Chapter Twenty

The Guest of Honor

They ate breakfast in silence the next morning. Mrs. Weasley was sniffling over her kippers. Tabitha was not there; Harry presumed she was at St. Mungo's. As soon as the last bit of eggs disappeared from their plates, Mr. Weasley cleared his throat loudly. "Well," he said. "Are you all ready?"

Charlie shrugged. "I'm going to wait a few more minutes, Dad. Tabitha should be coming. But if Tonks is awake, I wou—"

As if she'd heard them talking about her, Tabitha appeared with a pop. She was shaking with fury.

"Those, those idiot Healers!" she sputtered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Incompetent, thick—"

"Oh, Tabitha, nothing's happened to Tonks, has it?" Hermione cried in alarm.

Tabitha nodded savagely. "If I hadn't arrived when I did, oh, we'd be done! Everything would have been ruined, Voldemort would surely know … it's taken all morning to get through to those stupid Healers. I can't believe them, honestly …"

"Tabitha," Charlie said gently, steering her away from her rant. "What's happened?"

"Confunded! The Healers left her alone with them, the idiots, the—" Tabitha called the Healers a string of awful names.

"Tonks was Confunded?" Mr. Weasley said. "By whom?"

"Narcissa and Draco Malfoy! She thought they were Professor Dumbledore and Minerva … oh, if I hadn't arrived when I did, she'd've told them everything …"

"But how'd they get in?" Ron said. "Surely not just anyone can walk in and—"

"Family," Tabitha said tersely. "Narcissa was paying her poor niece a visit, even brought Tonks violets to make it all seem sincere. They were asking her about the Order of the Phoenix. Now, I know Professor Dumbledore is Secret-Keeper, but our whereabouts is not what concerns them. They wanted a plan of attack, our reactions to the Ministry attack. Dad." Tabitha bit her lip tearfully as she looked at Mr. Weasley. "I've been thinking about it since I caught them this morning. That's the only reason they kept her alive; they know she's an Auror. They know she's related to the Malfoys, and that Narcissa would be able to get into St. Mungo's to see her. They weren't just attacking on Fudge's orders, to shut Percy up … they used it as an opportunity to put Tonks in a position to give them secrets about the Order!"

Bill's mouth opened and closed several times in shock. "If that's the truth," he said. "And it's likely, that's very likely, we'll have to keep Tonks guarded, make sure—"

"Andromeda and I have taken care of it somewhat," Tabitha said. "We've given the Healers a very precise list of who is allowed to see my cousin, and we told them that she is to be monitored by a Healer at all times. Thankfully the Malfoys aren't the only family to have St. Mungo's in their pocket. I told Healer Pendragon that my aunt and I will match any sort of bribe Narcissa Malfoy offers." Harry saw that all of the Weasleys flushed slightly at this; he thought, for one happy moment, that the Weasleys would no doubt benefit from their wealthy daughter-in-law, assuming they'd ever even accept money from her.

Mr. Weasley nodded. "Well, you'll still let Dumbledore know first thing?"

"Of course."

"All right then." Mr. Weasley beamed at his children. "Be safe, all of you. Molly and I will be at Hogwarts in a few days' time."

Tabitha handed Charlie the keys and climbed into the backseat with everyone else. Charlie and Bill sealed the front seat of the car with another Imperturbable Charm. In the backseat, Harry, Ron, and the twins played a few games of Exploding Snap. Ginny and Hermione took turns braiding each other's hair, only to have Tabitha redo each plait and show them how to braid properly. She filled them all in precisely on Tonks' current condition, which was good despite being Confunded.

"She'll be out of the hospital in a week or two," Tabitha said brightly. "Though I'd like nothing better for her to be able to get out earlier, for Christmas."

A heavy snow was falling in Hogsmeade when they arrived that afternoon. Hagrid was waiting for them with several school carriages, drawn by the lizard-like black thestrals.

Hermione and Ginny screamed as they disembarked. Ron and the twins turned white. "Oh," Hermione breathed softly. "I—these are thestrals, aren't they?"

Harry looked at them oddly. "You can see them?" he said. Hagrid and Charlie looked very concerned.

"But we—I mean, none of you saw Perce …" Charlie trailed off.

"Don' have to actually see it, Charlie, yeh know that," Hagrid said. "But yeh saw … I mean, some of yeh saw Sirius." He flushed and looked at Harry and Tabitha quickly. "And now that yer brother's … well, yeh understand now, don' yeh? Understand abou' … abou' death an' all?"

"I'd rather not see them, thank you," Ginny said, a bit green. "Let's just get to Hogwarts, shall we?"

