Chapter 12: Loose Ends
After a gruelling Transfiguration lesson in early February, Harry popped into his office and picked up a large stack of envelopes marked with the seal of the Dark Force Defence League. Less than a day after formally being inducted as the new Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones - with Haimric and Dumbledore's assistance - had gained approval for a formal request for assistance from the International Confederation of Wizards. The request had been granted after a little arm-twisting by Dumbledore and the first detachment - thirty Aurors and a hundred and sixty Hit Wizards from the French, Belgian, Danish and Spanish Ministries - had landed within a week. By the end of January, over three hundred extra Aurors and nearly seven hundred extra Hit Wizards were assisting the British Ministry in the clean up. What neither the public nor the Ministry knew was that two-hundred elite assassins from L'Ordine were also in play at Haimric's request and they had much to do with the ease of the work as they disposed of most of Revenants and trolls before a League group arrived at each location.
As part of their agreement with the Ministry, the Defence League commanders were required to file regular reports with several key people including the Minister and the new Head of Magical Law Enforcement. They also copied all reports to Haimric due to his status as a senior L'Ordine agent. Eyeing the large stack of envelopes Harry decided that he'd need to spend some time on them, so he transformed and then settled down behind his desk.
By lunchtime, he still hadn't finished reading through the reports, so he conjured a large plate of sandwiches and summoned Jenna to his office through her communicator and asked her to bring Daniels, Davis and Dr Roth - who'd been helping Madam Pomfrey in the Infirmary since Njal's departure - along.
Jenna and the two men arrived just after classes finished for the morning, Dr Roth arrived a few minutes later. Harry motioned them into the seats in front of his desk.
"Help yourselves to some sandwiches," he offered, taking two for himself from the pile. "Colonel Dorn of Defence League and our own Commander-Sister Romanovna have sent me some status reports on how the clean-ups going. Section Chief Shacklebolt has also been kind enough to copy me the latest progress reports from the Corps."
"As you know, the Order was able to retrieve Wormtail from the Godric's Hollow ruins shortly after I was captured by the Ministry. And that once the Commander-Sister made contact with us, he was handled over to them for interrogation." All four agents nodded.
"Apparently he was quite knowledgeable about the hiding places of his compatriots. The Defence League's Auror and Hit Squads have been able to raid sixteen safehouses so far this month."
"Did they get many people?"
"A few. Three senior Death Eaters are still on the run though. Mulciber, Avery and Nott. Mulciber has not been seen since Jenna and I fought his group at Godric's Hollow and Avery and Nott have not been since the since the Department of Mysteries fiasco."
"Have there been any attacks?" Roth asked. "The Prophet hasn't reported any...."
"There have been a few small raids on isolated Muggle areas," Haimric admitted. "However, the reports mention no fatalities and few injuries among the civilians."
"Well, that means we're on top of the situation anyway, doesn't it?" asked Jenna.
"Yes, it does," Haimric agreed. "How are classes going?"
"I have had no problems," Davis replied. "Of course I did not expect to."
"Some of the younger Slytherins gave me a few problems at first," admitted Daniels. "Having Cho around has been a great help though. She's a very skilled translator and she's good with people as well."
"Really? I had not observed such a talent."
"I think her pregnancy and the fighting she's been has forced her to mature," Davis admitted. Dr Roth nodded her agreement.
"I see. Jenna?"
"No problems. A few of Slytherins in the OWL class were unruly for a while but we've come to an understanding."
"Good," said Haimric. "If you have any problems, let me know immediately. And pass that on to Cho as well."
The group finished their lunch and then Harry returned and he and Davis headed up to his DADA class. The others also went their separate ways.
-----
Haimric was prowling the seventh floor checking that all was well as had been his custom since his return in September. Everything was in order, the only excitement since the departure of the Ealbhari had been Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff in late January, which they won narrowly, and the match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin in early February which Ravenclaw - deprived of most of their experienced players - had lost three-hundred points to thirty.
Apart from that, everything was quiet until the evening of the second Wednesday in February. Harry was just passing the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower on the when he heard the strange sounds coming from the common room. Deciding to check it out, he muttered the password and slipped inside.
