A/N: Happy belated All Hallow's Eve everyone! (I was dressed as Tonks, but I couldn't quite get the hair colour right. Mine was sort of a pinkish brown. Unfortunately, the bubblegum pink hair is really all there is to Tonks's individuality. 'sigh' I should have tried Mrs. Figg.)

Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of thinking up really witty disclaimers, so I'll just have to say 'it's not my subject, and I'm not turning a profit from it.

Chapter Twenty-three -

The Detective Agency's First Case

The day after the battle in Hogsmeade, Harry woke to a Hogwarts that was horribly silent and foreboding. The halls were filled with somber faces, and the teachers hardly knew what to do with themselves. They sat at the head table with full plates and sour frowns, attempting to not look anywhere specific. Professor Vector seemed to be the only one able to look at the Gryffindor table where Harry and his friends sat. She was smiling broadly and waved at him. Surprisingly enough, she waved to Ginny as well, obviously conveying her extreme thanks to both of them. Harry was strangely grateful that at least one person was aknowledging Ginny.

"She seems to have recovered." Harry muttered as he prodded a sausage with his fork, not really willing to eat it.

"Taking it be'er dan moft." Ron said shortly, since his mouth was still half full of food. He alone seemed able to consume food today, even if it was on a slightly reduced scale.

"Yeah, everyone else is just staring." Hermione commented, forgetting to tell Ron off for speaking with his mouth full. She shuddered. "Horrible feeling really."

Harry knew that everyone was well aware of 'his' battle the day before. Even those who had not been present, or those who had not yet been informed by friends were sure to have noticed the Daily Prophet. You could hardly miss the huge front page of the newspaper that sprawled itself liberally over the tables. Just a cursive glance across the great hall allowed Harry to see at least twelve copies, not including the one he was holding, which Hermione had lent him for a few minutes.

Harry Potter Defies Death-Eaters While Hogsmeade Burns

By Angela Downfish

Yesterday afternoon, as many as twenty five Death-Eaters fled the scene by portkey when the-boy-who-lived; Harry Potter, challenged them in the former pub "The Three Broomsticks".

Potter apparently intended to draw out the best of you-know-who's forces, and give the civillian population of Hogsmeade a chance to escape the worst of the destruction.

"Potter was actually mouthing off at one of them!" Says impressed patron Janet Smalley, a witness to the battle scene in the pub. "I could hardly move I was so scared, and there he was battling it out with three of them at once! Imagine a sixteen year-old being able to do that!"

While The Three Broomsticks battle blazed, the small wizarding population of approximately eighty civillians and fourty visiting students were able to escape the burning villiage through a hidden passage directly connected to the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reports are sketchy about how this passage was discovered, but many of the interviewed witnesses say that the passage was completely unknown until revealed to them by a small dog.

Some say it was a fox that led them to safety, and others thought it looked more like a pug. One witness insists she saw both a fox and a pug in separate instances.

"I might have thought Potter and those brave creatures were working together." Persephone Gladstone -proprietor of Scivenshaft's Quill Emporium- told reporters jokingly. "I spoke briefly to the hero of the hour when he returned to the castle and he was telling me that he had seen them around the town before."

If indeed this is the case, then Potter, the nameless pug and fox should all be congratulated for their immense accomplishment. In total, nineteen buildings were completely demolished, and only six people were killed. The death tally might have been much higher, seeing as the attack occurred suddenly and powerfully from all sides.

A strong apparition ward was in place around the town, and people might have been badly cornered by you-know-who's masked army had it not been for the hidden underground passage.

No actual sightings of He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named were noted, but with the deadly intent and cunning of this attack it cannot be denied that he was likely somewhere nearby coordinating the assault.

For information on how to properly secure a wizarding home, and contact information regarding the protections of your home-town, turn to page eleven.

Harry wrinkled his nose at the newspaper in disgust. They hadn't mentioned Luna being missing at all, they didn't seem to understand that he hadn't done anything except try to run away, and get his friends and teachers out of the pub safely. Had the world gone mad? Didn't they understand that you couldn't possibly think properly when you had the threat of a death curse or the Cruciatus hanging in the balance?

Harry had lain the faulty ward beads out before him, and never let them get out of his sight. He couldn't understand what had gone so wrong with his warding, and was still hopeful that nothing had gone wrong after all. He was certain that if there was something interfering, then it was nothing to do with his actual casting of the ward.

