Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to
Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,
Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended.
Chapter 14
Missing Minister
Harry woke up fresh Monday morning knowing that he had a big week ahead of him. He looked at his timetable, (because he hadn't memorized it yet) and saw that he had Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology today. Unfortunately, he didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts so he would have to wait to talk to Lupin. He also remembered that he had his first Occlumency lesson of the new term with Snape. He was not looking forward to that in the least, but knew that it was necessary.
The day seemed to be moving by at a good pace. In Transfiguration, McGonagall had them transfiguring a beetle into a compass. Harry had a lot more trouble completing the task than he usually would, which seemed to make McGonagall a little suspicious. Harry reasoned that it was probably because he was still adjusting to using a wand that wasn't his.
The rest of the day was pretty ordinary. At one point, Harry, Ron and Hermione had some time after their last class of the day and before dinner, so they stopped in to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to visit Professor Lupin. However, he wasn't anywhere to be found so they continued on to the Great Hall.
"Harry, hw bawt a gam of chez afr dnnr?" Ron said with a mouthful of found.
"Honestly Ron, manors." Hermione practically shouted. Ron just swallowed his food and mouthed sorry to her.
"I can't Ron, I have detention with Snape remember" Harry gave Ron and Hermione a very knowing look and they both knew right away what he was talking about. They still needed to lie about why Harry would be meeting with Snape because it was clear that Malfoy had no reservations about letting Voldemort know what he was up to. Harry's friends understood and he set off for the dungeon after he was done with his meal.
Harry always hated being in the dungeons. It always seemed darker down there and it was definitely colder. The walls were coated with dirt and were faded. He never understood how someone could spend so much time down there. It might be one explanation for why Snape acts so sour all the time.
When Harry arrived at the Potions classroom, the door was open and Snape was sitting at his desk.
"Hello Mr. Potter" Snape coldly squawked. He had a quill in his hand and was writing something and didn't bother to look up when he addressed Harry, so Harry felt little need to return his acknowledgement. Harry stood there for a few minutes while Snape finished up whatever it was that he was doing and then he got up from his desk and with a swish of his wand the dungeon door crashed shut.
"I trust that you remember why you are here." Snape started. "I will attempt to infiltrate your mind and you must concentrate on throwing me out."
"I understand" Harry responded. He knew that he had to do this even though he didn't like it so he just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
"Tell me Mr. Potter," Snape said smugly, "have you had anymore visions lately." Harry's thoughts immediately went to his experience when he had collapsed in the Chamber of Secrets but since he didn't remember any visions he may have had, he didn't feel it necessary to tell him.
"No, I haven't"
"Good, then let's begin." Over the next hour Snape continuously entered Harry mind. Harry saw all sorts of visions of his childhood flash before his eyes. A couple of times he passed out and was revived by Snape, but he told the Potions master that he would keep going.
"I think that that will be enough for today." Snape said as he began to walk back to his desk. "Hopefully next time you will do a little better."
"Wait!" Harry shouted as the professor froze in place. Harry was sweating and looked as though he had been in a fight. "Let's try one more time. I thought I might have been able to throw you out of my mind that last time but I just didn't have energy."
"Fine." Snape said as he turned around and stood in front of Harry. Snape was throwing daggers at Harry with his eyes waiting for him to be ready.
"Ok, I'm ready." Harry said and before he could even finish the sentence Snape had entered his mind. He saw many things pass through his mind including Sirius falling through the veil. That memory by itself almost caused Harry to give up as his despair and sorrow over the loss of his godfather crept through his mind. But he didn't let it stop him and he took control of his emotions. Harry now had a picture of Snape in his mind. Now that he could picture who was invading his mind, he knew that he could get him to leave. He started to think of happy memories that would build up his emotions to the point where he could throw Snape out, but then a new vision popped into his head.
Harry saw Death Eaters and Giants and Dementors. The giants were all lying on the ground sleeping. There were at least four of them but Harry couldn't be sure. There were a bunch of Death Eaters to the right of the giants who were having some sort of dueling exhibition. And then there were Dementors who surrounded the Death Eaters and giants in a complete circle. Harry couldn't tell where they were because there wasn't much to go on, however he did see that there were structures that looked like buildings way off in the distance. Before he could get any more details, Snape severed the connection.
"What the hell was that Potter?" Snape yelled. They had both fallen to the ground when the connection was severed so they were both regaining their composure and getting to their feet.
