Chapter 5 - Making a Stand
Meanwhile, at the first Order Meeting since Voldemort's so-called defeat, the members including Ron, Hermione and Neville were huddled together at the Headmistress' office, anxiously waiting for the meeting to start. They were just waiting for the Minister who still had to attend to some last minute reports. When he arrived however, all were alarmed to see him so distressed while clutching a bunch of papers in his right hand. He carefully avoided the questioning stares headed his way and refused to say anything. He just signaled the Headmistress to begin. After a couple of deep breathes and lots of biscuits, Professor McGonagall spoke with a heavy heart.
"Early this morning, a very strange incident occurred at the Gryffindor common room." She glanced around and noticing the puzzled look of some members, she forced herself to elaborate. "Apparently, Mr. Potter attempted to molest Miss Weasley and he would have succeeded if the other students did not come on time."
"Potter?" asked Moody with narrow eyes.
"Yes." replied McGonagall solemnly. "We used the veritaserum and we believed at first that it was really him but now we're not so sure. Then later, he attacked Snape to escape before the minister could arrive. The situation is very serious and if the others found out it would surely wreak havoc to the wizarding world. Many people look up to Harry. I'm afraid of how they would react if this ever comes out." She seemed to be in the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Harry? Attack Snape? That's impossible!" exclaimed Tonks in disbelief.
"Actually, it's not. The boy hates me and I bet he's been wanting to do that for a long time." said Snape but ironically, he seemed concerned.
"Innocent until proven guilty, that's what Dumbledore would say." said Lupin and stared at Snape directly in the eye. Snape was the first to look away.
"There's one thing bothering me, though. How could he have two wands with him? Arthur, do you have any records to show that Harry bought another wand?" Professor McGonagall asked the minister curiously.
"No." The minister replied with a stony expression.
"But, Professor, I just realized that Harry doesn't need any wand. He could do wandless magic." said Hermione suddenly and she felt Ron stirred slightly at this piece of information. There was a loud muttering after this.
"And he could pass anti-apparation barriers. He doesn't need to attack Snape to escape." added Neville, feeling proud that he thought of it. The muttering increased as each gave his or her opinion on the matter simultaneously.
"If we had been tricked before by someone impersonating Moody, then someone could have been doing the same thing with Potter." suggested Hestia Jones wisely. "The only question now is who's doing it and why?" The others politely nodded in agreement.
"All right, then. We had established the fact that Harry could be innocent. So what shall we do now?" said Professor McGonagall and looked at each of them for any smart suggestions.
"If our assumptions are correct, then whoever planned this thing is a very cunning wizard indeed. Therefore, I think it would serve everyone's best interests if we keep this matter to ourselves first...until further development, that is." said Snape with the usual craftiness of a Slytherin Head.
Mr. Weasley stood up hastily and enlarged the documents he was holding so that everyone could read its contents. "I'm afraid that it has already developed." No one spoke for a while as they all stared in shock at the reports in front of them.
"Arthur! T-this is --- " Molly Weasley clamped her mouth with one hand in desperation, finding it hard to complete her sentence.
"I know. I couldn't believe it either. Harry, or rather the Bogus Harry, had murdered hundreds of people this afternoon - in cold blood. These reports are the reason why I was late." stated Mr. Weasley evenly.
"T-then we can't stop the news from appearing on the papers tomorrow?" ventured McGonagall.
"No, curtailing press freedom could be very hazardous too." replied the minister with growing apprehension.
The Order members looked at one another uneasily while the three students continued to analyze the reports.
"Erm..Dad, there's something awfully weird with these...According to the eyewitnesses, Harry attacked alone -- shouldn't he have ordered the dementors to help him?" said Ron, speaking his mind for the first time.
"That....is an excellent observation, Mr. Weasley. Ten points for Gryffindor." said Snape but they could not tell from his tone if he was mocking or commending the boy.
