Chapter 22. Angles

"What does this mean?" Harry demanded as he held Ginny's letter in front of Hermione.

Hermione read over the short note quickly and just smiled as she handed it back to Harry. 

Harry, getting irritated with the lack of an answer, prompted, "Well?  Did she tell you something? I have no idea how this is advantageous for her, but I just had to sit through one of the most agonizing experiences of my life--and that's saying a lot.  I had to listen to Mr. Weasley talk about quills and inkwells--and he wanted to know--" Harry stopped as he quickly realized he might be saying too much.  He shifted on his feet, impatiently.  "Well?"

Hermione, looking quite amused and pink-cheeked, let him wait a few moments before carefully asking, "So, the Weasleys now think you and Ginny are…" she made a waving motion with her hand, "…you know?"

Harry shifted yet again and sighed exasperatedly.  "Yes. Um-hm.  You can definitely say that."  His tone was quite--clipped. 

Hermione just smirked.  "Well, then it seems like Ron will not be suspecting us as being …" she made the same hand gesture again, "…now, will he?"

Harry's eyes bulged at this and his jaw dropped.  "Hermione!  I don't think you understand!  Mrs. Weasley is practically planning a wedding!"  Harry was frantic.  He muttered, "I'm quite sure she'll want green for the bridesmaids as it'll match my eyes…"

Hermione just rolled her eyes.  "Honestly, Harry.  It's just for now."

He froze.  "What?  What's …just for now?"

Hermione gave him an inscrutable look and carefully said, "Everyone thinking that the two of you are together."  She straightened herself up and said, "It's only for now.  Until Ron has time to settle back down after…well, you know.  Although…" she bit her lip consideringly and crossed her arms. 

"What?"

"Well, I suppose we could--no, that's what Ginny meant.  She did do this for us so we have to help her out, too."

Harry just shook his head trying to make some sense out of the normally more-than-sensical Hermione.  "What could we do--have done??" he demanded.

She looked at him sharply, "Well, we could write to Ron now and tell him--"

"No."  That would be incredibly rude to write in a letter, Harry thought.

"--but--yes, obviously that might be a bit, er, inconsiderate--even though it would allow him some time to cool off before term begins."

Harry actually looked to consider this a moment, but still shook his head, "No.  There's only two weeks left—he'd be completely brassed off--especially to find out that we have now lied to him!"

"Have we?"  Hermione said indignantly.  "He's draw his own conclusions," she said loftily.  "Besides, Ginny did this for us and for herself, as well."

"Yes, please do explain that."  Harry had lost all hope of understanding girls by now and really wasn't expecting to understand what Ginny could possibly be getting out of this except trips into town to look for wedding dresses or robes or whatever.

Hermione just smiled at him.  "Well," she spoke slowly, as if explaining this to a small child (Harry actually appreciated the effort), "I imagine that she is using now and for however long we keep this up, to divert attention away from who she is really seeing." 

"Who?  Dean?"

Hermione nodded.  "You remember what a prat Ron was last year after he found out about Michael Corner--just imagine what a prat he would be to someone he was around all the time.  He kept interrogating Ginny last year; she would come back in to the Tower from studying or, well, whatever--and he would demand to know where she was.  He really quite insufferable."

Harry sat down on the sofa beside Hermione.  He was marveling at the idea that, so far, he understood something about a girl.  "Ok … so … I'm somehow acceptable to Ron?  And the rest of her family?"

Hermione was back to biting her lip again.  "Well, I think with Ron, it was the realization that Ginny was growing up and was bound to be dating anyway.  So, he, er, well, actually, he even asked me to try to urge you to notice Ginny.   I think he decided you'd be the best one to trust with dating her."

"What?  Why?  He--what?"

  Hermione just smiled.  "You are his best friend, Harry.  You didn't see what he was like when you weren't around us--"

"Imagine that."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He was moping all the time when you weren't there."  She began to tick off on her fingers, "The summer here before you arrived, all your detentions with--" she shuddered, unable to say the name.  "There were also the times when we had Prefect meetings and then when he had quidditch practice…and, oh yes, when you had Occlumency with Snape--"

Now Harry was scowling, "Yeah, I just bet he though I was off having a grand old time, didn't he.  I swear if you tell me he was jealous--"

"No, Harry! He wasn't jealous!  He was lonely!"

At that, Harry felt bad.  He wasn't sure why he had suddenly gone off on Ron like that.  Really, having one's endorsement to date their little sister might have been taken as a compliment really.  But it also smacked of someone else making decisions about his life and trying to control his choices.  Harry had had enough of that to last a lifetime; a long lifetime, hopefully. 

Hermione went on, "And when you began to go with Cho, I think, well, I think he missed you even more when you actually chose to spend time with someone else--not just having detentions or classes with Snape.  He probably thought Ginny was an excellent choice to ensure you never got too far away."

Harry took a deep breath.  "Well, so what do we do?  How long do we…keep this up?"

"Well, obviously at least until term begins. Then, I say we should discuss it with Ginny.  She's in on this too, and Dean, really.  That sounds best--we can also assess how Ron will take it then."  She removed the books from her lap and slid over, closer to Harry and put one hand over his, resting on his thigh.  "Sound okay?" she asked hopefully. 

He nodded and she moved close in to his ear and whispered, "Good." 

As she kept her mouth there and began to kiss his neck, Harry forgot all about Ron and had a fleeting thought that Ginny, was indeed, to be thanked heartily for her efforts.

"Good evening, Harry.  How was your workout today?" 

Dumbledore was already seated in the library study when Harry entered after completing his regular Friday afternoon training with Kingsley.  Dumbledore had asked Harry to meet him in the study prior to the weekly Order meetings to go over any news and all the updates that had been sent in.

Dumbledore was now sifting though and unrolling parchments from what looked to be an ordinary, pewter cauldron by the library's fireplace.  Rather, the cauldron was the receptacle for non-urgent communications and updates from members of the Order. 

Dumbledore had explained to Harry, shortly after his induction, the ways Order members used to communicate amongst themselves and with the Lead.  Order members were all given an enchanted cauldron, similar to this one, and also given charmed parchment.  Messages could then be written on this parchment and when placed into the enchanted cauldron, sprinkled with a dusting of Floo powder and with the tap of a wand, the parchments would be sent to the desired receptacle cauldron.  This one in the library of Grimmauld Place was for standard, non-urgent Order member updates and communications. 

