A/N: Please don't kill me. I hate to tell you this, but medical school is hard! That combined with the worst writer's block that I've ever had resulted in the incredibly long delay.
I have set up a yahoo group. If should go down, posting will continue there, not to mention that it's a lot of fun.
http/groups. chapter had to be dedicated to my newly instated beta reader Chava without whom this chapter would still be in the works. As a warning, she told me that she needed chocolate to cheer herself up at the end of the chapter, so maybe you should all get some chocolate before beginning.
Harry Potter: Prophecy of the Phoenix- Chapter 15
Dumbledore's heart clenched painfully and guiltily as he looked, really looked, at Harry for the first time since his failed animagus attempt earlier that week.
If Dumbledore had not known better, he would have guessed that Harry had spent the previous week with the Dursleys as his features were beginning to take on the characteristics they had obtained during that dreadful summer.
Harry had begun to lose weight again, and though Dumbledore was well aware of Harry's continuous struggle with slumber, the shadows around his eyes had grown so much more defined.
He was about to invite the young man to sit, but when his gaze finally focused on Harry's eyes, his breath was stolen away in surprise. He had never seen Harry's eyes so intensely brilliant, glimmering with decision and determination.
It was the very antithesis to the dull gray, dead-looking orbits that Dumbledore had been expecting to see, and he could not account for such a discrepancy.
Perhaps the situation was not as grave as he feared, and perhaps he was merely trying to delude himself once again.
Harry shifted his weight uncomfortably from side to side under his headmaster's gaze, feeling a little anxious and wishing that he at least had some clue as to why he was there.
Finally, Harry could stand it no longer and broke the silence, "Sir, Professor McGonagall said that you wanted to see me."
Dumbledore gave himself a mental shake. "Yes, Harry. Please have a seat."
Instead of assuaging Harry's uneasiness, the words only seemed to exacerbate it. Dumbledore's face was gravely serious, and the shining in his eyes was deeply muted.
Something was definitely going on, and whatever it was, Harry was sure that it was not anything good.
Harry started for the chair, moving deliberately slowly in his reluctance in order to avoid whatever it was for a few seconds longer.
Dumbledore waited a few seconds to begin, and Harry found his desires shift suddenly from wanting to delay the inevitable conversation to wishing that Dumbledore would just start so that whatever it was would be over.
"I've done you a great disservice Harry, and I must apologize to you for my oversight." Dumbledore spoke finally, unable to contain all vestiges of personal emotions beyond that appropriate of the headmaster-student relationship from his voice.
Harry blinked dumbly at the elder wizard, knowing that Dumbledore meant exactly what he had said but not knowing why his headmaster had said it.
"Professor-"
"Let me finish. I've let you go this week, turning a blind eye to what you were doing to yourself. I let myself believe that you were merely disappointed though my gut told me that there was something else, something desperately important that you were hiding. It took not only several of your teachers voicing their concerns but a visit from Miss Granger as well for me to finally acknowledge that I was deluding myself."
Harry found his mind wander sharply and quickly as it whirred frantically trying to figure out what had driven Hermione to see Dumbledore without speaking to him first. He felt betrayed and confused as well as a bit angry, and it hit him much harder and deeper than when she had gone to McGonagall about the Firebolt in his third year.
The lingering pause in Dumbledore's speech brought Harry's attention back to the elder wizard.
There seemed to be actual, physical pain in the azure pools in Dumbledore's eyes, which elicited a strange rush of sensations in Harry. The guilt and the regret due to his inability to tell his headmaster exactly what was going on was expected, but the strange sensation of peace with having finally made his decision was not.
"Now, I will ask you again if there is something that you wish to share with me."
Somehow, Harry did not think that Dumbledore would not accept a simple "no" as he had in the past, but Harry found himself automatically voicing a dismissal of Dumbledore's concerns.
"It really is nothing, sir."
