Haunted
Harry was furious to find that, though he was of age, and had been through more than what most of the Order had, he was still forbidden to attend the meetings of the Order of the Phoenix. 'You're too young,' Mrs. Weasley would tell him firmly, before locking the door to the meeting room.
'Why does your mother lock the door, even if there's no meeting going on?' Harry asked Ron one day. 'She didn't do that last year,'
'Dunno,' Ron shrugged. 'Probably to keep us from sneaking in before a meeting and hiding there to hear them talk or something,'
Harry stared. 'You came up with an answer quickly,'
Ron grinned sheepishly. 'That's what Fred, George and I used to do when the Order was first recalled, until Mum caught us. Mind, she would always check to make sure that the room was empty before the meetings were called to order, so we didn't hear anything. Until the twins created he Extendable Ears, that is,'
'That's right, the Extendable Ears,' Harry nodded. 'Do you still have any?'
'Of course,' said Ron. 'I still have yours. You haven't used it since Christmas last year in St. Mungo's,'
'Oh, yes, the famous Christmas of St. Mungo's,' said Harry darkly. 'Where are Hermione and Ginny, anyway?'
'Probably up in their room talking about girl stuff,' said Ron in an unconcerned tone. 'And I checked my sources, and I found out that Ginny was lying about dating Dean Thomas,'
Harry laughed. 'Excuse me? Checked your sources? And who exactly is that?'
'Dean Thomas,'
Harry laughed again. 'You're not serious,'
'I am,' Ron smirked. 'Fred and George taught me how to make a Howler, since they've gotten so many during Hogwarts. It's really easy. After I made one, I sent Pig to deliver it to Dean's house,'
'And how do you make a Howler?' Harry questioned, his interest piqued. In response, Ron grabbed a spare envelope from the bedroom, opened it, and took his wand, pointing the tip to his mouth.
'Sonorus!' he muttered. The he said, 'Ginny, I know for a fact that you're not dating him!' and pointed the tip of his wand from his mouth to the envelope. To Harry's surprise, a soft green light entered the interior of the empty envelope, and it turned from white to red. Ron closed it. 'Best to cover your ears, mate,' he said. Harry did so, and Ron opened the now-red envelope again, then quickly stuffed his fingers into his ears. A second later, his voice exploded. 'GINNY, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT YOU'RE NOT DATING HIM!' and it was over.
'Wicked,' said Harry, removing his fingers from his ears.
'I know,' said Ron. At that moment, Hermione and Ginny burst in, frowning.
'Ron, I could hear you,' said Ginny, folding her arms across her chest. 'How many Howlers do you plan on making, anyway? This is the third one this month!'
'Well, you lied,' shrugged Ron. Ginny rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.
'So which subjects are you taking, Harry?' Hermione questioned.
'All of them, I suppose,' said Harry. 'How many OWLs did you get?'
Hermione smirked.
'Ten,' she said. 'I got an Outstanding in Potions, Muggle Studies, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy and History of Magic, Exceeds Expectations in Rune Studies and Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmancy,'
'Without your head exploding?' Ron asked incredulously.
'Children!' they heard Mrs. Weasley call from below. 'Come down for dinner. Fred and George are here too!'
They went down and passed the hall containing Mrs. Black's portrait and Kreacher's head. As they passed the case of house-elf heads, Hermione shuddered. 'Ugh—look,' she pointed to Kreacher's head. 'Harry, you didnt stuff the head, did you?' They had found out that Harry had killed Kreacher, but no one, with the exception of Hermione and Mrs. Weasley really minded. Everyone cared more about the fact that Harry actually killed a living creature than who the creature was. Harry turned to look, and immediately wished he didn't. Kreacher's head was decaying.
'Ew!' Ron and Ginny cried in unison. Harry, however, couldn't care in the least.
'Hurry up,' he said, striding past. 'Dinner,'
When they went in, they saw the twins talking to their parents. '—a sort of wrench. Maybe that would work,' George was telling Mr. Weasley, who looked deeply fascinated.
'Hey,' said Harry. 'What are you talking about?'
'Harry, what do you know about a wrench?' Mr. Weasley looked up. 'Do Muggles usually use those to get rid of portraits?'
'Not as far as I know. Why?'
'Well, Muggle portraits don't have Permanent-Sticking Charms on them, do they?' Fred pointed out. 'I think it would be the best bet,'
'I don't know,' said Harry, 'the things Muggles use are usually outstripped by magic. I don't think a wrench would be powerful enough to get rid of Mrs. Black's portrait,'
'Have you got the paints?' asked Ron as he, Hermione and Ginny bounded down.
'Yep,' George nodded. 'It's in that bag over by the couch,' he gestured it with his head.
'What do you need paints for?' Harry asked.
'I told you that we're trying to paint a portrait of Sirius,' reminded Ron. 'I asked Fred and George to get use some paint for it. We can't risk having a professional do it, or he might tell the Ministry that we were in league with Sirius,'
'Kingsley Shaklebolt has been telling the Ministry of how a Muggle from India spotted Sirius near the Ganges River,' Mrs. Weasley said as she came out with a platter of food.
'Why haven't we cleared Sirius's name already?' asked Harry. 'It's the least we could do for him,'
'It's very complicated, Harry,' said Mr. Weasley. 'Sirius was imprisoned for twelve years for being in league with You-Know-Who. Now that he's back, Fudge has had every Auror available scouring Britain for Sirius. Until we can get Pettigrew to confess what he did, we can't clear his name,'
'Yes, we can!' Harry said furiously. 'You can put me, Ron and Hermione under Veritaserum. We know what really happened. And I'm sure Lupin would go for it too,'
'Children and werewolves are not taken seriously in the Ministry,' sighed Mr. Weasley, looking tired. 'I know it's unfair, but our best bet is to get Pettigrew,'
'Well … you can go then, can't you?' Harry asked. 'You can tell what you've done for the Order. Or Dumbledore can step up. Or …' he turned to Fred and George, 'you two would step up if you had to, wouldn't you?'
''Course we will,' Fred nodded. 'I think it's unfair too,'
'Harry, things are very delicate now,' said Hermione gently. 'You can't just burst in on the Ministry of Magic with this kind of information, no matter how truthful it is. Fudge already spent a year telling people that you and Dumbledore were nutters. Even though the magical world knows the truth now, they're going to take a while before they trust you again. And the Weasleys … well, if the Ministry still decides that Sirius was guilty, the Weasleys could be thrown into Azkaban for being in alliance with him for over a year,'
'Yes, because we all know what a secure place Azkaban is,' Harry muttered sarcastically. 'I mean, no one has ever managed to escape Azkaban before,'
No one seemed to know what to say to this, and Ron, who had been there for quite some time, murmured, 'I'm going to just put these up in my room, then,'
After he came back, they ate dinner quietly.
*
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
DEATH EATERS STILL AT LARGE
Harry read from the front page of the Daily Prophet the next morning. It seemed that Fudge had gone to check on the prisoners that Harry had helped throw in jail, only to discover that they—along with the Dementors—were missing. '"The Dementors have truly deserted us during out time of need," quotes Fudge during an emergency conference with representatives of the International Confederation of Wizards at four a.m. this morning. "A new law has been passed, stating that anyone accused of being a Death Eater is punishable by death. I am now declaring a state of emergency."'
'Surprise, surprise,' muttered Harry, tossing the paper on the table in dusgust. He took a sip of tea, and gazed out the window, watching the sun rise.
'Oh, Harry, dear. I didn't know you'd be up so early,' Harry turned to see Mrs. Weasley, dressed in a fluffy pink robe, coming down the stairs. 'What do you want for breakfast, dear?'
'Nothing, thank you,' said Harry. 'I just made a cup of tea,'
'Well, all right,' said Mrs. Weasley dubiously. 'Are you sure you wouldn't want anything? Just to keep your strength up. We have a busy day in front of us,' Fred and George were to take Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to Diagon Alley to buy their new schoolbooks, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going back to the Burrow to meet up with Mundungus Fletcher and Tonks to pick up a few things. Harry hadn't said anything, but he couldn't bear the thought of the Weasleys packing up from the Burrow and moving into Grimmauld Place. It made everything so final, and it only served to remind him that Sirius was indeed gone. The Weasleys were to take his place instead.
As Mrs. Weasley started breakfast, Mr. Weasley rushed down, fully-dressed. 'Arthur!' she exclaimed, catching sight of him. 'Where are you going? It's Saturday!'
'Just got a call from Perkins, Molly,' said Mr. Weasley. 'There's an emergency. Could you pass me that paper, Harry?' Harry handed it to him. 'Oh, Good Lord, so it's true,'
'What is?' Mrs. Weasley asked, leaving the eggs frying in the pan to come and see what her husband was talking about. She gave a gasp, and clapped her hand to her mouth.
