Reaching Maturity
Disclaimer: not mine. Ditto for Narnia. Really. Honestly. Verstehen Sie? Although Jennifer Raby (who only gets a very small mention) is mine – she's based on two Hufflepuffy people I know.
A/N: I know very little about five-a-side football. I cannot play football if my life depended on it; I far prefer to watch it. Steve Cotterill's Claret and Blue Army!
A/N 2: I can't believe there are only 12 chapters, including this one, left! At the current rate I'm posting, the final chapter should be going up about a month before Half Blood Prince comes out. I'll make sure it's all up by July 16th. I have a month, so I have some leeway – always useful, knowing what I'm like! Also, please be patient over the Easter holidays because I'm relying on the family computer at home (I don't use my laptop to connect to the Internet) and it's old and slow and a little temperamental.
Happy (belated) Easter! God bless!
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Chapter 21: A Meeting With Dumbledore
The next few days passed eventfully, and the foursome spent their time revising together, sometimes in the school grounds, or else in the library if it was raining. Draco remained as fragile as ever, tiring after only fifteen or twenty minutes' work. He hated this, despite the fact that he did not say so to his friends. Hannah grew steadily more and more worried about him as the holidays wore on and the exams approached, a fear that she confessed to Harry and Hermione on Easter Sunday. "He's just not getting better," she fretted. "What's going to happen when he gets that letter from his father? It's bound to come in the next few days, and he's in no fit state to be going who knows where in the Lake District!"
The letter arrivedthe following day. The four of them were sitting outside playing Hangman in Hannah's notebook and Hermione, naturally, was winning, when a huge eagle owl soared in, dropped a roll of parchment onto Draco's knees and soared out again. He nervously unrolled it and as he read it, his mouth went dry. "It – it's that letter. From Father," he croaked.
"We have to go to Dumbledore," stated Hermione firmly, standing up from the grass she was sitting on. She hauled Harry (who was rather glad of the interruption, as he was losing rather badly) to his feet, and Hannah did the same to Draco. They picked their bags up and made their way back up to the castle, Hannah's arm around Draco's waist and Hermione's hand still tightly over Harry's. The Head Girl turned to him. "Harry, where's Sirius?"
"Probably curled up by the fire in Lupin's office, seeing as there's nothing he can do for the Order at the moment. Do you want me to get them?"
"Yes. And Draco, can you get Snape?"
"Yes, ma'am." He teasingly saluted her and they split – Harry to Lupin's office, Hermione to Dumbledore, and Draco and Hannah to Snape. When the latter pair knocked on Snape's door, the look on his face when he opened it told them that he knew exactly why they were there. "It has come, then." It was not a question.
"We're going to Dumbledore; can you come?" requested Draco.
Snape nodded and followed them as they led the way. By the time they arrived, Lupin and Sirius were already there, as they had not had as far to come.
"So," said Dumbledore quietly. "The summons has come."
Draco nodded. "And I will have to go. I – I think Father's realised that I may be wavering in my decision to join him in the Dark Lord's ranks. I don't know how I can resist him, though. He's so strong, and I can barely walk down a flight of stairs without having to stop at the bottom to catch my breath. What chance have I got, in all honesty?"
Dumbledore was silent for a moment, during which time he noticed Hannah discreetly slip her hand into Draco's and give it a reassuring squeeze. He also noticed that Draco seemed to welcome it. Finally he spoke. "I rather think that you will surprise yourself, Mr. Malfoy. I suspect that, when the need arises, you will find the strength you need to survive. The human species has amazing survival abilities.
"However, exams are your immediate priority. For all of you. Then, if Professors Figg, Lupin, McGonagall and Snape all agree, along with Sirius, you four – nobody else – will have extra defence lessons. Minerva will attempt to teach Apparition and, with Sirius' help, the Animagus transformation." There was a definite twinkle in his eyes as he said this. "Remus and Arabella will work on your defence abilities, and Severus, you will teach them some very advanced potions. You are all expected to do well in your Potions NEWT, so it should not be too much of a problem. Does that sit well with you three?" This was directed at the other adults in the room.
"Why just us?" asked Hermione bluntly.
"Why me?" added Hannah, bewildered. "I'm only a Hufflepuff!"
