DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Harry was interrupted from his dinner by gentle burst of warmth against his ribs. He instinctively reached for the inside pocket of his robes where the heat had come from. His fingers found the source: the D.A. Galleon.
"Again?" Ron groaned. "When is it now?"
Harry pulled the coin from his pocket and glanced at it briefly before returning it to its customary place. "We've got a little over forty minutes."
"Right. Until the time changes again," Ron said under his breath. He shook his head and reached for another chicken leg. "I still think this is another trick."
Ginny put down her spoon and stared at her brother. "And what, exactly, would Dumbledore need to trick us into doing?"
"That's what I want to know," Ron replied.
"Come off it, Ron," Ginny said to him. "No one is trying to trick us. They're just having trouble working with everyone's schedules. This meeting wasn't really planned."
"Right, it wasn't planned, and no one is supposed to know what it's about." Ron gave an annoyed snort. "Not to mention that we'd have to be mental to believe that Dumbledore would let the Aurors cast the—"
"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "Shut up."
"Oh, sorry," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I forgot you actually believed him."
Ginny reached for juice, obviously avoiding eye contact with her brother. "And what's so hard to believe about it?" she asked quietly.
"Well, we've already done it, for starters," Ron whispered back, "and it's not like it's something we'd be able to practice, is it?"
"So you're not going, then?" Hermione asked.
Ron just scowled back at her. "'Course I am. You're going, aren't you Harry?"
Harry didn't look up from his food. "I guess. If it's true, it could be really important. Besides, I am the leader, aren't I?"
A half hour later, they stood outside the Room of Requirements, staring at the doorway. A number of the younger members were standing behind them waiting, it seemed, for some explanation for the older members hesitation.
"It's a trick. It's gotta be." Ron said with certainty.
"Dumbledore wasn't lying to us," Ginny said with equal assuredness.
"Doesn't really matter," Harry said flatly. "It's not like we can just walk back to Gryffindor Tower." Without looking to see Ron's reaction, he walked forward, opened the door and walked into the Room.
For a moment, Harry felt a pang of nervousness at seeing eight Aurors standing against one of the walls. He felt a little reassured once he saw the relaxed and almost eager faces of Cho, Ernie and Hannah. Luna was there as well, but as usual, she seemed more interested in the new chandeliers than the idea of being hexed by Aurors. Both Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini had made it (no doubt due in part to the subject), making the Gryffindors the last of the Council to show up.
They took seats across from the Aurors. Ron looked a little confused, but Harry was focusing on other things. His mind was troubled, as if there was something he should be noticing or understanding, but wasn't. When the designated meeting time came, he stood to address the group.
"I... er... I'm happy you all made it. Tonight... er, well..." Harry stumbled trying to think of what to say. He hadn't officially been told what was happening, but then, he didn't actually believe that Dumbledore didn't expect Hermione and Ginny to tell him. Of course, he didn't know if he wanted the Aurors to know that. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about it too long.
One of the Aurors stood forward, and spoke up. "Tonight, we have something very important to discuss," he announced. "My name is DeWitt, and you'll soon get to meet the rest of the group. Albus Dumbledore has given us permission to show you what the Imperius Curse is like, demonstrate its use, and let you practice resisting it."
There was a number of gasps from the students, and a few shocked looks thrown toward Harry or other members of the Council. It wasn't so surprising to Harry, yet he immediately grasped what he had been trying to think about earlier. Why did Dumbledore want to call a meeting for this?
Meanwhile, the Auror was starting to pace in front of the students as he spoke. "As you should all know, the Imperius Curse is one of the Unforgivable Curses, and its use is enough to send any of you to Azkaban for the rest of your life. As Aurors, we have been given permission to use any curse, even the Imperius Curse, in capturing other wizards. Only a few of us have ever resorted to such measures. Tonight, only we will be using the curse, and I must stress that there will be no leniency given to any students attempting to cast the Imperius Curse themselves."
"The curse itself is fairly simple. It allows a wizard to control another person, wizard or Muggle, by forcing their will upon the victim. Under the Imperius Curse, wizards have handed over all of their property, told all order of secrets, and attacked their friends and family."
Harry tried to listen to him, but his mind kept returning to the same question. This had to be some reason behind this. Harry could only think of one explanation: Crabbe. Did Dumbledore think that Death Eaters had used the Imperius Curse on a student to attack Crabbe? That didn't answer why Crabbe had been attacked, and no matter how much they were taught about the curse, it wouldn't stop Voldemort from using any other student.
"Pay attention, Harry," Hermione quietly scolded him. Harry forced himself to listen to the Aurors, who were now trying to explain some sort of demonstration.
"Few wizards have been able to fully resist a properly cast Imperius Curse. Your Headmaster has told us that one of you claims to have accomplished this."
"Harry has," Ron almost shouted. "We all saw him."
"Yes, I'm sure you did," answered DeWitt, "but there is some doubt as to how well the... professor managed to cast the spell."
"I did it a second time."
DeWitt stared at Harry with some suspicion. "Did you? And who cast the curse that time?"
"Voldemort," replied Harry.
The Auror seemed surprised by that bit of news, and looked to the other Aurors. They returned a mixture of shrugs and slow nods. The head Auror turned back to look at Harry. "I see. Then you will perhaps be able to display this for all of us. First, however, I think you should all have the chance to feel just what the Imperius Curse is like. I know that some of you have already experienced this, and that should only make it easier to resist."
The Aurors broke up the D.A. into small groups and started casting the Imperius Curse on them. It immediately reminded Harry of the class with the Barty Crouch in his fourth year. All around the classroom, students were starting to hop on one foot.
Ron and Harry watched with fascination at the vacant look on Hermione's face as she started hopping. Ginny was next. She was hopping slower, but with the same empty, carefree look Hermione had. Soon Ron had joined them, and finally it was Harry's turn.
"No use fighting it right now, Potter," the Auror said. He seemed a decent enough wizard, and had told them to call him Blackhill. "No one will even notice. Probably best to just get used to the feeling again."
With some trepidation, Harry resigned himself to try not to fight it. Still, the desire for him to stand on one leg felt odd and out of place. The compulsion to do as the Auror said was weaker than he'd expected and he was forced to try and ignore his own will. Soon, he was hopping like all the rest of them.
