Chapter 12 - Legilimency
Harry stood, wand drawn, in a circular stone room. The only source of light was a few dimly lit torches that hung on the wall, casting ominous shadows throughout the cold surroundings. Before Harry, stood three hooded figures.
"Have you finally managed to find a way to free them?" he hissed in a voice that was not his own; he knew exactly who's voice it was. One of the hooded figures took a step forward.
"Yes, master. The ministry has made things very complicated. But, without dementors, Azkaban is nothing," it was the low voice of a woman that spoke, a familiar voice to Harry, though he couldn't quite place it.
"Yes. And have you everything ready?" Harry asked.
"Yes, master. They are awaiting your order. Ready to go once they feel the Dark Mark burn," she said. Harry grasped her arm with his long white fingers.
"The half-giant and those wizards with him, have you taken care of them?" Harry asked.
"Soon, master. Very soon," she said.
"Very well," he said as he pulled the sleeve of her robes up, revealing the skull and serpent tattooed into her pale skin. He pressed against it with one of those skeletal fingers.
Harry was rushed back to reality with a surging pain in his forehead. He clasped a hand to his scar and sat upright.
"S'rong? You screamed." Ron said groggily. The throbbing in his scar was making Harry sick. He waited a moment for the pain to subside before giving Ron an answer.
"Dream," he said shortly, fumbling with blankets and hangings to get out of bed. He needed to get to Dumbledore's office straight away and tell him about the dream. He knew it was probably too late to do anything about the Death Eaters escaping from Azkaban, but Voldemort also mentioned the half-giant and the wizards with him, meaning Hagrid and Charlie.
Two sets of footsteps echoed as Ron followed Harry down the stairs into the deserted common room. Harry made no objection to Ron following.
"What happened?" Ron asked as Harry opened the door.
"I'll explain when we get to Dumbledore's," Harry said.
"Did he attack someone again?" Ron asked.
"Not yet," Harry replied.
Harry and Ron climbed through the portrait hole. They rushed through corridors and up staircases until they stood outside the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Harry's recent angry feelings towards the headmaster about Tonks were swept from his mind. That didn't matter, not when Hagrid and Charlie could be in danger.
"Skiving Snackbox," Harry said. The stone gargoyles sprung to life and leapt aside, revealing the spiral staircase. Harry and Ron stepped on the spiraling stairs. Harry only knocked once on the door before it opened. Dumbledore stood, looking only somewhat surprised at seeing Harry and Ron standing before him.
"Come in, boys," he said. They stepped inside and Dumbledore motioned for them to sit. Harry immediately began to explain about the dream.
"Professor, Voldemort is trying to free the prisoners from Azkaban. I had another one of those dreams," he said.
"I'm afraid it is too late to stop that. I received news of the breakout mere seconds before you arrived," Dumbledore said.
"All of them got loose?" Ron asked.
"Every prisoner detained since the last breakout has been freed," Dumbledore said.
"That wasn't all, though, Professor. Voldemort also mentioned Hagrid and Charlie," Harry said. Ron looked anxiously from Harry to Dumbledore.
"Harry, you must remember that it could be a setup by Voldemort," Dumbledore said calmly.
"He knows about them. He wants them taken care of. Why wouldn't he kill them? He knows what they're doing. And I can block Voldemort from my mind, now. You know I can. This was me getting into his mind," Harry reasoned. Dumbledore took a moment to consider this before nodding.
"I will send for them," he said, taking out a quill and parchment. He wrote a short letter and gave it to Fawkes, "Take this to Hagrid quickly."
The phoenix gave a small trill and disappeared in a flash of light.
"They will receive the message very soon, but it will take a while before they can get back here. Charlie could apparate, but I am sure he would not leave Hagrid alone, no matter how much Hagrid urged him to go," Dumbledore said.
"How far are they?" Ron asked.
"I am not sure. They need to be careful with Death Eaters looking for them, but there is no call for worry. They'll be fine," Dumbledore said. He turned to Harry, "You believe it was you that broke into Voldemort's mind?"
"Yes," he said with certainty.
"How long has it been since Voldemort broke into your mind?" Dumbledore asked.
"More than two weeks," Harry said.
"And you can block my attempts to break into your mind," Dumbledore stated.
"But not Snape's," Harry muttered.
"Professor Snape, Harry. And he is a special case. I know you can block myself and Voldemort, which means you must have inadvertently broken into Voldemort's mind, as you say," Dumbledore said. He sat quietly at his desk, clearly thinking about something.
Ron looked to Harry and they shrugged. After a minute of this, Harry cleared his throat to get their Professor's attention. It wasn't the first time Dumbledore'd ever done that.
"Harry, I think our Occlumency lessons can come to an end now. Rather, we should start Legilimency lessons. You'll need to work on that if you are breaking into Voldemort's mind," Dumbledore said.
"Isn't this a good thing, though? Breaking into his mind? I can see what he's up to. Why should I stop this?" Harry asked.
