A/N: M'dear readers, I'm sorry this chapter's a little late. It took a little longer to finish than we thought it would. But Mum and I have had a lovely weekend up in lovely Gainesville, and have been writing our hearts out. We don't have many chapters left, and we're going to miss hearing your comments so much. It's such fun talking about all the feedback you give us. Here it is, for your reading pleasure, hope you enjoy!
Chapter Forty-Five: Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
Arriving at King's Cross was everything Harry had hoped for. Even the mob of reporters crowding near the gateway into the Muggle station couldn't dampen Harry's elation at seeing Sirius standing there with the Weasleys, waiting as Harry and his friends unloaded their luggage.
"At last, we were starting to worry!" cried Mrs. Weasley. She kissed Harry on the cheek and motioned at them to get their trunks. "Let's get out of here!"
Sirius was quiet as he helped Harry with his luggage. Harry thought he looked well, much better than when he'd seen him at Grimmauld Place two summers ago. But why shouldn't he be? He could come to King's Cross as a human being now and meet Harry as a guardian should, instead of hiding and sneaking around.
We'll never have to hide again, he thought fiercely. Sirius can see me anytime he wants, and there's nothing anyone can do!
Not the Ministry, anyway.
Apparently, Sirius was of the same mind. He kept a firm hand on Harry's shoulder as they walked out of the station to the Weasleys' waiting cars, sent courtesy of the Ministry on the orders of Minister Bones. It wasn't until they were driving on through London that Sirius spoke up. "Are you glad to be heading somewhere different this summer?"
Ron laughed out loud. "Are you kidding? He was singing when we got on the train!"
"Singing?" demanded one of the twins.
Harry shrugged sheepishly. "I was happy."
Sirius looked delighted and relaxed much more, slinging a casual arm around Harry's shoulders. "Sorry it's nothing better than the old Black house, but it's the best we could do."
"I don't care," Harry said firmly. "So long as you're there."
"Blimey, someone gag me!" Fred exclaimed.
Harry and Sirius both blushed.
"And as I'm a Prewett by blood, we're going to feed you this summer, Harry Potter!" Mrs. Weasley swore that evening during dinner. "You too, Sirius Black; both of you need fattening up."
Sirius laughed, but half-bowed to her. "As you will, Madam."
"You might extend that to include Remus too, when he comes," Tonks suggested. "That one doesn't eat enough either."
Mrs. Weasley paused from foisting another helping of beef stew on Harry to smile slyly at Tonks. "I have quite enough on my hands, dear, so any responsibility for feeding Remus Lupin must fall to you."
"True," Tonks said hastily. "I suppose the task of feeding all three of them would be too much for anyone."
"We'll eat, we'll eat!" Harry exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender. (Not that he ever ate sparingly of Mrs. Weasley's cooking.)
Sirius just laughed harder.
Remus arrived late the next day, and Harry couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so content. He spent his days practicing defensive spells with his friends, under the tutelage of Remus, Sirius, and sometimes Tonks or Moody. Sirius cut his hair short again—well, shorter than it'd been before, anyway—and Remus looked far less haggard lately. And the Weasleys were happy again, for which Harry was very grateful. They deserved to be happy, in his mind, happier than anyone else in the world. He was very happy for Ron. Their family was whole again; ghost or not, Percy had returned. All the Weasleys were together again.
The war went on, of course. The Order held meetings in the basement kitchen just like always, but they let Harry and his friends sit in now, even if Harry wasn't allowed to do more than that. "Don't ruffle your feathers at us," Tonks told him once. "Most of what the Order does from day to day is the same as Auror duties: guarding, investigating, responding to reports. Leave it to the people trained to do it. We're not risking you or anybody else underage unless we absolutely have to."
Harry couldn't really argue with that, but didn't resent it as much as he once had. Contrary to what Snape had always said, Harry didn't like to go around sticking his nose in everything—he just wanted to know what was going on. Now at last they were letting him, so he couldn't complain.
Not that much, anyway.
About two weeks after school ended, the Order put together a group of volunteers to travel to America to work with their Aurors. Professor Snape was among them. No one seemed to think the mission was anything dangerous (or at least not any more dangerous than usual), but they would be gone for several days, and Harry was glad neither Sirius nor Remus was going.
The morning before they were scheduled to leave, Mrs. Weasley told them all at breakfast, "We have another guest coming to stay until the team gets back, I've heard."
That, in itself, was nothing new; Order members came and went, sometimes staying the night and sometimes not, or leaving their family members at Headquarters for a day or two. None of the Order members had children near their age, so they all assumed it was someone's wife or husband.
And so, when Professor Snape's voice drifted in from the parlor, none of them thought anything of it. Until they heard Mrs. Weasley's welcoming tone followed by a familiar – and definitely sullen – voice that would never have been expected at Headquarters.
"How long am I going to have to stay here?"
"Until I return next week." And then... "There is no other option. You cannot remain at Hogwarts alone."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood where they were, in the hall with Ginny and the twins, all of them dumbfounded, unable to believe what they were hearing.
But when Professor Snape came into the hall with Draco Malfoy in tow, there was no denying it. Still, Malfoy was as shocked as they were, and the look he shot Snape, told them Snape hadn't warned him.
Gryffindors stared and Slytherins stared back. Finally, Malfoy growled, "You've got to be kidding."
"While I am absent, you must be in a safe house," Snape told him. Harry noticed, with a sense of irony, that Snape looked almost apologetic.
"With them?" Malfoy cried.
"It won't be so bad, dear," Mrs. Weasley said gently. Malfoy looked scornful.
"We're not exactly thrilled ourselves," Ron pointed out. His mother glared at him.
"Shush, Ron. Your room is upstairs, dear. This way."
Malfoy slowly followed her, but cast a look over his shoulder at Snape that startled Harry, for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Maybe it was because Harry had never seen Draco Malfoy look so plaintive before. But none of his friends seemed to have noticed.
Snape went to the Order meeting, and Harry and the others took refuge in the library. "I can't bloody believe we have to put up with Malfoy here at Headquarters," Ron fumed.
"Lovely way to ruin a holiday," grumbled one of the twins.
"I gather he's no happier about it than you," said Percy's ghost, dropping through the ceiling.
"My heart bleeds," said Ginny, scowling.
"Oh really, you lot, at least try to be understanding," Hermione said. "He's on our side now."
"Pffft. Yeah, right," Fred snorted.
"Listen," she insisted. "I don't like him any more than you, but if he thinks he isn't welcome on our side, he might just go back to his father's side." At the other's doubtful looks, she said, "I'm not saying be his best friend, just don't be nasty."
Ron looked at Harry and shrugged.
There was no sign of Malfoy at lunch, for which most of them were immensely grateful. Snape also disappeared upstairs. Harry couldn't help wondering what they were talking about. When Snape finally did come down several hours later to leave with the team, his face was unreadable. Malfoy wasn't with him. Snape looked at Harry several times as the team got ready to go, but never spoke, not even in response to Ginny's quiet "Good luck." Then, in a flash of Floo fire, the team was gone, and Harry and his friends were keenly aware of Draco Malfoy's presence in the house, like an especially malevolent haunt
But Harry couldn't help wonderi ng what it was like for Malfoy, alone in a house full of people who despised him.
No, Harry had to admit, he didn't have to wonder. He knew. All too well.
