Chapter 6

Allison Harrington muttered to herself most of the way to Gryffindor Tower, nearly all of which Harry couldn't make heads or tails out of. It was only when Harry broke her train of thought that she responded.

"Miss Harrington ... Allison, tell me what you know about Miss Worthington."

She looked up at him. "Oh ... uh, not much. She was in the same year as me at the Texan Institute. After we heard about you ki ... uh, your defeat of ... him ... we both applied to Hogwarts. That's where I met her. In the dean's office for permission to transfer."

He nodded. "When was that exactly, if you can remember?"

She shrugged her shoulders as if unsure. "End of February, I think."

"She must have been recruited sometime in between," he surmised.

"Recruited?"

He nodded. "I seriously doubt that a seventh year on the other side of the world had ambitions to pack up one day and move to Scotland only to attack my wife." He paused to give the password to the Fat Lady. "Someone knew she was coming and recruited her to steal Hermione's work. Either that or she was under the Imperius Curse."

He heard a swift intake of breath at the mention of an Unforgivable Curse then stepped back and held his hand out for her to proceed. Allison went through the portrait hole and Harry followed.

A few house elves were scurrying around picking up and performing general cleaning, and he spotted Dobby.

"Dobby."

The house-elf looked up. "Harry Potter, Professor, sir. Dobby is happy to see you again, kind sir."

"You too, Dobby. Would you do me a favor?"

The house-elf ran up and look wide-eyed and with worship at Harry. "Harry Potter has but only to ask and it shall be done."

He gave Dobby a thin lipped grin. "Would you go down to my defense glass and tell them they may be dismissed, please?"

Harry looked at his watch as the house-elf disappeared and noticed he didn't have much time before his next class started. "Let's hurry up. I don't have much time before a class load of second-years is going to wonder where their professor is."

They trotted up the staircase and Harry winced at the fourth step before he realized that the steps weren't going to drop out from under him and no alarm was going to sound at a boy trying to access the girls' dormitory. Apparently professors were exempt, or maybe it was head of houses.

Once inside he didn't see what the big deal was. The girls dormitories were just as messy as the boys except there were more frillier things thrown about.

They opened the door to a shared room and stepped inside.

"Which bed was hers?"

Allison pointed and Harry saw the trunk at the base, took out his wand, waved it and said, "Pack!"

Miss Worthington's drawers opened and all of her supplies flew through the air and into the trunk, followed by her clothes, books, and anything else Harry could point a wand at. Allison knelt by the side of the bed and lifted up her countrymate's mattress to retrieve a book.

"It was her journal, I think. I saw her writing in and hiding it one night."

Harry held his hand out. "I'll look through this personally. Anything else you can think of?"

She looked around the room and retrieved a rectangular case from a table that stood by four other similar cases.

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"Toiletries, and makeup."

He nodded and pointed at the trunk where she laid the case inside. Then he flipped his wand and the trunk lid closed.

"Locomotor Trunk!"

They reached the stairs and Harry slowed his pace. "I want you to come to my office and start going through Miss Worthington's personal items, clothes and such then at eleven I'll join you."

She seemed a little apprehensive. "I've got Potions class this hour."

Harry chuckled. "I'll give you a note. You're a Gryffindor. Trust me when you'll thank me for this later. First class with Snape is not the most pleasant experience."

She seemed confused, but acquiesced.

Second-year class went off without a hitch, and he soon joined Allison in his office where surprisingly, Hermione was sitting at his desk. At his entrance she stood and came around the desk to give him a hug.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Allison and I have been going through that girl's affects and haven't found anything as of yet."

Harry held up the journal. "You might have better luck with this."

Her eyes brightened and she grabbed the book from his hand and sat herself back down at the desk, immediately opening to the first page.

Allison was flipping slowly through the school books in hopes of finding a letter, or a scrap bit of parchment, or something that might help when she stopped and looked up at Harry.

"Why are you letting me help?"

His eyes found hers. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "If I were you, I'd be thinking I was the next possible suspect. I could be lying or anything."

"Do you know what Legilimency is, Allison?"

"No, Sir."

"It's a rare field of magic that gives the user the ability to extract feelings and memories from another persons mind."

She looked almost horrified. "You can read my mind?"

Harry laughed. "It's not like that. If I were to use the proper incantation I could view scenes from your past just as you remembered them, or if I was skilled enough I could invent scenes and slip them into your mind when it was at rest."

Hermione looked up from the journal and watched the interchange.

"I don't think I would like that. It sounds dangerous."

Harry nodded. "It is. That's how I lost my Godfather."

She didn't seem to want to know more. "What has that got to do with me?"

"The headmaster is a Master Legilimens. He can tell if you're lying. He trusts you, so I trust you."

Her back straightened. "Oh." Then after a moment, "So you can't read my mind?"

He smiled back. "No, Allison. I can't read your mind."

She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to flipping the pages.

Hermione smirked and reached to pick up a quill and a sheet of parchment. Harry walked over to see what she was writing.

She fancies you.

He frowned and took the quill from her.

You're barking.

She laughed quietly and took the quill back.

I think, perhaps, she'd like some private lessons

Harry leaned over and kissed her.

I'll give 'you' some private lessons

Hermione yawned.

Learned everything already, thanks

Vixen!

Tease! Poor seventh-year, being strung along

by a over-sexed professor.

Didn't hear you complaining last night

Hermione shrugged.

That's because you stuffed my mouth full with your

"Ahem," Allison cleared her throat.

Harry jumped and Hermione spilled the bottle of ink.

