After finishing up with Moody in the morning and some additional training of his own, Harry had searched the house and found Hermione down in the kitchen, head stuffed into the fireplace. She was bent over on her hands and knees; the only half of her Harry could see, looking quite lovely. He could hear her distantly speaking with someone, whom he quickly surmised was Professor Dumbledore. Hearing Harry enter the kitchen, she popped her head out, and claiming to only be asking for permission to take her Apparition test over break, suggested Harry have a go in the fire and mention to Dumbledore that he'd need to speak to him soon in regards to his voices.
"Er, hello, Professor," Harry said, trying to adjust his knees into a comfortable position on the hearthstone and feeling the tickling flames of the fire about his neck and face.
"Good afternoon, Harry," Dumbledore said. The Headmaster was seated in his favorite armchair that faced the fire and had Fawkes perched upon his knee, who also trilled a greeting to Harry. "I believe Fawkes says hello, as well," Dumbledore said, amused. "So, you have something you wanted to ask me about?"
"Er, well, yes," Harry said. He had the distinct feeling that Hermione had already mentioned him while speaking earlier to Dumbledore. "It's not pressing, but there's something I've been forgetting to tell you that I've meant to discuss." Harry wasn't completely sure it would be safe to talk about him hearing voices over the Floo, so he said, "Whenever you visit next, sir, we should discuss this."
Dumbledore seemed amused at Harry's vagueness and, twinkling merrily, said, "Well, I expect to visit headquarters sometime late tomorrow afternoon. Hermione has asked to be allowed to take her Apparition licensing test tomorrow morning, so I imagine she'll be in a most excellent mood when I arrive. Is that all, Harry?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said. His neck was getting strained from the angle and his knees were absolutely killing him so he was not eager to prolong the call. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Fawkes trilled farewell as Harry pulled his head back and, whirling, returned completely to the basement kitchen.
Hermione then, had beamed, kissed him once and breathlessly said, "I need to have one member of the Order escort me to the Ministry. I already know Remus will be at St Mungo's tomorrow, so I think I'll see if Tonks can take me to the Test Centre." She beamed again and rushed out of the kitchen and upstairs.
Now, it was late afternoon and in the kitchen, Harry and Remus were engaged in a very evenly matched game of wizard's chess while Hermione kept reading off all the instructions and rules regarding Apparition. They were futilely trying to remind Hermione she already knew everything there was to know about Apparition and that there was no reason for her to believe she would suddenly forget how it was done.
"Do you think it'll be more difficult to Apparate early in the morning?" she asked worriedly. "I don't know why they insist the tests begin at nine o'clock."
"You sure you don't need to wait a week and study up a bit more?" Harry asked as he waved a reluctant pawn forward to be sacrificed. He was not really serious when he said it, but Hermione still looked up, wide-eyed and asked, "Oh, do you think I should? It has been a while."
This went on for a while and, as Dobby kept giving Harry hints as to what moves to make, Harry began to actually feel he might just win a game of chess for once. Just as the roast Winky had in the oven was beginning to smell tantalizing, the front door up in the entry hall could be heard opening and closing. "Anyone home?" a voice gruff called out.
"Downstairs, Dung!" Remus shouted back.
Mundungus Fletcher stomped down the wooden steps to the basement kitchen and greeted them, "Wha' cheer! I see yeh've got company, now, Lupin. How 'bout a cuppa and some of what ever smells so good?" He was dripping wet and shook off his cloak before laying it out to dry over a chair near the wide fireplace.
"Afternoon," Remus greeted with a nod. "Looks a bit wet out there." Harry was watching as the wizard shook out each leg like a wet dog. Dobby brought over a large mug of steaming coffee as Fletched sat down at the worn table and Remus asked him, "What's the good word on the street, Dung?"
"Where's the Ogden's?" Fletcher asked, sniffing the steaming coffee. Dobby made to reach for the mug back, but Fletcher held onto the mug possessively and growled, "How 'bout you just bring the bottle out here and I'll hold onto this to keep my hands warm?"
Dobby gave him a hard look but gave in and brought a near-empty bottle of Firewhiskey from the pantry as Fletcher, grabbing for the bottle, said, "Mad these holidays and the all the folks out. Just came from Diagon Alley and you'd never know You-Know-Who's back. It's as packed as ever with the holiday rush, even if it is a bit wet out." He added whiskey to his steaming mug of coffee until it almost spilled over the brim. He leant over then and slurped at it before topping it off again with the dregs from the bottle.
Hermione dropped her book to the table and, finally focusing on something other than Apparition, she frowned at the now-empty Ogden's bottle on the table. "What do most people say about the attacks that've been occurring?" she asked, looking at Fletcher, her lips pursed into a thin line as he took a deep drink from the mug.
"Eh? Not many say much," he said before letting out a belch without any hint of remorse. "Now if you ask what people are thinking.Ah, well now-that's a different story. I'd say it rightly depends on whether or not they've made choices to be deemed a blood-traitor or not, doesn't it? Some folk are having to keep a low profile; others, well if they feel they've no reason to hide, then they're still trying to believe they've nothin' to worry about." He shrugged and sniffed the air hungrily while looking over to where Winky and Dobby were crowded around the oven.
Hermione looked at Harry a moment and then asked, "Don't people talk about the attacks, though?" Harry, too, thought the general public, who loved to have an opinion on everything, had to be saying something about all that'd been happening.
Fletcher just shrugged again as if he couldn't be bothered. "What do the kids at yer school say? Now I hear from folks on all sides-got friends of all sorts hither and yon, and most are like you and just asking for information about what people are saying. No one's talking though. Why would they?" He shook his head, and drank deeply from his mug. "No, and most aren't too happy to talk about it. If you're a pureblood with nothing marking you as opposing You-Know-Who, then you do yer best to lie low. No need to go making noise and get noticed-no one wants to get under the Ministry's eye now, not when they're so desperate to make it look like they're doing something. Even worse, though, no one--and I mean no one-wants to catch his eye," he said darkly. He shifted in his seat and gave a glare to the empty bottle on the table as he said, "See, there're those who catch the Death Eaters' eyes and get marked as targets-an Order member if they're known, someone working in muggle relations like Arthur, those who talk about muggleborns as equals and such-you know the kind, I'm sure. But then there's the poor sod who might catch someone's eye because they work in a certain business or live near a certain family; they don't have to be blood-traitors-they could be purebloods, even. But they're the type who can be used for information. You-Know-Who and his minions like to buy these folks off and keep 'em in der pockets. Well, that's just a nice way to say blackmail, I reckon."
"Dinner is ready!" Dobby called, balancing a large platter, which held a pot roast surrounded by all sorts of roast vegetables upon it. He set the platter to hover over the table until a spot was cleared for it to land and then scurried away, returning a moment latter with a large pitcher of milk balancing on his shoulder. "Dobby knows all about the many spies for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," he said knowingly, precariously sloshing milk inside the pitcher as he hefted it onto the table.
"You mean from when you worked for the Malfoys?" Harry asked. Fletcher sloshed his steaming coffee over his hand in surprise at this comment. Harry explained quickly, "Dobby used to work for them, but he risked his life to save mine so I helped get him free."
Dobby climbed up onto a chair beside Harry and, beaming at him, said, "Harry Potter freed Dobby! Harry Potter is a great and good wizard! Yes, Dobby did not like working for bad wizards!" he said shuddering and shaking his head. He leaned over and, looking furtively about the table, whispered, "They were dark wizards!" Dobby slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide as if he had just said something he knew he shouldn't have.
Harry had to stifle a laugh. "Don't worry, Dobby. The Malfoys being dark wizards isn't news to anyone here."
Hermione poured herself a glass of milk and said, "Well, I think it's disappointing if people are afraid to take a stand against Voldemort." Both Dobby and Fletcher winced sharply at the name. "Everyone says how awful it was the last time he was powerful but now, from what you say they're just cowering and hoping to not be noticed?" She shook her head disapprovingly. "That's just passive support for him."
Fletcher eyed her grumpily and said, "Most folk would say it's just sound strategy for survival, Missy."
Harry knew Hermione would work herself up if left to try to convince someone like Fletcher of something he just didn't believe, so he decided to intervene and change the subject. "Hermione, did you hear back yet from Tonks about tomorrow?" He turned to Fletcher and explained, "She's getting her license for Apparating tomorrow. How are you getting to the Ministry?" he asked Hermione.