"I don't know." Harry responded calmly. He really didn't know for sure but his instincts told him that those were the visions that made him collapse in the Chamber.
Snape starred at Harry for a while, probably trying to gauge whether or not Harry was lying. "Very well, I need to contact the Order about this, get back to your house." With that Snape twirled his cloak and went stalking into his office and slammed the door. Harry was still a little shaken by the vision he had seen. It was obvious that the Dementors, Giants, and Death Eaters were working together. The question was, where were they and when are they going to strike. Harry thought that the Order who hopefully be able to answer the questions.
As he began to walk back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry decided that since he had an excuse to be out he might as well drop in on Dumbledore. So, he found he way to the familiar bathroom sink and ordered the chamber to open. He noticed that Myrtle was nowhere to be found and thought that she was probably spying on people in the Prefect's bathroom. When the pipe that led to the chamber was revealed, Harry saw that there was a length of rope that was hanging in mid air and extended as far down the pipe as he could see. Harry hadn't thought about how he was going to get back up this time without Fawkes but he was glad that Aberforth had. So Harry jumped down the familiar pipe and was spit out the other end roughly.
He approached Dumbledore's body and saw that he didn't look any different from before. Harry checked to make sure that he was still breathing and then began talking to Dumbledore. He hated seeing his headmaster like this and he was begging him to wake up.
"I don't think I can do it alone." Harry said as he starred at Dumbledore hoping to see some signs of life. "I don't know whose blood that was and I don't know what to do with it." At that moment, Harry thought he saw Dumbledore's eyelid's flicker but then realized that he might have been seeing things. He stayed with Dumbledore for a few minutes more and then he figured he better get back to Gryffindor Tower. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were probably still awake in the common room waiting for him to get back.
He said goodbye to Dumbledore and approached the rope that led back up the pipe. Harry was not looking forward to this climb back up but didn't want to attract attention to himself by calling Fawkes. So he grabbed a hold of the rope to begin the climb and it immediately started to recoil and was shooting him back up the pipe until he was back in the bathroom. Harry thought that that was a pretty nifty idea and thought that he should thank Aberforth next time he saw him.
When he got back to the common room, he saw that Ron and Hermione were indeed waiting up for him, although Ginny was absent.
"How did it go?" Hermione asked as Harry settled into a chair next to his friends.
"It was alright." Harry replied. "I wasn't able to throw him out this time but I definitely got closer." They both shook their heads and then Ron pulled a letter out of his pocket and tossed it to Harry.
"This was delivered by Fred and George's new owl Buster about ten minutes ago." Ron said as Harry looked down at the letter. It was addressed to him, Ron, and Hermione. "We figured we'd wait for you to open it" Harry nodded and tore into the letter. Ron and Hermione had come and sat on either side of him as they all began to read.
Hey guys,
Just wanted to let you know that there was an emergency meeting of the Order called for tonight. We are about to leave now to go to it. We'll report back if we learn anything useful.
F and G
"I wonder what the meeting's about." Hermione said as she looked over at Harry and Ron.
"I'm not sure." Harry responded. He knew exactly what the meeting was about and was finding it harder and harder to lie to his friends. Harry knew that Dumbledore had his reasons for not wanting Harry to tell his friends certain things, but now that he was incapacitated, Harry felt like he needed Ron and Hermione's help. He was starting to feel very alone and vulnerable, but he kept telling himself that he would keep Ron and Hermione out of the loop for their own good. If he told them everything and someone found out what they knew, they would be targets.
"Well, I'm sure well find out tomorrow." Harry said. "We should probably get to bed now."
"Oh my look at the time, I expect we should." Hermione responded as checked her watch and headed towards the girls dormitory. "Sleep well." The boys responded in turn but before Harry could get to the boys dormitory, Ron stopped him.
"Harry, what are you doing about Quidditch?" Ron asked. "We have to start practicing. We have Hufflepuff in a month." Harry had not thought much about Quidditch with everything else on his mind. He had quite enough to worry about.
"Let's have a meeting tomorrow morning before breakfast." Harry said trying to ease Ron's concerns. "When we wake up we'll round everyone up." Ron agreed and the boys headed off to bed for the night.
The next day, Harry woke up early to find that Ron was already awake. Together they rounded up the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team to hold a meeting. When everyone was there, including the reserves, Harry did something that no one would have expected.