'You should probably get the Ministry to conduct raids or something,' Harry suggested. 'Chances are, Mr. Malfoy's hiding in his manor,'
'Yes, good idea, Harry,' nodded Mr. Weasley. 'The Muggle-Protection Act couldn't find anything in Malfoy Manor however, last time I checked,'
'Did you check in the hidden door in the drawing room?' Harry asked, recalling what Draco had told him and Ron in their second year while they were under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stared at him.
'I certainly will,' Mr. Weasley said. 'I'll try to break away from work by three, Molly,' he said. 'The office needs everyone right now. Fudge is frantic,'
'I'll be fine, Arthur,' Mrs. Weasley nodded. 'If worst comes to worst, I'll just call in Remus to take your place, but I think Mundungus, Tonks and I will be fine on our own,'
'Good,' nodded Mr. Weasley. 'See you, Harry. Bye Molly,' he kissed her on the cheek, before he disappeared with a crack!
'Fred and George will be here in a few hours, Harry. Maybe you should get some sleep until then,' said Mrs. Weasley, attention back on her eggs. 'I'm sure you feel exhausted,' she added, throwing sausages into the pan as she took out the eggs and put them in a plate.
'I really, really don't,' said Harry, taking another sip of coffee. He checked his watch. 8 a.m.
At that moment, Hermione came down, holding her booklist, already showered and dressed. 'Hello,' she smiled. 'When are Fred and George arriving?'
'About ten,' Mrs. Weasley informed.
'Oh, good, this gives me a bit more time to finish some work,'
'What work?' Harry asked in surprise. 'I didn't know we had holiday homework,'
'Well, of course we didn't,' said Hermione. 'I mean work of a more personal nature,'
'What? Knitting for the house-elves again?'
'Partially,' she said mysteriously. 'But I've decided to take on a new task as well,'
'Would it do me any good to ask what it is?'
'Not yet,' Hermione shook her head.
*
They split up when they got to Diagon Alley. 'We'll meet you in Flourish and Blotts in an hour,' promised Fred.
'Are you going to the joke shop?' asked Ron.
'We're not allowed back in,' George grinned. 'Healthy sportsmanship and all. We're going to Dervish and Banges,'
'What would Fred and George be doing in a hardware store?' asked Harry as the three of them stopped by Florean Fortescue to buy ice-cream cones.
'Dunno,' said Ron as Harry paid the man behind the counter. 'I suppose they're building some sort of joke gadget.' After they finished their double fudge ice-cream, they went to Flourish and Blotts. 'What do we need?'
Harry consulted his booklist. 'Charmed, by Holland Paige for Charms,' he read out loud. 'Where's the Charms section?'
'Over there, by those red books … are those crabs?' Hermione squinted to see the red books trapped in a cage. It had pincers just like crabs, and were scuttling about. All of a sudden, they breathed fire.
'Blimey,' Ron's eyes widened. 'We don't need those, do we?'
'I hope not,' said Hermione worriedly, and Harry knew that she was thinking back to their third year when Hagrid had given them The Monster Book of Monsters as their Care of Magical Creatures textbook. 'Excuse me,' she caught the arm of a haggard-looking man, who wore a nametag announcing that he was the assistant. 'What are those books in that cage over there?'
'Oh no,' he groaned. 'That's The Firecrab by Alexis Orionette. Our bestseller,'
He looked on the verge of tears as Harry, Ron and Hermione checked their booklist. 'It's okay!' said Harry. 'We don't have those on our list.' The assistant brightened immediately, and turned, alarmed, when he heard a scream of terror. Someone had tried to get one of the books, and it had latched on to his finger.
'Poor bloke,' said Ron as the assistant ran to free the man. 'Imagine having those horrors as bestsellers,'
'Still, must be a good book if it's such a hit,' Harry laughed. He trailed off when they arrived at the Charms section. Draco Malfoy was there with his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, whom Harry had seen at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago. Ron and Hermione pulled him out of sight.
'What did you do that for?' asked Harry furiously.
'Harry, in case you haven't noticed, the Malfoys hate you more than usual ever since you put Draco's father in Azkaban and had him fired from the Ministry,'
'So?'
'So?' repeated Ron in an incredulous tone. 'Harry, the Malfoys will never work in the wizarding world again now that you named them as Death Eaters. You've blown their whole under-the-Imperius-Curse cover. All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy tried to Avada Kedavra you right here,'
'You're missing my point,' Harry said in an exasperated tone. 'I don't care about Malfoy. I can handle myself,'
'And what about Narcissa Malfoy?' asked Ron.
'Who cares? They can't do anything in public. I know that Azkaban doesn't mean much anymore since the Dementors left, but still …' Reluctantly, Ron and Hermione let him go. Pushing his hair back, Harry went to search for his book. Malfoy and his mother were still there, and looked up as Harry started searching for the Charmed book. Malfoy sneered, but didn't say anything. After a minute or two, they walked away. 'There,' he said to Ron and Hermione, as they joined him. 'Nothing rash. No one's dead,'
'You want to be a bit more careful,' warned Hermione. 'The Malfoys don't have anything more to lose, and Voldemort would love to see you dead,'
'Don't say his name,' said Ron at once. Hermione ignored him.
'There you are!' said George, coming up to them, Fred in tow. 'Got your books yet?'
'Not yet,' said Harry. 'Now you can help us.'
'You see, George, I told you we should have stayed a little longer,' chastised Fred. 'Now we've got to spend time finding more Hogwarts books, even though we graduated!'
*
It was the last night of the summer holidays, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Moody, Tonks and Lupin had joined them for dinner. 'I talked to Severus about his mission,' Lupin was saying, 'but it hasn't happened yet. Dumbledore has misgivings about the whole thing, and personally, if Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea, it probably isn't.'
'What's Snape's new mission?' asked Harry interestedly.
'Never you mind,' said Mrs. Weasley quickly. 'More peas, anybody?'
'Oh, come on, Molly,' said Tonks. 'If Snape's going to disappear in the middle of the year for Order work, then it's best if they know what's up. Knowing this lot,' she grinned, nodding her head to Harry, Ron and Hermione, 'they'd probably camp out in the Forbidden Forest if it would tell them answers as to what Snape's doing,'
'Ha,' scoffed Lupin. 'I agree, as long as we're talking about anyone but Snape. Knowing them, they'd probably have Gryffindor Tower up all night by partying,' Laughter all around greeted this, and even Mrs. Weasley cracked a smile. The doorbell rang, and it was immediately followed by Mrs. Black's shrieks.
'FILTHY VERMIN, DARING TO ENTER THE HOUSE OF MY FOREFATHERS—'
'I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell,' said Mrs. Weasley in exasperation, getting up from the dinner table to answer the door. 'What are you doing here?' they hear her ask when she answered it.
'Is that any way to greet your child?' they heard one of the twins ask.
'Not you two. Them!'
'Hi, Mrs. Weasley,' Harry heard a very familiar voice say. 'Hope you don't mind us intruding on your dinner like this,'
'Yes, we just thought it was about time for us to fight the good fight,' said another voice.
'Is that … Angelina and Lee?' asked Hermione, voicing Harry's thoughts. It was. Fred and George, followed closely by Angelina Johnson, Harry's former Quidditch captain, and Lee Jordan, the former commentator for Quidditch matches.
'You can't just give people the address to the Order!' Mrs. Weasley was shouting. 'Honestly, what am I to do with you—'
'Hold up, Mum,' George interrupted. 'Lee and Angelina couldn't have found their way without Dumbledore telling them about it. He's fine with letting them into the Order,' Mrs. Weasley couldn't find anything to argue with that, so she just sat down and grudgingly drew up four chairs for the newcomers. 'Eat,' she ordered.
They sat down gratefully, Angelina next to Harry. 'So, Harry, ready to get back on the team this year?' she asked.
'Of course,' nodded Harry. 'No one could keep me away for long,'
'Good to hear it,' said Angelina. 'But most of the people will be new. Hope you have better luck than I did.'
'I'm sure I will,' Harry grinned. 'Assuming that I'm the new captain, of course.' Angelina looked at Ron, then turned back to Harry.
'No doubt,' she whispered.
*
Fred and George dropped them off at King's Cross the following morning. Ginny leaned back against the barrier separating Platform 9 and 10, and within an instant, had fallen through. Hermione was next, then Ron. 'Mummy,' Harry heard a little girl whisper to her mother, 'that boy walked through a wall!'
'Oh, don't be silly, Alison. Now come, we're going to miss our train,' said the mother, dragging her daughter along. Harry grinned, relieved, and went through the wall, pulling his trolley which held his luggage and Hedwig along with him.
'Better be careful,' he said to Ron when he they met up again. 'A Muggle girl was telling her mother how you can walk through walls,'
'Did her mother believe it?' Ron asked worriedly.
