Disclaimer: All you fan-fic readers know the drill by now. I'm not J.K so obviously I don't own Harry Potter (much as I'd like to), BUT I do own this plot. Well, the bits of it that the voices in my head aren't dictating...

Harry Potter and the Time of Trials

Chapter 6: And It All Went Up in Smoke

Harry walked down the stairs slowly. Ron had disappeared down to the kitchen half an hour ago in search of food, but Harry had wanted to find his copies of Exploding Cauldrons and When Potions Go Wrong: a guide to prevention, neutralisation and when to run like the Hounds of Hell are chasing you (as they very well may be) which he had promised Hermione that he would lend her before he went to breakfast. It had taken him longer than expected as he was still getting used to all his new possessions - gifts from his birthday party.

As he reached Ginny's door he slowed down to see if the girls were still in there.

"Fine," an exasperated voice exclaimed in the room. Harry wondered what it was about, but sure now that they were there he stopped and knocked, mentally preparing himself for seeing the youngest Weasley.

"Just a minute, Harry," the voice, which he now was sure belonged to Ginny, called out rather abruptly.

"How'd you know it was me?" Harry asked somewhat perplexed.

"You came down stairs, which meant either you or Ron, and then you knocked. Ron just barges on in, although I'm trying to get him out of that habit."

Hermione muttered darkly in the background leading Harry to wonder if Ron had made a stopover at the girls room on his way down that morning.

The door opened, and Ginny greeted him with a smile, although she still seemed somewhat out of sorts. Harry managed not to overtly jump as a freezing sensation ran through him and successfully blocked off his memory before it had a chance to take hold. Mentally congratulating himself he noticed that Ginny's cheerfulness seemed forced. He wondered what she and Hermione had been talking about before he arrived.

Looking into the room, Harry could see Hermione rummaging through her trunk over near the window.

"Hi," he greeted the two before directing his attention to Hermione. "I brought you those books," he told her holding them up to get her attention. She finished whatever it was she had been doing and came over to the door to retrieve them. "Are you two coming down for breakfast now?"

Hermione, with Exploding Cauldrons securely held under one arm and already flipping through When Potions Go Wrong, looked up. "Yes, of course. Thanks for the lend, Harry, they're just what I needed for that Potions essay."

She headed down the stairs, nose buried in the pages. Harry watched her go, wondering how she managed to navigate the stairs while unable to see them. Ginny caught his eye and her mood seemed uplifted as they shared a grin before following.

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When Harry set out his books he was surprised to find that Ginny had joined Ron, Hermione in following him under the willow. Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron who seemed as surprised as he was. He recovered quickly though and with a calculating look that Harry recognised from long years of playing chess against his friend, Ron carefully placed himself and Hermione so that Ginny would be sitting closest to Harry. The look on Ginny's face told him that she was back to her bad mood of earlier that morning, making him wonder why she had decided to join their study session.

"All right, Ginny? You joining us?" He enquired watching as she set out her own books.

"Yeah," came the not entirely happy reply.

"What's up?" Ron asked sounding a little concerned at her tone of voice.

"Hermione." The annoyed look that accompanied the answer didn't seem to bother Hermione at all. "She's been at me to start studying for the OWL's ever since she arrived. Finally wore me down this morning, I couldn't take it any more."

"Just be glad she didn't give you a homework planner," Harry told her in a half joking voice. "'Do it today or later you'll pay!'" he reminisced.

The black book she held up was all the reply that was needed.

Ron and Harry gave her sympathetic looks. "I guess she learnt from us last year," Ron said in a stage whisper to Harry. "Got in earlier."

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They had been working steadily for over an hour when Ron suddenly started, knocking over a pile of precariously stacked parchment.

"I can't believe I forgot! Harry, what was it you wanted to say the other day, when we were waiting for Hermione?"

Harry looked at him for a moment before he managed to work out what Ron was on about. "Oh, yeah. I completely forgot about that. It was two things really."

All three looked at him with undisguised interest.

"Well, go on." Hermione prompted him.