Dumbledore looked deflated and severely disappointed. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as if to compose himself, and he felt another wrenching pain in his chest. When he opened his eyes again and began to speak, his voice had dropped a few decibels.
"I wish that I could believe that, Harry, but I'm afraid that I can't and I won't let it go at that. Not this time at least. There is something going on. You aren't eating, you aren't sleeping, your schoolwork is slipping, and you seem to have taken on a disregard or at least a flippant attitude towards your own life."
That last part startled Harry. He knew where the others in the list had come from, but what had caused Dumbledore to come to that final conclusion? After all, he had spent most of the previous week trying to make an extremely critical decision about his life: whether or not to sacrifice it or fight to return to it.
"I don't understand."
The words leaked from his lips without much thought. As soon as he had realized what he had said, he opened his mouth to elaborate, but to Harry's immense relief, Dumbledore correctly deduced the source of Harry's incomprehension.
"What happened at the Quidditch game yesterday was inexcusable. As a result, Mr. Malfoy has lost his prefect status as well as 100 points from Slytherin, and he has earned himself a week's worth of detention with Professor McGonagall. He has been warned that no matter who his father is, he will be expelled barring any further inappropriate conduct.
So that was why there was the buzz of gossip in the Great Hall that morning and why Malfoy had been shooting daggered looks in his direction. He really had been distracted.
"However, what concerns me more is your lack of concern regarding the incident. You treated it and dismissed it as if you had been a victim of a practical joke. I would have hoped that after your experiences with a certain pair of housemates, that you would know the difference between a joke and something serious."
Harry waited for Dumbledore to continue but found his headmaster looking at him expectedly.
After a few moments of wild panic while trying to figure out exactly what question had been asked, he found himself blurting out, "I don't know what you want me to say."
This earned a sad smile from the headmaster. "Why don't you forget about what I want to hear and tell me the truth?"
Dumbledore had no idea exactly how much Harry wanted to do exactly that. Once he had made his decision, Harry had toyed with the idea of revealing to Dumbledore that he knew about the prophecy, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the seemingly innocent revelation could lead into so many directions that he could not afford to go.
Dumbledore waited patiently in silence for several moments, but when he saw that Harry was not going to give a response, he spoke once more.
"Harry, I know something happened to you last Monday evening besides the failed animagus attempt and vanishing from the room."
"Why?"
The response took the elder wizard so aback that he caught himself gaping slightly at the teen sitting across him.
"Pardon me?"
"I mean, isn't that enough?"
What happened next seemed like a flood that burst through a dam Harry had not known that he had built.
"So far this year I may or may not have apparated in a place that it's impossible to apparate in without knowing how to apparate, I'm not allowed to use my wand because my powers grew out of my control when they were supposed to decrease, my patronus is abnormal, and I've seen a madman murder innocent people for no good reason. Not to mention that I was perfectly fine with accepting that it was my mother's protection that saved me from Voldemort before she had to go and tell me that I was responsible after all."
As soon as he had spoken those last words, Harry realized with horror what he had just admitted.
"You've spoken to your mother?" A knot of cold fear began to form and spread throughout Dumbledore's torso.
Harry nodded, mentally cursing himself for his own stupidity.
"When?"
"In Divination when we were learning about mediumistic abilities." Harry mumbled, not noticing the twinge of panic that had crept into his headmaster's voice.
"Have you spoken to your father as well?"
Dumbledore desperately wanted Harry to say "no" so that he could dismiss the conversation with his mother as a fluke, but he could see in Harry's eyes that he was not going to get the response that he wanted.
"Once, in a dream."
Harry responded truthfully, confused as to why Dumbledore had asked that particular question and not tried to learn more about the vision of his mother. Looking closely at his headmaster, he could sense that something was off.
"Is there something wrong, sir?"
"No, not at all." Dumbledore lied smoothly, hating himself for doing exactly what he had brought Harry in to remediate.
