Answers to reviews and notes are at the bottom this time. Thanks again for reading and reviewing my story. I don't own anything and it all belongs to the great JK Rowling, except the plot, some spells, charms and some of the WWW's which are mine.
Can Love Find Me Now
Chapter 36
Time Marches On, Gryffindor VS Slytherin
On the forth of January; Harry talked to Dumbledore about the DA starting back and asked his advice about letting all houses (even though he really didn't want Malfoy or his friends there) joining. They discussed what years they would allow into the DA meetings; Dumbledore advised that he let the third years and above join; first and second years had not had enough training yet in his opinion. Harry asked that all years be aloud to join; his point being that it would help them with their studies and prepare them for the war that was coming. His biggest argument was that they needed to know just as well as the other years; Mark Evans being used as an example of a person who was in first year that could have used the training of the DA and if they got to the younger Slytherin's it might help to prove to be a good thing and teach them about the good side of this war.
Dumbledore couldn't argue with Harry's thinking on those matters and agreed to let all years and houses join the DA if they wanted to. They worked out the notice that would be placed on all house message boards; Dumbledore made sure that they would appear in all the common rooms and on the main hall message board before the first meeting; which was set for the eleventh of January at two-thirty. Harry also talked to him about the house-elves; he wanted to know if they would be involved in the coming war. Dumbledore let him know that the ones at Hogwarts would defend the school if it came to that but that the others would do as their family's instructed them too. Harry knew that if he needed Dobby or Winky they would be by his side; he was glad that he could depend on the two house-elves; they had help save a lot of people that day in Hogsmeade and Harry was proud to have them on his side.
With the new term starting; the fifth years had their heads in their books; revising over and over again. Ginny and Luna could be seen in the corner of the common room with their heads in their books during every break and after dinner every night; even Hermione could be seen with the other two ranting at Harry and Ron about N.E.W.T.S. Ron, Hermione (after Ron begged for her to take a break), Neville and Luna (Neville giving Luna the same speech that Ron would give Hermione) would leave the common room every night at eight-thirty and go explore and play in the forbidden forest. Harry and Ginny would try to get in as much time as possible to practice on their Animagus forms after their friends would leave but Harry was having a hard time leaving Mark alone (keeping their distance; so he would not feel annoyed). He and Ginny would stay in the common room doing school work until Mark would go to bed; then they would head to the room of requirements. They had gotten into the habit of taking his invisibility cloak with them; most nights they would end up not leaving until after curfew.
Professor Lupin and professor Snape (by the request of professor Dumbledore) were the teachers that sponsored the DA this year; they would be in attendance for every meeting that was held. Most of the DA hated the fact that their potions professor would be involved in the DA but knew with professor Lupin there he would not make his rude comments. Professor Lupin had moved all the tables against the walls and had conjured up bleachers for the students to sit on. Harry and the rest of the original DA stood at the front of the hall waiting for the students to enter and take a seat; he was a bit nervous about teaching all the years and houses but knew it was needed. Professor Lupin was a great teacher but because they had so many bad professors; the whole school was a bit behind on their studies and this would help not only himself but the rest of the school. The best part was that the original DA; would be helping him with observing and teach the new students.
January eleventh found seven Gryffindor's in the great hall at two o'clock; the students started coming in for the first meeting; the room of requirements would not fit the amount of students that might show up this time; Harry was excited but scared to see how many would show up. The first students through the door were the students from Gryffindor house; every person for every year was there. A mixture of students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were the next group through the door; they would come in by groups of ten to fifteen at a time; only about fifty percent of each of those houses showed up. Harry noticed that there were a few first, second and maybe three third years from Slytherin house that entered just before two-thirty.
At two-thirty professor Lupin headed towards the doors to close them but Malfoy, Grabbe, Goyle, Perkins, and ten other Slytherin's came in the door; a few he knew were sixth and seventh years but wasn't sure about the others. Lupin informed them to take a seat in the bleachers; so the instructor could begin. Malfoy gave his famous smirk (he thought professor Snape was the on teaching the DA) and motioned for the others to follow him. Malfoy and the other Slytherin's noticed Harry and the others standing at the front of the hall; they started whispering about the reason why they would be there. The two professors moved to the front of the hall and asked for everyone to quiet down and give their attention to the front of the hall. Professor Lupin stepped forward and began to talk to the students that had decided to come to the DA meeting.
"Welcome one and all to the first DA meeting of the year; I know you all are wondering which one of us who will be teaching you during these meetings."
"Thank you professor, now to the members of my house; I am sure that you must think I am the one going to teach you and the others but I am not." The murmuring started through the hall.