"Hi everyone," Harry started. "I wanted to get everyone together because we need to start having practices. We have to play Hufflepuff in about a month. But I wanted to let everyone know that I am not going to be the one to lead us to victory. I have quite enough on my plate right now and I'm afraid that I cannot dedicate enough time to being Gryffindor captain. So I am relinquishing that honor. I think that as a team, we should elect a new captain. Of course everyone's vote counts and everyone can have a say, but I'd like to say that I think Ron would be the best captain." In the past, people might have been angry with Harry, or try to talk him out of it. However, everyone understood that Harry needed to concentrate on other things so no one put up a fight.
Ginny was the first one to speak up. "I think that Ron would be a great choice. After all, he led us to the Quidditch cup last year." Everyone seemed to agree that Ron would be the best person to take over so there was little need for a vote.
"Then it's settled." Harry proclaimed. "Congratulations Ron." Harry reached out and shook Ron's hand fiercely and his friend had a smile plastered across his face. Realizing that he should say something, Ron stepped up and addressed the team.
"Thanks everyone. I think you all know that I will work hard to make this the best team Gryffindor has ever seen. I will schedule a practice sometimes this week when I find out when the pitch is open." With that everyone came up and gave Ron their congratulations and then dispersed. Ron ran off to the owlery to send letters to his brothers and his parents to tell them the news.
"That was a very nice thing to do Harry." Ginny said as she approached Harry smiling.
"Yea, well Ron deserves to be captain. He knows more about Quidditch then anyone and he is definitely passionate about it."
"He's lucky to have such a good friend." She said as she passed by him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. As she walked out the common room door, she turned around and flashed Harry another smile and Harry noticed that she wasn't blushing. It was a good start of the day and now his first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts where he would finally get to see Professor Lupin.
After breakfast, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all headed off together for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year with Professor Lupin. When they arrived, Lupin smiled and waved hello to them and then addressed the entire class.
"Since I was your teacher just a few years ago, I assume that we don't need introductions. We are going to work very hard this year so there is no point in wasting time with pleasantries. Please open your books to chapter two. We are going to work on the Mano Potrificus spell which render if used correctly will render the hand of your foe useless for up to an hour depending on how powerful the spell is. Pair up and take turns aiming the spell at the other person's non-wand hand. This is a spell that is specialized for the hand. If you don't hit the hand, then it will do nothing so make sure your aim is good."
They all paired off and began working on the spell. Harry paired with Neville and was able to hit him square on the second try. It took Neville a few more tries but he was eventually able to get Harry as well. Harry looked over at Ron, who was paired with Hermione. Ron had been successful on his first try and was rubbing it in to Hermione a little. She had tried at least five or six times and was still unable to hit Ron in the hand. Of course her spell was strong enough, but her aim was a little off.
"Alright everyone." The professor stated as the class began to wind down. "Good job today. Remember, there is a DA club meeting tonight after dinner. Everyone is welcome." Most of the class began to talk about what they would learn tonight and got up to leave, but Ron, Hermione, and Harry stuck around to talk to Lupin.
"Hey Professor Lupin, it's great to see you." Ron said as they approached. Lupin gave Ron and Hermione a handshake and then gave a Harry a quick pat on the back.
"Thanks." He responded. "It's great to be back. I love being a teacher and it definitely keeps my mind off a lot of other things." The trio nodded in agreement and then Harry decided to see if he could get any information out of Lupin.
"So professor, is there any news on the escaped death eaters?"
"No, we haven't spotted them anywhere and we have plenty of people on the lookout for them. Especially Malfoy."
"Are the Dementors still at Azkaban?" Hermione added.
"Unfortunately yes." Lupin replied with a grim look on his face. "Fudge dismissed the Dementors who were standing guard at the time of the Death Eaters escape but there are still others that are standing guard." Lupin said that he needed to get ready for his next class so the three students left him and told him that they would see him tonight at the DA meeting. It was clear after their discussion with him that as long as the Dementors were at Azkaban, they would never be able to successfully hold prisoners.
Harry had Potions and then Care of Magical Creatures to round out the day. Snape had looked like he hadn't had any sleep and had the class read from their book for the entire class. Hagrid had them studying Graphorns, which were of course very dangerous animals. Hagrid told them that the skin of a Graphorn could repel most spells that were thrown at it. After class, Hagrid told Harry that he'd made a lot of progress with Grawp and so Harry promised that they would go with Hagrid to visit him in the forest this weekend.