Mrs. Weasley told them Malfoy was on their floor at the end of the hall, but none of them saw any sign of him even though Hermione had gone to tell him dinner was at seven. "What did he say?" Ginny asked her.
"He never opened the door," Hermione said, in a tone that she often used on Harry and Ron when she was trying to be patient with them. "I suppose someone should check and see if he's all right."
"Phineas Nigellus's portrait is in his room; he'd have told us if anything was wrong," said Mr. Weasley. "I'll have Percy look in on him after dinner." Mr. Weasley, unlike his wife, was ambivalent about Malfoy's presence. Among the Order, he'd had to work with Lucius Malfoy, after all, and Harry doubted he had any love lost for any of that family. But to his credit, he was following Mrs. Weasley's lead as far as having Draco as a guest was concerned.
"Poor boy's probably just upset," said Mrs. Weasley gently. "Let him be for now. And I agree with Hermione, you lot, be civil to him! He's our guest while Professor Snape is away, and however you feel about the boy in school, we owe it to Severus."
Ron sighed, and pulled a face. "Guess you can't really argue with that. Owe one git and you have to put up with other gits."
"Ron…" groaned Hermione, but he gave her an innocent smile, and she just shook her head. "You're hopeless."
"I could have told you that," said Ginny, laughing.
"Me, too," Harry added. Mrs. Weasley grinned fondly at them.
Sirius came in from whatever mission he'd been out on, and sat down next to Harry, as Remus passed over the roast beef. "What's new and exciting?"
Remus winked at Harry, and said, "We have a visitor."
"Oh, someone new?" Sirius asked, curiously.
Ron snorted. "That's the understatement of the year, Sirius." Sirius blinked in confusion, but Mrs. Weasley shook her head.
"While Severus is in the States, Draco Malfoy is here at Headquarters."
Sirius sat motionless with a roll halfway to his mouth. "You have got to be kidding."
"Funny, that's what he said," remarked Ginny, but she was smirking. "At least the little git's had the decency to stay in his room."
Sirius shook his head "Draco bloody Malfoy. For the first timein my life, I feel that my house has been defiled." They all laughed uproariously-except Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, who looked disapproving.
"I bet your mum likes him," said Ginny.
"Considering how she doted on his mother and aunt – Bella, that is – she'd probably adore him." Sirius pulled a face. "With any luck, he'll have the sense to keep his Malfoy claws to himself, and not contaminate your space too often."
Although most of the Weasleys liked his statement, Harry suddenly felt cold inside.
They saw nothing of Malfoy that evening, and the next morning, watched Hermione try to bring a plate of food to him. "Malfoy?" (Knock, knock, knock) "Malfoy, there's some breakfast here for you. If you're not going to come downstairs, at least take this." (Knock, knock, knock)
"Give it up. He's not going to answer," said Ron.
"Maybe he'll starve," said one of the twins. "We can only hope."
But Hermione, as always, wouldn't be discouraged, and kept on knocking and calling, until the door flew open. Everyone jumped. Harry only saw a flash of movement, before the tray went flying out of Hermione's hands, and she let out a yelp of protest.
"Go away!" was all Malfoy snapped at her before slamming the door again.
Hermione rocked back on her heels and stared at the door for a few moments, then huffed and turned away. "Fine! If he wants to hide and starve, who am I to stop him."
"That's the spirit," laughed Fred.
Remus came upstairs at that point. "What was all that about?" He took in the spilled food and Hermione's irked expression, and smiled. "Ah. Why don't you all run along. I'll handle this."
Shrugging, Ron nodded and tugged at Hermione's elbow. "C'mon. Let Remus deal with him." She let herself be drawn away, and they went down to breakfast.
What Remus said (or did) to Malfoy, Harry never found out, but all he or any of the others knew was that Malfoy finally showed up in the dining room that morning. "Well, look who exists after all," said Fred, in mock surprise.
Malfoy said nothing, scowling sullenly at the table as he ate, but Remus shot the twins a warning look and they settled down. Malfoy didn't meet anyone's eyes all morning, except when Remus suggested that he join the rest of them in the parlor for defense practice. Malfoy looked horrified, and even Sirius and the others glared at Remus.
But whatever Remus had done to get Malfoy out of his room was working. He simply nodded a yes, and followed them to the parlor. He never said a word unless Remus spoke to him, but he obeyed the instructions, and didn't even complain when Remus partnered him with Harry. What was strange was that he didn't even take the opportunity to hex Harry for all he was worth.
"What's the matter? Afraid to curse anyone now that your Dad can't pull strings to get you off," Ron sneered.
Malfoy glared at him. "And give you all the excuse to throw me in Azkaban!"
Harry stared, but Hermione shoved Ron, and Malfoy retreated upstairs again as soon as practice broke up. "He's scared." Ginny voiced what they were all thinking. Ron and the twins immediately broke up laughing, but Harry didn't find it nearly so funny.
Aside from dinner, none of them saw Malfoy again all day. The younger Weasleys were obviously gleeful over his hermit-like behaviour, and Harry supposed he really couldn't blame them. Their family had suffered too much at Malfoy and his father's hands.
But no matter how Harry tried, and he did try, he found that he could not laugh at Malfoy, hiding in his room, hated by and hating everyone in the house. Harry couldn't laugh at that, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself Malfoy deserved it.
When strange noises woke him late that night, he at first didn't know what it was. That was why he got up and went into the hallway. Once he opened the door, he realized the plaintive cries were coming from down the hall. Drawn by some impulse he didn't understand, he walked slowly to the door and opened it.
Malfoy was tossing in his sleep, whimpering and calling out. "Dad! Dad, no, I can't, please don't make me-no! No, please don't give me to him, no, help me, please, help me…"
"Malfoy! Malfoy, wake up," Harry heard himself hiss.
The Slytherin boy woke with a start, sitting up and blinking at Harry in surprise. Once he got his bearings, he demanded, "What are you doing?" and glanced around as if expecting to see other Gryffindors in the room.
Harry was suddenly keenly aware of how weird this must look. Stepping quickly back toward the doorway, he mumbled, "You were having a nightmare."
It was hard to see in the dim light, but he thought Malfoy blushed. "I…I was just…" Then he rallied and sneered, "Has your werewolf got you all taking turns babysitting me?"
Harry just turned and left. But when he got back to his room (Ron still snoring away, unconcerned) his gaze fell on the little box on the side table containing his potions. Then it was as if his body started moving without his permission again; he found himself reaching into the box, pulling out an upopened bottle of Dreamless Sleep Potion, and walking back down the hall with it. He didn't knock on Malfoy's door, just walked in and put the bottle on top of Malfoy's bedside table. "Here. If you need it."
His gray eyes glittering suspiciously in the dark, Malfoy asked, "What do you want, Potter?" He glanced sideways at the potion bottle, but made no move to reach for it.
Harry folded his arms, looking awkwardly at the wall. "Look, I get bad dreams sometimes too, okay? Just use the Potion if you need it. Snape made it for me, if that makes you feel any better."
"What do you want?"
"You not waking up the whole house!" Harry snapped, and stomped out of the room.
Malfoy stopped hiding out in his room after that—Remus wouldn't let him anyway—but he certainly didn't go out of his way to interact with Harry, his friends, or anyone in the Order, really. Although Harry did notice that the bottle of Potion in his room had been opened, he made no effort himself to talk to the Slytherin boy, and aside from Mrs. Weasley and Hermione, neither did anyone else.
But at least Malfoy was polite to Mrs. Weasley.