A small side table came flying at him, only his uncannily swift reflexes allowed him to avoid it. It sailed past his head and smashed against the wall. Haimric looked towards the source of the flying table, and wasn't particularly surprised to see that it was Ginny Weasley.
"That bastard! How could he do this to me?!" Ginny raged. She didn't appeared have noticed Haimric's arrival and she picked up another piece of furniture, this time a chair, and raised it, about to smash it against the wall.
"Ginevra, what is wrong?"
Haimric's low, firm voice appeared to break her out of her rage. She looked round, setting down the chair. "Harry! Where did you come from?"
"I was patrolling," Haimric admitted. "I heard you from outside." He walked up to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? Who is it that has upset you so?"
----
When Dean came through the portrait hole into the common room, he was whistling quietly, apparently quite pleased with how his night had gone. Well that's about to change, Haimric thought to himself. "Hello, Dean." he said grimly. At the same time he turned up the lights just enough for the other boy to see him.
"Hi, Harry. What you doing here?"
"Waiting for you."
"Really?"
"Yes, really," said Haimric. "I just had a rather interesting conversation about you with someone."
"What about?"
"I'll get to that," Haimric promised. "But first I have two questions for you."
"Okay."
"One, what is the official curfew for students?"
"Nine o'clock."
"It is ten fifteen," Haimric pointed out. "But I am not overly bothered about that. It is my second question that I particularly want answered. And that is: 'What is the definition of monogamy?"
Dean tried to look puzzled, but Haimric wasn't fooled. "Having one partner at a time."
"Correct. Can you see any relevance to your current situation?"
"Not really."
"Then you have not just returned from engaging in sexual intercourse with Su Li?"
"How did you...?"
"Answer the question!"
"I have but..."
"You are also dating Ginevra Weasley!"
"I... I... that's not serious!"
"She thinks otherwise!" Haimric told him. "And she extremely upset to see you with Su Li."
"She saw us..."
"Yes, she did," Haimric, confirmed. "My conversation was with her."
"Merlin..."
"Indeed," agreed Haimric. "Now you understand."
"Yes."
"Good. Then what I am about to say will make sense," Haimric told him. "For breaking curfew, I impose the maximum penalty of fifty house points, and a week's detention. To be served with Jenna Jameson in the Potions dungeons. You are also restricted to the Tower at weekends apart from meals until the end of the year.
"In addition, you will apologize to both Ginevra and Su for your disloyalty and take whatever punishment they feel is appropriate."
"Okay," agreed Dean, and headed for the stairs up to the boys dormitories.
"One more thing, Dean Thomas."
"Yes?"
"I suggest word of your error does not become public knowledge. The reactions of Fred and George Weasley in particular would be... extreme."
All the colour drained out of Dean's face leaving him nearly white - quite an achievement given the normal darkness of his skin.
"Now I suggest you go to bed, Dean. And remember... not a word to anyone."
Dean nodded, and hurried up the boys' staircase to the sixth year dorm. Haimric remained seated in his chair.
Haimric?
Yes, Harry?
I'm a little confused right now.
Haimric grinned slightly. You are sorry that Mr Thomas has hurt young Ginevra, but at the same time, you're glad she is no longer with him. Would that be correct, amici?
Pretty close, yeah, Harry admitted. Is that wrong?
On the contrary, amici. It is entirely to be expected given your feelings for her.
What feelings? Ginny's my friend!
Can you say, from the depths of your being, that friendship is all you feel for her?
No. What do I do about it?
For now... wait. It would do more harm than good to press your case even now. The time will come. Trust me.
Of course.
----
Harry didn't have a great deal of time to dwell on his changing feelings for the youngest Weasley, as the next few months were rather busy. Fortunately, L'Ordine didn't need his assistance at any point during their clean-up missions, but between his own Advanced classes, continued weapons and magic practice (now mainly on his own or with Davis) and his duties as Deputy Headmaster and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Head of House he rarely had time to get everything, never mind stop and think over feelings that had been lingering in the back of his mind for several months.
The Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game took place on the first weekend in May and Ravenclaw, still reeling from the loss of most of their experienced players, lost badly. Hufflepuff however took a narrow lead in the standings over Gryffindor.