'No,' Harry shook his head. He, Ron, Hermione and Ginny made their way into the Hogwarts Express, and headed straight for their usual compartment in the back. They waved to students they knew, most of whom were in the DA last year. Harry didn't see any sign of Cho Chang, his ex-almost-girlfriend, and didn't really bother to look. The four of them got the shock of their lives when they saw that their compartment was full. There was Neville Longbottom, who was holding his toad, Trevor, in his hand. Luna Lovegood, who Harry had met only last year, was sitting on the floor of the compartment, reading the September edition of The Quibbler. Anthony Goldstein was talking to Seamus Finnigan, and the Creevey brothers were talking animatedly to a bored looking girl whom Harry didn't know. There was also another girl he didn't know personally, but knew that she was in Gryffindor. She was eyeing Trevor with great distaste on her face.
'Hi, Harry,' they greeted when they caught sight of him.
'Hi,' Harry murmured, taking a seat next to the Gryffindor girl.
'Have a good summer, Harry?' Anthony Goldstein asked conversationally.
'Er, yeah. Quite good, thanks,' Harry responded.
'Hi, Harry,' said the Gryffindor girl. 'Kalana Kolaris. I'm in Gryffindor with you,'
'Hi,' he nodded. 'Are you new?'
Her face fell. 'No, I'm the sixth year. I've been here ever since my first year,'
'Oh,' said Harry. Kalana didn't bother trying to talk to him again.
'Lorena Nott,' introduced the other girl. 'I'm new, just shifted from Durmstrang. I'm in the sixth year too,'
'Nott?' Ron repeated in surprise. 'Do you have a relative here in Slytherin? A brother?'
'A cousin. We don't get along well,' Lorena informed. 'Our fathers went to Hogwarts together, but—I dunno, I guess I wasn't evil enough—I got sent to Durmstrang because they really emphasize on the Dark Arts there,'
'Did you know Viktor Krum?' asked Hermione.
'Not really. Everybody knows Viktor, of course, but we didn't run in the same circles,' Lorena replied. 'He was hardly ever at school because he played professional Quidditch. He would disappear for months at a time. And then he became a seventh year, and competed in the Triwizard Tournament,'
'Harry was in that!' Colin said immediately. 'And he came in first, didn't you, Harry? Beat everyone, and he was only a fourth-year at the time,' Harry wanted to tell Colin to shut up, that there were circumstances that helped Harry tie with Cedric Diggory. After all, Professor Moody, who was actually Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater, had forced the Imperius Curse on Krum and stunned Fleur Delacour, eliminating them from the competition.
'So … why have you been transferred to Hogwarts?' asked Hermione.
'The Dark Lord,' said Lorena simply. The Creeveys' stopped talking at once. 'My father wanted me to be close, I suppose, but I'm not into that. The black sheep of the family, you could say. Just because I think that there are better things to do than kill and torture innocent Muggles,'
'So you don't want to be a Slytherin?' asked Ron. Never had he heard of a Nott refusing to be in Slytherin.
'I'm aiming for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. But I heard that Hufflepuff's are a bunch of idiots who just await instruction, so that's out,'
'The Sorting Hat almost put me in Hufflepuff,' said Neville suddenly. Lorena stared, then turned her attention back to Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione.
'So you don't get along with your family?' Ginny questioned.
It was quite a personal question, but Lorena didn't seem to mind. 'Not well,' she replied. 'We don't really talk. My cousin, he just hangs around this arrogant jerk, Taco Malfoy—'
'Draco Malfoy,' they corrected in unison.
'Right, him. I met him once during the summer after my third year. He was howling about injustice because he was almost killed by a Manticore and it had been allowed to walk free or something,'
'It was a Hippogriff, actually,' said Hermione. 'And it scratched his arm, only because he refused to listen to the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and insulted it.'
And so, they spent the rest of the train ride this way. They were interrupted by a constant flow of people who were all eager to see Harry and deny that they ever thought of him as a lunatic the previous year, and was visited by Malfoy himself, who was without his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, for once. Malfoy left fairly quickly, after taunts of tacos and ferrets, to be replaced by the lady who wheeled in the cart of food.
It was nightfall by the time they arrived at Hogwarts. 'Firs'-Years! Firs'-Years over here!' they heard Hagrid call as they went for the carriages. Ron still couldn't see them, but Harry swore that they were getting uglier every time he looked at them.
'Do you realize that Hagrid won't be teaching us Care of Magical Creatures anymore?' Hermione asked, as the four of them shared a carriage. It had never occurred to Harry, although it was written in the notice he was given during the holidays, and judging from Ron's wide eyes, it hadn't occurred to him either. 'I wonder why. I remember Fred and George saying that Hagrid continued teaching them for their NEWT Course,'
They couldn't explain it, and when they got to the castle, Professor Snape was there to meet them. 'Potter,' he barked. 'You're wanted in the Headmaster's office. You too, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. Ms. Weasley, if you don't stop gawking and get to your seat in the Great Hall, I shall give you a detention. Ms. Nott!' he called, catching sight of Lorena, 'you are to find Professor McGonagall. She is in the room before the Great Hall, attending to the First-Years. Ms. Weasley here will guide you. You are to be Sorted into your house immediately. What are you all waiting for? Move!'
'Miserable idiot,' muttered Ron. 'Who does he think he is, ordering us around like that?'
They arrived at the stone gargoyle that guarded Professor Dumbledore's office. 'Er …' said Harry. 'Lemon drop? Cockroach Cluster? Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans?' Nothing. 'Okay, Professor Snape told us that Professor Dumbledore wants to see us, but he didn't give us the password and—'
'Name?' said the stone gargoyle suddenly.
Harry stared, stunned. 'Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger,'
The stone gargoyle jumped out of the way.
'Er, thanks,' said Harry before the three of them went up the staircase and entered Dumbledore's office. They found him sitting at his desk, stroking Fawkes the Phoenix.
'Ah, Mr. potter, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley,' said Dumbledore as they walked in. 'Professor McGonagall is currently Sorting Ms. Nott, and she requested that you stay here as her office is currently in use. She wishes to give you the password to Gryffindor Tower before the Sorting commences,'
'Yes, sir,' they replied.
'I wonder, if you would be so kind as to leave me and Harry alone for a moment. I wish to talk to him privately,' requested Dumbledore. Hermione nodded and grabbed Ron's hand and they exited. 'Harry, have you been having anymore dreams of Sirius?' he asked when Ron and Hermione were safely out the door.
'No,' said Harry at once.
'I see,' nodded Dumbledore. 'Harry, I don't think I have to tell you that it is crucial for you to report anything you feel is important. There can be no secrets this year,'
'Yes, sir,' Harry nodded.
Dumbledore nodded, and said, 'Harry, I'm sure that you have noticed that there were a few extra teachers this year. Professor Hyden and Leika, for example,'
'Yes, why is that?' Harry had indeed wondered about this.
'The Ministry, I'm afraid, has tried to force new teachers on us once again, but in the end, they were fired, to be replaced with one teacher. They also decided that it would be best to add the Intermediate and Advanced Courses for the students who have completed their OWLs. Usually, there are only NEWT Courses,'
'Who?'
'I'm afraid, the teacher has asked for anonymity until the Feast. You shall find out then,'
'Yes Professor,' nodded Harry.
Dumbledore surveyed Harry for a moment, and finally said, 'Very well, very well, that is all, I think. You may go down to the Feast now,'
'Thank you, sir,' said Harry, getting up and leaving the room.
Harry got up and wheeled out the door. Ron and Hermione were gone, and he assumed that Professor McGonagall had already found them. He made his way into the Great Hall, feeling extremely conspicuous coming in late. The Sorting Hat was already there, but the First-Years were watching it with a terrified expression, so Harry deduced that the Sorting hadn't commenced yet. The Sorting Hat must have been placed for Lorena Nott to be Sorted. He didn't see her in the Gryffindor table, and assumed that she may have been placed in Slytherin. Ron and Hermione were sitting beside Ginny and some Gryffindor third-year, so Harry sat down next to Seamus.
'Did they sort Lorena Nott?' he asked.
'Yes,' said Seamus. 'Ravenclaw. The Sorting Hat's about to sing now,'
As he said that, a huge rip appeared along the brim of the hat.
"Once upon a time, there were warriors of four
In the lands of old, filled with mystery
They decided one day to open a school
Thereby starting Hogwarts history
Along with the school, came students anew
And thus was born the houses of four
From Slytherin to Hufflepuff
From Ravenclaw to Gryffindor
Each had their choice, each had their pick
For instance, Gryffindor's pick of the bravest was stunning
Those who portrayed best the lion
Slytherin chose nothing less than those of absolute cunning
Ah, wicked their ways, they may have been
Meanwhile, Hufflepuff chose those who worked the hardest
Those different to the house of green
But Ravenclaw prized only those who were smartest
Now for years these four worked in harmony
Forever friends until they grew old
Sadly this was not meant to be
As tragedies would soon unfold
First came the story of who would overlook
The school when they were no longer there
They need someone who would know best
They needed someone fair
In a second Gryffindor took me off his head
And he enchanted me with a spell
He gave me the brains and said me
You will serve this school well
Years after, struck the disaster
Brought on by coy old Slytherin
He wanted only those of blood so pure
He wanted to expel those different from deep within
But there was no difference, cried the noble three
In the end, it was Slytherin who would leave
But it was not the end, it was not over yet
For eventually, Slytherin would deceive
All the rest, he came with his chamber
With a fate inside that was so cruel
It was this fate that caused it all
It's the reason I'm now on this stool
So as the years passed, I've done my job
I've divided all equally
But now I find myself wondering
Have I created more diversity?
