It's really lucky it's summer so that I have time to make a few chapters a day!
Disclaimer: Any of the brilliant stuff you see here is J.K. Rowling's, not mine, any stupid stuff, on the other hand, is mine.
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"Harry, come one, let's get you back to bed." Harry felt a sharp tugging on his arm. He was too tired to protest. The way back was like and eternity compared to when he was sprinting the halls to see the headmaster.
"So, what do you reckon?" Ron asked, excitedly once they were back in the hospital room.
Hermione bit her lip. "Honestly, I don't know. There are a lot of possibilities for your enemies blood, but the first one is unlikely as the rest of them."
"Okay, let's think..." Ron said mockingly, tapping his finger on his chin. "What does you-know-who want with Harry? To kill him so he has no oppostition!"
"But—that doesn't make any sense either!" Hermione protested.
"And why not?"
"Because, if they were going to kill me anyway, why bother trying killing me at the Dursley?" Harry said, catching on.
"I dunno...maybe they're just stupid! Especially Crabbe man! You should've seen his face when he woke up here..." Ron trailed off guffawing.
Hermione looked at Ron disapprovingly. "Really Ron, Death Eaters are very smart and the worst thing you can do is underestimate them. They all follow orders from Voldemort—do you need water Ron?—and he is definitely very, very intelligent, maybe more so than Dumbledore."
Harry and Ron looked at her like she was crazy. "More so than Dumbledore? He's outsmarted Voldemort since Voldemort was at Hogwarts!!" Harry said.
"And he can usually predict what you-know-who's going to do next! But that's not being smart, that's being stupid right?" Ron said, sarcastically.
"I'm serious! Maybe Voldemort isn't smarter than Dumbledore, but he knows more about the Dark Arts—"
"That's because he's a freak!"
"And that could lead to the light's downfall!" Hermione shrilled.
"Who need Dark Arts when you got the best protection there is? The boy-who-lived!" Ron said, pointing a finger at Harry, which Harry promptly slapped away.
"But—"Hermione gnawed on her lip. "Harry can't protect all of us all day! We can't rely on him alone!!"
"But—"
There was silence when they realized that Hermione was telling the truth. Harry couldn't protect all of them all the time.
Hemione waited for a few seconds and got an idea. "Unless we start up the D.A. again," she suggested hopefully.
Harry sighed and shook his head.0
"But come on! Harry, you were brilliant last year!!" she wheedled.
"But last year I did it because we had such a stupid prat of a teacher who liked carving words into our skin!"
"But—"Hermione turned to Ron for help.
"Harry, mate, the only reason we got out of the Ministry alive was because of practices at the D.A. and Hermione's right, you can't protect us all the time!" Ron said.
"But we don't need it! We're going to have a better Defense Teacher that's not making us read Slinky Great Magic---whatever! Now that the Ministry know Voldemort's back, they're probably going to get us a better teacher, like an auror or something!"
"It's not the same Harry!" Hermione protested. "How many people have suvived Voldemort when they were one—"
"—eleven—"Ron cut in.
"—twelve, even though it was a diary—"
"—fourteen, when you actually dueled him—"
"—and last year, even though Dumbledore helped!" Hermione finished.
"Helped?! He did everything! I told you last year! I did those things with luck or something stupid! I didn't know what I was doing! And last year—last year, I had a 'saving people thing' that killed Si—that KILLED HIM!" Harry roared.
Hermione trembled but looked defiant. "It wasn't your fault so stop thinking it was!"
"Oh yeah? Were you the one who was lead on by Voldemort, no less? Were you the one who was tricked by a filthy house elf—"Here Hermione shot him a reproachful look. "Don't give me that Hermione! He was a filthy house elf who killed his own master!"
"Harry, I reckon what Hermione and Dumbledore said is right. It wasn't your fault!" Ron said. "It was the filthy little bugger—"Hermione glared. "What?? The truth hurts okay? More him than you though!"
"Harry, Ron, Kreacher didn't know what he was—"
"YES HE DID!!!" Ron and Harry roared at her. Hermione folded her arms and scowled, but said nothing more. Harry and Ron were both breathing loudly.
"Knock knock? Anyone there?" It was Mrs. Weasley.
The rest of the day was spent talking about lighter things: Quidditch, homework, chess, test results (though Harry and Ron quickly learned not to bring that subject up again when Hermione was around) and other stuff. During the afternoon, many different Order members visited him and reassured him. The last visitor was Remus.
"Hello Professor," Harry, Ron, and Hermione chorused.
"Hey." Remus looked exhausted and worn out.
"Are you okay Professor?" Hermione asked, eyeing him warily. "Is it that time of the month again?" Ron and Harry smirked.
"No Hermione, that's not until next Tuesday," Remus replied.
"So..." They asked.
Remus stared. "So...so what?"
"Voldemort! What's he doing with my blood? Why does he need it? Who—"Harry was on a rant. Remus held up a hand to silence him.
"Well..."
"Come on Professor! If it has something to do with me—!"
"Well...okay. Dumbledore has a slight idea of what Voldemort's going to do. All the Order members have been told this and Severus has come back with a report. He doesn't know much though. Only the ones like Bellatrix Lestrange get to know the really important things. Others, well, they just do the muggle hunting and stuff."
"What's Dumbledore's idea?" Hermione asked, mesmerized.
"Well, he thinks the blood is going to be used to—to—to kill Harry," Remus said softly. Harry felt an unpleasant lurch in his stomach. Hermione and Ron turned pale and looked at him as if he was already on a deathbed.
"How?" Harry asked steadily, though still a tad white.
"That's what the Order's trying to figure out. They've all been pulled off their regular assignments to research this and come out with possibilities." Harry scowled. He hated having everyone worry about him.
"We'll help too!" Hermione said.
"We will? Oh yeah! We will! Anything for our best mate!" Ron said, a little too cheerfully.
"Okay, Harry is supposed to be out of here tomorrow afternoon. You guys can start then." And with that, Remus left.
"You guys don't have to do this you know."
Hermione and Ron shook their heads. "No, mate, we do have to do this. Your our best friend and I'll kick myself the rest of my life if I don't help," Ron said defiantly.
"As will I and many other people in the Order. We all care about you Harry and you should just let us care."
"Yeah! I know for a fact that mum's gonna be going crazy just researching this subject. After all, remember what she said last year. Quote: 'He's as good as any of my sons.'"
Harry looked at both of their faces and sighed. "I just don't like putting anyone in danger because of me. Everyone I care about dies or has something horrible coming to them, and I just don't want it to happen to anyone else," he admitted.
Hermione smiled and hugged him.
"Group hug!" said Ron, gruffly hugging them both.
'It's great to have such cool friends' Harry thought. 'They're just as good as any family.'
88
AWWW KODAK MOMENT SNIFF