Disclaimer: The characters and their world are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers and Warner Bros. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: My special thanks to aliceravenclaw and John Adams for all their help in beta reading this story and keeping me on character with Harry and the gang. Also for their many suggestions that made this story better than it would have been.
CHAPTER 4: THEIR TIME
Luna's father had made the teens a portkey for their trip to Diagon Alley. They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron shortly after 10:00 to find Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville already waiting at a table in the dining room.
"A little late there, mate, we were getting worried. You have a bad night?" Ron asked with concern. No one failed to notice that Harry blushed slightly, and Ron would be no friend at all if he failed to pick up on it.
"Ah, I see." Ron continued, snickering. "Get tied up in a little early morning snogging, did you?"
Now both Harry and Luna were showing some color.
"Don't pay any attention to him, Harry," Ginny interjected with a giggle. "Ron's just jealous because it wasn't him and Hermione."
Now it was Ron's turn to blush, as he scowled at his little sister.
Harry and Luna sat down at the table and looked around the deserted dining room, deciding that it was safe for them to talk. "We have something important to tell you." Harry said in a serious tone as he took Luna's hand. "That is if you're interested in what Voldemort is up to."
A hush fell over the group as Harry and Luna took turns relating the details that Edward Lovegood had given them about Lord Voldemort's recent activities. Finally Harry looked at Luna, and she nodded her head slightly.
"There's one other thing," Harry began carefully. "Mr. Lovegood thinks Voldemort knows about his work for the Order, and is going to come after him." He felt Luna's hand tighten in his, though she said nothing, and he hastily added. "But Dumbledore has assigned several members of the Order to his protection." A pall seemed to fall over the group, as each was lost in his or her own thoughts and fears. Hermione reached over and took Luna's other hand reassuringly.
It was Neville who brought them back to reality. "Well I'm not going to let him threaten my friends or their parents. What can we do to stop him?"
Harry was grateful to Neville for his timely change of subject. "Well I think that the first thing that we had better do is try to figure out what he's looking for and why."
"Well, I think we have some good clues," Hermione began. "He's kidnapping historians specializing in ancient Greece and ancient Britain at the time of King Arthur, so there must be a connection between the two countries. The book thefts reinforces the idea that he's searching for information about the period of King Arthur, and the search for relics shows it may be a specific object or objects that he's looking for. Voldemort hates everything Muggle, so it's likely a magical object and it probably came from ancient Greece."
"Whoa there, Hermione. Aren't you making a lot of assumptions here?" Ron asked in amazement.
She gave the boy a look of mild annoyance. "It's simple logic, Ron. It all has to be connected."
"And how does the kidnapping of Alchemists play into your theory?" Ron asked.
"Well I haven't quite worked that out yet, but I will," she responded defensively.
"Could he be trying to create another Philosopher's Stone?" Neville asked tentatively.
"That's right," Ginny agreed. "You-know-who has always wanted immortality."
"Let's settle this right now." Harry said, a little more hotly than he had intended. "If we're going to fight him let's call him by his right name. It's Voldemort."
"Well actually," Luna said dreamily, "His real name is Tom Riddle. If you call him Voldemort, you're allowing him to choose what he wants to be called. I prefer to simply call him Tom. I'm sure he hates his muggle name."
"Your right," Harry said in surprise, "He's only Tom."
"But back to the subject of what Tom is up to; could he be trying to create another Philosopher's Stone?" Neville asked again.
"I think it unlikely," Hermonie began. "Nicolas Flamel worked on the formula for decades before he created the Philosopher's Stone. When he died, three years ago, the secret was lost. Nevertheless, the search for immortality is one of the primary goals of alchemy, so we should look into that possibility."
"Maybe we should start by getting a list of the alchemists and historians who've been kidnapped, and then find out as much as we can about what their areas of study and their current projects are," Luna suggested. "We should probably also get a list of the books that have been stolen. We can stop by the Quibbler office and get both lists. It's possible that whatever relic Voldemort is looking for might be described in those books."
"Good idea!" Hermione said, looking impressed. "We can check in the Hogwart's Library for all of that information. Would you like to help me, Luna?"
"I would love to." Luna responded shyly.
"How about Neville and I check out the book titles while you and Luna work on the background of the victims?" Ginny asked.
"That's great, but what can Harry and I do? Ron asked.