He took one quick look around to make sure there was nobody eavesdropping although he didn't think there would be. One of the terms of the truce after the great flour war was that there would no longer be any Order member trailing him around under an invisibility cloak. They had been dropping around quite openly instead. Lupin, taking every chance he could get to come over to the Burrow to visit Harry, had been their most regular visitor and had in fact surprised Harry at breakfast, but left before they headed outside. As no one was in sight for the moment, Harry got on with answering Ron's question.

"I'm going to keep the DA going."

"Good," Ron looked relieved about this bit of news. "We'd been talking a bit about that, wondering if you would."

Hermione sat up straighter. "Have you worked out what your going to be teaching us first yet, Harry?" She asked, and before he had a chance to answer rattled on in her trademark breathless manner, "I was reading about sensory deprivation jinxes in Practical Defensive Magic and its Use Against the Dark Arts: Volume VI. I really think that was a brilliant set of books you got Harry, very informative," she gushed before getting back to the point, "and I think that that would be very interesting, not to mention useful. Plus I think we need to learn more about shielding, we really haven't had much on that in any of our years and so far you've only covered one shielding spell in the DA, Protego."

When she eventually stopped to breath Harry managed to get a word in edgewise. "Actually, I had thought that for the first meeting I would do an overview of what we did last year, and after that there are a few things I'm doing some reading up on that I'd like to try out. I might have a look at those spells you mentioned. I'm sure I have the book around here somewhere." He rummaged around the books for a while before admitting defeat. "It must be one of the one's I left in my trunk. I'll look at it later. One thing about the DA though, don't go advertising it. I'm keeping it going, but I think we should keep it under wraps for now. I don't want information leaking to anyone we can't trust, or any of the teachers. That includes Dumbledore." He looked carefully at all of them until he was sure that they understood and would comply with his wishes.

Ginny, who until this point had stayed out of this conversation, suddenly piped up. "But that's only one thing, Harry. What was the second thing?"

Harry looked at her. He thought over his second idea and wondered how it would go over with the others. He was fairly sure Ron would be all for it, and from what he could remember Hermione saying a few days ago, she would probably go for it. Unless she had suffered a change of heart. Ginny he didn't know as well, but from her association with the twins he guessed that if anything she'd be kicking herself for not having thought of it first.

Unconsciously rubbing the back of his hand Harry made his proposal to the group. "I was wondering what you guys, and you too Ginny, would think about us all conducting a little book-burning."

His words were greeted with a shocked silence, before Ron enthusiastically began to agree and gather all the books into one pile. "Harry! You're back!"

Hermione pushed her books out of Ron's reach and put herself between them, looking for all the world as if she was prepared to protect them with her life. "Are you crazy?" she screeched at Harry, while keeping her eyes on Ron who was trying to reach around her to grasp a charms text. With a quick move, Ron just managed to grab it. Hermione pulled the book back off him, and gave him a sharp hit on the hand with it when he tried to get another.

Ginny seemed to be taking things pretty calmly. She just sat there watching and thinking.

"Uh, Ron?" Harry asked, perturbed. "What are you doing?"

Ron sighed and stopped trying to out-manoeuvre Hermione. "It was to much to hope for wasn't it." Hermione, apparently not convinced that he was finished gave him one last loud thump on the head with her book. "Blimey, Hermione, I wasn't serious! It was a joke." Ron tried to reassure her before turning some of his attention back to Harry. "OK. What did you mean then?"

"Umbridge of course, you idiot."

Harry was impressed by Ginny's ability to sound both withering and ironic at the same time.

"But there is no book-" Hermione started before realisation hit her.

Ron was even faster. He was on his feet and running toward the house as he shouted back over his shoulder, "I'll get mine now. And yours Harry, it's in your trunk right? Ginny or Hermione had better get the girls ones though, I'm not going back in there in a hurry." Ah, Harry thought. I was right. I wonder what happened this morning?

"You do it Hermione," Ginny said. "I'm going to go Floo the twins. They'd never forgive us if we left them out of this." She raced off on the heels of her brother.

