Chapter 11 Marge Will Be Marge

The next week continued much the same as the previous one had been. At least once a day, sometimes as many as four, Harry had to call Remus to send out aurors. He learned that additional forces were being added - not aurors, since training would take too long, but sorcerers capable of holding their own in a wizard fight and most importantly willing to do so. Many of them were unable to do the Patronus Charm, so they always had to be paired with a witch or wizard who could, since most attacks included dementors. Harry got the impression that they were being stretched very thin. The goblins of Gringotts had taken to patrolling Diagon Alley at night and where there were shadows and Knockturn Alley all the time (it was always a shady place, in more ways than one). The twins and their friend Lee Jordan, who had returned from a year's post-school traveling and decided to work with them now that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was well-established, would take turns patrolling Diagon Alley in the sunny times. They were often joined by sorcerers who had moved to Diagon Alley from their more isolated homes in the countryside. Diagon Alley had become recognized as the safest place to be, so apartment space was being taken up quickly. That meant leaving businesses unattended, although many used magically expanded spaces in their apartments in Diagon Alley to move their business equipment in. Still, people did not like being away from their homes and not every sorcerer was made for living so close to others. After all, that was why they had chosen homes away from most others - sorcerers tended to be idiosyncratic, downright queer in fact.

"Remus," asked Harry after teams had been sent out on one occasion, "The McMillans have cut themselves off from the Floo Network. Are many others doing that?"

"I'm afraid so, Harry. It's understandable, but it's making responses more difficult. Not many wizards can apparate the distances and with the accuracy you can. Especially the auxiliaries are people who had previously relied on the Floo Network to go long distances. Without being able to use that, they are often having to apparate 5 or 10 or even twenty times to get to the more distant sites. An extra 2-5 minutes has made the difference between life and death in several instances. We're now trying to assign teams according to transportation concerns."

"Hasn't this been explained to those who are dropping off the system?" asked Harry.

"Of course it has, but Harry, you haven't seen the level of panic out there. Most people know that they couldn't possibly defend themselves against either a dementor or a Death Eater. You have to understand that most people didn't bother to learn fighting skills while they were at Hogwarts, and even fewer learned them afterwards. In olden days, wizards dueling and battling was common enough that every sorcerer would learn to do so, just as every muggle would learn to use a sword or other weapon. But now people have gotten used to the idea that the Ministry is supposed to handle the occasional rogues and criminals. Of course, under normal circumstances it could, but with a vigorous terror campaign of sneak attacks, the Ministry is doing all it can to respond, and is only possibly doing so because you are giving us the advance information."

"Can't people learn to defend themselves now?" asked Harry.

"Many are starting to, but the attacks only started a few weeks ago. It took the DA students months to become competent and they had the best teacher around."

Harry smiled modestly. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"Well, I do," responded Remus seriously and earnestly. "I had a chance this weekend to be with the Weasleys and asked Ron and Ginny and the twins to show me what they could do. I was truly amazed, Harry. They are all fighting at auror-level and beyond. I'm no slouch – we Marauders got into our scrapes and had to know ways to get out of them - and any one of them could take three of me. None of them had any doubt that the reason they had done so well was you."

"Wow, I had no idea."

"Well, get used to it: a special training school is being set up for the auxiliaries and as a refresher for the aurors. Mrs. Longbottom is coming out of retirement to head it, but she insisted on having you coaching as well, at least part of the time. She said she had never seen someone who could build practical skills so quickly."

"Wow, I'm honored. Well, I've said I would do what I can. When do I go?"

"We'll let you know, probably after this coming weekend. We may bring in as many of the DA team leaders as well to give them a head start on next year."

"Right, then - no pressure, eh?"

Remus smiled. "None at all."

On Friday evening before Harry and Dudley were to get ready to box, Harry came down the stairs to get a box off a high shelf for Petunia. He had tucked his wands and his decoy drumsticks into the rear waistband of his jeans. He passed by Marge, who couldn't allow herself to pass by the opportunity to harass Harry. She started in on how slovenly and thuggish he looked. When he smiled benignly at her as he passed to get the box down, she grabbed the wands and drumsticks and began a tirade about how drummers in general and popular band drummers in particular are all drug addicts and thugs and Harry shouldn't be allowed to participate in such activities.

Harry felt his anger erupting within him and nearly used either Accio or Expelliarmus charms to retrieve the wands. However, he realized quickly that this would require a visit from a ministry wizard to modify her memory. So long as the wands were not being damaged, Harry could control himself and act only if he had to. Marge was ranting as she waved the sticks and wands. This drew Vernon into the room as well.

Just as Marge was threatening to throw the sticks in the yard for Ripper to chase (unlikely, thought Harry, as the dog had gotten so old and fat, he barely waddled), she waved them as if she were throwing them. Suddenly one of the wands erupted in an enormous blast of sparks and flame, singeing most of Ripper's hair off and melting the foam insert of Ripper's bed. Finally something had made Marge be quiet.

"Ah, um, erm, ah, um, Harry Potter!" said his uncle in great but feigned anger as he took the wands and sticks from his stunned sister. "You and your band equipment! I thought you had strict instructions to keep the pyrotechnic drumstick locked up until you were to use it in a show."

"What?" said Harry, then catching on. "Oh, erm, I had just been checking the firing mechanism when Aunt Petunia called me. I obviously forgot to put it away before I came to help."

"Well, take it then, and lock it up straight away. We don't want any more accidents, do we?"

"No, sir, Uncle Vernon."

Harry took the wands upstairs and stayed there until time for boxing. When he thought about Marge taking his wands, he found himself getting very angry indeed. Even not knowing how special his wands are to him, she had violated his personal property when he had it on him. This was very offensive indeed. But he also found himself feeling sorry for Aunt Marge, for the misery that must be inside her to be so belligerent and hateful, of the fear she must live with to be so judgmental. He also felt sorry for Ripper, who had only been mean because he had been taught to be so, and who was now nearly bald because of his owner's ignorance.