"I have no intention for you to learn Legilimency to stop yourself from having these dreams, but to better control it," Dumbledore said, "This is up to you. Do you wish to learn Legilimency?"
Harry nodded as Fawkes reappeared on his perch clutching a piece of parchment. Dumbledore stood, took the parchment from Fawkes, and read it over.
"They are returning immediately. Their letter said it will take no more than a week to get back," Dumbledore said, "It is very late. You two had better get back to your dormitories."
Harry and Ron nodded and left the office. They walked back to the common room quietly. Through the windows, the sun could be seen creeping over the horizon. A few students were up, going down to the Great Hall to get breakfast. They looked at Harry and Ron in their pajamas curiously. In the common room, Hermione was sitting with a book near the fire.
"There you guys are!" she exclaimed, "Neville said you had another dream last night. What happened?"
Harry and Ron explained about the dream, Charlie and Hagrid, and the Legilimency lessons to Hermione.
"I'm going back to bed," Harry said when he finished.
"We have lessons in an hour," Hermione said.
"Not today," he mumbled, walking up to his dormitory to catch up on some much needed sleep.
When he woke it was mid afternoon. Three classes missed, three detentions this week, he mused and gave a sigh. He got dressed and went down to the common room to find Fred or George. He wasn't in a detention mood so he decided on the old 'I was sick' excuse. He found the twins testing new products on a few first and second years in the corner of the common room.
"Hey Fred. George. I need some skiving snack boxes. Missed three classes," he said.
"You didn't go to any classes today?" Fred said admiringly.
"Perfect. We can test one of the strong ones," George said.
"Test?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"We've tested it on ourselves. And Bill. Worked fine. You'll be our fourth tester," Fred said.
"Yeah. Alright then," Harry shrugged, "What one is it?"
"Just makes you look all pale and feverish. But you feel no symptoms," Fred handed him a blue and yellow chew.
"Eat the blue end to look sick and yellow to look better," George said. Harry bit off the blue end. He didn't feel any different, but judging from the impressed looks he got from Fred and George, he looked different.
"Wow, you look paler than Nearly Headless nick," Fred commented.
"Thanks," Harry said.
"Well, off to the hospital wing with you, Mr. Potter," George took one of his arms and Fred took the other, "We'll escort you. Don't know how sick you are, my dear boy. Could pass out or something."
Harry let them lead him to the hospital wing, not sure if he wouldn't pass out or something. He was, after all, only the fourth tester of their new product. When they entered the hospital wing half carrying Harry, Madam Pomfrey quickly led him to a bed.
"Thank goodness you brought him. He looks terrible," she said, putting a hand to his forehead, "He has a high fever, too."
"He will be okay, won't he?" George asked dramatically.
"Please take good care of him, Madam Pomfrey," Fred said, playing along.
"He'll be fine, boys. You two go back to your common room. I'll take good care of him," she said, ushering them out of the door.
"Madam Pomfrey, I missed classes today," Harry said, "I was too sick. Could you please tell-"
"Yes, yes. I'll take care of all that," she said, "You obviously weren't well enough to go. Should have came here earlier."
"I wanted to, but I couldn't walk on my own. Fred and George found me only a bit ago," he said, trying hard not to laugh.
"Here. Take this. It will help, but it takes an hour or two to work," she handed him a glass of some orange potion. He accidentally on purpose knocked a pillow to the floor. When she bent to pick it up, he dumped the potion into a bedpan near his bed on the floor. Then he popped the yellow chew into his mouth.
"You should feel better in an hour or so," she said, taking the empty glass from him. Harry saw his reflection in the cup. It only took seconds for his appearance to go back to normal. Madam Pomfrey looked at him in surprise.
"Wow! I feel so much better, now. You must be the best healer in the world!" he praised as he got out of bed, "Thank you so much, Madam Pomfrey. I feel great now."
She tried to get in a word, but Harry kept talking, "I'll be sure to tell everyone how great of a healer you are. I can't believe it. Had me fixed in minutes. Thank you again, Madam Pomfrey."
He waved goodbye and left quickly before she could force him back into a bed. He walked down the corridors, not wanting to go back to the common room to all that noise. It was rarely to never quiet in the common room. He decided on visiting Hedwig in the Owlery instead. One quick look through the hundreds of birds told him Hedwig wasn't there. It wasn't hard to pick out a snowy owl among the rest.
He jumped as a furry mass collided with the side of his head. He looked down to see a dazed Pig on the ground. The owl ruffled its feathers and was back in the air, flying animatedly around Harry's head. Someone laughed and Harry saw Remus was standing near the window, sending off an Eagle owl.
"Hyper little owl, isn't he?" he said.
"Bit thick, too," Harry said as Pig did laps around his head.
"Tea? My office?" Remus offered.
"Sure," Harry said. He followed Remus down to his office, only a staircase and few corridors away. Remus conjured up a cup of tea for each of them.
"Albus told me about Hagrid and Charlie," he said bluntly.
"Yeah. They should be back in a week," Harry said.
Remus nodded and there was a few seconds pause before he began to ask, "How are you d-"
"I'm fine," Harry said abruptly and added quietly, "Just a bit sick of being me."
