"Harry, you have to wake up now. It´s nearly time for breakfast."
Harry blinked disorientated. His neck and shoulders felt stiff from sleeping in an awkward position and he didn´t recognise his surroundings at first. "Professor! I-" he felt himself blush, "I was waiting for you. I had a dream last night… must´ve fallen asleep…"
"No problem there, my dear boy, I dare say Fawkes enjoyed the company –and the comfortable seat…"
Harry realised the phoenix must have settled down on his lap during the last hour and was sleeping peacefully there.
"So you had a dream again?"
"Yeah, it was in a dusty old room, Voldemort and Wormtail were talking. Wormtail brought some information but Voldemort didn´t like it, said it wasn´t valuable, only speculations. It was something about security, a breach of security somewhere. And he –Voldemort –said they wouldn´t go after me for the moment, they would take over the wizarding world first, and at last he´d kill me." Fawkes shifted on his lap a bit before ruffling his feathers and settling down again. The comforting weight sent a wave of warmth through Harry´s body.
"Oh –Malfoy might know about that security thing. -Voldemort said he´d welcome him back if he had the information, after freeing Azkaban."
The headmaster sighed. "Yes, I think it makes sense."
"What makes sense? Do you know what he is planning? What will he do?"
Dumbledore considered Harry for a moment, then apparently decided to answer. "I don´t know what he´ll do. But I know what happened last time.
You must understand that Tom believes in what he preaches, in what he does. He is utterly convinced of his loathing and persecuting of Muggleborns, convinced that the new order he wants for the wizarding world is just and right and will make it better. Tom wants to save the wizarding world, from Muggleborns, Muggles, Muggle-lovers… and you and I and everyone who stands in his way are not only a threat to him but to wizardkind and therefore must be eliminated.
These strong beliefs make him so persuasive, gained him so many followers… Of course it helped that in a lot of the old families there have been prejudices against Muggles for a very long time, they were regarded as inferior and at the same time suspiciously watched as they invented things most wizards did not understand. The Muggles suddenly seemed to become stronger with the science and technology they developed, and wizards became worried…
Tom played these fears well, in a time of insecurity he offered straight views, a clear position and a simple concept for the rebuilding of the wizarding world.
He knows what he wants to achieve in the long run –and for that he needs power, he needs to overthrow the established institutions, that resist him, the Ministry, Hogwarts, Azkaban, St Mungo´s, maybe Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley as symbols of our way of living, and a few others."
"But –but this is so sick …"
"Yes, for us it is. But no fight is harder to win than the fight against a prejudice."
"And about my dream –you think Voldemort is trying to find out about the security in those places you mentioned? To attack? And free the prisoners… But can´t we stop him? Can´t you do something?"
"Harry, I am powerful and I think Tom still fears me but I can only do so much. The order is working hard and we have recruited new members last year, we are prepared for a war –but we are still only a few wizards. We can do intelligence work, we can spy and sabotage some of Tom´s plans, we give information to wherever it might be of help –but we´re no army. We won´t be able to stop a large attack, or several attacks in different places.
The Ministry is not ready for a war. Fudge wasted a year of preparation –they don´t have enough Aurors, they didn´t take any new ones in the last three years, and of those they have most are too old. There are some like Alastor who still know their stuff –but even their best days are long since past. The last war was theirs –but who will fight this time?
And the public hasn´t yet recovered from Tom´s last rise, people are tired of war, scared, and want to go and hide till it is over rather than fight."
They sat in silence, time stretched out, each indulged in his own thoughts. "Yes, till it is over… And I´m the one who has to end it –but what if I can´t?" Harry whispered.
"I have full confidence in you, my boy." Dumbledore gave him a small smile. "And despite what I said you won´t be alone. There are people out there willing to help.
You have your friends –and though I´d rather keep my students safe I fear they too will have to play their part. I will be there for you and help you in every way I can. And there are many, many others out there, Remus, the Weasleys, many in the order, in the Ministry and just normal people who will do everything that lies within their power. I fear the dark times that will come, but I believe in the end we will win this war - we have to.