Harry and Ron were playing Exploding Snap in the upstairs parlor while the twins, Percy, and Ginny were packaging some new Wheeze when Hermione stormed into the room. "Oh, honestly, that…that…ferret-faced, shifty-eyed, needle-nosed, lipless LOUT! That useless excuse for a human being, that creeping, crawling, ill-mannered…" she ran out of breath and was forced to stop ranting.
Percy floated up from a pile of colorful cellophane and grinned at her, "My, my, a little perturbed, are we?"
"What's our honored guest done to you now?" Ron asked dryly.
Hermione stomped across the room and threw herself onto the sofa next to Ron as Harry hastily moved to make room for her. "I will grant him credit that he likes to read, and it did not trouble me in the least that he wished to take advantage of Sirius's family's excellent library," she said, in a dangerously-calm voice. "However, having been forced against both of our wills to share classes with me for the past SIX YEARS, I would HOPE that he would be aware by now that I ALSO like to read, and that I too would be taking advantage of the library. I see NO NEED for him to begin reciting out loud various Muggleborn-targeted curses relating to alterations of the skeletal structure—particularly the teeth—the very MINUTE I walk through the library door! GIT!"
Ron growled sympathetically. "Was he still there when you left?"
She shrugged. "I think so. Prat," she grumbled.
"Did you say anything to him before that?" Ginny asked.
Hermione sighed heavily. "Only 'hello,' like a perfectly civilized human being, but I suppose it would be too much to expect him to understand such a gesture. Toad."
"Oh, come on, love, knowing you, you probably tried to get him to talk about the weather," said Fred with a knowing grin.
"I DIDN'T!" she shrieked, throwing a sofa cushion at him. Percy exclaimed in protest when it sailed through his form before hitting George in the side of the head. "All I did was say the Blacks had a really amazing library! He had a stack of books three feet high next to him—I would have thought he would appreciate it! Louse!"
George laughed out loud. "I'm sure he did appreciate the library, but you don't really think he'd tell you that, do you? Come on, Hermione, you represent everything in the universe he hates!"
She pulled her knees up under her chin and muttered, "I'm trying to do what's right. He's being protected by our side; he doesn't have to be shunned. Or at least I thought he'd appreciate an effort to put the past aside. Pri—"
"Hermione!"
"Let it go," said Ron, putting his arms around her. "Malfoy's Malfoy, he's not gonna change. It's not worth it."
"Not talking to him, anyway," said Fred, with a knowing grin at his twin. George chuckled, and the two of them cheerfully excused themselves and sauntered out of the room.
Harry should have expected what happened later that afternoon.
They had just finished sitting in on a rather dull Order meeting (everyone was either out on missions or off duty and no reports had come in yet, so essentially nothing was happening) when panicked shrieks echoed through the halls of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Most of them jumped up in alarm, but the twins remarked, "Took him long enough!"
"What did you do?" Hermione demanded, but Ron was already sprinting for the door, with Ginny at his heels, laughing eagerly.
They found Malfoy still in the library, scrambling over tables and chairs and dodging frantically around bookcases, with no less than two dozen books on his heels, all of them snapping away at him like the Monster Book of Monsters. He was hexing them to no avail. "Get away, get away!" he yelled at Harry and the others as they came in. "They're cursed or something!"
"They're what, Malfoy?" asked Ron innocently.
"You bloody—AAH!" (Snapsnapsnapsnapsnap!) You did this! UNDO IT! Make them stop!"
"Make them stop what?"
"OW! Geroff, get awa—HELP!" Malfoy was too busy running for his life to think of throwing hexes at Ron or the twins. "Go chase THEM, you stupid—" (Snap!) "OW!"
"Sorry, mate, they only like eating bloodless little gits," said George, lounging against a table and wiggling his fingers cheerfully as Malfoy and his pursuers went by.
"HEEEEELP!" (Snapsnapsnapsnapsnap!)
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Hermione shoved past them all. "That's ENOUGH!"
"What, Hermione, you begrudge us the chance to defend your honor?" cried Fred, with a wounded expression.
She rolled her eyes, "No, but I'd rather you didn't damage the BOOKS!"
Surprisingly, at that, the bloodthirsty tomes broke off their pursuit and returned to their shelves—well, all but one. Their former prey watched in disbelief as a small volume skittered its way across the floor until it stopped at Hermione's feet…then flew up to her face and gave her what was unmistakably a papery kiss on the cheek. She blinked. Malfoy growled and stalked out of the room.
Ron, Ginny, and the twins collapsed with laughter.
Everyone was incredibly relieved when the delegation returned from the United States. Harry couldn't help but notice the way Draco came thumping down the stairs when the cry went up that the team was back, or the way he hovered in the doorway watching them talking to the Order. When Snape finally broke away from Tonks and Percy's grilling and met Draco's gaze, Harry thought he saw Draco swallow very hard.
It occurred to Harry that Malfoy had been worrying about Snape. It was a strange thing to realize.
As Snape was crossing the room, and Malfoy stepped toward him with visible relief, Mr. Weasley intercepted them. "Severus, before you go, a word?"
Snape frowned, glancing from Mr. Weasley to Malfoy, then pursed his lips. "Very well." The two stepped toward the corner.
Harry heard Mr. Weasley say something about, "Minerva," and he and Snape muttered amongst themselves for a moment, then Snape motioned Draco over. The muttering resumed, and Harry returned his attention to what the rest of the team were talking about, until…
"NO!" Everyone jumped. Malfoy was storming away from Snape and Mr. Weasley, looking alternately furious and distressed.
"Draco—" Snape began.
"I'm NOT staying here any longer!"
Ron shot Harry a look of horror, but Harry was too busy wondering what was going on. Mr. Weasley did not seem exactly thrilled himself, but he was firm, "We can't guarantee the security of Hogwarts any more. Not without…" he gave Snape an apologetic look and sighed. "Not without Albus. Minerva is convinced of that."
"So we're not as safe! Big bloody deal!" Malfoy snapped, pacing back and forth in a manner not unlike Snape (or Sirius, or Harry himself.) "It's a war, remember? This place can't be THAT airtight!"
"Draco, be quiet," said Snape. He jerked his head at Mr. Weasley and Mad-Eye Moody. "We should discuss this elsewh—"
"No, you're not bloody discussing keeping me at this bloody—"
"Draco, I said QUIET!" Snape snapped. Everyone jumped, including Malfoy, but the Slytherin boy subsided, and Snape actually looked apologetic as he followed Moody and Mr. Weasley out of the room. "I'm concerned about what Minerva feels the weaknesses…" the door closed.
Malfoy let out his breath and resumed pacing, ignoring everyone else. Tonks muttered something to Remus, and they departed into the drawing room near the foot of the stairs, while Harry and the others arranged themselves all over the stairs.
"You realize what this means?" Ginny asked miserably. "We'll probably have to put up with Malfoy all…summer…long."
"Summer," Ron sighed heavily. "And Christmas holidays. And spring. Bloody forever, it's not like he's got anywhere else to go." This time, Hermione saw Harry's face, and poked Ron in the ribs.
"We can just keep on like before—and with Snape around more often, he'll be more under control."
"God!" Ron threw himself backward to sprawl on the stairs. "What if they have SNAPE living here too? What a ruddy nightmare!"
"If we have to put up with Malfoy, I'd rather Snape was here," said Ginny. "And it's not as if Snape can give us detentions over the summer. It wouldn't be that bad—he'd also keep Malfoy occupied."