"I expect it gets frustrating, doesn't it?" Remus said.
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
"I know you don't want to here the whole everything will be okay speech. Probably got enough of that from everyone. I can only tell you to try and make the best of what you're stuck with," Remus shrugged.
"I wish I could tell you just what I am stuck with," Harry muttered.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I don't know if I can tell you. I mean I want to, but I can't," Harry said.
"You can tell me anything, Harry," Remus said. Harry met his warm eyes. He really did want to just spill everything to him, to have someone to understand what he was going through besides Dumbledore.
"I don't think I can tell you this," he said, thinking resentfully of Dumbledore.
"Can you tell me why not?" Remus prompted lightly.
"Voldemort. It's just that if he finds out, it won't be good. If he found out-" Harry stopped. Voldemort already knew. Or, at least, thought he did. He wouldn't be looking for it now. He thought he had it. And he knew he could trust Remus to never give up the information to anyone.
"Voldemort?" Remus said worriedly, "Harry, if you know something, you have to tell someone. I know you might not feel comfortable talking to me, but you have to tell someone."
"I do feel comfortable talking to you. And it isn't like that. Dumbledore knows," Harry said. He paced the length of the room, debating whether he should or could tell Remus. Remus sat quietly, watching him.
"Maybe you could ask Dumbledore," Remus suggested. Harry frowned. He didn't really want to talk to Dumbledore about it.
"No, I don't need to," he said, "I can tell you, but...I don't know."
"Harry, you can always talk to me if you need to," Remus said.
"Remus, you have to swear you'll never tell another person. Not anyone," Harry said.
"I'd never," he said sincerely and added, "Sit down."
Harry sat in a chair near Remus.
"Last year, in the department of mysteries, do you remember the prophecy I had that smashed?" he started. Remus nodded.
"I wish I had a pensieve. It would be easier to show you rather than tell you," he said.
"Would you rather do that?" Remus asked.
"Could I?" he asked.
Remus went to behind his desk and pulled a small battered pensieve from his desk drawer. He placed it before Harry.
"You can just extract that memory. And you can show it to me. Just point your wand to your temple and focus on the memory you want extracted," he said. Harry did as Remus said. As he thought of the meeting with Dumbledore a funny tickling sensation came from his head. He put the wand to the pensieve and watched as the silvery substance flowed into it. It felt like something was being pulled from inside his head.
"You're sure that you're okay with me seeing this?" Remus asked as the silvery memory swirled in the basin.
Harry nodded and they both stuck a finger into the bowl. Harry felt himself being pulled inside. He was standing beside Remus and his memory self, who was looking out the window. Harry felt himself pale a bit. He took out too much memory. He didn't want Remus to see this part.
"I took out too much," Harry said to Remus..
"That happens sometimes," Remus said as Dumbledore emerged from the green flames in the fireplace and the portraits gave cries of welcome.
Harry watched his past self uncomfortably. Remus put a hand on his shoulder. Harry was grateful for this gesture. He felt embarrassed when he saw his past self begin to yell at the headmaster and destroy his possessions. He expected Remus to say something about it or at least look at him disappointedly, but Remus only watched.
"I was really mad. I shouldn't have done that," Harry said. He felt like he should try to explain for his actions.
"I shouldn't have done it either," Remus said. Harry gave him a confused look.
"About fifteen years ago, I came here and pretty much did the same thing," Remus explained.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"He told me he was sending you to live with Vernon and Petunia. I knew what they were. Lily told me about them and I didn't want you with them," Remus said with a bitter expression.
For a long time, they sat and watched the scene before them. Then the past Dumbledore took out the stone basin and placed it on the desk.
"This is what I wanted to tell you," Harry said. Remus gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as the figure rose out of the pensieve. Sybill Trelawney began to speak in the hoarse tones of a true seer. As she finished the Prophecy and sank back into the pensieve, Harry and Remus were pulled out of the memory and set back in the office.
Remus was gripping Harry's shoulder tightly now. He was as pale as Harry had been earlier after taking the twins new product.
"Harry," he said quietly, "That meant...Did that mean you?"
"Yeah. I either have to kill Voldemort or be killed by him," Harry said forlornly and was surprised when Remus hugged him. It wasn't a very common thing to happen to him. Harry felt like a weight was lifted thanks to Remus. He was grateful to have someone to understand what was going on.
"Thanks," he said, "It's good to know I have someone to talk to about this stuff if I need to."
"Thanks," Remus said.
"For what?" Harry asked.
"A lot of things," he said, then checked his watch, "Almost eight o'clock. Guess we missed dinner, then."
"Yeah, guess so," Harry shrugged.
"To the kitchens then?" Remus said.
"I do recall receiving a detention for being down there from a certain Professor," Harry raised his eyebrows.
"That was because you did not have permission from a teacher. And now that certain Professor is hungry and if a certain student does not wish to join him, he doesn't have to," Remus grinned.
"That certain student is starving," Harry said, leading the way to the kitchens. When they reached, the portrait, Harry tickled the pear.