"I was getting to that. Patience, children; patience. You young ones these days have far too little of it.
"Hermione, your vast intelligence is invaluable in times like these, and you analytical skills and logical thinking, which you have demonstrated so well throughout your time here at Hogwarts, will no doubt save not only your life, but those of a lot of others as well. You would, of course, have no doubt done equally well in Ravenclaw."
"The Sorting Hat nearly put me there," admitted Hermione, going slightly red.
"Harry, you are one of the most powerful wizards our world has ever seen. You have faced Voldemort on a number of occasions and each time have equalled him in skill and ability. Your courage, also, is outstanding. A true Gryffindor.
"And Hannah. Maybe you do not possess Hermione's vast knowledge – I sometimes wonder if perhaps she knows more than I – but you have such a great sense of fairness and justice, honesty and, above all, loyalty, that I know you will never desert these three. And may I take this opportunity to point out to the others that you are a direct descendant of Helga Hufflepuff."
Hannah stared at him in amazement, lost for words. She knew that almost everyone in her family that had attended Hogwarts had been in Hufflepuff for as far back as they could be traced, but nobody had ever mentioned having the blood of Hufflepuff herself in their veins.
"And Draco. You, like Harry, are a very powerful wizard, though I rather suspect very few – including yourself – have much of an idea as to exactly how powerful you are. Your family has fairly strong blood ties to Salazar Slytherin, I understand."
Draco nodded in confirmation.
"You are extremely observant – always a useful skill – and, it must be said, a true Slytherin. A sharp mind, cunning nature, ambitious…Never bad things in themselves; it is simply a matter of what they are used for. I am sure you will be able to get yourself out of some very tight spots, should you find yourself in them."
The headmaster cleared his throat. "You four are, especially together, the most powerful quartet that I have come across in a very long time. Draco, your knowledge of the Dark Arts will, I expect, be invaluable in the near future. I do believe that you four are the new Founders' Assembly." At the looks of confusion on the faces of three of them, he added, "I'm sure Miss Granger will be only too happy to enlighten you."
He regarded the four closely. Hermione's face showed fierce determination. Harry, typically, looked slightly apprehensive, as well as seeming suddenly older and more mature. Hannah was biting her lip, but there was a steadfast, resolute look in her cornflower-blue eyes. Draco probably came across as the most scared of the four – after all, none of the others would be openly defying a powerful, domineering, violent and Dark parent that supported and truly believed in Voldemort. However, despite this, his grey eyes held an icy-cold, steely determination to succeed.
And, of course, they all had each other's strengths to draw upon now. Draco in particular would need it. Dumbledore was privately dubious about whether the fragile boy was strong enough to hold his own. Perhaps, he reflected, this would be where Hannah's love for him would be most tested – and prove to be his lifeline.
"What happens now?" asked Sirius from one corner.
"These four will sit their NEWT exams and then the special training will begin," Dumbledore informed them. "I have also contacted the Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, Griselda Marchbanks, and Draco, you will be permitted extra time to complete all of your exams."
"Thank you, sir," said Draco.
Dumbledore nodded his acknowledgement. "Now go. Revise and pass. On the evening after your final exam – which is, I believe, History of Magic – we eight, along with Professors McGonagall and Figg, will meet in here at eight o'clock sharp. Shoo; I believe it is time for dinner."
They went.
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Unable to risk discussing the impending meeting at dinner where there was a risk of being overheard (Madam Pomfrey now let Draco have lunch and dinner in the Great Hall with everyone else), they planned on doing so the next day.
However, that plan went out of the window, as Draco was completely shattered from the previous day's excitement – as Pomfrey insisted on calling it – and he spent the next day sleeping and reading his Narnia books. Pomfrey had banned "The Three H's", as she had labelled Harry, Hermione and Hannah. They sat in the library, as it was raining heavily, and revised. For the rest of the holidays, they and Draco focused solely on their exams, putting the impending Final Battle to the backs of their minds.
And all too soon for the fifth- and seventh-years, the summer term began. They were overjoyed to hear that they would now be able to sleep back in their dormitories. Most complained about the rescheduling of the exams. Dean Thomas was particularly put out. "I don't see why they have to go and change them, though," he was saying as he sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"Dad reckons there's going to be a huge battle to finish the ongoing war with You-Know-Who," Theresa informed him. "And soon. He's a mediwizard so he's got to be really prepared for that sort of thing." Her brow furrowed in worry. "He's the equivalent of a Muggle paramedic, which Mum is, so he'll be caught up in the middle of things if there is a big battle."