"As professor Snape has said he will not be the one teaching at these meetings but I will not be teaching either. I am not sure if any of you know that last year some students started the DA to be able to practice spells and curses for their O.W.L.S. and because of the professor that you had last year would not let you do anything but read."
"Professor Dumbledore has agreed to allow the group to form again this year as long as it is supervised by myself and professor Lupin and has been opened to all houses (he gave a small smile to Malfoy) and years."
"As you can see, there are students behind us; these students were the original DA members; they will be the ones helping you and teaching you during these meetings; if any of you have a problem with this then you should leave now."
"As professor Lupin has stated; if you are not here to learn from anyone from this group (he smirked in Harry's direction) then you should leave now and not waist their time or mine. I am sure that some of you are here for a reason (looking straight at Malfoy) but be warned; if any student causes trouble they will be asked to leave and not return again."
"The floor will be turned over to Harry Potter; he is the head of this group and you will follow his instructions and will not question what he says; if not then you will be gone; no questions asked. Harry, the floor is yours."
"Thank you, professor Lupin and professor Snape. Welcome to the first meeting of the DA; the DA was started so that we as students could learn how to defend ourselves and learn what we were supposed to be taught here at Hogwarts last year. Since the response has been more then we expected; we will be breaking up into groups. Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley will be helping the first, second and third years from all houses; the rest of the original DA will help watch the rest of the students and be helping Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood and myself to see how well you are doing with your DADA training and helping you improve your spells and curses. We will be working on defense and only defense for this term; the only people sending spells or curses will be me or one of the others that you see standing behind me."
"To make sure this happens; we have professor Lupin and professor Snape and anyone caught trying to curse another student will be gone and not aloud to come back; this is your only warning. I am sure most of you have some concerns about when we will be having these meetings and that they will not interfere with any of your other clubs or with Quidditch practice or games. These meetings will be held every Saturday at four-thirty; except when there is a Quidditch game and will then be moved to Sunday at two-thirty. Professor Dumbledore and I made sure that these meetings would not interfere with any of the other clubs or originations here at Hogwarts. The time of four-thirty was picked because most teams would be through with their practices by then; with time to clean up and make it down to the great hall before the meetings start."
"Hermione please come up and explain about the parchment that everyone has to sign to attend these meetings."
"Thanks Harry, now last year all of us had to sign a parchment that plainly says that you will not go blabbing to anyone inside this school who is not involved in the DA or anyone outside of school about what we were doing. This insures that we are able to learn and not worry about who knows how well we are doing; this is a time of war and we must have some secrets from our enemy. I know some of you are thinking that since everyone is here there is no need for this; I have to disagree with that and that is why you will have to sign up for the DA and if you do not then you will be asked to leave before Harry explains any more of what we will be learning this year. This is to protect all of us so please take a few minutes to decide and if you are going to stay please come up and sign your name; if you are not going to sign then please leave the great hall. Thank you."
"Thank you Hermione"
"You will have ten minutes to decide if you are going to sign or not but remember that if you do not sign you will not be aloud to attend meetings. Professor Lupin and I are here to make sure all rules are followed; this goes for everyone."
"Thank you professor Snape"
Slowly people were getting out of their seats and either heading out the doors or signing the paper Hermione had put on the table. By a quarter after three; all that remained were the two professors, the original DA (which consisted of around twenty-seven people) and two hundred fellow students. Harry was shocked but professor Snape seemed more shocked then he was. The younger Slytherin's had signed up to stay and to Harry's surprise so had Malfoy and his gang; he had to laugh inside because he knew what Hermione and Dumbledore had done to the parchment; time would tell if they were going to be passing information on to the deatheater's. Hermione had taken a leaf out of Luna's book; on the parchment that everyone signed was a few charms; Hermione had added a few more charms to the parchment; such as the Le-Mag-Femay and the Ot-Overt-Le-Mag charms; along with Om de zeemeermin lanuage te spreken (to make them speak Mermish), these would affect the person or persons braking their promise until the caster of the charms took it off. The only people that knew about the charms were Dumbledore, Hermione, Harry, Luna, Ginny, Ron, Neville and professor Lupin.
Harry went over what they would be learning during the rest of the term; for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh year students, they would learn how to perform the Expecto Patronum charm, shielding charms, first-aid charms, the Four-Point-spell and work on spells, charms, and hexes they had already learned. Ginny, Neville and Luna would be working with the spells, hexes and charms the first, second and third years were learning and if any showed any sign of an advanced nature Harry would be told and work with them on some of the advanced spells, charms and hexes. Harry reminded everyone in the room about the parchment; their signature being a promise of keeping what they were doing a secret and by signing it bound them because it was a binding contract. He dismissed the group for the day and reminded them that they would meet every Saturday until the end of term. Harry and the original DA would practice twice a week in the room of requirements; Harry allowed Mark (he wanted to make sure the boy could defend himself) to come with them so he could see what they were doing.