He just did not have the heart to tell the young man in front of him that in the wizarding world, it was not unusual for family members to visit their loved ones up to a year in advance of a sudden or violent death, especially with children and adolescents. It was a way of easing the transition from life to the afterlife so that the children did not cling at the moment of their deaths and become trapped in the physical realm as ghosts.
"Are you sure?" Harry had a creepy feeling in his veins that he had given away something that he should not have.
"I'm certain. You need not concern yourself with anything else."
Before Harry could find an appropriate response, Dumbledore opened his desk drawer and pulled out a lemon drop.
Harry groaned quietly, not at all up for any more frustration having spent the majority of the late evening and early morning hours practicing in vain. He missed the smirk that traveled quickly across Dumbledore's lips.
"I'll make you a deal Harry. You levitate this lemon drop once without your wand and once with, and I'll allow you to use your wand in class again with the provision that you stop if you feel like you've lost your focus. You will also continue private tutorial sessions with me to work on your wandless magic."
It would have been a great deal except Harry was sure that he'd never get past the first requirement.
Dumbledore had reclined backwards into his chair and was watching Harry expectantly.
Trying to draw his fatigue-laden mind to concentrate on the lemon drop, Harry spoke the levitation spell firmly.
As in the past, the lemon drop remained obstinately still.
Dumbledore was about to say something when the lemon drop suddenly burst into flames, burning long only long enough to turn the sweet to ashes and not scorching the desk at all.
"Well, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Dumbledore remarked with a hint of humor in his voice. "However, that showed remarkable focus, so I believe I'll count that." He took another lemon drop from his drawer. "Now use your wand, and I'd appreciate if you'd just levitate this one. I hate to see a good sweet go to waste."
Harry drew his wand from his robe pocket, feeling as if he was being reunited with an old friend.
The spell had barely left his lips as he swished and flicked when the lemon drop shot straight up to lodge solidly in the ceiling.
Harry stared at the ceiling in surprise. He had spent so much time in the past week being frustrated that he had not expected it to be so easy.
His attention was averted by the sound of Dumbledore's desk drawer open for the third time.
"One more time, Harry. Perhaps this time you shouldn't put so much power into it. I'm beginning to run low in my supply of lemon drops."
And that was a real shame. Harry could not help but think, even though he sincerely doubted that the supply was severely depleted because of the loss of two lemon drops.
"Wingardium leviosa."
This time, the lemon drop hovered nicely above Dumbledore's desk.
"Nicely done, Harry. I'll send word to your professors immediately after we're through."
"Thank you, sir."
The smile on Harry's face was genuine. Being allowed to use his wand again was as much a relief as the decision he had made.
Although Dumbledore was glad to see the smile, he knew that allowing Harry to use the wand was only a temporary fix.
"Harry, I know that this year has been overwhelming, but you can't allow yourself to become so overwhelmed that you neglect your health. You aren't alone. Don't be afraid to ask for help."
Harry nodded, looking appropriately abashed.
"Now, is there anything else that you'd like to share with me?"
"No."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Dumbledore was looking at him critically, not quite believing him.
"Yes, sir, I'm sure."
Dumbledore eyed him for a few minutes longer. "All right, but I want you to know that we're going to be keeping a closer eye on you, and if we see something remotely out of the ordinary, you will be returning here for another chat. Now I'm sure that we both have work to attend to."
Harry stood from his chair but had barely made it halfway to the door before Dumbledore called out his name.
He watched as his headmaster seemed to prepare himself for something big, and Harry could not help but stiffen.
"Try to have some fun."
Harry nodded, too confused to come up with an answer. If he was not mistaken, those were not the words Dumbledore had originally planned to say, but seeing that the elder wizard was not going to add anything to his advice, Harry completed his exit from the office.
As soon as he was gone, Dumbledore slumped in his chair. He knew that Harry was no longer a child and that now more than ever he needed to hear the prophecy, especially if he was being visited by his parents.
He had tried what seemed to be about million times to tell the teen, but each time he put it off with another excuse. So much had happened to Harry this year that the excuses had come easily, but for one brief moment Dumbledore had worked up the nerve to tell Harry everything.