In this day and age, it's important to be united
But my job I will continue to do
But remember this; we have entered the darkest days
And this now is my warning to you
From deep within you must find your strength
For it's the only thing to guide you through
You must find it in your heart to forget
And you must finally forgive everybody around you
For only the unity ties can save you now
Until the time for battle has come to
I have given my advice here today
And now the future is up to you
And with that, the Sorting Hat fell silent. There was chill in the room following his words, and Harry suspected that the First-Years were more terrified than ever. Professor McGonagall pulled out a long scroll and called out the names. 'Annas, Stephan!'
A boy, looking scared, went up to the Sorting Hat and placed it on his head. After a moment, it cried, 'Gryffindor!' Looking immensely relieved, he pulled off the Sorting Hat and put it back on the stool he was previously sitting on, and stumbled to the Gryffindor table.
'Apreck, Richard!' Another boy walked forward, and sat on the stool, the Sorting Hat on his head.
'Slytherin!' said the Sorting Hat after a few seconds.
The next three students were Sorted into Ravenclaw, the next into Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff found its first new member in 'Gorrochi, Andreas!'
Finally, just when Harry thought he was going to faint from hunger, Corea Zimblewell was placed in Slytherin. Dumbledore stood up, and smiled at his student, eyes glinting. 'Welcome one, welcome all,' he said. 'I have a few announcements to make—and it seems as though our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has yet to arrive—so we shall wait until after the feast. Tuck in!'
They were halfway through the feast, Harry occasionally talking to Seamus and a new Gryffindor, when the door to the Great Hall opened, and a fat figure stood there against the bright light. Harry winced, trying to see who it was, but he couldn't be defined. The figure closed the door, only to reveal that it was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Harry's jaw dropped.
Fudge didn't look at him or any of the other students, instead making his way to the teachers table. His heart sinking, Harry came to one realization, but it was impossible. His doubts were dispelled, however, when Dumbledore stood up. 'If I may tear your attention away from the feast for a minute,' he said, not seeming to realize that everyone was staring in Fudge instead of the food before them already, 'I would like you to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Fudge,'
Only the teachers didn't seem shocked by this piece of information, but they didn't clap, nor did any of the students. There was complete and utter silence all around. 'Blimey,' Harry heard Ron whisper, a meatball dropping out of his mouth, and back on the plate in front of him. Hermione was pale, and Seamus looked stunned. Harry could see that the Slytherins and most of the teachers were watching Fudge with narrowed eyes.
'Yes, well, you may return to your food now,' said Dumbledore, sitting down. He too, hadn't clapped for Fudge, as he usually did for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Fudge, avoiding their eyes, took his seat next to Professor Snape, who was sitting on Dumbledore's left (McGonagall was on his right). After the Feast was over, Dumbledore stood up again.
'I would like,' he said, 'to extend my greeting to two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, may I please have a round of applause for Professor Fudge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.' This time, everyone clapped except for the Slytherins who were watching Fudge defiantly, but the claps were half-hearted and stopped quickly. 'And may I also welcome Professor Grubbly-Plank, who, like Hagrid, will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. She will, however, be teaching the Advanced and NEWT Courses, which are only available to the sixth and seventh years,'
There was another round of half-hearted clapping, and after a glare from Ron, Hermione lowered her clapping to half-hearted too. 'Also, let it be known that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, especially the First Years. A few of our older students would do well to remember that little fact too. In fact, failure to comply to this particular rule would result in gigantic proportions,'
Harry, Ron and Hermione shared an alarmed look at this. Was Dumbledore making a hint about Grawp? Why would he do that, with the Minister right beside him, when it was a well-known fact that Fudge considered giants as evil, uncontrollable brutes? 'Mr. Filch, our caretaker, also wishes me to inform the students that his list of banned objects has grown include "Weasley Wizard Wheezes", "Swamp Shockers", among other things. You may view the entire list in his office. Professor Flitwick has also kindly asked me to inform students to not go past the rope protecting the small bit of Swamp Shocker in his classroom, saying that it is a particularly stubborn part of the spell, and he still needs time to find out the perfect charm to get rid of it,' Dumbledore didn't look like he quite believed this, nor did any of the teachers, but didn't say anything, instead smiling softly to himself. 'Well, I do believe that that is all for tonight. You may go to your dormitories now, and rest up for tomorrow's lessons. Chop, chop,'
The students got up from their seats, and Harry waited for Ron and Hermione to catch up to him. 'Do you think Fudge knows about Grawp?' asked Hermione worriedly.
'I don't know, but if Malfoy find out—' began Harry.
'What could he do?' interrupted Ron. 'His family has just been discredited, and his father has been kicked out of the Ministry. He has no power any more,'
'Nor do half of the Slytherins,' said Hermione, casting a glance to Pansy Parkinson, who was talking angrily about something to Millicent Bulstrode.
'There are plenty more out there, you know,' said Harry. 'Plenty more Death Eaters whom I haven't met, and don't know about,'
'You said that Ludo Bagman was a Death Eater, didn't you?' asked Ron quietly. 'Do you think you should report him?'
'I don't know,' said Harry. 'He's still on the run from the goblins, I expect. Probably in hiding,'
'What I want to know is, why is the Minister here,' said Hermione. The students parted at the stairwells, going into their respective houses. As the Slytherins went down towards the dungeons where their house was, the Gryffindors went upstairs. 'Being a politician is a full-time job. Surely he doesn't think that he will have the time to teach us Defense as well as run the Ministry?'
'If the Ministry is trying to push more representatives,' said Harry, 'why would Fudge choose to be it?'
'Maybe he wants to make sure that nothing happens to you,' suggested Ron.
'No, no. That isn't it,' Harry shook his head. 'He knows that Hogwarts is the safest place from Voldemort—' Ron winced, '—since Dumbledore is the Headmaster. And if he was really worried, he could have sent someone. No, he's here on a personal vendetta, I'm sure of it,'
Ron opened his mouth to say something to Harry, but was cut off by Hermione. 'Oh, no,' she cried. 'We're supposed to be leading the Gryffindors! I'm sure half of the students are waiting for the password already,'
'Blimey, you're right!' said Ron. 'Sorry, Harry, mate. Got to run,'
'As if I can't keep up,' said Harry sarcastically. Ron blushed.
'Oh, right,' he said sheepishly. The three of them broke into a run, weaving past the students. There was a massive jam at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and they could hear her tell someone, 'No, you can't enter without a password. I'm sorry, but it is against the rules.' There was a pause, and Harry guessed that a student was trying to reason with her. 'Well, then you'll have to sleep out here tonight, won't you? I'm sorry, but it is more than my job—or my life's—worth to allow you to enter without the password,'
'Here,' panted Hermione as she and Ron raced up to her. 'B—Boomslang skin,'
The portrait swung open, and the students, grumbling the whole time, clambered in. Hermione was standing by, apologizing profusely as they walked past her into the common room. Finally, the three of them entered. 'Well, goodnight then,' she said, walking up the girl's staircase and up to her room. Harry and Ron bade her goodbye and went up to their room as well. Seamus, Dean and Neville were there, unpacking. Seamus was shirtless, in his boxers, hanging up his school uniform and robes up for the next day. Dean was still fully-dressed, and Neville was in his pajamas. Harry took a moment to appreciate the definition of Seamus's chest and stomach. His legs were sprinkled with little blond hairs, and Harry could see a trail from his stomach leading into his boxers. He was surprised to feel a stirring in his pants.
'Hey, Harry,' Seamus greeted.
'Hey,' Harry nodded, turning his eyes away. Neville was giving him a strange look, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Changing, Harry climbed into bed. Ron and Seamus did the same, and Dean was just getting changed. He turned off the lights, and got into bed. Harry closed his eyes and felt himself drifting away …
He was in the Department of Mysteries, trapped in the room with the many doors. It was spinning around him, and he could hear Sirius's voice, but it was raspy, as though he hadn't had anything to drink for a while. 'It's there, Harry, it's there … help me …'
How? Harry wanted to ask. How can I help you?
But he couldn't form the words. Sirius kept telling him that it was there, without ever telling him what "it" was. As the room continued to swirl, Harry felt like he was going mad. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to scream.
And suddenly, it was over. He was back in his room in Hogwarts, and it took his a while to realize that he had awoken. He saw Ron slumbering in the bed next to him, his form rising and falling with his breaths. Seamus's drapes were closed, and Harry wondered why, when it was a rather warm night, but he didn't ponder over it. As he lay there in bed, waiting for sleep, a voice haunted him. He could hear it clearly, as though the person was standing right next to him. Sirius.