"True, probably brewing Potions in the basement," one of the twins snorted.
"Fine with me, so long as they're away from us," muttered the other.
A few minutes later, an expressionless Snape came up from the basement and called to Malfoy, who stalked out of the front parlor and followed him back down the stairs. "Yep," Ron sighed. "Bad news all right."
Only moments after that, the basement kitchen door slammed open, and they heard Snape shout, "Draco!" but the Slytherin boy wasn't listening anymore. He stomped into the hallway, trembling head to toe, but spotted the group on the stairs and wheeled toward the nearest drawing room. He threw the door open, and ran inside, but then tore back out again just as quickly and forced his way up the stairs past Harry and his friends, his face flaming.
Snape came up from the basement a moment later, glanced up the stairs where Malfoy had gone, then looked down at them. "Potter, it appears Mr. Malfoy and I will be remaining at Grimmauld Place for the duration of the war."
Someone stifled a groan, but Harry stood up. "Do they really think Hogwarts isn't safe anymore?"
Snape shook his head. "It is a question of resources, and the primary defense Hogwarts could always boast was Albus Dumbledore. During the summer, without the presence of the entire staff and student body, the risks to those remaining at the school has increased to a point where the Headmistress does not consider it safe to house us. Until the term resumes, we must remain at Headquarters."
"Oh." Harry swallowed. "Well, I…er…guess that makes sense."
Snape shot him a patronizing look and continued up the stairs.
"Well," Ron sighed. "Guess that's that then."
Then a loud squack echoed from upstairs, followed by a scream of, "That bloody HIPPOGRIFF'S in this house!"
For the most part, Ginny's prediction about life in Grimmauld Place was fairly accurate. Snape converted the basement kitchen into his Potions lab (forcing the Order to move their meetings to the downstairs parlor), and Malfoy spent most of the time there with him.
"Malfoy's a good Potions brewer," Hermione said once. "Even working on things with Snape, he's probably happier there than he would be otherwise."
"As if we care whether Malfoy is happy or not," Ron snorted.
"Anyway, we've got more important things to worry about!" said Ginny. "We've got a very important event coming up and only two weeks to plan for it!"
The twins stared at her. "What event?"
"Harry's birthday, of course!" Harry stared, and Ginny went on, "You're turning seventeen, remember? We have to have the biggest bloody party in history!"
Then everyone stared at her.
"Bloody hell," Ron breathed. "You're right!"
"A party?" Harry whispered.
"Yes, a party!"
And so it went. Over Harry's stammered half-protests, Hermione and the Weasleys stampeded into the drawing room and informed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley of their intention to host a massive festivity for Harry's coming of age. Mrs. Weasley's squeals and the Order's fussing left Harry wondering if his face would ever stop being red, but at the same time…all their plans and suggestions for plans left him with a weird, but not at all bad feeling inside.
The Weasleys and Hermione took control of the plan-making, not surprisingly, and peppered Harry endlessly with questions about what sort of party he wanted, what sort of sweets and presents and decorations…in general, all sorts of weird things Harry had hardly ever heard of. Sirius and Remus were almost as bad.
"Chocolate cake or treacle tart, Harry?"
"Weasley favors or just generic favors?"
"Should we hang streamers or garlands?"
"Do you want roast beef for dinner or roast chicken?"
"And what kind of games?"
"Uh…yes?"
Malfoy was in the kitchen at one point tending a potion when they came in to decide whether the oven was big enough, and watched them with a look of combined envy and disgust. "I can't believe the fuss you're making!"
"We'll see if you feel the same when YOU turn seventeen," Hermione retorted.
"I AM seventeen, you stupid chit," Malfoy retorted. "I came of age in June, not that you'd know or notice!"
"We only notice people who're WORTH noticing,"Ron shot back. "How many people care about YOUR birthday now that you're not rich?" Malfoy snarled and stalked out of the kitchen.
"Oh, Ron, that was a bit much," said Hermione.
"Right," Ron snorted. "Don't give him a thought, mate," he said to Harry.
"He's right," Sirius agreed. "This day will be for you." He ruffled Harry's hair.
"And we solemnly swear that we are up to no good," added Remus, coming into the kitchen. He looked at the bubbling Potion cauldrons lining the wall and pulled a face. "I'll have to prevail upon Severus to move these out of the way for a few days so we can have full use of this room, for the feast Molly and the others are planning."
"You…don't have to go to all that trouble, you know," Harry mumbled—and then had to run for his life when they all began chasing after him shouting all manner of dire and humiliating threats.
And so July 31st dawned, rather foggy with yellow London smog, but to Harry, the day was beautiful. No one bounced onto his bed to wake him up—rather, they let him sleep as late as he wanted, and he woke to the soft sounds of Ron and the twins and Ginny playing NON-Exploding Snap quietly on Ron's bed, talking amongst themselves, and with Hermione, who was curled up in a borrowed armchair with a book.
He let himself wake up slowly, savoring every second, until he was too excited to doze a moment longer, then turned over. "Wellll, look who finally decided to participate in his own bloody coming of age!" exclaimed Ron.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins all piled on top of Harry, yelling at the top of their lungs, knuckling his head and tickling him as he yelled that they weren't supposed to torture him on his birthday, but just as they were piling off him, Sirius and Remus burst through the door.
"Where's the birthday boy? Where is that lad? HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Remus and Sirius joined the pile of bellowing bodies on the bed, everyone yelling and laughing, and before long Bill, Charlie, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley added their felicitations to the tumult.
Harry heard snatches of songs being sung at him, and all he could do was laugh until tears streamed down his face.
Finally, they all clambered off him. "All right, up, you lot, up!" Mrs. Weasley ordered. "Give our birthday boy some room! All right, where's our breakfast?"
Before Harry could even think of getting out of bed, Tonks came sauntering in hovering a tray laden with what appeared to be enough food for the entire Order to have breakfast. As Harry babbled in disbelief, she and Mrs. Weasley arranged the tray across his lap (and made a fuss over tucking a napkin into his collar.) Sirius and Remus began serenading him again, Ron stole a sausage, and more plates of food followed for a thoroughly raucous meal on Harry's bed and floor.
After breakfast, the food was cleared, Harry was allowed to take a bath and get dressed, then he joined his friends, Sirius, and Remus in the drawing room. The walls and mantle and candleholders were liberally festooned with streamers, balloons were scattered everywhere, and a huge banner hung from the walls, reading, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!"
They spent all morning in the drawing room together, alternating between various party games and stories from Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Moody about Harry's parents and all the goings-on of the previous Order generation. A light lunch followed (saving room for dinner), and more games, and presents.
Lots and lots of presents.
When they were heading to the dining room for the birthday feast (as Remus put it), Mrs. Weasley noticed that Snape and Malfoy were absent. Harry saw her talking to them in the hallway. "You are going to come to dinner, aren't you, Severus?"
"Thank you, no, Madam, we are busy this evening. And I am certain you wish to entertain Mr. Potter," said Snape. He gave Harry a short nod, and Harry spied Malfoy standing behind him, watching all the activity silently.
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again, and turned around and went off to the dining room for dinner.
Later, they were eating Harry's birthday cake (seven layers, three levels, each with different kinds of cake and ice cream, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY! written on top with seventeen little sparklers surrounding it,) when Malfoy passed by the parlor again. His eyes widened at the sight of it, and he hesitated in the doorway. Mrs. Weasley stepped towards him. "Draco, wouldn't you like a bite of cake?"