"Long.  Anything newsworthy lately?"  Harry asked as he sat across the table from Dumbledore, who tapped his wand to a blank piece of parchment, and with a revealing charm, watched writing appear on the page.

"Well," Dumbledore shuffled to a specific parchment and slid it across to table to Harry, "William has still not had a specific request from the Goblins to meet or even to hint at what they might want."

Harry read the short update note and furrowed his brow.  "But I thought we were the ones who wanted something from them?  Didn't we start this by wanting to talk with them?"

Dumbledore peered over the top of a long roll of parchment at Harry.  "Yes, we did.  But we are not expecting something for nothing.  I might have thought before it was just a matter of money, but now, with them seeming to want your word on any deals we may strike, I'm not so sure."

"You think…you think they want my money?" Harry asked.  He had received an inventory statement from Gringotts the previous week, and much to his astonishment, Hermione had informed him that in no uncertain terms, was he hurting for gold.   The amounts listed on the statement meant little to him as he had never really learned much about money handling and finances.  (It would have been difficult to learn this from the Dursleys as they had never really given him two pence to rub together.)   When he handed the statement to Hermione for her assessment, she had dropped her jaw and took nearly a minute before managing a coherent sentence. 

Dumbledore was shaking his head, "No, Harry, I don't think they want your money.  I was expecting that they might want to seize possession of the accounts that we might like to see frozen.  However, I've begun to wonder now."

Harry waited to hear what Dumbledore had begun to wonder but it seemed he wasn't meant to know. 

Harry asked, "Well, why can't we just ask them for what we want and then see what they say?  Why try to guess? "  Harry didn't see why Dumbledore and Bill were so insistent upon finding out what the Goblins might have up their sleeves.

Dumbledore gave Harry a piercing look.  "Harry, it's your word of honor they want on any deals we strike—don't you want to know what they may ask you to promise?"

Harry almost laughed, "Sir, I don't see that many things they can actually ask from me, except money.   What could they possibly want from me?"

Dumbledore's look was still solemn.  "That's what I would like to find out, if, indeed there is something they might want from you."  He went back to shuffle a few more parchments and began to speak offhandedly, "The Goblins, distant—very distant—ancestors to elves—they were created by wizards in an attempt to cross breed-elves and humans, have a unique brand of magic.  They, like wizards, can do magic, but like elves, can do it without wands.  However, unlike elves—I am sure by now you have noticed elves have a natural ability to see the minds of those around them—its how they know what you want and need—Goblins were breed to lack this ability and, I believe, were also intended to have much of their magical abilities stripped away.  It was not a complete success on the part of the wizards attempting the crossbreeding.  Anyway, Goblins lack, not only the natural, if you may, mind-reading abilities of elves, but also the innate intuitiveness that guides many creatures to learn and feel trust.  Between Goblins, their 'word' is said to be regarded with the utmost honor.  It was, at one time, agreed to be so even between wizards and Goblins. 

"That's how they got to be the sole bankers in all of the Wizarding World – after the last Goblin Rebellions finally ended and the International Statutes for Wizarding secrecy were placed into effect, our world had to devise its own banking system. It was bargained with the newly emancipated Goblins that they might have an unchallenged monopoly to operate the bank.  It was an act of faith that wizards sought to demonstrate by granting Goblins the job of holding our finances secure.  They take their jobs very seriously and, although they do how to turn a profit for themselves, there has never been a founded case of a Goblin cheating a wizard. "  Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his temple as he smiled over at Harry.  "But, I imagine you heard these boring history facts more than once from Professor Binns." 

Bugger.  Perhaps I should have tried more notes and less hangman in History of Magic…

"I still have not heard from nor seen Sev--, er, Professor Snape, since he left earlier this week to answer his summons." 

Harry was surprised.  He had felt that Dumbledore had expected Snape to return sooner.  In fact, he had even been looking forward to it.  He and Hermione had been having a little running joke between them that each night they were 'doing their part to fight Voldemort' and he was eager to hear if he had any effect of Voldemort.  "Shouldn't he have returned by now, sir?"

Dumbledore looked haggard as he answered, "I would have thought so.  However, it may not be of any concern."

Harry then began to wonder more about what exactly Voldemort might be doing.  He was, after all, a dark lord, and what else do dark lords do, but plot.  "Sir, do you know what he is plotting next?  The attack on Hermione's house—that was in reaction, supposedly to me—not really a planned thing.  You knew last year that he was after the prophecy—do you think he has given up on that completely?" 

All this time Harry himself had been busy working towards his own goal of improving his magic, learning new skills, and becoming one who could someday hope to fight Voldemort, somehow.  But, he had seemingly forgotten that while he had plans and was actively trying to achieve them—his enemy was just as likely to be doing the same.

Dumbledore began to twinkle now and nodded, pleased, at Harry.  "Yes, an excellent question.  We know that his immediate reaction to that night at the Ministry was to regain his lost supporters—it's why he summoned the Dementors from Azkaban.  When he failed to find them incarcerated there, he and his few remaining servants had to begin their search for these prisoners."  Dumbledore really was twinkling and Harry just knew he must have had some role in keeping the captured Death Eaters hidden.  "They have been focusing on this for all of July.  The night that the Granger's house was destroyed was on a day where Voldemort had just realized he had been lead on a wild, er, goose, chase.  Since then, Professor Snape had not been summoned back and so now, it is only left to our speculation whether Voldemort may still want to focus on finding his lost servants or set in play a new plan, altogether."

Harry thought he liked the idea of Voldemort focusing on finding his lost servants much better than a new plot to go after the Boy-Who-Refused-to-Die. 

"But, you wanted me to distract him, perhaps, with the connection?" Harry asked. 

Dumbledore nodded.  "Yes, as I said before, you are capable now to prevent yourself from being completely taken advantage of by Voldemort through your connection and if we could lure him with the illusion of a weakness which he might then endeavor to exploit—well, then that might steer him away from less desirable plots."

Harry was left thinking on this as the mantle clock chimed seven o'clock, announcing the time for the convening of the next meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.

Only about half the members of the Order were present at the meeting.  There was not much in the realm of new business as Dumbledore generally liked to funnel this away from open meetings and into private communications.  Dumbledore had explained to Harry that he felt it might be best if they held back on comments and speculations on many things from occurring during meetings.  Dumbledore said it was better to just listen and observe as others offered their input and then take the matter under consideration with private counsel.  Harry was much relieved to hear he wouldn't be expected to come up with input and opinions on everything during meetings. 