Two weeks later, it was Gryffindor's turn. Harry scheduled a long evening practice session on the night before the match, and it wasn't until about twenty minutes before curfew that he finally called them to the ground. "Ok guys, that was great. You're looking good for tomorrow. We're going to win this year aren't we?"
"YES!" agreed the team.
"Ravenclaw are out of it, they've paid all their games and they still haven't broken the one-hundred point mark; Hufflepuff has a narrow lead over us but we should be able to break that; Slytherin's a hundred and eighty points behind us, so we'll have to play hard, but unless Guile manages to beat me to the Snitch, we should be fine."
"Guile will never beat you, Harry," said Ginny loyally.
"Thanks Gin," Harry said, trying desperately to hide the warm glow he felt at the compliment. "Now I suggest we all go back to the castle, we've got a big day ahead tomorrow."
All ten players promptly agreed that this was a good idea and Kirke and Sloper quickly packed away the balls and lugged them over to Madam Hooch's office, then the group headed back towards the castle.
Harry left the group at the Fat Lady's portrait, then after mulling it over for a while, decided to skip his patrol for one night and head down to his quarters and get an early night's sleep.
----
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the final of Quidditch Cup!" announced Colin Creevey, who had replaced Lee Jordan as commentator at the beginning of the year. "Slytherin, currently lying third in the championship face the winners of the last two championships... GRYFFINDOR!"
The loud boos from the Slytherin section were easily drowned out by the cheers from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in the audience. Harry could also hear the faint roar of Luna's lions-head hat. He motioned for the team to follow him out of the changing rooms.
"First out on to the pitch are the challengers," announced Colin. "In green for Slytherin we have... Crabbe, Goyle, Roche, Guile, Ares, MacBean and Nott!"
Harry mounted his broomstick and flew out onto the pitch. Ron flew little behind him and to his right, the Chasers were next - Ginny and Katie on the left and right with tiny Paul Peschino between them. Kirke and Sloper brought up the rear.
"And in red for Gryffindor, lead by the brilliant Harry Potter are..."
"Creevey could you please restrict yourself?" asked Vector, who was 'babysitting' Colin in McGonagall's absence.
"Of course Professor!" said Colin nervously. "Playing for Gryffindor are: Bell, Peschino, Weasley, Weasley, Kirke, Sloper aaaaannnnd Potter!"
Harry grinned a little as the last word came out in a breathless excited squeak.
"You won't be grinning soon, Potter," growled Nott, who had been appointed Captain by Snape after the dip in Draco Malfoy's fortunes.
"Really Nott? And why's that?"
"Because we're going to annihilate you, Potter!"
"I doubt that, Nott," said Harry. "Slytherin hasn't beaten Gryffindor in five seasons. I don't think you're going to break the trend."
Nott almost looked little he was about to attack Harry, but he paused as Madame Hooch walked out into the centre of the field below them. She pulled out her whistle, then after issuing her usual warning, she released the balls and blew her whistle to start the game.
"And the game begins. Gryffindor take possession early, Peschino with the Quaffle... he rockets towards the Slytherin goals, he's blocked by Chaser Ares of Slytherin, passes back to Gryffindor Chaser Ginny Weasley. Weasley easily avoids an attack by Nott, ducks a Bludger... sent her way by Slytherin Beater Vincent Crabbe. She's closing in on Roche, she shoots... and scores! Keeper Roche catches the Quaffle and passes it to his captain, Theo Nott. Nott turns and heads for Gryffindor's goals. Paul Sloper of Gryffindor cuts off Nott, and Katie Bell now has the Quaffle. She speeds for the goal... Roche moves to intercept. Bell passes to Peschino who shoots and scores! A brilliant Porskoff Ploy brings Gryffindor to an early twenty-nothing lead!"
The next thirty minutes were brisk but brutal. Nott and his team of bully boys seemed to take exception to Gryffindor's early lead and resorted to an endless stream of dirty tactics in a - largely unsuccessful - attempt to gain control.
"Chaser Peschino dodges Nott and Goyle... can he make it a round hundred-point lead for Gryffindor...?" Colin asked, then paled. "Watch out everyone!"