After dinner, most of the school stayed after for the DA meeting. Professor Flitwick, (who was a champion dueler in his day) came along to assist Lupin in leading the group. Flitwick worked with the first through third years and Lupin worked with the fourth through seventh. Lupin had his group practicing dodging spells and putting up quick barriers to block spells. Most of the students were able to pick it up very quickly but it was very physically tiring. By the time Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow on his four-poster.
The next morning, Harry came down to the common room to find Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Ron as well as many other students reading the Daily Prophet. He immediately went over to his friends to find out what all the fuss was about. Ron had a big smile on his face as Harry approached so he figured it must be good news.
"Hey mate. Read this." Ron said handing Harry the paper. The headline alone was enough to make Harry happy.
Umbridge Found Guilty; Fudge Flees Dolores Umbridge was found guilty and sentenced to six months in Azkaban after the Wizengamot found that she recklessly endangered Harry Potter when she sent Dementors to Surrey last year. Although, her sentence was reduced
when it was determined that Cornelius Fudge was responsible for ordering
the
Dementor attack. Charges have been brought up against the Minister of
Magic Cornelius Fudge, however; before he could be brought in for questioning he
has apparently vanished. Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law
Enforcement, said that they are making every effort to bring Cornelius
Fudge in
to face these allegations. As for now, the Wizengamot will elect a new
Minister
of Magic who will serve on a temporary basis until these charges are
straightened
out and a fair election is held. The leading candidates to take
on the temporary position
are Arthur Weasley, Head of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, and Mafalda
Hopkirk,
Improper Use of Magic Office. The decision will be made at a meeting
this Sunday.
"This is excellent." Harry shouted as he looked around at the Happy faces around him. He swooped Ginny up into a big hug and Ron did the same to Hermione. "Hopefully your dad will be elected and he could bring some sanity back to the Wizarding World." They all agreed with Harry's sentiments and they set out for the Great Hall to have breakfast. On the way, students who they didn't even know kept coming up to Ron and Ginny and telling them to wish their dad luck. The Great Hall was buzzing and Harry was so engrossed in a conversation with Dean that he didn't even notice Fred and George's Owl come to deliver another letter.
"Harry, meet me outside." Ron said as motioned to Harry with a letter in his hand. Ron made a motion for Hermione to follow as well and she did so with a nod. "We need a place to talk."
"Let's go right here." Hermione said pointing to a nearby broom closet. The three students filed in Hermione put a quick silencing charm on the room.
"What's going on?" Harry said once they were inside.
"You tell me." Ron said as he handed the letter to Harry. Harry read it and realized that he had some explaining to do.
H, R, Hr,
We went to the meeting last night and it turns out that it was to discuss the vision that you had. There is a lot of concern that you know who is getting ready to strike. Make sure you guys are on alert and ready. We'll write again when we find out more.
F and G
"What visions!" Hermione practically yelled at Harry.
"That's exactly what I wanted to know." Ron added. Harry starred at them and took a deep breath. He would have to tell them everything. He couldn't risk keeping them in the dark any longer.
"Alright, meet me in Myrtle's bathroom after your last class today." Harry said in a very serious tone. "Ginny and Neville will also have to come so alert them too okay." Harry's friends nodded in agreement and without another word Harry left. The rest of the day went by very slowly. Harry did not say another word to any of his friends the rest of the day and they were giving him strange looks. After his last class, which was Potions, he made his way to Myrtle's bathroom with Hermione walking along side him. When they got there, they saw that Ginny, Ron, and Neville were already there. Harry noticed that Ginny was starring off into space and didn't seem to even be aware that he had walked in.
Harry made his way over to the sink that opened up the Chamber of Secrets and briefly fingered the snake that was etched on the side of the faucet before he turned around and addressed his four friends who were looking very anxious.
"There are some things that you need to know. You may be angry at first when you hear it, but I need you to realize that when I kept things from you, I thought it was for the best. Dumbledore even told me that I was not to tell anyone these secrets, even you. I need you to know that it's not that I don't trust you, but rather I'm afraid what might happen to you if anyone finds out you know these things."
Hermione spoke up. "Then why tell us now." Ron shot her an annoyed look.
"Because you guys are all I have, and I can't do it without you." Harry responded, as he looked each one of them in the eye.
"Do what?" Ginny said.
"Kill Voldemort." After that statement, his friends looked at him intently but no one could say a word. Harry turned to the sink and told it to open. The pipe was revealed and Harry turned to see his stunned friends looking at him.
"Follow Me."
Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter. If you ever have any questions about the story, feel free to ask and I will answer them before the next chapter. Keep reviewing. Thanks
Chapter 14
Missing Minister
Harry woke up fresh Monday morning knowing that he had a big week ahead of him. He looked at his timetable, (because he hadn't memorized it yet) and saw that he had Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology today. Unfortunately, he didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts so he would have to wait to talk to Lupin. He also remembered that he had his first Occlumency lesson of the new term with Snape. He was not looking forward to that in the least, but knew that it was necessary.
The day seemed to be moving by at a good pace. In Transfiguration, McGonagall had them transfiguring a beetle into a compass. Harry had a lot more trouble completing the task than he usually would, which seemed to make McGonagall a little suspicious. Harry reasoned that it was probably because he was still adjusting to using a wand that wasn't his.
The rest of the day was pretty ordinary. At one point, Harry, Ron and Hermione had some time after their last class of the day and before dinner, so they stopped in to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to visit Professor Lupin. However, he wasn't anywhere to be found so they continued on to the Great Hall.
"Harry, hw bawt a gam of chez afr dnnr?" Ron said with a mouthful of found.
"Honestly Ron, manors." Hermione practically shouted. Ron just swallowed his food and mouthed sorry to her.
"I can't Ron, I have detention with Snape remember" Harry gave Ron and Hermione a very knowing look and they both knew right away what he was talking about. They still needed to lie about why Harry would be meeting with Snape because it was clear that Malfoy had no reservations about letting Voldemort know what he was up to. Harry's friends understood and he set off for the dungeon after he was done with his meal.
Harry always hated being in the dungeons. It always seemed darker down there and it was definitely colder. The walls were coated with dirt and were faded. He never understood how someone could spend so much time down there. It might be one explanation for why Snape acts so sour all the time.
When Harry arrived at the Potions classroom, the door was open and Snape was sitting at his desk.
"Hello Mr. Potter" Snape coldly squawked. He had a quill in his hand and was writing something and didn't bother to look up when he addressed Harry, so Harry felt little need to return his acknowledgement. Harry stood there for a few minutes while Snape finished up whatever it was that he was doing and then he got up from his desk and with a swish of his wand the dungeon door crashed shut.
"I trust that you remember why you are here." Snape started. "I will attempt to infiltrate your mind and you must concentrate on throwing me out."
"I understand" Harry responded. He knew that he had to do this even though he didn't like it so he just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
"Tell me Mr. Potter," Snape said smugly, "have you had anymore visions lately." Harry's thoughts immediately went to his experience when he had collapsed in the Chamber of Secrets but since he didn't remember any visions he may have had, he didn't feel it necessary to tell him.
"No, I haven't"
"Good, then let's begin." Over the next hour Snape continuously entered Harry mind. Harry saw all sorts of visions of his childhood flash before his eyes. A couple of times he passed out and was revived by Snape, but he told the Potions master that he would keep going.
"I think that that will be enough for today." Snape said as he began to walk back to his desk. "Hopefully next time you will do a little better."
"Wait!" Harry shouted as the professor froze in place. Harry was sweating and looked as though he had been in a fight. "Let's try one more time. I thought I might have been able to throw you out of my mind that last time but I just didn't have energy."
"Fine." Snape said as he turned around and stood in front of Harry. Snape was throwing daggers at Harry with his eyes waiting for him to be ready.
"Ok, I'm ready." Harry said and before he could even finish the sentence Snape had entered his mind. He saw many things pass through his mind including Sirius falling through the veil. That memory by itself almost caused Harry to give up as his despair and sorrow over the loss of his godfather crept through his mind. But he didn't let it stop him and he took control of his emotions. Harry now had a picture of Snape in his mind. Now that he could picture who was invading his mind, he knew that he could get him to leave. He started to think of happy memories that would build up his emotions to the point where he could throw Snape out, but then a new vision popped into his head.
Harry saw Death Eaters and Giants and Dementors. The giants were all lying on the ground sleeping. There were at least four of them but Harry couldn't be sure. There were a bunch of Death Eaters to the right of the giants who were having some sort of dueling exhibition. And then there were Dementors who surrounded the Death Eaters and giants in a complete circle. Harry couldn't tell where they were because there wasn't much to go on, however he did see that there were structures that looked like buildings way off in the distance. Before he could get any more details, Snape severed the connection.
"What the hell was that Potter?" Snape yelled. They had both fallen to the ground when the connection was severed so they were both regaining their composure and getting to their feet.