Then it passed like a candle being promptly snuffed out because Dumbledore had allowed the unthinkable.
He had become emotionally attached to Harry, and he found himself most unwilling to bring him further pain and risk the ever-developing relationship they begun to forge, which revealing what he had hidden for so long would inevitably do.
He buried his face in his hand in a moment of self-indulgence and spoke, "I am a bloody coward, Fawkes."
Harry was heading back to Gryffindor tower when a large black mass hurtled toward him, almost knocking him over.
"You aren't supposed to be out here." Harry chided gently.
In response, the black dog stood so that it was on its hind legs and that his front paws were on Harry's shoulders. Harry did not even have the change to question the unusual gesture before Padfoot gave him a large, sloppy lick across his face.
Harry swiped at his face in disgust, and then turned a glare to the large dog once again on four legs in front of him. If dogs could laugh, this one certainly was.
"What was that for?" Harry demanded in mock-irritation.
The dog grabbed part of Harry's robes with his teeth and tugged Harry in the direction which he had come from.
"Oh, so you want me to come with you. Well, you could have just asked – Hey!"
Padfoot had released Harry's robes and had bounded off, almost in the same hurry in which he had arrived.
Harry had no choice but to dash after the dog, wishing that he could turn into his own animagus form because his phoenix could outpace his godfather's dog anytime. At the moment, the dog had completely lost him, and Harry hoped that Sirius had intended to bring him to where Lupin and he had been staying.
When Harry finally entered the temporary living quarters of the pair of Marauders, gasping slightly at the excursion, he found Lupin and Sirius waiting for him.
"What took you so long?" Sirius smirked.
Sirius's dark locks promptly disappeared.
Or to be more precise, Sirius's hair became invisible, leaving the prankster completely unaware as to what happened.
Lupin suppressed the urge to chuckle, having had much practice in the past at keeping a straight face, and communicated with Harry with a subtle shake of his head, which remained unseen by Sirius, not to say anything.
"That was completely unfair." Harry replied, still a little short of breath. "What was so important, anyway?"
Sirius was beaming. "We wanted to give you your Christmas present."
"And if you thought he was excited before, he's so much more so now that it's scary." Lupin remarked, plastering an innocent expression on his face as Sirius glared at him.
"You were much more fun before you turned traitor and became a professor."
"Sirius?"
"What?"
"Are you going to give Harry his present? That is why you ran off in such a hurry wasn't it?"
Sirius grumbled something unintelligible under his breath while Lupin smirked victoriously. The former turned around to grab a brightly wrapped package of about average size, and handed it to Harry with obvious pride.
Harry took entirely too much pleasure in unwrapping the present neatly and slowly, and Sirius looked like he was ready to grab the box from his godson's hands and rip it open himself.
When Harry finally lifted the lid, he found that the box was empty. He was about to question the pair when he felt himself being pulled inside the box.
When surrounds once again became visible, Harry found himself in an empty room.
"So, what do you think?"
Harry jumped at his godfather's voice, and whirled to see both Marauders grinning madly at him.
"I don't understand. Where are we?"
"This is your room, Harry."
Harry simply stared at them dumbfounded and finally managed to stammer out, "What do you mean, my room?"
"Well, you had to have some place to stay when you came to stay with us for the summer." Sirius teased.
"If you want to, that is." Lupin added.
Harry could not find his voice and continued to stare at him as if someone had cast a stunning curse on him.
"The answer we were hoping for was more along the lines of, 'Of course I want to live with you.'" Sirius prodded with a hint of a chuckle in his voice.
"Professor Dumbledore knows about this?" Harry could not bear to celebrate until he knew that all the details had been worked out. The disappointment would be too much.
"Of course." Lupin assured him. "He not only approved it, but he's also helping to set up the wards himself."
A smile began to form on Harry's face. "So, I'm going to spend the summer with the two of you?"