Emmeline Vance reported her committee with the Ministry had sent out owls to parents to choose whether their children would arrive at Hogwarts via portkey or Hogwarts Express.  She did say the Department of Magical Transportation was a little wary of everyone opting for the portkey. "I just wish there was some way for them to feel the Hogwarts Express was, indeed safe.  We may end up regretting this if we have to arrange for hundreds of portkeys."

Hermione, as usual, had enchanted a quill to take verbatim notes of the meeting for her own perusal and dissection later.  Harry had already been very thankful for her preparedness and felt like he got more out of reading her meeting notes than just by listening.  Especially when Hermione added her own personal observations into the notes. 

At the end of the meeting, Harry saw Mrs. Weasley eyeing him and smiling.  Not wanting anything remotely like the talk he had with Mr. Weasley, he bolted for the door and beat a hasty exit as soon as the meeting was officially adjourned. 

He was stopped short as he got into the Entry Hall as both Bill and Charlie Weasley apparated in front of him. 

"Where you off to so fast, there, eh?" Charlie asked.

Bill pulled out a small roll of parchment from his vest and asked, "Does this look familiar?"

Harry was backing up from the two advancing older brothers of the girl he was supposedly seeing and hit the wall in the corner by the staircase with an, "Oof!"  Harry looked at the unrolled parchment and saw his own handwriting. 

It was the short note Harry had written to Ginny the day before. 

Charlie grabbed it and began to read in a pinched voice, "'Thank you so very, very much for your kind, kind actions.  It was greatly appreciated.  I owe you.'"  Harry saw that both Bill and Charlie were looking rather, er upset right now.

In a voice slightly reminiscent of what he sounded like back when he was eleven, Harry said, "I didn't know Ginny was in the habit of sharing her mail with her family."  Then, without waiting for any answer, he disapparated away and up to his bedroom where he promptly sealed the door.

"Told you he'd pop up here as soon as they cornered him."

Harry whirled around, brandishing his wand at the sound of yet another Weasley voice.  The twins were lying back, looking relaxed and carefree, on Harry's bed.

"Hello there, Harry partner.  How's life?" one twin asked.

With teeth clenched in anticipation of another over-protective brother episode, Harry ground out, "What exactly do you two think you are doing in here?"

"Harry!"

"Mate!"

They each rolled off one side of the bed and came around to stand by Harry, who was still holding his wand and alternating between pointing it at each twin.

"I'm wounded!"  George—it had to be him, he was wearing a shirt that read, 'Fred's a Wanker', clutched his chest.

"Don't you trust us mate?" asked the Wan--, er, Fred.

"Yeah, don't you think we're trustworthy?"

Harry felt he could safely and surly answer that.  "Absolutely not."

"You've been keeping secrets, Mr. Potter," said Fred in a serious tone.

"Big secrets—life-altering secrets," added George.

That about sums up my life, yup. 

"George and myself having been asking ourselves—why would Harry never tell us this secret?"

"Does he really not like us at all and secretly wish to deny us one of the greatest dreams we've ever held?"

"Doesn't he appreciate all the times we've kept him from being bludger-fodder?"

"Did he think we just weren't worthy—"

"What the blazes are you two talking about?"  Harry couldn't take any more—he was getting dizzy from looking back and forth between the two. 

Fred and George looked at each other and then back at Harry.  George dropped to one knee and bowed, "Oh, son of Prongs, we bow before you."

Fred followed suit, "We ask for your blessing in our endeavors to aid mischief on the name of magic. Er, oops, magic in the name of mischief, I mean."

Harry understood now and smirked.  "You lot finally figured it out, have you?"

The twins stood back up and were grinning.  "All last summer we were living with Padfoot and Moony!! No one ever said a word!"

"And you knew, Harry!  You knew they were our idols!"  Fred was shaking his head.

"And you!  Hell, Harry—Prongs was your dad!  No wonder you get into so much trouble!" 

Harry was laughing now, "How'd you finally figure it out?"

"Oh, last week when we went with Remus and Mad-Eye to do security assessments on Hogwarts.  Remus turns up with the Marauders Map and Fred and I nearly fall over."

"Yeah, we're thinking you must be mad to let any adult see it, even if it is in the name of security."

"Then Remus—or should I say, Moony—tells us that everything on the map is no secret to the Death Eaters," said Fred with a dark look.

"Yeah, he explained that Scabbers was Wormtail.  Pettigrew."  George scowled at this and Harry felt his own face turn into a grimace.

Loud knocking on the door made them all jump. 

"We know you're in there, Harry!" 

"It's Charlie," whispered George. 

"Here, Harry," Fred dug in his pocket and pulled out a wrapped candy, "eat this quick."

"Er," Harry knew enough to never take any food from the twins.

"Go on," Fred urged, "it's a Nosebleed Nougat.  Then take this—it's a Fainting Fancy.  It'll look like we roughed you up good."

"Yeah, then those two will leave you alone," George said and urged Harry to take the proffered sweets.

Harry, quickly deciding the twins trick sweets were the lesser of two evils compared to Bill and Charlie right about now, downed the Nosebleed Nougat.  He felt his nose fill and felt a tickling sensation as blood began to drip down and onto his lip.  He tilted back his head and George pushed the next one into his hand.

"Now this—you'll pass out for about five minutes.  The nosebleed should be done by then, too. We'll take care of those two out there." 

Harry took the small chocolate and chewed it, thinking it tasted slightly of blood now, and then felt the room spin and suddenly go black.

"Remus! Professor Dumbledore!  Come quick it's Harry!" 

Harry felt like his head was being unwrapped from a gauzy cotton turban.  Everything was dark and fuzzy and there was yelling.  Suddenly, he felt his body lift up and begin to float.  "Ergh…"

He felt his body land on a soft bed of…well, a bed.  "Harry?  Are you all right?" 

He knew that voice.  He liked that voice.  He felt himself smile, "Umm."

"Oh, Harry!  What in the world happened to you?"  Hermione was stroking his brow and wiping something off his chin.

"Hermione?  What—oh!  Harry?" 

Lupin.  Harry recognized that voice immediately.  The haze was clearing and he cracked open his eyes. 

