Chapter 12: Home At Last
A chilly drizzle fell quietly from the grayness above as Harry Potter stood stubbornly on the lawn of Hogwarts. He was not alone; behind him stood a small crowd of familiar faces. Hermione and Ron stood nearest Harry, and a sprinkling of red-heads indicated the presence of the rest of the Weasley family. Also present was a handful of the more courageous and determined students and teachers, but most prominent were the figures of Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall.
In front of Harry stood the unmistakable form of Lord Voldemort, his cloak ruffling in the slight breeze. His eyes held a look of crazed passion, some combination of anger and delight. Like Harry, the Dark Lord was flanked by his supporters, and among the ranks of Death Eaters, Dementors were distinguishable only by their height and the slow, rattling breaths they took.
Apart from the tell-tale breathing, there was complete silence as Voldemort and Harry stared at each other. Despite the many witches and wizards that surrounded them, it was clear that this was a battle between Harry and Voldemort only. Then, at last, the Dark Lord spoke, his eyes burning.
"So, Potter! The moment has come—we shall see who is destined to live, and who will fail."
"I do not fear you," Harry said clearly.
"Perhaps not…but that will not save you, and it will not save your pathetic friends who stand trembling behind you."
Harry did not flinch, but remained still, saying quietly, "I will protect them with my last breath." Voldemort sneered.
"Like they have protected you?" A note of amusement slipped into his voice. "With their lies and their secrets? With the wise choices they made for you? Ahh, yes, they've certainly earned this. Thanks to these fools, you've lived such a happy life, hmm?" He cackled.
"They tried," Harry said, this time more quietly still. But he remained standing defiantly, his wand pointed at Voldemort.
Suddenly, the older wizard laughed shrilly. "Oh, my dear boy," he said, "Don't you think it's time you faced reality? Must I be the one to point it out to you? They're not standing behind you! They're standing behind you! You aren't their hero—you're just their shield." Once again, Harry spoke softly.
"That isn't true," he said, but his eyes had widened and his hand trembled ever-so slightly. Seeing this, Professor McGonagall burst out breathlessly.
"It isn't true, Harry! Don't listen to him!" But Voldemort laughed viciously as, suddenly, all around the gathering, a wave of echoes could be heard in what was clearly Voldemort's voice.
"They lied to you!" "They abandoned you for eleven years!" "They don't care what happens to you…you're nobody to them!" Then, through the frenzy of sound, a new voice was heard among the echoes. Harry gasped and cringed as his own voice began taunting him loudly. "Why didn't they tell me the truth about it all?" "They could have done something to save Sirius!" "Everything about my life has been guarded like some great secret!" And finally, the echoes merged into one, eerily singular voice which grew even louder and more accusing. It seemed to bombard Harry from all sides. "You never mattered." "There's only one fate for you." "YOU ARE ALONE."
Minerva McGonagall saw Harry's face frozen in a look of horror, and then she awoke with a sharp gasp, shaking uncontrollably. She dropped her head into her unsteady hands, and felt hot tears covering her cheeks.
*****
Harry arrived at Hogwarts in time to see the now-empty carriages being pulled away from the castle by the skeletal black thestrals. The sky was already a deep indigo and stars were twinkling down on the grounds of the castle peacefully. Harry could almost feel his heart warming as he looked down on the familiar castle, and he had to admit that he was glad to be back.
He and Lupin had flown all day long, stopping only once for a short rest and a snack. For the first hour or so, Lupin hadn't said a word. Harry easily got the hang of flying and soon found himself soaring happily through the sky, and he was glad that Lupin did not start talking immediately; he had a suspicion that Sirius' death was among the topics that Lupin had in mind. So, when Lupin did finally speak, Harry was surprised at what he said.
"Well, Harry," he started casually, "I must say I am shocked at how well you've mastered this animagus thing." Harry responded by doing a quick loop-the-loop, pleased with the praise of his flying skills, but Lupin shook his head. "No, I'm serious. I've never heard of someone learning the process so quickly. Do you realize…it took your dad and Sirius months to transform correctly? And what's more Harry, they weren't able to transform without wands for…well, for years! Peter never figured that out," he added the last comment bitterly.
Harry was slightly surprised at this information, but he couldn't speak, so he made no reply and just continued gliding along next to Lupin's broom. Lupin sighed.
"Anyways, that's not really what I needed to talk to you about…" Here it comes, Harry thought, and he was right. As Lupin tried to ease into the subject, it seemed to become more and more difficult to keep flying, until finally, Harry gave in and perched on the end of Lupin's broom. He didn't turn to face the other wizard, but Lupin kept talking. Harry didn't want to hear any of it, didn't want to have to think about Sirius, but he realized afterwards, that he felt better. He had needed to hear it.