"I take it that's a 'yes' then?"
Instead of answering his godfather's question, Harry launched himself at them uncharacteristically allowing a huge show of emotion by pulling the pair into an awkward yet enthusiastic hug.
When he released them, Lupin looked at Sirius, "Should we tell him that he hasn't even got to his present yet?"
"I don't know Moony. I'm not sure he can handle it."
At this point, Harry was not sure he could handle it.
"Harry, what do you think of the room?" His godfather questioned.
"It's wonderful."
"Isn't there something wrong with it?" Sirius pushed.
Harry looked around. There was plenty of room, even though it was a little smaller than Dudley's second bedroom, there were no bars on the windows, there were no excessive locks on the door, and spiders were not falling on him from the ceiling.
"No, it's perfect."
Exasperated, Sirius exclaimed, "Harry, it's empty. There's nothing in it, no bed, no desk, and no color."
"What Sirius is trying to say is this is a spelled replica of your room. All you have to do is think about what you want it to look like, and we'll be able to see it. That way we can have your room decorated just the way you want it by the time you come home for the summer."
Harry nearly choked up over the word home and finally managed, "It's too much."
"Nonsense, Harry." Sirius chided. "We couldn't just give you a room. Of course you'd get a room if you came to live with us. That's not much of a gift. That's expected."
Neither had known that Harry had grown up in a cupboard, and in his mind, a room was definitely not an expectation. It was indeed a gift.
In an instant, Harry's emotions gave way enough to reason that he was able to think.
"Wait a minute. How in the world did the two of you manage to buy a house?"
Something almost-evil glinted in Lupin's eyes, and Harry thought that perhaps a little bit of the wolf inside him was shining through.
"Sirius has probably never told you this Harry, but he comes from very old money, meaning that your godfather is ridiculously wealthy. Dumbledore has some connections inside Gringotts and had a majority of the Black fortune discreetly moved to a different vault with my name on it."
"The man would have made a great Marauder had he been about a century younger." Sirius remarked appreciatively.
Ignoring Sirius's interruption, Lupin continued, "So it was a team effort. I signed the papers and Sirius provided the funds. Now, will you get on with decorating your room before your godfather explodes?"
Harry noticed but did not mention that Sirius was not the only one who looked ready to explode.
A few minutes later, there was a bed complete with maroon bedspread on one side of the room and a desk as well as a large bookshelf on the other. There was also a very large maroon floor rug covering the hardwood floor and a shade attached to his window.
"That's a good start." Sirius approved. "Now how about the walls?"
"I'll take care of the posters and such. I don't quite know what I want yet."
"But what about the color? You can't just leave them white."
What Sirius did not know is that when Harry had lived in the cupboard, he had dreamed about living in a room with white walls, and he had every intention of giving in to his inner child on that point.
"I want them white." Harry stated firmly.
"But Harry, I don't think you understand. You can have any color you want. You can even make moving murals."
"Sirius, really, I have my reasons. I want to leave them white."
Sirius looked disappointed for a split second before his face brightened, and Harry recognized the plotting countenance that had taken over his godfather's features. He definitely did not like the ease at which Sirius accepted his decision only a moment later.
He was certain that he was going to rue the day he told Sirius Black that he wanted plain white walls.
Harry stepped into the Gryffindor tower in an extremely good mood. Part of it was dispelled immediately when he saw Ron and Hermione sitting silently in a pair of chairs, anger evident on their faces.
"Are you two fighting?"
"I had nothing to do with it." Ron spoke up. "She went to Dumbledore on her own."
"It's okay Ron. I understand why she did it, but-"
"So you're taking her side!"
"I'm not taking anyone's side, Ron. I just said-"
"Fine, I don't care! Don't expect me to stand up for you ever again, Harry Potter." Ron stormed away to the dormitories.
Harry sank into the chair Ron had just vacated and mumbled, "I really didn't need this."
"I'm sorry, Harry." There were tears in her eyes.
