A month had passed and Harry was back at school once again, peering into the faces of Hermione Granger and Seamus Finnigan, who were wondering why they had been summoned. He cleared his throat, glad he had planned his speech a bit on the train ride. Was it wise to talk to them both together? Should he ask Hermione first, as Seamus more likely to balk at the idea?
But no, he had learned his lesson in his fifth year—all of the members of Dumbledore's Army were ready to help him. Ron and Hermione were still his closest friends, of course, but he needed to trust other people, too. Harry began.
"Do you trust me?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Seamus asked.
Harry watched his classmates' looks of confusion knowingly. "Do you believe I can rid the wizarding world of evil?"
He had explained the prophecy to the DA last term, but Hermione was rattled by his blunt question. "If it's destined, I suppose; I mean, you do have some sort of power Voldemort knows not, and all."
He looked at her oddly—it was unusual that he should see a subtlety that Hermione had missed, but then she had not been to the wizard muggle alliance yet. "Not Voldemort, Hermione, the Dark Lord."
"Sorry?"
"According to the prophecy, I have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Of course, Voldemort is the specific Dark Lord who marked me. But he's one of the greatest wizards of our time. If anyone can take down Voldemort, it's a dozen or so highly skilled Aurors.
However, I'm setting my sights on the Dark Lord yet to be. Voldemort wasn't the first, nor will he be the last. Ever heard of the Knights of Walpurgis? A consequence of maintaining the secrecy of an entire world is there's always some people that grow up hating those they hide from. That's why the worlds must be joined."
If Seamus had been taken aback before, he was downright bewildered now. "You want to… rejoin with the muggles?"
"Exactly," Harry replied.
"But Harry," Hermione reminded him, "We've been apart about a thousand years; haven't you listened to the Sorting Hat? It was made official over three hundred years ago. There must be a reason for all that."
"There was," replied Harry, who had done his research. "A long time ago, wizards were just part of the scenery in muggle villages, no more different than a leper or a woman with a long nose. Then, after the Middle Ages, science reared its ugly head. People realized we couldn't be tacked down by Avicenna's books or Galileo's papers. We were completely out of the box. They were afraid, and they started to condemn us. Of course, Wendelin the Weird and her friends thought it all a brilliant joke, but others were upset by their negativity. We began the Seclusion.
Now it's causing more problems than it's worth. We can use evolution and genetics to explain our origins—no one seriously believes paranormal powers are from the devil anymore. How can there be a Dark Lord who fears and despises muggles when we live side by side with them?"
Seamus paused a moment to take this in. "Do you know what that would mean?"
"Nuclear war from the religious nuts?" Hermione answered.
"No," Seamus replied, "My mother's family and my father's family could come to Christmas dinner together, and I wouldn't have to make something up for Dad's family!" He frowned. "Total honesty. Wouldn't that be extraordinary?"
Harry grinned with relief. "That's why you're here, Seamus. We're going to start in Ireland, and you've gone to muggle school there."
Hermione looked disapproving. "Does the ministry know about this?"
"Not a clue. I need you, as Head Girl, to take Seamus and make a plea for this to Dumbledore, and he can get other schools involved. As far as any country's government is concerned, it's an exchange program between magical schools only. At the end of the year, we find out which students failed their NEWTs and convince them to take up a muggle trade." He explained the Alliance's plan. "Simple, right?"
Hermione smiled indulgently. "Harry have you thought this through past next week? What if someone gets hurt in Ireland? What if it leaks out before we're ready? What if… anything!"
Harry grinned. "Have faith. We have an entire Alliance worth of consultants, not to mention a few Dursleys. Anything that goes wrong, we'll find a way to fix. Won't it be worth it?"
The Head Girl sighed. "Oh, I suppose."