"It was James who found this one out," Remus said, "Entirely on accident of course. I'd say it was one of the better finds."
"So would I," Harry said as a half dozen house elves came his way, offering all sorts of foods. They took a little of each food and sat to eat.
"I hope you'll be coming to my class tomorrow. I hear you haven't gone to any today," Remus said.
"I was sick," Harry smirked. Then he realized something. If he had class with Remus the next day, then it would be a Tuesday, which meant today was Monday and he was supposed to be in Dumbledore's office.
"I have to go," he said, getting to his feet, "Forgot I have to meet with Dumbledore."
"Your lessons?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," Harry said, "See you tomorrow."
"Bye," Remus said before Harry set off, half running.. He ran into Dean Thomas as he rounded the corner to the headmaster's office.
"Sorry Dean," he apologized.
"No problem. Where you going to?" he asked.
"Er- Remedial classes with Dumbledore," he lied, "And I'm late so I have to go."
"Alright. See you later," he said. Harry waited until he was gone to say the password and enter the office.
"Ah, Harry. A little late today," Dumbledore said when he entered.
"Sorry, sir. I was with Re- Professor Lupin," Harry said.
"It's quite alright," he said, "Ready to begin?"
Harry nodded.
"Like Occlumency, you will need to clear your mind first. Then you concentrate on opening the other's mind. Try to focus on a particular memory to see," Dumbledore explained, "Wand out. You know the spell. Go ahead."
Harry hesitantly raised his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore. He thought of his first year at Hogwarts and the Mirror Of Erised.
"Legilimens!" he said loudly. A clip of the memory was played before him and stopped. Dumbledore was looking at him intently.
"That was very good. Very good, indeed. I think Legilimency will be much easier for you to learn than Occlumency was," he said.
"Hope so. Occlumency took almost a year," Harry said.
"It certainly will take much less time. That spell was almost perfect. Let's try again," Dumbledore said.
Harry did and he was able to hold the spell for a longer time. It was becoming easier. And by the end of the lesson, he nearly had it down perfect, surprising himself and Dumbledore.
The next few days passed slowly. The first snow had fallen and now the grounds were covered in a white sheet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were awaiting an owl from someone to tell them Charlie and Hagrid were safely back. By that Friday, every hour, one of them would look out the window to see any signs of life at Hagrid's hut. And Harry had taken to asking Dumbledore every evening after dinner if they were back yet.
Finally, that Tuesday evening after dinner, Remus met them outside the doors to the Great Hall and gave them news of Hagrid and Charlie's return.
"They arrived at Grimmauld Place this afternoon. Charlie's staying there for a bit and Hagrid will be back tonight," he said with a smile.
"That's great then. What time?" Harry asked.
"In a few hours. Which will be after curfew. He'll still be here tomorrow. So no sneaking out tonight, you three," Remus said.
"We won't," Ron and Harry said together perhaps a bit too quickly because Remus gave them a suspicious look and added, "I mean it. You're not to go out to see him tonight."
"Okay. We won't go see him tonight. We'll go after lessons tomorrow," Harry said, with intentions the exact opposite of what he said.
"In case you do decide to sneak out, I'll let you know that I'll be out there tonight to visit him when he arrives," Remus said.
"In other words you don't trust us not to go out?" Harry asked.
"Hm, how to put this?" he said, "Eh, no."
"Thanks," Harry said in a fake hurt voice.
"What about the teaching job? Now Hagrid's back, you won't have to leave, will you?" Hermione asked.
"No. We have that worked out so that Hagrid and I split classes throughout the week. That way, we both can do more for the Order, too. It's good to have so many Order members at Hogwarts, in case anything should happen," he said.
"Who else here is in the Order?" Ron asked, "Did you get anyone new?"
"You know about Professors McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, and myself. And since the end of last term, Professors Green and Sinistra have joined us," he said.
"How many people are in the Order?" Harry asked.
"We now outnumber Death Eaters. About one-hundred-ten to sixty. But when we include other non-human creatures, it is a mere one-hundred-fifty to near three-hundred. And he is quickly gaining supporters," Remus said grimly.
"He's back!" Hermione said a few hours later from the window in Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron went to the window to have a look.
"Too bad we can't go tonight," Harry sighed.
"Oh, come on, Harry. Lupin was faking it," Ron said, "He isn't going to be out there. He just said that so we'd stay here."
"Probably," Hermione agreed.
"Let's get our things, then," Harry said, dropping his Transfiguration homework in a corner.
"Wait. I didn't- That's not what I meant," Hermione said hastily but Harry and Ron were already taking the stairs two at a time. She followed reluctantly.
Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and dropped it over himself, Ron, and Hermione. They crept down the stairs and to the Portrait of the fat lady. They had to be careful because it was still early by Gryffindor standards. So they had to avoid a few younger students that were running around despite the constant telling offs from older students. Ron cursed under his breath at their immaturity as one nearly dived into him. They made it to the portrait okay and no one seemed to notice when it swung open on its own.