'Harry, it's there … help me …'
Harry was furious to find that, though he was of age, and had been through more than what most of the Order had, he was still forbidden to attend the meetings of the Order of the Phoenix. 'You're too young,' Mrs. Weasley would tell him firmly, before locking the door to the meeting room.
'Why does your mother lock the door, even if there's no meeting going on?' Harry asked Ron one day. 'She didn't do that last year,'
'Dunno,' Ron shrugged. 'Probably to keep us from sneaking in before a meeting and hiding there to hear them talk or something,'
Harry stared. 'You came up with an answer quickly,'
Ron grinned sheepishly. 'That's what Fred, George and I used to do when the Order was first recalled, until Mum caught us. Mind, she would always check to make sure that the room was empty before the meetings were called to order, so we didn't hear anything. Until the twins created he Extendable Ears, that is,'
'That's right, the Extendable Ears,' Harry nodded. 'Do you still have any?'
'Of course,' said Ron. 'I still have yours. You haven't used it since Christmas last year in St. Mungo's,'
'Oh, yes, the famous Christmas of St. Mungo's,' said Harry darkly. 'Where are Hermione and Ginny, anyway?'
'Probably up in their room talking about girl stuff,' said Ron in an unconcerned tone. 'And I checked my sources, and I found out that Ginny was lying about dating Dean Thomas,'
Harry laughed. 'Excuse me? Checked your sources? And who exactly is that?'
'Dean Thomas,'
Harry laughed again. 'You're not serious,'
'I am,' Ron smirked. 'Fred and George taught me how to make a Howler, since they've gotten so many during Hogwarts. It's really easy. After I made one, I sent Pig to deliver it to Dean's house,'
'And how do you make a Howler?' Harry questioned, his interest piqued. In response, Ron grabbed a spare envelope from the bedroom, opened it, and took his wand, pointing the tip to his mouth.
'Sonorus!' he muttered. The he said, 'Ginny, I know for a fact that you're not dating him!' and pointed the tip of his wand from his mouth to the envelope. To Harry's surprise, a soft green light entered the interior of the empty envelope, and it turned from white to red. Ron closed it. 'Best to cover your ears, mate,' he said. Harry did so, and Ron opened the now-red envelope again, then quickly stuffed his fingers into his ears. A second later, his voice exploded. 'GINNY, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT YOU'RE NOT DATING HIM!' and it was over.
'Wicked,' said Harry, removing his fingers from his ears.
'I know,' said Ron. At that moment, Hermione and Ginny burst in, frowning.
'Ron, I could hear you,' said Ginny, folding her arms across her chest. 'How many Howlers do you plan on making, anyway? This is the third one this month!'
'Well, you lied,' shrugged Ron. Ginny rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.
'So which subjects are you taking, Harry?' Hermione questioned.
'All of them, I suppose,' said Harry. 'How many OWLs did you get?'
Hermione smirked.
'Ten,' she said. 'I got an Outstanding in Potions, Muggle Studies, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy and History of Magic, Exceeds Expectations in Rune Studies and Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmancy,'
'Without your head exploding?' Ron asked incredulously.
'Children!' they heard Mrs. Weasley call from below. 'Come down for dinner. Fred and George are here too!'
They went down and passed the hall containing Mrs. Black's portrait and Kreacher's head. As they passed the case of house-elf heads, Hermione shuddered. 'Ugh—look,' she pointed to Kreacher's head. 'Harry, you didnt stuff the head, did you?' They had found out that Harry had killed Kreacher, but no one, with the exception of Hermione and Mrs. Weasley really minded. Everyone cared more about the fact that Harry actually killed a living creature than who the creature was. Harry turned to look, and immediately wished he didn't. Kreacher's head was decaying.
'Ew!' Ron and Ginny cried in unison. Harry, however, couldn't care in the least.
'Hurry up,' he said, striding past. 'Dinner,'
When they went in, they saw the twins talking to their parents. '—a sort of wrench. Maybe that would work,' George was telling Mr. Weasley, who looked deeply fascinated.
'Hey,' said Harry. 'What are you talking about?'
'Harry, what do you know about a wrench?' Mr. Weasley looked up. 'Do Muggles usually use those to get rid of portraits?'
'Not as far as I know. Why?'
'Well, Muggle portraits don't have Permanent-Sticking Charms on them, do they?' Fred pointed out. 'I think it would be the best bet,'
'I don't know,' said Harry, 'the things Muggles use are usually outstripped by magic. I don't think a wrench would be powerful enough to get rid of Mrs. Black's portrait,'
'Have you got the paints?' asked Ron as he, Hermione and Ginny bounded down.
'Yep,' George nodded. 'It's in that bag over by the couch,' he gestured it with his head.
'What do you need paints for?' Harry asked.
'I told you that we're trying to paint a portrait of Sirius,' reminded Ron. 'I asked Fred and George to get use some paint for it. We can't risk having a professional do it, or he might tell the Ministry that we were in league with Sirius,'
'Kingsley Shaklebolt has been telling the Ministry of how a Muggle from India spotted Sirius near the Ganges River,' Mrs. Weasley said as she came out with a platter of food.
'Why haven't we cleared Sirius's name already?' asked Harry. 'It's the least we could do for him,'
'It's very complicated, Harry,' said Mr. Weasley. 'Sirius was imprisoned for twelve years for being in league with You-Know-Who. Now that he's back, Fudge has had every Auror available scouring Britain for Sirius. Until we can get Pettigrew to confess what he did, we can't clear his name,'
'Yes, we can!' Harry said furiously. 'You can put me, Ron and Hermione under Veritaserum. We know what really happened. And I'm sure Lupin would go for it too,'
'Children and werewolves are not taken seriously in the Ministry,' sighed Mr. Weasley, looking tired. 'I know it's unfair, but our best bet is to get Pettigrew,'
'Well … you can go then, can't you?' Harry asked. 'You can tell what you've done for the Order. Or Dumbledore can step up. Or …' he turned to Fred and George, 'you two would step up if you had to, wouldn't you?'
''Course we will,' Fred nodded. 'I think it's unfair too,'
'Harry, things are very delicate now,' said Hermione gently. 'You can't just burst in on the Ministry of Magic with this kind of information, no matter how truthful it is. Fudge already spent a year telling people that you and Dumbledore were nutters. Even though the magical world knows the truth now, they're going to take a while before they trust you again. And the Weasleys … well, if the Ministry still decides that Sirius was guilty, the Weasleys could be thrown into Azkaban for being in alliance with him for over a year,'
'Yes, because we all know what a secure place Azkaban is,' Harry muttered sarcastically. 'I mean, no one has ever managed to escape Azkaban before,'
No one seemed to know what to say to this, and Ron, who had been there for quite some time, murmured, 'I'm going to just put these up in my room, then,'
After he came back, they ate dinner quietly.
*
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
DEATH EATERS STILL AT LARGE
Harry read from the front page of the Daily Prophet the next morning. It seemed that Fudge had gone to check on the prisoners that Harry had helped throw in jail, only to discover that they—along with the Dementors—were missing. '"The Dementors have truly deserted us during out time of need," quotes Fudge during an emergency conference with representatives of the International Confederation of Wizards at four a.m. this morning. "A new law has been passed, stating that anyone accused of being a Death Eater is punishable by death. I am now declaring a state of emergency."'
'Surprise, surprise,' muttered Harry, tossing the paper on the table in dusgust. He took a sip of tea, and gazed out the window, watching the sun rise.
'Oh, Harry, dear. I didn't know you'd be up so early,' Harry turned to see Mrs. Weasley, dressed in a fluffy pink robe, coming down the stairs. 'What do you want for breakfast, dear?'
'Nothing, thank you,' said Harry. 'I just made a cup of tea,'
'Well, all right,' said Mrs. Weasley dubiously. 'Are you sure you wouldn't want anything? Just to keep your strength up. We have a busy day in front of us,' Fred and George were to take Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to Diagon Alley to buy their new schoolbooks, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going back to the Burrow to meet up with Mundungus Fletcher and Tonks to pick up a few things. Harry hadn't said anything, but he couldn't bear the thought of the Weasleys packing up from the Burrow and moving into Grimmauld Place. It made everything so final, and it only served to remind him that Sirius was indeed gone. The Weasleys were to take his place instead.
As Mrs. Weasley started breakfast, Mr. Weasley rushed down, fully-dressed. 'Arthur!' she exclaimed, catching sight of him. 'Where are you going? It's Saturday!'
'Just got a call from Perkins, Molly,' said Mr. Weasley. 'There's an emergency. Could you pass me that paper, Harry?' Harry handed it to him. 'Oh, Good Lord, so it's true,'
'What is?' Mrs. Weasley asked, leaving the eggs frying in the pan to come and see what her husband was talking about. She gave a gasp, and clapped her hand to her mouth.