During the month of January snow storms became an everyday thing. Hogwarts hadn't seen so many snow storms since the big snow storms of 1979. The castle seemed to be colder then it should be; every fire place in the castle were burning twenty-four hours a day; Snape even had a fire burning in the dungeons (Snape was not happy about this) by orders of Dumbledore. Classes for Care of Magical Creatures were held inside the castle; Hagrid was only aloud to bring in small and manageable a creature that could be controlled within the castle and he seemed to be disappointed about it but that was how Hagrid was. Even with the snow on the ground; the four Animagus would sneak out of the castle every evening and roam the forbidden forest for an hour. Harry and Ginny were still working on their forms almost every night; except the nights they would train with the DA; this would leave them too exhausted to even practice.
The six Marauders weeks were busy; between classes, Quidditch practice (Ron, Ginny and Harry), DA three times a week, looking at the books and objects that Dobby and Winky had brought from the houses, Animagus training (Harry and Ginny), Occlumency training (Harry), plotting new pranks and having time just to be teenagers was wearing thin on all of their nerves. Just to find time to be alone as a couple was hard but they all knew in the end it would all work out. During Quidditch practice; Katie Bell could be seen ranting at her team mates; with her N.E.W.T.S., the DA and Quidditch going on; she was becoming Oliver Wood. She worked her team until they were exhausted; she had them up by five-thirty every Sunday; on the pitch by six and worked them until eight-thirty. Their match against Slytherin was going to be the day after Valentines Day; their last game against Hufflepuff had been too easy and they knew Slytherin would play dirty; they were going to have to work hard to keep their players safe and win the game in the processes.
January went by fast in the castle and before they knew it February first had arrived. The week before the game, the Slytherin's were doing every thing they could to try and hurt the members of the Gryffindor team; like in the past years Gryffindor house took up the task of making sure the whole team were protected. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw even got into the mix and did their best to help protect the Gryffindor team. Professor McGonagall had caught three of the members of the Slytherin house try to hex Ginny, Natalie McDonald and Emma Dobbs while they were walking to lunch a week before the match; they lost forty points each and detention with Hagrid for a week. Professor Snape surprised everyone when he yelled at the three for losing points for their house; they ended up with detention with him for a week.
February eighth Harry, Neville and Ron had snuck out through the tunnel where the hump backed witch stood; with out the girl's knowing what they were doing and had purchased them gifts. Their first stop was the florist in Hogsmeade each purchased flowers for their girlfriend and would be delivered to them at breakfast, lunch and dinner on Valentines Day.
Ron had arranged a single red rose to be delivered to Hermione at breakfast, at lunch she would be given two of each of these roses; Yellow with Red Tip, Orange, Dark Pink, Light Pink, Red (Dark) and Red. Even though it was Valentines Day; each rose color had a meaning and at dinner Hermione would receive a dozen red roses. Ron bought Hermione a butterfly charm holder for her necklace and a new charm in the shape of a Unicorn.
Neville had arranged for Luna to receive at breakfast the same flowers he had given her during their picnic in the room of requirements; roses (red, white, peach colored, a white roses that had just the tips of each peddle being red, yellow and burnt orange), Tulips, Daisies, Lilies, Violets, Snapdragons, Babies breath and Water Lilies and would be tied with a single white ribbon; at lunch she would receive a single red rose and at dinner she would receive a dozen white roses. He also bought her a charm holder to go on the necklace he had bought her for Christmas; the charm holder was in the shape of a rose; the charm was in the shape of a wolf.
Harry had a hard time deciding what to get for Ginny; he had never had a girlfriend on Valentines Day before; the clerk asked him many questions so she could help him pick out what he wanted to send. Daises were Ginny's favorite flower and he wanted to make sure that she received a bunch of those at lunch; he decided to give her Lilies at breakfast and two dozen roses at dinner; one dozen being red and white and the second yellow with the tips red and in the center of each bunch was a single red rose bud. He bought her a crystal tiger figurine; it is what he thought she would look like once she transformed. Harry also had a dozen roses sent to Mrs. Weasley; attached was a simple note telling her how much he loved her.