"We should keep an eye on Malfoy. Given the fact that his Father is a Death Eater, he might very well be working with Tom, and maybe we can get a clue by tailing him. I can watch him between classes and, since you're a prefect, you can watch him after curfew." Harry suggested.
The six teens had talked for nearly two hours until they noticed that the pub was starting to fill up for the lunch rush, and they started to get some curious glances. They agreed to continue their discussion on the Hogwarts express, and Neville volunteered to arrive early and get them a compartment.
"Where do we go now?" Neville asked.
"Luna and I need new dress robes; how about the rest of you?" Harry asked.
"Mine are fine, but I desperately need new quills," Hermione said.
"How can that be?" Ron asked in an astonished tone. "You got six new quills at Christmas."
"Well they don't last forever, I wore them out."
"Ginny and I will go with you. We both need quills and parchment." Neville declared.
"Well I need new robes, so I'll chaperone you two." Ron declared with a wicked grin, and completely ignored the dirty look that Harry gave him.
"OK, let's meet at Florish and Blotts in an hour to get our books."
Harry, Ron and Luna walked over to Madam Milkin's Robe Shop and began the process of selection and fitting. Luna selected pale blue robes, while Harry selected a deeper blue to complement hers. Luna finished her fitting first, and settled down to wait for the boys in the front of the shop. While she was waiting, Pansy Parkinson and some of her Slytherin friends came in to get their own dress robes fitted
"Why are you wasting money on dress robes, Lovegood?" Pansy said is disgust. "No one's going to ask you to the Yule Ball." In response to Pansy's remark the other Slytherins started to laugh openly.
Harry and Ron walked out of the fitting room at that moment, startling the group of Slytherins. Harry walked over and put a protective arm around Luna's shoulders and kissed her tenderly on the cheek.
"Thanks for being so concerned, Pansy, but Luna's going to the Yule Ball with me. Aren't you? And every dance is mine."
But before Luna could answer Ron spoke up. "Whoo there one minute, mate. Luna's already promised a dance to me. After all, you can't expect the prettiest girl at the ball to give you every dance."
Harry looked at Ron suspiciously, "Well…okay, but only one dance."
Pansy's jaw had dropped to the ground. In shocked disbelief she looked from Harry to Ron to a smiling Luna. But before she could think of anything to say, Harry spoke again.
"So, Pansy," Harry began casually, "Has anyone asked you to the ball yet?"
Pansy simply glared at them, and turning on her heels, stormed out. The other Slytherins followed in her wake.
With her eyes full of mirth, Luna kissed both Harry and Ron on the cheek. "Thank you both so much!"
"It was our pleasure, believe me." Harry declared.
"It sure was, but I still want that dance." Ron responded.
On their way to Florish & Blotts the three of them stopped to look at the new racing broom in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies. The Firebolt Plus was being touted as the fastest broom ever made, and it certainly looked it. It had an amazing total of twenty-four protective spells on it, covering everything from the hexes of opponents to accidental lightning strikes. And the Midnight Blue color of the display model was striking. The Firebolt Plus was the first racing broom available in either a wood grain finish or in a range of attractive colors. The twenty coats of diamond-dust lacquer made the surface incredibly hard, and impervious to almost anything.
Ron, who followed new broom developments like a fanatic, told them that Witch Broom Magazine had reported on the trials of the Firebolt Plus in their latest issue. "It has thirty-five percent less turning radius than the old Firebolt, reaches maximum speed in 4.3 seconds versus 5.7 seconds, and is able to make a totally vertical take off."
"How does the braking compare to the old Firebolt," Luna asked.
"It's been greatly improved, twenty-five percent better at maximum speed," Ron replied.
"How many braking spells does it have," she asked, showing an obvious interest.
Both Ron and Harry seemed quite impressed by her knowledge of the subject.
"It has a total of five braking spells." Ron answered. "Two forward, two reverse, and one emergency breaking spell."
Harry looked at the new broom with longing. He would love to have it, although he knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with his old broom. Still, he thought, looking at the broom with hungry eyes.
- o -
Harry had just found the last book on his list, "Advanced Potions, Grade Six." The thought of another term with Professor Snape was not the happiest of thoughts, but he knew he would need Advanced Potions if he hoped to become an Auror. Somehow, after all that had happened last term, he was beginning to question his decision to pursue that career path. In truth, Harry didn't know what he wanted to do, or even if he'd have a chance to do it. Pushing these thoughts out of his mind, he went in search of the others.