"It's not your fault. I meant what I said. I understand why you went to Dumbledore, but I would like to know why you didn't come to me first."
Hermione's brows knit together in confusion. "I tried to talk to you several times, and you blew me off. Don't you remember?"
He honestly did not.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. I didn't realize just how distracted I've been until today."
"What happened this week? I know something did."
He could see the pain reflected in her eyes at being excluded, and after a short moment of soul-searching, he decided to give her as much of the truth as he could.
"You have to promise not to freak out."
She nodded, looking even more fearful.
Harry dropped his voice to make sure that she was the only one who could hear him.
"I may have apparated inside Hogwarts."
The logical part of Hermione took over.
"That's impossible. No one can apparate inside of Hogwarts, and you don't even know how to apparate yet."
Harry smiled at her, "Now do you understand?"
He proceeded to tell her the rest of the story that he had told Dumbledore about his supposedly botched animagus transfiguration.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I don't know." Harry responded honestly. "I'm sorry that I worried you. I just wasn't thinking straight."
If you only knew how much worse it actually was, Hermione. Harry thought ruefully.
He looked toward the stairs that led up to his dormitory room.
"Do you think I should go talk to him?"
Hermione released what was a combination of a sigh and a huff.
"Personally, I'd wait until he calms down a bit. He can be a real prat when he's angry."
"What exactly started the fight?"
She rolled her eyes in frustration. "He told me that I was seeing things, that you would tell us if something was wrong. He told me to leave you alone, and then he found out that I went to Dumbledore. He thought that I betrayed you."
"And then I told him that I understood why you went to Dumbledore."
"You did nothing wrong." Hermione spoke firmly, catching guilt in his statement. "He overreacted and didn't hear you out. Don't worry, he'll come around."
Harry's gaze drifted back to the stairs. He just wished for once that something would come easily. He hated having to fight everything.
"Harry?"
He turned back to Hermione in confusion, hearing her voice crack as if she was holding back tears.
"What's wrong, Hermione?"
"It's just that sometimes I feel like you're pulling away from all of us so that you won't feel guilty about doing something stupid like going off to fight Voldemort on your own."
The tears broke from her eyes.
"I need you to promise me Harry that you won't run off and do something stupid."
"Hermione, I'm not going to run off and do something stupid. I promise."
Technically, he was making his promise on semantics, but he could not bear to let her go on in pain. He knew that one way or another, he was going to have to face Voldemort alone. When the time came, he would do what he had to do, but considering the fact that he knew what the general outcome would be, he did not consider facing Voldemort to be a stupid decision at all.
"I'm going to hold you to that, Harry." Hermione spoke shakily and wiped the remaining tears from her face.
"Are you all right, Hermione?"
"I'm fine." Then a spark of normalcy hit her face, and her eyes widened. "I don't believe it. I spent so much time worrying about you that I still have two feet to write on my Potions essay, and it's due tomorrow!"
Harry felt the blood drain from his face as he chocked out, "What Potions essay?"
Images began to coalesce from the darkness of the exhausted dreamless sleep Harry had naturally fallen.
His scar was burning, but not nearly as much as he had come to expect. As he looked around, he could not figure out why or even where he was.
This year alone, Harry had spent enough time in the Hospital wing to deduce from the sterile environment that he was in a hospital of some sort. He did not recognize the figures that were occupying the two beds in the room.
The burning in his scar became more intense, and before Harry could press the heel of his hand defensively against it, the scenery shifted suddenly.
There was a woman kneeling at Voldemort's feet.
"You have served me faithfully, and you shall be rewarded. I will allow you to make one request of me."
"All I ask, master, is that you allow me to finish what I started in your name."
"A wise request. It shall be done."
Harry was feeling dizzy as he found himself back in the hospital room, not understanding what had just happened.
Had he just had a vision inside a vision?
Surely what he had just seen could not be a coincidence. It had to be connected to what he was seeing now.