The empty castle echoed from all corners as they trudged up to Gryffindor tower. Harry had never seen Hogwarts so still and silent.

Fred and George would be staying in Ron and Harry's dormitory, in Seamus and Dean's beds. The boys left their belongings on the floor and met back with Hermione and Ginny in the common room.

"So quiet around here," George said.

"I don't like it," Hermione said promptly. "It's quite unnerving."

Just as Harry was about to agree, a deafening roar split through the room. They all raced to the window and saw, being led across the grounds, a huge, bronze-colored dragon. Prominent black ridges ran the length of its back. Even from so far away, Harry could see its glittering, amber eyes. It left a deep canyon behind it as it trudged through the snow.

At least ten wizards surrounded the beast. With one hand each, the men held tightly to a rope that was coiled around some area of the dragon's body. Their other hands clutched their wands, all pointed directly at the dragon.

"Whoa," Fred murmured.

Harry, who had faced a dragon in his fourth year, was speechless. This beast was at least twice the size of the Hungarian Horntail he'd faced, and it looked twice as vicious, too.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione cried.

"It's bloody huge!" Ron said.

"No, no, not just that. Don't you see?" Everyone stared at her blankly. Hermione sighed impatiently and looked pointedly at Ron and Harry. "Don't you recognize it? The dragon is Norbert."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were already eating when Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys went down to the Great Hall for dinner. Dumbledore smiled at his students. "I'm sure you've all seen our guest of honor by now?" he said.

"Can we go down and see it up close later?" Fred asked.

"I don't see why not, as long as the proper precautions are taken," Dumbledore said. "Hagrid, Charlie, and Tabitha have been with the dragon all evening. I daresay they'll look a bit worse for the wear when they—ah!"

Harry turned around to see the three dragon-keepers trudging into the Great Hall. Tabitha was limping, and all three looked a bit scorched. Charlie was nursing a shining burn on his arm. A gash on Hagrid's cheek was bleeding into his bushy beard, but he was grinning. "Jus' as if he never left me!" Hagrid crowed. "Bless 'im, my little Norbert remembers 'is mummy!"

Harry and Ron laughed.

"How is everything?" Dumbledore asked.

"Norbert is, er … still settling in," Charlie said.

"We'll have to go back down to the grounds to see him later," Tabitha added. "But not until midnight or so. The keepers from Charlie's reserve have him under control right now."

"Can we see him?" George asked.

"Maybe tomorrow," Charlie said. "If you want to get up close, though, it'll be a few days."

"And even then, we have to be careful," Tabitha winced as she sat down.

"Should you go up to Madam Pomfrey?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We're fine for now," Charlie said. "More hungry than anything. We've all seen far worse, considering what we do."

Professor McGonagall arched her eyebrows, but said nothing else.

"Harry, once Madam Pomfrey patches up my leg, why don't we meet for an Occlumency lesson?" Tabitha said.

There was nothing Harry would rather do less, but he consented.

He was in the common room after dinner, watching the fire with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, when Tabitha appeared through the portrait hole. Her limp was gone, and all her cuts and bruises had been healed by Madam Pomfrey.

"Ready, Harry?" she asked.

Rather than lead him to her classroom, they went to her office. Harry had seen this office four times before—under Lockhart, there had been countless photos of the professor, while Lupin kept all sorts of interesting creatures in there. Moody, or rather, Barty Crouch disguised as Moody, had kept dark-wizard detectors, and Umbridge had decorated with sickeningly sweet lace and plates of cute kittens. Now, though, the office looked like more of a second home. A big, squashy couch sat against one wall, and Tabitha's desk was piled with parchment and books. A portrait of Phineas Nigellus hung over her desk. The walls were a rich red, hung with bright paintings and a mass of photographs. The photograph that caught Harry's eye was sitting on Tabitha's desk. She was dressed in a simple white gown and veil, being held tightly by a beaming Sirius. They were laughing and playing around, giddy in each other's presence. Harry found himself smiling.

"Harry, please sit down," Tabitha said, motioning to the couch. She looked up at Phineas Nigellus' portrait. "Phineas, could you?—"

The portrait sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll find someone else to talk to." He disappeared out of the frame. Tabitha and Harry watched him walk through the other paintings in the office before finally leaving.

"Now Harry," Tabitha began. "We don't really need to practice Occlumency tonight. With everything going on, you'll still need to empty your mind before bed, but right now, I just want to apologize for snapping at you back at the Burrow. I was frustrated with the Weasleys' family, and I understood the point you were trying to make about the Marauders, but we just can't tell them everything, do you understand?"

