Chapter 15

Harry's first year class was doing especially good after the two-week break. Harry had expected that a number of the students would have forgotten the evasive maneuvers that he'd taught them. He practiced tossing two balls at a student at the same time. Little Gretta Wood was particularly nimble. Harry tried three times at about medium toss velocity. She deftly moved to the sides as needed and flattened out if necessary.

Harry was certain that they had mastered the basics. He decided on a brief oral exam. "Best defense?" he asked.

The class answered in unison, "No be there."

It seemed a simple lesson, but Harry was certain that his quickness and ability to move in and out of McNair's reach had been the reason for his success. Harry knew that the master ax man had the natural advantages of a longer reach and a heavier weapon. Harry knew that his own sword master who had been giving him advice would have suggested that Harry would have been outmatched with the weapon that he had chosen to fight McNair with.

Harry was reasonably certain that few if any of the Death Eaters did daily training, or any sort of structured training. He had heard that from Amelia Bones, and it was consistent with his own observation.

-

Hermione thought about her friend Ginny. Like she had seen Harry do the summer before, she was certain that Ginny was working through some fruitless attempt to affix blame or responsibility for the attack on her parent's home. They may have had a chance to capture Narcissa a week ago, they may not have. Their objective at the time was to protect Harry and they had done that. The fact that any of them lived through that attack on the Weasley's home was something to be proud of. The fact that most of them got through it intact was due largely to luck that Harry was there and they were able to destroy the dementors.

She wondered why Voldemort had tried to kill the Weasleys. No one would have known that Harry or KJ had been there. Realistically no one cared about a zookeeper or a mum. That left Ginny or Mr. Weasley as the likely targets. She had heard that Mr. Weasley might be getting the Senior Undersecretary job on a permanent basis. Maybe it was an attempt to keep that from happening. Mr. Weasley's liberal positions within the wizarding world were well known.

The attack at her parents home had seemingly been a training mission based on the Death Eaters that had been killed. The same could probably be said for the first attack on the burrow. Narcissa may have simply been bringing those three to watch Harry get hurt or worse, but the last attack didn't need a lot of Death Eaters. All it needed was one capable person to blow a hole through their home to let them in, leaving the dementors free to do their horrible work.

Hermione shifted her thoughts to her own studies. She hadn't gotten as much work done over the holidays on her ancient runes studies as she had hoped, but she was midway through the seventh year material with it. She realized how fortunate that she was within the wizarding world to have been invited to participate in such a program. She had never even inquired with her parents if the tuition had been different. She would owl her dad this evening and ask.

The reality was that the heads of house and the other professors who were teaching these classes were doing it on their own time, as their contribution to the war effort. That Hermione or Susan or Ginny were receiving one of a kind educations was their own good fortune for having been associated with Harry Potter.

This term she would complete her NEWT Runes work as well as Arithmancy. She had hoped that the healing class would continue to provide her with the basics to continue on her own. She wanted to work at a faster pace in Transfiguration, but knew that their class of four had to stick together. Both Flitwick and Minerva had beamed at her when Harry had described in detail the snowfall that she had laid down to track the Death Eaters. She was so pleased that Harry had noticed that she had placed an additional freezing charm on the snow to make it cold enough to crunch when someone walked on it. She had put a lot of extra work into it and hadn't told anyone, but she thought that it may have helped him.

-

Susan was having similar thoughts. She had been more accepting of the Angels relationships than some, and realized that Harry needed help from Tonks, Katie, Hermione, Ginny as well as herself. Like Hermione, she was grateful for the opportunity, knowing that the education that she was receiving was worth much more than it was costing. In reality, Harry had volunteered to pick up all of the expenses for each of the instructors and like Dobby, had been negotiated down by deputy headmistress McGonagall to at least let the others pay their own room and board.