He saw Luna standing over by the quills and parchment. She picked out two new quills, and then hesitated. She looked into her money bag and carefully counted out the silver Sickles and bronze Knuts. She frowned slightly and reluctantly put one of the quills back. Harry felt an overwhelming sense of sadness; life could be so unfair. It just wasn't right that good people like the Lovegoods and Weasleys should have to do without. He wanted to go right over and fill Luna's hands with gold Galleons, but he knew that she would never accept them. But thinking about it, there just might be another way.
He walked over to Luna and took her hand in his. "Almost done?" He asked.
"Almost." She said smiling.
"Luna," Harry said hesitantly, "I was wondering if you could help me with something? I just don't know how I'm going to fit all these books into my trunk; it's full of junk now. I was wondering if you could take my books from last term. I'll never use them again, and with the exception of the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, they will be using the same texts again this year."
She looked up at him with her misty silver eyes and smiled ever so slightly. She laid a warm hand on his cheek and said softly: "You're so sweet, Harry, you really are. But it will be alright…"
"It's not that, Luna." He said, interrupting. "It's just that they are really heavy, and I'll never need them again, and, and…and I really want to help." He blurted out.
Luna looked into his eyes for a long minute, and then she smiled again. "Thank you Harry, that does help."
Ron came up behind them at that moment. "Are you two ready for lunch yet? I'm starving."
Harry grinned widely. "Absolutely! Today's my treat." Then turning to Luna he asked: "Are you about ready?"
"I will be as soon as I get one more quill." She said, and turned back to the display.
Ron watched Harry's eyes as he watched Luna pick out her new quill. "Boy, mate, you really have got it bad, don't you?"
Harry blushed slightly. "I guess I have." He responded with a smile.
They had a wonderful late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and then used a return Portkey to get home, agreeing to meet at the station the next morning for the train ride to Hogwarts. As Harry fell asleep that night he thought about what a wonderful summer it had been.
- o -
An important meeting with Professor Dumbledore prevented Edward Lovegood from seeing his daughter and Harry off on the Hogwarts Express. He had arranged with Arthur Weasley to take the two teens to the station along with his own children. Arthur and Molly were delighted, for it gave them a chance to say goodbye to Harry, who had become like another son to them.
On the morning of September 1st they levitated their trunks down the stairs and out into the front yard of the Lovegood's house. As they waited for Luna's father to come out, Harry cast his eyes around at the old house, the meadow, and the dark forest that surrounded it. Harry really hated to leave. Normally he couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts, but this summer was different. In the short time he'd been here he had really come to love this place. The friendly old house, the tree-shaded paths through the woods, and the flower covered meadow had all come to mean so much to him. But as he looked over at Luna, as she kneeled down to tell Grimmy to be a good girl, he realized that as long as she was coming with him he could never be really unhappy.
Edward Lovegood came out the front door with a leather-bound book in his hand. "After you use this as a Portkey will you please give it to Hermione?" He began, handing the book to Harry. "I think she'll enjoy reading it." Then he took his daughter in his arms and hugged her tightly; both of them holding the embrace a long while. Harry could see that in spite of their brave words they both feared that they might never see each other again, that this might be their final goodbye.
As tears welled up in his eyes, Edward Lovegood kissed his daughter on the cheek and chokingly told her to be a good girl and that he would see her at Christmas.
Wiping tears from her own eyes she told him that she would be good and asked him to be careful too.
Then he turned to Harry. The time for handshakes between the two had long passed. Over the last few weeks Harry had come to regard Edward Lovegood as almost a second father, and Edward regarded Harry as the son he never had. They hugged each other tightly and Edward whispered in Harry's ear: "Take good care of our girl." Harry pulled back slightly, and looking the older man square in the eyes, he responded hoarsely "Always!"
A minute later the Portkey activated and took them, their trunks, and Hedwig's cage to The Burrow. Harry could see that Luna wanted to cry, but she put on a brave face for the Weasleys. As they walked towards the house Harry took her hand and gave it a squeeze, letting her know without words that he understood how she felt and that he was there for her. She looked into his eyes and gave him a weak smile.
Their trunks were quickly transferred to limousines provided by the Ministry, and they were off to King's Cross Station. Harry sat next to Luna and held her hand the whole way. He noticed that they had four aurors riding with them in case of trouble, a sure sign that he was still Voldemort's number one target. That didn't bother him nearly as much as the fact that Edward Lovegood might now be number two. Luna apparently noticed his concern, and whispered, "It will be alright." Her breath felt warm in his ear, and he felt his muscles relax. 'She always makes me feel better,' he thought, and turning he kissed her on the cheek.