"I don't know." Harry responded calmly. He really didn't know for sure but his instincts told him that those were the visions that made him collapse in the Chamber.
Snape starred at Harry for a while, probably trying to gauge whether or not Harry was lying. "Very well, I need to contact the Order about this, get back to your house." With that Snape twirled his cloak and went stalking into his office and slammed the door. Harry was still a little shaken by the vision he had seen. It was obvious that the Dementors, Giants, and Death Eaters were working together. The question was, where were they and when are they going to strike. Harry thought that the Order who hopefully be able to answer the questions.
As he began to walk back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry decided that since he had an excuse to be out he might as well drop in on Dumbledore. So, he found he way to the familiar bathroom sink and ordered the chamber to open. He noticed that Myrtle was nowhere to be found and thought that she was probably spying on people in the Prefect's bathroom. When the pipe that led to the chamber was revealed, Harry saw that there was a length of rope that was hanging in mid air and extended as far down the pipe as he could see. Harry hadn't thought about how he was going to get back up this time without Fawkes but he was glad that Aberforth had. So Harry jumped down the familiar pipe and was spit out the other end roughly.
He approached Dumbledore's body and saw that he didn't look any different from before. Harry checked to make sure that he was still breathing and then began talking to Dumbledore. He hated seeing his headmaster like this and he was begging him to wake up.
"I don't think I can do it alone." Harry said as he starred at Dumbledore hoping to see some signs of life. "I don't know whose blood that was and I don't know what to do with it." At that moment, Harry thought he saw Dumbledore's eyelid's flicker but then realized that he might have been seeing things. He stayed with Dumbledore for a few minutes more and then he figured he better get back to Gryffindor Tower. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were probably still awake in the common room waiting for him to get back.
He said goodbye to Dumbledore and approached the rope that led back up the pipe. Harry was not looking forward to this climb back up but didn't want to attract attention to himself by calling Fawkes. So he grabbed a hold of the rope to begin the climb and it immediately started to recoil and was shooting him back up the pipe until he was back in the bathroom. Harry thought that that was a pretty nifty idea and thought that he should thank Aberforth next time he saw him.
When he got back to the common room, he saw that Ron and Hermione were indeed waiting up for him, although Ginny was absent.
"How did it go?" Hermione asked as Harry settled into a chair next to his friends.
"It was alright." Harry replied. "I wasn't able to throw him out this time but I definitely got closer." They both shook their heads and then Ron pulled a letter out of his pocket and tossed it to Harry.
"This was delivered by Fred and George's new owl Buster about ten minutes ago." Ron said as Harry looked down at the letter. It was addressed to him, Ron, and Hermione. "We figured we'd wait for you to open it" Harry nodded and tore into the letter. Ron and Hermione had come and sat on either side of him as they all began to read.
Hey guys,
Just wanted to let you know that there was an emergency meeting of the Order called for tonight. We are about to leave now to go to it. We'll report back if we learn anything useful.
F and G
"I wonder what the meeting's about." Hermione said as she looked over at Harry and Ron.
"I'm not sure." Harry responded. He knew exactly what the meeting was about and was finding it harder and harder to lie to his friends. Harry knew that Dumbledore had his reasons for not wanting Harry to tell his friends certain things, but now that he was incapacitated, Harry felt like he needed Ron and Hermione's help. He was starting to feel very alone and vulnerable, but he kept telling himself that he would keep Ron and Hermione out of the loop for their own good. If he told them everything and someone found out what they knew, they would be targets.
"Well, I'm sure well find out tomorrow." Harry said. "We should probably get to bed now."
"Oh my look at the time, I expect we should." Hermione responded as checked her watch and headed towards the girls dormitory. "Sleep well." The boys responded in turn but before Harry could get to the boys dormitory, Ron stopped him.
"Harry, what are you doing about Quidditch?" Ron asked. "We have to start practicing. We have Hufflepuff in a month." Harry had not thought much about Quidditch with everything else on his mind. He had quite enough to worry about.
"Let's have a meeting tomorrow morning before breakfast." Harry said trying to ease Ron's concerns. "When we wake up we'll round everyone up." Ron agreed and the boys headed off to bed for the night.
The next day, Harry woke up early to find that Ron was already awake. Together they rounded up the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team to hold a meeting. When everyone was there, including the reserves, Harry did something that no one would have expected.