Susan had put her first term training to practical use a week ago, knowing that Winky could treat Dobby much more effectively than any human could have done. She had been surprised when Harry had handed her a vault key, delighted that he would even think of setting an account up with a few hundred extra galleons that she could have as her own. She had no way of knowing that it contained fifty thousand galleons, or that lacking other heirs, she (like the other witches) was currently name as partial recipient of the Potter fortune should Harry die before being married.

Susan did not understand the possessiveness that Ginny had been displaying since returning to the castle. She didn't own Harry. None of them did. She didn't know if it was Ginny's own insecurities, or her age, or both. Curiously she had probably dated the most of any of the apprentices. As such, Susan would have thought that Ginny would have been more secure of herself. She was so beautiful. Susan thought about it a bit more, and realized that they each were in their own ways. Certainly the physical conditioning had helped tone their bodies, but they all displayed a much higher degree of self-confidence than most teens.

Her thoughts turned to her potions and herbology work for the next term. She had collected dragon root in her last class. Hagrid had taken her into the forest and helped her find a spot to collect some. She had enough left over to give some to Neville to work with for an extra credit project that he had been hoping to do.

-

Katie could hardly contain herself. Listening to Parvati, Lavender and the other witches chatter on about their holiday, she realized that she would never be the same person again. She had captured a Death Eater, and trained with the apprentices! The adrenalin rush had been unlike anything she had ever experienced. Quidditch would never hold the same allure for her. The other students had no idea of the skill levels that their former housemates had reached since last June. She hoped that Harry would allow her to continue working with the group. She felt under her blouse and realized that by habit she was still wearing her vest, her Hungarian horntail armor vest. The same type that Harry Potter wore when he'd dueled with a dangerous Death Eater. It fit her like it was a part of her.

She had looked at the charts that they were keeping to record their personal progress with the exercise equipment. In the month that she had been working with them before the holiday, she had seen what she had thought was good progress. The two weeks that she had spent at Harry's home had more than doubled her progress. She had thought that she had been pretty fit before starting with his group. She'd had no idea that she'd have made as much progress as she had. Her skirts were all loose on her now.

She had helped Harry when Voldemort had hurt his head. Merlin, she could say the name without going blind! He-who-must-not-be-named. What a stupid phrase to call a killer. She'd said it. That's all he was, just a killer.

-

Ginny was less sure of herself than at anytime she could remember since her first year. Harry hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, but he had done so. He hadn't done anything behind her back, but he'd had his hands in Susan and Hermione. The fact that she herself had placed them there seemed to have slipped her mind. It had all been in fun at the time, and now she felt uncomfortable about it.

She realized that she was feeling sorry for herself at the moment. She was aware that the darkside / lightside killed or captured ratio was 70 to 18 for the year, but 2 of those 18 were from her family. It didn't seem fair. Her family had been paying a disproportional amount of the cost of the war lately.

It took her a few minutes of grieving to recall that another 2 of those 18 belonged to Katie. Susan and Harry had previously lost their parents too. Hermione had almost lost hers and would have, had it not been for Harry. As far as that went, he'd saved her and her parents last week. What had she been thinking of for snapping at him? Did she really have the emotional maturity to fight a war? Would he accept her back?

She decided to do something special for him to make it up to him.

-

Tonks had a great week at work. Director Bones had called the monthly Auror meeting. She had described the duel between Harry and McNair and the capture of the three Death Eaters by the apprentices. She sat by Hestia and Karen McKinney, the Auror that had watched her in St Mungo's. Hestia and Tonks both felt proud of their unnamed exploits. Tonks thought it more than just that she hadn't been mentioned this time when she had participated given that she had received undue credit and been promoted for the captures of Pettigrew and Malfoy over the summer.

She'd had a great time in Paris. Harry was so nice to have made the arrangements and had even paid for everything. She was looking forward to working with his morphing on Friday evening.

-

Flitwick has shown them how to separate disapparation from reapparation – effectively making them invisible. It was very taxing and Harry could only maintain it for a few seconds at a time. Naturally Hermione had read several books on the theory and had plenty of theory to back up her comments, but she was unable to physically do it at all.

