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Quilting the Soul
Chapter Two: Threading the Needle
James stepped into the Leaky Cauldron promptly at noon. No one gave him more than a cursory glance, which he knew would change were he to accept McGonagall's proposition. As of yet, he still wasn't sure what it was that she was proposing. He saw who he instantly knew to be his old Transfiguration professor and made his way to her table. He was sufficiently pleased to see that she had picked the most secluded one. He sat across from her and she nodded to him.
"Mr. Potter."
"Professor."
"I was pleased to find that you went into teaching. I do hope Horatio wasn't too much of a disturbance for you yesterday," Minerva said with a sly smile.
James' eyes flared and a smirk emerged. "You did that on purpose, didn't you, Professor."
It was a statement of fact rather than a question, so Minerva didn't deign to reply.
"Tell me about these Dark Knights, if you would."
Minerva's lips tightened into a thin line and she nodded once, sharply, before beginning.
"From what we can gather, they are styling themselves remarkably similar to the Death Eaters, but they are much more cautious and clandestine in their operations. We only became aware of them roughly two years ago. But since we have, the Order has reconvened and we have been following anything out of the ordinary. We do not know who leads this group, nor do we know the identity of any of its members. We are unaware of any of their motives for their doings. We don't know why they've abducted Ginny and the rest, but we believe that they are planning a major move in the future due to their removing of several key people. They have also desecrated several sacred wizarding areas prior to any other movements that we know of. As for the abductees, there really is no link between them that we can find, but we hope that it will become clearer before anyone else goes missing."
"What do you want me to do about it? What makes you so sure I even can help?"
"Albus has asked me to offer you a place on the staff teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."
James blinked at her. "Why me?"
It was Minerva's turn to blink. "Simple, Mr. Potter. You faced and defeated the greatest Dark Lord of the time. Seven times, if you count your first defeat of him. You are eminently suited to teaching others how to defend themselves and those around them against evil forces until help can arrive. You were able to produce a Corporeal Patronus at the age of thirteen. You, along with your friends, founded a club that taught Defense. You were, in that club, the principle teacher. At fifteen, you and five other students battled fully trained adult wizards who had the sole intention of killing all of you, and won. Do you need more proof of your ability, Mr. Potter?"
Had she been describing anyone other than himself, he would have immediately agreed with her. But as it was him, he needed more time. But already he was contemplating taking the next year off, and compiling the list of books he would choose from for his classes. He would need to see what had been published recently, as well as what his successors already covered. And he knew only two things for certain if this was the post they were offering him. One, the position was still cursed. Two, Snape didn't get it. That last thought made him smile. He refocused his gaze on his companion to find her smiling back at him. And he knew then that he had already made his decision.
"Would you care to accompany me to Diagon Alley to look at the available literature for the subject, Professor?"
Minerva agreed, and they left the Inn to spend an enjoyable amount of time in Flourish and Blotts, as well as restock his supply of quills, parchment, ink and other necessary items. He also picked up a supply of owl treats. As they were leaving the Alley—Minerva for Hogwarts and James for Surrey—he turned to her and gave her the first genuine smile he had given her all day.
"I will see you in a week then, Professor. Please keep my arrival to yourself and the Headmaster, if you will. I don't care to have reporters at the gates for my arrival."
Minerva nodded.
"Until then, Mr. Potter."
After clearing it with his superior—claiming a personal emergency that would take him out of the country for a year—James packed his trunks, closed up and warded his house, and made his way to the Leaky Cauldron to stay the night.
In the morning, he apparated directly to the Shrieking Shack and made his way through the tunnel and away from the Whomping Willow.
He entered through the great oak doors and paused, his trunks floating beside him. Minerva was waiting for him in the Entrance Hall.
"Come, Mr. Potter. You may leave your trunks where they are. The house elves will see to them. Albus has requested your presence immediately."
James nodded, and followed the Head of Gryffindor House. He knew that once he stepped through the door and into the Headmaster's office, he will no longer be H. James Pierce, Introduction to Literature teacher, but Harry J. Potter, the boy-who-lived and the Savior of the Wizarding World once again. He wasn't looking forward to it.
Albus Dumbledore smiled serenely at all those gathered in his office. The Weasleys were represented through their youngest son and his wife, Ron and Hermione. Draco Malfoy was also there, along with many others. These included the Heads of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin as well as some members of the Order of the Phoenix. This was only a small gathering, as he could not have the full body of the Order together in his office. There simply wasn't room. Now to wait for the final entrance.
"Where is she, Albus? Normally she's here long before the rest of us," Hermione Weasley—nee Granger—said. He had no need to ask who she was, as there was only one person missing. Minerva McGonagall.
"She will be along, Hermione. There is a bit of work that she needs to accomplish before she can come. Then we may start the meeting. I can, however, tell you the topic that will be covered the most today, and that would be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He will be arriving sometime in the near future, although I cannot say for sure when. Minerva will have that information for us when she arrives," Albus answered with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. A twinkle that never failed to remind Ron Weasley of his twin brothers Fred and George or, more dangerously, his only sister Ginny, now married to Malfoy, and missing.
"It is of the utmost importance that we retrieve the missing persons. As soon as we are all arrived, we can proceed with determining the connection between . . . Ahh. Minerva, at last. All business is concluded, then?" Albus asked as Minerva stepped in.