"Hi everyone," Harry started. "I wanted to get everyone together because we need to start having practices. We have to play Hufflepuff in about a month. But I wanted to let everyone know that I am not going to be the one to lead us to victory. I have quite enough on my plate right now and I'm afraid that I cannot dedicate enough time to being Gryffindor captain. So I am relinquishing that honor. I think that as a team, we should elect a new captain. Of course everyone's vote counts and everyone can have a say, but I'd like to say that I think Ron would be the best captain." In the past, people might have been angry with Harry, or try to talk him out of it. However, everyone understood that Harry needed to concentrate on other things so no one put up a fight.
Ginny was the first one to speak up. "I think that Ron would be a great choice. After all, he led us to the Quidditch cup last year." Everyone seemed to agree that Ron would be the best person to take over so there was little need for a vote.
"Then it's settled." Harry proclaimed. "Congratulations Ron." Harry reached out and shook Ron's hand fiercely and his friend had a smile plastered across his face. Realizing that he should say something, Ron stepped up and addressed the team.
"Thanks everyone. I think you all know that I will work hard to make this the best team Gryffindor has ever seen. I will schedule a practice sometimes this week when I find out when the pitch is open." With that everyone came up and gave Ron their congratulations and then dispersed. Ron ran off to the owlery to send letters to his brothers and his parents to tell them the news.
"That was a very nice thing to do Harry." Ginny said as she approached Harry smiling.
"Yea, well Ron deserves to be captain. He knows more about Quidditch then anyone and he is definitely passionate about it."
"He's lucky to have such a good friend." She said as she passed by him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. As she walked out the common room door, she turned around and flashed Harry another smile and Harry noticed that she wasn't blushing. It was a good start of the day and now his first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts where he would finally get to see Professor Lupin.
After breakfast, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all headed off together for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year with Professor Lupin. When they arrived, Lupin smiled and waved hello to them and then addressed the entire class.
"Since I was your teacher just a few years ago, I assume that we don't need introductions. We are going to work very hard this year so there is no point in wasting time with pleasantries. Please open your books to chapter two. We are going to work on the Mano Potrificus spell which render if used correctly will render the hand of your foe useless for up to an hour depending on how powerful the spell is. Pair up and take turns aiming the spell at the other person's non-wand hand. This is a spell that is specialized for the hand. If you don't hit the hand, then it will do nothing so make sure your aim is good."
They all paired off and began working on the spell. Harry paired with Neville and was able to hit him square on the second try. It took Neville a few more tries but he was eventually able to get Harry as well. Harry looked over at Ron, who was paired with Hermione. Ron had been successful on his first try and was rubbing it in to Hermione a little. She had tried at least five or six times and was still unable to hit Ron in the hand. Of course her spell was strong enough, but her aim was a little off.
"Alright everyone." The professor stated as the class began to wind down. "Good job today. Remember, there is a DA club meeting tonight after dinner. Everyone is welcome." Most of the class began to talk about what they would learn tonight and got up to leave, but Ron, Hermione, and Harry stuck around to talk to Lupin.
"Hey Professor Lupin, it's great to see you." Ron said as they approached. Lupin gave Ron and Hermione a handshake and then gave a Harry a quick pat on the back.
"Thanks." He responded. "It's great to be back. I love being a teacher and it definitely keeps my mind off a lot of other things." The trio nodded in agreement and then Harry decided to see if he could get any information out of Lupin.
"So professor, is there any news on the escaped death eaters?"
"No, we haven't spotted them anywhere and we have plenty of people on the lookout for them. Especially Malfoy."
"Are the Dementors still at Azkaban?" Hermione added.
"Unfortunately yes." Lupin replied with a grim look on his face. "Fudge dismissed the Dementors who were standing guard at the time of the Death Eaters escape but there are still others that are standing guard." Lupin said that he needed to get ready for his next class so the three students left him and told him that they would see him tonight at the DA meeting. It was clear after their discussion with him that as long as the Dementors were at Azkaban, they would never be able to successfully hold prisoners.
Harry had Potions and then Care of Magical Creatures to round out the day. Snape had looked like he hadn't had any sleep and had the class read from their book for the entire class. Hagrid had them studying Graphorns, which were of course very dangerous animals. Hagrid told them that the skin of a Graphorn could repel most spells that were thrown at it. After class, Hagrid told Harry that he'd made a lot of progress with Grawp and so Harry promised that they would go with Hagrid to visit him in the forest this weekend.