His friends had all been extremely distraught when informed of the destruction of Hogsmeade, and the loss of Luna had hit them hard. She was always a bit of a loner and had a strangely ambivalent spacy nature, but she was kind, and smart, and helpful.

She had been their friend.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, very few people seemed to have noticed the absence of the fifth-year girl. The rest of the fifth-years were chatting animatedly and one was even primping before a small hand mirror. Some of the sixth-year Ravenclaws were looking sullen, but Harry saw that they were all those in the DA. It was those students who had somehow come to semi-appreciate Luna's quirky sense of humour.

Harry turned to Hermione and Ron, checking from side to side, making sure that no one was listening. "I think we need to get the DA on the case. There's definitely something wrong here. Is there something in your books that might help us do some checking around?" he asked Hermione.

"Pensieve!" Ron hissed very suddenly, causing the other two to jump.

"Oh!" said Hermione. "Good idea! Harry was a witness, so he must have seen something!"

Harry shook his head. "We can't do it now, we have Defense in five minutes."

Hermione snorted. She obviously wanted to convey her extreme irritation with Trelawney, while at the same time, she was obviously weighing the option of schoolwork versus investigation.

Seeing as it was now the last week of school before Christmas holidays, the teachers hadn't planned anything extensive. They had been expecting classes filled with cheery overexhuberant students that couldn't stay focused for more than thirty seconds, but that just wasn't the case today.

In fact there was a feeling of tense apprehension between both teachers and students. No doubt Hermione thought that even with this noted lack of focus, she ought to at least be present for her classes.

Professor Flitwick had cancelled all of his classes for the whole week. The word in the halls was that he spent all of his time with the rescue Aurors and repair operatives in the rubble that had been Hogsmeade. As Luna's head of house, he seemed to be the most distraught besides those students in the DA.

The Slytherins were surprisingly quiet, as their head of house was missing. Only a select few thought they might know where he was, and there was no way that they were going to tell anyone their thoughts, so they were going out of their way to avoid the other students questions. Professor Dumbledore had told Hagrid that this was probably quite a good thing for the Order, as it might solidify the idea in some of the less trustworthy Slytherin students' minds that Snape was a trusted part of Voldemort's ranks. They would in turn tell their parents what a great stand Snape had made by remaining with the Dark Lord in his moment of need.

Once they had decided for sure that they were going to actually attend, Harry, Ron and Hermione were completely bored to tears in Trelawney's class. She didn't really do anything with the students, except make them read over their notes on 'verbal and mental defense strategies', while she sat at her desk shaking, wringing her white hands, and staring into nothing. She ended up dismissing them early, saying she wished to consult her crystal ball.

"Harry, could you stay a moment?"

Harry gaped. Obviously the experience in Hogsmeade had been more than a little traumatic for her. Now she was calling him by his first name? He hoped fervently that she wasn't about to offer to read his fortune. All she ever seemed to see in his future when reading for him was death.

"Yes Professor? What can I do for you?" He thought she could probably do with a bit of extra courtesy today. She looked beyond stressed. Her thick glasses sat crooked on her nose, her blue shawl was rumpled, and her hair was unrestrained and frizzy.

"I wanted to thank you for yesterday."

"You're welcome." Harry answered quickly, searching out the best possible escape route.

She seemed to want to say more, so Harry steeled himself and waited while she brought herself together.

"The Headmaster says I'm in danger."

"Yes. That's what we were told."

"He told you?"

Harry tried to think up a quick way to rewind his thoughts. He shouldn't have said that. "Well, I asked him why Voldemort would have wanted you, and he told me, besides, I gathered you were in danger from what Wormtail said."

"Then he's told you my prophecy?"

Harry hesitated. He had no choice but to lie about this. He didn't trust Trelawney enough to tell her that sort of thing. He could only hope that Dumbledore hadn't told her everything. "No, but I know there was one."

She nodded. "That's what he told me too."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Trelawney still didn't know what she'd prophesized, then everything was all right for now.

"So now that you know you're in danger, what are you going to do about it?" He asked.

"I don't know. That's what I wanted to ask you."

"Me?"

"For help, you know... defending myself." She whispered the last two words as though they were profane.

Although his face remained passive and thoughtful, inside his head Harry smirked. He knew this moment would end up being replayed in his mind for the rest of his life whenever he needed a laugh. The Hogwarts Defense Against The Dark Arts professor was asking him; mere student, Harry Potter, to teach her how to defend herself properly.

It was ludicrous.

It was laughable.