Lupin looked over Hermione's shoulder and looked pale.

"What happened?" 

Another demanding voice—this one Dumbledore.  Hmm, what did happen?  Harry tried to remember.

Hermione spoke then, "I just found him knocked out and bleeding like this!  I levitated him to the bed—I hope that was okay."

Harry could hear the worry in her voice as he looked around at the three people assembled around him.  Bleeding.  A nosebleed.  Fainting. Gred and Forge.  Harry began to chuckle.  Then he began laughing, albeit, with coughing interspersed as he coughed up some blood he must have swallowed.  "I'm," cough, "fine."

"You most certainly are not!"  Hermione sounded a little irrational.

"Harry, you certainly don't look fine."  Lupin was looking back and forth between Harry and Professor Dumbledore.

Harry was still laughing.  "No, really.  It's fine."  He coughed some more.  "Ergh.  Guess those two shouldn't really be mixed."

"What two?  Who did this?"  Hermione demanded.

Harry smiled.  "Nosebleed Nougat and Fainting Fancies."  He grimaced as he said, "I think I swallowed some of the blood."

Hermione looked outraged.  "Why on earth –oh!"  Her eyes narrowed and Harry thought her resemblance at the moment to Mrs. Weasley was definitely not attractive.  "Fred and George did this, didn't they?!"

"Er, well, kind of.  But wait—it was okay.  I knew I was taking it."  Harry looked sheepishly around and felt bad for making them worry.  He muttered, "Thought they might have stuck around, though."

"Well, if you are well, Harry—perhaps a cleaning charm, Hermione, to tidy him up?"  Dumbledore seemed amused as Hermione quickly cleaned the blood from Harry's face. 

They all just stood and looked at Harry for a moment of silence until Harry grew uncomfortable and muttered, "I am fine you know."

Hermione realized she was sitting on the bed and holding his hand in front of Lupin and Dumbledore and she stammered and moved away.

Harry also rolled out of bed and stood up, shaking away the rest of the hazy feeling left from the Fainting Fancy. 

Lupin breathed out a sigh of relief and then smiled at Harry, "I would have thought you'd know better than to take anything from the twins."

Harry rolled his eyes.  "I know that."

Before he could explain more, though, Dumbledore spoke, "I was just stopped by Molly Weasley after the meeting.  She told me to tell you, Harry, that Ginny surely sends her regards."  Harry met Dumbledore's piercing look with dread.  "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Harry, feeling the mounting burden of maintaining the charade of him and Ginny dating, turned and gave Hermione a glare.

She seemed to shrink away and, biting her lip, attempted an innocent look as she asked, "Why are you looking at me?"

Harry's eyes went wide.  "This was your idea!"

She was back to her full height, but still desperately trying to maintain the innocent look, "My idea! It wasn't—it was Ginny's!"

Harry just scowled.  "Well, I hope she's having the time of her life then, 'cuz I'm certainly not."

Hermione just looked desperately at Harry. 

Harry remembered that they weren't alone and glanced at Remus and Dumbledore.  Dumbledore had one eyebrow raised and held Harry's gaze.  "Well, it seems to me, Harry, like you're tackling your own lesson in stealth and subterfuge." 

And that would be a euphemism for 'lying'.  Harry felt terrible.  "I'm sorry.  This is our mess.  I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

Dumbledore waved Harry to stop.  "Say no more. All I will tell you both is that now is not the time to jeopardize friendships.  Now, Harry, I must tell you, Hermione here, had an idea after the meeting.  Do you want to tell him?" Dumbledore asked Hermione.

The mood turned quickly back to business as Hermione explained, "Remember what Emmeline said about hoping all the parents were not going to choose portkeys?  I had an idea about that.  I was thinking, if there was a way that the public could hear about all the precautions that Hogwarts was taking with the Express and could hear, maybe, that you thought it was all well and safe, then they would also all feel like it was safe.  So, I was thinking, if you gave a small interview—"

"To Skeeter?" Harry broke in, incredulously.

Hermione looked dubious, "Well, we do have a bit of a working relationship with her.  If we feed her some well-planned interviews, then we can keep her on our side and that's worth a lot.  She doesn't have to be nice anymore."  Hermione said quietly.

Harry just looked at her as he remembered that Hermione's blackmailing of Rita Skeeter was only to last for one year.  One year that was now, well and up.  He looked at Dumbledore.

"It may be a fine idea.  She did prove to be an excellent ally last year.  You two," he nodded at Harry and Hermione, "with her help, were able to do what the Order had been struggling to do for months.  You spread an alternative truth to the rumors spun by the ministry.  Now, I think it can serve to help our job of getting the students safely to Hogwarts and also, cultivate, a mutually beneficial working relationship with a well-known journalist."

"She's back working at the Prophet," Hermione said hopefully.

"Fine," said Harry.

Lupin nodded along, saying, "We can arrange to stop there next week when we go out to Diagon Alley to do some longer-distance apparition training."

HARRY POTTER ON THE MINISTRY AND MORE

Is the Ministry Doing Enough?  Will the Students of Hogwarts be Safe?

By Rita Skeeter

In an interview granted with the sole condition that yours truly be the journalist of choice, Harry Potter offered his views on the current climate in the Wizarding World, regarding the recent confirmations that You-Know-Who has returned and is preparing to begin a new campaign to return the nation to a time of fear and uncertainty. 

Potter, otherwise known as The Boy Who Lived, is known as the downfall of YKW from when he was barely a year old.  He also witnessed the rebirth of the YKW over a year ago and tried to spread word of his return, but found himself being attacked by vicious slander and smothered by Ministry silencing. 

Minister Fudge has denied knowledge of Potter's efforts to spread word of YKW's return and faults the defection of several former-Ministry employees to the dark side, as being responsible for the cover-up efforts.  (See related article on page seven, The Secret Life of a Dark Wizard: An In-Depth Look at Lucius Malfoy and the Signs We Never Noticed.)

Potter spoke yesterday afternoon while leisurely enjoying an ice cream in Diagon Alley, "There is no place as safe as Hogwarts." 

Indeed, in less than two weeks the Hogwarts Express is set to transport hundreds of young wizards and witches back up north for the next term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  The Ministry has been scrambling to spread its resources to effectively provide the populace with the tools to defend themselves against dark creatures such as dementors.  One must wonder how the Ministry expects to protect the children of the nation, as they are all grouped together in one small, confined space.