"Play stops briefly. And yes... Madam Hooch awards a penalty to Gryffindor for bumphing. And quite right too, someone could have been hurt! Peschino puts it away with no trouble at all, giving Gryffindor a hundred-point lead at one hundred and thirty to thirty. Play resumes, Gryffindor in possession. Ginny Weasley with the Quaffle...
Twenty minutes later, Slytherin had scored twice more but Gryffindor had maintained their lead, and Harry was beginning to think it was about time to finish up the game - both goals had been penalties awarded against Slytherin. Crabbe had elbowed Katie in the face, and nearly knocked her off her broom and Ron had been badly hurt when Ares and MacBean had rammed him aside so that Nott could score.
He saw a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye, and pausing briefly to make sure it was indeed his quarry he sped after it.
Following a warning mental shout from Haimric he banked to the right to avoid a speeding Bludger, then he accelerated further towards the glittering, fluttering, golden ball. Glancing to one side he saw the Slytherin Seeker speeding towards the Snitch too but he looked further away and had only a slower Comet.
Predictably, Harry caught up with the Snitch several seconds ahead of his opposition, and Colin Creevey was quick to announce. "Harry Potter catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins the match and the Quidditch Cup!"
Harry landed quickly and Kirke and Sloper lifted him onto their shoulders and carried him over to Dumbledore to receive the cup and then led the way back to the Tower and the inevitable victory party.
----
After the excitement of the Quidditch Final, it was a bit of an anti-climax to have to return to lessons two days later. With Quidditch out of the way, and most of the preparations for the end of the year completed Harry had rather more time to himself than he had had previously. He spent of some of the time going over new reports with Jenna, Davis and Daniels, but he increasingly found himself seeking out his old friends, and with Ron and Hermione wrapped up in each other, and Neville and Luna spending most of their free time in the greenhouses working on one of Neville's special projects he found himself spending more and more time with Ginny.
Most of the time they would just study together, with Harry occasionally using Haimric's wisdom to answer or explain a tricky problem she was wrestling with, but occasionally they would go flying together on the Quidditch pitch, and they even spent the most of the last Hogsmeade visit of the year together.
Harry was enjoying himself thoroughly, but he couldn't help being a little puzzled as to his younger friend's feelings towards him and Haimric was uncharacteristically elusive with his advice, offering only that, 'this is one thing that even my great knowledge can not truly answer' and adding, 'the most important thing for you to do is to act from the heart'. Harry didn't find either piece of advice particularly helpful, but realised that he would just have to work at it like everyone else.
----
It wasn't long before the exams rolled round again, and as he had little concern for his own performance - trusting that the knowledge Haimric had imparted him would be sufficient - he spent most of his time helping others, mainly Neville, Luna and Ginny, but he also gave Defence and Charms tutorials to several of the younger members of the DA.
To the delight of all concerned the exams period passed with no unusual disturbance – there were a few nervous breakdowns among the older students (including Hannah Abbott again) but nothing out of the ordinary occurred and Harry himself was confident of top-grades in all his subjects.
After their final exam of the year – Practical Advanced Charms - Harry, Neville and some of the other sixth years went outside to relax in the sun. Ron was trying unsuccessfully to try and persuade Hermione to stop going over how the exam had gone, a habit that she had started in first year and continued despite her best friends' efforts. After a few minutes of argument, Ron pulled Hermione into an embrace and silenced her very effectively indeed. When they separated a minute or two later, Hermione was a little ruffled, but seemed pleased enough.
Harry split his time over the next couple of weeks between helping Ginny with him studies – and occasionally having a little fun as well, and continued combat practice with Professor Davis. He also helped Dumbledore draft notices for the Daily Prophet requesting new History of Magic and Ancient Runes professors, as the current post-holders intended to be elsewhere by September. His relationship with Ginny continued to evolve, and by the end of term, Harry was certain of one thing: whether or not Ginny loved him, he did love her and she was probably the closest friend he had without 'strings' attached, and if that was all she was prepared to give, he would consider himself lucky.