She never noticed the quick change of topic as it brought back into focus her favorite subject of the day. "Oh yes, Tonks should be here before eight tomorrow morning. We're taking the tube downtown then. She says the written portion of the test takes about an hour and a half. There's a wait while you have to make sure you pass that portion and then there's the practical test. First, you have Apparate across a room; there are requirements for accuracy and all before they'll let you move on from there. Then you have to Apparate from the Test Centre in the Ministry, into their outpost located in Diagon Alley." She went on for a few more minutes and Remus shared a weary look with Harry; they'd been hearing the same thing all day.
The evening wore on and Hermione, in her obsession with going over every detail about Apparition and her impending test, never noticed Harry was unusually quiet. Moody's words from his morning session kept running through his mind. You never know when someone you've come to rely on might suddenly not be there any longer. In Harry's mind, he kept going over all the many ways he relied on Hermione. It was a way of life for him it'd been going on for so long. But after a while and a great deal of brooding about it, it wasn't the fact that he relied on Hermione to help him with homework, with discussing things about the Order or even just with making decisions in general. It was more the fact that he had allowed his moods to rely so much on her. Somehow, he'd let himself care so much for her that he now realized his very happiness depended largely on her. If something ever did happen to her that prevented her from being with him. well, Harry didn't even want to contemplate that.
He cared about her. He'd always known that, even when she was just a friend. He cared about Ron, he cared about Remus, he cared about the Weasleys, his other friends, and even Hedwig. Caring about people was not what was so new; it was how much he cared for her that scared him. He cared about her. He was beginning to realize just how.vulnerable it made him feel to care so much for someone; someone who held within her hand, his very happiness and the foundation of so many hopes. Harry found these musings on his feelings to be a bit unsettling.
In his ponderings, it never occurred to Harry that this very feeling of vulnerability was what he had instinctively feared all along. When he'd reacted so strongly when Hermione first tried to say she loved him, when he continually suppressed his urges to give in and say he loved her, and when he always kept one tiny part of his brain focused on guarding his mouth and the words it might say when they were together-all of these things-they were the defenses he'd built up to avoid this raw, open and exposed feeling of vulnerability. He'd never imagined his heart might be something over which he'd have no control and even now, he hadn't a clue just how little control he could ever hope to have.
"Knut for your thoughts, Harry?" Remus said, knocking softly on the doorframe and peering into his bedroom. Harry'd been sitting back on the small sofa in his room for well over two hours now and staring absently out of the enchanted window that showed an evening sky of twinkling stars shinning down upon a wintry, snow-covered landscape. The Gryffindor Quidditch Playbook lay open on his lap in which he would occasionally flip some pages. "Sorry, if I'm interrupting," Remus said. "I saw the light on and your door open when I came up. Hermione's still practicing; I've told her she ought to give it a rest or else she'll splinch herself Apparating back and forth like that while she's stressed out."
"Come on in, Remus." Harry flipped another page in the book absently and moved his legs off the sofa.
Remus entered the room and sat beside Harry as he curiously lifted Harry's book to see the cover. "Er.is there a reason you're reading reports on cauldron-bottom thickness?" he asked, clearly amused.
Harry's mouth quirked up in a smile as he handed to the book over to Remus. "You've got to use the proper password," he said. "I bleed Gryffindor red. Go on-try it."
Remus, looking impressed, pulled his wand and, pointing it at the book, clearly pronounced, "I bleed Gryffindor red." His eyes widened then as he saw the glamour dissipate and reveal the book to be the ancient quidditch playbook. "Well, it's certainly been a few years since I saw this last," he said quietly, flipping a few pages. He looked up and smiled fondly as he handed the book back to Harry. "You know your father was captain, too, his last two years."
Harry affected a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I know; I saw some plays he wrote in there."
"So," Remus breathed out, searching for something to say. "Got all your holiday shopping complete?"
"Er, actually, not quite," Harry said, looking sheepish. "I still need to stop somewhere near here to get Mister Weasley his gift. I was thinking of getting him a small muggle personal stereo. I always get him some muggle gift and I was thinking he could use the stereo without needing to plug it in anywhere," he explained. "Will you be around to go out with me tomorrow afternoon?"
"Oh, well, I'm sorry, but no, I likely won't. I'll be at St. Mungo's until tomorrow evening." Remus looked apologetic. "You'll need at least one Order member to escort you--Dumbledore's orders. But maybe Tonks can take you tomorrow when she gets back with Hermione?" Harry nodded. Remus went on, "Oh, about the Celebration-Molly told me last week she'd be willing to help with any of the preparations. I'm not so sure there's much left to help with, but," he shrugged, "keep that in mind if there're any last minute things we need."
"Right. Actually, I should read up on that. Make sure I know what to expect," Harry said. He rose and crossed over to the desk where Dobby had unpacked all the books from his trunk.
Remus, stifling a yawn, rose, too and said, "Well, like I've said before, if you have any questions-just ask." He nodded once to Harry and turned, calling out, "Good night," as he left.
Hermione showed up shortly thereafter and, saying she wanted to get a good night's sleep before her test in the morning; looking undecided of where to spend the night. "You can sleep in here," Harry said. "I won't keep you awake if you don't want me to." He tried his best to give her a smile; he could tell she'd worked herself into a stressed frenzy over her test. "Come on," he said, sighing and closing his book. "I'll turn in now, too."
Hermione chattered on as they settled into bed. "I wonder how many questions there are on the written exam? Do you think they'll let me see it as they mark it? I don't just want to be told I pass or fail; I mean I want to know if I got one incorrect, what it was and what the correct answer is. You think they'll tell me?"
Occasionally, Harry would nod or say, "Uh, huh." It occurred to him, as her chattering grew into quiet muttering, that he wouldn't be hearing any voices other than hers tonight. However, he was wrong. Because long after Hermione had grown silent and her breathing deepened, Harry was still wide-awake. He'd let his thoughts rule his mind for a good hour before consciously clearing his mind in preparation for sleep. But once his own thoughts grew quiet, a faint din of voices could be heard rising off in the distance. Occasionally, one voice would echo, lost from the others and desperately seeking direction. The others would beckon to it then; hearkening it to join them and their crusade. Harry strained and strained to hear them but found his inability to distinguish any words to be maddening. Frustrated with all that he didn't understand, he rolled over and curled up behind Hermione, pulling her close. There was no hint of feeling vulnerable when he held her tight.
A loud knocking on the door slowly roused both Harry and Hermione from deep sleep. A sudden pop! of someone Apparating into the bedroom, made them both bolt upright and lunge for their wands.
"Wotcher, kids!" Tonks called out, grinning and covering her eyes with her hands as she stood in the middle of the room. "Can I open my eyes or should I pretend to -oof!" Hermione's pillow hit Tonks with such force that she staggered back and, stumbling over the hearthrug, toppled to the ground. "I take it someone's not a morning person," she said, groaning from the floor.
"What time is-oh!" Hermione said, squinting to see the time on the mantle clock. "Oh, I still need to shower!" She sprang out of bed, letting a cold draft of air in that, if Harry wasn't completely awake before, made sure he most definitely was now. He yanked the covers back over and around himself as he reached for his glasses off the nightstand. It was not even seven-thirty.
"So, Har, what's new?" Tonks asked, flopping down on the bed in the spot Hermione had just vacated.
"Nothin'," he said, settling back into his pillow. "'M cold," he mumbled, burrowing deeper under the duvet.
"Doncha know a simple Heating Charm, Wonder Boy?" Tonks teased, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
Harry growled and mumbled, "Don't mess it up." He reached out then to stop her arm from waving her wand to perform a Heating Charm and said, "Don't-those charms get too hot. I'm fine under the covers." He pulled his arm back and brought the covers up to his chin to illustrate his point.
Tonks just raised an eyebrow and said, "That's not what I heard." At Harry's wide-eyed look, she laughed and said, "Gotcha!"
Harry grumbled some more and then remembered to ask, "Hey, can you take me shopping when you guys get back? I need to find someplace where I can buy a little muggle stereo."