And for what it´s worth –I think Tom won´t attack Hogwarts, not yet, I think your dream might have been about the Ministry. We –the order- have received some information lately that he will concentrate on that for now rather than coming for you again."
"I just wish I could do something… I wish it was over… But how can I end it? I don´t know what that power of the prophecy is, or how to use it. I don´t know if I can kill… What if I don´t have that power?"
Dumbledore´s eyes were bright and his smile shone. "Oh, you have, Harry, you have that power in abundance."
"Then what is it? You said it was in the Ministry, in that locked room, and that it saved me when Voldemort possessed me – I thought of Sirius then, that I wanted to see him again… You said it was my heart –that power, is it feeling, emotion… love?"
Harry choked on the last word, remembering the time in the Ministry, those desperate seconds when he felt Voldemort inside him, wanting to join Sirius in death. Dumbledore only smiled.
"But how can that be of any use in killing Voldemort?! How? Love… it´s no weapon, or something, -nothing that helps you in a fight!"
"You know, the power of love is by far greater than the love of power… And I believe I told you also that it is perhaps the greatest mystery of all. I don´t know how you can vanquish Tom with that power, that is for you to find out. I have no doubt that you will. –And maybe we should continue that discussion another time, you might just grab a toast before your first lesson if you hurry down the Great Hall now."
########################################################################
The day carried on with Harry barely paying attention to any of his classes and nightfall found him sitting on top of south tower. He had lately taken to come up here in the evenings to get some peace and quiet and sort out his thoughts. With only the sky above him and the wind rushing around the tower it felt almost as good as flying and never failed to calm him. Closing his eyes and practising Occlumency, sifting through his swirling thoughts, he could understand what Dumbledore had meant once when he talked about having too much thoughts crammed into your head.
His dream and Dumbledore´s explanations were only the latest in a line of worries that weighed on his mind. He hadn´t paid as much attention to his friends in the last days as he should, puzzling too much over Rookwood, Cole and Daphne, the prophecy, even Paul Wheeler. And now that Dumbledore had mentioned it –there were other people outside Hogwarts that cared about him. Particularly Remus, whose calm and understanding had helped so much during the time at Grimmauld place, how was he? How did he cope with the death of his best friend? Maybe he was just now out there somewhere risking his life on an order mission… Harry resolved in writing him a letter as soon as possible.
"Where have you been? We were starting to worry." "Yeah, you were a bit weird the whole day, mate."
"Just needed some time alone, had a lot on my mind. Listen, can we move a bit to the corner over there, I need to tell you something. I had another of those dreams, you know, last night."
"But shouldn´t Occlumency block them? You are practising, aren´t you?" Hermione whispered while they went over to some chairs as Harry had suggested.
"Hey, Harry, look! I´ve just been at the hospital wing and asked Madam Pomfrey about healing spells and potions. Told her I might want to become a healer or something, and she gave me this –it´s a book of exercises for healer apprentices! –Oh, er, do you three want to be alone? I´ll come back later…"
"No, that´s ok, Neville, sit down. I just wanted to tell them about the dream or vision or whatever I had last night, from Voldemort. I don´t mind you hearing it, just don´t want the whole common room to know –I don´t need them all to think I´m mental, again."
While Harry recounted his dream again and gave them a short version of what Dumbledore had said his friends listened with growing anxiety.
"Wormtail! That filthy traitor!" Ron spat as soon as Harry finished. Hermione frowned and muttered thoughtfully: "That sounded as if Pettigrew was only the messenger between V-Voldemort –oh, get used to it! –and a spy somewhere… You know, that 'breach of security' –it sound´s a lot like the hole in the wards of Hogwarts we talked about. I don´t know if Dumbledore´s opinion that he won´t attack the school yet is right…"
"But that would mean there is a spy in Hogwarts." Neville sounded worried.
"Bet it´s Snape! I bet he never truly changed sides and now he´s lulling Dumbledore into safety while feeding his real master with information about the wards!"
"Snape is a Death Eater?!"