Harry stood, wand drawn, in a circular stone room. The only source of light was a few dimly lit torches that hung on the wall, casting ominous shadows throughout the cold surroundings. Before Harry, stood three hooded figures.
"Have you finally managed to find a way to free them?" he hissed in a voice that was not his own; he knew exactly who's voice it was. One of the hooded figures took a step forward.
"Yes, master. The ministry has made things very complicated. But, without dementors, Azkaban is nothing," it was the low voice of a woman that spoke, a familiar voice to Harry, though he couldn't quite place it.
"Yes. And have you everything ready?" Harry asked.
"Yes, master. They are awaiting your order. Ready to go once they feel the Dark Mark burn," she said. Harry grasped her arm with his long white fingers.
"The half-giant and those wizards with him, have you taken care of them?" Harry asked.
"Soon, master. Very soon," she said.
"Very well," he said as he pulled the sleeve of her robes up, revealing the skull and serpent tattooed into her pale skin. He pressed against it with one of those skeletal fingers.
Harry was rushed back to reality with a surging pain in his forehead. He clasped a hand to his scar and sat upright.
"S'rong? You screamed." Ron said groggily. The throbbing in his scar was making Harry sick. He waited a moment for the pain to subside before giving Ron an answer.
"Dream," he said shortly, fumbling with blankets and hangings to get out of bed. He needed to get to Dumbledore's office straight away and tell him about the dream. He knew it was probably too late to do anything about the Death Eaters escaping from Azkaban, but Voldemort also mentioned the half-giant and the wizards with him, meaning Hagrid and Charlie.
Two sets of footsteps echoed as Ron followed Harry down the stairs into the deserted common room. Harry made no objection to Ron following.
"What happened?" Ron asked as Harry opened the door.
"I'll explain when we get to Dumbledore's," Harry said.
"Did he attack someone again?" Ron asked.
"Not yet," Harry replied.
Harry and Ron climbed through the portrait hole. They rushed through corridors and up staircases until they stood outside the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Harry's recent angry feelings towards the headmaster about Tonks were swept from his mind. That didn't matter, not when Hagrid and Charlie could be in danger.
"Skiving Snackbox," Harry said. The stone gargoyles sprung to life and leapt aside, revealing the spiral staircase. Harry and Ron stepped on the spiraling stairs. Harry only knocked once on the door before it opened. Dumbledore stood, looking only somewhat surprised at seeing Harry and Ron standing before him.
"Come in, boys," he said. They stepped inside and Dumbledore motioned for them to sit. Harry immediately began to explain about the dream.
"Professor, Voldemort is trying to free the prisoners from Azkaban. I had another one of those dreams," he said.
"I'm afraid it is too late to stop that. I received news of the breakout mere seconds before you arrived," Dumbledore said.
"All of them got loose?" Ron asked.
"Every prisoner detained since the last breakout has been freed," Dumbledore said.
"That wasn't all, though, Professor. Voldemort also mentioned Hagrid and Charlie," Harry said. Ron looked anxiously from Harry to Dumbledore.
"Harry, you must remember that it could be a setup by Voldemort," Dumbledore said calmly.
"He knows about them. He wants them taken care of. Why wouldn't he kill them? He knows what they're doing. And I can block Voldemort from my mind, now. You know I can. This was me getting into his mind," Harry reasoned. Dumbledore took a moment to consider this before nodding.
"I will send for them," he said, taking out a quill and parchment. He wrote a short letter and gave it to Fawkes, "Take this to Hagrid quickly."
The phoenix gave a small trill and disappeared in a flash of light.
"They will receive the message very soon, but it will take a while before they can get back here. Charlie could apparate, but I am sure he would not leave Hagrid alone, no matter how much Hagrid urged him to go," Dumbledore said.
"How far are they?" Ron asked.
"I am not sure. They need to be careful with Death Eaters looking for them, but there is no call for worry. They'll be fine," Dumbledore said. He turned to Harry, "You believe it was you that broke into Voldemort's mind?"
"Yes," he said with certainty.
"How long has it been since Voldemort broke into your mind?" Dumbledore asked.
"More than two weeks," Harry said.
"And you can block my attempts to break into your mind," Dumbledore stated.
"But not Snape's," Harry muttered.
"Professor Snape, Harry. And he is a special case. I know you can block myself and Voldemort, which means you must have inadvertently broken into Voldemort's mind, as you say," Dumbledore said. He sat quietly at his desk, clearly thinking about something.
Ron looked to Harry and they shrugged. After a minute of this, Harry cleared his throat to get their Professor's attention. It wasn't the first time Dumbledore'd ever done that.
"Harry, I think our Occlumency lessons can come to an end now. Rather, we should start Legilimency lessons. You'll need to work on that if you are breaking into Voldemort's mind," Dumbledore said.
"Isn't this a good thing, though? Breaking into his mind? I can see what he's up to. Why should I stop this?" Harry asked.
"I have no intention for you to learn Legilimency to stop yourself from having these dreams, but to better control it," Dumbledore said, "This is up to you. Do you wish to learn Legilimency?"