But Potter's not worried:  "I'll be on it, same as every year.  It wouldn't be the start of a new year, if it didn't start at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, says that the tradition of students taking the Express to school is one he intends to maintain.  "We have arranged for several staff members, quite possibly including myself, to make the trip along with the students this year, in addition to several Ministry-provided Aurors.  I would say these are likely unnecessary precautions, but are intended to allay the fears of any students and parents."

When Dumbledore was asked to comment about the Ministry's refusal to believe his and Potter's testimony claiming the return of YKW, Dumbledore evaded the question and only said, "The only regrettable mistake is the one not acknowledged."

Harry scanned the rest of the page.  "It just natters on about how your home was the first to see the Dark Mark in over so many years-guess they forgot about the Quidditch World Cup, eh?"

Hermione looked satisfied as she also scanned the rest of the article and flipped a few pages of the Daily Prophet. 

"Anything good today?  Did the interview with Skeeter get published?"  Lupin slid in next to Harry at the kitchen table and grabbed a plate and began spooning eggs onto it.

"It's here.  Looks good," Hermione answered, not looking up from the paper.  "There's an article here all about Lucius Malfoy.  Interviews with his neighbors and members of the board of trustees for St. Mungos--oh and even some statements from some members of the Hogwarts Board of Governors.  It seems he really never made friends, just bought them."

Harry spoke with a mouthful of bacon, "Reckon Malfoy won't be swaggering quite as much this year."

Lupin turned and said darkly, "You'd be best to watch out for him, this year."

Harry snorted and swallowed his food.  "I watch out for him every year.  I'm more worried about who's going to try to be our next Defense teacher this year.  Any word yet?"

Harry saw a corner of Lupin's mouth quirk up but he only said, "Well, I think Albus may have hinted at someone--but I can't be sure."

Hermione dropped the paper to stare at Lupin.   "Remus!  Come on-- who?"

Harry agreed, "Yeah, don't hold out on us--who?  Is it a member of the Ministry?"

He shook his head.  "I don't know for sure and Albus may have been trying to throw me off the scent, so to speak.  All I can say is--if it's who I think it may be, then you haven't a reason to worry."

"It's you!" Hermione shouted.

Lupin looked genuinely surprised, "Me?  Why would you say that?  You think you'd have nothing to worry about if I were your teacher again?"

Hermione shook her head, her eyes bright with determination that she knew the answer.  "It makes sense.  You said you were only volunteering for the summer at St. Mungos."

"What?"  Harry didn't know about this.  "What are you doing at St. Mungos?"

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione rolled her eyes, "haven't you noticed at all that Remus leaves here at least three or four days a week?  Did you think he was just out for a stroll?"

Harry thought he had been quite busy, thank you very much.  He hadn't really noticed that Remus had been leaving because there always seemed to be someone else ready to give him some new training--and if there wasn't--well then, he was probably just happy to be alone and with Hermione.  "Er, no?"  He turned to Remus, "What are you doing there?"

"Well," he began slowly, "do you remember there was a patient in the same ward as Arthur Weasley last Christmas?  He had been bitten by a werewolf."  Harry nodded.  "Well, when I began to speak with him about his contracting lycanthropy, it became clear that there was little information available to people like him.  St. Mungos had only limited knowledge to how to deal with werewolves as dark creatures.  But even worse, the Ministry would only register you and then give you a list of all the new restrictions and rules you now had to follow.   The Ministry made it quite clear that contracting lycanthropy was a demotion to a second-class citizen.  It was no wonder he had been so depressed after it happened."  Remus set down his fork (stainless steel, not silver) and sighed, "So I volunteered to help build a support group for werewolves, especially for people who were newly infected.  It helps them learn their rights--not just restrictions.  Also, it helps then meet others, like me, who have learned to live with it.   It offers them resources for safe houses they can go to during full moons and suppliers of Wolfsbane Potion. 

"You probably have never realized it due to a lack of competent Defense professors, but most wizards only learn how to recognize and then kill werewolves--not how to help them or live as one.  St. Mungos has been happy to have me help them to build this program."

"Wow," breathed Harry.  "I didn't know you were busy doing all that, too, this summer.  That's great, Remus, really great."

"So," said Hermione, "you sure our next professor will be competent, then?"

Remus rolled his eyes.  "Albus has the authority to name whomever he wants to the position--he isn't telling anyone--even the governors--who it will be before it's time.  I think he wants to make sure there isn't any chance for a repeat of the whole thing with Moody." 

"Moody wouldn't be too bad," mused Harry out loud.  "Although, I'd have to watch for him around nearly every corner then, just waiting to make sure I'm always being vigilant." 

"Well, we all should be," Hermione began.

Harry broke in before she got started, "Well, that's all well and good, but sometimes, that eye can see a little too far for my comfort."  He raised his eyes meaningfully at Hermione.

The next week and a half flew by as everyone who had been working with Harry seemed to remember yet something else they wanted to teach him.  He barely had time to polish off his second essay for Snape and could be found spending nearly fourteen hours a day in the Practice Hall. 

As it was the last Friday at Grimmauld Place and the last Order meeting to be held there (they planned to move weekly meetings to Hogwarts after the start of school), Dumbledore had suggested an open Practice Hall training session for any members to attend where they might watch as Harry and Hermione got to display many of their newly honed skills. 

Harry, however, soon found out it was not really so much for him and Hermione as it was for him. 

Tonks had suggested a round robin of dueling, which Harry thought actually sounded like a quite a bit of fun.  "Pink hair won't help you against me, Tonks!" he said.

Dumbledore just smiled and said, "Actually, I had something a little different in mind.   I was thinking,"

"Uh-oh," Harry said.

Dumbledore just smiled, "Perhaps you are ready for some real fun."  Harry was really starting to get an uneasy feeling of dread whenever his damn eyes twinkled like that.  "Harry, go down to that end of the room," He pointed to the far end of the hall.  "The rest, follow me." The others walked to the opposite end of the hall and Dumbledore then called down to Harry, "Now, Harry, all you need to do is cross the room and reach this wall behind us.  Anyway you can.  We will try to stop you."  Dumbledore pointed his wand at the wall and it was struck and infused with a soft blue light.  "You think you are ready, Harry?" 