'You should probably get the Ministry to conduct raids or something,' Harry suggested. 'Chances are, Mr. Malfoy's hiding in his manor,'
'Yes, good idea, Harry,' nodded Mr. Weasley. 'The Muggle-Protection Act couldn't find anything in Malfoy Manor however, last time I checked,'
'Did you check in the hidden door in the drawing room?' Harry asked, recalling what Draco had told him and Ron in their second year while they were under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stared at him.
'I certainly will,' Mr. Weasley said. 'I'll try to break away from work by three, Molly,' he said. 'The office needs everyone right now. Fudge is frantic,'
'I'll be fine, Arthur,' Mrs. Weasley nodded. 'If worst comes to worst, I'll just call in Remus to take your place, but I think Mundungus, Tonks and I will be fine on our own,'
'Good,' nodded Mr. Weasley. 'See you, Harry. Bye Molly,' he kissed her on the cheek, before he disappeared with a crack!
'Fred and George will be here in a few hours, Harry. Maybe you should get some sleep until then,' said Mrs. Weasley, attention back on her eggs. 'I'm sure you feel exhausted,' she added, throwing sausages into the pan as she took out the eggs and put them in a plate.
'I really, really don't,' said Harry, taking another sip of coffee. He checked his watch. 8 a.m.
At that moment, Hermione came down, holding her booklist, already showered and dressed. 'Hello,' she smiled. 'When are Fred and George arriving?'
'About ten,' Mrs. Weasley informed.
'Oh, good, this gives me a bit more time to finish some work,'
'What work?' Harry asked in surprise. 'I didn't know we had holiday homework,'
'Well, of course we didn't,' said Hermione. 'I mean work of a more personal nature,'
'What? Knitting for the house-elves again?'
'Partially,' she said mysteriously. 'But I've decided to take on a new task as well,'
'Would it do me any good to ask what it is?'
'Not yet,' Hermione shook her head.
*
They split up when they got to Diagon Alley. 'We'll meet you in Flourish and Blotts in an hour,' promised Fred.
'Are you going to the joke shop?' asked Ron.
'We're not allowed back in,' George grinned. 'Healthy sportsmanship and all. We're going to Dervish and Banges,'
'What would Fred and George be doing in a hardware store?' asked Harry as the three of them stopped by Florean Fortescue to buy ice-cream cones.
'Dunno,' said Ron as Harry paid the man behind the counter. 'I suppose they're building some sort of joke gadget.' After they finished their double fudge ice-cream, they went to Flourish and Blotts. 'What do we need?'
Harry consulted his booklist. 'Charmed, by Holland Paige for Charms,' he read out loud. 'Where's the Charms section?'
'Over there, by those red books … are those crabs?' Hermione squinted to see the red books trapped in a cage. It had pincers just like crabs, and were scuttling about. All of a sudden, they breathed fire.
'Blimey,' Ron's eyes widened. 'We don't need those, do we?'
'I hope not,' said Hermione worriedly, and Harry knew that she was thinking back to their third year when Hagrid had given them The Monster Book of Monsters as their Care of Magical Creatures textbook. 'Excuse me,' she caught the arm of a haggard-looking man, who wore a nametag announcing that he was the assistant. 'What are those books in that cage over there?'
'Oh no,' he groaned. 'That's The Firecrab by Alexis Orionette. Our bestseller,'
He looked on the verge of tears as Harry, Ron and Hermione checked their booklist. 'It's okay!' said Harry. 'We don't have those on our list.' The assistant brightened immediately, and turned, alarmed, when he heard a scream of terror. Someone had tried to get one of the books, and it had latched on to his finger.
'Poor bloke,' said Ron as the assistant ran to free the man. 'Imagine having those horrors as bestsellers,'
'Still, must be a good book if it's such a hit,' Harry laughed. He trailed off when they arrived at the Charms section. Draco Malfoy was there with his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, whom Harry had seen at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago. Ron and Hermione pulled him out of sight.
'What did you do that for?' asked Harry furiously.
'Harry, in case you haven't noticed, the Malfoys hate you more than usual ever since you put Draco's father in Azkaban and had him fired from the Ministry,'
'So?'
'So?' repeated Ron in an incredulous tone. 'Harry, the Malfoys will never work in the wizarding world again now that you named them as Death Eaters. You've blown their whole under-the-Imperius-Curse cover. All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy tried to Avada Kedavra you right here,'
'You're missing my point,' Harry said in an exasperated tone. 'I don't care about Malfoy. I can handle myself,'
'And what about Narcissa Malfoy?' asked Ron.
'Who cares? They can't do anything in public. I know that Azkaban doesn't mean much anymore since the Dementors left, but still …' Reluctantly, Ron and Hermione let him go. Pushing his hair back, Harry went to search for his book. Malfoy and his mother were still there, and looked up as Harry started searching for the Charmed book. Malfoy sneered, but didn't say anything. After a minute or two, they walked away. 'There,' he said to Ron and Hermione, as they joined him. 'Nothing rash. No one's dead,'
'You want to be a bit more careful,' warned Hermione. 'The Malfoys don't have anything more to lose, and Voldemort would love to see you dead,'
'Don't say his name,' said Ron at once. Hermione ignored him.
'There you are!' said George, coming up to them, Fred in tow. 'Got your books yet?'
'Not yet,' said Harry. 'Now you can help us.'
'You see, George, I told you we should have stayed a little longer,' chastised Fred. 'Now we've got to spend time finding more Hogwarts books, even though we graduated!'
*
It was the last night of the summer holidays, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Moody, Tonks and Lupin had joined them for dinner. 'I talked to Severus about his mission,' Lupin was saying, 'but it hasn't happened yet. Dumbledore has misgivings about the whole thing, and personally, if Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea, it probably isn't.'
'What's Snape's new mission?' asked Harry interestedly.
'Never you mind,' said Mrs. Weasley quickly. 'More peas, anybody?'
'Oh, come on, Molly,' said Tonks. 'If Snape's going to disappear in the middle of the year for Order work, then it's best if they know what's up. Knowing this lot,' she grinned, nodding her head to Harry, Ron and Hermione, 'they'd probably camp out in the Forbidden Forest if it would tell them answers as to what Snape's doing,'
'Ha,' scoffed Lupin. 'I agree, as long as we're talking about anyone but Snape. Knowing them, they'd probably have Gryffindor Tower up all night by partying,' Laughter all around greeted this, and even Mrs. Weasley cracked a smile. The doorbell rang, and it was immediately followed by Mrs. Black's shrieks.
'FILTHY VERMIN, DARING TO ENTER THE HOUSE OF MY FOREFATHERS—'
'I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell,' said Mrs. Weasley in exasperation, getting up from the dinner table to answer the door. 'What are you doing here?' they hear her ask when she answered it.
'Is that any way to greet your child?' they heard one of the twins ask.
'Not you two. Them!'
'Hi, Mrs. Weasley,' Harry heard a very familiar voice say. 'Hope you don't mind us intruding on your dinner like this,'
'Yes, we just thought it was about time for us to fight the good fight,' said another voice.
'Is that … Angelina and Lee?' asked Hermione, voicing Harry's thoughts. It was. Fred and George, followed closely by Angelina Johnson, Harry's former Quidditch captain, and Lee Jordan, the former commentator for Quidditch matches.
'You can't just give people the address to the Order!' Mrs. Weasley was shouting. 'Honestly, what am I to do with you—'
'Hold up, Mum,' George interrupted. 'Lee and Angelina couldn't have found their way without Dumbledore telling them about it. He's fine with letting them into the Order,' Mrs. Weasley couldn't find anything to argue with that, so she just sat down and grudgingly drew up four chairs for the newcomers. 'Eat,' she ordered.
They sat down gratefully, Angelina next to Harry. 'So, Harry, ready to get back on the team this year?' she asked.
'Of course,' nodded Harry. 'No one could keep me away for long,'
'Good to hear it,' said Angelina. 'But most of the people will be new. Hope you have better luck than I did.'
'I'm sure I will,' Harry grinned. 'Assuming that I'm the new captain, of course.' Angelina looked at Ron, then turned back to Harry.
'No doubt,' she whispered.
*
Fred and George dropped them off at King's Cross the following morning. Ginny leaned back against the barrier separating Platform 9 and 10, and within an instant, had fallen through. Hermione was next, then Ron. 'Mummy,' Harry heard a little girl whisper to her mother, 'that boy walked through a wall!'
'Oh, don't be silly, Alison. Now come, we're going to miss our train,' said the mother, dragging her daughter along. Harry grinned, relieved, and went through the wall, pulling his trolley which held his luggage and Hedwig along with him.
'Better be careful,' he said to Ron when he they met up again. 'A Muggle girl was telling her mother how you can walk through walls,'
'Did her mother believe it?' Ron asked worriedly.