His eyes fell upon an object on the nightstand between the beds, and an understanding dread came over him. He had to get help somehow. He had to stop it.
He did not have a chance.
A figure stepped out from behind the shadows as if from nowhere. Harry barely recognized the dark-haired, heavy-lidded woman from Dumbledore's pensieve, but he knew instantly that she was the same woman from his vision a mere moment before.
"Well, if it isn't the great auror and his lovely wife."
The voice was huskier than Harry remembered, probably a remnant of the time she had spent in Azkaban.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen. You're downright pathetic. I hate to think that I may be doing you a favor, but I never leave my work unfinished. Unfortunately, I won't have the pleasure of hearing you scream this time."
Twin shots of green exploded from her wand before Harry could breathe a word of protest.
Satisfaction gleamed in her eyes and was set in her face as she took in the results of her handiwork. The last traces of life were now vacant from the couple's faces.
"Mosmordre."
The Dark Mark hovered above the beds like a demented cloud, and Bellatrix LeStrange slipped back into the shadows and into oblivion.
Harry could barely stand to breathe, and he found himself unable to move. Instead his eyes remained fixed on the picture standing seemingly innocent on the nightstand.
Fixed inside the golden frame, the image of Neville Longbottom was banging his fists inside the glass and screaming silently, expressing the same horror and helplessness Harry was too numb to feel.
A/N: Thanks everyone. Once again check out the yahoo group. It will be a lot of fun, and hopefully the next chapter will come out significantly sooner. Due to the large number of reviews, I have constructed a thank you list for those who reviewed without questions and have responded to the questions individually like before.
Thanks to: anonymous, bittersweetsmiles, BookCrazy77, Calen, Cataclysmic, Charma1219, DaughterofDeath, Eris, fantagal, howlingwolf1, HpFan, Iavala, Iniysa, Jaded Angel8, Jedi-Bent, Kelsey, krazymelmo5385, KuTiExAzNxAnGeL, Lanilalaith, Luna Aelf Writer, Melissa, Padawan JanAQ, Phoenix Lumen, Queen-Seta/Remmy-The-Insane, ranger2, Shadow-Shamblin, slate07, stayblue, tearsoffire, twinlakeshgrl, The Goddess of the Black Rose, Unicornspirit
Alexis: Thank you so much. Unfortunately, stress seems to come with the med school territory, but the fic will continued.
Janelf A new reader… how on earth did you even find this story buried in the pages? I'm glad that you like it, but as for when they find out… I'm not telling.
Lady Abbey Bartlet: Just a little over 3 months… I know it's still a long time. Have fun with high school. I don't know if you can cuss on but since this story is PG, you probably shouldn't.
Ganymade Harry does feel bad about leaving them out, but he has to do what he has to do.
Chibi-Bex I'm glad that you appreciate my sense of humor, but there will be no pink flamingos unless the Weasley twins develop something new. I hope that you found a better chair to read this chapter.
Madame Moony: Don't apologize. I agree with you 100.
Hail030685: I understand what you mean about waiting to read. Blame my muse who decided to desert me in my hour of need.
two2feet and Molly Morrisson: This story will not die, but it may experience delays because of real life. The ending is already written, so have no fear.
Sword Wielder-Firebreath: Actually, I've always wanted to publish, so someday maybe I'll be a real author like JKR. Thanks.
kateydidntYou caught me, and what's so sad is that I flipped through GOF to check. Let's just say it slipped Harry's mind too, okay?
zorro x: I definitely agree. We'll just see how it goes.
Chava Thanks for everything. Sorry about making you find chocolate…
Danny's Girl: Should I be looking for the killer bunny?
Ueshiba It's the curse of being a hero. Good luck with Pre-Med. If you have any questions, fell free to ask.
Lily Skylo: Don't you love when your question gets answered? As for practicing the stag form… No, that would not help.
Usako3000: But would he really want to relive an entire childhood again?
EriEka127: Yes, it does.