Hermione stood up and dusted herself off.

"You're in then?" Harry asked her.

There was a light in her eyes that almost scared Harry as she looked at him. "I'm in," she replied before making her way back to the Burrow.

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And so it was that a ceremonial book burning was arranged to take place at the Burrow that evening. It was a while before they could start though, as the twins insisted on getting Lee Jordon to join them, and then Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell. And when Ron came back down with his arms full of both his and Harry's copies of Wilbert Slinkhard's Defensive Magical Theory and their fifth year Defense Against the Dark Arts notes, he insisted on doing a call around as well.

In the end, nearly the entire DA were coming over to the Burrow. Along with those the twins invited, Ron had got in touch with Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan, who had spread the word to Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.

Parvati's twin sister Padma had told Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot. The two Ravenclaw boys had tried to get Michael Corner to come, but apparently there was still to much bad feeling between him and Ginny, so he turned down the invite. Cho Chang decided to follow her boyfriend's lead, and her friend Marietta Edgecombe was still in disgrace with the DA - in fact the last Harry had heard, she was still in St Mungo's looking for a way to remove the word 'sneak' from her face as Madam Pomfrey had had no luck - so no one who was coming bothered to let her know.

Susan Bones was contacted, and she managed to round up Justin Finch- Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott and Zacharias Smith, who somewhat surprisingly was eager to come.

The Creevey brothers, Colin and Dennis, were a little more difficult to get a hold of. In the end they sent the twins over, when they had finished work, to let them know about what was happening and help them make their way to the Burrow.

Luna Lovegood was unreachable. Ginny had told them that according to her last letter - a couple of days ago - she was still in Sweden with her father, and while Luna had reported that they had yet to see a Crumple- Horned Snorkack, they remained hopeful, and in fact had received an important tip-off that they were pursuing right at that very moment.

It was after dark when everyone managed to assemble. Colin, with his ever- present camera, proclaimed himself official photographer and took a few photo's of the group gathered in the garden before they headed off for the real event.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasley contingent lead the way down to the spot near their makeshift Quidditch pitch which they had picked for the fire. All carried their copy of Slinkhard's Defensive Magical Theory and great piles of parchment, covered with the notes that Umbridge had demanded they take. None looked apprehensive, in fact there was some effort involved in keeping to their ceremonial pace.

Dennis, as the youngest person present, started the pile. He placed his notes and book down in the area that had been prepared. Harry gave a nod and the twins cast Incendio in tandem. With a great whoosh of air and flame the small pile ignited.

A few cheers broke the solemn silence.

Dennis, as excitable as his elder brother, started to dance haphazardly around the blaze.

One by one, each of those present made their offering to the flames and joined Dennis. Some threw theirs in heedlessly, others deliberately placed them in position. Hermione memorably ripped her viciously in half before throwing them into the heart of the flames as hard as she could. Harry wondered if she might have a few anger issues, but wisely decided not to ask.

Well into the night the group danced and talked and celebrated. Angelina provided some music and the twins broke out a new batch of experimental fireworks (a sickly yellow toad was chased around and around by a herd of multicoloured centaurs, who clip-clopped loudly as they ran) which they promptly set to marketing ('Umbridge: A Date with Destiny Fireworks,' only available on special order. 2 Galleons a box.)

Colin took more photos and Justin had brought some marshmallows which he generously shared around to be toasted on the fire.

"Finally, a practical purpose for theory," Terry Boot was heard to say as he munched on one particularly crunchy marshmallow.

Some people jumped up at various times throughout the night and made impromptu speeches. George expressed his pride in Peeves efforts against the 'tyrant.' Ron explained the story of the Centaurs for any who had not yet heard it (or gotten the point from the fireworks display). Lee went on and on about what he'd do if he could get a hold of Umbridge, her quill and a nice quiet room where they couldn't be disturbed.. A few 'hear, hear's' from the group told Harry that there were more victims of the quill than he had previously thought. He looked at the back of his hand, with the hateful words she had made him write still faintly visible, and frowned slightly.