Almost as soon as Harry started, the Aurors started carefully removing the curse from everyone. When Harry and the last of the members were back to normal, DeWitt began speaking to them gain.
"Now you've felt what it's like to be under the Imperius Curse. It seems different people feel its affects different ways. Some feel as if they are being pulled about, some hear voices, and some know only an empty oblivion while they do their master's will." The Auror stooped to look at one of the fourth years. "What was it like for you?"
The boy looked a little embarrassed. "It was like I was dreaming, sir, but all I did was hop on one leg."
"Excellent," DeWitt said with a smile. "Yes, that's a common feeling. A good sign, too. Shows you recognize something's happening to you." He turned and stared at a fifth-year Ravenclaw. "How about you?"
"I— I was just in an empty room..."
"Ahh," he said, "and there is where the problem is. Now, don't feel bad. Loads of much older and more powerful wizards fare no better. While you pictured yourself in that empty room, who knows what you might have been doing out in the real world. It's a hard thing to fight if you don't realize you even should." DeWitt paused for a moment as he scanned the room. Everywhere, students were looking at each other and whispering.
"It was a bit different than last time," Ron was whispering. "When that impostor did it, it felt so... humiliating. This time it just felt like something heavy was pulling my arms and legs to do what he said. Ginny looked about the same."
"It... It was... odd," Ginny said quietly. "Uncomfortable. It felt like... I couldn't fight it. It was too strong."
"Well, don't feel too bad. He got Harry, too."
"He told me not to fight it," Harry mumbled.
"Oh, right. I suppose that might make sense," Ron said dejectedly. "What about you Hermione?"
Hermione jumped a little and looked away immediately. "I—er... I think we should pay attention to Mr. DeWitt."
"I think he wanted us to discuss it," Ginny said with a glance to the Auror. He was still silently watching the students. "Is something wrong, Hermione? What did you feel?"
"I... I..." Hermione fumbled, "I felt... warm, I guess. And... er..."
"Mr. Potter," DeWitt called out. "Would you tell us how the Imperius Curse affects you?"
Harry peeled his eyes from Hermione and found everyone else watching him. "I... er... I hear voices," he said reluctantly. As Ron explained to him long ago, hearing voices was never a good thing.
"Good!" the Auror said with a smile. "And the voices, you can put them out of your mind, can you?"
"Well, yes, I suppose..." Harry answered, "but they tell me I don't have to do whatever I'm being told."
DeWitt stared intently at him. "Do they?" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Perhaps it's time to move on in the lesson. Mr. Potter, come here if you would."
Harry stood up and walked over to where the greying Auror stood. He felt a little more exposed than he normally liked. Everyone in the room was staring at him, even the Aurors.
"I am going to cast the Imperius Curse on you, and order you to do something. It won't be dangerous or painful, but I want you to try and resist." Harry nodded weakly. "Very well. Now the rest of you, I want you to watch. This isn't a thing easily learned, and watching Potter here won't be enough to teach you how, but some things are easier once we know that they are simply possible."
Before he even realized what had happened, Harry felt a sudden light, peacefulness washing over him. All of his worries seemed to fall away, and he didn't feel as tired as he had. The world felt calm and relaxed. There were no essays, or exams, or meetings. He could just stand here, take off his shoes and sleep.
Come to think of it, he didn't really even need to take off his shoes. He'd slept with them on many times before, but they didn't feel as comfortable as they had been. He might as well take them off.
But why? said a small voice in the back of his head.
It really didn't matter did it? They were just shoes. He could put them back on, again.
The urge to take them off got stronger, more insistent. Harry felt a slight warmth in his chest. Why had he wanted to take off his shoes? He was supposed to be doing something important. He was in a meeting of some sort. It didn't feel right.
Harry felt the warmth grow to his back and stomach. Why was he kneeling? When had that happened? With a jolt, he realized that he was already reaching for his shoe.
Leave them on, the voice said. There's no reason to take them off.
Slowly, Harry straightened. The room looked just a little dimmer than before, but he knew where he was. The Auror DeWitt was standing near him, aiming his wand right at Harry's chest. His mouth was moving, but Harry heard his words echoing in his head.
"Take off your shoes, Potter."
No, the voice inside him responded, and a second later, Harry heard his voice in his own ears.
"No."
It was loud and definite. A moment later, he felt the world sharpen as all of his thoughts returned to him, as well as all of his worries and problems. His back and stomach felt like he'd just walked a mile with his trunk, and he faltered as his exhaustion returned a second later.
"Brilliant, Mr. Potter," DeWitt cheered. "A truly inspiring demonstration."
"He doesn't look so good," Katie commented from the back of the group. "Is it supposed to hurt?"
"It can," DeWitt said a nod. "As you've felt, the curse itself has a tendency to make you feel comfortable. Fighting the curse means refusing that comfort. The first step to fighting it is recognizing it for what it is. Now break up into small groups and you can all have a go."
This round was barely any different than the first, except that its result was a group of students without shoes instead of students with one tired leg. Harry had been mercifully left out of this round. He wasn't sure how well he could fight another one so soon after the first.
This time, Ron seemed almost able to fight it. He seemed to fumble with his laces for quite some time. Ginny's shoes didn't have laces, and it hadn't taken her long to slip them off. Neville and Luna had both slowly untied their shoes, and only seemed to hesitate as they pulled them off their feet. More surprising than any of them was Hermione. She'd deftly untied and tossed aside her shoes before anyone else had finished untying theirs.
No one else had been able to see it other than Harry and Blackhill, and he gave Harry a confused glance as Hermione sat down happily by her shoes. When everyone was returned to their normal selves, Hermione's expression became even more troubled than it had been. Somehow, she'd guessed what had happened.
None of the other student were nearly as tired as Harry was after resisting the curse one time, so they continued to try again. The Aurors moved to different groups, and Harry allowed the new Auror (a witch named McKinnon) to try and force him to juggle.
It was getting easier it seemed, and many other students were starting to feel the same way. None of them had succeeded in completely ignoring the demand as Harry had, but Ron had succeeded in actually tossing one of the balls across the room, against McKinnon's orders. Ginny had more trouble, and Harry kept Hermione's progress to himself.