Malfoy stared past her to where Harry was standing at the table, surrounded by family and friends. He met Malfoy's look, and merely said, "Come on," then returned to cutting large pieces out of the enormous cake.
Mrs. Weasley brought over a piece big enough for three people and handed it to Malfoy. "Enjoy it, dear."
Malfoy had just taken his first bite, when Snape walked into the room. Harry watched as he looked around, spotted Draco, then took in the other revelers around the table. Without a word, he walked over to the table, held out his hand, and, as Harry placed a plate of cake in his outstretched hand, said, "Happy Birthday, Potter. May it be a successful year for you."
"Yeah. Thanks," Harry said. He watched as Snape walked over and leaned against the wall next to Malfoy while he ate the cake. Harry decided that out of all the strange things that had occurred this year, perhaps the most bizarre had to be seeing Snape and Draco Malfoy eating cake at his birthday party.
The next day, Harry was in the parlor with Remus after Sirius went on an errand with Snape and Tonks, when Hermione came storming in. "Oh, for heaven's sake! Remus, was this your idea?"
Remus blinked at her. "What idea?" Harry asked.
Hermione brandished a book accusingly. "That I read THIS!"
The book was Broadening The Mind And Enhancing The Inner Eye: A Beginner's Guide to Divination. Harry stared. Remus said innocently, "Well, you ought to get up to speed in the subject..."
"I don't WANT to study Divination!" Hermione sputtered. "I DROPPED Divination, remember?"
"Why, yes, as I recall, you did so most dramatically. That's why you ought to work on it now," Remus replied.
She eyed the text with distaste. "It's a lot of rubbish."
"Trelawney does give real prophecies," Harry pointed out.
Hermione glared at him as if to say, Whose side are you on, and said, "And she spends the rest of her time weeping and wailing about your impending death."
"Well, maybe she's onto something," Harry said.
Hermione went pale, and Remus looked sharply at him. "Don't you talk like that."
"Sorry," he said, feeling guilty. "But why should Hermione have to study it if she doesn't want to?"
"Because," Remus drew her to sit down with him on the sofa. "It is a useful thing to know, and we have very few people who truly understand the processes and sciences of Divination—most real Seers, as we have seen all too well, have…er…difficulty engaging in intelligent conversation. We don't want someone to simply give prophecies but to understand how they work. Do you see?" Hermione was looking less disgruntled, and he nodded. "The only exposure you've had to Divination has been Sybill. But I think it would be a useful thing for you to know and comprehend, and it's a difficult subject to understand and absorb. We need someone who's good at learning." He smiled and tapped her on the nose. "You're it."
"Can't argue with that, Hermione," Harry told her.
She heaved a dramatic sigh, but smiled sheepishly. "I guess it doesn't sound so bad." And as Harry expected, her face abruptly turned curious, and she opened the book to the Table of Contents and began scanning the chapters' titles, questions visibly running across her eyes.
Remus winked at Harry, and they resumed their own work.
About twenty minutes later, Hermione was curled up on the sofa, completely absorbed in the book, and Snape and Sirius had just returned from whatever they'd been doing at the Ministry, grumbling about bureaucrats, when there was an incredible commotion from down at the library.
"It's not you they're afraid of anymore, Black, you're everybody's hero. No, they're afraid the old ex-Death Eater's going to…"
"What's all that?" demanded Remus, turning to the door.
Harry listened to the yelling and laughter, and said, "Sounds like the twins got Malfoy again." With a snort, he trotted down the hall with Hermione at his heels.
They could hear Weasley voices raised in laughing taunts, and Malfoy bellowing in outrage over whatever latest prank they had pulled, and Hermione grumbled something about their maturity as Harry opened the library door…
Malfoy was floating upside down in the air, his robes hanging down around his head as he kicked and thrashed in vain. Hovering him with their wands were Ron and Fred, as George and Ginny doubled over with laughter, egging them on…
Harry didn't really remember what happened after that. All he knew was that it felt as if something inside his chest had gone pop!, and then everyone yelled in surprise as books shot off the shelves, and some of the freestanding bookcases actually crashed over on each other. Glass shattered in the room and somewhere down the hall, and feet were pounding toward them, people were yelling, and Malfoy hit the ceiling, yelling even louder.
There was someone behind him, not moving, but other people were yelling even louder, then Malfoy hit the ground, cursing furiously and scrambling to pick up his wand, and people were staring and…
"Harry?" someone gently touched his shoulder. "Harry, what's the mat…"
Harry's vision came back into focus, and he saw Ron and his siblings, staring at him as if he'd grown a third head, and Malfoy scrabbling for his wand, looking over his shoulder at Harry and demanding, "What the eff is wrong with him?"
And then he turned and ran, shoving past Snape, who was still standing motionless behind him on the steps leading down to the library floor.
"Harry!" Ron shouted, alarmed at the sheer horror on his friend's white face as Harry fled the library.
None of them could figure out what Harry was so worked up about, but Snape, Sirius, and Remus were all standing motionless on the steps, looking equally stunned. Malfoy had regained his wand, but now stood warily, also wondering what seemed to be afflicting half the Order.
"Professor?" Hermione asked, tugging Snape's sleeve cautiously.
"What?" Malfoy said, keeping a wary eye on the Weasleys.
Remus shook himself out of it first and murmured, "Sirius, you'd better…I mean, we'd better…talk to Harry…"
"Yeah," Sirius said weakly.
"Severus, you'll…" Remus gestured vaguely at Malfoy, who blinked.
"Yes," Snape muttered, going to Draco's side. "Are you all right?" he asked, sounding genuinely shaken.
Draco stared at him, baffled. "Uh…yeah…are you?" he demanded. Instead, Snape just put a hand on his shoulder and urged him toward the step.
"Sirius, you…" Remus motioned to the door in the direction Harry had gone. "I'll just…" he gestured to the Weasleys.
"Right," Sirius said, and shuffled out the door.
"What the hell's the matter with all of you?" Ron demanded again.
Snape rounded on them, "Do you have any idea what you've just done, Weasley?"
"What are you talking about?" Draco exclaimed. "It's not like they murdered me—it'd take more than their puny pranks to do anything serious!"
But Snape didn't seem to hear him. Ron answered him faintly, "It was just a joke."
Remus winced hard. "Oh, god. Severus…"
"Later, Lupin. Deal with them," he said. "And Potter. I'll take care of Draco."
He ushered Draco out of the library, over the Slytherin's protests of, "I don't NEED taking care of!"
Sirius found Harry curled up on his bed. He sat down on the edge and put a hand on his godson's shoulders. "Harry…"
Harry had to swallow several times before he felt the nausea go down enough to talk. "I'm not mad," he muttered.
He felt Sirius rubbing his back. "You know, I'm not excusing what they did…but they had no way of knowing…"
"I know!" Harry said, then cringed inwardly, because it sounded like he was snapping at Sirius. He made up for it by covering Sirius's hand with his for a second. "Is…Malfoy okay?"
"I think so. He seemed more confused by our reaction than upset by…what happened. Snape will see to him." Sirius took a deep breath, and whispered, "You know…when I think of what…James and I did, all those years ago. I've never been proud of it—really, when we were adults, even when James was alive, we regretted some things, but…I was never so angry at myself—at us…as I was when you found out."
Harry sat up and looked at him. "Why?"