"Oh, Ron, how often did you suspect Snape and it was never true? Neville, well, I guess we have to tell you now. Those wizards that came last year with Dumbledore to save us –they are the Order of the Phoenix, they are a group that fights Voldemort, and Snape is a spy for them on Voldemort. This is supposed to be a secret-" she gave Ron a stern look "-so keep quiet about it. And before accusing Snape again –it could as well be Rookwood, or some student like Malfoy who talked about the Sorting Hat´s song!"
"Rookwood?!" Neville seemed too shocked by the previous news to say much more than the Liaison Officer´s name. So Hermione explained what she had found out about Algernon Rookwood from the Daily Prophet, while Neville stared at her, obviously unbelieving how much things went on at Hogwarts without him knowing anything.
"So you think they talked about Hogwarts?" Harry felt the uneasiness from last night return, he had had a very bad feeling when he woke up and thought he might have forgotten something important.
The uncomfortable silence was broken by Hermione: "It sound´s like that to me, but if Dumbledore thinks not…"
"But he didn´t know for sure either, did he, Harry?" Harry shook his head at Neville.
"Then what shall we do now?" Ron asked. "Can we do something?"
"Maybe we can talk about it in the DA… we agreed to protect Hogwarts…"
But Harry shook his head again. "No, Hermione, I don´t want the DA involved in this, at least not yet. We don´t have any proof, I don´t want to scare them for nothing and I don´t want to cause a panic in the school –not after Dumbledore has told me he doesn´t think Hogwarts is in danger."
"But then what? I mean we can train the DA nevertheless, without telling them of our suspicions, so they will be ready just in case –but will that be enough?"
"I think we should find out what this breach in security is, or the hole in the wards, and see if we can´t fix it somehow."
Ron stared at her. "Hermione, it was something the founders couldn´t do! They were the greatest wizards in the last thousand years! How do you expect us to do something they couldn´t?"
"I don´t know if we can! But I think we should try and find out, maybe Dumbledore can do something then, I don´t know…"
"Don´t you think he would already know about it? Being the headmaster? And have done something if he could?"
"No," Harry said, "I overheard McGonagall saying that no one knows exactly what the wards are. And we don´t know why the founders couldn´t do it –perhaps it wasn´t because it was too difficult but because they didn´t have enough time or something. We won´t know before we´ve found out what it is."
"Where do we start then?" Neville asked with a look at Harry that clearly showed he expected him to have the answer already thought out.
"In the library of course!" Hermione answered instead and Ron rolled his eyes. "We´ll look if there´s anything about the Founding of Hogwarts and then go on from there."
"We could also ask Professor Binns, Hermione. You remember second year when he told us about the Chamber of Secrets?" Neville said, "Even if he thinks it is just a myth it might help us."
"Good idea, Neville," Ron answered, "and whatever he tells you, it has to be more interesting than the forty-eleventh Goblin uprising or the tale of Uric the Oddball meeting a Flobberworm."
It turned out that Hermione and –surprisingly- Neville did most of the work. With Occlumency –that came along well according to Dumbledore though he still had not once used the curse against Harry – DA meetings and learning everything the members wanted to teach, his normal schoolwork and Quidditch practise on top of everything else Harry didn´t have much time for researching the Founding of Hogwarts.
Ron had become absolutely obsessed with Quidditch, even more than Oliver –Harry wondered if this was part of the captaincy, after all Angelina had also been a sensible girl before she became captain – and held practises at least three times a week and spent another two or three evenings on devising new strategies.
Hermione, who had after all more classes than anyone else, had to stop translating the Black-books which put her in a bad mood ("Just when I finally thought I would be getting somewhere! I almost had the first page of the introduction translated!") but she was as always intrigued by the puzzle (and the library) and determined to find answers.
Neville seemed proud that Harry had confided in him as well and apparently wanted to prove to the others that he deserved their trust. And while Hermione worked faster through the stacks of books no one worked more persistently and thoroughly than him.
Their library search hadn´t brought much success so far but of course their were still hundreds of dusty old books that didn´t look as if they had been touched in centuries. But about a week later Hermione and Neville came excitedly back from their History of Magic lesson.
"Ron! Harry! We asked Binns about the founders after class, we said we´d like to do some extra credit work. –Well, Hermione said." Neville told them beaming.