Harry nodded as Fawkes reappeared on his perch clutching a piece of parchment. Dumbledore stood, took the parchment from Fawkes, and read it over.
"They are returning immediately. Their letter said it will take no more than a week to get back," Dumbledore said, "It is very late. You two had better get back to your dormitories."
Harry and Ron nodded and left the office. They walked back to the common room quietly. Through the windows, the sun could be seen creeping over the horizon. A few students were up, going down to the Great Hall to get breakfast. They looked at Harry and Ron in their pajamas curiously. In the common room, Hermione was sitting with a book near the fire.
"There you guys are!" she exclaimed, "Neville said you had another dream last night. What happened?"
Harry and Ron explained about the dream, Charlie and Hagrid, and the Legilimency lessons to Hermione.
"I'm going back to bed," Harry said when he finished.
"We have lessons in an hour," Hermione said.
"Not today," he mumbled, walking up to his dormitory to catch up on some much needed sleep.
When he woke it was mid afternoon. Three classes missed, three detentions this week, he mused and gave a sigh. He got dressed and went down to the common room to find Fred or George. He wasn't in a detention mood so he decided on the old 'I was sick' excuse. He found the twins testing new products on a few first and second years in the corner of the common room.
"Hey Fred. George. I need some skiving snack boxes. Missed three classes," he said.
"You didn't go to any classes today?" Fred said admiringly.
"Perfect. We can test one of the strong ones," George said.
"Test?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"We've tested it on ourselves. And Bill. Worked fine. You'll be our fourth tester," Fred said.
"Yeah. Alright then," Harry shrugged, "What one is it?"
"Just makes you look all pale and feverish. But you feel no symptoms," Fred handed him a blue and yellow chew.
"Eat the blue end to look sick and yellow to look better," George said. Harry bit off the blue end. He didn't feel any different, but judging from the impressed looks he got from Fred and George, he looked different.
"Wow, you look paler than Nearly Headless nick," Fred commented.
"Thanks," Harry said.
"Well, off to the hospital wing with you, Mr. Potter," George took one of his arms and Fred took the other, "We'll escort you. Don't know how sick you are, my dear boy. Could pass out or something."
Harry let them lead him to the hospital wing, not sure if he wouldn't pass out or something. He was, after all, only the fourth tester of their new product. When they entered the hospital wing half carrying Harry, Madam Pomfrey quickly led him to a bed.
"Thank goodness you brought him. He looks terrible," she said, putting a hand to his forehead, "He has a high fever, too."
"He will be okay, won't he?" George asked dramatically.
"Please take good care of him, Madam Pomfrey," Fred said, playing along.
"He'll be fine, boys. You two go back to your common room. I'll take good care of him," she said, ushering them out of the door.
"Madam Pomfrey, I missed classes today," Harry said, "I was too sick. Could you please tell-"
"Yes, yes. I'll take care of all that," she said, "You obviously weren't well enough to go. Should have came here earlier."
"I wanted to, but I couldn't walk on my own. Fred and George found me only a bit ago," he said, trying hard not to laugh.
"Here. Take this. It will help, but it takes an hour or two to work," she handed him a glass of some orange potion. He accidentally on purpose knocked a pillow to the floor. When she bent to pick it up, he dumped the potion into a bedpan near his bed on the floor. Then he popped the yellow chew into his mouth.
"You should feel better in an hour or so," she said, taking the empty glass from him. Harry saw his reflection in the cup. It only took seconds for his appearance to go back to normal. Madam Pomfrey looked at him in surprise.
"Wow! I feel so much better, now. You must be the best healer in the world!" he praised as he got out of bed, "Thank you so much, Madam Pomfrey. I feel great now."
She tried to get in a word, but Harry kept talking, "I'll be sure to tell everyone how great of a healer you are. I can't believe it. Had me fixed in minutes. Thank you again, Madam Pomfrey."
He waved goodbye and left quickly before she could force him back into a bed. He walked down the corridors, not wanting to go back to the common room to all that noise. It was rarely to never quiet in the common room. He decided on visiting Hedwig in the Owlery instead. One quick look through the hundreds of birds told him Hedwig wasn't there. It wasn't hard to pick out a snowy owl among the rest.
He jumped as a furry mass collided with the side of his head. He looked down to see a dazed Pig on the ground. The owl ruffled its feathers and was back in the air, flying animatedly around Harry's head. Someone laughed and Harry saw Remus was standing near the window, sending off an Eagle owl.
"Hyper little owl, isn't he?" he said.
"Bit thick, too," Harry said as Pig did laps around his head.
"Tea? My office?" Remus offered.
"Sure," Harry said. He followed Remus down to his office, only a staircase and few corridors away. Remus conjured up a cup of tea for each of them.
"Albus told me about Hagrid and Charlie," he said bluntly.
"Yeah. They should be back in a week," Harry said.
Remus nodded and there was a few seconds pause before he began to ask, "How are you d-"
"I'm fine," Harry said abruptly and added quietly, "Just a bit sick of being me."