"Alright!" DeWitt shouted over the group. "It's time for some real practice." There were several groans from the students, since many of them had started to learn to fight the curse and were starting to feel the results of the effort needed. All of the Aurors walked to the wall near DeWitt and pulled a chair off a nearby stack. They each set the chair on the floor and stood rigidly behind it.
"It's one thing to be able to foil an attempt at juggling, and perhaps that is all that will be needed, but it's somewhat harder to impose your will over the will of your attacker. May I have a volunteer?"
With a shrug, Ernie MacMillan stepped forward. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?" he asked quietly.
"It shouldn't, though I don't expect you'll enjoy it either," DeWitt said a faint smile. "You see that chair in front of McKinnon? I want you to protect that chair as if it were your best mate. Can you do that? You can make sure no harm comes to it?"
"I can try," Ernie said suspiciously. "Who am I protecting it from?"
The Auror's face broke into a wide grin. "From yourself, of course. Whenever you're ready, just draw your wand." Ernie looked back at some of the other Hufflepuffs before taking a deep breath and facing McKinnon and the chair in front of her. With a quick motion he pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at McKinnon.
"Imperio!" she shouted. Ernie had barely finished aiming his wand when it paused and wavered for a moment. Slowly the wand dipped.
"Incendio!"
The students watched in surprise as the spell hit the chair and it burst into flames. With a flurry, McKinnon ended the curse, and stepped away from the chair.
DeWitt walked over to the chair, and with a wave of his wand, the fires squelched and died, leaving only a charred, smoking chair. "Now, perhaps, you all understand the seriousness of the lesson. Tell me, do you think it would have mattered if this truly had been a friend of yours?"
All of the color seemed to drain from Ernie's face as he slowly sat back down. The room was suddenly quiet, as the students looked at each other. Harry felt tense and uncomfortable. The lesson had almost been fun until then. Some of the third years looked positively frightened.
"Understand this," DeWitt said solemnly, "the Imperius Curse isn't used to make wizards sell books at cut rates or provide fun party tricks. It's used to make wizards do horrible things, things that no threats and no amount of wealth would ever convince someone to do." He paused to let everyone understand. "Now... Should I continue the lesson? Yes? Then let's queue up behind the chairs. We've got plenty."
The lesson continued with a much more serious tone. Harry took a place behind Katie, and Ron and Hermione stood behind him. Ginny was standing in the front of the next queue over, with Neville standing nervously behind her.
"Wands ready!" DeWitt called out. A second later there was a chorus of curses. Harry watched as every last student inevitably turned their wand on the chair in front of them and hexed them. Some had been quite a bit quicker than others. It had been a good thirty seconds before Katie had finally sent her chair tumbling to the ground with a Severing Charm. She looked quite disappointed in herself. Ginny had held out for some time, but she looked visibly shaken by the experience.
Harry was next. It wasn't any different than any other time, he tried to tell himself. This couldn't be harder than defying Lord Voldemort. He held his wand tightly and waited. Though he'd been expecting it, the light, relaxed feeling surprised him. Through the sensations of comfort, he felt something calling him to destroy the chair. A Reductor Curse, it told him. Just destroy the chair and everything will be alright.
No, a familiar voice told him. You don't have to.
The urge to attack the wooden chair was irrationally strong. It was just a chair. There was no harm in destroying it. Harry's arm extended to point his wand at the chair.
"Incarcerous!" he shouted, and a long thin rope shot out from his wand. It snaked around the Auror in front of him, binding the wizards wand against his chest before he toppled to the ground. Harry felt the fog retreating and the aches and exhaustion he lived with slowly returning.
He'd done it.
CRACK!
Harry's eyes flew open in time to see the chair in front of him splintering into a hundred pieces and scattering across half the room. His Auror was lying on the ground. What had happened? Holding his wand loosely in his hand, he turned to look at Ron. Ron said nothing just shook his head and nodded to Harry's right.
"Sorry, Harry," Neville said heavily, "I almost got it."
After a quick explanation, Harry relaxed. Neville had succeeded in saving his chair, at the expense of Harry's. Technically, Harry had failed, and yet DeWitt and the rest of the Aurors were pleased with both him and Neville. Harry watched from the side as Ron managed to almost avoid destroying his as well.
"I'd say I did pretty well, considering," Ron argued. "The chair is perfectly fine, really. Well, it would've been if they could've caught it."
Hermione, however, did much worse. Her chair practically exploded into a thousand pieces and she had turned and walked away before anyone else. The frustration was evident on her face. At least, it was evident to everyone but Ron.
"Wow, Hermione. That was impressive. You did that with a single hex? I've never seen anyone do that before." Hermione paused to narrow her eyes and scowl at him before stomping off to the back of the room. Ron looked a little upset. "I... What did I say?"
Harry turned to look at his friend. "I think you just told her that we couldn't have done any worse than her if we'd tried." Ron's mouth dropped open. With a frown, Harry gave him a pat on the back. "Why don't you stay here and watch."
Hermione wasn't terribly hard to find. She was just where Harry would have expected her. In one of the far corners of the room was a small group of bookcases which always seemed to hold a number of useful and topical books. Hermione was now standing in front of one of them scanning through books. Several were already scattered at her feet.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked as Hermione carelessly tossed another book to the floor.
"I'm fine," she snapped. "Why would you think I'm not?"
"He didn't mean it like that, Hermione."
"Oh, this isn't about what Ronald thinks," she answered as she viciously slammed another book shut. "This is about turning a chair into matchsticks without even realizing I was holding my wand."
"Oh," Harry replied. "It's not supposed to be easy. Maybe you just need a bit more practice?"
"That's brilliant, Harry. That's so helpful," she answered acidly. "Are you here to help?" Harry nodded weakly. "Then either start explaining or start looking through books." Hermione shoved a stack of books into Harry's hands. "Or leave," she added in a lower voice.
Harry started scanning the spines of the books for something that might sound helpful. "I don't really understand how I do it," he explained. "It just sort of happened the first time, and it's been getting easier since then."
"Well, we don't all have your talent, do we? Of course, it isn't all your talent, is it?"