At the station they were quickly escorted through the barrier and onto the train. They managed to find a compartment to themselves and settled down. Ron, Hermione and Ginny went forward to meet with the other Prefects while Harry bought enough Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes and Bernie Botts Beans to last them the whole trip.
Ron, Hermione and Ginny had just returned when Draco Malfoy came sauntered into their compartment, an annoying smirk on his face. Harry's hand tightened on his wand and he watched Ron do the same in the seat opposite.
"It's nice to see that you've found yourself a suitable girlfriend, Potter," Draco said with his annoying drawl. Harry felt his muscles tense, and tried to think of the worst possible hex that he could use. As he looked around the compartment he could see the others preparing themselves also. Malfoy continued, "She should be perfect for you."
Harry replied tensely, "You're right for once, Malfoy, she is."
Malfoy smirked again and turned around to face Ron. "Well Weasley, how does it feel to know your hero likes someone like Loony?" Malfoy asked with contempt. Ron was struggling to get to his feet, with Hermione using both hands to keep him seated.
Harry had just raised his wand and aimed it at Malfoy's head when Luna put a gentle hand on it. He looked at her and she gently shook her head and then looked down. Following her eyes, Harry noticed that she had taken the wand from behind her ear and held it in her lap. Raising his eyes he saw her give him a mischievous smile, and then she mumbled some barely audible words. At the same time she gave her wand a slight swish and flick. Everyone in the compartment, except Ron and Malfoy, were watching her actions. Harry turned to Malfoy, eagerly anticipating what would happen. At first he didn't notice anything, but then he realized that Malfoy's ears seemed to be getting longer. And his hair was darkening and getting coarser and actually seemed to be growing over his ears.
The others had apparently noticed it too. Ginny had buried her face in Neville's shoulder, and was shaking with laughter. Hermione had turned to look out the window, unsuccessfully trying to suppress a smile, and was taking the greatest interest in the mountains and trees as they went by. Ron, with nowhere to turn, was just staring at Malfoy's face. He was trying so hard not to laugh that his face was turning bright red; and Harry was certain that his best friend was going to explode. Finally Malfoy got frustrated by the suppressed snickers and stormed out the door, completely unaware of any change. The minute the door closed the compartment was enveloped in gales of laughter.
"What in the world did you do to him, Lu?" Harry managed to choke out.
"Actually, I just finished reading 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' by that muggle writer William Shakespeare, and I thought Draco would look just darling as a donkey."
More laughter swept through the compartment.
"You better watch out for this one, mate. She's bloody brilliant." Ron spat out.
"I know," Harry responded with mock fear.
A few minutes later things had pretty much gotten back to normal. Hermione and Ginny were studying a large leather-bound book on ancient Runes, Luna was reading the latest issue of the Quibbler and Harry and Ron were just settling down to a game of Wizard's Chess.
Suddenly the compartment door burst open and Draco Malfoy came charging in. His ears were now a good twelve inches long, sticking straight up in the air. His nose had lengthened considerably and he had a fine mane of course black hair.
"You're dead, all of you. Do you hear me, dead?" He shouted out, wincing in pain, and then he stormed out.
Harry and Ron both fell on the floor laughing, and Ginny grabbed hold of Neville to keep him from falling. When Ron was able to get enough air to speak again, he managed to choke out: "That bloke just has no sense of humor."
"Yes, but did you see the look on his face? Harry asked more seriously. "He was really hurting."
Without looking up from the Quibbler, Luna said serenely, "Um…that would probably be his tail."
"Tail? What tail," Ron asked, more than a little confused.
"Well, actually, that spell comes with a tail. I really should tell him to cut a hole in the back of his trousers and wear his robes. I imagine it gets a bit painful otherwise."
With that remark the compartment descended into complete hysteria that lasted until the train arrived at Hogwarts.
- o -
As they pulled into the Hogwarts Station the teens gathered their belongings and prepared to disembark. The station itself was complete pandemonium, with owls flying back and forth, first-year students trying to find where they were supposed to go, and older students walking to the carriages that would take them to the castle. Hagrid was standing in the middle of all the chaos like an oak tree, calling all the first-years to him. Harry took Luna's hand so they wouldn't be separated, and started across the platform. As they did so, a hooded figure rushed roughly past them toward the carriages.