After dinner, most of the school stayed after for the DA meeting. Professor Flitwick, (who was a champion dueler in his day) came along to assist Lupin in leading the group. Flitwick worked with the first through third years and Lupin worked with the fourth through seventh. Lupin had his group practicing dodging spells and putting up quick barriers to block spells. Most of the students were able to pick it up very quickly but it was very physically tiring. By the time Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow on his four-poster.
The next morning, Harry came down to the common room to find Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Ron as well as many other students reading the Daily Prophet. He immediately went over to his friends to find out what all the fuss was about. Ron had a big smile on his face as Harry approached so he figured it must be good news.
"Hey mate. Read this." Ron said handing Harry the paper. The headline alone was enough to make Harry happy.
Umbridge Found Guilty; Fudge Flees Dolores Umbridge was found guilty and sentenced to six months in Azkaban after the Wizengamot found that she recklessly endangered Harry Potter when she sent Dementors to Surrey last year. Although, her sentence was reduced
when it was determined that Cornelius Fudge was responsible for ordering
the
Dementor attack. Charges have been brought up against the Minister of
Magic Cornelius Fudge, however; before he could be brought in for questioning he
has apparently vanished. Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law
Enforcement, said that they are making every effort to bring Cornelius
Fudge in
to face these allegations. As for now, the Wizengamot will elect a new
Minister
of Magic who will serve on a temporary basis until these charges are
straightened
out and a fair election is held. The leading candidates to take
on the temporary position
are Arthur Weasley, Head of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, and Mafalda
Hopkirk,
Improper Use of Magic Office. The decision will be made at a meeting
this Sunday.
"This is excellent." Harry shouted as he looked around at the Happy faces around him. He swooped Ginny up into a big hug and Ron did the same to Hermione. "Hopefully your dad will be elected and he could bring some sanity back to the Wizarding World." They all agreed with Harry's sentiments and they set out for the Great Hall to have breakfast. On the way, students who they didn't even know kept coming up to Ron and Ginny and telling them to wish their dad luck. The Great Hall was buzzing and Harry was so engrossed in a conversation with Dean that he didn't even notice Fred and George's Owl come to deliver another letter.
"Harry, meet me outside." Ron said as motioned to Harry with a letter in his hand. Ron made a motion for Hermione to follow as well and she did so with a nod. "We need a place to talk."
"Let's go right here." Hermione said pointing to a nearby broom closet. The three students filed in Hermione put a quick silencing charm on the room.
"What's going on?" Harry said once they were inside.
"You tell me." Ron said as he handed the letter to Harry. Harry read it and realized that he had some explaining to do.
H, R, Hr,
We went to the meeting last night and it turns out that it was to discuss the vision that you had. There is a lot of concern that you know who is getting ready to strike. Make sure you guys are on alert and ready. We'll write again when we find out more.
F and G
"What visions!" Hermione practically yelled at Harry.
"That's exactly what I wanted to know." Ron added. Harry starred at them and took a deep breath. He would have to tell them everything. He couldn't risk keeping them in the dark any longer.
"Alright, meet me in Myrtle's bathroom after your last class today." Harry said in a very serious tone. "Ginny and Neville will also have to come so alert them too okay." Harry's friends nodded in agreement and without another word Harry left. The rest of the day went by very slowly. Harry did not say another word to any of his friends the rest of the day and they were giving him strange looks. After his last class, which was Potions, he made his way to Myrtle's bathroom with Hermione walking along side him. When they got there, they saw that Ginny, Ron, and Neville were already there. Harry noticed that Ginny was starring off into space and didn't seem to even be aware that he had walked in.
Harry made his way over to the sink that opened up the Chamber of Secrets and briefly fingered the snake that was etched on the side of the faucet before he turned around and addressed his four friends who were looking very anxious.
"There are some things that you need to know. You may be angry at first when you hear it, but I need you to realize that when I kept things from you, I thought it was for the best. Dumbledore even told me that I was not to tell anyone these secrets, even you. I need you to know that it's not that I don't trust you, but rather I'm afraid what might happen to you if anyone finds out you know these things."
Hermione spoke up. "Then why tell us now." Ron shot her an annoyed look.
"Because you guys are all I have, and I can't do it without you." Harry responded, as he looked each one of them in the eye.
"Do what?" Ginny said.
"Kill Voldemort." After that statement, his friends looked at him intently but no one could say a word. Harry turned to the sink and told it to open. The pipe was revealed and Harry turned to see his stunned friends looking at him.
"Follow Me."
Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter. If you ever have any questions about the story, feel free to ask and I will answer them before the next chapter. Keep reviewing. Thanks