"I expect it gets frustrating, doesn't it?" Remus said.
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
"I know you don't want to here the whole everything will be okay speech. Probably got enough of that from everyone. I can only tell you to try and make the best of what you're stuck with," Remus shrugged.
"I wish I could tell you just what I am stuck with," Harry muttered.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I don't know if I can tell you. I mean I want to, but I can't," Harry said.
"You can tell me anything, Harry," Remus said. Harry met his warm eyes. He really did want to just spill everything to him, to have someone to understand what he was going through besides Dumbledore.
"I don't think I can tell you this," he said, thinking resentfully of Dumbledore.
"Can you tell me why not?" Remus prompted lightly.
"Voldemort. It's just that if he finds out, it won't be good. If he found out-" Harry stopped. Voldemort already knew. Or, at least, thought he did. He wouldn't be looking for it now. He thought he had it. And he knew he could trust Remus to never give up the information to anyone.
"Voldemort?" Remus said worriedly, "Harry, if you know something, you have to tell someone. I know you might not feel comfortable talking to me, but you have to tell someone."
"I do feel comfortable talking to you. And it isn't like that. Dumbledore knows," Harry said. He paced the length of the room, debating whether he should or could tell Remus. Remus sat quietly, watching him.
"Maybe you could ask Dumbledore," Remus suggested. Harry frowned. He didn't really want to talk to Dumbledore about it.
"No, I don't need to," he said, "I can tell you, but...I don't know."
"Harry, you can always talk to me if you need to," Remus said.
"Remus, you have to swear you'll never tell another person. Not anyone," Harry said.
"I'd never," he said sincerely and added, "Sit down."
Harry sat in a chair near Remus.
"Last year, in the department of mysteries, do you remember the prophecy I had that smashed?" he started. Remus nodded.
"I wish I had a pensieve. It would be easier to show you rather than tell you," he said.
"Would you rather do that?" Remus asked.
"Could I?" he asked.
Remus went to behind his desk and pulled a small battered pensieve from his desk drawer. He placed it before Harry.
"You can just extract that memory. And you can show it to me. Just point your wand to your temple and focus on the memory you want extracted," he said. Harry did as Remus said. As he thought of the meeting with Dumbledore a funny tickling sensation came from his head. He put the wand to the pensieve and watched as the silvery substance flowed into it. It felt like something was being pulled from inside his head.
"You're sure that you're okay with me seeing this?" Remus asked as the silvery memory swirled in the basin.
Harry nodded and they both stuck a finger into the bowl. Harry felt himself being pulled inside. He was standing beside Remus and his memory self, who was looking out the window. Harry felt himself pale a bit. He took out too much memory. He didn't want Remus to see this part.
"I took out too much," Harry said to Remus..
"That happens sometimes," Remus said as Dumbledore emerged from the green flames in the fireplace and the portraits gave cries of welcome.
Harry watched his past self uncomfortably. Remus put a hand on his shoulder. Harry was grateful for this gesture. He felt embarrassed when he saw his past self begin to yell at the headmaster and destroy his possessions. He expected Remus to say something about it or at least look at him disappointedly, but Remus only watched.
"I was really mad. I shouldn't have done that," Harry said. He felt like he should try to explain for his actions.
"I shouldn't have done it either," Remus said. Harry gave him a confused look.
"About fifteen years ago, I came here and pretty much did the same thing," Remus explained.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"He told me he was sending you to live with Vernon and Petunia. I knew what they were. Lily told me about them and I didn't want you with them," Remus said with a bitter expression.
For a long time, they sat and watched the scene before them. Then the past Dumbledore took out the stone basin and placed it on the desk.
"This is what I wanted to tell you," Harry said. Remus gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as the figure rose out of the pensieve. Sybill Trelawney began to speak in the hoarse tones of a true seer. As she finished the Prophecy and sank back into the pensieve, Harry and Remus were pulled out of the memory and set back in the office.
Remus was gripping Harry's shoulder tightly now. He was as pale as Harry had been earlier after taking the twins new product.
"Harry," he said quietly, "That meant...Did that mean you?"
"Yeah. I either have to kill Voldemort or be killed by him," Harry said forlornly and was surprised when Remus hugged him. It wasn't a very common thing to happen to him. Harry felt like a weight was lifted thanks to Remus. He was grateful to have someone to understand what was going on.
"Thanks," he said, "It's good to know I have someone to talk to about this stuff if I need to."
"Thanks," Remus said.
"For what?" Harry asked.
"A lot of things," he said, then checked his watch, "Almost eight o'clock. Guess we missed dinner, then."
"Yeah, guess so," Harry shrugged.
"To the kitchens then?" Remus said.
"I do recall receiving a detention for being down there from a certain Professor," Harry raised his eyebrows.
"That was because you did not have permission from a teacher. And now that certain Professor is hungry and if a certain student does not wish to join him, he doesn't have to," Remus grinned.
"That certain student is starving," Harry said, leading the way to the kitchens. When they reached, the portrait, Harry tickled the pear.