"Are you asking me to be your escort?" Tonks asked shrewdly. Harry grinned cheekily and she laughed. "Sure!" She jumped off the bed and said, "But I'll only have about an hour or two by the time I get back. I have to be at work by two this afternoon for a late shift." Her face grew more serious and she said, "It's something about the solstice; I just got a tip off this morning from Dumbledore that Snape was summoned from Hogwarts very early this morning. We're probably having double the Aurors on call tonight since Dumbledore put out the word." She walked up a tall mirror against the wall and struck a pose as she made her hair change from its usually short and spiky black, into long and wavy blond.
Harry sat up now at Tonks' news, mindless of the cold and ran a hand through his hair. This never ends. "I suppose I should check my cauldron, too," he said, sighing heavily and getting out of bed. "Other than that, how's work?" he asked as he went to his wardrobe and dug for something to pull over his t-shirt as he slid his feet into his slippers.
"Oh, you know, chase after one Dark Mark and then another, Obliviate any muggles who see anything and tell folks the Ministry's got everything under control. But, hey, we've got a new class of recruits joining the force in January." Tonks, waved her wand at the fireplace, causing it to pop and flare before getting it settle down from a raging inferno. She smiled sheepishly as Harry finally pulled an old worn sweatshirt over his head. "Amelia told me she wants me to help train some of the newbies. I'll also be feeling them out for how they can help us network." Tonks seated herself on the foot bench at the end of the bed and they both turned then to see Hermione, a towel wrapped around her head and body, run past the door, from the bathroom to her bedroom.
"I thought Auror training went from July to July and lasted three years?" Harry asked, standing in front of the fire to warm himself.
"Usually," Tonks said. "Breakfast?" she asked as she heard his stomach rumble. Harry nodded and they headed out to go down to the kitchen. "Yeah, usually it's a full three years with only two weeks for holidays. But it's one of Fudgie's little plans to increase the force; he's lessening the amount of time for training." Tonks didn't sound like she agreed very much with this plan. "It's thick of him, really. I guess they've rushed through all the stuff to be covered in the last year, in the past six months. This first group is coming off the Isle six months early. I guess that's not too bad, but then he wants the next class after that to come off the Isle in another six months-they'll only have had two years!" She shook her head as they descended the stairs. "I think he's asking for more trouble."
"I read-well, Hermione read, that the MLEP revised its requirements as well to increase their number," Harry said. The MLEP, or Magical Law Enforcement Patrol was the more common, security variety of law enforcement for the Ministry. They were the ones commonly called upon to issue fines, generally patrol Wizarding areas and to help enforce minor decrees such as Mr. Weasley's Muggle Protection Act. Aurors were members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and were the elite force that targeted dark wizards and the really dangerous criminals.
Tonks scowled at the mention of the MLEP. "Don't even get me started!" she said. "Do you know all they require now to be on the MLEP?" she demanded, turning to Harry as they entered the kitchen where the smell of bacon, coffee and sausages met them. "You could be an MLEP agent!" she said. "All you need is a passing OWL in Charms and Defense-that's it!" She was obviously disgusted by this. "When the announcement was made to the department about that, Fudge said it was because there were all kinds of able-bodied witches and wizards who didn't necessarily finish schooling to pass any NEWTs. He went on and on about how we need all the men," she snorted, "we can get." She poured herself a cup of cream and then added a touch of coffee. "Idiot," she muttered.
Tonks continued to mutter while continually stealing sausages off of Harry's plate until Hermione finally burst into the kitchen, saying, "I'm ready! Are you ready?" she asked Tonks as she checked her watch. "We should probably go--oh, we won't be late, will we?"
Tonks just turned to Harry and gave him a look that clearly said, "Get her under control."
Harry stood up from his breakfast and put his hands on Hermione's shoulders. She was still muttering about her test and being late and actually looked startled to see him in front of her. "Oh, Harry. I have my test today, you know," she said absently.
As if he didn't know. "Hermione," he said quietly; she bit down on her lower lip nervously and couldn't help but smile. "Hermy?" She glared up at him now, making him smirk. "You're going to do fine, Hermy."
"Don't call me that," she said crossly.
"Give her a good snog now," Tonks said, rising and heading to the door. "Don't let her go until she's calm. I don't want to have to silence her on the ride into town. Meet me upstairs," she said as she left them alone.
Harry laughed quietly and pulled Hermione to him. He leaned his head against hers and sighed as he said, "You do know you're going to do fine. Hermione, this test is merely a formality. We've been given more leeway than anyone in how we've been allowed to practice and learn Apparition. You've nothing to worry about, I promise you."
Hermione took a deep breath and sighed. "You're right," she said, nodding and pulling back to look at him.
"Course I am," Harry said. He leaned down, catching her eye, and caught her lips softly with his own. He meant to only give her a quick good luck kiss, but soon found himself kissing her deeply and with fervour. It seemed going twenty-four hours without a sound snog was too much for either of them. Breathless, they finally pulled apart. "I'll walk you up," Harry said. He silently cursed himself for not putting on jeans or a longer sweatshirt as his flannel pyjama bottoms did little to help him walk comfortably upstairs to the entry hall.
"All ready to go?" Tonks asked cheerily, thankfully oblivious to his plight.
Hermione nodded; she was much calmer now and confidently walked over to the hall tree and donned her winter cloak. "I need a new cloak," she muttered absently as she did up the clasp in the mirror.
Harry, though, motioned to Tonks and, pulling her near, whispered, "Don't let her get a new cloak."
Tonks looked confused and asked, "Why not?"
Harry, rolling his eyes, whispered, "Because Christmas is only a few days away and she's already got one coming." He raised his eyebrows so she'd get the hint.
"Oh," Tonks said quietly.
"You ready?" Hermione asked, pulling on her gloves and walking to the door.
"Sure thing! Add some Warming charms to your cloak; it's a bit nippy out there. Snow expected later in the day!" Tonks called out. She turned to leave but them stopped and went back to Harry with a mischievous grin on her face. "By the way, Potter, there's one condition for me taking you shopping later." Harry looked at her warily and she smirked. She lunged for him, ruffling his hair again and said, "You've got to tell me all about the last haircut you got!"
Harry noticed Hermione avoided meeting his eyes as she and Tonks quickly left.
As Harry showered and tried to go about his morning, he kept getting more and more annoyed that Hermione hadn't let the thing with his hair drop. She'd gone and told Tonks about it and obviously had Tonks trying to badger him on it now. He'd suspected yesterday that she might have mentioned it to Dumbledore through the fire before he arrived there and the whole thing was now pissing him off. He felt restless with no one at all to talk to and get his mind off Tonks' impending inquisition. He tried to sit at the desk in his room and make out a training schedule for the three weeks of holiday break like Moody had told him to do. Instead, Harry only managed to anger himself even more as he kept hesitating to put anything in ink because he knew Hermione would have already written out a revision timetable for their schoolwork to be done over the break.
"This is ridiculous," he told himself as he tossed his quill down. He paced in his room a bit and even had a fleeting thought of trying to find someone else to escort him out for the brief jaunt of shopping he had to do. Who else could I ask to take me? Maybe I could go out by myself.it'd be quick.
A sudden crack preceded Dobby as the little elf appeared in Harry's room. "Harry Potter must not go out by himself," Dobby squeaked out shrilly.
"How did-?" Harry blinked twice. "But I wasn't-"
"Dobby knows, Harry Potter sir." Harry had never seen Dobby give such a stern look before. "Dobby always knows what Harry Potter is wanting and Dobby is knowing he must keep Harry Potter safe." Dobby nodded so vigorously his ears flapped with the effort. "Even Professor Dumbledore's saying Dobby must help Harry Potter, sir!"
Harry scowled. Someone had told Dobby to keep an eye on him. Did they think he couldn't watch out for himself a few short hours alone? Did they think he'd really be foolish enough to go out on his own (as tempting as it was)? "Thank you, Dobby, for looking out for me, but I can take care of myself," Harry said coolly as he turned away. He couldn't believe he was now being watched over by a house-elf.
Dobby slipped over and stood in front of Harry again and said, "Harry Potter has messages from Professor Dumbledore. Did Harry Potter check his cauldron this morning?"