It made sense.

"What would you like to know?" he asked quietly.

She looked pleased that he had not laughed at her, and Harry gave himself a mental pat on the back. "I saw what you did in the Three Broomsticks. I heard what you said."

Harry's mind went blank at that comment. "What did I say?"

"You said 'My choice is to protect the innocent,' to mister Weasley. I thought it sounded heroic."

Harry just nodded, his tongue feeling twisted and heavy in his mouth.

Trelawney knotted her hands nervously. "I've never been one for whom fighting made any sense. I've never seen an actual battle, other than those that they have in history books. I don't want to fight, and I never saw that anyone else might have the need. It just didn't seem right to hurt people for spite, even if they were being terrible. It would be like sinking to their level..."

Harry shook his head. "That wasn't what I was doing-"

"I know." She interrupted. "What I saw in Hogsmeade made me realize that fighting isn't something that good people want to do. It's not even something meant to hurt others."

"Professor, you must understand... People who think violently, the way Death-Eaters do will always need to be stopped. And very often, stopping them requires physical force."

She nodded. "To protect the innocent."

"Yes. Do you understand now why Ron, Hermione and I can't concentrate in your classes?"

She nodded, looking embarrassed. "You've seen things that make all of the lessons that I've given meaningless."

Harry shook his head. "Not meaningless, really. When I duel with dark wizards, I speak with them while I do, and I defend my point of view from safely behind a pointed wand. If you would like to learn how to defend yourself, words and mindset are very important, but they're not the be all and end all of defense. If Voldemort wanted to kill you, he would do it, and you would never have the chance to explain yourself. You wouldn't be given the time. Your death would be quick, painful and meaningless. The only way he would even give you a chance to speak is if he wanted information from you, and then you would tell him whatever he needed to know just to bring an end to the pain."

Trelawney had the good graces to look ashamed.

Harry took a deep breath. "Give yourself more time to think about what you want and to recover, and after Christmas we'll talk again."

Trelawney smiled quaveringly. "Thank you mister Potter."

So he was back to 'mister Potter' then? He nodded politely, and left the classroom.

000000

"Are you ready?"

The Detective Association sat quietly around Harry's pensieve in the common room later that afternoon at the time they normally had potions. None of them were at all convinced that they had seen the last of Luna Lovegood, and they were determined to replay yesterday afternoon's events in case they had missed some important clue.

At Harry's question, both Ron and Hermione nodded.

Harry touched his wand to his temple and withdrew a silver filament of thought. He dropped it into the bowl, and prodded the silvery substance with the tip.

The silver began to swirl, and the three friends leaned over the bowl to get a better view. An image of the Three Broomsticks appeared in the swirling liquid and Harry saw Ginny, Ron and himself hiding behind the bar, being pelted with spells. They watched as Death-Eaters swarmed the doors, and as Lucius Malfoy chewed on his own tongue trying to force out incantations through bloody lips.

"It seems your lord is just setting himself up for a major disappointment!" Harry saw himself yell at Malfoy. "Look at those losers he calls his faithful servants! Expelliarmus!" Malfoy wasn't able to get a shield up in time, and he was blasted backwards into the side of an armchair. His wand flew into the air, and it landed on top of the bar.

From this new perspective, they could see a flash of yellow crawl out from her hiding spot under the armchair, and up over Malfoy's leg. She seemed to be heading for the door, but never made it back to the ground. Malfoy kept moving his leg from side to side as he rocked in pain. She had crawled up over his good leg, and Harry recalled that at the time he had been much more sickened by the strange angle of the broken one.

No wonder he hadn't seen her there.

While Luna hung on to his flailing boot for dear life, Harry saw Malfoy reach into a pocket and mutter 'portus' then in a swirl of colour he and the yellow Gecko were both gone. Hermione gasped, and Ron sighed in semi-relief.

Luna was with the Death-Eaters.

Harry didn't want Ron to see the part of the memory where Ginny was hurt, so he prodded the liquid once more, and brought it back into his own mind.

"So that's it..." Ron mumbled. "Do you think she's still alive?"

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again." Harry answered. "Stickyfoot is smart enough to know when to show herself, and when not to."

"So she's just been crawling around Death-Eater headquarters as a gecko for the last twenty-four hours?" Hermione squeaked. "She couldn't be! They must know she's there!"

"Snape!" Harry suddenly perked up. "He's still not back is he?! She might have gone to him for help."

