A/N: Sorry for the delay went a little wacky on me & I couldn't log in . Enjoy.

Chapter 28

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody was terribly annoyed. A glaring frown line had appeared between his eyebrows. Dumbledore had dispatched him and Shacklebolt to St. Mungo's to keep an eye on the Kramer family and keep an eye out for anything unusual. He knew Dumbledore was playing catch-up and although it annoyed him, it amused him at the same time. Albus just could not seem to get a grip on the situation. The chess match these warriors for the light were playing did not appear to be ending anytime soon. Moreover, it looked as if Harry was winning. It had been a long time since he had seen Albus beaten at his own game.

Moody had been sitting here most of the day watching the mother fuss over her girls. The only thing remotely interesting he had to do was chase away reporters that bypassed the hospital's security. Not that that had truly helped anyway. The story had hit 'The Daily Prophet' first thing this morning, 'The Boy-Who-Lived visits St. Mungo's'. Those idiotic reports had plastered pictures of the little girl and her family throughout the entire paper. No regard for their safety. The foolish woman even allowed her eldest daughter to speak with the reporter. One would think now that they knew Voldemort had returned; the public would be vigilant.

Moody was finishing up his shift when a snowy owl caught his eye. 'Well I'll be damned,' he thought. With a quick wave of his wand, he marked it. Motioning quickly to Shacklebolt, he quickly took leave and followed the tracer. It took over an hour before he could track the owl properly; it seemed as if she knew she was marked. For several hours, she visited various spots in London, never settling anywhere for long. Moody was impressed. He wondered how the boy had taught his owl to recognize she was being traced.

Realizing he was getting nowhere, he motioned to the owl. Mad Eye removed the tracer and gave her a note. "Smart Girl aren't ya? Take this back."


In the morning, Mikhail brought back the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler. The poor Kramers were literally in half of the articles of the paper. Kiley enjoyed the attention and spoke to the reporter. She told her how she had written to him and Harry came to see her sister a few days later. She was adamant that his visit was the reason her sister was beginning to show some improvement. One article had even dared to suggest that Harry had cured her Dragonpox. Surprisingly, Rita Skeeter did not write this article. In fact, her article was fairly accurate of his visit.

Unfortunately, she mentioned the conjured roses. There was no doubt that the wizarding world knew Harry had broken the underage magic statute. They would need to make a response of some sort. Harry was angry with himself that he had done something so stupid. Hermione was right, sometimes Harry did not think about his actions.

The good news was that Quibbler did not mention the visit. Neither paper had reports on any recent Death Eater Activities. There seemed to be a lull in activity from what could be gathered from the Quibbler. It made the happenings at St. Mungo's all the more bizarre. Remus decided to check with Tonks when she got a moment; perhaps she could shed some light on the response of the public they had seen.

During his afternoon training session with Remus, Harry fell to the floor screaming and holding his scar; it was burning. However, it appeared his occlumency was improving. Though it still caused him pain, he had no visions and was able to bring the pain to a manageable level shortly. Mikhail was quite pleased with his progress. Harry, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel guilty at whatever Voldemort was doing now was more repercussions of the visit to St. Mungo's. Remus did his best to keep the funk that Harry was winding himself in to a mild level. It did not help that Hedwig had not yet returned; he was beginning to think perhaps he should not have used her.


After supper the three men sat down to try to figure out their next move. They all rather felt like they were moving in a vicious circle. They decided Mikhail would return to the post drop in Little Whinging the next day. They needed to shut down the post drop. They had decided to arrange for a new one in York, rather then leave themselves open to whatever demons they had inadvertently released. He would also see if he could get further information on the disappearance of the clerk. They could only guess was a portkey, but considering the letters Harry had received they had no idea where it had come from. Could it have been a resourceful witch? Was it Death Eaters? Was it Dumbledore?

Moreover, they needed to send several letters. They wanted to speak to Tonks. They needed to let Dumbledore know about the change in post drops so that he could respond to Harry's letter. They also needed to contact Moody to see if he was still willing to training Harry. Not to mention, Harry wanted to write to his friends. He could almost hear their response to his inadvertent public tour. Harry suggested that perhaps it would make things a bit easier to purchase a nondescript owl for Remus. He would need one to keep in touch over the school year anyway. Mikhail agreed to pick one up during his deliveries tomorrow.

Finally, they needed to respond to the underage magic problem. Remus and Mikhail thought it best to issue a public apology, claiming the stress of the mob caused a lapse in judgment. They also wanted him to send the copy to Luna for the Quibbler. The public apology was more then likely the best way to avoid any further entanglements, especially considering his obvious popularity at the moment. Harry let out a bark of laughter. He felt it was rather Slytherin-like of Remus to suggest such a thing. Remus chucked at his insinuation and made mention of the fact that the sorting hat had considered Slytherin for him, but had decided on Gryffindor.

Remus looked over what Harry wrote, and was a bit apprehensive. The worry written on his face. Although It made perfect sense, it was more a damnation of the Ministry's policies and procedures rather then an apology. Harry stood his ground and was adamant that this was the statement he wanted to make.


Luna,

Any way your Dad could publish this ASAP. I'd really rather you have the story then the Daily Prophet. Hope you are enjoying your holiday.

Harry

I am writing to formally apologize for my use magic outside of school. It was not premeditated, I assure you. With the growing crowd, I was flustered and not thinking properly. I did not expect such an exuberant response to my presence. I simply wanted the girls to have something to remember a meeting that was inadvertently cut short. I was out of line and again, I apologize.

I would like to say however, that in these difficult times some of these statutes should be revisited. If I could lose my head when placed in an unusual position, what of others. Especially after my experience last year, I am concerned about my peers. Should a student hesitate to defend themselves or their families for fear of being tried by the full Wizengamot? That moment of hesitation could be the difference between life and death. Surely, if the Ministry is serious about the magical population remaining vigilant and safe this statute should be rescinded.

Do we not have just as much a right to protect ourselves, our families, and our neighbors? The dementors are not under Ministry control. Several of my classmates and I can form a corporal Patronus. Should we allow others to succumb to a fate worse then death because we are simply not old enough?

Moreover, if the ministry is serious about personal defense, shouldn't everyone have the right to apparate? I don't know about you but I'd much rather be splinched then dead. How many lives could be saved if there was an escape route? It may just save the lives of parents who refuse to leave their children because they cannot apparate. Not to mention, if a child can apparate away that is at least one less victim.

The Ministry refused to educate children in defense last year, instead focusing on "Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic, learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used, and placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use." There is a war coming; do we really want to send people out to fight unprepared?

In these dark and dangerous times, we need to be vigilant and we need to concern ourselves with the safety of all and we need to be educated properly.


Hedwig arrived late in the evening. Harry was surprised to see her with a note, as he had not asked her to wait for a response. He untied the ribbon and removed the parchment from her leg. He blinked disbelievingly at the note.

Potter,

Not the brightest move sending your owl that is so easy to spot. Intelligent creature though. I tried to track her for several hours. She refused to lead me back to you. Have Remus contact me.

Mad Eye

"Moony ..."

"What is it?"

"MOONY..."

Remus came running into the room, "What's wrong Cub?"

"Look," he stated as he handed him the note.

"Right, well, I guess we need to revise that note to Moody." He reached over to pet the handsome bird. "Good job, Hedwig." He turned to Harry, "You know you really out to give her some extra treats."

Harry fussed over the owl giving her several treats as Remus retreated. "I'm sorry, Girl. I never thought this delivery would be a problem. I guess you'll have to wait till we go back to school to work. You did real good though, real good."