck his hand out, and the rest of his teammates did the same, making a messy pile of gauntleted fists.
The trumpet sounded, signaling their turn to enter. "GRYFFINDOR!" they shouted together. The gate opened, they mounted their broomsticks, and flew out into the glorious May sunshine. The butterflies in Harry's stomach vanished as the first breeze washed over his face. Flying always had a soothing effect on him. The players took their positions, Madam Hooch tossed up the Quaffle, and the game began.
Harry and his teammates had watched Hufflepuff from the stands during their previous games and marveled, but being on the field with them was a completely different story. Hufflepuff had improved so much that the team was almost unrecognizable, but Gryffindor wanted to win as badly as they did. From the very beginning it was a true game of skill between the two teams. All six Chasers were flying at their best, and both Keepers were equally determined. Harry had rarely seen Fred and George look as serious as they did that afternoon. When the first hour mark ticked by and Hufflepuff had a mere ten point lead over Gryffindor, Harry knew it was going to be a long match.
Any time one team got some sort of lead on the other, it was quickly eradicated. Harry had never seen Ron fly better than he did that day. He stopped nearly everything that came his way, but so did Hufflepuff's Keeper. When the Hufflepuff Chasers managed to put three balls in succession through the Gryffindor hoops, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie used the Sloth Grip Roll and gradually evened out the score.
Harry and Edwards had each spotted the Snitch several times, and so far the Gryffindors had managed to keep the Hufflepuff Seeker from catching it. Harry got in his way with some fancy flying, and Fred and George bombarded him with Bludgers. Every now and then Harry and Edwards would feint each other to wild applause from the stands. It wasn't unlike the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match, but this time the bitter subtext between the Seekers was missing. Still, it was frustrating for Harry to see the Snitch and have to let it zip away; he felt that he could have ended the game more than once, but Gryffindor couldn't seem to get any kind of advantage over Hufflepuff.
The second hour passed, and Gryffindor had a slim twenty point lead. Harry's back was starting to hurt. He had just successfully foiled another attempt by Edwards to catch the Snitch, but it felt like the umpteenth time he had done so. He soared up to one of the twins, keeping one eye on Edwards the whole time.
"How long do you reckon I have to keep stalling Edwards?" Harry shouted.
"Another hour at least," George called back. He swung his Beater and sent a black Bludger rocketing back toward the Hufflepuff side. "After that we'll just have to see."
Harry had never played a game where the Gryffindor team was so evenly matched. The Slytherins had good brooms and some great flyers, but they also cheated. Ravenclaw wasn't a pushover, but their team just wasn't the well-oiled, tightly-integrated machine that Gryffindor was. It was Hufflepuff that no one ever worried about defeating. Yet as the three hour mark crept closer, Harry began to suspect that the game could go on all night and Gryffindor would never get the lead they needed to secure the House Cup.
When three hours had passed, Angelina flew up to Harry. "We Chasers feel that you can go ahead and go for the Snitch," she said. "Fred, George, and Ron seem to agree. We can be satisfied with the Quidditch Cup. Of course, if that's not enough for you –"
"They've earned it," said Harry, looking toward the Hufflepuff side. "I'm not going to miss the Snitch for the third time in a row, though."
Angelina grinned at him. "That's the spirit," she said, and flew back down to join Katie and Alicia.
Harry soared around the stadium, now looking more for the Snitch and less at Edwards. The crowd seemed to have picked up on what was going on. The Gryffindor team was clearly putting forth an effort to get a few more points on the board before the game ended. The watching students shouted louder than ever as Alicia put one more past the Hufflepuff Keeper.
It wasn't long before Harry saw the Snitch fluttering near one of the stands. One glance at Edwards told him that he hadn't seen it; he was looking in the wrong direction. For a moment Harry considered letting it go once more so Gryffindor could get a few more points, but then Lee's magnified voice announced another goal by Hufflepuff, and Harry knew that Angelina was right. They really could play for days before anyone got a significant lead, and it might not even be Gryffindor who pulled ahead.
Harry dove. The crowd roared and Edwards began streaking toward him, but he was too late. Harry easily snatched the golden ball out of the air and raised it above his head in triumph.
Both the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students cheered madly. Gryffindor was celebrating yet another capture of the Quidditch Cup while Hufflepuff saw the House Cup in their grasp for the first time in a decade. As Harry flew a victory lap around the stadium, he found that he couldn't begrudge Hufflepuff their larger victory. Angelina was right; they'd earned it by putting forth an extraordinary effort all year, and not just on the Quidditch field. Harry supposed that if one of the Gryffindors had died, his House would have done the same thing.
The two teams landed and shook hands. "Nice flying, Potter," said Edwards as his hand clasped Harry's.
"You too," said Harry. "It wasn't easy to stop you, you know."
"Well, congratulations on winning the Quidditch Cup. Again," said the Hufflepuff.
"You guys were really good," Harry said honestly.
Edwards flashed him a toothy grin. "Thanks," he said.
The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were all storming the field. Soon Harry and his teammates were being pummeled on the back by students from their House. Colin Creevey was snapping photographs right and left. Angelina and Alicia were so happy with their last win that they were nearly in tears, and Fred and George were doing some sort of crazy victory dance.
After posing for a team photograph, Ron pushed his way to Harry's side. "Where's Hermione?" he shouted over the din.
"I don't know," Harry shouted back. "Didn't she come?"
"Look, McGonagall's not here either," said Ron. "And neither is Hagrid! They wouldn't have missed this match for anything!"
"Hermione must be up at the castle with them," said Harry. "She must have set off some alarms with this dream."
"Come on, let's go find her," said Ron. "I think I'm starting to bruise from all this thumping on my back."
They pushed their way out of the crowd and started back toward the castle. Not many people saw them go, even though they were members of the victorious team; there were simply too many people celebrating on the field.
"I'm tired," Ron complained as they made their way up to Gryffindor Tower. Neither one of them wanted to lug their brooms around the castle while they looked for Hermione. "Great match, but it sure was tight. You usually don't take so long to catch the Snitch."
"I'm not usually instructed not to," said Harry. "You did really well yourself. Oliver would've been proud of you."
Ron grinned. "You think so?"
"Yeah!" said Harry. "Keep it up and the Chudley Cannons will be trying to recruit you, too."
A faraway look appeared in Ron's eyes. "Flying for the Cannons," he sighed. "That'd be wicked."
They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Free Professor Thornby," said Harry.
The portrait hole swung open and a most unexpected sight met their eyes.
"Hermione!" Ron gasped.
She was lying prone on the floor, arms and legs splayed about as if she had fallen. Harry and Ron ran up to her and began feeling for a pulse.
"She's all right," said a voice from one of the armchairs. "I merely Stunned her."
Harry and Ron's heads jerked up to see Percy Weasley sitting not five feet away.
"What are you doing here?" said Ron.
"I've got a message," Percy said tonelessly. "For Harry."