'No,' Harry shook his head. He, Ron, Hermione and Ginny made their way into the Hogwarts Express, and headed straight for their usual compartment in the back. They waved to students they knew, most of whom were in the DA last year. Harry didn't see any sign of Cho Chang, his ex-almost-girlfriend, and didn't really bother to look. The four of them got the shock of their lives when they saw that their compartment was full. There was Neville Longbottom, who was holding his toad, Trevor, in his hand. Luna Lovegood, who Harry had met only last year, was sitting on the floor of the compartment, reading the September edition of The Quibbler. Anthony Goldstein was talking to Seamus Finnigan, and the Creevey brothers were talking animatedly to a bored looking girl whom Harry didn't know. There was also another girl he didn't know personally, but knew that she was in Gryffindor. She was eyeing Trevor with great distaste on her face.
'Hi, Harry,' they greeted when they caught sight of him.
'Hi,' Harry murmured, taking a seat next to the Gryffindor girl.
'Have a good summer, Harry?' Anthony Goldstein asked conversationally.
'Er, yeah. Quite good, thanks,' Harry responded.
'Hi, Harry,' said the Gryffindor girl. 'Kalana Kolaris. I'm in Gryffindor with you,'
'Hi,' he nodded. 'Are you new?'
Her face fell. 'No, I'm the sixth year. I've been here ever since my first year,'
'Oh,' said Harry. Kalana didn't bother trying to talk to him again.
'Lorena Nott,' introduced the other girl. 'I'm new, just shifted from Durmstrang. I'm in the sixth year too,'
'Nott?' Ron repeated in surprise. 'Do you have a relative here in Slytherin? A brother?'
'A cousin. We don't get along well,' Lorena informed. 'Our fathers went to Hogwarts together, but—I dunno, I guess I wasn't evil enough—I got sent to Durmstrang because they really emphasize on the Dark Arts there,'
'Did you know Viktor Krum?' asked Hermione.
'Not really. Everybody knows Viktor, of course, but we didn't run in the same circles,' Lorena replied. 'He was hardly ever at school because he played professional Quidditch. He would disappear for months at a time. And then he became a seventh year, and competed in the Triwizard Tournament,'
'Harry was in that!' Colin said immediately. 'And he came in first, didn't you, Harry? Beat everyone, and he was only a fourth-year at the time,' Harry wanted to tell Colin to shut up, that there were circumstances that helped Harry tie with Cedric Diggory. After all, Professor Moody, who was actually Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater, had forced the Imperius Curse on Krum and stunned Fleur Delacour, eliminating them from the competition.
'So … why have you been transferred to Hogwarts?' asked Hermione.
'The Dark Lord,' said Lorena simply. The Creeveys' stopped talking at once. 'My father wanted me to be close, I suppose, but I'm not into that. The black sheep of the family, you could say. Just because I think that there are better things to do than kill and torture innocent Muggles,'
'So you don't want to be a Slytherin?' asked Ron. Never had he heard of a Nott refusing to be in Slytherin.
'I'm aiming for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. But I heard that Hufflepuff's are a bunch of idiots who just await instruction, so that's out,'
'The Sorting Hat almost put me in Hufflepuff,' said Neville suddenly. Lorena stared, then turned her attention back to Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione.
'So you don't get along with your family?' Ginny questioned.
It was quite a personal question, but Lorena didn't seem to mind. 'Not well,' she replied. 'We don't really talk. My cousin, he just hangs around this arrogant jerk, Taco Malfoy—'
'Draco Malfoy,' they corrected in unison.
'Right, him. I met him once during the summer after my third year. He was howling about injustice because he was almost killed by a Manticore and it had been allowed to walk free or something,'
'It was a Hippogriff, actually,' said Hermione. 'And it scratched his arm, only because he refused to listen to the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and insulted it.'
And so, they spent the rest of the train ride this way. They were interrupted by a constant flow of people who were all eager to see Harry and deny that they ever thought of him as a lunatic the previous year, and was visited by Malfoy himself, who was without his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, for once. Malfoy left fairly quickly, after taunts of tacos and ferrets, to be replaced by the lady who wheeled in the cart of food.
It was nightfall by the time they arrived at Hogwarts. 'Firs'-Years! Firs'-Years over here!' they heard Hagrid call as they went for the carriages. Ron still couldn't see them, but Harry swore that they were getting uglier every time he looked at them.
'Do you realize that Hagrid won't be teaching us Care of Magical Creatures anymore?' Hermione asked, as the four of them shared a carriage. It had never occurred to Harry, although it was written in the notice he was given during the holidays, and judging from Ron's wide eyes, it hadn't occurred to him either. 'I wonder why. I remember Fred and George saying that Hagrid continued teaching them for their NEWT Course,'
They couldn't explain it, and when they got to the castle, Professor Snape was there to meet them. 'Potter,' he barked. 'You're wanted in the Headmaster's office. You too, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. Ms. Weasley, if you don't stop gawking and get to your seat in the Great Hall, I shall give you a detention. Ms. Nott!' he called, catching sight of Lorena, 'you are to find Professor McGonagall. She is in the room before the Great Hall, attending to the First-Years. Ms. Weasley here will guide you. You are to be Sorted into your house immediately. What are you all waiting for? Move!'
'Miserable idiot,' muttered Ron. 'Who does he think he is, ordering us around like that?'
They arrived at the stone gargoyle that guarded Professor Dumbledore's office. 'Er …' said Harry. 'Lemon drop? Cockroach Cluster? Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans?' Nothing. 'Okay, Professor Snape told us that Professor Dumbledore wants to see us, but he didn't give us the password and—'
'Name?' said the stone gargoyle suddenly.
Harry stared, stunned. 'Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger,'
The stone gargoyle jumped out of the way.
'Er, thanks,' said Harry before the three of them went up the staircase and entered Dumbledore's office. They found him sitting at his desk, stroking Fawkes the Phoenix.
'Ah, Mr. potter, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley,' said Dumbledore as they walked in. 'Professor McGonagall is currently Sorting Ms. Nott, and she requested that you stay here as her office is currently in use. She wishes to give you the password to Gryffindor Tower before the Sorting commences,'
'Yes, sir,' they replied.
'I wonder, if you would be so kind as to leave me and Harry alone for a moment. I wish to talk to him privately,' requested Dumbledore. Hermione nodded and grabbed Ron's hand and they exited. 'Harry, have you been having anymore dreams of Sirius?' he asked when Ron and Hermione were safely out the door.
'No,' said Harry at once.
'I see,' nodded Dumbledore. 'Harry, I don't think I have to tell you that it is crucial for you to report anything you feel is important. There can be no secrets this year,'
'Yes, sir,' Harry nodded.
Dumbledore nodded, and said, 'Harry, I'm sure that you have noticed that there were a few extra teachers this year. Professor Hyden and Leika, for example,'
'Yes, why is that?' Harry had indeed wondered about this.
'The Ministry, I'm afraid, has tried to force new teachers on us once again, but in the end, they were fired, to be replaced with one teacher. They also decided that it would be best to add the Intermediate and Advanced Courses for the students who have completed their OWLs. Usually, there are only NEWT Courses,'
'Who?'
'I'm afraid, the teacher has asked for anonymity until the Feast. You shall find out then,'
'Yes Professor,' nodded Harry.
Dumbledore surveyed Harry for a moment, and finally said, 'Very well, very well, that is all, I think. You may go down to the Feast now,'
'Thank you, sir,' said Harry, getting up and leaving the room.
Harry got up and wheeled out the door. Ron and Hermione were gone, and he assumed that Professor McGonagall had already found them. He made his way into the Great Hall, feeling extremely conspicuous coming in late. The Sorting Hat was already there, but the First-Years were watching it with a terrified expression, so Harry deduced that the Sorting hadn't commenced yet. The Sorting Hat must have been placed for Lorena Nott to be Sorted. He didn't see her in the Gryffindor table, and assumed that she may have been placed in Slytherin. Ron and Hermione were sitting beside Ginny and some Gryffindor third-year, so Harry sat down next to Seamus.
'Did they sort Lorena Nott?' he asked.
'Yes,' said Seamus. 'Ravenclaw. The Sorting Hat's about to sing now,'
As he said that, a huge rip appeared along the brim of the hat.
"Once upon a time, there were warriors of four
In the lands of old, filled with mystery
They decided one day to open a school
Thereby starting Hogwarts history
Along with the school, came students anew
And thus was born the houses of four
From Slytherin to Hufflepuff
From Ravenclaw to Gryffindor
Each had their choice, each had their pick
For instance, Gryffindor's pick of the bravest was stunning
Those who portrayed best the lion
Slytherin chose nothing less than those of absolute cunning
Ah, wicked their ways, they may have been
Meanwhile, Hufflepuff chose those who worked the hardest
Those different to the house of green
But Ravenclaw prized only those who were smartest
Now for years these four worked in harmony
Forever friends until they grew old
Sadly this was not meant to be
As tragedies would soon unfold
First came the story of who would overlook
The school when they were no longer there
They need someone who would know best
They needed someone fair
In a second Gryffindor took me off his head
And he enchanted me with a spell
He gave me the brains and said me
You will serve this school well
Years after, struck the disaster
Brought on by coy old Slytherin
He wanted only those of blood so pure
He wanted to expel those different from deep within
But there was no difference, cried the noble three
In the end, it was Slytherin who would leave
But it was not the end, it was not over yet
For eventually, Slytherin would deceive
All the rest, he came with his chamber
With a fate inside that was so cruel
It was this fate that caused it all
It's the reason I'm now on this stool
So as the years passed, I've done my job
I've divided all equally
But now I find myself wondering
Have I created more diversity?