Venus4280: Wow, thank you. Unfortunately, Snape could not fit himself into this chapter, but he will be back soon enough. In my head, yes phoenixes retain their memories.
Maximum Poofy-Pissed Off Queen: I hope that you did not have to commit yourself. I'm glad that you like it.
Kalor Draco got exactly what he deserved.
Arizosa And the flips and corkscrews just keep on coming don't they?
Griever Ime: I update as often as I can.
Siri Kat: If chapters never ended, we be stuck at the computer screen all day.
Thundering Lights: Do not feel dense. When you read this story, pretend that the fifthe book never happened. After all, my Mundugus Fletcher is nowhere close to JKRs and other such things as that, which have already been established. The only thing that I may incorporate would be the O.W.L.s' scoring system. As for the phoenix thing… if he is reborn as an infant, he will age normally as an infant. However, phoenixes age much faster, and the fact that they're magical creatures may have some role. I know that the answer's confusing, but if I give away too much, the ending will lose its element of surprise. I'm glad that you like Fawkes, and Dumbledore really shows his human side in this chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it.
Von: No, it was in fact not the Cruciatus, but Malfoy still got his dues. I'm glad that you liked Dumbledore sharing his experience with Harry. There's so much potential there. Look for more" teacher" Harry in the chapters to come. Ron, well Ron is Ron I guess. I'm proud of the Gryffindors for stepping up too. There's more to Quidditch than having a good Seeker after all.
Sailor C: Thank you for the congratulation and thanks you for your kind words. They're both appreciated.
Serpent of Light: If that was the cliffhanger of doom, then what was this?
baasheepYay anticipating questions. It does screw up review plans though, doesn't it? I'm glad that you like Fawkes too because I really like writing him. Of course, he's not really explored in the canon, so I have some liberties. There's nothing special about a stag per se. Harry in fact got further than Dumbledore did in the transformation. Sometimes, things just happen. It would make much more sense to them too if they knew that the stag was not his true form. Well, the speed this time definitely deserves no applause. Sorry. GP is cool. You might want to looking into the Mational Health Corps because they'll pay for Med school as long as you promise to serve in an underprivileged area for four years in some sort of primary care.
Athelas Harry needed to go down there because he felt like the debt was unjustified, and since it was Snape who had decided that it was, he wanted to talk him out of it. There is a reason why Harry could begin the transformation, which will be revealed later. I've also been very careful about Harry communicating with Fawkes only in phoenix form except once in a vision, which doesn't count because the rules of visions are not the same as those in the physical realm. Harry and Fawkes will have another talk soon. Hermione would have to tell you her happiest memory, but the one that produced the patronus was the fact that Harry and Ron cared enough to save her from the troll.
gaul1: The wands were Tom's and Harry's.
Rachel A. Prongs: Well, Harry did complete the transformation but could not hold it, so I guess the answer is yes and no.
Insane Pineapple from Naboo: I'm glad that I'm not predictable. Did you see the ending to this chapter coming? The reference of the snake/serpent actually is a reference to his lineage. So far no one has caught the subtle hint I made in the prophecy about the other lineage. No need to go screaming for the hills. The next Dark Lord will not disappoint… I hope.
Tara6: Yes and yes.
stayblue Yeah, stupid adults. The missing page will be addressed later. Don't worry.
Xirleb70: I'm glad that you decided to like it. Yes, memories will be retained.
Kyntor I happen to agree and have hopefully dealt with the situation appropriately. You'll never guess who turned Malfoy in.
Em Well, it takes a lot of power to do it, and Harry has to want to come back. Theoretically, I guess that's possible.
Zahri Seb Melitor: I do what I can to please the inner fan girl.
Mella deRanged: Harry will be Harry, and you got the rest worked out nicely.
Kim13: Harry has spent way too much time in there for now. Sorry for the wait.
Illucia Harry would maintain his memories either way, but he would still have to grow up. As a human, the memories would not necessarily be as clear. His animagus form definitely has something to do with it.