"Keep practicing it from time to time. If you focus on it hard enough, you will improve at it," encouraged Flitwick. Harry thought that it was a lot more taxing than double apparating.

Harry silently related what the little professor was saying with his own experience morphing. The progress had been slow even though Tonks had provided him with extra encouragement. Flitwick simply didn't possess that option. Perhaps when they got back to their common room they could all try together.

-

Dumbledore had asked to see Harry and Ginny after their defense class. He'd shown them how to use animated objects either defensively as he had done in the Department of Mysteries, or offensively. It was another mentally exhausting effort, and the apprentices were tired by the end of the lesson.

When Harry got to Dumbledore's office after the lesson, the old professor greeted him warmly, and handed him a butterbeer. As Harry was sipping his butterbeer, the ancient wizard began.

"Harry, I would like to reiterate my offer to have you join the Order as the leader. As such, I would offer to add a last subject to you very full schedule. I would offer to tutor you and the witches of your choice on wizarding politics."

He continued, "Harry the war with Voldemort will not last forever. My sense is that he may be defeated by the end of the year. Neither of us believe that you are required to work for a living unless you succeed in giving away the entire Potter fortune. I am not suggesting that your contributions to the others' well being has been a bad idea. Given that you limit your endeavors to the remaining Black fortune, I believe that Sirius would have been extraordinarily proud of your decisions.

When Ginny arrived, he continued, "I need you and Alastor to be present on Monday the thirteenth for the trials of Betchley, Bole and Pucey in the morning. You and Miss Weasley will be needed for the trial of Michelle Edgecombe in the afternoon. I anticipate that Pucey, Betchley and Bole will each plead guilty of the lesser charges of possession of Death Eater paraphernalia, attempted murder and belonging to an illegal organization. Those crimes will result in shorter terms and prison and a significant fine." Harry nodded in agreement.

Dumbledore continued. "I anticipate Edgecombe will plead innocence and be found guilty of participating in several murders and attempted murders. I have asked Poppy to cover your classes for the morning."

Dumbledore handed Harry another Butterbeer. He resumed his monologue. "Harry the Order is really an ancient organization. It was founded shortly after the construction of the castle with the charter to be a watchdog against the ministry itself and against dark wizards. It was not designed exclusively to be a militia, rather to work with the ministry, but at an arms length. Fudge had been an adequate peacetime Minister. As Riddle resumed his efforts in your first year it became apparent that Fudge would be inadequate for the position in time of war. He refused to act to raise the defensive strength of the Ministry in preparation for a war that you and I could see in the making. I reactivated the Order at the end of your fourth year, and tried to recruit younger members such as Kingsley, Ms. Jones, and Miss Tonks. Unfortunately right-minded younger Aurors were in very short supply, and Fudge was sinking deeper into Lucius' influence. I was able to get Fudge removed from office and replaced by someone with competence and vision. Please join me on Sunday the twelfth at 7:00 PM."

Harry nodded. It couldn't hurt to attend a meeting. He could decide on further involvement with it after hearing what they had to say.

-

Harry returned to the common room after visiting with Dumbledore. Katie was over visiting. Harry thought of Winky who appeared a moment later. He asked her to have dinner for them at six. He told them about the scheduled trials.

Hermione seemed a bit put out about something. "What's up?" asked Harry.

Hermione replied, "Susan, Tonks and Katie and I were responsible for capturing the Death Eaters. Why weren't we asked to be witnesses too?"

Katie replied, "Simple. We have the opportunity to avoid getting our names on Voldemort's top ten people to torture list. No thanks. I'll gladly stay off it if I can. Dumbledore, Harry, and Director Bones are already top targets. Do you really want to be a member of that little club?"

"No," she admitted, lowering her eyes. Katie looked over at Ginny who shook her head in agreement.

Changing the subject, Ginny said, "Show Katie what we learned today."