Friday, February the fourteenth came and the great hall was decorated for the holiday. In the great hall you could see floating hearts and cupids; they would start from the highest point of the ceiling and float down towards each house table; stopping just above the tables and disappearing. For Valentines Day; the shops in Hogsmeade had little cupids deliver the Valentine gifts and flowers to the students of Hogwarts. The cupids started arriving in the great hall at eight-thirty; the Marauders arrived in the great hall at a quarter to nine. Before Luna could get to her house table a cupid flew up to her and presented her with her first bunch of flowers; you could hear the giggles from the rest of the girls from Ravenclaw; Luna blew a kiss to Neville and then started fixing her plate. Ginny and Hermione were looking around the great hall wondering when they might get a gift from their boyfriends; it didn't take long before two cupids delivered Ginny her flowers and Hermione her one red rose.
As soon as breakfast was over; they all headed for their class; Luna and Ginny headed to the dungeons for potions and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville headed to transfiguration. The day was going by fast for the school; before they knew it; lunch time had arrived. Luna joined the five Gryffindor's at their table for lunch; everyone was surprised to see cupids fly through the opened windows above the great hall. Three lone cupids flew over each table before heading towards the Gryffindor table; everyone was watching to see who was receiving the flowers that the cupids had. Most of the male population had looks of discuss on their faces and the females had looks of longing; all of them wishing that their boyfriends had thought to send them flowers again. After the flowers were delivered they gave the girls the gifts they had bought them; more squeals were heard around the great hall but this time they came from Ginny, Hermione and Luna. By dinner time when the last bunch of flowers were delivered there were three Gryffindor guy's that were being talked about; girl's were jealous that Ginny, Hermione and Luna had boyfriends that would be so romantic; the guys of the school were thinking of ways to make them look bad for showing up every male in the school. The three girls' were in heaven and you could see the three guys' blush at different times during dinner.
After dinner the six walked around the lake for a while before heading to their own common rooms; as soon as Harry and the other climbed through; Katie Bell cornered them and demanded that they go to bed. She scolded them for being out so late with a Quidditch match the next day; Ron and Harry said good night to Hermione and Ginny and then stomped up the stairs to the boy's dorm. Neville came up right behind them; they talked about what a great day it had been. They all knew that the girls hadn't expected all the flowers and gifts they had received that day; they had done the unthinkable in the eyes of all males and were glad they had. The match was set to start at twelve-thirty; Katie made the team meet in the great hall at eleven. She gave the same speech to her players that Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson had done in previous years.
"Alright team you have to eat, you need your energy to play a good game."
"Are you eating Katie?"
"I ate earlier Harry, now finish up so we can get to the pitch and check it out."
"Yes ma'am captain" was heard from Harry, Ron and Ginny.
Hermione, Luna, Neville and Mark wished them luck; Luna had her lion hat on again but had a serpent added to its mouth and when she pulled the string it looked like the lion was chewing on the serpent. There were many who were laughing openly at her but that didn't matter to her; just seeing the smiles from her friends and the scrolls from the Slytherin's were enough to make her day. The four finished their lunch and headed to the pitch to get good seats for the game. Mark was excited; he had heard about that revelry between the two teams and was looking forward to seeing a great game. By twelve-fifteen the stands were full with every student; the only ones missing from the stands were the ones playing the game. Eighty percent of the students were there to support Gryffindor and showed their support by wearing red and gold rosettes and waving Gryffindor flags. Professor McGonagall sat in the announcer's box; showing her pride in her house team with her Gryffindor rosette and flag; Ginny was the one to notice that Dumbledore had a Gryffindor rosette pinned inside his robes and of course professor Lupin wore his Gryffindor rosette proudly; his godson and two he considered family were playing today. Madam Hooch blew her whistle to signal for the teams to proceed to the pitch; the Slytherin team flew out first and the new announcer called out their names as they flew out and around the field.
"Good afternoon students and professor's; welcome to the Gryffindor VS. Slytherin match; I'm your announcer Roland Kirk from Ravenclaw. Here we have the Slytherin team Montague, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Warrington, Bletchley and Pucey."
As the Gryffindor team flew around the pitch you could hear Roland Kirk the announcer call out the names of the Gryffindor team.
'And now the Gryffindor team Bell, Weasley, Weasley, Creevey, McDonald, Dobbs and Poootteeer."
"Captains shake hands," ordered Madam Hooch who was the umpire for the game. Katie and Montague reached out to shake hands; each showing that they were not going to give into the other. Madam Hooch gave the order to mount their brooms and blew her whistle for the game to begin.
The balls were released into the air; fourteen players flew to the sky and the game began. Each player speeding to their place in the air; Harry could hear Kirk's voice fading as he shot high into the sky as he made a lap around the pitch looking for the snitch.