Harry didn't even nod as he began to think that the odds were stacked way high against him.  All of them against me?  Nearly all fully qualified wizards: one the greatest wizard in the world and the other, only just Hermione?  Yeah, no problem…I'll just take 'em all on…

Dumbledore then waved his wand about the room and the hall was filled with a maze of tall hedges that reminded Harry of the Third Task.

He couldn't help it; he felt a surge of dread upon seeing the maze before him.  He called out in a fearful voice before he could help it, "Er, there aren't any Blast-Ended Skrewts in here, are there?"

He swore he heard Dumbledore chuckle before calling out to answer, "Just us, Harry, just us."

Harry stared at the hedges for a few moments longer and then the open door on his right, out to the hall, caught his eye.  Hmm, anyway possible, eh? He had, of course, thought immediately that apparition would help him to cross the room to the wall, but now that seemed too obvious.  Besides, Dumbledore probably placed an anti-apparition jinx on me and these bloody hedges make it nearly impossible to see or know where I'm going. 

He decided to test whether he had a jinx on him first, by disapparating out and into the hallway.   He arrived with a 'pop' and immediately saw a startled Moody, jump and fire a hex and him, which he dodged. 

"Damn it Potter! Don't do that! What do you think you're doing out here, eh?"  Moody was looking at him and brandishing his wand.

Harry eyed the wand warily, "Just, er, trying to get down there anyway possible." Harry gestured down the hallway.

"Well, you're supposed to stay in the room!  Get in there now, maybe since you know I'm out here now, I should go on in and help them now, eh?"

That was definitely not what Harry needed: to add another Auror who could see through solid objects.  Harry grumbled and muttered, "Yeah, yeah, if they wouldn't have put up a bloody maze to get through, it wouldn't be so hard, all in there waiting to ambush me…" as he walked back towards the door into the hall.

"Potter," Moody called out, "The maze is to give you a chance to hide from them." 

"Right."  Well, no point hanging out down here then.  "Point me!" His wand spun in his hand and pointed to the North to give him a reference point.  The far end wall is exactly north.  Convenient.  He plunged into a corridor of the maze. 

Stupid mazes. If I see one giant spider or one skrewt in here, I'm disapparating the hell out.  He turned left and then right and stopped.  Think Potter!  If they're looking to stop you, then you've got to know where they are before you see them and before they see you. 

Hmm, there was no disapparition jinx on me back there. Let's see if it's still clear.  He looked backwards around the corner from whence he had just come, and disapparated back there.  Still works.  How about just apparating down to the wall?  He thought about the wall he saw infused with blue light and closed his eyes to disapparate.  He felt a weight upon his arms and shoulders.  Nope.  A Disapparition jinx hits me if I try that.  Okay, so now, if I recall where I began and where I am, then I can disapparate back to these spots, perhaps.  I hope.  We'll see.    

He thought briefly about summoning his invisibility cloak from his room but figured Moody would grab it before he could get it.  He went forward around another corner and paused and listened.  He was thinking he should try to keep against the far side of the maze and not wander all throughout it if he could help it, to try to minimize crossing paths with anyone.  Just then he thought he heard a noise.  Sounded like a cloak.  Rustling.  Hermione wasn't wearing a cloak; no she had those jeans and that rather tight t-shirt on, the one that looked best lying on the floor in his bedroom…FOCUS.  He shook his head to make himself concentrate.  He looked up at the hedge separating him from the noise and wished he could see over it.

Hmm, if I had a mirror… Definitely no incantations in here.  He narrowed his eyes and pointed his wand into the air above and concentrated on conjuring a mirror.  A shimmery haze came out of his wand and solidified into a flat mirror that reflected himself.  He kept his wand pointed at the mirror and levitated it over to just above the hedge and he squinted up at its reflection. There, he could see the dark, bald head of Kingsley, staring down at a piece of paper and holding out his wand. 

They've got maps?  Like the Marauders Map.  Damn.  They're just waiting for me then.   I need a map.  He was feeling quite frustrated at his increasing disadvantage.  The maze is there to help you hide.  Well, screw that, I want a map to help me find them.  He focused on the reflection of the back of Kingsley's head and knew he couldn't ambush him by coming around the corner towards him because he would see him coming on the map. 

He angled the mirror to see the ground behind Kingsley and, not wanting to waste anymore time, Harry focused on the reflection and concentrated on quietly disapparating to the spot directly behind Kingsley, just over the hedge.  As soon as he saw Kingsley's back, Harry called out, "Stupefy!"  If they all had maps, there was no point in being quiet to hide from them.  He only felt triumph for a second before he heard the mirror come crashing to the floor on the side of the hedge where he had been.  Oops.  Forgot to hover that. 

He turned back quickly then to Kingsley, stunned on the ground, summoned his wand, and the map, and bound him there.  Harry then checked the map, only to see it was now blank.  Damn!  He pocketed it, along with Kingsley's wand and went quickly forward and made two more turns.  He figured it would take a few moments for someone else to come over towards him. 

He stopped and then strained to listen.  Nothing.  Well that last mirror worked well.  As long as I don't forget about it let it crash to bits.  He pointed his wand and conjured another.  He levitated it up above his head and then just over the hedge before him.  Nothing.  He went forward and kept the mirror levitated above him. 

A Perimeter Charm!  He summoned the conjured mirror back to his hand and then paused to point his wand to erect the charm, but then frowned, he couldn't se where he needed to erect it.  Damn, if I could keep the mirror up there while I erect it though…animate it and control it-- that's it!

He pulled out the mirror and whispered, "Vigoro Imperio." 

Go and rise up and stay in the air to reflect the area around me.  He concentrated to send his command to the mirror. 

He looked at the corridors around him and knew he had to hurry as he saw Kingsley begin to stir.  "Divellipromtus." He said the charm under his breath and traced a circle in the air above him.  He saw a gold ripple expand out from his wand and around the area he had imagined to enchant. 

There.  Now, I'll know if I'm close to anyone.  He looked back up at the mirror and wondered if he could expand it to se where anyone else was now.   Slowly the mirror began to grow and widen.   He began to work his way forward a few turns, taking advantage of no one being near him.  He could see no one else but Kingsley struggling with his binding ropes.  He renewed the command on the mirror and then held his wand loosely in hand and whispered, "Point me." His wand spun to point forward and he knew he was headed in the right direction.