----
Glancing across at the Ravenclaw table from his place on Dumbledore's left, Haimric saw to his delight that Dobby had succeeded in locating all Luna's missing belongings, allowing his zany friend to attend her first End-of-Year feast in five years at Hogwarts. Dumbledore awarded the House Cup to Gryffindor once again, and also made a few remarks about how proud he was of all of them, then he told the students to tuck in and sat down.
"What are your plans for the holiday, Harry?"
Haimric considered the question carefully, then decided that it wouldn't do any harm to answer the old man's question. "The Cardinal has called a meeting of the full Vigiliae Council of Europe. As an active Companion Jenna has to attend and I plan to go with her. All the other active European Companions and the European archbishops will be presents, as will the commanders, including Sister Romanovna. We leave for Italy in the tomorrow evening."
"How long will that last?"
"Last time a full Council was convened, back in 1946, it lasted for over a month. I believe this time it will take less time. Perhaps ten to fourteen days."
"And after that?"
"I promised Minerva that I would visit her in Righlionn and bring her back home. After that I expect to spend some time in London. Jenna has promised to reacquaint me with some of my predecessor's favourite haunts. And I will of course be at the Burrow on Harry's birthday for the 'surprise party' that Mrs Weasley, Ginevra and most likely Hermione and Ms Delacour are already conspiring to hold, now that Harry's forced incarceration with his relatives is no longer necessary."
"I hoped that you know I...?"
"I know you meant well, Albus," Haimric assured him. "Whatever the unfortunate consequences you did what you thought was best."
The rest of meal was spent in amicable silence, interspersed with the occasional friendly chit-chat among the two and others at the table. Once the last deserts were cleared away, Haimric bid goodbye to the professors and returned to his office to finish his packing.
----
Two squads of Auror Security Wizards and five Aurors, all wearing the insignia of the Dark Force Defence League, were patrolling the approaches between Hogsmeade Station and Hogwarts the next morning. Haimric and Jenna got into the front carriage and were joined a few moments later by Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Neville, Luna, Seamus and the rather doleful Dean got into the one behind them and the rest of school filled up the remainder.
The train ride back to London was fairly uneventful, uniformed Security Wizards patrolled the corridors instead of the prefects and several members of the Order, including Remus, Moody, Emmeline Vance and Hestia Jones were positioned inside various carriages.
When they got off at King's Cross, Haimric bid goodbye to his friends, gave Hermione and Luna a friendly hug each, and then, deciding to give Ginny something to dwell on over their time apart gave her a light kiss on the cheek. Before she could say anything, Haimric strode away with Jenna following at his heels. Most of his luggage was being taken care of by Davis so he and Jenna only had one small bag between them that he was currently carrying across his shoulder.
When they reached the carpark, Haimric broke into a grin. He turned to Jenna, pointing towards one of the motorcycles in the bay. "Is that what I think it is?"
The red-haired woman grinned and nodded. "One 1979 Norton 850 Roadster. Formerly owned by Sirius Black, deeded to you in his will. Strictly speaking you won't be old enough to drive it for at least another thirteen months but I wouldn't tell the DVLA if you don't. There's a fake licence in the seat compartment, and I assume you're ready?"
"I have absorbed a considerable amount of knowledge pertaining to motorcycle operation and repair from the Realm," Haimric confirmed. "Shall we go?"
"We shall," Jenna confirmed and removed a helmet from the seat compartment. A quick wandless spell from Haimric returned it to full size and another similar spell provided a second larger one for his own use. Haimric mounted the bike and started it, then Jenna hopped on the back, slipping her arms around his stomach.
Satisfied that she was safely positioned, Haimric accelerated gently, nudging the Norton out of the parking spot. Then he gunned the accelerator and the old motorcycle left the station at a speed considerably greater than is normally permitted in the London Metropolitan area.
----
A/N: That's all for now folks! I'm not sure when the first chapter of the next instalment in Harry and Haimric's story will be out. I haven't actually started writing it yet and things are a little up in the air for me at the moment with college. However, I aim to have at least one or two chapters done within the next month or two. If you have any questions or queries, feel free to contact me via e-mail and I will try my best to help. See you soon!