The books were temporarily forgotten as Harry paused to stare at Hermione. She couldn't know about what Dumbledore had told him on his birthday. Almost absentmindedly, Harry passed her one of the books.
Her lips tightened immediately upon seeing it. "Very helpful." Hermione tossed it down near Harry's feet and rubbed her eyes. "Look... I'm sorry. I just need... I need something to work from. I didn't mean to bring it up. It's not like your visions really help you with this. Just go. I'll be fine."
Harry nodded, but didn't really understand what she'd been saying. He'd been too focused on the fact that she really didn't know about anything other than the visions. As he turned to walk away, he looked down at the book he'd handed her. The title was clearly visible: Enfeeblement and Other Mental Weaknesses. He cringed to himself and decided it was time to return to the rest of the students.
"Books again, eh?" Ron said when Harry walked up to him. "Did she find anything useful?"
"Doesn't look like it," Harry said quietly. "She's a bit touchy about the whole subject though. I, er... I'd avoid it if I were you."
"Right. Thanks, mate."
In the front of the room, the last round of students was just destroying their chairs. When they finished, the Aurors started giving second tries to anyone who wished to have extra practice. Nearly everyone did. Hermione did not, and had opted to remain in the corner furiously reading through a stack of books.
Nearly twenty minutes later, a respectable number of students had become good enough to consistently save their chair from destruction, even if none of them were able to completely shake off the curse.
"There is one last test," DeWitt announced as he banished a pile of broken seats and chair legs to the corner. "You've all had some practice. Let's try this one more time. We'll need everyone to return to their queues."
There was a bit of confusion as everyone tried to find their original places. When everyone was in place, including Hermione behind Ron, the Aurors brought out another round of chairs.
"If I could, I'd like to have the last students come up and sit in the chairs. Come along, now. Don't be silly, we won't be using any dangerous curses." It was frightfully obvious what the final test would be. Harry turned to look at whoever was tapping him on the shoulder.
"Er, Harry," Ron said in a high pitched voice, "if I... Well, if something happens and you—"
"I'm not going to blame you, Ron," Harry said with a smile. "Just don't turn me into a mushroom."
The first round started, with Katie facing a rather worried looking Seamus. The result was quite a bit more encouraging than Harry had expected. A few of the students had failed completely, stunning their friends in the chairs. Ginny had hit Denis Creevey with what looked to be a Stunner, but it seemed to only make him slightly dizzy. Katie had missed Seamus completely.
"Some of you might find it a bit easier to resist when you can see and understand what you're really being forced to do," DeWitt explained. "For those of you who still don't realize what you're doing, this will be a powerful motivation to fight harder."
It was Harry's turn next, and Katie's turn in Seamus' place, but she looked much more confident than he had. Ginny seemed fairly comfortable, but she seemed to be paying more attention to Harry than Neville. When the Curse hit him, he stood very still, and simply refused to move. After a short time, he simply turned his back on the Auror, and felt the curse break. Katie was smiling brightly.
Ginny had faired equally well. Neville had managed to drop his wand, and though he wondered whether it was done willfully or on accident, Harry was happy that Ginny hadn't been hit. Harry braced himself for the worst when it was Ron's turn, but was relieved when the Aurors revived him. He didn't feel all that bad. Ron's stunner had been fairly weak.
Hermione looked pale as she stood in front of Ron, and Ron didn't look much better. Harry and Ginny stood against the wall watching impatiently.
"I don't know why she's having so much trouble," Ginny whispered. "She never has this much trouble with spells."
"She's not casting this one," Harry whispered back. They waited as the last of the students of the previous round stood and walked off shakily. Harry realized he was much more nervous for this than he had been when it was his turn.
"Imperio!"
After a few seconds, Hermione's arm rose quickly and mechanically. Once there, it paused and hesitated. Harry saw a brief flurry of twitches in Hermione's eyes, and then they glazed over as he hand tightened on her wand. Ginny had seen it to, and Harry heard the defeat in her voice.
"Oh no..."
"Stupefy!"
A powerful jet of light flashed from Hermione's wand to Ron's chest. He twitched, then fell limply to the ground. When it was over, the Auror removed the curse, and Hermione silently took her seat on the chair. Her face seemed slack and almost sickly with glassy, emotionless eyes.
Rubbing his shoulder gingerly, Ron walked back to where Harry was standing. "Well, it was bound to happen," he said quietly.
"What's that?"
"We finally found something that Neville can do better than Hermione." Harry glared at Ron, and Ron glared back defensively. "I'm not going to tell her that. I'm not that bloody daft."
Hermione eventually joined them and watched the rest of the students in silence. After his previous conversation, Harry didn't really think it was wise to try and strike up any conversation. Ron kept similarly quiet, and Hermione seemed perfectly satisfied with that. When the last of the students finished, a number of Aurors slipped out the door quietly while the rest stood patiently behind DeWitt.
"This was not a skill we had expected you to master," he announced to the D.A. "It was intended as a demonstration, and introduction. I'm afraid we really must end it here, and I warn you not to try this on your own. The Wizengamot will not ignore the use of an Unforgivable Curse simply because you wished to practice. If the opportunity arises, we may return for a second lesson."
Without saying anything more, the Aurors turned and filed out of the room, leaving everyone staring at Harry as if he was supposed to say something.
"I guess we're done," he said weakly.
"Why do we have to fix the chairs and put them back?" Ron asked as he pushed a stack against the wall. "Can't we just leave and come back next meeting hoping for a room without a bloody big pile of chair bits?"
"Because... Well, I'm not— Reparo!" Hermione said as the broken legs and back of a nearby chair fused back together. "I don't know Ron, but we should."
Nearby, a number of students were talking about that night's meeting. It had been tiring for Harry and yet he at least was able to feel satisfied with his performance. A number of students, including Hermione, were left noticeably disappointed with themselves, despite any words the Aurors might have said.
"My uncle is an Auror," one of them said as he pulled his bag out of a pile of other bags and things along one of the walls. "They don't even do that until their last year. It's no surprise we had so much trouble with it."
"If it's that advanced, why did they even try? I mean, it was... interesting, but how many of us were even able to stop any of them? Twelve?" the girl asked. "Only Harry was able to break it, so what was the point?"