"Why not?" Harry said. "It's not like they can do anything—"

"Exactly. They can't do anything. If we tell them half of what we know, they'll be itching to get out of that map, and they can't." Tabitha sighed. "It's—it's like the time you had Tom Riddle's diary. Dumbledore told me all about that. The Marauders, they're just memories. The last time our dads and Remus and Peter Pettigrew updated the map, they were beginning their seventh year at Hogwarts. If we were to start telling them about Uncle Peter betraying them or that our dads are both dead, it would shake them up too much. They may even turn on Uncle Peter's memory—"

"Do you really have to call him that?" Harry snapped.

Tabitha blushed. "I'm sorry. It's a habit."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't—"

"Harry, stop. We could apologize back and forth for days, okay? Forget it. The point is, we can't tell the Marauders too much about their future. We don't know what will happen. If they all turn on Peter, something could happen to the map. It may not work anymore."

"Do you really talk to them all that often?" Harry said. "How can you stomach them? They're awful gits!"

Tabitha laughed. "They are, I know. But it's so interesting to talk to them. Listening to my dad gush about my mom … they were married a few months after the Marauders last added to the map."

"Yeah? What about my dad?"

"Oh, so he's a little cocky. You are too, sometimes. They lived in a different time, under different circumstances. And they grew out of their cockiness. Well, mostly." She laughed again. "Sometimes, watching them together … my mum and Aunt Lily would yell at them to not act like such children in front of me!"

"I never really thought of that. You knew my mum and dad when you were young. Can you tell me about them?"

"What can I say that you haven't heard before? They were wonderful." Tabitha smiled. "Your mum used to make the best biscuits, and she loved playing with my hair. Said she wished hers wasn't such an awful color. But it wasn't. She was always so beautiful. And your dad, he used to take me out on my dad's motorbike, flying around the city. He was like a second father to me."

"I wish I could remember them," Harry said.

"I wish you could, too." Tabitha sighed. She looked at her watch. "It's nearly midnight. Would you like to go see Norbert with the others? Oh, and here." She handed him the Marauder's Map. "I won't make you serve those detentions, as long as you promise not to tell them anything."

"I promised," Harry swore.

"All right. Let's go meet the others downstairs."

The Weasleys and Hermione were in the Great Hall with Charlie when Harry and Tabitha came down the stairs. Charlie was warning them about not getting too close or making any sudden movements. "None of you could possibly hit Norbert with any spell to protect yourself if he comes at you. My mates from the reserve will be there to step in need arises, but we shouldn't have a problem. Norbert can be pretty vicious when he wants to be, but he actually has a rather sweet temperament, for a dragon. When he's being affectionate, he only snorts three-foot flames at me." Charlie grinned. "Everyone ready?"

They went outside and starting walking through the snow to the dragon-keep, which was within sight of Hagrid's cabin. Ginny and Ron looked a tad nervous about getting so close to Norbert, but the twins were thrilled. "Charlie, we read about this really great potion you can make using dragon's blood and scales. Fred and I had an idea for a new prod—"

"No," Charlie said. "Norbert is here for one purpose, and that's for the you-know-what the Order will be brewing. Norbert's not going to be happy when we start drawing his blood, so every drop we get will be precious. The only way we're going to get all the blood we need in one go is if we kill him, and we're not going to do that."

"Couldn't you have used another dragon, then?" Hermione asked. "Not that it would be particularly kind to kill a dragon just for its blood, but if it could help defeat Voldemort—"

Tabitha shook her head. "It's all very precise," she said. "Norwegian Ridgebacks have the most potent blood for the potions we'll be making, and the blood is best when fresh. If we have Norbert here and can keep him healthy, we'll have a constant supply of fresh blood around, since it has to be added to the potion at different points during the brewing period."

"Will, er, Snape be making the potion?" Harry asked.

"Not alone," Tabitha said. "I'm rather a whiz with potions, so I'll be helping him, and Dumbledore will, too. Snape's not pleased about it, but Dumbledore insists that several people help out."

"So Snape doesn't sabotage the whole thing?" Harry said.

"You're forgetting, Harry, that Dumbledore says he trusts Snape," Tabitha murmured bitterly.

Even after he let our whole family be slaughtered, Harry knew she wanted to add.

A loud roar interrupted their conversation. Everyone but Charlie and Tabitha froze, staring ahead. Not more than fifty yards away, Norbert stood, twice as big as the Dursleys' house, his wings spread out, steam rolling from his nostrils, his amber eyes staring right back at the lot of them. Ten bruised and bloodied wizards stood around him, wands aimed and ready. Hagrid stood not too far away, dripping with blood and shining with burns, half his beard singed off, but still grinning, tears running down his cheeks. He beamed at Harry and the others.

"Look here!" he cried. "My baby's home!"