"Oi, Ron!" Harry called, flinging aside the bed hangings. Ron wheeled around by the door, startled. He laughed, and put a hand over his chest.

"Nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought you were asleep!"

"I was," Harry said, "What time is it?"

"Well, it's about eleven," Ron said, "Everyone else has gone to breakfast already – we've missed it. Sorry, I probably should've woken you, but I was really tired myself. I figured we could get some breakfast...or some lunch, I guess, and then pay Lupin a visit, see what happened with Draco."

"Even better," Harry said, getting up and reaching for his school robes, "We can go see Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" Ron asked, his brow furrowing, "What for?"

"Well," Harry said, trying to keep his voice casual, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure," Ron said, doing a quick scan of the room, "What is it?"

"No," Harry said, leaning in a bit closer, "Can you Keep a Secret?"

"Ohhh," Ron said, and his brow furrowed even more, "I dunno Harry...are you sure you want me? I'm kind of the obvious choice, you know?"

"That's just it," Harry said, "You're the first person Draco suspected...but he's already asked Hermione about you..."

"I get it!" Ron said, his eyes lighting up, "Brilliant."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, guilt weighing heavy in his chest, "You know the danger, you saw what happened with Hermione—"

"Harry," Ron said seriously, "That's [I]why[/I] I'm glad it's me. You can count on me – I'll take it to the grave, mate."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Harry muttered.

"Oh, come on," Ron said chucking a nearby pillow at Harry's head, "Stop being such a mope. We'll get to see Lupin today...and we won't even have to do any homework to do it. And the Halloween Party's coming up. Hey, I heard the Weird Sisters got back together...They might still play!"

Ron paused thoughtfully and wrinkled his nose, "You don't think this'll be the kind of thing where we're supposed to ask someone, do you?"

"No," Harry said smiling, "I think you're safe. Why, thinking of asking anyone in particular?"

"No," Ron said defensively, "Anyway, it's better to go in a gang."

They clomped noisily down the steps together, and found Hermione and Ginny huddled together, deep in conversation.

"I knew it," Ron said sardonically, "Conspiracy. You lot are out to get us."

"Who says we were talking about you?" Hermione asked, but a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth, as though sneaking in despite her best intentions. Harry felt a warm feeling at seeing that smile – it was distinctly Hermione's.

"Hello, Harry," Ginny said stiffly.

"Ginny, Hi," Harry said, "Listen, I'm really sorry about—"

"Don't be," she said, "It's fine. I was making too big a deal out of it, anyway – I mean, I'll see you in Quidditch and all. Besides, I know you're busy. It's no big deal, really."

"Really?" Harry said, immensely relieved, "Oh, good!" He laughed a bit, "Because you were [I]really[/I] mad..."

But Hermione was giving him a sort of warning look.

"Err...and you had every right to be...of course. I just...really...hope that it's not...I mean, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings or anything," he added, glancing furtively at Hermione to see if he'd gotten it right.

"No, really," Ginny said smiling warmly, "It's fine."

Hermione gave the slightest of nods and a wink.

"Finally," Harry reflected, "I'm getting the hang of this."

"We've got to go...er...do...this thing," Harry said. He saw Ginny's face cloud over a bit. He knew she was upset that he was withholding from her...

"But we're going to lunch afterwards," he added quickly, "Want to come?"

"Oh, that's okay," Ginny said lightly, "I'm having lunch with Roger Davies."

"Roger Davies?!" Ron shouted, nearly falling off the arm of Hermione's armchair, where he'd been perched, "He's too old for you!"

"Roger Davies is a seventh year!" Ginny said, wheeling on her brother, the flame instantly igniting behind her sparkling eyes, "And I'm a fifth year, Ron! I'm only one year below you!"

"And two years below him! [I]Behind[/I] him," he corrected nervously, "I mean behind him!"

Ginny shot him one last scathing, arched eyebrow, and then beamed at Harry. "See you at practice Monday! Bye Hermione!"

"Bye," Hermione called, as Ginny flounced cheerfully out the portrait hole.

"Roger flipping Davies again," Harry said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Buck up, Harry," Ron said punching him on the arm, "We'll fix you up."

"With who?" Harry said mopily.

Hermione could barely suppress a moan of irritation.

"I dunno," Ron said, "Maybe...somebody nice. You know? A nice...nice girl."

Harry wasn't sure what he'd meant by a "nice" girl, but Ron seemed too embarrassed to say anything else, because he glanced at the door, and coughed abruptly.

"We should probably get going," he added.

Later that day, Harry and Ron, his newly appointed Secret Keeper, were walking towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, having just left Hermione, Neville, and Luna at the Gryffindor Table, and Ginny over at the Ravenclaw table, laughing insipidly at Roger Davies' jokes.

"It's so obnoxious," Harry said, not quite sure himself why it irritated him so much, "She doesn't need to hang on him like that...she's not just some stupid girl...I mean, she's better than that."