Harry vaguely wondered how Dobby knew this, but did want to know what was in the post today. If Tonks had gotten a message, it was likely he'd been copied on the message as well. Harry went over to his trunk, Dobby still at his heels, and dug until he was pulling out his enchanted cauldron used for sending and receiving Order post. Sure enough, inside the cauldron were two new parchment scrolls.
Harry unrolled the first; it was a memo that read:
To: AB, KS, NT, AM, AW, HP, RL
From: AD on the 22nd of December at 4:00 AM
Just a few hours ago, SS was summoned. He was given a warning of this impending summons from an associate and told it would be related to plans rumoured to culminate tonight, on the winter solstice. MLES urged to increase watch and availability for the latter part of today.
Well, that would be the note Tonks had mentioned this morning and would explain why she was to be working a late shift today. Harry recalled that the ancient magical holidays or Sabbats were astronomically auspicious times to perform ritualized magic such as many of the Dark Arts. The last one had been Halloween. Harry thought back to the events of that night. In fact, he recalled, that was one night he'd heard the voices acting strange. Were the voices acting strange last night? It's always strange to hear voices. Would they act strange tonight? Harry really did wish to stop hearing those damned voices. He unrolled the second parchment scroll and read:
To: HP, HG, AM, NT, KS, RL
From: AD on the 22nd of December at 9:30 AM
Let us plan to meet at Headquarters at half-past noon today to discuss recent developments. I expect to have more news at this time that will need to be shared.
Harry wondered if Snape had returned already from his summons and had given news of what to expect to Dumbledore. What else could he have to share? Did they already know whatever it was Voldemort was planning for tonight? Harry felt frustrated; he hated waiting.
Dobby had disappeared again now and Harry stared off into the fire. He checked his watch-ten-thirty. At the earliest, Tonks and Hermione might be back just about noon. He wasn't sure he'd even have time to get his shopping done at all now. Harry dug in his open trunk again, searching out an old wallet that he used to hold any muggle money he had. It was empty. Bugger.
Even more restless now, Harry wondered whom he could ask to spare him an hour or so to escort him. If he wanted to get this shopping done at all, he'd have to get it done now. He'd have asked Mr. Weasley but that sort of negated the whole purpose. Maybe Bill? Harry began walking out and downstairs. The only fireplace in headquarters connected to the Floo network was the one in the basement kitchen. Even better-Fred and George, he thought. They'd do anything for me and, he smugly added to himself, they are members of the Order.
"Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes!" Harry announced in a loud voice after sticking his head into the fire and dropping a pinch of Floo powder into the flames. He felt his head travel a few moments through the flames and suddenly found himself looking at a cluttered room with all sorts of haphazardly stacked parchments, books, cauldrons teetering upon stacks of books and large mixing bowls that looked to belong in a kitchen scattered about. "Hello?!" Harry called out, trying to peer around the room from the fireplace. "Fred? George?" He could hear some music playing in the room but still saw no one. This time, Harry shouted, "HELLO? FRED-GEORGE-IS ANYONE HERE?"
Harry paused as he waited for someone to appear. He briefly muttered about the Floo being closed off to travel. For obvious security reasons the headquarters' connection only allowed firecalls. Maybe he could just Apparate to the twins' shop? He wouldn't be alone then, even if it would be against his specially granted permit to learn Apparition. According to the permit, he was only allowed Apparition training within the presence of a second licensed adult. Although.Fred and George were licensed adults.
Just as he was contemplating this, one of the twins walked in the room, looking about curiously. "Hey! Over here!" Harry called out; he was fairly certain this was George.
"Harry! What a surprise!" George walked over and held out a small tray of what looked like tiny Christmas cakes. "Want one?" he asked, grinning at Harry.
"No," Harry said. "Listen, I need your help. Do you think one of you could help me for about an hour or so?" he asked, pleading up at George.
"What do you need?" George asked, looking serious and kneeling down in front of the fire.
"Oh, nothing big. It's just I need an adult member of the Order to come with if I leave headquarters." He grinned at George. "Somehow, you qualify. It's a small errand. Do you have an hour?"
"Sure," George said. "Lee's here helping today so I could leave. Where do you need to go?"
"Er, well, I actually, I need some gold exchanged for sterling at the bank. I'm out of muggle money and I need to go to a muggle shop. Can I get you to make a stop at Gringotts before you meet me?"
George grimaced and said, "The Goblins aren't our best friends right now," he said making a face. "Fred and I were just in there last week, trying to open up a business account of sorts and they gave us the run around. Actually, I kind of think Bill's been acting the prat a lot down there and that they just don't like us 'cuz we're Weasleys. You'd probably get a better rate if you went yourself." George's face perked up then and he said, "Actually, Harry. You're their favorite wizard supposedly, so maybe if I went with you there, they'd give us our account? You could tell them you're our financier and all. What do you say? You come there with me and I'll go with you then?"
"Er, well, I need to be back at headquarters for a meeting at half past noon," Harry said slowly.
"No problem!" George crowed. "You can Apparate over here, can't you?" George set down his tray of treats and started digging through parchment stacks and setting aside books.
"Er."
"I'll go tell Fred and find the stuff I need to take to Gringotts. Give me about five minutes, Harry. Just pop in here to the back room-there's a crowd of holiday shoppers out front," he called as he left Harry's head sitting in the fire.
Pulling his head back, Harry thought, well, be careful what you wish for. He left the kitchen and climbed the stairs all the way back up to his room, ticking off the things he would need to bring with him. He pulled out a heavy wool cloak from the wardrobe. It was one Sirius had bought and he'd never worn it before. But it looked to have actual sleeves and was similar to a long duster. Harry thought it would blend in much better than just a typical cloak while in the muggle world. He made sure his moneybag was in the pocket and double-checked he had his wand. He grabbed the muggle wallet off the bed and headed out to Disapparate from the entry hall.
"Where is Harry Potter going?" Dobby demanded as Harry turned to descend the final few steps into the hall.
"Er, hey Dobby," Harry said, smiling ruefully. The little elf had his hands on his hips and was looking up suspiciously at Harry. "I'm just going to meet a member of the Order who's going to escort me on my errands." Dobby looked uncertain as Harry checked his watch and saw it was past five minutes after he'd talked with George. "And I need to get going, now. I'll be back by noon."
With that, Harry focused his mind on thinking of the twins' shop in Diagon Alley. He'd never been in their back room in person before, but he knew its approximate location. He Disapparated from the entry hall of Grimmauld Place with a soft pop! while feeling a slight tugging at his trouser leg. He opened his eyes to find himself in the back room exactly where he'd spoke with George just minutes earlier and was shocked when he looked down.
"Harry Potter must not go out alone!" Dobby said forcefully. He pulled his hand back from clutching at Harry's trouser leg and looked up fearfully. "Dobby has to make sure Harry Potter remains safe!" he almost wailed, cowering away.
"Oi! Harry, you're here-good. Oh-ok, I see," George eyed Dobby with confused amusement. "Well, okay then, are you planning on buying something humongous that you need Dobby to carry around or something?"
"No," Harry said, exasperated. He looked down at Dobby and, trying to remain calm and not make Dobby think (well, realize) that Harry was mad at him, he said, "Dobby, I've got a member of the Order right here. I'm fine. You can go back to headquarters, as I don't need you to watch over me."
"Actually, Harry," George said. "I've got a ton of paperwork that needs to be hauled over to Gringotts and, as it's got all sorts of anti-fraud charms and accuracy enchantments, they can't be shrunk down. Maybe Dobby could help us, get them over to Gringotts?"
Harry didn't have a chance to say no, because Dobby bounded over to George and pulled out a bag from somewhere in the three tiny jumpers he was wearing. "Put them in here, sir!" Dobby said. George grinned as he put stack after stack of parchment into the small bag that Dobby had obviously enchanted.
"Hey, Harry,' Fred said, poking his head in the back room and grinning. "I heard you're going to help us get a crediting account with the bank?" He walked into the room a few steps and watched George happily dumping piles of parchment into Dobby's bag. "Well, that's a better idea than how we hauled it all down there just to haul it all back last week. Good, that." Fred looked up at Harry then and said, "Usually only see house-elves out with some filthy rich pureblood type who wants to show off that they're stinking rich." At Harry's worried look, Fred laughed and said, "No offense, Harry. No one will mistake you for a pureblood. Hey-did you hear abut tonight? Tonks just stopped in and said she's waiting on Hermione to finish her Apparition test-"
"It'd be hilarious if she failed," George snorted.