"What about Quidditch?" asked Seamus. "It's just that we've still got to play Ravenclaw, and that's going to be the day after the exams finish at the moment."
"As far as I know, we still play," replied Harry. "We'd have to be actually fighting before Hooch let something interfere with Quidditch; you know what she's like!"
The others laughed at this statement. "Too right," agreed Theresa. "So what's the match plan?"
"Not here. Common room," said Harry. He looked straight into Hermione's eyes. "I can't come to the library to revise tonight, Hermione."
She frowned at him and opened her mouth to say that they hadn't planned to go to the library, when she caught Harry's meaning – he couldn't go to see Draco. "Oh. Oh. That's OK; I might meet Hannah or Mandy instead, then."
"Sorry; this is a pretty important match," Harry apologised.
"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you win that Cup."
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There wasn't any time to think any further ahead than the next exam for the next fortnight for the seventh-years, and everyone was frantically doing last-minute revision. The common rooms were full of students testing each other, revising in groups, revising by themselves, yelling for everyone to please shut up because otherwise they'd never remember anything… The rest of the students knew better than to bother them.
Seamus and Dean, along with Terry Boot from Ravenclaw and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff were doing a roaring trade in good-luck charms (most of Seamus' 'charms' consisted of what he claimed were four-leaf clovers that Mandy Brocklehurst vehemently denounced as fake in the middle of the Great Hall).
Alongside all the revision, the Gryffindor Quidditch team managed to cram in three two-hour practices in the evenings, as well as a two-hour slot on the Saturday morning halfway through the exams. They found that whacking the Bludgers as hard as they could was a wonderful stress-reliever. They were fairly confident about beating Ravenclaw.
Most of the hysterics seemed to come from the fifth-years, who had never sat big exams before. Quite a few made themselves known to Madam Pomfrey for various calming draughts and sleeping potions, and the older prefects were kept busy not only with their own revision but also with reassuring the fifth-years. The fifth-year prefects were no good; they were just as stressed as their classmates. The seventh-years, although stressed and frazzled, were slightly calmer because they had an idea of what to expect.
And finally the exams were over. The last History of Magic paper was collected in – and then freedom! When they were released, most students grabbed their bags and went racing down to the lake, yelling and whooping with delight and relief.
Harry, Hermione and Hannah did not join them, going instead to McGonagall's office to wait for Draco. He emerged half an hour later with McGonagall supporting him. His face was drained of all colour and everything about him screamed complete exhaustion. "I am so glad that's over," he said to the other three, swaying dangerously until Hannah caught and steadied him.
"I shall see you four tonight," said McGonagall in a low voice as she left them, Draco's exam paper in her hand.
"Let's go down to the lake with the others," suggested Hermione.
Draco shook his head. "Not all of us together; that would look odd – and suspicious. Besides, I really, really need to sleep. You three go down."
"I'll get you up to Pomfrey first," said Hannah in a tone that told him to not even consider arguing. "Harry, Hermione, I'll see you down there."
The two Gryffindors watched them go. "I don't like this," admitted Hermione. "He's completely wiped out; he won't be able to get out of bed for the next two or three days."
Harry nodded his agreement. "What did you make of that question that wanted us to compare the rise of Grindelwald with the rise of Nazism and Hitler in the Muggle world?" He shuddered. "That was evil." They started walking down to the lake.
"You and I have an advantage over people like Ron and Ernie; we were taught about Hitler right from primary school." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's not talk about them now; they're over. I want to go down to the lake."
Harry stared at her in disbelief. "Wait a moment. Hermione Granger doesn't want to talk about an exam? Is there something wrong with you?"
Hermione playfully cuffed him round the ear. "I'm fine. I've been letting Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw practise her relaxation stuff on me – and it's seemed to work. Anyway, I'm focusing on this meeting tonight."