"Isn't it obvious," Luna said from the floor where she was carefully reassembling the leg of a chair.
Ron rolled his eyes. "This'll be rich."
Luna ignored him. "It's because of Crabbe," she announced lightly. Harry stopped what he was doing to listen to her. "Crabbe was sent to the Hospital Wing and an hour later Dumbledore tells us that the Aurors just happened to decide to try and teach us to fight the Imperius Curse?"
"What does that mean?" Ron asked. He was slowly inching away from the dwindling pile of broken chairs. "Are you trying to say that Dumbledore thinks someone is going to use it to get revenge on one of us?"
"Well, that's a brilliant idea as well," Luna answered with a smile, "but I would guess that the Aurors think someone used it to make one of us attack Crabbe."
Justin Finch-Fletchley snorted. "Like we'd need to be under the Imperius to do that. Still, it is a bit surprising. I thought Dumbledore would've been telling them more. He seemed pretty friendly with the Head Auror."
Ron gave Justin an odd look. "What more was there to tell?"
Justin's eyes flashed over to Harry, and a small smile spread across his face before he caught himself and adopted a more serious expression. "No one seems to know just what happened to Crabbe."
"Dumbledore said some plants attacked him. It's not that hard to believe, really. I've heard stories about how dreadful he is in Herbology." Luna commented.
A Hufflepuff joined the conversation. "But there weren't any poisonous plants in that greenhouse. Why was he in the Hospital Wing so long? The worst he could have had was some nasty burns."
"Pomfrey probably thought he'd been Confunded or something." Seamus replied. "Maybe she didn't know that he was just naturally that stupid."
"That's not what he said," one of the younger Ravenclaws disagreed.
"Well, you can't really trust Crabbe to know just how stupid he is, can you? Imagine a Confunded Crabbe," Seamus laughed. "How would you know if you'd actually removed the charm?"
"It wasn't that," Justin Finch-Fletchley said. "I saw him on the way to the Hospital that day. He'd only broken his arm."
"A broken arm?" Hermione asked. With only Ron helping her, she'd given up on repairing the last of the chairs. "It wouldn't take Madam Pomfrey three days to mend a broken arm. She fixed Harry right up in an hour."
"Yeah, funny thing, that," Justin said with smile. "Seems he broke his left arm. His lower arm, to be specific. Right in the middle. Said he was tripped up by a plant in the greenhouses, but those floors are enchanted to keep the plants well clear."
"So he tripped over a rock or something and was embarrassed," Ron said lazily as he pushed the last stack of repaired chairs against the wall.
"That's not what Pomfrey said. That was the other thing. I was going out to find Professor Sprout and Pomfrey was already out there." He turned to look at Harry. "She said someone told Dumbledore that Crabbe was hurt. She sent me to find an Auror. His arm was magically broken."
People around the room were murmuring, sharing rumors and making accusations before Hermione silenced them all. "Calm down. If anyone had snuck onto the grounds we would have heard about it. That's what we're here for."
"What if they didn't sneak in? What if they were already here?" Justin said with a smile.
"So you're agreeing with Luna?"
"Maybe not. Whoever did it might not have been under the Imperius Curse. They might have wanted to do it. Maybe they thought he deserved it. They'd be right, in my opinion." Hermione looked outraged. "Think about it, Hermione. Someone knew Crabbe had been hurt before everyone else. Who else would know that but the person who did it? And they told Dumbledore. How many people can just pop in and talk to Dumbledore?"
Hermione immediately turned to look at Harry, then jerked her head away to stare at the wall opposite Harry. Harry just frowned and nodded,
"I knew it happened. I told Dumbledore."
"What? How did you know?" asked a third year Hufflepuff.
How could he explain this without scaring everyone? I have visions of all the horrible things Voldemort does just didn't seem all that comforting. "Well... sometimes when I doze off I have dreams that tell me what Voldemort is doing." That should be good enough.
"Dreams? Like in Divination?" Parvati asked. Harry shook his head, "No, I don't see the future. Just things that are happening at the time." She seemed a little disappointed. Ernie, however, looked frightened.
"So... he was here?"
"No. I think we'd all know if he came to Hogwarts," Harry added solemnly. "I didn't even know what I was seeing. I just knew that someone had attacked him. But it wasn't me, if that's what you meant."
"You didn't do it?" Justin said skeptically. "He broke your arm, and the next day his own arm is broken. Same arm. Same place. Except that his is magically broken, leaving a nasty mark that—"
"A mark?" Harry interrupted. "What kind of mark?"
"Oh right, you wouldn't know about that, since you didn't do it."
"I didn't!" Harry protested.
Justin crossed his arms in front of his chest and spoke clearly so everyone could here. "Right where is arm had broken, there was this long ugly scar shaped like a lightning bolt. You don't know anything about that?"
"No!" Harry almost shouted. Justin obviously didn't believe him and gave Harry a smirk. Harry didn't know what was so amusing. Was it true? Could it have anything to do with the marks left from the four attacks during the holidays? Who else knew about the other attacks and the marks left behind? A quick look at Ginny, Ron, and Hermione let Harry know they had began to wonder the same thing. Harry tried to find a way to explain it without sounding like he was losing his mind.
"Maybe it was some Death Eater who managed to sneak past the Aurors. Voldemort's been trying—"
"Right. Voldemort and the Death Eaters," Justin laughed again. Some of the other members had laughed as well. They seemed to know what Justin was getting at. Hermione had seemed to as well, but she wasn't laughing.
"What are you saying, Justin?" she asked.
"It doesn't make sense, Hermione. Crabbe is the son of a Death Eater. We all know that. Why would— he attack him? What did Crabbe do to upset him? I'd think he'd give Crabbe a sack of Galleons for breaking Harry's arm. Or are we supposed to think that he's jealous?" This caused even more laughter. "Come on, Harry. How would a Death Eater get past the Aurors? And the wards? And escape after being seen only by you?"
"I don't know!" Harry shouted in frustration. He honestly didn't. The vision really hadn't been like the others. It was faint, even more faint than the vision he'd gotten when he was awake, and he'd barely been able to see anything.
"It's not like I feel sorry for Crabbe. The git deserved it. I'm not going to tell anyone if you did it."