He looked back up and now saw Hermione navigating turns and heading towards his location.  He could also see her looking down at what must be another map.  He saw her pause as he held very still and watched the reflection of the top of her head.  If I could spend a spell at the mirror and deflect a spell to hit her, like that Volley Wall charm… He pointed his wand at the hovering mirror and commanded it to act as a Volley Wall charm.  I have no bloody idea if this will work.  He kept his wand aimed at the mirror and muttered, "Stupefy" and thought, now reflect that spell down onto her. 

He watched the red light strike the mirror with a "thunk!" and then saw Hermione's head disappear and heard a "thump!"

He then saw a jet of light shot towards his conjured mirror from far over his mirror vanished as the light hit it. Well, someone didn't like my mirror. Meanies.  I better go to Hermione while I can and get her map and tie her up.  Hmm, tie her up… Potter--FOCUS!

He made the two turns and found Hermione stunned on the ground with the map still clutched in her hand.  The map, he saw now, was still active.   He lifted it from her hand and saw the maze and dots fade away.  What the…?  Maybe they have to touch it?  He put it back on the ground touching her hand and watched the lines reappear and saw the two dots labeled Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.  He scanned the maze for Dumbledore but couldn't see his dot anywhere.  Kingsley looked now to be back at the end of the hall where Harry had started and seemed to be heading out into the hallway.  Harry watched him disappear off the map.

He then saw two new dots appear, Nymphadora Tonks and Bill Weasley.   

They're adding people, a few at a time!  And Bill--oh bugger, no fair! 

Harry looked at the map and felt he could stay there and see who was where, but not make any progress or he could hurry up and try to get to the other end before more and people showed up. He looked up at the top of the hedge and saw that they were really only about seven feet tall.  The ceiling in the hall was nearly sixteen feet tall and Harry thought he could probably see the other end and how close he was if he got atop the hedge.

He apparated quickly to the top of the hedge and saw he was more than halfway to the end of the hall, in the direction he wanted to go.  He then heard Bill's voice, "He's gone!" followed by some mumbling. 

Then her heard Tonks call out, "Moody!! He's left the room!  Get his buttocks back in here!"

Harry scanned the tops of the hedges and couldn't see anyone, but could see that both doors to the hallway were open and as he made to disapparate to the target wall, he suddenly felt the hedge begin to melt down to the ground.  "Ergh!" he said as he landed back on the ground gracelessly.

"Nevermind, he's back!"  Harry heard Tonks call out and he looked back at the map touching Hermione's hand.  Tonks and Bill were both weaving steadily closer and he then saw Hermione stir a hand.  He pointed his wand at Hermione, "Incarcerous" and then stunned her again.  Harry looked back at the map and wondered what they would do if he just stayed put.  He looked about him at the hedges surrounding him and back at the map. 

They're only a few rows away. He tried to conjure another mirror and hover it up but as soon as it rose above the hedges, it was struck with a silver light and vanished.  No more mirrors.

He could swear he heard Tonks snickering and he clenched his jaw and looked around again.  He saw on the map that Tonks and Bill had split up and were simultaneously edging closer and closer and meaning to trap him where he was.  From his vantage point he could see the u-bends around which they would each have to come and, with a burst of inspiration, he cast Volley Wall Charms on each of the hedge walls at the turns.  That's it, now when I see them on the map coming towards that hedge, then I can stun them from here.  Harry felt a prickle and figured it was the Perimeter Charm being breached. He checked down at the map again and saw Tonks about to come around the corner that would put her facing the same hedge he had just enchanted.  He sent a blinding hex at the enchanted hedge and watched it ricochet with glee.  He then heard Tonks, "Protego" and saw the hex coming back towards him.   He ducked to the ground and it sailed over his head and singed the hedge behind him. 

With a burst of inspiration, he conjured a mirror on that singed hedge and then cast another Volley Wall charm over it.  He stood carefully so he could see his own reflection in the mirror, as well as the other two active Volley Wall charms.  Out of the corner, to his reflected right side, he saw Bill appear and then stop as he spotted (or thought he spotted) Harry. 

Harry waved impishly and Bill sent an unknown curse towards him.  Harry just kept grinning as the curse rebounded off of the mirrored hedge to strike the Volley Wall charm and then ricocheted again to, he guessed, strike Tonks.  (The sounds of a few muttered swear words and a yelp, followed by a 'thump!' let him think she was out for the moment.)

Harry then spotted the map on the ground at Hermione's hand again.  He saw that Charlie and McGonagall (!) were fast approaching to where Tonks had been. 

Another flash of light out of the corner of his eye, alerted him Bill had sent another curse, which only repeated the ricocheting action that same as the first.  Harry quickly fired a retaliatory hex back at Bill.  When he saw Bill begin to stalk closer to inspect why the Harry he was seeing was seemingly just deflecting his curses, Harry animated the hedge to reach out and hold Bill back. 

While Bill struggled with a groping hedge, Harry quickly enchanted the mirror to maintain his reflection and, with a quick look at the map to gain his location and an open area, disapparated a few rows forward. 

"Damn!  He moved!"  Harry could hear Charlie, who must have been watching the map. 

Before he had to worry about him, though, he heard Bill, "Charlie?  Over here--he's still over here.  The maps lie--or something.  Help me, will ya?"

Harry snickered as he hoped the hedge was getting really frisky with Bill. 

All right, time for some new ideas.  "Point me," he whispered to confirm his progress.  Okay, now, to cut through these hedges… Harry conjured up a large sword.  He had been thinking of a machete of some sort but the long sword-- 

"Hold on," Harry stared down at the sword he had conjured before him.  Two things stood out:  one, it was the silver sword of Godric Gryffindor, and two, it was now in his wand hand and he was longer holding his wand.  Odd…

He heard another noise and felt the tickle of the perimeter charm.  Feels like McGonagall--rather stiff.  He drew the sword before him and, with a stray thought that he might have tried his Reductor Curse on the hedges, he brought the sword down to slice through the hedge. 

It melted away.  In its wake, a clean, wide path now cut through the hedge.  Harry pointed at the next and wondered how many he had to go through to reach the wall.  Is my wand in the sword?  How can I do a Point Me spell?  As if in answer, Harry heard a rising chorus of heartening voices in his mind.   Without words, they encouraged him to point the sword at the hedges between him and his goal of the wall, and then imagine them all melting away, leaving a clear path to the wall. 

With a flame of red from the tip of the sword, the hedges seemed to be burned away, leaving, just as he had imagined, a clear path to the wall. 