"Maybe..." Hermione mumbled. "We won't know for sure until we see him, and then we can ask."

"In the meantime," Harry quickly stowed his memory back where it belonged, "Dumbledore should know about this."

They all nodded, and went to tell the Headmaster what they had seen in the pensieve.

000000

"Blood Lollies." Said Harry, betting on the fact that Dumbledore had been too busy in the last day to change the password to his office.

He was correct. The gargoyle leapt aside, to reveal the rotating stair. The detectives moved up to the door quickly, and thumped solidly on the hard oak.

Dumbledore appeared after three knocks. "What can I do for you three?" he asked in surprise.

"We have some more information for you." They said quickly.

The sound of spluttered indignation came from the fireplace, and the three students looked over to see the head of Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge in the fireplace. "Now see here Dumbledore! You can't allow children to just waltz into any conversation you know!"

"Calm yourself Cornelius." Dumbledore consoled. "I believe these students might have some useful information about the attack on Hogsmeade."

"Oh, Mister Potter! I didn't realize it was you. Jolly good, all that stuff about you in the prophet Eh?"

Harry, quite rudely, didn't answer.

"Right, well I'll just pop out then and leave you to your conversation." The head in the fire turned to Dumbledore. "We still need to finalize some things. I'll call you back later." And he popped out.

"Well now, Misters Potter and Weasley, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said turning to the group. "What is this information you seem to have?"

"We know what happened to Luna. She's not dead." Not yet at any rate. Harry thought to himself.

Dumbledore's eyes lit up. "Where is she then?"

Ron stepped forward. "She's with the Death-Eaters. Wherever they are."

"Have you heard from professor Snape?" Hermione interjected.

Dumbledore looked confused. "We have not heard from professor Snape other than a brief message to say that he is safe, and will be returning to us as soon as possible. What makes you so sure that she is with the Death-Eaters?"

The concerned look in Dumbledore's eyes made Harry realize that Dumbledore thought Luna had joined the Death-Eaters. "No, no." He waved his hands. "We think she got taken accidentally. We saw it in my pensieve. She crawled out over Malfoy's boot, and got taken with him when he portkeyed out. He didn't know she was there."

He pulled out his beads. "Her ward is working just fine. It made me wonder if I had cast it correctly. All six beads were warm for awhile, but now that Ron and Hermione know the truth, their beads are properly cool to the touch. Hers is still warm. She's safe, but afraid."

"We need to get her out of there." Ron said, stating the obvious.

"As soon as we have made contact with professor Snape, we will know for certain, and perhaps he can bring her back to us. We should know within the next day or two. I'll keep you all informed. Thank you."

Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded business-like, and headed out of the office.

"What was he talking to Fudge about?" Ron said angrily as soon as they were out of hearing range.

"Fudge's probably just getting advice from Dumbledore." Hermione answered.

"I wouldn't have given him any help." Harry said darkly. "Let Fudge boil in his own cauldron."

Hermione sighed, sounding exasperated. "We can't afford to have a minister who looks incompetent right now. Do you know what that would do to people? They might end up joining the Death-Eaters because they don't believe it's possible to win! If they do that, then we've got a much bigger problem on our hands than is necessary."

Ron and Harry agreed reluctantly.

"It doesn't mean I can't hate the man." Harry said angrily.

000000

It was almost three days of no news before Neville finally believed their tale about where Luna had gone, by which time he and the rest of the pack were already on the train back to London for the Christmas holidays. They hadn't wanted to tell him that they had been looking into her disappearance, so they had to tell him that it was information Dumbledore had somehow acquired. It was sort of true in a way, so they didn't feel too awkward about it.

All of the reast of the pack had decided for safety reasons that they would still be heading to Grimmauld Place for the holidays. Even Hermione's parents had agreed to join them for awhile.

Harry felt a little strange to be going away for Christmas on the train. Even last year, his trip to Grimmauld Place had been more of an accident, and they had all taken a portkey to get there.

"So you're sure she's safe?" Neville asked hesitantly.

"Of course she is." Harry answered assuredly. "Here, feel the beads if you don't believe me."

Neville grasped the beads out of Harry's hand, and moved his fingers gently over the purple one. Harry smiled, thinking that it was more than a little interesting that Neville had even remembered which colour Luna's ward was connected to.

Now that he thought about it, Neville had been the most concerned by her disappearance, and they had often been left alone throughout the summer. It crossed his mind that there might have been more than simple friendship to Luna's constant presence in their group than he'd thought.