"Better you than me, Hermione," Ron threw in.
Hermione shrugged. "He will probably have forgotten it by now anyway." The three others gave her disbelieving stares. "What? I never said he was exactly a model teacher. –Well, he went into a long lecture about how great the founders were, and about their relations to the Goblins at that time –it was actually quite interesting."
Neville continued: "And then we asked a bit more about how they warded the school. He didn´t really tell us much about that, said that each founder put every defensive spell on the castle they could think of and that it isn´t known what exactly they used. We had to push a bit more –we mentioned the Sorting Song and the hole in the wards."
"Binns wasn´t pleased with that –apparently he wasn´t at the Sorting, or he had already forgotten about it- at least he said that we shouldn´t believe in such stories and that the Hat shouldn´t support such unproven tales."
"He admitted that there was a legend of the founders trying to do some complicated spell after they had all done their individual protections, something they had to cast together during a special night. Apparently people said after the division between Gryffindor and Slytherin that their failure to work together on that spell had already foreshadowed their later split up."
"When we asked more about what that spell was he got very curt and told us it was all a myth and totally unverified and floated away through the board."
Harry rubbed his temples. "At least Binns confirmed that there is something with the wards."
"Yeah, if Binns thinks it´s a myth it´s bound to be true." Ron sighed. "But I guess that means we´re back to the library to find out about spells to cast by four people on a special night."
########################################################################
So the research went on. On the other hand Harry spent some time each evening just before he went to sleep watching the Marauders Map for Graham Cole. But the Slytherin didn´t do anything special, at least he wasn´t in any place he shouldn´t be. Only after their next DA meeting –Padma and Ernie had held a very good lesson about Disabling Charms with barely needing Harry´s help in teaching them –did he see something suspicious.
Harry was letting the members go in small groups and while he watched the map he spotted "Graham Cole" on the first floor. Harry wanted nothing more than go and have a look what Cole was doing but it wasn´t so easy.
"Oh, could I have a minute, Harry? I´m not sure if I really understood that spell correctly." Parvati stood very close to him, smiling up and batting her eyelashes.
Hermione stifled a snort and shook her head before grabbing Neville´s and Ron´s arms and with a "We´ll see you in the common room then." dragged both boys out.
"Parvati, I –maybe we can meet some other evening, I don´t have time right now, I- I forgot to send an owl…"
"You want to meet me another evening?" Parvati giggled, "Sure, whenever you like." And with a last wink she went out the door, too. Harry had the bad feeling that she had interpreted his answer completely different than he had meant it.
Shaking his head he cautiously stepped out of the room and had another look at the map. Cole was still on the first floor. Quickly and quietly making his way down Harry stopped on the second floor. He did not have his cloak with him this time. Whispering the spell he felt the Disillusioning slide down his body like a raw egg.
Sneaking further down he saw on his map an obviously also disillusioned Cole standing in front of the Vanishing Cabinet, where the twins had pushed in Montague last year, and heard him muttering: "Damn, open up already! How does it open…"
Harry did not know what to do. What was Cole up to? Should he just wait here and see? But he had watched the last time and not understood what was going on…
"What are you doing?"
Cole turned around fast, his wand raised. "Who are you? Where are you?"
Harry hesitated –but it couldn´t really hurt, so he answered. "Harry Potter. And what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I came to look what you were doing."
"How would you know I was here? And I wasn´t doing anything."
"You tried to open that cabinet. Tell me why and I might help you."
"I wasn´t doing anything here. Why should I? I think I´m better going now." The Slytherin´s voice now held definitely some unease. Harry wished he could see his face instead of just the blurry outlines when he moved.
"Look, I know you tried to open it, I heard you! And I saw you when you went out into the forest and helped those girls!"
"You didn´t! You can´t have. –I never was in the forest, you must have mistaken me for someone else."
"I know it was you, you´re Graham Cole, from Slytherin, and you stunned that Cusith and then you hid from Filch on the first floor. I made the noise on the second floor to get Filch away from you."
"It –anyway, it´s none of your business!"