Harry saw Seamus Finnigan, who was standing a few feet away, raise his wand and case a spell on the figure. Suddenly the hood popped off to reveal a donkey's head. Seamus started shouting: "Colin, take the picture, take the picture!" Harry noticed Colin Chreevy with his camera for the first time. Colin started to snap one picture after another as Draco Malfoy struggled against the spell to get his hood up, while everyone else in the station had burst into laughter. Finally giving up, Draco dashed to the nearest carriage, knocking aside two third-year Ravenclaw girls in the process. Harry later learned that upon his arrival at the castle Draco had made a dash for the Hospital wing, and demanded that Madam Pomfrey undo the spell immediately. After much grumbling about student horseplay, she did just that.
Harry and Luna entered the Great Hall hard in hand, ignoring the surprised expressions on the faces of some of their classmates, and reluctantly separating to go to their own house tables. Professor McGonagall led a group of frightened first-years up the center aisle to the Teacher's Table. "Were we really that small?" Harry whispered to Ron. Ron merely shrugged his shoulders.
The Sorting Hat was brought forward and sang its song, once again warning them that difficult times lay ahead and that the only hope for their beloved Hogwarts was if they all came together as one to face the common enemy. And then the sorting began
Stacy Adams, a small red-haired girl with freckles, was the first to be called. She had a look of absolute terror on her face as the hat was lowered over her eyes. The hat thought for a moment before calling out "Hufflepuff!" She broke into a happy grin and ran to meet the members of her new House.
Geri Bumpass was a sour-looking girl with straight black hair that somehow reminded Harry of Professor Snape. The hat quickly placed her in Slytherin House, one of the few so assigned that night.
And so they worked their way through the alphabet. The last student to be sorted was an oriental boy with glasses named Robert Yoon, and he was sorted into Gryffindor. He bounced off the stool to the applause of his fellow Gryffindors, and took a seat with the other first-years.
Harry was following the sorting this year with more than his usual interest, and it seemed to him that Gryffindor was receiving more than the usual number of students, while Slytherin received very few new students. Harry regarded this as a good sign; maybe people were finally beginning to take the threat seriously, and were resolved to fight it.
Then Professor Dumbledore rose to make the start of term announcements, and declared that during the upcoming term he would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Some of the students looked at each other with obvious concern, wondering if such an elderly wizard was up to such a challenge. But Harry, Ron and Hermione just looked at each other and smiled. They had seen Dumbledore battle Voldemort at the Ministry, and knew he was capable of almost anything. It was going to be a very interesting year indeed.
After a wonderful dinner, during which Harry consumed large amounts of chicken legs, fried potatoes, and custard tarts, all he could think of was bed. As the five of them got up to go, Professor McGonagall came over and said rather sternly that Professor Dumbledore wished to see them in his office at once; and Miss Lovegood as well.
As they walked past the Slytherin table Malfoy said with a smirk, "You're going to get it now!"
Ron responded with a loud "Hee-Haw" sound that caused the entire room to break up in laughter, and Malfoy scowled at him dangerously.
- o -
As Harry entered Professor Dumbledore's office he noticed with some satisfaction that everything that he had destroyed the previous term had been repaired. Professor Dumbledore was seated behind the desk awaiting them. He waved his hand and six comfortable chintz chairs appeared before his desk.
"Will you all please be seated?" He said with a smile. "I hope you all had a pleasant summer; I know that Mr. Potter and Miss Lovegood did."
Harry and Luna both blushed slightly at the remark but nodded, and the laughter that followed lightened the mood in the room considerably.
"I was visiting the Hospital Wing this evening and had an opportunity to see how effectively you've learned your transfiguration lessons." He said looking at them over the top of his half-moon shaped glasses. "But I'm afraid Mr. Malfoy didn't appreciate the humor of the situation, as I did."
"I did it, Professor Dumbledore," said Luna respectfully.
"That's not true, Professor, I did it," Harry hastily interjected.
Within seconds all six of them were claiming responsibility for Draco Malfoy's transformation.
Professor Dumbledore raised a calming hand and quieted them down. "It's quite alright; I have no intension of taking any action in this matter. First of all, you were not on school grounds when the incident took place. And second, I'm quite sure that Mr. Malfoy deserved what he received. However, I would suggest discretion when dealing with Mr. Malfoy in the future."