"Yeah, well, Tonks said there's a high alert out for tonight. Said they're expecting something to happen. You hear about that, Harry?" Fred asked. George, dusting off his hands now, looked impressed at the news.
"Yeah, yeah I heard-look, is she here now?" Harry asked. He definitely didn't want Tonks to see him out now.
"Yeah," Fred said, leaning back out into the shop. "Oi! Tonks! Come here a sec!"
"No!" Harry said, looking desperately at George. "I don't want her to see me-"
A sharp bang! sounded and Fred was flung out of the cluttered back room and through the doorway as the door slammed shut. Harry looked down to see Dobby still pointing his long finger at the now closed door. Dobby looked up then, smiling at Harry and said, "Dobby helps Harry Potter, sir!"
"Brilliant," George whispered. He grinned at Harry and said, "C'mon, let's head out the back."
Harry and George, with Dobby at their heels, skipped out the back door and down the alleyway. It was an overcast day that, if not for the biting cold, would portend rain. However, with the freezing temperature and blustery winds, if there was going to be any precipitation in the air, it would most definitely be snow. Harry wrapped his cloak tightly around him, thankful for having brought a scarf to wrap around his neck and lower face. George looked fairly warm in his lurid green dragonhide jacket, but had his hands stuffed deep into the pockets. Dobby was bounding along, the cold not affecting him at all.
They passed between two tall buildings and entered onto the main of Diagon Alley. There were crowds of people, busily heading in and out of shops and carrying bags and packages of all shapes and sizes. George was pointing out some newer shops here and there that had recently opened. He pointed to one that was a tattoo parlour and said he and Fred were thinking about getting something there.
"Yeah?" Harry said. "You going to get 'George' stamped across your forehead so people can tell you two apart?"
"How do you know I'm George?"
Harry pointed to his mouth and said, "Because you've got that scar on your lower lip from when you attacked Malfoy last year. Ferret must have got a hit in on you."
George laughed heartily but said, "Actually, I think that's from you, mate. That git never got a hit on me; I think it was your elbow or something when you drew back to knock him again that hit me."
"Oh? Sorry about that, mate," Harry said, grinning but not really sounding too sorry.
George waved it off. "Eh, all for a good cause." They walked up the stone steps to the towering white building and two goblin guards, in red and gold uniforms, opened wide the burnished bronze doors to the bank. Harry caught the eye of one goblin as he bowed deeply and nodded, almost imperceptibly, as he paused a moment to make sure Dobby was still with them. Dobby, looking happy and carefree smiled up at Harry and bounced along in through the doors ahead of him.
Witches and wizards waited in long queues all down the long counter in the vast lobby. George and Harry tried to crane their necks around and see over everyone there to find the shortest line. "Er, I think we'll just have to wait," George said, frowning. "Bill helped us get in quick to see someone last time. Although, I don't think that helped us much." He pointed over to one lone goblin, perched high on a stool and manning a small window off to the side, saying, "Harry-the exchange window's over there. There's no line. I'll wait here and you can go exchange your gold there."
Harry, with Dobby following along quietly, walked up to the lone available window and tried to give the goblin a friendly smile. "Hello, I need to exchange some gold into sterling," he said.
"Key, please," the goblin said, not looking up from a ledger and sounding bored.
Harry didn't have a key as it was currently enchanted to be within his moneybag, so he pulled out his Bottomless Moneybag and plopped it on the counter. "Key's in there," he said. "What's the going exchange rate?" The goblin looked up as his eyes widened, seeing the Gringotts-issued Moneybag. They widened even more then as they landed on Harry's face and almost bulged right out of his head as they looked up at his scar. "Exchange rate?" Harry asked again.
The goblin stammered a moment and then slipped down off his stool and held up a long finger, saying, "Just one moment, Mister Potter, one moment." Harry saw the goblin exit the small cubicle behind the window and then disappeared out of sight.
Harry waited almost a minute, noted Dobby was standing right at his feet, silent as could be and almost hidden in the folds of his cloak, before a door opened beside him and a goblin, dressed in a conservative dark navy uniform, stepped out and nodded once to Harry. Harry vaguely remembered this goblin as one who'd been an assistant of sorts that had brought tea and fetched papers the last time he was here. "Sajak will attend to you, Mister Potter," the goblin said, bowing slightly at the waist.
"Oh, er, I just needed to exchange some currency here." Harry said; he really didn't see why he needed any special attention.
"We insist, Mister Potter, to provide you with the finest service," the goblin said, bowing again slightly.
"Er, well, in that case." Harry looked back across the lobby and tried to spot George. "I've got a.er, a--a business associate here and he's waiting in queue over there."
"Bring him along, Mister Potter. A friend of yours is a friend of ours." The goblin smiled a toothy smile up at Harry and held the door open. He looked back inside then and whispering to the goblin that had been manning the currency exchange window as Harry turned away to go find George.
Harry turned then and saw George walking towards him, looking down and-and he was being led by Dobby. Harry smiled. Maybe having Dobby along wasn't a bad idea after all.
"Follow me then," the goblin said. Harry and George, with Dobby back to following along inconspicuously, were led through the door, down a long hallway, and into a wide room that had a gleaming, long black table surrounded by several tall-backed black chairs in the center. Six goblins dressed in identical black uniforms were seated at the table. "Will you need anything else, Sajak?"
"I don't believe so," said a goblin who shut the door quickly as soon as they were through it. "Mister Potter-a pleasure to see you," he said as he bowed and then held out his hand for Harry to shake. Harry recognized him as the one who had helped him arrange his account and new vault over the summer. He was also wearing a crisp black uniform and smiled in his goblin-way at Harry before reaching over to shake George's hand. George looked decidedly overwhelmed.
"Er, good to see you again, sir," Harry said, nodding to the goblin he assumed was Sajak. Harry looked about the room and felt very.outnumbered. "Er, we're just here to do some quick business.I'm not really sure we need a whole team to attend to us."
"But we've got business to do with you, Mister Potter," said one wizened looking goblin who was seated in the center of the others. Sajak pulled out two chairs across from the goblins and gestured for Harry and George to have a seat. Harry couldn't see Dobby anywhere as he sat down, feeling a tad uncomfortable. But then, as if he knew Harry had wondered where he was, Harry felt Dobby tug at his trouser leg in a reassuring manner.
"Here is your Moneybag, Mister Potter," Sajak said, sliding the velvet emerald green bag with golden tassels across the table to Harry. "I've updated it so you can access muggle currency anytime you need it. Just focus on what you need when you reach in and it'll provide you with what you need. You'll receive our best exchange rate, of course," he said, bowing again as he seated himself beside the other six goblins.
"Blimey, Harry," George said as Harry took his moneybag and pocketed it into his cloak. "I didn't know you had one of those."
"May we speak openly in front of your friend?" the wizened goblin asked.
"Sure," Harry said, exchanging a look with George. "This is George, George Weasley."
George nodded.
"You are related to William Weasley?" a goblin from the other end inquired.
"Yeah, yeah, Bill's my oldest brother."
The goblin nodded once and then the center, wizened one spoke, saying, "That is Ragnok, he oversees all our wizard employees, witches, too for that matter." Harry nodded to the goblin on the end who he'd heard Bill talk about. "I am Garook and I am the chief governor of the London branch of Gringotts."
Harry nodded as George breathed out, "Blimey, Harry.I thought we were here to just exchange some gold and drop off forms."
Harry gave him a helpless smile and shrugged but then turned back to Garook and said, "It's a, er, pleasure to meet you all, but we are kind of on a schedule this morning."
"This will be brief, Mister Potter, I assure you," Garook said.
"Harry, you can call me Harry." Harry saw more than one set of goblin eyebrows raise at this and desperately hoped he hadn't said something stupid.
Garook exchanged a few whispers with the goblin immediately to his left and then said, "Thank you.Harry. We were just in a meeting, yet again, with the esteemed Minister and his assistant." The goblin looked very displeased as he said this. "Frankly, we've lost count of how many meetings he's taken the liberty to arrange with us and we were just wondering how to deal with him, yet again, when we got word you were here. He was, just moments ago, ushered out of this room and is being detained while we speak with you." He leaned forward now across the table and Harry wasn't sure what was coming next. "The truth is, Mister Potter-I'm sorry-Harry. The truth is-we've checked and while we owe our clients the strictest of confidentiality and security in their transactions and dealings, we actually are under no such agreement with our discussions with the Ministry, including the Minister himself.