"Someone is obviously putting an effort to ruin Potter's reputation for a reason that we don't know yet. If we cannot stop the news, then the next best thing is to go with the flow. Let's us pretend to believe that Harry turned dark and let's see where it will lead us." said Moody after carefully considering the situation. Everyone agreed at once.
"That's settled then. To the next agenda -- where's Ginny?" the headmistress looked inquiringly at the three teenagers who were now whispering anxiously with one another.
"S-She's not here, Professor." The three said in unison and reluctantly showed her the Marauders Map.
"WHAT?!?" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley then she fainted unceremoniously on the ground..
The meeting ended shortly afterwards but at least everyone seemed convinced of Harry's innocence though Moody still reiterated the need for 'constant vigilance.' They had decided to play it by ear for now since no one could present other helpful insights.
==================================================================
The following day, Ron, Hermione and Neville were surprised to find all the DA members, with the exception of Luna, Harry and Ginny of course, impatiently waiting for them at the Gryffindor common room.
"What are you doing here?" asked Ron although he already knew why.
"Because of this, mate. Now, tell us what's wrong." said Lee seriously as he handed them the latest copy of varied newspapers.
"Err ...umm---" he began but was rudely interrupted by an irritating voice.
"I knew it! Harry's been so weird lately. Now, I know why." said Zacharias with a smirk.
"Shut up! Let him talk." snapped the usually jolly twins to him.
"Do you believe what's written there?" asked Hermione shrewdly to the new arrivals.
"Of course not! Harry would never do such a thing!" exclaimed Cho positively.
"Are you kidding? We never believed in the papers at all." said Fred indignantly.
"Yeah, we prefer to hear it from the source." added George with the same incredulous expression.
"Absolutely not!" exclaimed another.
Hermione leaned at Ron for support. "What if we tell you that aside from what you've read, Harry tried to rape Ginny yesterday and escaped after attacking Snape? What would you think then?" A deafening silence filled the room.
"Well, actually, we do not know for sure yet but we think that someone was impersonating him. I mean -- that's the only logical reason, isn't it?" said Neville calmly.
"Is it? I-I guess I'm not so sure." said Parvati hesitantly.
"Me, too. But Harry is not like that, is he?" said Padma, staring down at her shoes as she did so.
"Clearly, too much solitude and hanging out with Loony unhinged his brain." commented Zacharias sarcastically but no one reacted to his taunt.
"Ron?" The twins, unsure of what to say, turned to their youngest brother in bewilderment.
"Harry was the one who risked his life to prevent Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone. He saved my sister from his evil clutches, killing a dangerous basilisk in the process. He spared the life of the person who betrayed his parents when he could have had his revenge. And most importantly, he gave us hope when everything was at its worst. If those are not enough to convince you of Harry's innocence, then I pity you." Ron spoke in a hushed tone but everyone was hanging on to his words. "I chose to believe that Harry's not guilty. Had the situation been reversed, I believe he would do the same for me."
"Several times, Harry had been accused of lying but he was always proven innocent in the end. I have no reason to suspect that this case would be different." said Neville with such vehemence that astounded the others.
"But what about the attacks? Many eyewitnesses attested to the fact that it was really him." said Zacharias in confusion.
"No, those are mere illusions." said Hermione defiantly.
"You know this whole thing is laughable. I'm sure dad would set things straight soon." said Fred confidently.
"Hmmm...." began Hermione, trying to discern if it would be wise for them to know what the Order had decided. "Moody told us to go along for now and see where this will lead us. But he also said we have to keep an ear and eye out for clues. If their theories are correct, then a new dark lord could be emerging and using Harry to divide the wizarding community."
"So, are you saying that we have to pretend that we really believe the news?!?" said George incredulously as if he found the idea ridiculous. "What if Harry found out? He'd be mad for sure!"
"Then we'll simply explain. Listen, as of now we don't know what's going on yet so until we discover something, let's go along with the flow but we don't need to announce it to the whole world. A dignified silence will do." said Hermione patiently.
This time no one commented.