Harry had a sudden inspiration. "Are you trying to help them again? Is one of the girls in there?"
"I –really, why don´t you just leave me alone. I´m helping no one!" But Harry felt his idea had not been far from the truth.
"Have you tried Alohomora?"
"What do you think I am? A first year? It doesn´t work."
Harry thought back to a conversation he had had with Terry about closing off the Room of Requirement during DA meetings and the advanced opening spells the Ravenclaw had mentioned. "Effregio!"
It had the desired effect. The door of the cabinet sprang open and something –someone in a bundle of robes fell out. Sitting up the boy swayed rather dizzily back and forth with his eyes crossed. Harry didn´t know how exactly the Vanishing Cabinet worked but last year Montague had disappeared in it and apparently only reappeared after someone had opened the door of the cabinet again. From what he had heard from the rumours anything inside the cabinet ceased to exist until it was pulled out again –which might explain the disorientated state of the boy now sitting in front of him.
"Er, what now? D´you know who he is?"
The Slytherin was silent for a moment then answered reluctantly: "His name is Peter Doves. He´s from my house."
"And how did he end up in there? What shall we do with him now?"
"I guess we have to take him to the hospital wing. He doesn´t seem alright."
"Yeah, guess you´re right. But what do we tell Madam Pomfrey? We´re out after curfew and I, at least, have no idea how to explain what happened to him."
"Then we won´t stay around long enough for her to question us. He hasn´t seen us since we´re both disillusioned and he´s in no state to answer anything anyway." Cole said gruffly.
Harry didn´t like it too much but couldn´t think of any other solution which wouldn´t get them into trouble so he silently dragged the boy to his feet together with the Slytherin. Their journey to the hospital wing was long and exhausting because the younger boy wouldn´t walk straight but instead stopped and turned every few steps and made some odd blubbering noises from time to time. Harry expected Filch to swoop down on them from behind every corner and was more than once tempted to just stun their charge in exasperation because of a new sudden change of direction. Cole apparently had as well enough to do with pulling his housemate along for he did not say a single word during their trip.
"Let´s sit him down here." Cole motioned to the wall next to the entrance of the hospital wing. He then bent down and murmured a few words, at last drawing a circle in the air with his wand.
"What are you doing?"
"No time now, come on, let´s get away from here."
With a last look at Peter Doves, who was now sucking his thump, Harry followed Cole, only hoping that Madam Pomfrey did get some experience with Montague and knew how to cure her new patient.
When they reached an unused area on the third floor far away from the hospital wing Harry spoke again. "So what was that spell you used?" Talking to someone you couldn´t see felt really weird.
"Just an alarm spell. I set the timer for five minutes, then it should make enough noise to get Madam Pomfrey."
"And why? Why was he in that cabinet? –Wait, is he a Muggleborn, too? Did some of your house do this?"
"Why should it interest you, Potter? I said it before, it´s none of your business."
"Maybe because I just dragged him to the hospital wing with you? Because I opened the door of that cabinet?" Harry felt rather angry and irritated by the Slytherin´s refusal to answer by now.
"Nobody asked you to."
"And just what are you up to? Shouldn´t you be with your Slytherin friends stuffing little Mudbloods in Cabinets? Why bother to help some worthless Muggleborns?" Harry spat.
"Like I said none of your business." Cole´s voice was icy cold. "Just keep your belief of the oh so heroic, good Gryffindors and the slimy, evil Slytherins… But you will not tell anyone about what happened tonight or the other night in the forest."
"What should prevent me from telling anyone?!"
"Because if you do then I will tell Snape that it was you who stuffed Peter in there –and whom do you think he will believe? The arrogant Potter bullying some little Slytherins, typically Gryffindor, and threatening to hex me if I told anyone about it… Snape will believe my story, trust me, especially after what happened to Montague, -perhaps that was you, too, hm, Potter?… So keep your mouth shut, and none of us will get into trouble."
Harry was stunned speechless as Cole turned around and –judging by the sound of his steps- walked down the stairs into the direction of the Slytherin common room.