"Yes, Allison?"

She held out a envelope. "I think I found something. It was in her Defense book."

Harry pulled out and unfolded the parchment.

First day of classes

Granger

Notes

KoW

v v

"I guess it wasn't the Imperius Curse after all," Harry muttered.

Hermione pointed at the bottom of the parchment. "Any idea what 'KoW' or 'VV' means?

He shook his head. "Maybe Dumbledore knows."

Harry refolded the parchment and stuffed it back in the envelope. "I'm going to see him. Keep at the journal. Allison, stay with Hermione. I'll be back by lunchtime."

He exited by the second floor corridor and almost ran into Pyotr Yudin who was skimming through a folder on the way down the hall.

He looked up suddenly. "Professor Potter."

"I'm in a hurry, Pyotr. Do you need something."

He nodded. "Da. Please, I will walk with you. I do not mean to detain you from your duties."

Harry pocketed the envelope, and continued down the corridor. "What is it I can do for you?"

"Well, Sir. I was speaking with some of the other Gryffindor students that ... well ..."

Harry stopped and turned. "It's best to get to the point, Pyotr."

"A dueling club sir. More specifically an offensive/defensive after hours class to learn techniques, strategies, how to determine your enemies weaknesses and capitalize on one's strengths."

Harry smiled at the idea and his own experience with the D.A. "You've had experiences with this type of club?"

He nodded hurriedly. "It was required at Durmstrang, Sir. The students found it most informative and the techniques learned helped us hone our spell casting abilities."

"I've had experience with a club of my own my in fifth and sixth-year."

"That is what I have heard, Sir. I desire permission to continue in your tradition."

Harry thought on it only for a moment. "Form your first few lesson plans and I'll take a look at them."

Pyotr didn't hesitate and handed the folder he had bee looking at to Harry. "I anticipated your request sir and these would be the lesson plans for the entire year."

Harry almost laughed at the eagerness of his student, but held up short when he saw the seriousness in his eyes. He took the folder and stuck it under his arm. "Pyotr, I will meet you in the Room of Requirement at seven o'clock. We will duel. If you can hold your own against me I will allow you to form this club."

The young Russian paled. "A duel, Sir? Against you?"

Harry's eyes turned very serious. "How bad do you want this club, Pyotr?"

He stiffened and straightened up at attention. "I shall be prepared, Sir."

Harry nodded "Good. I'll look over your plans and mark the ones I approve of."

"Thank you, Sir."

Harry continued down the hall and turned to the empty corridor where the Headmaster's office was located. Arriving at the top of the spiral staircase he noticed the door to Dumbledore's office was open and there seemed to be a heated discussion going on with Amelia Bones and Dumbledore.

"We cannot allow a this to continue, Headmaster. You must move her research out of Hogwarts immediately."

"And where would you suggest she move to, Amelia. Hogwarts is the safest location by far."

She laughed. "Safest? Potter's already killed a student for Merlin's sake."

"Mrs. Bones?" said Harry.

The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement jumped and spun around. "Potter!"

"Professor Potter, Amelia," Dumbledore corrected.

Harry ignored the correction and continued. "If Susan was sitting in that chair there and I was trying to kill her, what would you do?"

Her eyes narrowed at the implication Harry was making.

"I would stun you and hand you over to the proper authorities," she snapped back at him.

"Which is what I did. Except there was a stone wall behind her. Miss Worthington's head and the wall had a disagreement."

She stood and turned to Harry. "Be that as it may I do find it suspicious that you always turn up at precisely the right time to kill someone. Someone, I might add, that we now have no way of knowing if she was working alone or was cursed innocently to attack Miss Granger."

Harry reached into his cloak. "Her name is Mrs. Potter now, Mrs. Bones and I have proof she did this of her own free will."

She reached out to take the envelope and Harry, instead, handed it to Dumbledore.

"A moment if you will, Amelia. You will, of course, receive any evidence we find."

Dumbledore looked at it for a moment and handed the parchment to her. She scanned it as well.

"My apologies, Professor Potter."

Harry took it in stride. It wasn't the first time he had been accused of wrong doing and probably wouldn't be the last.

"Any idea what 'KoW' or 'VV' is, Sir."

The headmaster nodded grimly. "I would like to consult a source of mine, but I believe that 'KoW' stands for the Knights of Walpurgis."

Amelia Bones looked stricken and sat down unexpectedly. "But he's ... Dumbledore ... you saw him die."

Harry's jaw dropped. "Not Voldemort?"

"No, Harry. I still believe to this day we have seen the last of Voldemort. This was before his time," Dumbledore said with some trepidation. "The Knights of Walpurgis are a forerunner to Voldemort's Death Eaters. About thirty years before the rise of his first reign I believe."

"Another Dark Lord?"

Amelia nodded. "You've heard of Lord Grindelwald, Potter?"

"Sounds familiar." He thought on it for a moment. "Wait a bit. That was the Dark Lord you defeated, Professor!"

"Indeed." Dumbledore looked nervous for the first time since Harry had know him. "What do you know of the end of World War II, Harry?"

He shrugged. "Um, just what the Muggle schools taught us sir."

Then it all clicked together. Grindelwald was defeated in 1945. "He had something to do with the war?"

Amelia Bones scoffed. "Really, Potter, did you sleep through your History of Magic classes?"

"Um, yeah. Most people do."

She scowled. "Grindelwald didn't just have something to do with the war. He was the one who started it."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought Hitler ..."

Dumbledore interrupted him. "Harry, The Dark Lord Grindelwald was Adolph Hitler."