Chapter 5: Tests and Traveling
In a round, warmly lit office, there sat a wizened old wizard who seemed so perfectly comfortable and at peace, that one might think at first that he was fast asleep. His eyes were closed and he hands were clasped loosely in front of his face as his elbows rested gently on the arms of his chair. The room was filled with strange and interesting things, and the walls were lined with paintings of distinguished-looking old witches and wizards. One painting, however, was particularly interesting, because at the moment it was empty.
Without warning, the door to the office flew open and a distressed witch rushed up to the old man.
"Dumbledore! Is he alright?" Professor McGonagall looked at the headmaster with worried eyes, and a few strands of hair had snuck out of her usually immaculate bun.
"Please sit, Minerva. I'm expecting news any moment. He was badly injured when we found him, but he was talking." Professor Dumbledore's words were meant to comfort the anxious witch, but she noticed the strain in his voice and thought she saw a glimmer of fear in his eyes.
"You talked to him? What happened with th-" she began excitedly, but she was cut short suddenly by a third voice.
"Professor Dumbledore, I've just spoken with the healers. Hagrid is going to be fine." The voice was coming from the portrait which had been empty seconds ago. The woman in the portrait was nodding happily, making her curly hair bounce around. Professor McGonagall sank into a chair, but she stilled looked anxious as she eyed Dumbledore expectantly. Finally, sensing her impatience, he spoke.
"To answer your question, or rather, questions...yes. I spoke with Hagrid. And thanks to the news we've just received, I can safely say that we now have two less things to worry about."
"So it was successful?"
"Very successful. Due to recent developments, the giants were more that ready to accept Fudge's terms. Though, from what Hagrid said, he had a rather difficult time explaining to them."
"But.what happened? Why did they attack him if.?" McGonagall let her words hang in the air as a new thought seemed to occur to her. "Death Eaters?" Dumbledore nodded solemnly.
"Yes, I suppose Hagrid is very thankful for his Giant blood now. So many stunning spells at once might have destroyed anyone else. But please," he said, "What news do you have from headquarters?"
"Everything is going well. Mundungus and Lupin are ready to escort Harry whenever you give the word."
"Excellent. Well, it should only be a few days, Severus tells me. He made a request to accompany them."
"Pfft!" she said as she made a sour face. "Severus? Go with the two of them? He must have been joking."
"He was quite serious, Minerva. He feels his potion should be tested to be sure it's strong enough." The old man's eyes twinkled slightly, "As Severus pointed out, Harry can be very stubborn at times."
*****
In the dim early morning light, Harry awoke to the sound of loud tapping. He looked up groggily to see Hedwig hovering impatiently at his window. He stumbled up from the hard chair he'd fallen asleep in and quickly let her in before shutting the window with a 'smack'. Hedwig landed heavily on Harry's desk and ruffled her feathers with distaste, spraying the room as she did so. It was already beginning to drizzle outside, and Harry thought fleetingly that the weather seemed to be mirroring his mood very well recently.
He had spent the last two weeks searching tirelessly through a towering stack of books, which were now strewn messily across his desk. He had hunted feverishly through each book at least two times, but found nothing. Several times he had thought he was onto something, only to be disappointed when it led nowhere. Indeed, with each new day, Harry was growing more and more desperate; he'd even read all of Gilderoy Lockhart's books, wondering crazily if he might find some small clue within. But it was all in vain. Harry hadn't come across any information about defeating dark wizards.
Now he was just exhausted. For two weeks he had barely slept. The only rest he got came in the form of random, accidental naps, after which Harry would awake with his head resting in an open book and a quill still in hand. Now, standing next to his unused bed, he found it very inviting and finally gave in and sat down on it. Hedwig took this opportunity to settle herself happily on his lap, and he noticed at once that she was carrying a letter. 'Prob'ly a response from Lupin,' he thought, as he slowly untied it from her leg. He'd been careful to write to Lupin a few times to keep him from worrying or coming to check up on him. When at last Harry got the letter off, he read it quickly before tossing it aside.
"Yep," he said aloud, "Another letter from Lu-- wait!" Harry jumped up as if he'd been bitten, causing Hedwig to 'hoot' with alarm. He wasn't paying attention to her, though, as he looked again to the letter.
Dear Harry,
Glad to hear that your relatives are treating you well. Perhaps that means I'll get a friendly welcome? I'll be arriving early today as part of your escort. See you soon!
Sincerely,
Remus
Harry froze. Remus-an escort-was coming here today? No. No. NO. He couldn't go with them. He'd have to leave before they arrived. Harry was sure that he wouldn't be able to convince Lupin to leave him alone. He began throwing all of his things haphazardly into his trunk, wondering how much time he had. Maybe he could fly off on his Firebolt racing broom. Thinking vaguely of shrinking the trunk to fit in his pocket, he hurriedly heaved his books in, along with Mrs. Weasley's charmed pie and the rest of his birthday gifts. But as he dumped the armload in with the rest of his belongings, Hermione's book of Daily Prophet clippings fell open and he found himself looking into a familiar face.