In this day and age, it's important to be united
But my job I will continue to do
But remember this; we have entered the darkest days
And this now is my warning to you
From deep within you must find your strength
For it's the only thing to guide you through
You must find it in your heart to forget
And you must finally forgive everybody around you
For only the unity ties can save you now
Until the time for battle has come to
I have given my advice here today
And now the future is up to you
And with that, the Sorting Hat fell silent. There was chill in the room following his words, and Harry suspected that the First-Years were more terrified than ever. Professor McGonagall pulled out a long scroll and called out the names. 'Annas, Stephan!'
A boy, looking scared, went up to the Sorting Hat and placed it on his head. After a moment, it cried, 'Gryffindor!' Looking immensely relieved, he pulled off the Sorting Hat and put it back on the stool he was previously sitting on, and stumbled to the Gryffindor table.
'Apreck, Richard!' Another boy walked forward, and sat on the stool, the Sorting Hat on his head.
'Slytherin!' said the Sorting Hat after a few seconds.
The next three students were Sorted into Ravenclaw, the next into Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff found its first new member in 'Gorrochi, Andreas!'
Finally, just when Harry thought he was going to faint from hunger, Corea Zimblewell was placed in Slytherin. Dumbledore stood up, and smiled at his student, eyes glinting. 'Welcome one, welcome all,' he said. 'I have a few announcements to make—and it seems as though our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has yet to arrive—so we shall wait until after the feast. Tuck in!'
They were halfway through the feast, Harry occasionally talking to Seamus and a new Gryffindor, when the door to the Great Hall opened, and a fat figure stood there against the bright light. Harry winced, trying to see who it was, but he couldn't be defined. The figure closed the door, only to reveal that it was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Harry's jaw dropped.
Fudge didn't look at him or any of the other students, instead making his way to the teachers table. His heart sinking, Harry came to one realization, but it was impossible. His doubts were dispelled, however, when Dumbledore stood up. 'If I may tear your attention away from the feast for a minute,' he said, not seeming to realize that everyone was staring in Fudge instead of the food before them already, 'I would like you to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Fudge,'
Only the teachers didn't seem shocked by this piece of information, but they didn't clap, nor did any of the students. There was complete and utter silence all around. 'Blimey,' Harry heard Ron whisper, a meatball dropping out of his mouth, and back on the plate in front of him. Hermione was pale, and Seamus looked stunned. Harry could see that the Slytherins and most of the teachers were watching Fudge with narrowed eyes.
'Yes, well, you may return to your food now,' said Dumbledore, sitting down. He too, hadn't clapped for Fudge, as he usually did for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Fudge, avoiding their eyes, took his seat next to Professor Snape, who was sitting on Dumbledore's left (McGonagall was on his right). After the Feast was over, Dumbledore stood up again.
'I would like,' he said, 'to extend my greeting to two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, may I please have a round of applause for Professor Fudge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.' This time, everyone clapped except for the Slytherins who were watching Fudge defiantly, but the claps were half-hearted and stopped quickly. 'And may I also welcome Professor Grubbly-Plank, who, like Hagrid, will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. She will, however, be teaching the Advanced and NEWT Courses, which are only available to the sixth and seventh years,'
There was another round of half-hearted clapping, and after a glare from Ron, Hermione lowered her clapping to half-hearted too. 'Also, let it be known that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, especially the First Years. A few of our older students would do well to remember that little fact too. In fact, failure to comply to this particular rule would result in gigantic proportions,'
Harry, Ron and Hermione shared an alarmed look at this. Was Dumbledore making a hint about Grawp? Why would he do that, with the Minister right beside him, when it was a well-known fact that Fudge considered giants as evil, uncontrollable brutes? 'Mr. Filch, our caretaker, also wishes me to inform the students that his list of banned objects has grown include "Weasley Wizard Wheezes", "Swamp Shockers", among other things. You may view the entire list in his office. Professor Flitwick has also kindly asked me to inform students to not go past the rope protecting the small bit of Swamp Shocker in his classroom, saying that it is a particularly stubborn part of the spell, and he still needs time to find out the perfect charm to get rid of it,' Dumbledore didn't look like he quite believed this, nor did any of the teachers, but didn't say anything, instead smiling softly to himself. 'Well, I do believe that that is all for tonight. You may go to your dormitories now, and rest up for tomorrow's lessons. Chop, chop,'
The students got up from their seats, and Harry waited for Ron and Hermione to catch up to him. 'Do you think Fudge knows about Grawp?' asked Hermione worriedly.
'I don't know, but if Malfoy find out—' began Harry.
'What could he do?' interrupted Ron. 'His family has just been discredited, and his father has been kicked out of the Ministry. He has no power any more,'
'Nor do half of the Slytherins,' said Hermione, casting a glance to Pansy Parkinson, who was talking angrily about something to Millicent Bulstrode.
'There are plenty more out there, you know,' said Harry. 'Plenty more Death Eaters whom I haven't met, and don't know about,'
'You said that Ludo Bagman was a Death Eater, didn't you?' asked Ron quietly. 'Do you think you should report him?'
'I don't know,' said Harry. 'He's still on the run from the goblins, I expect. Probably in hiding,'
'What I want to know is, why is the Minister here,' said Hermione. The students parted at the stairwells, going into their respective houses. As the Slytherins went down towards the dungeons where their house was, the Gryffindors went upstairs. 'Being a politician is a full-time job. Surely he doesn't think that he will have the time to teach us Defense as well as run the Ministry?'
'If the Ministry is trying to push more representatives,' said Harry, 'why would Fudge choose to be it?'
'Maybe he wants to make sure that nothing happens to you,' suggested Ron.
'No, no. That isn't it,' Harry shook his head. 'He knows that Hogwarts is the safest place from Voldemort—' Ron winced, '—since Dumbledore is the Headmaster. And if he was really worried, he could have sent someone. No, he's here on a personal vendetta, I'm sure of it,'
Ron opened his mouth to say something to Harry, but was cut off by Hermione. 'Oh, no,' she cried. 'We're supposed to be leading the Gryffindors! I'm sure half of the students are waiting for the password already,'
'Blimey, you're right!' said Ron. 'Sorry, Harry, mate. Got to run,'
'As if I can't keep up,' said Harry sarcastically. Ron blushed.
'Oh, right,' he said sheepishly. The three of them broke into a run, weaving past the students. There was a massive jam at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and they could hear her tell someone, 'No, you can't enter without a password. I'm sorry, but it is against the rules.' There was a pause, and Harry guessed that a student was trying to reason with her. 'Well, then you'll have to sleep out here tonight, won't you? I'm sorry, but it is more than my job—or my life's—worth to allow you to enter without the password,'
'Here,' panted Hermione as she and Ron raced up to her. 'B—Boomslang skin,'
The portrait swung open, and the students, grumbling the whole time, clambered in. Hermione was standing by, apologizing profusely as they walked past her into the common room. Finally, the three of them entered. 'Well, goodnight then,' she said, walking up the girl's staircase and up to her room. Harry and Ron bade her goodbye and went up to their room as well. Seamus, Dean and Neville were there, unpacking. Seamus was shirtless, in his boxers, hanging up his school uniform and robes up for the next day. Dean was still fully-dressed, and Neville was in his pajamas. Harry took a moment to appreciate the definition of Seamus's chest and stomach. His legs were sprinkled with little blond hairs, and Harry could see a trail from his stomach leading into his boxers. He was surprised to feel a stirring in his pants.
'Hey, Harry,' Seamus greeted.
'Hey,' Harry nodded, turning his eyes away. Neville was giving him a strange look, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Changing, Harry climbed into bed. Ron and Seamus did the same, and Dean was just getting changed. He turned off the lights, and got into bed. Harry closed his eyes and felt himself drifting away …
He was in the Department of Mysteries, trapped in the room with the many doors. It was spinning around him, and he could hear Sirius's voice, but it was raspy, as though he hadn't had anything to drink for a while. 'It's there, Harry, it's there … help me …'
How? Harry wanted to ask. How can I help you?
But he couldn't form the words. Sirius kept telling him that it was there, without ever telling him what "it" was. As the room continued to swirl, Harry felt like he was going mad. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to scream.
And suddenly, it was over. He was back in his room in Hogwarts, and it took his a while to realize that he had awoken. He saw Ron slumbering in the bed next to him, his form rising and falling with his breaths. Seamus's drapes were closed, and Harry wondered why, when it was a rather warm night, but he didn't ponder over it. As he lay there in bed, waiting for sleep, a voice haunted him. He could hear it clearly, as though the person was standing right next to him. Sirius.
'Harry, it's there … help me …'