"Weasley has the Quaffle and look at the girl go -- she passes the Quaffle to Bell -- watch that bludger Bell – dodges the bludger and is she going to score – yes Bell has scored."
"Warrington has the Quaffle – he passes to Pucey – Pucey tries to pull a fake out but Weasley has blocked the goal – great job Weasley. He seems to be doing much better then last year."
Crabbe and Goyle were relentless with the bludger's; with their large frames and with their brut strength they were plowing the bludger's at every Gryffindor they could. The game was intense as Slytherin tried their best to bully the Gryffindor team; Ginny, Katie and Dennis were playing like a well oiled machine. They flew with grace and were no match for the other team's chasers; they were keeping control of the Quaffle and wanted to keep it that way.
"Warrington with the Quaffle – wait Ginny Weasley has grabbed the Quaffle and is heading for the goal – McDonald and Dobbs are welding those bludger's like they are balloons –she passes to Creevey and he scores."
"Montague has control of the Quaffle – he passes to Warrington who passed to Pucey – and he tries to pass it back to Montague who misses and Ginny Weasley snatches the Quaffle and gets it past Bletchley for another goal. Gryffindor is up by fifty and the score stands at 100-50.
At one point during the game the members of Slytherin house tried to spook Ron with singing Weasley is our King but all that did was make him smile and work harder at keeping the Quaffle away from his goal posts. Harry kept his pace up; flying around the pitch stopping every now and then looking for the snitch; Malfoy kept his distance but tailed Harry around the pitch. Harry was surprised how money could keep such a useless player on a team or did it have to do with their potions master who was keeping him on the team. With his father in Azkaban; who knew who was helping the Slytherin Seeker. The new beaters were doing a great job keeping the bludger's away from their players; Natalie McDonald hit a bludger and knocked Goyle into a spin; which caused him to loose control of his broom and crashed into the tower where some of the professors were sitting. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and sent to the hospital wing; Montague called a time out and chewed out his team; they would have to play with only one beater.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle for them to get back into the air; they flew off to their posts and ready themselves for a rougher game. Forty-five minutes into the game Katie called a time out for her team; they took quick drinks of water while she gave them a pep talk.
"OK team, the score right now it 180-70; Ron you are doing great; keep up what you are doing and ignore that damn song."
"Thanks Katie but that song doesn't bother me like it did last year."
"Good, now for the rest of you, Dennis, Ginny you are doing great; let's put into play that new play that Oliver sent us, they won't be expecting that one. Harry all I can say to you is get that snitch and let's end this game so we can celebrate; do what you have to do. Alright let's get back out there and win this match."
Harry knew that Malfoy had been scanning for the snitch while Katie was talking to the team but what Malfoy didn't know was that he was doing the same thing. He listened to Katie but kept his eyes to the sky and the stands. Just as Katie said "win this match" he saw the snitch and it was hovering at the back of Malfoy's right boot. Harry flew up into the air and acted like he was looking for the snitch; when Madam Hooch blew the whistle he shot towards the Slytherin goal posts.
"Bell takes the Quaffle and heads for the Slytherin goals – Crabbe tries to take her out with a bludger – good save by Dobbs – Bell passes to Creevey and Creevey passes to Weasley – and she scores."
"Pucey in passion of the Quaffle – and Dobbs sends a bludger at Pucey – Pucey drops the Quaffle and Weasley catches and speed off – Weasley passes to Bell – Bell passes to Creevey – Look at them fly – I've never see a move like that before – Weasley scores – "
Malfoy being Malfoy shot after him. Just as he reached the tail end of Harry's broom; Harry turned and shot towards the other end of the field; the snitch still sitting in the spot where Malfoy had been. He laid his body flat on the broom and urged his broom to go faster; Malfoy had tried to turn to fast and his broom went into a spiral dive. He was able to pull out of the dive just before he crashed into the ground. He put the speed into his broom trying to catch up with Harry and the snitch. He never had a chance to catch the Firebolt; his Nimbus 2001 was just not fast enough. Harry wrapped his fingers around the golden snitch and raised his hand in the air; just as Malfoy reached his side.
"And would you look at that Potter has caught the snitch; Gryffindor has won the match with a final score of 350-70. It's going to be hard to take the cup away from Gryffindor this year; party in the great hall."
"Mr. Kirk there will be no party in the great hall; do I make myself clear young man?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Minerva I do believe that all the houses want to celebrate with Gryffindor on their win; I do believe that we can let them have an hour or two this afternoon. It is a celebration that is wanted and need by the students."
"Thank you sir"
"You are welcome Mr. Kirk and I do believe that you have to spread the word to the other students about the celebration."
"Yes sir"
"Albus, do you think it wise?"