"I DIDN'T DO IT! I DON'T KNOW WHO DID!"
"Fine," Justin said as the smile on his face disappeared. "I thought you could at least be honest with us. That's the whole point of the Council isn't it? So we can trust each other?" Justing started walking away, then turned and faced Harry again. "Pomfrey told me not to tell anyone about what I saw and heard, but I told you. I guess we see how it works, don't we?" He stomped off toward the door and opened it.
As he paused in the doorway he looked back at Harry. "I suppose it's not surprising. He has the Death Eaters, and you have us. Not so much of a difference, is there?"
The sound of the door slamming echoed through the large, and completely silent room. Everyone was looking at Harry, who was still staring at the door looking perplexed.
"Well... er... We're done here. Everyone clear out," Ron commanded.
As the students filed out of the door, Harry paced about the room. Some of the older students made no move toward the door. They apparently wanted to stay and hear if Harry had anything more to say. He finally stopped pacing and sat down on one of the chairs.
"Ron, Hermione, and, er.. Ginny, can you stick around for a bit? The rest of you can go." Some of the people left, but a few remained, including all of the Council members. "This isn't a Council meeting. Take off."
"Is it true, Harry?"
It was Cho. She was standing against the wall by the door. Harry's anger flared immediately. "Yes! I had nothing to—"
"I believe you," she interrupted. "That's not what I meant. Are we your Death Eaters?"
"How dare you!" Ginny shouted as she strode toward Cho. "You didn't have any problem with it last year! You were the one who wanted him to lead us without asking anyone else! You were going out with him, and he liked you, but you just wanted someone to cry with!" Ginny was right in front of Cho now. "And now you're accusing Harry of being like... Voldemort! You didn't deserve him—"
"GINNY!" Harry shouted, finally making her pause. At the very least, Ginny had succeeded in taking the attention away from Harry, but she backed away after she realized what she'd done.
"Harry, I— I'm sorry." Cho was looking at her as if she might be able to read some explanation for the outburst across Ginny's reddening face. Cho looked to Harry, and when she looked back to Ginny, her eyes were filled with curiosity instead of confusion. She weakly pointed a finger toward Ginny as her mouth opened to say something.
"Fine," Harry said before Cho could say anything, "if you want to hear what I've got to say, then stay. I'm not going to answer questions if you haven't any idea what we're talking about and no one is to say anything—" he looked directly at Cho "—about what happened here until we decide to tell everyone."
Everyone quietly nodded, even Cho Chang.
Harry sighed and relaxed in his chair. "Voldemort ordered someone to attack Crabbe. I'm almost certain of it. It couldn't have been him. We'd have known if Voldemort was here. The vision was weak, as if I was watching through a foggy mirror and I only got glimpses of what was happening."
"Maybe you still see things if Voldemort had the person who did it under the Imperius Curse?" Hermione offered.
"That would explain how they got past the wards," Ron added, "but it would also mean that either they are still here, and that they were probably nearby when Justin was there."
"Unless it was Justin," Cho said from across the room. "If he were under the Imperius Curse, he could have done it and been there to meet Pomfrey."
Ginny was shaking her head, though. "No, Justin was telling the truth, I'm—" She cut herself off abruptly. "He was telling the truth."
"How do you—" Daphne Greengrass started to ask, but was cut off by a number of glares.
"Couldn't have been Pomfrey, either," Hannah said, "She wouldn't have had time to do it and then get back to the Hospital Wing in time to meet with Dumbledore. Whoever it was, they're probably still around."
"Or they took a Portkey out," Harry said in a low voice. "We just don't know." He stood up and started pacing again. "It doesn't really matter. It could be anyone, really. We don't even know why he was attacked."
"What if he wasn't supposed to be attacked," Hermione suggested. "Maybe someone was trying to do something in the greenhouses and was interrupted by him?" Ron gave a snort.
"And they just happened to decide to break his arm exactly the same way Harry broke his? And give him a nasty scar?" Ron said incredulously.
"He's right," Ernie said. "Whoever did it picked Crabbe for a reason, and they knew where he was going to be."
"That wouldn't take much," Blaise announced. "Crabbe was complaining about the detention Hagrid gave him for breaking Harry's arm. Hagrid told the entire class that Crabbe would be moving a batch of mandrakes from the greenhouse to the gardens. But you're still missing the important part, and there isn't much time."
Ernie gave him a disapproving glance. "Oh yeah? And which part of this is so important?"
Blaise glared back at Ernie and crossed his arms. "Whoever did it knew exactly where Harry broke his arm, and found out soon enough to overhear Crabbe that night and plan for the next day." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"That doesn't really help. The whole class knew. Malfoy told them all. By time I got to the Great Hall, everyone knew."
"No, whoever did it knew exactly where it was broken. They must have seen it. Malfoy only said you'd broken your arm... Well, he said you fell and were crying about your arm, but there's Malfoy. I'm not sure even he knew where it was broken. So who saw it? Who actually saw it broken?" Hermione's eyes had lit up.
"Harry, of course. Me. Ron. Neville must have seen it. But it can't be any of those."
"That goes for Crabbe, too," Ron added, "and I don't think Goyle could remember something that complex. But Nott was there."
"—And the Auror that came to help," Hermione added.
"There is Pomfrey, of course," Harry said, "and there was a fourth year in the Wing with me. I didn't recognize him."
"It's not a very long list, is it?" Hannah remarked as she rubbed a bruise on her arm.
"No, its not," Blaise said evenly. "Whoever attacked Crabbe had a reason, but who else had a reason to get back at Crabbe? Who else had a reason to attack him like they did?"
"We've been over this," Hermione said before anyone got upset, "Harry didn't do it, we don't know who would—"
"I'm not talking about who attacked Crabbe," Blaise cut her off, while still trying to sound friendly. "I'm talking about why he was attacked. Frankly, anyone in the school could imagine most of you lot being angry at Crabbe." Hermione started to protest but Blaise put out a hand to silence her. "Justin said he got an Auror. Why weren't there any red sparks or alarms?"
"Well...er..." Ron started to say, but instead he seemed unsure of what to say. "Wait. Why weren't there any alarms? Harry told Dumbledore what was happening. Why didn't he alert the Aurors?"