Harry grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's go outside." He took off at a run down the stairs. Hermione let out a shriek of surprise but was forced to run whether she liked it or not. Fortunately for her reputation, there were no other people around to see their Head Girl completely undignified. She enjoyed it, as did Harry. It wasn't long before they found the rest of the Gryffindor seventh-years, who were sprawled out by the lake with some of the Hufflepuffs. Dean was setting up an impromptu football pitch in an attempt to get a game of five-a-side football between the two houses going. He stood as they approached. "Oi, Harry! We need one more person for a game! You know how to play football!"
Harry, somewhat reluctantly, pulled free of Hermione's hand, pulled his robes off, loosened his tie and rolled up his shirt-sleeves (his jumper had long-since been abandoned in his dormitory). The Gryffindor team consisted of himself and the other four boys. Hufflepuff fielded Sally-Anne Perks, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones and Jennifer Raby.
Four piles of robes marked the corners, two Hufflepuff ties (Ernie's and Justin's) marked one set of goalposts, between which Ernie stood, and two Gryffindor ties (Ron's and Dean's) marked the other set, between which Ron stood.
It was a frantic, loud game, and soon a large crowd from all four houses and all seven years had gathered to watch. There was a reasonable level of skill from all the players – Sally-Anne had been the star player of the football team at her primary school – with the exception of Justin, whose posh prep school had been a rugby-playing school. Nevertheless, he joined in and was soon profoundly embarrassed by Neville, who managed to easily skip past his outstretched foot to score. Hannah, who had arrived in time to see this, was the loudest of all in hollering from the edge of the 'pitch'.
The match ended in a 6-6 draw and when the game was called to an end, they collapsed, worn out, on the grass. Hermione (who had been persuaded to referee) glanced at her watch and announced that it was almost time for dinner. This prompted a mad dash inside from everyone else after they had paused to grab bags, robes and other sundry items. Neville got halfway to the school building before remembering his tie and had to dash back to fetch it. Harry put his robes back on, and he, Hannah and Hermione went inside at a rather more sedate pace than the others had done. "How's Draco?" he asked.
"Practically asleep by the time I got him up to Madam Pomfrey," answered Hannah. "I've got to go up there at seven-thirty to get him for this meeting – speaking of which, what do you think it's about?"
"The next step in preparation, I suppose," said Hermione. "Dumbledore told us to focus on our exams and we've done that. It could be about those extra lessons they were talking about."
They had reached the castle and went in to join their housemates for dinner.
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TBC
Author thanks:
CloudofDreams: indeed more darkness cometh. I'm still not going to tell you who will get killed (even if you threaten to not return my PotC soundtrack CD because I shall simply hold your Finding Neverland DVD to ransom). There is a possibility that I may not kill off either Sirius or Severus so don't start panicking just yet! You have yet to see the last of the less-than-esteemed Mrs. Malfoy. As for Ron, we'll see about him. At the moment I have multiple HP, LOTR and PotC fics on the go, so be patient with me! As well as my research proposal! And orthopaedics to read about prior to placement. And a thousand other things to be doing.
Lucidity: you are indeed correct about the use of the term "revise". A difference between the UK and US I was unaware of. I think most people are romantics at heart (myself included) and given the right environment, Draco is too. As for whether it's necessary, I'm not telling you! By the time you read this you'll know that they were in the Easter holidays and have now returned and done their exams. The exams were early partly for the reason you suggested – and also people want to be with their families in case they never see them again. That's the kind of world they're living in. I am saying nothing about Lucius and the note!
Samhaincat: sorry, but Draco would if necessary! He has so few real friends that Harry, Hermione and Hannah mean everything to him. I have to keep Severus in character and keeping up appearances!
TinorialPeredhil: I know people like that fifth-year Ravenclaw – write stuff down wrong and then can't accept that they could possibly have made a mistake. Couldn't resist the Moody link! Do you have no faith in me to protect Draco? (hides from TP) I remember mentioning to someone before about the parchment. I think. I'm employing some of JK and other authors' techniques of subtlety.
Rebell: I'm finally getting the hang of writing decent twists! You'll find out in due course whether it's good or bad. There's still 12 (well, 11 if you've read 21) chapters to go, so there's still some time yet! They did indeed do that to us. We weren't impressed. Just the small detail of a THREE HOUR EXAM. Not anything major or anything.
AshleyPorter: have now updated!