"Minerva, must I remind you they are children and need to act that way. It is a shame that it will not be a united front with all of the houses. You do know that Mr. Malfoy and quite a few of the other Slytherin's have signed up for the DA."
"No, do you think there is a reason that he has done this?"
"I do hope that Mr. Malfoy proves me wrong but alas I fear he is only there for one reason; we will know soon enough if we have been right about Mr. Malfoy."
Mark, Hermione, Luna and Neville went straight to the door to the changing room; they knew they would never get close to the team before then. They all had huge grins on their faces when the team made it to the changing room; Hermione plowed into Ron; telling him how well he had done but that he needed a show badly. At that hint the team entered the changing room; showered and dressed. Harry and Ginny came out first; there was an argument going on but couldn't tell who it was. When they got to where they could see Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Pucey were standing in front of the group of Gryffindor's. Harry heard Malfoy call Hermione and Mark a mudblood and that was all it took. Harry reached the group in four steps and Ginny was right behind him.
"Is there a problem Malfoy?"
"Potter, come to save the mudblood's I see. Enjoying all this hero worship; well don't get too comfortable because you will not win."
"Malfoy, why don't you just give up; I hear the same thing from you every year, and look here I stand; alive and well."
"You think you are so smart don't you Potter; well I have news for you, soon and I do mean soon because there are people that will put you and these mudblood's in your place. Mark my word Potter you have chosen the wrong side and you will die at the hands of the Dark Lord."
"Malfoy, I would advise you to leave and leave now before Hermione or Luna turns you into the bouncing ferret (you could see a tinge of pink on his cheeks) again."
"Potter, you and your lackey's don't scare me (even though there was fear in his eyes) and your threats are nothing more then a farce and I will prove you wrong. I've wasted enough time with you and your filth; Potter."
Harry pulled his wand and was about to send a hex at him; he could feel the power building up and knew if he didn't calm down he might hurt Malfoy bad or even kill him; Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder; which stopped him from hexing Malfoy. Her touch calmed him down enough for him to get the power under control; he was glad that she was in his life. What the group didn't know was that professor Dumbledore and professor McGonagall were watching the verbal fight; they had been on their way back to the castle when they heard the harshness in Malfoy's voice and him calling people "mudblood"; they watched as Harry and Ginny came out of the changing rooms.
"Albus don't you think we should stop this before someone gets hurt?"
"I wish to let them handle this on their own Minerva; if it gets out of hand we will stop it before anyone gets hurt. We know how Mr. Potter is about his friends; Miss. Weasley and Miss. Granger can handle Mr. Malfoy as we have seen in the past."
"Albus look at Mr. Potter's wand; it's…it's glowing; that is not normal. What do you think is happening?"
"That Minerva is Mr. Potter coming into his powers and I dare say that he will soon be powerful enough to fulfill the prophecy; he will just need to realize what other power he will need to do this."
"Then we have a chance at winning this war and him having a normal life?"
"We can only hope Minerva; we can only hope"
"He and Miss. Weasley seem to be close"
"Yes they do, she is good for him and it has taken him time to see this. They look so much like Lily and James at that age."
"Yes they do look like the Potter's but there is a difference Albus; I hope you realize this."
"Now Minerva, I may be a foolish old man but I do know there is a big difference between the Potter's and Harry and Ginny Weasley. I think her love for him will be the key to him realizing his own power and how to use it. I just hope in the end that Mr. Potter survives his fight with Voldemort and is able to have a happy life with Miss. Weasley."
"I do too Albus, I do too."
As professor Dumbledore and McGonagall passes the rest of the group; he caught Harry's eye and smiled. Harry noticed the twinkle shine brightly and wondered what the headmaster had heard or what he was thinking. The Quidditch team and friends walked back to the castle and were surprised at the welcome they received. Students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were standing just out side the great hall; clapping and catcalls could be heard. They were surrounded and ushered into the great hall for the party that had been set up. For two hours they celebrated and talked with all of the students that had attended; there would be a private Gryffindor party later in their common room. Professor McGonagall, professor Lupin, professor Flitwick and professor Dumbledore could be seen walking around the great hall; this was their way to make sure no trouble started when some of the Slytherin's came in to see what was going on. The Marauders sat in at the end of a table watching the others having fun; no house rivalry or animosity could be seen that day; it was a day that would be talked about and if Hermione had a say in it; it would one day be in Hogwarts; A History.