"Because there is only one person in the school who had a reason to attack Crabbe like that. Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know," Ginny said, "He wanted everyone to believe Crabbe. He— He didn't want everyone to panic?"
"Oh, I think it was more than that," Cho said. She was looking at Blaise with new respect. "Harry's the only reasonable possibility. Justin isn't stupid, but he's not the smartest wizard here either. If he put it together, then it won't take long for loads of others to come to the same answer."
Harry felt his blood chill as he realized what was happening. "They'll all think I did it. He's trying to make it look like I'm dangerous. He wants me to get kicked out of Hogwarts like Hagrid."
"Can I make a suggestion?" Daphne Greengrass asked quietly. "Now might be a good time for Ernie and Hannah to go try and stop Justin from telling all the Hufflepuffs. Tomorrow's a Hogsmeade weekend, and you'll never be able to stop the news from spreading."
Everyone agreed and Ernie and Hannah ran out of the room. Perhaps Justin would cool down and not talk to many other students. With luck, only a few students would hear from him. They didn't know what to do if anyone else reached the same conclusion.
Harry was encouraged by the fact that he at least could talk honestly about it. He really hadn't done anything to Crabbe. He didn't really think that Dumbledore would ever let him be expelled or taken away from Hogwarts, but he remembered how much less fun Hogwarts was when everyone thought you were attacking your classmates.
When he got back to the Gryffindor common room, people had all sorts of questions for him. Few of them had actually believed Justin, but he noticed that some first and second years had overheard what the older students were talking about and were avoiding him.
As he went to sleep that night, he hoped that Hannah and Ernie had been able to talk to Justin and the rest of the Hufflepuffs. If they hadn't, then tomorrows Hogsmeade trip wouldn't be as relaxing as he had hoped.
Harry awoke the next day to find it raining. The grounds were already muddy, and the sky was low and gloomy.
"Morning, Harry," Ron croaked from his bed. Harry frowned, and surveyed the landscape.
"Not a very good one, though."
The two of them met Hermione and Ginny in the common room before going down to breakfast. As they approached the Great Hall, Harry noticed that he was getting more looks than he usually got. Groups of people were moving to the side of the hall as he walked past, and a number of them were whispering behind his back. Ginny had noticed it, too.
"Er, Harry? This isn't looking so good."
Hermione looked rather angry. She looked at Ron and Ginny, "You two stay with him. I'm going to talk to Hannah and Ernie." She then ran off ahead of them to the Great Hall.
When they finally made it, they saw Hermione very animatedly talking to Hannah and Ernie in a corner near the Gryffindor table. Ernie was acting a little intimidated and Hannah's face was pinker than usual. Harry turned to find a seat, but Ginny stopped him.
"Why don't you sit on that side?" Harry stopped and gave her a look.
"What's wrong with this side?" he asked.
She pushed him over to the other side and said in a low voice, "You don't want to know how many people are looking at you."
Indeed, since they had entered the Hall, it had grown much quieter, and quite a few people were staring directly at him. The rest mostly went about their eating, casting suspicious or wary glances his way when they got the chance.
Harry found he'd lost his appetite. He grabbed a nearby apple and tried to ignore the feeling of everyone looking at him as if he might turn around and attack any one of them. While he couldn't see them looking, he knew they still were. Ginny was getting visibly annoyed. Neville sat down next to her, and tried to cheer her up.
"I hear Zonko's has some new taffies they're going to be testing today. If we get there early enough, I bet we can try them out."
It didn't cheer Ginny up, but at least it distracted her. She sat up and nodded slowly. "Yeah, that might be fun. I'm sure Fred and George would love to get their hands on them." Her triumphant look was the closest Harry saw her to being happy that morning.
Ron paused to stare at her. "And if Zonko's catches you doing it, you'll end up with flippers where your hands are and have quite a time trying to give them to Fred and George."
"Well then, I just won't get caught, will I? Harry will help me. Won't you, Harry?" Harry tried to mumble something about not being hungry but he was interrupted by Neville.
"I'll help you," he said in a clear voice.
Ginny smiled back at Ron. "See. Neville will help me."
Ron gave her a bewildered look. "What can the twins do for you that's worth that? Not to mention that you're a prefect now, and you're supposed to be setting an example."
"Right, thanks for the advice, Hermione," Ginny replied sourly. Ron looked hurt.
"What advice?" Hermione said as she sat down next to Ginny. Hannah and Ernie were standing behind her.
"Ginny wants to nick the new sweets Zonko's testing today and give them to the twins."
Hermione turned to Ginny. "Don't get caught," she told Ginny quickly. Ron tried to protest but Hermione didn't let him. "Hush, Ron. We have a problem with Justin." Ron was still a little annoyed at being dismissed.
"A bit off today, are you? You've been talking to those two for ten minutes and I could have told you that before we even sat down."
Hermione scowled at Ron, but ignored his comment. "Justin thinks we're trying to keep him from talking."
"Aren't we?" Harry asked.
"No, Harry. He thinks you're trying to force him to not tell everyone the truth about Crabbe. The truth where you attacked him."
"Brilliant." Harry said, dropping his apple on the floor. "First I'm attacking people and now I'm forcing witnesses to keep quiet. I haven't killed anyone yet, have I?"
"That's not funny, Harry. He talked to Professor Sprout about it. He wants to remove you from the D.A."
"Fine," Harry said as he violently ripped apart a roll. "I never asked to be in it."
The rest of breakfast was relatively quiet. Harry didn't eat much more. Ginny tried to get him to talk, but she kept getting interrupted by Neville's attempts to cheer her up. When they returned to the common room, Harry pretended to study and tried to ignore the fact that a bunch of third year's had evacuated the table next to him when he sat down.
Ron and Hermione had occupied the area around the fireplace. Hermione was reading a book that probably wasn't even assigned, while Ron spent the time fixing his broom with Harry's maintenance kit. Neville and Ginny had started up a game of Exploding Snap in the area between the two of them.
As noon approached, there seemed to be some silent decision that it was time to go back to the Great Hall. Lunch felt similar to breakfast, except there were more students, and perhaps fewer or more discrete stares in Harry's direction. Even the professors at the head table were whispering amongst themselves.