"We wish to make an exchange with you. We'll tell you the information that pertains to what the Minister has, perhaps unwisely, informed us that he is seeking and you make him cease his efforts to stimulate a revision to the working charter for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."
"Er.I." Harry had no clue how he could manage to make the Minister of Magic do anything. No one paid him any heed.
A goblin beside Garook spoke and said, "As a branch, we here in London are feeling enormous pressures from the collective international governors of Gringotts. As a whole, not one of us supports any amendments to our charter-we've no intention of revising the way we do business until wizards wish to revise the way they do business with us-but that's another matter entirely."
Garook said, "The Minister has just recently confided in us that he is obliged to press onward in his attempts until he gains access to certain things in one particular vault. We're hoping if we give this information to you, that you can arrange a way to influence his efforts." Each of the seven goblins were now leaning forward and looking hopeful at Harry. George gulped audibly.
"I.I have no idea, sir, how I could influence the Minister of Magic," Harry said, completely flummoxed.
"All we need is your word, Mister-Harry-that you'll try."
Harry ran a hand through his hair nervously. They wanted his word that he'd try.that was almost worse than just saying they believed he'd just think of something. He felt terribly out of his league here and was sure they were either having him on or completely out of their minds. "I don't understand why you think I can help," he said searchingly. "I mean.I may be famous, my name is known and everyone knows who I am but I don't know why you think I can help. Sure I have money and all but that's just because more than a few people have died on me and left me with nothing but gold. What can you possibly expect from me?" he asked.
"We expect, Harry, that if you wanted to, you could exert a great deal of influence over any number of people--including the Minister," Ragnok said slowly.
Garook nodded and said, "Yes and we trust that if you give us your word, then you will do your best to make good on it."
Harry looked at George who was pale-faced and just shrugged; completely no help at all. Vaguely, Harry wondered why he had to be in here alone, with no other members of the Inner Council who could give him any advice. Where's Dumbledore when you need him? Harry took a deep breath and decided honesty was his best bet. "I still don't think I can promise you much. You understand, I believe that Bill-who you've passed along messages through to get to me, and myself, even George here-we're all part of an Order that has a very specific aim in mind. Our focus is dedicated to one thing and that's to bring down Voldemort." George and all the goblins winced; Harry even felt Dobby clutch reflexively at his trouser hem. "And, well, while what you say about me quite possibly being capable of exerting influence over the Ministry may be true, you have to understand that I'm a part of this Order and anything I would do would be after discussion with our Council. Our aims are one and must remain focused. I can promise to bring it up-I will certainly do that. But I can't guarantee you of what I can do or that I can do much at all. It will be up to our Council what could be done." Harry looked at the goblins, hoping they understood he was only sixteen and that they really couldn't expect too much.
Garook nodded once and said, "It may help you to know that we believe the information we have to exchange may benefit the aims of your Order."
Harry looked at George again; he nodded like he wanted to know what they had to say. Harry looked back to the goblins. Garook was looking at him smugly, as if he already knew Harry would agree. Some of the others looked a bit fidgety or nervous as they waited. "You understand I'm bound to, er, the priority of the Order?" Harry said. Garook nodded once. "Well, then I guess I can promise you that I will bring the matter to them and see what I can do."
"That is all we ask," Garook said solemnly.
Sajak then spoke and announced, "The Minister has confided to us that he seeks to gain possession of all books from the vault of Lucius Malfoy. He claims this as his only aim and the reason for all his persistence to gain entry to this one vault."
"Books," Harry said. "Books from Lucius Malfoy's vault?" The goblins all nodded. "Well, all right then." He didn't know what else to say.
But he was saved from having to say anything because all the goblins then stood up and, after each of them shook both Harry's and George's hand, left out a side door of the room. Only Sajak remained and said to Harry, "You said you had other business and forms to drop off?"
Harry nodded and George, still blinking in stunned disbelief at everything, said, "Yeah, I was in last week to try to set up a corporate crediting account. You know so we can accept those bags like Harry has? My brother and I came in and were told we didn't have all the forms complete. They said since we were such a small and young business, that we'd have to provide extra--"
"I'll be right back," the goblin said, nodding.
He left the room and a moment later, Dobby bounced out from under the table and handed George the bag that contained all his stacks and stacks of parchments. Dobby held a long finger to his lips and said, "Shhh," before disappearing again beneath the table.
A moment later Sajak reappeared and handed over a small, palm-sized mat to George. The mat had the familiar Gringotts emblem on it. "There you go, Mister Weasley. Just set that on your counter and any customer with our crediting accounts can use it on site. We'll put you down in our listing of businesses that accept credit payments via owl orders, too, if it is your wish."
George looked dumbstruck. "Er, yeah," he said, staring at the mat in his hand. "Oh, but what about all these forms we had to fill out?" he asked holding up the bag.
Sajak waved a hand and said, "Leave them there. We trust everything is in order." George thanked the goblin profusely and Harry had to remind him they needed to get moving. Finally, they managed to leave the bank, George still in awe that simply having Harry with him had gotten him an account he and Fred had been trying to get for months.
"Blimey, Harry," George said, shaking his head once they were back out in Diagon Alley. "One little trip to the bank with you leads to a meeting with a chief governor of Gringotts, a plot to influence the Minister of Magic and a corporate crediting account in the blink of an eye! You don't go anything by half, do you?"
Harry rolled his eyes and gave him a look. "Don't start," he said. "Can't help it if stuff always happens to me," he mumbled. Harry couldn't even begin to fathom what had all just happened in the room with those seven Gringotts goblins.
George laughed and slapped him on the back. "Ah, well, Fred will be over the moon! This will help especially with owl orders and especially with international orders." He stopped and looked at Harry, serious, and said, "I can't thank you enough, Harry."
Harry nodded and checked his watch. He saw it was half-past eleven now and said, "We need to hurry. Dobby? Are you here?" He looked down and around and saw Dobby bounce out around his legs and grin up at him.
"Dobby is here and keeping an eye on Harry Potter, sir!"
"Well all right, but I'll need to go into a muggle shop next. Can you wait in the Leaky Cauldron when we get there, Dobby?"
Dobby stopped and looked up at Harry. "Dobby can make sure he is not being seen by no one. Dobby will stay with Harry Potter."
Harry didn't care. They had to get moving if he was to make it back before Hermione and Tonks returned to Grimmauld Place. "Okay." He turned to George and said, "There're all sorts of shops on Charing Cross, I know-just outside the Leaky Cauldron. Come on-let's Apparate to the back courtyard there." Harry grabbed George's sleeve and pulled him off to the side and popped! as they reappeared in the back courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron pub.
"Just pull me along, why don't ya," George muttered, giving Harry a sidelong look.
They crossed through the pub quickly and stepped out into the busy Charing Cross Road. Harry found a record shop just beside the dingy entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and went in there to ask where he could find a personal stereo of sorts to purchase. The clerk, who George thought was way wicked as he had piercings in his eyebrow, nose and tongue and, not to mention had hair to rival Tonks' most outrageous styles, told Harry they should try a shop across the street and down a bit towards the river.
Harry had to remind George he was supposed to be keeping an eye out and not gaping at all sorts of strange muggle displays as they walked down the street. Once in the shop, Harry quickly located what he was looking for and asked George for his opinion of which sort his dad would like better.
"This is for my dad?" George asked. Harry nodded. "Boy, would he love this then." George picked up a tape player that had a corded plug and had a sticker that read, 'Runs on Batteries, too!' George turned the box over and read, "Records sounds from a built-in microphone or from an auxiliary input-" He looked up blankly at Harry. "I have no clue what the hell they're talking about, but I know Dad would go mad for it." Harry grinned and nodded. It was just minutes before noon.
They purchased the tape player and George said he'd have to come back and find other stuff he knew his dad would love as they left the busy shop. Back on Charing Cross, they walked back the same way they'd come and had to weave through a noon-hour crowd of holiday shoppers that was just as thick as the crowds in Diagon Alley.