With a strange feeling, like he had just broken a rule or cheated, he quickly took a few steps forward, and saw McGonagall, looking slightly unsettled off to his left, but nonetheless, had reacted and sent a stunning curse at him. 

He automatically raised his wand arm (now holding the sword) to erect a shield spell and watched the spell deflect back at McGonagall, who, upon seeing the curse reflected by his use of a sword and not a wand, was too stricken to deflect it. 

Harry, thinking he ought to get a move on, took off down the new corridor to the wall and seemed to arrive at the target wall as quickly as if he had apparated.  As he slammed into it, huffing and breathing heavily, he felt the wall glow again with blue light and then heard the hedges behind him disappear with a small, 'pop!'.  As he caught his breath, Harry looked down, expecting to see the sword still clutched in his hand; it was now his wand again. 

He looked up to see Dumbledore striding towards him, twinkling.  "Excellent, Harry.  Absolutely Excellent!"  Harry just stared back, slightly stunned (though less so than McGonagall who was still lying prone on the ground).

Fred came rushing over from the hallway. "Hey!  It can't be done!"

"We had a whole load of WhizBangs to let off in there!"  That would be George.

"Make him do it again!" 

"Yeah!  No fair--whoa!  Look at Bill and Charlie!"

Harry saw that both Bill and Charlie were lying in a heap together, covered in boils and a few stray--"Er, are those, horns on them?" he asked incredulously.

Suddenly, Tonks was storming towards Harry with an uneven gait and she seemed to be stopping every few steps to, well, er, to adjust herself.  "Potter!  Damn you!! I'll have your buttocks on a plate for this curse!!!  What the hell was that and better yet, take it the hell off!!! Now!"   

Harry was slightly frightened of her and backed away.  Moody was strolling over now and looked at her, "So, what, ah, seems to be the problem, there?"

Tonks whirled on him, itched herself again, and said, "The problem seems to be some curse he picked up from lord knows where that's got my pink bits a' screaming!" 

"It wasn't me!" Harry defended quickly.

Tonks looked furious, "Wasn't you, eh?  I saw you--grinning and waving at me!! After you'd done it!"  She looked him up and down.  "How come you don't have any boils on you?  Or--"

"Horns!! Who in the world gave my boys horns on their faces!!  Oh no!"  Mrs. Weasley was on the ground, kneeling beside Bill and Charlie and wailing as Mr. Weasley and Lupin looked over her shoulder amusedly.

"Horns?"  Tonks whirled to look at them, then whirled back to Harry and narrowed her eyes; "I sent that curse at you!  In thanks for this--" she made an indecent show of herself as she itched in fury, "--bloody effing curse!"

Harry, beginning to understand, struggled not to smirk as he pointed at Bill and said, "Mirrors, angles, Volley Wall Charm--he did it."

Harry felt sorry for Bill as Tonks went stomping off towards him (albeit slowly as she had to stop and itch herself every few steps) but soon lost all sympathy as he realized that whatever she was suffering from had been meant for him. 

The last meeting held at Grimmauld Place was off to a festive start.  Dumbledore had conjured a large table into the Practice Hall after Harry conquered the maze and Winky and Dobby had quickly provided a small feast for everyone. 

Everyone who was there had been able to watch replays of Harry's trip through the maze, as seen on one of the enchanted maps.  You could only see people as dots as they moved, tiny flashes of light as spells were cast, and then see dots fade away to a light gray when a person had been stunned or subdued, but everyone enjoyed watching it. 

Harry still had not told anyone about the sword and it acting as a wand and had shrugged off several questions about how he cut though the last five remaining hedges.  The twins had guessed it was the same type of Reductor Curse that had brought down the painting of Mrs. Black.  Harry was not inclined to correct them.  He avoided McGonagall's inquisitive looks whenever the question was raised.

Bill had performed the counter-course on Tonks and she promptly turned him into a garden gnome.  McGonagall remarked it was an excellent bit of transfiguration as the gnome ran around, following Tonks, begging to be changed back.  Until, that is, the twins and Charlie decided to try and throw him like a real garden gnome.  Harry still wasn't feeling too bad for Bill, even when Mrs. Weasley stepped in to prevent the twins from tying Bill The Garden Gnome to Hedwig so as to send him as a gift to Fleur. 

"You did really well tonight, Harry," Hermione whispered as she leaned in to Harry's ear. "Mr. Weasley told me earlier that they won't be coming to stay for the last few days of holiday.  He said Ron was feeling ill and didn't want to spread it around.  It'll just us until we go back to school."  She left him to think on this as she got up and went over to speak to some other members.

Harry was still stuck on what she had said, several minutes later.  They had been so tired as of late, that they seemed to be almost half-hearted in their attempts to 'do their part against Voldemort'.  (Snape still had not returned to tell then if it had been working and Harry was hoping he might have disappeared for good and wouldn't return for the school year.)  At night, Harry and Hermione had begun talking (in a roundabout, awkward, teenage way) about how far they should go.  Harry knew pretty much what he wanted (duh) but also knew Hermione well enough to know he ought to appear to have given it much thought and deliberation. 

He had been hoping that maybe, the night before, being their last night essentially alone and all, might just be the night.  However, after Dumbledore warned them Thursday that they would do a small demonstration thing for the other members the next day, they had practiced until late and they were nearly too tired to even change out of their practice clothes. 

Now, with three more nights together, the possibilities seemed a lot brighter.

That is, until a dark cloud billowed in through the door and caused more than half the people to stop and stare. 

As the twins had snagged a bottle of Firewhiskey and had been taking swigs on the sly along with Mundungus Fletcher, Fred was well ripped and thought he knew how to greet his greasy, former potions master, "Severus Snape you sexy bitch!"

~          *          ~          *          ~          *          ~          *          ~

It's an old Severitus challenge to try to work that last line into a fic and, although I never really set out to fit it in, it just sort of jumped right out of Fred's pissed mouth.  Funny how those things happen, eh?   

In the next chapter you find out who the next DADA professor will be, just how far Harry and Hermione will go/have gone, any new prefects and changes to who had been a prefect, where that raunchy (and oh so curious) book actually came from, and we should finally arrive at Hogwarts for the start of term.  Oh yeah, and just for good measure, Dumbledore will twinkle.  Again.  (Snape will probably sneer, too.)