By the time the party was over; there were six people missing from the room. Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville had slipped out and were some where in the forbidden forest in their Animagus forms; exploring and just playing around the forest. Harry and Ginny had disappeared and headed to the room of requirements; they were enjoying their time alone but wanted to be out with their friends in the forest. They felt left out but knew that one day soon they would be able to disappear into the forest and leave the world behind them. Ginny and Harry practiced until dinner time; they were to meet their friends in the great hall and then head to Gryffindor common room for the private party; Neville would be bringing Luna and the other Gryffindor's didn't have a problem with a Ravenclaw being present.
Dobby and Winky had every thing set up for the party by the time they entered the common room; making sure that there was plenty of food and drink for the Gryffindor house. Hermione didn't look to happy about the house-elves doing all this work but didn't voice her opinion; which made everyone happy. No one wanted to have her to start preaching about elf rights and how if they joined S.P.E.W. it would make the house-elves have the rights they deserved. The celebration lasted until midnight; until professor McGonagall came in and made it clear it was time to head to bed. The professor escorted Luna back to her common room; Neville wasn't too happy about this but kissed her on the cheek and told her he would see her at breakfast.
Even though it had been a great day with the win against Slytherin and the party in the great hall; Harry Potter lay in his bed and could not sleep. His scar was burning and was having a hard time clearing his mind; he just hoped he would not have any nightmares or any visits from Voldemort but prepared his self for it to happen. He made sure his pensive and wand was placed on his bed side table; he was thankful that Remus had given it to him. Having the pensive made it easier to clear his mind by placing a few of his thoughts and nightmares into it. He had been doing the breathing exercises and the techniques that Dumbledore had taught him; Harry was still having problems with bouts of hatred towards the headmaster but knew that it was because of Voldemort. Harry took a few more thoughts out of his mind and placed them into his pensive and went back to clearing his mind; he was tired and wanted to have a good nights sleep.
The last thought that went through his mind was of Ginny; how she had calmed him down earlier in the day. His eyes closed and he fell asleep; not a care or worry in the world. Smiling as his eyes closed; the feeling of contentment washed over his body and the power surged into life.
"Wormtail, are things ready to free my followers from Azkaban."
"Yes My lord"
"By tomorrow night I will have my most faithful back with in my ranks; they should be able to find what I desire since you have not found the items I want."
"My Lord, we have been trying to find these items but cannot locate them; Severus has not been able to get the locations or any other information. Dumbledore does not trust him at this time."
"I am tired of your incompetence Wormtail; what will it take for you to bring me what I want; do not disappoint me again Wormtail."
"Yes My lord; I will not fail you My Lord. We will get Potter two days after we free the others from Azkaban."
"Wormtail just remember you will suffer if you fail me."
"Yes My Lord"
"Wormtail"
"Yes My Lord"
"Crucio"
Harry could feel the pain of the curse that Voldemort was using on Wormtail but could not get awake. As he lay in his bed tossing and turning; letting out loud moans; the scene changed just as quickly as it had started. There was a mist all around; nothing could be seen and there was not a sound being made. Where was this place and who had brought him there.
"Hello is anyone here?"
But no answer came; he began to walk around but the mist stayed. He thought about waking up but nothing happened; there must be a reason he was here. After what seemed like hours (even though it had only been five minutes) a lone figure was approaching; he could hear Moody in his head calling out "Constance Vigilance"; he sat there amongst the mist and waited for the figure to get close enough to see who or what they were. It didn't take long before he heard his mother's voice calling to him; so he stood so she could find him amongst the mist. She was beautiful; her red hair flowing like an angle; there was a twinkle in her emerald eyes that reminded him of a blue eyed headmaster.
"Hello son"
"Hi mum, why am I here."
"Your power is growing and you need to learn how to harness it; you had a close call today and that is why I am here. I know that you were seeing Peter and Voldemort in your head tonight."
"I tried to clear my mind before I fell asleep but I guess I didn't do a good job of it. Mum where are dad and Sirius; why didn't they come with you this time?"
"We may be on the other side but your father and Sirius still act like they are still alive and boys at Hogwarts doing their pranks."
"He's happy being with you and dad isn't he; I miss him a lot but I'm glad he's happy."
"I know you miss him and yes he is happy being with your father again."
"Harry, son I know it will be hard but you must ask Albus for help; you have to learn how to control your power. I know that in the end you will have to be the one to kill Voldemort; that's why he went after you as a baby."
"You know that professor Dumbledore told me about the prophecy?"
"Yes, son I do but you learn how to handle your power so that you can beat him when the time comes and it will not be the only power you use."
"What other power mum?"
"That you must learn on your own son and after watching over you this year; you will know soon what that power is. Have faith in those around you; keep them close Harry and keep your enemies closer."
"Why keep my enemies closer?"
"That way you know what they are up to; that way no surprises."