"I know, mate," Ron said, "Believe me, I know. Try being an older brother...how do you think I feel?"

"Yes, but still," Harry said, "I practically am her older brother too, aren't I?"

Ron didn't say anything. Harry found his mind wandering back to when Ron had said he was like his sixth brother, and he smiled.

The Fidelius Charm had gone off without a hitch that morning – he just had to tell Neville, so that he wouldn't panic when he realized he couldn't remember the address.

He was a little disappointed to note that there hadn't been the same burst of power that had emanated from Neville...yes, it had blown his hair back, and he supposed it was still impressive and all...but not nearly as jarring and forceful. He hoped it didn't bode ill.

But he also knew that Ron would never, ever let him down – not while there was breath in his body.

"Here we are, then," Ron said, rapping at the door.

"In," Lupin hollered crossly.

"[I]Someone's[/I] in a good mood," Ron muttered.

They entered to room to find Lupin irritatedly jabbing his wand around the classroom.

"Scourgify!" he bellowed, and the chalk dust exploded off of the chalkboard so fast, it the chalkboard was nearly pulled out of the wall. It hovered in the air for a moment, then condensed itself back into a short stub of chalk, which went whizzing back to its metal track, cracking into as it landed vehemently.

"Err...Professor? Uh....Remus?...Sir?" Ron asked tentatively.

Lupin stopped what he was doing and glared at Ron as though he'd interrupted something very important, indeed, but then his expression softened.

"Sorry, boys. Don't mean to be rude. Not having a very a good day."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, his brow knit with concern.

Lupin sighed, and slumped into the chair behind his desk. "Professor Snape dropped off some more Wolfsbane potion for me just a little while ago, and we had a few choice words."

"That slimy git," Ron said, hopping up onto one of the school desks, one leg crooked jauntily over the desk, the other trailing to the floor, "He's enough to drive anyone mad."

Lupin smiled at Ron strangely for a moment. "You know, sometimes being with you boys...Ah, nevermind."

"No, go ahead," Harry said grinning. He had a feeling he knew what he was going to say.

"Well, sometimes I feel like I've got my old friends back again," Lupin finished with a watery smile, "Especially you, Harry...you're looking more like James every day. I tend to either forget how young you two are, or forget how very, very old I am."

"You're not [I]very, very[/I] old," Harry said, with a grin, "At least not to me."

Lupin chuckled, "Thank you, Harry, for your vote of confidence."

"So what was Snape's problem?" Ron asked.

"Well, I don't know if you get the Sunday Prophet or just the Dailies, but they're tightening down on non-human wizard legislation," Lupin said scowling, "And Snape of course, was all to pleased to point this out to me. Especially seeing as it doesn't affect him in the slightest."

"Why would it?" Harry asked, "I mean, he's a human wizard."

"I know," Lupin said moodily, "All I mean to say is that he likes to rub it in – you know how charming he can be."

"Is that all that's bothering you?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Lupin sighed.

"Draco isn't expelled," he said frankly.

"Damnit!" Ron said, pounding the desk with his fist, "Damnit! It's is father, isn't it? That –"

And he continued to curse a blue streak.

"Ron, use your head," Lupin admonished gently, "Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater. He has no influence in the respectable wizarding community anymore. The Governors have known Malfoy, and hated him, for ages...you may remember he threatened to curse their families a few years back, when he called for Dumbledore to be removed from the school. No, Lucius couldn't get his son off the hook, not directly..."

He leaned back in his chair, and chucked his reading glasses onto his desktop irritatedly, "But Draco has some fortunate circumstances in his favor...or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it. The very fact that Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater has created a lot of sympathy for his wife and child, especially since she's still insisting that her husband is innocent...Also, the Governors are increasingly impatient with what they perceive to be a power struggle between the Ministry and the School...they're supposed to be making the decisions, and instead, they're nothing more than glorified referees between Minister Fudge and the Headmaster. But most importantly, the Governors respect Fudge a great deal, both personally, and for his title. And the Malfoy family has always been in good with Fudge - apparently they don't want to [I]offend[/I] the Minister," Lupin concluded with disgust, "By expelling Draco."

"So kicking Draco Malfoy out of school for [I]assaulting[/I] Hermione," Harry said hotly, "would offend Cornelius Fudge?"

"In a word, yes," Lupin sighed, "Even though Lucius is no longer a school Governor, and even though he's disgraced in the wizarding world, some things never change. And let it never be said that Lucius Malfoy isn't well connected. Fudge and the Malfoy family have been close for ages. Probably because of Malfoy's [I]philanthropical[/I] nature."

Ron furrowed his brow.

"Means he's giving Fudge a lot of Galleons," Lupin added, as an afterthought.

"I know what 'philanthropical' means!" Ron muttered, "I'm just...angry."