Harry replied, "I will. Give me a minute." He set his butterbeer down and concentrated on not being seen. There was a soft pop. Silently Harry took a few steps and tapped Katie on the shoulder, then took another step and tapped Susan and Hermione. He walked back to the chair and sat down. With only the tiniest pop, he reappeared.

"Harry," exclaimed Katie. "That was awesome! I could feel something touch my shoulder, but a moment later it was gone. Was that really you?" Hermione and Susan looked at him and nodded. They had felt him too.

Harry replied, "Yup. It's like you're there, but you're not. I felt that I could walk around, but I was sure that you would be able to feel me."

Katie replied, "Cool. Can you do it again?"

Harry smiled and said, "Yes, but I was thinking that Ginny or Susan or Hermione might want to have a go first." In truth, he was tired.

Susan tried. After a few seconds there was a soft pop. A moment later Harry felt something soft brush against his cheek. A few second later, Susan reappeared where she had been standing. She winked at Harry who smiled back.

Ginny tried next. She was having a hard time concentrating, and disappeared with a POP that sounded like a pistol shot. A moment later, she reappeared with another crack, a step away from where she had been. She felt light headed and sat down.

Hermione disappeared and put one arm on Ginny's shoulder, then patted her friend' head. A moment later, she reappeared. Ginny looked up at her and smiled.

-

In his battlefield healing class Poppy demonstrated to Harry how to cauterize a massive wound. Once done, the patient would never be the same, but they might be alive. The goal would be to stop life threatening blood loss until healing with finesse could be performed.

It was by necessity a messy lesson. She and Harry were soaked with practice blood after fifteen seconds. After they had finished and took a minute to get cleaned up and dried off, she brought him back to her office and shut the door. "Harry, I had every intention of scolding you for your dangerous and reckless acts over the holidays, until I realized that they weren't reckless in the least. I also realized that no one else could have pulled it off. As such, I offer you my sincere apology for having misjudged your idea, and instead wish to express my gratitude for your courage and skill."

Harry knew that she was being sincere, but realized that she was an excellent barometer. "Poppy, it started out as a rash act. Fortunately, I had the time to think it through and the resources to engineer much of the risk out of the equation. In reality, by the time we met, it was a risk where I'd calculated the odds to be in my favor." Reflecting for a moment, he added, "I'm certain that McNair had done the same thing.

He continued. "In my business class, Ragnot told me that a person that buys a stock in a business is typically convinced that the value of the stock would go up." Poppy nodded. Harry continued, "He generally purchases the stock from a person who is equally convinced that the value will go down. The point is, they can't both be right. I took a risk with McNair, and it worked out. More importantly, you stood beside me to come to my aid if we needed it. I can't tell you how much that means to me. Thank you." He looked her in the eye as he spoke, and she got a bit distracted. She may not have heard all of the words that he had said, but she felt his absolute sincerity.

Poppy momentarily had an unwholesome thought and wished that she were fifty years younger to act on it. "Thank you Mr. Potter. You're a very good leader, and you obviously have passion for your cause. I will follow you anywhere, and wish you the best. Enjoy your evening."

"Thank you, both for the lesson, and the butterbeer, but mostly for always being there for me."

She smiled at him again. "My pleasure. Go now."

-

Tonks was annoyed with her friend Karen McKinney. She had missed her Sunday afternoon lunch two weeks in a row. Frequently they had been investigating different cases and didn't see each other except socially, but she had never been stood up two weeks in a row before.

Her thoughts turned to Harry. He had made significant improvement in his morphing ability. It was nice to spend time with him this morning. For some reason she just felt better being with him.

She finished her drink and decided rather than be mad at Karen she would go over and visit her at her flat. She arrived at the door and knocked. No one answered. She had a key and let herself in. She was somewhat surprised that Karen wasn't there as she was something of a homebody. Her plants looked dreadful, liked they hadn't been watered in ages. Tonks left a note on McKinney's table and left. She would probably see her tomorrow at Edgecombe's trial.

-