"I'll remember that mum; thanks I just wish you and dad where with me all the time so we could talk like this."
"So do we son; have you found what you were looking for; something about a book by what Sirius said the last time we saw you?"
"No, not yet but I have an idea what it is; after Voldemort's visit in my head tonight."
"Really"
"Yes, it was like I could read his mind tonight; I think I have an idea of what he is looking for and I'm going to find it before he does."
"Have you ever read his mind before son?"
"No, but he has been in mine a few times; the best part; I don't think he knows I was there. I just hope I'm right and we can get the items before he does."
"I'm sure you will son; you're meant to beat him and you will; know that your father and I are so proud of you."
"I hope your right mum; some times I wonder if I ever will be able to beat him. I hate that it has to be me that has to beat him but as long as I have the love of my friends and Remus; I will do my best."
"That is all you can do son; Harry, my time with you is over. I have to leave you now so you can wake up. Don't forget to ask Albus to help you son; know that we love you and are very proud of the man you have become."
"I love you too mum; can't I stay and be with you and dad?"
"No, Harry don't ever wish to be here with us; that would mean you were dead and you have a full life ahead of you and I want to see grandchildren one day."
"Mum"
"I love you son; now wake up"
Ron was standing by Harry's bed; he had been woken up from the noise of Harry thrashing in his bed. He had been worried about his friend and who he might be seeing in his mind. He got even more worried when he started moaning with the look of pain on his face; he figured that he was seeing someone being put under the Cruciatus curse; he knew that Harry could feel it when Voldemort would curse someone and hoped that he was not going through that. He watched as his friend seemed to calm down; he just sat there and watched over his friend and would be there for him when he woke up. It seemed like time was standing still as he watched over Harry. He thought about going and getting Ginny or Hermione but that thought stopped when he remembered how the stairs would turn into a slide. Ron hadn't realized that Neville had joined him; Harry must have been loud to be able to wake up Neville. They gave each other a small grin and went back to watching Harry. It wasn't long before they saw movement again; he was waking up and they both got worried looks on their faces. Harry shot up in bed and grabbed for his glasses and then his wand. They watched as he closed his eyes and then put his wand to his temple; then the silver stringy substance coming out. Harry placed the memory into the pensive and gave a sigh of relief; then he noticed his audience and blushed a bit.
"Sorry for waking you guy's, I didn't mean too."
"Its ok mate, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm ok but I need to see Dumbledore"
"Did anyone get hurt tonight?"
"Only Wormtail Neville; Voldemort put the Cruciatus curse on him."
"You felt it didn't you; I heard you moaning in pain."
"Yeah, Ron I did but I really need to see Dumbledore. Ok I need Dobby to take my pensive to his office; come on Dobby I need you."
And with a pop Dobby was standing there in the sixth years dorm; Harry asked him to take the pensive to the headmaster's office and to let him know he was on his way. Dobby took the pensive and was gone with a pop. Harry grabbed his pants and slid them on over his pajama pants; he had went to sleep with out a shirt so he put on his Weasley sweater and took off down the stairs; Neville and Ron right behind him. They arrived at the Gargoyle and Harry whispered his private password. The Gargoyle sprang open and they stepped up on the stairs and rode to the top.
Here we are at the end of another chapter; 36 chapters so far and I'm not sure how many more there will be. The time line pace will speed up a bit in the next few chapters; I really feel like I have let my readers down with chapter 35 and this one. I know there are some of you waiting for new chapters and so I am going ahead and submitting this one. I feel this is my worst chapter so far and hope that you all will forgive me. I have been suffering with bad headaches for the past three weeks and have had a hard time concentrating. I did make this chapter a bit long to try and make up for it not being very good in my opinion; my word counter says that it is 8,208 words. Now, to responses to my three reviews.
Nymphadora003, Nesserz, EnchantedSpirit, Mione Lynn Potter, Ahbahh, XxGinnyxx, Rekia, Maria, Davy, GoterdamRung, Lourdes1, Ren, Silvercrystal77, Butler, JD22, techno04, MadJupiter and I am sure I have missed a few of you that have posted reviews in the past and to almost all the chapters. I have missed seeing your reviews and do hope that even though you haven't reviewed that you are still reading the story. I really do miss seeing your names in my reviews…….Froggyy1
Black Cherrie: Thank you so much for the kind words and I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well.
Cycla: Thank you, I can't believe I had to get through crying after writing that. I hated to kill off his parents but I had to have someone die that would affect Harry and the others so they would come together. Thanks again for the review.
Death-Brother: Thanks so much and I wished you had told me which chapter it was in. I will go back and check 27 because that is the chapter you reviewed on.