"I know," Lupin said helplessly, "I feel the same way, Ron. But what can we do? The power to expell Malfoy lies with Snape. And his hands are tied to a certain extent as well. Fudge doesn't want him expelled...Therefore, the Governors don't want him expelled...Precedent is against Dumbledore – he's always tried to avoid expulsion. And how would it look to Lord Voldemort if Professor Snape goes ahead and expells Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"I don't care how it would look," Harry said stubbornly.

"Harry," Lupin said patiently, "These are the kind of small sacrifices that are required in order to obtain a higher goal...Right now, it's more important that Severus...er, Professor Snape, not blow his cover. And for Dumbledore to override the Governors would look very poor indeed."

"Why would it look very poor indeed?" Ron asked.

"It's like I said, the school's getting a bad reputation," Lupin said, massaging the bridge of his nose, "As if we didn't have enough to worry about. Hiring 'dangerous' half-breeds, ignoring the Ministry's orders...Dumbledore's got to pick and choose when he's willing to toe the line, so that when it really counts, he can get away with doing what he pleases. Besides," Lupin concluded, "No student has ever been thrown out for causing a fight. They usually just get detention, which is what Malfoy got."

"Causing a fight?!" The desk clattered to the side as Ron jumped to his feet, "Causing a [I]fight?![/I]"

Lupin held up a restraining hand, "That's what the Governors decided happened that day. I don't like it any better than you two...but there it is. Malfoy started a fight with Hermione which got out of hand, and he's gotten detention for it. A simple fight between schoolmates."

"Did they happen to mention he was trying to figure out who my Secret Keeper was?" Harry scowled.

"They elected to ignore that particular bit of information," Lupin said, disgustedly, "And the fact that Hermione was just minding her own business. Of course, the fact that she's Muggle born doesn't count for much with the Purebloods on the panel. Very selective hearing, the Governors. No, they'd rather bury their heads in the sand. It's easier to make it go away if it's just a schoolyard fight."

"Can't the Order do something about it?" Ron added angrily.

Lupin gave Ron a look, and continued as gently as possible. "Ron, the Order is doing everything in its power to determine the whereabouts and plans of the Dark Lord himself...We can't divert time, operatives, and energy into getting Draco Malfoy expelled, however much we want to punish him for what he did. Tell you what," he said his expression brightening a bit, "Why doesn't the D.A. keep an eye on him for us?"

"Don't worry, we will," Harry said quietly.

"Come to that, any news from the Order?" Ron added.

"Not much," Lupin said with a frown, "And the news we have is troubling."

"Troubling how?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Well...Kingsley's disappeared."

"What??"

"Yes," Lupin said, scowling at his desk, and toying with a quill, "It's not as uncommon as you'd think. Many people in the Order don't know what the others are up to, so sometimes one or two members will disappear for a week or so and then return...You know, reconnaissance missions, public relations, a little espionage...Hagrid, for example, apparently went off to the mountains last summer with Madame Maxime...only just found out recently, myself. I had a feeling that's what he might've been up to, but my point is, you never really know."

"Thing is," he continued, and Harry could see the circles were quite dark under his eyes, "Kinglsey hadn't reported in to Headquarters in quite a while...He'd been to work, Tonks confirmed it, but he seemed...odd. And then, then other night, he turns up with Fudge...Minister Fudge," he corrected himself.

"You don't need to bother on our account," Ron said, "We all know he's a git."

"These things are important, Ron," Lupin said, "Always afford your enemies the respect they deserve. Like it or not, he [I]is[/I] the Minister. Disrespect leads to letting your guard down."

"Right," Harry said, impatiently, "So, Kingsley?"

"I'm getting there," Lupin scolded gently, "He turns up with Fudge, and still doesn't report in to Headquarters that night. Now, he hasn't shown up for work. No word."

"Well, it [I]is[/I] Sunday," Ron said.

Lupin smiled. "Aurors tend to be work-a-holics. They don't frequently take the weekend off. And Kingsley simply doesn't miss work. Ever. No, something's definitely wrong. Even Dumbledore seems concerned."

Lupin sighed heavily, "We're fearing the worst. This is the way Lord Voldemort operated when he was in power. Less overt killing, but plenty of 'disappearances.' And lots of Imperius curses floating about."

"You think that Kingsley..."

"We don't know," Lupin said simply, "I know I must sound like a broken record, but you see, in these times, knowledge is power...and at the moment, only Lord Voldemort knows what Lord Voldemort is plotting. Despite our best efforts, he's holding all the cards."

They left Lupin's classroom after a while, feeling much more dejected than when they'd gone in. Harry felt as though he might never see Lupin smile again...He wondered vaguely whether that was just Lupin, or whether it was the world itself that was sad? He remembered Lupin's parting words on the platform, telling him to play Quidditch, and kiss a pretty girl – to find the happiness even in the dark.

"Your father was good at that," Lupin's voice echoed in his head. Harry smiled to himself.