Now, as Harry prepared to swoop down towards the immense castle, he thought back to what Lupin had said. Sirius had died as he would have wanted to die: fighting for his loved ones. Harry knew how much Sirius had hated being unable to act. He understood all too well Sirius' reasons for "coming to the rescue". "After all," Lupin told Harry, "If he hadn't gone to the Ministry and something had happened to you…he would have been devastated. I think he preferred death to such a possibility." Harry had nodded, remembering his own reasons for going to the Ministry, which were almost exactly the same.
Finally, Lupin signaled for Harry to land near a clump of wild looking shrubberies at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. As Harry gently alighted, Lupin pulled out what appeared to be an ordinary, if a bit unfashionable, pair of spectacles. These he placed gently on the bridge of his nose, where the bifocal lenses looked quite out of place. Harry watched curiously as Lupin glanced casually at his watch, but managed to get a good scan of their surroundings as he turned his head. At last he seemed satisfied and he pulled off the glasses as he turned to Harry with a grin.
"Alright, you can transform back now. The coast is clear." Harry immediately changed, eager to speak to Lupin.
"What are those?" he asked as he assumed his human shape and the two began walking towards the front doors of Hogwarts.
"Spect-oculars. Another handy little Weasley Twins invention. They can detect invisible motion."
"Invisible…like an invisibility cloak?" Lupin nodded.
"Among other things…" he trailed off. He reached into his robes and pulled out the roll of parchment which held Harry's trunk, broom, and other belongings.
"I didn't need the broom after all," Harry said thoughtfully as he accepted the parchment.
"No…you didn't seem to get tired at all..." He turned to Harry with a serious face, "Now, Harry, I'm going to be…well, I'm still recruiting for the Order, so I'll be traveling, but if you need me, Hedwig should be able to reach me fairly quickly. I just wanted you to know that…" Lupin hesitated, evidently having a hard time, but then continued, "I want you to know that you can talk to me if you need anything…or even if you don't…whenever you like….I'd be glad to hear from you. Otherwise, I expect I'll see you at the next Order meeting!" And with that, Lupin held Harry at arms length for a moment, said a quick "Good night!", and then turned and walked away. Harry realized that he was on the steps of Hogwarts, so he too turned and he walked slowly into the school.
The moment he stepped into the castle, Harry could hear the commotion coming from the Great Hall. He peaked in and saw that the sorting was almost over; only a few students remained standing in the front of the hall waiting to be placed in one of the four school houses.
"Vespa, Clive." A lanky, blondish boy took a seat on the stool, ramming the old sorting hat on his head.
"RAVENCLAW!" cried the hat. A wave of cheers rose up from the Ravenclaw table and the boy grinned and hurried towards his housemates.
"Wendel, Grace," Professor McGonagall called out once the cheering had stopped. A short, smirking girl walked purposefully towards the hat and placed it on her head immediately, not bothering to sit down. And almost instantly the hat responded.
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat, and a roar was heard from the Slytherin's side of the hall. Finally, the last student was called.
"Turly, Tonya. Transfer student." Harry watched the last girl place the hat on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" Harry cheered with the rest of his house as the girl got up and skipped towards the table. As she smiled, he suddenly recognized her as Tonks, and he decided that her disguise had certainly worked. Smiling happily, he entered the hall and made his way towards the still-cheering Gryffindor table. As he sat down, he saw Dumbledore's eyes on him and gave the Professor a brief nod before squeezing in beside Ron and saying a quick hello to some of his fellow Gryffindors.
"Hey, Harry…" Ron started in a whisper, but before he could say anything more, Dumbledore began to speak.
"Now that all of us are here and sorted, I have only a brief set of announcements. Firstly, I don't think I really need to remind any returning students, but for the sake of our new additions, let it be known that the Forbidden Forest is not to be entered for any reason. Also, please see Mr. Filch for the updated list of banned items, which now includes an assortment of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes merchandise. No magic is to be done in the corridors, and finally, at some point tomorrow, your instructors will be discussing the matter of increased security and safety precautions here at Hogwarts, so please pay close attention. Now…" he waved his hand gracefully, "Eat!"
As the food appeared on the table, Ron seemed to forget whatever he had wanted to say to Harry. He began piling things onto his plate at top speed, while Hermione looked on in disbelief. Harry took a moment to look around the table as he reached for the nearest platter that hadn't already been claimed by his best friend. On Hermione's other side were Parvati and Lavender, chattering excitedly with some seventh year girl Harry did not know. Neville, Seamus and Dean, who were all sitting nearby, greeted Harry cheerfully before continuing a serious discussion of their summer holidays. Tonks was sitting across from Hermione, also watching Ron with a mixture of shock and fascination, but she dragged her eyes away for a moment to give Harry a friendly wink. When Harry looked away from her and found himself looking directly across the table at three first years. To his surprise, all three of them were looking right back at him, apparently unaware of their hanging jaws.