Obviously the others had the same thoughts, because they were staring at Neville with bemused and sympathetic expressions.

Hermione patted him on the knee. "Don't let it trouble you too much right now, Neville. She knows how to stay out of trouble, and she'll be back before you know it."

Neville sighed, and handed back the beads. Harry replaced them carefully in his robe pocket.

The ride from that point on was insignificant, and they talked eagerly about seeing all of their parents in the same place once more. Of course, Harry and Neville stayed mostly out of the conversation, but Neville was happy to mention that his Gran was coming to stay with them.

The large circle of eight Order members surrounded them as they climbed off the train. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were accompanied by Remus, Mad-Eye, Tonks, Bill, and two other new members that Harry hadn't yet met. There was no time for greetings between the students and their parents before they were shuffled out to the alley. When Ginny went to say hello to her parents she was hushed by Mad-Eye, and shuffled forward as a sheep might have been. Two small looking cars were waiting for them, and the party of fourteen people crammed themselves in to the magically enlarged interiors. They pulled away, and drove quickly and silently off to number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

The building looked just as creepy and derelict as it had that past summer. The fog had not retreated, and Harry stared up depressedly into the black windows of the second and third floors. The mists created by people's breathing out in the chilly air only served to emphasize the essence of dark magic that surrounded the place. He felt a shiver of awareness, and looked more closely at the upstairs windows. A pale shadow pulled quickly away from his view.

They moved silently towards the door, and slipped inside.

As soon as the door shut behind them, the sound of enthusiastic greetings filled the entryway. Fred and George made sure to set off a few particularily loud firecrackers, sending the surprised Tonks careening out of control first backwards into Remus' chest, then through the open door of the kitchen. After picking Tonks and Remus up off the kitchen floor, and scolding the twins, Mrs. Weasley hugged all of her children, Harry, Hermione and Neville twice each. She cried a little and hung off of Mr. Weasley's shoulders.

"Now now, Molly. They're going to think that all you ever do is cry." Mr. Weasley admonished.

"Neville!" Mrs.Longbottom called from the landing at the top of the stairway. "St. Mungo's let your mum and dad come here for the holidays! Isn't that nice!" Harry realized that it must have been her pale face he'd seen in the upstairs window.

"Really?" Neville looked stunned. "Mum and Dad are here? Where are they?"

"Just upstairs!" She answered "They're napping right now, but I'm sure they'll be pleased to see you again. Come on up in about an hour, and you can say hello." As she and her clunking cane reached the downstairs hall, she ruffled Neville's hair affectionately. Neville beamed.

"How are you Harry?" Remus asked, limping forward to hug him.

"Not bad, myself. You?"

Remus shrugged. "Wasn't all that sore until a minute ago." He looked accusingly at Tonks, who blushed and smiled apologetically. "I'm going to miss Christmas again this year, so Molly's promised to celebrate it all two days early. Is that all right with everyone?"

They nodded, and the rest of the Pack smiled wistfully, hoping that Stickyfoot would be with them by the time the real Christmas Eve rolled around.

Harry touched Remus on the shoulder. "Remus, I was wondering if we could maybe have a few more lessons throughout the holidays. Do you feel up to it?"

Remus looked nervously at the assembled group, wondering how many of them knew about Harry's lessons over the summer.

"Don't worry." Harry told him quickly. "They sort of had to find out in September."

"Oh, then of course we'll continue."

No one noticed the door open and shut quietly behind them, except for Harry, who was now facing it. He moved to get a better view of the person that had just entered.

"Where is she?" He asked, his face suddenly twisting into a grimace of anger, and everyone turned to look at the shadowed person behind them.

Professor Snape stood shaky and pale at the back of the crowd. "Where is who?" he asked with only the trace of a sneer.

Harry realised that this was the first anyone had seen of Snape and that he still hadn't heard about Luna's disappearance. Nor had he contacted Dumbledore to let him know when or where he would be returning. Snape looked ill and in pain. He was limping, and his left arm he held cradled tightly to his chest. Obviously Number twelve Grimmauld Place had come to mind as a place of safety, if not comfort. The thought made Harry's stomach roll over with disgust.

It looked as though Snape had come to stay for the Holidays.

"Where is Luna? She would have come to you for help."

"Don't worry, I'm here." The pale form of Luna Lovegood stepped dramatically out from behind a now nearly asphixiating Severus Snape. She smiled innocently at his terrified yelp. "Thank you for the ride."