Harry's stomach lurched as he recognized Sirius, whose picture was dead center underneath a headline which read 'The Late Black Cleared Of All Charges.' Forgetting about his rush, Harry sat down to read the article.
Tragic truth revealed too late
Last Tuesday, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, announced to the public that presumed-murderer, Sirius Black, was found to be innocent. Though sentenced to life in Azkaban, Black served only twelve years of his sentence before he escaped nearly three years ago. Now the facts reveal the truth about Black, only to discover that he was killed less than a month ago.
Harry stopped reading as he felt a lump come to his throat. That idiot Fudge! He had heard the truth three years ago. It was infuriating of him to clear Sirius' name now, after all the grief that could have been avoided! Still, he felt strangely comforted to know that the wizarding world now knew the truth about Sirius. Harry cursed himself for canceling his subscription to The Daily Prophet. How long had this article been out? Harry's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud shout from his uncle.
"Petunia! The kitchen! Where's that boy?"
Harry rushed madly around his room in an effort to gather the last of his things. He slammed his trunk shut, grabbed his Firebolt, and whipped out his wand. He was just getting ready to shrink the trunk when his door was thrown open.
Remus Lupin walked in, closely followed by Mundungus Fletcher, who looked like he had just walked out of a trash bin. Harry, however, was looking in shock at the third arrival. His jaw dropped as Professor Severus Snape swooped haughtily into the room.
"Good to see you, Harry!" Lupin said happily. Harry nodded dumbly, still staring at Snape.
"What are you doing, Potter?" Snape lashed out, evidently irritated at Harry's reaction. "I was under the impression that underage wizards were not permitted to practice magic during the holiday." Harry realized too late that his wand was still raised over his trunk.
"Oh, cool down, Severus!" Mundungus chided, "He's done nothing wrong, just finishing 'is packing is all." Snape gave Mundungus a withering look before turning to Lupin.
"Well, Lupin," he sneered, "Shall we get on with it then?" He gave Lupin a meaningful look before gesturing ever-so-slightly towards the hallway. Only then did Harry realize that his aunt, uncle, and cousin were all cowering at the top of the stairs, watching the three strangers with looks of utmost terror.
"Right, Severus!" Lupin said, a little too cheerily. Then he turned to Harry, "All ready, then?"
"Er.I s'pose." Harry tried not to let Lupin see his disappointment. There was no way he could avoid it now; he'd just have to go with them. He started pulling his trunk out of the room, but Lupin stopped him.
"I'll get it. You worry about your broom and your owl-cage. Here, Dung, give me a hand!" They began lugging the trunk into the hall and Harry made to follow, but was stopped by Snape.
"Wait, Potter. Before we go, there is something you need to do." He reached into his robes and pulled out a large vial of dark, thick liquid. Harry eyed it unhappily as Snape rolled the vial between his fingers. Then, suddenly, he felt a dull pain in his head. He looked up in surprise as Snape stumbled back against Harry's desk, holding both hands to his temples. The greasy-haired professor was staring at Harry with an angry, puzzled look. Slowly, he placed the vial back in his pocket. Harry wondered what the substance in the vial had done to him as he watched Snape stalk quickly from the room.
Harry, with Hedwig perched on his shoulder, reached the entryway just in time to hear Lupin speaking.
"So you gave him the test? He took the serum?"
"Yes..no.let's just get out of here!"
"But, Severus," Lupin started to argue, but he stopped short as Snape turned to see Harry on the stairs.
"Um.so how are we traveling?" Harry tried weakly to make the situation less awkward.
"Flying again." Lupin answered, obviously eager to change the subject. "We can't use any tangible magic here so, no floo powder, though that'd probably be rather risky anyways." As he spoke, Lupin laid a large length of parchment on the floor and Mundungus helped him heave the trunk onto it. Then the two of them each picked up an edge and folded towards the center.
"Presto Parchment," Mundungus told Harry, who quickly remembered his birthday letter as he watched the trunk dissolve into the plane of the paper. Lupin then rolled up the parchment and stuffed it carefully into his rather shoddy robes. Then Lupin quietly led the way out to the back yard. Harry noticed with interest that his relatives were watching now from the living room. He had just reached the back door when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned and was surprised to see his Aunt Petunia standing there with a worried look on her face. She seemed nervous as she looked at Harry uncertainly. Then, leaning very close, she whispered into his ear.
"I'm sorry!" Aunt Petunia turned and walked quickly back to the front of the house, leaving Harry to stare in amazement into the empty hallway.
"Potter! Get out here!" Harry jumped at Snape's angry voice, but quickly pushed through the door and onto the wet back lawn. All three of the men looked ready to mount their brooms, and Lupin was gazing up into the sky, trying to keep rain from dropping into his eyes. Harry tucked Hedwig's cage under his arm and prepared to mount his own broom. Seeing this, Hedwig fluttered above him excitedly. Finally, Lupin turned to the others.
"Okay," he said, "Let's go, and try to stay out of sight, Harry. Dung, you keep an eye out. Let's go!" With a burst of speed, all four of them pushed off, with Hedwig soaring playfully beside Harry, and for a moment, he forgot his reluctance about joining his friends and simply enjoyed the view.