"You need me to pop back with you?" George asked as they returned to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry had already told George he wanted to not have Hermione and Tonks know he'd been out at all if he could help it.
Dobby tugged on the bag in Harry's hand. "Well, it'd be good if they're already back. They'd see I did have someone with me when I was out," Harry said, as he gave the bag to Dobby and watched as the elf shoved it under his jumper like it was no bigger than a spoon.
"Well, come on then," George said, grinning.
They Disapparated from the pub and reappeared in the entry hall of Grimmauld Place. Seeing no one, Harry quickly slipped off his cloak, his gloves and hung them up, along with his scarf, on the hall tree.
"Anyone here?" George asked quietly, peering up and around the staircase.
Harry shrugged, looking up the stairs along with George. "No idea yet." Harry checked his watch, saw it was ten-past noon and breathed a sigh of relief--he'd made it.
George turned to grin at Harry then and said, "So, any clue yet how you plan to blackmail Fudge?"
"Blackmail! Who said anything about blackmail?" Harry asked.
George smirked. "Well, I say I dig up some old photos of ickle Percy-the-Prat and we threaten Fudge to expose his Junior Undersecretary--Arselicker--whatever--as a ninny who sucked his thumb until he was seven. Mum just loves to share our old baby photos!"
Harry couldn't help but laugh at the thought of baby pictures of Percy showing up in the Daily Prophet. "George, somehow, I think you'd better stick to trying to blackmail poor sods like Bagman," Harry teased pointedly.
"Oh yeah? Well, ask yourself--where's old Ludo now, eh?" George tried to look smug and mysterious but failed miserably as Harry just laughed at him.
"Tut, tut," a familiar sneering voice said. Harry's eyes closed and his stomach dropped--Snape. "Could this be? Our Golden Boy and only hope for a future is turning to petty crime?" Of all the people to show up now in Grimmauld Place.
"Well," George said, grimacing and clapping Harry on the back. "I'll be seeing you then, mate," he said before Disapparating abruptly with a crack!
Harry turned around towards the door to the basement kitchen and sneered back at the smugly triumphant look on Snape's face. But before Harry could bite out some scathing remark about Snape keeping his greasy great nose to himself, two loud pops! announced the return of Tonks and Hermione.
"Oh, Harry! Guess what? Guess what!!" Hermione cried as she immediately spied Harry. "I passed, I passed!" she shrilly shouted into his ear as she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed until he had to cough for air.
"Her--Hermione!" Harry said, trying to loosen her arms from his neck. "Of course you passed--you're Hermione," he said, rolling his eyes and laughing as he finally got her to let go and saw her beaming face.
Hermione began to move in to kiss him but a scathing voice interrupted, saying, "Miss Granger, please confine your pubescent hormonal urges to places where civilized folk with common standards for decency--"
"Stuff it, Snape!" Tonks said, crossing her arms and glaring at the git. "It's not your house and you can hit the road if you don't like it!" Harry cheered inwardly for Tonks and gloated over Snape's astonishment that anyone would dare speak to him like that.
Snape snapped his mouth shut and glared at Harry, but, thankfully, Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody walked in through the door just then. The entry hall was bustling with people taking off their cloaks and Tonks and Hermione immediately asked why they were all here. Moody and Harry both started telling them that Dumbledore had called a twelve-thirty meeting to go over some news. Harry tugged Hermione along to the stairs to head down to the basement where they would meet. Harry hoped to avoid being around Snape were the git was likely to announce to everyone he found Harry and George plotting to overthrow the Ministry or some other such nonsense.
Harry was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore already seated at the worn table in the basement kitchen. Dumbledore immediately gave Harry a piercing gaze over the top of his half-moon glasses that made Harry suspect the old man had been there for a while and knew Harry hadn't been around the whole morning. Dumbledore moved on then and smiled at Hermione as he asked, "Might I presume, Miss Granger that you've extended your streak for achieving a perfect test record?" Hermione beamed at him as she sat down at the table and Dumbledore inclined his head as he said, "Congratulations and well done."
"Thank you, sir," Hermione said. Tonks, Moody, Kingsley and Snape all soon followed down the stairs.
Harry looked around and, trying to meet Dumbledore's eyes as best he could, said, "I'm not sure Remus will make it. He expected to be at St. Mungo's until late this evening."
"I am aware of that," Dumbledore said. "Thank you, Harry, though. I did speak with Remus earlier and you should expect him back more towards late afternoon. I trust you will fill him in on what we discuss here today?" Harry nodded. Harry was deeply regretting his going out from the house now and very much wished he'd just stayed put. He was feeling much like a child who'd broken something valuable and knew it was only matter of time before his crime was exposed.
"Is this all we are waiting for, Headmaster?" Snape asked, sealing the door with his wand and then striding to the head of the table like he was about to begin a class and start barking out orders.
"Yes, Severus, this is all." Dumbledore faced down the table and said to the others gathered there, "I want to thank you for all managing to meet so quickly today. As most of you saw in your post this morning, through Severus' associates and his recent summons to Lord Voldemort this very morning, we've procured intelligence of an impending series of attacks planned for this evening. However, before you begin to brief everyone on your news, Severus, I also have some news to share from last night." Snape sat reluctantly at the head of the table, warily eyeing Dumbledore.
Dumbledore sighed heavily then and, for once, looked his age as he met every eye at the table before announcing, "Lord Voldemort has begun employing the use of the Dementors." Harry was shocked to hear this. Why didn't anyone say anything about this sooner? "Last night," Dumbledore began, "and through this morning, there have been a continual series of attacks upon muggle communities where muggleborn witches and wizards reside."
"Was anyone kissed?" Tonks asked, looking shaken.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "I am afraid so. The news is just now breaking out about this in the muggle world. As far as we know, the Dementors have not had much to feed on for some time now. I've been able to surmise, with the help of Severus, some old friends, and a recent brief chat with Amelia, that small groups of Death Eaters were working alongside these scattered teams of Dementors. The Dementors apparently were allowed to.feed at will in these muggle communities." Harry felt Hermione clutch at his hand and he instinctively clutched back. "Any muggleborn witches or wizards were killed by the Death Eaters before their corpses were left lying beneath a glowing Dark Mark."
"How, Albus, could we only be hearing this now?" Kingsley asked. "I'm sorry," he apologized for the interruption and went on, "But Albus, if the Mark goes up, we've got a system to track that and instigate a team of responders. How could we not have heard about this sooner?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, yes, normally that is the case. However, that system is tied into muggles witnessing the Dark Mark. It was set up to help the Ministry assign response priority among simultaneous incidents. You see, last night, several communities were hit with what the muggles are calling a sort of 'virus'. The Dementors, in their feedings, left a slew of shrunken and rapidly decaying corpses of all the muggles they killed."
The sudden image of what this would look like struck Harry. He knew very well the descriptions of those kissed by Dementors. If a witch or wizard was kissed, he or she would lose their soul and their body would slowly rot and decay until it was the very thing that had stolen its soul--another Dementor. However, if a muggle was kissed, they would of course die; but also, their soulless bodies would immediately shrivel up, blacken and begin to rot away until they turned to ash.
"You see, Kingsley," Dumbledore said after a brief moment. "There were no muggles left around in the immediate vicinity to witness any of the Dark Marks."
To say this new development was depressing was a gross understatement. The Dementors were a dangerous and formidable weapon that Voldemort had at his disposal. There was no telling the amount of death and destruction that could be spread by their reign of terror. Moody was the one to finally break the stunned silence. "Well," he said gruffly. "What's the word out about tonight?"
Snape, who'd been staring off towards the floor as he sat listening; his legs crossed elegantly and long sallow fingers sharpening a crisp crease in his black robes, now turned swiftly to face the table. His black eyes were cold as they raked over everyone seated at the table. "A number of people are slated to die tonight," he announced as if he were merely extolling the virtues of asphodel. "There is nothing we can do about that; their deaths will surely be.unfortunate. However, I have made the decision to give our Aurors," he nodded at Tonks and Kingsley and now addressed them exclusively, "the chance to intervene in one of these planned attacks. I shall give you the name of one family that will be attacked tonight. This shall afford the Ministry ample opportunity to stake out the location and seize at least some of those sent there to do the deed. I would advise you--"
"Why do you get to choose which family should live?" Harry spat out angrily. His mind whirled as Snape talked about these deaths in such a cavalier manner.