When he finally had made his way back to his own common room he still felt like he had been hit by Bludger on the head. He had just helped Cole! And now the Slytherin threatened to snitch on him to Snape for something he hadn´t done in the first place! But he could just imagine Snape´s reaction… He shuddered.
"Centaur´s pride" The portrait swung open.
"Where have you been that long, Harry? Parvati arrived ages ago!" Ron called from his chair at the fire.
"I –oh, I told her I had forgotten to send an owl, and then I couldn´t just walk back here right after her…" He didn´t like to keep secrets from his friends but as he hadn´t told them about his first encounter with Cole it would be difficult to explain anyway.
"Hermione thought she would corner you –I take it you didn´t enjoy it too much when you made up some excuse? Seems you really hit it with the girls this year…" Ron smirked.
"What?" Harry was puzzled, "Which other girls do you mean?"
"Oh, Cho for once…"
"Cho? But we broke up last year, and she´s still angry about that curse on her friend… And I know for sure that I don´t feel that way about her anymore."
"Yeah, guess she´s not the right one for you, mate. Think you could do far better…" Ron´s expression changed suddenly and he frowned at their dormitory. "Well, I think I´m off to bed now. Hermione already went to sleep. You coming, too?"
"No," Harry felt like he needed to order his thoughts first, and with a jolt remembered the letter to Remus he still hadn´t written… "I´ll stay down for a bit longer."
Dear Remus,
How are you? I hope everything is going well at Headquarters. I´m fine here at Hogwarts -
Harry shook his head. There was no point in writing if he couldn´t write an honest letter. Unwrapping one of the chocolate frogs Ron had left he grabbed a new parchment and started over.
Dear Remus,
maybe you wonder why I´m writing to you but I´ve been thinking a lot lately and I don´t want to make the same mistake again that I made with Sirius. You know, I never told him how much he meant to me, how grateful I was that he was there for me, how I wished I could stay with him… I want to thank you for being there for me over the summer, you don´t know how much it helped to talk with you or when you told some story of the Marauders, of the happy times. You are now the last friend of my parents that is left, well, the last that cares about me, and that I care about. I don´t want to lose you too. I know there is a war coming, and you´re on missions for the order… I know you can´t promise me to stay safe, but please try. I need you.
Here at Hogwarts everything´s very busy, I didn´t think it could get worse than fifth year with the OWLs –but I was wrong. The new Liaison Officer is a bit suspicious though, do you know anything about him? His name´s Henry Rookwood. There is another Rookwood who broke out from Azkaban and was at the Ministry that night last year. Do you know if they are related?
Say hello to Tonks and Moody and the Weasleys from me, and take care,
Harry
Harry hoped Remus wouldn´t think he was some whimpering little boy but at least he had written the truth about what he felt. He quickly rolled the parchment up to send it in the morning. Eating the last bit of his chocolate frog he routinely checked the card if it was Agrippa, whose card Ron had been looking for ever since first year.
It wasn´t. A mad looking witch with large unseeing eyes, clashing red and orange trousers and a turquoise men´s shirt shook her walking stick at Harry.
He turned the card over and read:
Ursula Sigefreyding, 719 – 768 AD
Disguised as a man Miss Sigefreyding led a band of robbers who raided travellers and traders in the forests of northern Germany. But she became particularly famous for the Protection Charm she used together with her sisters to defend the little village of Brockenheim, where they were born. When her fellow raiders were arrested one day she managed to escape but lost her eyesight due to a misspelled curse. Miss Sigefreyding retired to a reclusive life with only a pet Basilisk, who sadly ate her one day, probably mistaking her for one of the goats she used to feed it.
Turning back to the picture Harry grinned. She did indeed bear some resemblance to a goat.
A.N.: As I said before I have to take a break after this chapter. I´ll have to write five exams in Economy and Law in the next month and won´t have time for updates. (Believe me, I´d rather write fanfiction than learn about taxes...) My last exam is on the 6th of August, don´t expect anything before, but I promise I will continue as soon as it is over! And hopefully faster during the holidays...
Thanks to all of you who have read so far and put me to your Favourites and on Author Alert, and especially to those who reviewed!