I've asked you here tonight to discuss several important matters. First is the matter of your training. The five of you have chosen to make your stand with Harry, so it's important that all of you receive more advanced offensive and defensive training. We are scheduling the six of you for special Auror training under the direction of Nymphadora Tonks and Alastor Moody. In order to have adequate time for this training, and for your regular school work as well, I think you should all challenge your Defense Against the Dark Arts class for this year. When you pass the challenge test, as I have no doubt you will, it will give you a free period each day. You can use that time for your homework and then meet with Tonks and Professor Moody in the evening.
"If we can simply challenge a class to pass it, why has Hermione never done it?" Harry asked.
"As a matter of fact, Miss Granger was given the opportunity to challenge all her classes in her third and fourth years. On both occasions she declined the opportunity."
"But why?" asked Harry, addressing Hermione.
Looking down at the floor she replied in a whisper. "You and Ron are my best friends. I didn't want to leave you behind."
The office fell silent for a moment as Harry reached over and took her hand. He felt so lucky to have her as a friend. Looking across he saw that Ron was holding her other hand, and was feeling exactly the same way.
"The second matter is that I would like to better coordinate your activities with our own this year. Would you consider discussing your plans with me?"
Harry considered the Headmaster for a moment. He was certainly trying to be more open with them, and he did authorize Luna's Father to give them all the information that the Order had so far collected; but there still remained that teenage suspicion of adults and their motives. Harry finally decided that they had to trust each other.
"Right now all we can do is use the clues we've received to try to figure out what Voldemort is after. Hermione and Luna are going to research the background and specialties of the Alchemists and Historians who have been kidnapped. We have a list of the books that have been stolen, and Neville and Ginny are going to look for them in the Hogwarts Library. And Ron and I are going to shadow Malfoy. We believe he may be working with Voldemort, so maybe he can lead us to something."
"Perhaps I can help you there." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "Mr. Malfoy is a Slytherin Prefect, and as such is entitled to be out after curfew, while you are not. I will inform the teachers and prefects that the six of you are working on a special project for me, and are entitled to be out after curfew and may access the restricted section of the library."
"I hope that if you find out anything you'll share that information with me and not try to pursue the matter alone."
"I learned my lesson last year, Professor; we'll share anything we find with you." Harry said sincerely.
"That's good, and now to the main reason that I've called you here tonight. The time has come to reveal a prophecy concerning you six."
"Another prophecy?" Harry asked in astonishment.
"Yes, Harry. This prophecy was made a thousand years ago when Hogwarts was first founded. It was made by Rowena Ravenclaw herself, and it was her wish that it be kept in the custody of the Hogwarts Headmaster until the time that it was revealed." Professor Dumbledore then produced a yellowed parchment scroll. "This document has been handed down from Headmaster to Headmaster until this day, and now it comes to the six of you."
"Why weren't we told about this last year?" Harry asked curiously.
"Because you six had not then established the close bonds of friendship and trust necessary to understand it, and now you have." Dumbledore then unrolled the scroll and began to read"
"When wrong threatens right, and our world hangs in the balance,
A chosen one will step forward to take up the banner of the just.
Five will fight at his side, with love and loyalty as their armor,
And the six will stand together as one.
Together they will push back the shadows of darkness,
And bring a peace to our world that will last for a thousand years."
"That means we'll win in the end, doesn't it?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, in the end evil will be vanquished." And then Dumbledore hesitated for a moment before adding, "But there's always a price to be paid."
The teens looked at him curiously, but he dismissed them before they could ask anything.
- o -
After the six had left the room, Professor McGonagall got up and went to stand by Dumbledore's side. "You didn't tell them the last line of the prophecy?" She asked.
Dumbledore suddenly looked very old indeed. "No…I didn't. What good would it do?"
"They do have a right to know."
"They're children. We're robbing them of their childhood to save our world. Isn't that enough? They're starting to listen to their hearts, and to find love. I want them to have this. It's important that they have this last time of innocence, and I won't take it from them," the old man said with emotion. He looked up at Professor McGonagall and said, "I don't want them interfered with, this is their time."
"Do you mean to give them a pass on the rules?" She asked with some surprise.
"That's exactly what I mean. Is that too much for us to give, considering what they are going to give for us?"
On the verge of tears McGonagall choked out, "No Albus…no…not too much at all….I'll see to it." Tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Will you excuse me Professor?" And she fled the office.
The old man put his head in his hands and sighed.