"Well, I can't really explain why in a way that makes sense…we were just callous, and it was entertaining, and…"
Shaking his head, Harry interrupted, "I mean, why are you angry at yourselves now?"
Sirius lightly ruffled his hair. "Because no matter how much or how little we felt about hurting someone like Snape…none of us ever imagined how much we'd hurt you."
Harry had to look away for a few moments. Sirius pulled him into an awkward hug. "I'm not mad at you either. I mean…well, I was, but I guess…not anymore, really, I'm just…sorry it happened at all. Any of it. I…I mean…I felt bad for him, when I saw—Snape, I mean, but Malfoy too—I know what it's like, people ganging up like that, and it's just…"
"I know. I know." Sirius tightened his grip briefly before letting Harry go. "Remus is having a firm word with them, believe me. The pranks on Malfoy will stop." He chucked Harry gently under the chin. "Try not to dwell on it. You shouldn't have to pay for our mistakes."
"Everyone always seems to pay for everyone else's," Harry said, with a strangled laugh.
"Don't I know it," Sirius said, but he grinned.
Some time later, Draco was finally released from the bizarrely-intense concern of Professor Snape, and he found his previous tormentors loitering in the upstairs hallway outside Potter's room. "He shattered half the glass in the basement!" Ginny Weasley was saying. "Remus and Sirius have been talking to him for hours, and SNAPE even asked if he was okay—like he was really worried!"
"This is too weird," Ron muttered.
Draco walked right up to them. "Do you know what the hell this is about?"
One of the twins turned to him. "No! Everyone's gone bloody mental! What's the matter with Snape?"
"How should I know?" Draco scratched his head. "He kept acting like I'd landed on my head or something. Wouldn't let me out of his sight and kept asking weird questions about my state of mind!"
Ron sat down against the wall. "Harry doesn't blow out windows unless he's REALLY upset about something."
"Has he got some sort of phobia about being upside down?" Draco suggested.
Ginny tilted her head, looking thoughtful, and mused, "No, I don't think that'd make him react like that. And if that was all, it wouldn't explain the way they're acting about you."
"He does it when he's angry," said Granger quietly. "The violent magic, I mean. Not scared. Just angry."
All the red-heads looked at each other in dismay. Ron said nervously, "D'you think he was…angry at…us?"
There was silence for a long time. "Bloody hell," said one of the twins. "What'd we do?"
Draco shrugged. "You hung me upside down for a few minutes, but that's not that much to upset someone like Potter. Is it?"
True to Sirius and Remus's word, the pranks against Draco stopped, and an uneasy truce was declared between Gryffindors and Slytherins in the House of Black. Malfoy still declined to participate in any activity with Harry and his friends that wasn't mandated by either Snape or Remus, and he was downright scornful when Hermione suggested that he help her find more books on Divination in the library. Although he did (at the rather firm suggestion of Snape) allow her to assist him on a complicated Potion when Snape was at Hogwarts preparing for classes to begin.
That was the shortest summer Harry had ever experienced, but it wasn't surprising, since it was also the best summer he had ever had. A week after his birthday, the twins were mostly absent from Headquarters, working hard in their Diagon Alley premises and Zonko's to prepare for the school sale season, and there were several bad attacks in Devonshire that had the Order occupied.
Harry told Remus and Sirius one day shortly before school resumed, "I've got to get ready. To fight Voldemort. The war won't end until I do."
"You can't fight him until we're sure you can win," Sirius said firmly. "Otherwise it'd be that much worse for everyone. Don't rush it, Harry. We'll keep going as we have until you know what you need." He looked at Remus. "After all, that one's not finished giving you your Defense education yet."
Harry grinned. "Good point. I wish you could get a teaching job at Hogwarts."
"Maybe some day," said Sirius. "Dunno if I'd have a head for teaching."
Remus muttered something playfully uncomplimentary, and got a cuff in response. "Perhaps I'll step aside next year and let Severus have that job he's always wanted. When the war's over, I'll happily retire, now that Madam Bones has reinstated benefits for werewolves."
"Snape teach Defense?" Harry exclaimed. "Who would they get to teach Potions?"
"I get the impression he's grooming one Draco Malfoy for the job," said Remus knowingly. At Harry's startled face, he nodded and grinned. "Yes, well, Draco can't count on his family's earnings for certain, can he? Even if he manages to inherit after the wrath of Lucius is through, the Ministry may well forfeit the whole estate. The lad's got to make a living, and he is quite intelligent."
"If you say so," Harry said.
The Slytherins in general, it was well known, were badly rattled by Draco Malfoy's defection from Voldemort's cause, but the majority of the older Slytherins who'd supported it had vanished from Hogwarts just as their parents had vanished from normal wizard society. And Harry had noticed that Snape kept Draco close, particularly when brewing Potions and working on class materials.
Grooming him to teach. What a strange thought.
So the summer ended, and Sirius accompanied Harry and the others to King's Cross to see them off. "Look after him, Remus," he said, in a tone that startled Harry a little.
There was to be no Quidditch their seventh year, which broke the hearts of many students (Ron most of all), but Harry had to admit it made sense. There was no Slytherin team at all, and the Ministry made it clear that they could not supply the security necessary to keep the games safe.
It was said that Hogwarts was not nearly so secure as it had been.
Harry and his friends saw Malfoy frequently in the halls and classes, as always, but at Hogwarts, it was easiest to pretend as if the summer had never happened—by ignoring each other. Hogwarts was normal, not the bizarre surreality that had formed due to Draco and Snape's presence at Grimmauld Place.
If any of the younger Slytherins thought to try anything against Malfoy, it was well known that they would have their formidable Head of House to contend with. Snape's behavior that year was downright bizarre. He wasn't exactly friendly—no, he wasn't friendly at all—nor was he any less difficult and demanding a teacher, but…something about his bearing from day to day had changed. He seemed more…
"Upbeat?" Ginny suggested one day.
"The day Snape's upbeat is the day I bounce off the top of the Astronomy Tower to try and fly," Ron told her.
"I wouldn't call him upbeat," Hermione said. "But he does seem more…"
"Hopeful," Harry mused. They all looked at him, and he blushed. "That's just what I thought."
"You know, that would make sense, in a weird way," said Ron. "People have heard he'll get the Defense job next year."
"Is it true he's grooming Malfoy to teach Potions?" Ginny asked.
"That's what they say," said Harry, letting her try in vain to smooth down his hair. "He is giving Malfoy a lot of extra lessons. And Malfoy certainly doesn't need Remedial Potions."
"Malfoy doesn't say anything to you, does he?" Ron asked Ginny.
"Nothing, he completely ignores me."
"Us too," said Ron. "Which is fine." He glanced quickly at Harry, still remembering how Harry had reacted when they'd ganged up on Malfoy in the library. Harry never had told them why he'd been so upset.
"Yeah, he doesn't bother us either," Hermione added. "That alone is an improvement on past years."
Hermione was tutoring Neville in Potions so he could take his N.E.W.T. and try to qualify for a Healer training program. To everyone's surprise, when she asked Snape for the use of the Potions lab during study periods, he gave permission—with the usual dose of threats as to what would happen if she and Longbottom caused any damage, but it was surprising enough that he said yes at all.
"He and Malfoy are in there sometimes during off hours too," she told Harry and the others.
"I bet that's awkward," Ron said, pulling a face.
Neville shuddered. "You have no idea."