"Of course, Albus. May I present to you your new Defense Professor?" With a sweeping gesture, Minerva included the empty doorway behind her in this statement. She was met with curious looks. Turning around, she found herself alone. Tsking, she marched back to the doorway; arms akimbo and one eyebrow raised, she looked sternly into the shadows. A figure melted out of the darkness to sudden silence.
"Harry Potter has returned to Hogwarts," Draco sneered, earning an elbow from Hermione.
As if the comment was a signal, everyone began speaking at once. Albus held up a hand, and the room quieted, though there were still one or two murmurs going around.
"It is nice to see you again, Harry."
"And you as well, Headmaster," Harry replied, though none were convinced that he was truly excited to be back. He took his time looking at each face, searching for the signs of all they had been through in the last ten years. Surprisingly, Draco looked the most aged of them all. True, they all had internal scars that showed in their eyes, but Draco looked haggard, gaunt and weary. The others merely looked tired in comparison.
"Harry!" Hermione cried out and he soon found himself with an armful of woman. Best friend. Hermione.
"'Lo, Hermione," he whispered, his voice husky with emotion. He had missed his best friends, no matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise. He told himself he didn't miss them, that they didn't need or want him around since Voldemort was gone. He lied to himself.
Through greetings from the others—minus the Slytherins—Harry found himself seated with a piece of parchment in his hands. The list of abducted persons. They were searching for a connection, but couldn't find one, they said. They were hoping he could give them a new perspective on it, they told him. He didn't really care to hear them as his concentration was centered on the listing of names before him. He was riveted. He didn't understand how they never saw it before as it was quite obvious to him. Which was unusual since Hermione was diligently working on it. But the list told its own story.
Ginny Malfoy
Neville Longbottom
Susan Bones
Anthony Goldstein
Blaise Zabini
Oliver Wood
Viktor Krum
Florean Fortescue
Firenze
Michael Lovegood
Rita Skeeter
Him. He, Harry James Potter, was the connection. Oh, of course, the first six names would have been connected through Hogwarts, some even through their Houses. Or the Defense Association could have been the connection for many. But he could remember every meeting with every person on that list with vivid clarity. Rita Skeeter and Viktor Krum in his fourth year, or Florean Fortescue helping him with his History of Magic essay before his third year. Mr. Lovegood printing his and Skeeter's article in The Quibbler. Help from Firenze came times too numerous to count. The rest were easy. The D.A. or Quidditch or friendship. What he didn't know was why. Why was he the connection? Why did the Dark Knights want him?
"It's me," he said so quietly that he almost wasn't heard.
"Oh my. Potter speaks," Severus Snape spoke up for the first time since Harry's arrival. "Now, if only he could repeat it for the rest of us lowly mortals."
With a glare that could rival the Potions Master's best, Harry repeated himself.
"I said it was me. I'm the connection. I'm what they want."
"Pray tell, Potter. Why ever would they want you?"
"Oh, I don't know," Harry replied with sarcasm dripping from his every word. "Could be because I killed your—oops!—their master. Or perhaps because they wanted to join Voldemort and I took that away from them. Or possibly because they. Are. Bloody. INSANE!"
He took immense pleasure in seeing both Malfoy and Snape flinch at the—still—forbidden name.
Dumbledore leaned forward over his desk and looked directly into Harry's eyes. "Why do you say 'their master', Harry? Do you have any information for us?"
Harry shook his head. "No, Sir. It just seems obvious to me that they are, at least partly, made up of Death Eaters. I mean, who else would have the knowledge that they possess? And go about things quite that way? They share many of the characteristics that the Death Eaters did towards the end of the last war. Voldemort may have been brilliant, but he was too much of a megalomaniac to go about things quietly. But he wasn't the only one in that group who had brains. He merely had the power that the others lacked. And let's face it, Sir. I didn't make any friends in that particular crowd. This is all based on an assumption, of course, but it is the only logical answer. Surely you've seen that?"
"Yes, Harry. But we were, and still are, hoping to discount that. The knowledge that Voldemort passed on to many of his Inner Circle has not been widely circulated. It is more of a closely guarded secret between them. I fear that knowledge being put to use. I fear for the safety of our world. And so I hope that none of his Inner Circle are part of this new threat. But then, I fear that hope is misplaced, for where would the missing Death Eaters go if not to another gathering of those who think like them?"
"Exactly. So, what do you propose we do to rescue our friends?"
Dumbledore smiled and began to outline their plan, sketchy though it may be.
Authors' Notes: We would like to thank everyone who has reviewed thus far, and hope that you will continue to do so. We fervently hope that you have enjoyed this chapter and will let us know either way. We appreciate being on the author alert lists of 32 members, but we do hope that you will find it in you to review and let us know what we are doing right, wrong, or could change to make better. Thank you to you all.
Isisoftheunderground, Guacamoli, Angelic Prefect, FutureGoddess, Britni Puccio, TommieBoy 182, Z-Loca-Grl, Juliane Shelton, zoencomp.
Thank you for your wonderful reviews. Isis, thank you for pointing out the mistake in last chapter. Greatly appreciated by us both.
JA and Vit