"Harry POTTER?" demanded the middle one, a blonde-haired witch.
"Harry, meet Leah," Hermione said with a grin.
Leah aimed a shocked look at Hermione. "How did you know—?"
"Well, the whole hall heard your name called," Hermione said reasonably, trying in vain to get a bowl of mashed potatoes away from Ron. Leah seemed satisfied and focused once again on Harry. The boy to her right snickered and introduced himself to Harry and Hermione.
"I'm Hugh—and I know who you are Harry, but….?"
"Hermione Granger," Hermione offered, "And this, is Ron." As she pointed at him, Ron looked up from his plate briefly and grunted at the first years. Tonks introduced herself as Tonya, and Hugh smiled pleasantly, but Leah just nodded distractedly, keeping her eyes on Harry, who was finding it a trifle disturbing. He pulled his gaze away from Leah's bulging eyes and spoke politely to the last of the three.
"And who're you then?" But the girl didn't answer. Instead, she blushed and looked down at her plate. Harry shrugged and turned to Hermione, hoping to hear all the details of the train ride he had missed, but before he could bring it up, Leah spoke again.
"D'you realize you're rated as the Second Most-Desirable Underage Wizard by Teen Witch Magazine for the last two months?" she blurted out.
"WHAT?" Harry nearly choked on a bite of steak.
"Second Most-Desirable?" Ron muttered, "Who's the first?"
"Armand Cadeau, but that's just because he's rich and has a French accent…"
"And what makes Harry so desirable?" Tonks asked innocently, trying her best to suppress a smile.
"Well, I suppose the mystery for one thing. I mean obviously you're famous, but nobody knows anything about your life up until about five years ago, right?" Harry stared, but the girl continued seriously, "That makes you mysterious. And on top of that, you're a hero." By now, Ron was snorting stew up his nose, but Leah just went on. "I mean, you've done tons of brave stuff—like saving that Sorcerer's stone and killing that great snake-thing…and the Triwizard tournament, you won that right?"
Harry didn't know what to think. "How do you know all this stuff?" he asked incredulously.
"Well I was the president of our branch of the Harry Potter Fan Club for the last three years! I mean, honestly, I'd better know something about you if I want to be in that position. And, by the way, I had a very hard time keeping the club together last year…but I guess it all worked out for the best, 'cause now we've got only the most devoted fans. I'm actually quite sorry I had to leave it, but I imagine I'll fit into the Hogwarts branch just fine…"
"There isn't a Hogwarts branch," Hermione said at once. Leah turned to her and spoke condescendingly.
"Of course there is! My older sister had a fan club pen pal from Hogwarts a few years ago. That's how I got a lot of my inside information, actually. Do any of you know Jenny Weasley?"
"GINNY Weasley?" Ron yelled, spraying pumpkin juice across the table. Leah had no time to answer; only a few seats down, Ginny poked her head forwards curiously and looked at Ron.
"What is it?" she asked. Ron spluttered awkwardly for a moment, unable to form any intelligible words, and Hermione took this opportunity to whip out her wand. To Harry's relief, she muttered a quick "Silencio!" and turned to Ginny.
"He was just wondering if you'd brought any extra Skiving Snackboxes. He forgot all his, but I told him he shouldn't be using them anyways." Ginny looked at them oddly for a moment, but then shook her head and turned back to her conversation. Hermione rounded on Ron, who had turned an angry shade of red. "Do you realize what you almost did?" Ron, who was still silenced, just gaped at her. "You didn't even think about how much that would have embarrassed your sister?" He responded by rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up in frustration. Hermione sighed and released the silencing charm, but Ron now seemed unwilling to talk now, and the rest of the meal was spent in uncomfortable silence.
Harry was eager to get away from the Great Hall and up to bed, since the lack of conversation made it nearly impossible for him to ignore the curious observation of Leah and her friends. Thankfully, it wasn't long before both Ron and Hermione showed signs of exhaustion and the three of them trudged silently up to the Gryffindor common room. Harry wished Hermione goodnight as she parted and went towards the girls' dormitories.
"'Night, Harry…" Hermione muttered, "'Night, Ron…." Ron answered with a brief scowl, and Hermione gave a frustrated moan before she stalked away. The boys climbed the stairs to their own beds, and it wasn't until the door shut behind them that Ron spoke.
"A bloody fan club! She should be embarrassed!" he muttered. Seamus and Dean listened with interest, but Ron said nothing more as he prepared for bed, shaking his head the whole time. Harry couldn't help but grin at Ron's reaction, though he too was shocked at the idea of a Harry Potter Fan Club. Nevertheless, life at Hogwarts seemed to be starting off at its usual pace, and it certainly felt good to be home. He fell gladly into his four-poster, said 'goodnight' to Ron, Seamus, and Dean, and dropped into a deep, comfortable sleep.