Hermione poked him. "I've told you not to let other people bother you while you're working! You have to concentrate!"
"I'm trying, Hermione!"
Luna, in the library with them at the time, scooted her chair closer to Neville and said, "Professor Snape wishes Draco Malfoy to be provided for."
"That'd explain why he's trying to get Malfoy the teaching job," said Ginny.
Luna shook her head. "There is more to providing for a person than seeing to their employment. Professor Snape wishes Draco to have a purpose after he is gone."
"Snape going somewhere?" asked Ron doubtfully.
Harry sighed. "There's a war on, and Snape's one of the biggest targets. I guess it makes sense for him to want Malfoy looked after in case anything happens. Sirius has been doing the same thing anytime he goes on an assignment—making sure Remus can look after me." Ginny shivered, and Ron patted his back sympathetically.
"These are fearful times," said Luna.
They all went back to Grimmauld Place for the Christmas holidays. The truce at Headquarters continued, this time with Malfoy muttering a curt, "Potter," or "Weasley," when he saw them in the house. Hermione he still didn't talk to at all, even when they were working together in the library.
"How was the term?" Mrs. Weasley asked on their first night back.
"Not bad," Ginny told her. "Did you hear about Neville? We think he may become an Animagus!"
Sirius and Remus stopped muttering amongst themselves and exclaimed, "Really?"
Hermione nodded. "He kept on with trying to transform last year and this year, and Professor McGonagall thinks he might manage it. She's tutoring him."
"Any idea what he might be?" asked Tonks.
"Something with feathers," said Harry. "From the look of it."
"Imagine Neville, who hates brooms and can't fly, being a bird Animagus. That would be ironic," said Hermione.
"At least he'd get to fly," Ron grumbled. "I miss Quidditch."
"Me too," Ginny and Harry chorused.
Sirius ruffled Harry's hair. "What can you do? It's just too dangerous anymore. Too dangerous for a lot of things," he sighed and grimaced. "War's no fun."
"That's the truth," said one of the twins, flopping into a seat. "What I wouldn't give for a little Quidditch."
Ginny perked up. "Any chance we could go to the Burrow, just for a little while, so we could play a few games?"
"There's an idea!" exclaimed Harry. "We've all got our brooms!"
Sirius looked thoughtful, while Mrs. Weasley frowned, but Remus said, "I'll talk to the Order. The Burrow may be watched, but perhaps we can find a suitable field for a few hours."
"That'd be brilliant," Ron breathed.
"No promises," Remus said, but he did assure them he would look into it.
"Where's Snape and Malfoy?" Harry asked after Remus had gone.
"Setting up shop in the basement again, I think," said Bill. "We thought about having them move their little operation into the old hall in back, but then the fumes would be all over the house."
"Ugh," muttered Ginny. "Some of those Potions smell worse than rotten eggs – like something died!"
The door opened,and Remus entered, accompanied by Mad-Eye Moody. Everyone fell silent, waiting for an answer from Remus. But it was Moody who spoke. "Absolutely bloody not! Going to the Burrow is out of the question. We've no doubt it's under surveillance and that we'd have a Death Eater attack as soon as you lot arrived."
"What about somewhere else then?" pressed Ron. "Just some random field."
Tonks put in sadly. "We can't keep you safe out in the open. Even if we could be sure we could go somewhere that you wouldn't be seen right away, it'd take too many Order members to protect you."
Harry's heart sank. "Meaning we're stuck at Headquarters for the duration."
"I'm sorry, everyone," said Mrs. Weasley. "I know it's boring, but there's no other way to protect you. You'll have to stay here."
A chorus of disappointed groans followed his statement. Remus gestured to Sirius. "Come with me, Padfoot. Let's put our brilliant heads together and come up to a solution to this little problem."
One of the twins snorted. "We're doomed."
"Hey!" said Sirius. "Give us a chance." He and Remus laughed as they left the room.
"Might as well occupy our time," said Ron. "Who wants to let me beat them at chess?"
"Forget chess," Bill replied. "Poker!"
The group hit the floor, cards and chips were produced, and a raucous game of Weasley Poker ensued. Cards appeared and disappeared in various hands, chips were exchanged frequently, and laughter and groans sounded as the game progressed. Time passed enjoyably, although there was much grumbling about Quidditch-deprivation.
Christmas was as wonderful as last year, with rowdy high spirits in the morning over presents under the Christmas tree in the parlor, and the smells of dinner being cooked wafting through the house even before lunch.
They were all playing with Weasley Christmas Crackers when Remus poked his head in. "If you would all please join us in the grand gallery?"
"What's in the gallery?" asked Hermione.
"Nothing, at the moment," replied Remus, as he led the way to the back of the house, where a large room, formerly the ballroom, was located. Sirius was waiting for them, along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Bill and Charlie. They followed Remus through the ornate double doors, then stopped and stared. The room had been magically expanded to three times it's normal size, and the ceiling heightened as well. Quidditch goals lined either end of the huge room, and a small viewing stand had been set up on one side.
"Bloody…hell!" Ron gasped. Harry and Ginny were speechless.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" the twins exclaimed together.
The others wasted no time, and brooms began flying into the room in response to cries of "Accio broom!"
Sirius, Remus, and Mr. Weasley settled themselves comfortably in the viewing stand, while Mrs. Weasley laughingly told them all to avoid any serious injuries and returned to overseeing the Christmas dinner preparations.
"So!" George clapped his hands together. "Let's get to work. We haven't got enough people for full-size teams."
"We can set up two teams, if we have only one beater and one chaser per team. That'd be four members per team," said Ron. "Let's see: Bill, Charlie, the twins, Harry, Ginny, and myself. We're one short."
As a group, they turned and looked at Hermione. Hermione stared back, and her eyes got very round.
"Are you crazy?" she squeaked. "I'm hopeless on a broom!"
"C'mon, Hermione," pleaded Harry. "At least give it a try."
Hermione looked from one pleading, puppy-dog face to another. "Oh, all right. But don't blame me if this is a disaster."
Another broom was Summoned for Hermione's use. She gave it an anxious look. Everyone mounted brooms and rose slightly into the air, then paused to watch her. "Here goes nothing," she muttered under her breath.
Throwing a leg over the broom and settling herself in the center, she began to rise slightly off the floor. The broom immediately rolled to the right, and she found herself flat on her back on the floor, as the others tried to restrain their laughter. With a glare, she got up, Summoned back the broom, and tried again. This time, as the broom rose, it rolled to the left, and once again, she was staring up from the floor.
"You're too tense, Hermione," Ginny said, between giggles. "If you'd relax a little, you'd get farther."
Hermione rose determinedly, and Summoned the broom to her once more. "Come on, love," said Charlie. "You can do it."
Bill nodded, encouragingly. "Just think about where you want to go, and the broom will go with you."
"Right!" Hermione straddled the broom, and this time it rose without rolling. It rose, and went higher and higher until it was level with the Quidditch goals. "Okay," Hermione said, "I'm read…." The broom rolled, and Hermione found herself upside down, just below the ceiling, hanging desperately to the broom with her arms and legs. "Help!"
A rush ensued, as everyone sailed up to rescue her. Ron pulled her away from the broom, and managed to get her down to the floor, while the twins corralled the errant broom. Once back with her feet on the floor, Hermione adamantly refused to try again, turning a deaf ear to the pleading of the others.