"It was James who found this one out," Remus said, "Entirely on accident of course. I'd say it was one of the better finds."
"So would I," Harry said as a half dozen house elves came his way, offering all sorts of foods. They took a little of each food and sat to eat.
"I hope you'll be coming to my class tomorrow. I hear you haven't gone to any today," Remus said.
"I was sick," Harry smirked. Then he realized something. If he had class with Remus the next day, then it would be a Tuesday, which meant today was Monday and he was supposed to be in Dumbledore's office.
"I have to go," he said, getting to his feet, "Forgot I have to meet with Dumbledore."
"Your lessons?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," Harry said, "See you tomorrow."
"Bye," Remus said before Harry set off, half running.. He ran into Dean Thomas as he rounded the corner to the headmaster's office.
"Sorry Dean," he apologized.
"No problem. Where you going to?" he asked.
"Er- Remedial classes with Dumbledore," he lied, "And I'm late so I have to go."
"Alright. See you later," he said. Harry waited until he was gone to say the password and enter the office.
"Ah, Harry. A little late today," Dumbledore said when he entered.
"Sorry, sir. I was with Re- Professor Lupin," Harry said.
"It's quite alright," he said, "Ready to begin?"
Harry nodded.
"Like Occlumency, you will need to clear your mind first. Then you concentrate on opening the other's mind. Try to focus on a particular memory to see," Dumbledore explained, "Wand out. You know the spell. Go ahead."
Harry hesitantly raised his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore. He thought of his first year at Hogwarts and the Mirror Of Erised.
"Legilimens!" he said loudly. A clip of the memory was played before him and stopped. Dumbledore was looking at him intently.
"That was very good. Very good, indeed. I think Legilimency will be much easier for you to learn than Occlumency was," he said.
"Hope so. Occlumency took almost a year," Harry said.
"It certainly will take much less time. That spell was almost perfect. Let's try again," Dumbledore said.
Harry did and he was able to hold the spell for a longer time. It was becoming easier. And by the end of the lesson, he nearly had it down perfect, surprising himself and Dumbledore.
The next few days passed slowly. The first snow had fallen and now the grounds were covered in a white sheet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were awaiting an owl from someone to tell them Charlie and Hagrid were safely back. By that Friday, every hour, one of them would look out the window to see any signs of life at Hagrid's hut. And Harry had taken to asking Dumbledore every evening after dinner if they were back yet.
Finally, that Tuesday evening after dinner, Remus met them outside the doors to the Great Hall and gave them news of Hagrid and Charlie's return.
"They arrived at Grimmauld Place this afternoon. Charlie's staying there for a bit and Hagrid will be back tonight," he said with a smile.
"That's great then. What time?" Harry asked.
"In a few hours. Which will be after curfew. He'll still be here tomorrow. So no sneaking out tonight, you three," Remus said.
"We won't," Ron and Harry said together perhaps a bit too quickly because Remus gave them a suspicious look and added, "I mean it. You're not to go out to see him tonight."
"Okay. We won't go see him tonight. We'll go after lessons tomorrow," Harry said, with intentions the exact opposite of what he said.
"In case you do decide to sneak out, I'll let you know that I'll be out there tonight to visit him when he arrives," Remus said.
"In other words you don't trust us not to go out?" Harry asked.
"Hm, how to put this?" he said, "Eh, no."
"Thanks," Harry said in a fake hurt voice.
"What about the teaching job? Now Hagrid's back, you won't have to leave, will you?" Hermione asked.
"No. We have that worked out so that Hagrid and I split classes throughout the week. That way, we both can do more for the Order, too. It's good to have so many Order members at Hogwarts, in case anything should happen," he said.
"Who else here is in the Order?" Ron asked, "Did you get anyone new?"
"You know about Professors McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, and myself. And since the end of last term, Professors Green and Sinistra have joined us," he said.
"How many people are in the Order?" Harry asked.
"We now outnumber Death Eaters. About one-hundred-ten to sixty. But when we include other non-human creatures, it is a mere one-hundred-fifty to near three-hundred. And he is quickly gaining supporters," Remus said grimly.
"He's back!" Hermione said a few hours later from the window in Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron went to the window to have a look.
"Too bad we can't go tonight," Harry sighed.
"Oh, come on, Harry. Lupin was faking it," Ron said, "He isn't going to be out there. He just said that so we'd stay here."
"Probably," Hermione agreed.
"Let's get our things, then," Harry said, dropping his Transfiguration homework in a corner.
"Wait. I didn't- That's not what I meant," Hermione said hastily but Harry and Ron were already taking the stairs two at a time. She followed reluctantly.
Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and dropped it over himself, Ron, and Hermione. They crept down the stairs and to the Portrait of the fat lady. They had to be careful because it was still early by Gryffindor standards. So they had to avoid a few younger students that were running around despite the constant telling offs from older students. Ron cursed under his breath at their immaturity as one nearly dived into him. They made it to the portrait okay and no one seemed to notice when it swung open on its own.