After the meal, all members of the D.A. who were willing to be identified were supposed to meet in the Entrance Hall to organize before the students headed out to Hogsmeade. Harry waited until the very last moment before Hermione and Ginny forced him to leave the Great Hall.
The Entrance Hall became silent as he walked to the steps. Ron was walking purposefully next to him. As Harry climbed onto the third step, Ron followed him, and before Harry could speak, he was addressing the group.
"Alright now, let's just get this over with!" he shouted. "Raise your hand if you think that Harry here killed all those families he didn't even know this summer." Many of the members looked at each other. Some were surprised and others were simply confused. None raised their hands. "Right then. Raise your hand if you think that Harry murdered all those Muggles at King's Cross while he was sleeping!" No hands appeared, but several heads drooped. "None of you? Then raise your hand if you think that Harry, who's spent more time in the Hospital Wing than any of us, attacked Crabbe because he had to spend a half hour getting his arm mended?"
Harry looked at the students standing around on the floor. Some of them looked truly ashamed now. Instead of the mistrusting looks he'd been getting, he saw looks of apology now. Ron, seemingly pleased with his performance, stepped back down to where Hermione and Ginny were standing. Hermione flashed a bright smile at him and then another to Harry.
"Justin's not here," one of the Hufflepuffs called out. They had been told to announce any member who was unexpectedly absent. In a quiet voice, Hannah answered: "I don't think he's part of the D.A. anymore." This caused some murmurs, including some complaints from the more vocal of the Hufflepuffs.
"Why not? He was a bit of a prat, but is that all it takes to be chucked out of the D.A? Are we not allowed to disagree with Potter? What kind of group is this?" In the back of the group, Harry saw Cho standing with Michael Corner. She was looking at him expectantly. She didn't have to ask the question. Harry already knew it.
"You don't have to agree with me," Harry said, silencing the crowd. "You don't have to do what I tell you to. I won't punish you if you disobey me, and anyone can quit whenever they want." Ginny and Hermione were looking at him with respect. Ron, however, was scowling at the Hufflepuffs. From the back of the group, Cho Chang nodded and gave him a weak smile.
Hannah spoke up to finish her explanation. "No one kicked Justin out of the D.A. Last night he told me that he wasn't coming today. He said he wouldn't come to any more meetings if Harry was there."
In the following silence, footsteps could be heard approaching the Entrance Hall. Professor McGonagall paused as she entered the room. The students were completely silent and didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. It was uncomfortable and troubling.
"Is everything under control, Mr. Potter?"
"I think so, Professor."
"You are ready, then?"
Harry nodded and turned to address the group again, but his voice seemed stiff and monotone. "Like the Aurors told us: Keep an eye out for anything that seems odd. If you see anything, send up red sparks, and the Aurors will come. Now, this is the first Hogsmeade trip, so expect a decent number of third years to have some trouble finding their way around. Hermione and Hannah will take half of you now to check Hogsmeade before the other students get there. Cho and I will take the other half to watch the students on their way there. Ernie, find a friend and watch the gate and keep in touch with the Aurors."
After all the distrust they had shown earlier that day, the D.A. was quick to follow his orders. Ernie nodded to another Hufflepuff and made for the door while the rest of the group separated into halves. Cho walked over to the group of Gryffindors, and tried to attract as little attention as she could.
She failed, and Ginny jumped suddenly when Neville tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, Ginny. We can get to Hogsmeade before the rest of the students."
Ginny looked quickly to Harry. She'd wanted to go with him. After that morning she knew he'd want friends around. But he'd sent Hermione in the first group, and picked Cho to go with him. Why did he have to pick her? Ginny kept telling herself that Harry didn't care at all about Cho, but at the same time she selfishly wanted to walk next to him so Cho would understand as well.
Harry's thoughts weren't all that different. He'd heard Ginny say she wanted to go to Zonko's early. Hermione could have handled the students. Why didn't he say he'd take the first half? He'd wanted to assign Ginny to come with him, but with the lack of trust he was getting, he didn't want to seem like he was favoring his own house. Now he was stuck with Cho.
"I'm sure you'd still get to Zonko's with plenty of time with us," he tried. Cho was watching the three of them with a curious look on her face. Harry wanted to ask what she was thinking about, but knew it was probably best if he didn't, just in case she might actually tell him.
"I— I suppose, but..." Ginny started, but she knew that once the rest of the students got there many of them would be heading right for Zonko's. The only way she could be sure to get there was to go with Hermione and Neville. Until then everything had been turning out pretty well. Having Fred and George owe you a favor was generally a good thing. She didn't quite know when she'd need it, but the way the last few months had been going, it might be sooner than she'd expect. In the end, it was worth it. Wasn't it? With a sigh, she gave harry a sympathetic smile. "I really want to get those sweets for Fred and George. We'll never know when we might need them to do something for us."
Neville was beaming, and Hermione shook her head at Ginny. "Come on, then," she said pulling Ginny with her toward the door. "Maybe if we help, you won't get caught, or at least not permanently disfigured." Ron gave Harry a pleading look.
"Go on, then," Harry told him. "I'll be fine. I'll see you there."
When they had left, Cho walked up next to Harry. "So what's going on with Ginny and Neville?" she said in a low voice.
"They're going to try and nick some of Zonko's new sweets."
"Yeah, I heard that. Is...er... he the one she dumped Dean for?"
"No," Harry said quickly before thinking. "I mean— Well, I don't think so. Neville... He's not all that brilliant with most magic. He does really well in Herbology, though. Lots of people make fun of him for that, but Ginny's not like that. I think she's the best friend he's got."
Cho nodded and shrugged. They sat down on the stairs and waited patiently for the rest of the students to gather. As they waited, Dean and Seamus walked back in through the doors, asking to trade spots with a pair of Ravenclaws, who were eager to get a shot at trying Zonko's new creations.
As they walked over and sat back down near the other Gryffindors Harry asked them if there was anything wrong. Seamus said it was nothing but gave Dean a sidelong glance. Dean looked down and mumbled something about there being too many Gryffindors in the group. Harry offered to let him be at the front of the group leading the students, and though he agreed, it didn't seem to cheer him up much.