When the fire finally died down, and the party wound up, all bar Angelina trooped back to the living room, where sleeping bags were conjured for them to spend the night. Angelina had to leave as she had an early Quidditch practice in the morning. She had told Harry all about her new position as a reserve Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies while they had been waiting for the stragglers to arrive earlier that evening. Alicia and Katie surrounded Angelina in a group hug just before she left, and Harry realised that this might be the last time the three of them were together for some time. It was weird. At Hogwarts they had seemed to him as inseparable and Ron, Hermione and he were, regardless of the fact that Katie was a year younger than the other two.

Hogwarts, Harry reflected, was going to be a very different place this year.

Quiet talking interspersed with silence among those who stayed, before they all finally dropped off to sleep.

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Breakfast had already been finished - a rowdy affair with all the extras present - and their guests had all headed off by various means. Mrs Weasley was upstairs trying to convince Ginny that tidying her room was just the thing to do on a lovely, sunny day. From what Harry could hear she was not having much luck. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Ron and Hermione, none of them quite in the mood to do any work after the excitement of the night before.

Perhaps it was co-incidence, but Harry preferred to believe that it was the newly cleared air created by the repudiation of anything to do with last years Defence class that resulted in the owl who flew into the Burrow, heavily laden with three very thick envelopes.

With no doubt in their minds as to their contents, Harry, Ron and Hermione each took the envelope addressed to them in spiky aqua handwriting. For all that they had been waiting for a very long time for these results, now that the moment had come, none could bring themselves to look at them. Hermione was staring at the seal on hers, breathing quickly and shallowly. Ron was twirling his about in his hands, nervously glancing at his friends. Harry was holding his against his forehead, wondering if he could perhaps sense his results without having to check them properly. When this didn't work he sighed and placed it down on the table. The sight continued to elude him - it didn't bode well for his Divination results.

Ginny, having made a successful escape bid, alighted from the stairs and took one look at the three. "Mum," she shouted back up the stairs before any of them could stop her, "their results are here!" She hurried forward and sat down. "Aren't you going to open them?"

Ron shot her a dirty look. "Thanks a lot Ginny," he said grumpily, before sighing and looking at his envelope. The excited sounds of Mrs Weasley descending the stairs reached them. "I guess I'm first," he told the others, and they all turned to look at him.

Ron opened the envelope carefully and removed a sheaf of papers. He looked at the top one, scanning it quickly before he put in at the back and looked to the second. He blinked. Then he looked at it again, slower this time. Then he was on his feet and jumping around in one sudden movement.

"Yes!!!" he crowed to the room at large, pumping the air with his unoccupied fist. His mother appeared behind him and plucked his results from his hand. She quickly perused them then wrapped Ron in a big hug.

"I'm so proud Ron, you've done so well." She looked at the others and their as yet unopened envelopes held tightly in their hands. "Come on you two, I want to see how you went too," she prompted.

Harry looked over at Hermione, who now that the moment had come looked terrified. "Together?" he asked Hermione, before wincing at the unwelcome image that that word brought up.

She gave him an acute nod and they both opened their envelopes, as carefully as Ron had. The first piece of paper was a letter from Griselda Marchbanks congratulating him on having completed his OWLs. Echoing Ron's action, he quickly discarded it and turned to the next page.

A wail from across the room distracted him. His head shot up.

Hermione, the source of the wail, looked more upset than Harry had ever seen her.

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Shall I shut up now?

A/N: You may recognise the bit where Harry quotes his homework planner. It's from OotP p. 443.

Thanks to all my reviewers, especially my regulars, Melindaleo and jac. I update here as regularly as I can. Also, there is a possible chance that maybe, someday, I will have the chapters up earlier at numberninetythreediagonalley.net I don't think it will happen with the next chapter, but who knows? Hang on a second... ah huh... mmm hmm... OK, then. I have an answer for that last question. According to the voices in my head, they know. They just aren't telling. Smarmy bastards.