"Harry," Dumbledore started.
But Snape was already sneering and drawing himself up tall as he glared at Harry. "POTTER! Are you daft as a brush?" he seethed. "I am not choosing who lives! Quite the contrary, boy! I am choosing who, of the Dark Lord's servants will likely DIE!" Dumbledore had a hand on Snape's tensely clenched fist that had been slammed down upon the table. "Believe me, Potter, if the Dark Lord wants someone dead, they will be dead! Now--" Snape turned and focused his burning, fathomless eyes on Tonks and Kingsley again. "You have a chance to get a group of up to six servants of the Dark Lord. From what I can tell, they are likely to be privy to his current plans and allies. As I was trying to warn you, you will need to make choices. You will need to chose very carefully just which Aurors you decide to present with this.opportunity."
"Why can't we do it?" Tonks asked. Her eyes were sparkling with determination and a hunger for vengeance.
Snape sneered at her. "By all means, if it is your wish, you may seek the glory of capturing yet more servants of the Dark Lord. But you should keep in mind just how much you've already lost, quite possibly because you've already openly allied yourself against the Dark Lord." Tonks looked fit to kill. Snape smirked and said, "If it were I, I would chose one or two well-skilled Aurors, but ones who do not have family or perhaps ones you would not miss if they were to become a.an example from the Dark Lord." Snape's eyes grew even colder then and, in his most deadly calm voice, said, "Tonight's attacks are varied and the capture of any Death Eaters from this attack will surely implicate me as the likeliest leak. The Dark Lord will assume I have given this intelligence to Dumbledore and his Order. Whichever Auror gets the honour of capturing any Death Eaters will be marked to the Dark Lord as most likely a member of this Order. With the impending influx of new recruits soon to join the war, he will most surely wish to make clear the penalties for opposing him. I do not.recommend being the one bestowed with this.honour."
Harry glared at Snape and hated the man for how utterly cold and heartless he was. This bastard couldn't possibly be human. "You still haven't explained why you choose this one family to be spared," Harry said coldly. "Oh--excuse me--temporarily spared. Sir."
Snape blinked languidly and, after a moment sucking on the inside of his cheek, said, "I've not chosen based upon the target of the attack, but on the wager that those carrying out the attack will render the most valuable information." For a long moment, Harry's eyes locked with Snape's. Harry felt himself being pulled into those fathomless black orbs until he suddenly was struck with the vivid image of Voldemort's very own intensely red eyes. Snape smirked at Harry's sudden falter in their little staring contest and Harry burned as he knew he'd just been played by a master Occlumens.
Moody began engaging Kingsley in a discussion of which Aurors might be the best bets for being put on this task. Tonks was shaking and muttering about how she couldn't even begin to make such a choice while Hermione tried to calm and console her. Harry still glared at Snape out of the corner of his eye as Dumbledore leaned over and asked their spy something in private. Just look at him, Harry though. He enjoys this! He's probably thrilled he gets to tell everyone what to do and play god. Greasy.no good.son of a--
Snape rose then and stalked over to Moody and Kingsley where he pulled out something from deep within a pocket of his robes. He stiffly held out his hand to Kingsley and said, "Do not use the Ministry's Veritaserum. Use this. This is purposefully sub-par to avoid implicating myself but well potent enough to be more than effective. Five drops--no more, no less. Any captives must be interrogated immediately and without delay."
Snape turned then to leave but was stopped as he reached the door by Dumbledore saying, "Severus? Have you spoken to Harry yet?"
Harry turned and, even though Snape was facing away from him, he could hear the snarl before he turned around. "No, Headmaster Dumbledore, I did not have the pleasure of speaking with Potter. Perhaps, I might have if he'd have been here at headquarters this morning as he was supposed to have been. However, it seems Potter, yet again, believes himself above the rules and was out gallivanting around with Weasley."
"What?" Hermione said shrilly. Harry was willing to bet he could perform a most excellent Cruciatus Curse right about now.
"Severus," Dumbledore said in a disapproving tone as he rose and stepped over to Snape. Dumbledore quickly looked back at Harry; that piercing look over his glasses again. "Harry?" he asked crisply.
"I can explain, sir," he said with clenched teeth and barely controlled loathing for Snape. He vaguely heard Hermione question him again about what they were talking about but he chose to ignore this.
"I am sure you can, Harry," Dumbledore said. "However, I must insist that you allow Professor Snape to give you a last bit of information. Please, have a word with him in private."
It wasn't a request and the only thing making it at all tolerable was the fact that Snape now seemed even more livid. "Hurry up, Potter!" he barked. "Upstairs--I haven't got all day!"
Dumbledore kept a stern gaze upon Harry as he walked past him and followed, at a steady pace up the stairs, behind the billowing robes of Snape. Up in the entry hall, Snape grabbed Harry's elbow and yanked him over to a far corner near the dining room and whipped out his wand. If Snape hadn't had a death grip on Harry's wand arm, Harry would have drawn his wand as well, prepared to curse the bastard. Lucky for Harry though, Snape merely conjured a privacy bubble around them and then snarled at his most intimidating glare.
"You have something to say me, sir?" Harry prompted; eyes narrowed.
"Hold your tongue, Potter, and perhaps I'll tell you what you need to know." Snape made Harry wait in stony silence for a long moment before continuing. "There is one more impending attack about which you might wish to know." Snape's lip curled as he looked down his long hooked nose at Harry. "The Dark Lord seems to believe you are invulnerable to his attacks on your mind while you reside at Hogwarts. He inquired as to how much progress you had made in mastering Occlumency. He is aware you've been studying now under the tutelage of Dumbledore and has remarked that he has had no success in entering your mind these past few months."
Snape eyed Harry coolly. "The Dark Lord, and I might add that I agree, seems to believe the shields you have about your mind are strongest when you are within Hogwarts. You should be prepared for him to attempt to break into your mind now that he knows you are no longer there." Snape's eyes began to glitter now and his voice dropped to a hiss. "And believe me Potter, just this very morning he was only merely wondering if you might not be within Hogwarts' defenses. Now, after your brazen jaunt about town, you can be most certain that someone saw you and that the Dark Lord now knows for certain you are indeed in London. Still think your stroll about was worth it?"
"Possibly," Harry said defiantly. "I now have news for the Inner Council concerning Fudge and his motives for getting into a certain Death Eater's vault at Gringotts. However.I believe you were insisting that you didn't have all day just moments ago, so perhaps I should let you get on your way."
Harry looked loftily at Snape but was slammed up against a wall, long sallow fingers choking about his neck, before he could even cross his arms over his chest. Snape hissed, inches from Harry's face, "Listen, Potter--I've a meeting with a white mask in less than a half hour so if you've anything of worth to say before I drop you to the floor--TELL ME NOW!"
Harry Disapparated from within Snape's grasp with a pop! and reappeared on the other side on the entry hall with his wand draw and panting heavily.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Snape bellowed.
Harry Disapparated yet again and this time reappeared just a few feet in front of Snape. "STUPEFY!" Harry yelled, sending a jet of red light at Snape and then dodging away, anticipating it to be deflected. But Snape had Disapparated, mimicking Harry, and let the Stunner take a chunk out of the wallboard. He hissed something unintelligible, charging straight at Harry.
"Protego!" Harry responded, trying to deflect the silver sparks he saw shooting at him. But his gleaming blue shield did nothing to stop them and they cut right through, striking his face and slicing like tiny razors. Harry, momentarily shocked, held a hand up to his cheek and felt warm and wet blood.
The rage boiled within his veins now and he went to curse Snape but was stunned to find his arms pinned to his side with yet another spell he never saw nor knew. Snape, smirking and eyes alight with a fire Harry'd never before seen, stalked up to him like a hunter moving in for his kill.
Harry couldn't Disapparate; he'd been jinxed. He couldn't move; his feet were rooted to the floor.
Snape snarled as he pointed his wand at Harry's head and said, "Legilli--"
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" a voice roared. Harry saw Snape's wand fly off in one direction while Snape himself flew backwards in the other. Dumbledore was now standing in the middle of the entry hall and Harry, still fighting to move anything at all, had never seen the aged wizard looking so enraged.