The door opened, and Harry turned to see Malfoy peering in, eyes wide at the sight of the indoor Quidditch pitch, and his expression turning skeptical at the sight of Hermione holding a broom. Hermione spotted him, and brandished the broom in his direction. "Here! Let Malfoy play! He at least can fly!"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. "Well…" Harry shrugged.
Ron looked from Hermione to the Quidditch pitch, just waiting to be put to use, to Malfoy in the doorway watching them. "We are short a player, Malfoy," Ron said with a shrug. "We need another Seeker. How about it?"
Malfoy glanced around at the other players, hovering above him, and he too glanced at the tempting pitch. "All right. Nothing better to do at the moment." He Summoned his broom, and mounted as the others watched. "Just as long as I'm not on your team."
"Give it up, Malfoy," said George. "In this game, you're a Weasley teammate no matter which team you're on."
"Right," said Ron. "Here's the breakdown. Harry, Bill, George, and Ginny are team one. Charlie, Malfoy, Fred, and I are team two. Hermione, you get the honor of throwing in the Quaffle to start the game."
Hermione took her place in the middle of the room, and gave her best Hooch imitation. "Let's have a good, clean game!" She tossed the Quaffle into the air, where it was caught by Charlie, and the game commenced.
"You're dead, Potter!" Ron yelled as he took his place at the goals. Harry shook his fist in mock-threat as he went in search of the Snitch.
Ginny and Charlie were shrieking and bellowing as they fought for possession of the Quaffle, and the twins seemed to be trying to bash each other's heads off with the single Bludger being used in the game. Mrs. Weasley came in several times as the game progressed, joined the others in alternating shouts of encouragement and cries of, "For goodness sake, be CAREFUL!" Tonks and Moody came in as well, and Harry heard, "Good show, Potter!" from Moody several times.
"Bloody hurry it up, Malfoy!" Ron yelled at one point. "We're down thirty points!"
"You think catching a bloody Snitch indoors is easy?" Malfoy shouted back.
The teams were fairly evenly matched. Ron was the better Keeper than Bill, but Ginny was a better Chaser than Charlie (the elder Weasley siblings were out of practice, it seemed). Harry found that Draco was right; it was hard to find the Snitch indoors.
"Sirius, did you remember to ward the pitch against Snitch escape?" he called at one point.
"Of course I did, what do you take me for?" Sirius demanded.
"You've gone incompetent on us, Potter!" Ron laughed at him.
"I don't see your Seeker doing any better!" Harry retorted, and attempted an indoor Wronski Feint. Unfortunately, Malfoy didn't fall for it—or at least he realized halfway to the floor what Harry was up to and pulled out of it.
Harry didn't realize until almost two hours into the game that Snape had come in and was watching from the doorway. Malfoy was busy taunting Ginny after Charlie got away with the Quaffle, and—there! He spotted a flicker of gold near the stand and tore after it.
"Hit the floor!" Moody shouted, and the bystanders did so as Harry came streaking in their direction.
"Go, Harry, GO!" he heard Hermione shrieking.
"Whose side are you on?" Ron yelled in outrage. "Come ON, Malfoy, get up there!"
Malfoy collided with Harry from the side, and they both went into a spinning ascent as they fought for control of their brooms while trying to keep an eye on the Snitch. The Order members watching them were going wild, shouting and stomping in the stand, and the noise echoed even more loudly than a real Quidditch game, since this one was confined indoors.
"Harry, INCOMING!" Bill bellowed.
Harry was forced to duck and veer out of the way of a Bludger sent in his direction by whichever twin was on the other team (there was no point in trying to tell which once the game got started), and Malfoy just twisted to one side on his broom and kept after the Snitch. Harry corrected his aim and accelerated hard to catch up…Malfoy was barely a handspan away from it…
The Snitch suddenly folded its wings and dropped…both boys spun into a dive…someone shrieked a warning as they spiraled down, arms straining…
"Watch out!"
"Bank, Harry, bank!"
"Malfoy, what are you trying to do?"
"Look ouuuuut!"
Harry growled with the exertion of flying straight down and reaching, Malfoy grunting next to him, as they swooped within centimeters of each other. The Snitch appeared suddenly directly in front of them, and they both turned their brooms inward at the exact same moment. Everyone in the stand came to their feet, screaming, as the two collided, finishing their descent in a heap of arms and legs on the floor, directly at Snape's feet. Spectators and teammates held their breaths as the two boys untangled themselves and got to their feet. Harry looked at Draco; Draco looked at Harry. Snape looked at them both without changing expression.
"Who's got it? Who's got it?" Ron yelled from above them.
Harry burst out laughing and collapsed onto his back, and Draco swung a fist into the air, the fist grasping the Snitch, beating its wings in an ineffectual attempt to escape. Ron gave a whoop of triumph, and Fred and Charlie soared down to clap Malfoy on the back and victory dance.
The Quidditch celebration continued, with shrieks of laughter, taunts and insults, and much rehashing of every single play of the game. Inter-house enmity was forgotten for the moment in the rush of exhilaration. It might have continued indefinitely, until Mrs. Weasley bustled in.
"Dinner is served." She glanced up into the stand. "Remus, Sirius, Tonks – you too, Alastor – come on down." As she prepared to bustle back out of the room, she paused at the door. "Severus, you and Draco are joining us, I hope?"
By now, the others were becoming aware of the multitude of savory scents wafting through the gallery. "Christmas dinner!" Ron exclaimed. "Let's go."
"You too, Severus, Draco, no arguments!" Mrs. Weasley ordered. "To the dining room, all of you!"
And so Harry and his friends found themselves having Christmas dinner in their final year at Hogwarts with Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy.
"There, you all had fun today, didn't you?" asked Mrs. Weasley, looking from the Gryffindors to Draco.
Harry and Ron exchanged quick glances over their turkey and stuffing. "Er…"
"Eh…"
"Uh-huh…"
They played numerous other games that holiday, alternating team lineups, and there were plenty of victories to go around. Not that anyone wanted to admit how much they were enjoying themselves, playing with infiltrators from other houses, of course.
But when they boarded the Hogwarts express to return to school for the spring term, the old routine returned, complete with steadfastly ignoring each other in the halls. Harry sometimes wondered if Malfoy regretted not being able to talk to them during school, or if Ron or Ginny regretted it, but never got the nerve to ask.
Sirius talked to Harry via Floo almost every night in Remus's office, and Harry was surprised to find that Sirius repeatedly admonished Remus to keep an eye on him. He noticed Snape was spending an increased amount of his time with Draco, also in the company of Professor McGonagall. But neither of them ever managed to ask the other what they thought it was about.
The spring thaw came early that year, and the snow was melting and making the grounds muddy by March. The full moon arrived in the first week of March. Harry would never forget it.
Professor McGonagall ordered all the students up to their common rooms very soon after dinner. "Probably another drill," someone grumbled. They'd been preparing for the possibility of a major attack on Hogwarts all year long.
"If it is, we'll be out in an hour," said Hermione, ushering the first years into the room in her firmest Head Girl voice.
But then the Headmistress came up to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry knew something was happening. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. and Miss Weasley, come with me at once. The rest of you, do not leave your Tower under any circumstances. I am sealing the doors."
Harry had no time to think. All he could do was follow her.
To be continued…
Coming soon: A battle takes place on the Hogwarts grounds. A prophecy is fulfilled, tragedy strikes, and lives are shattered as our heroes careen toward the end of their seventh year as well as the end of the war in Chapter Forty-Six: Denial of What Must Be!
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