Chapter 17
A Different Point of View
Before Harry knew it, it was time to show his memory of the night at the Ministry to the Council. He had spoken to Remus about Dumbledore's assignment and was a little annoyed when Remus had simply smiled and told Harry 'good luck'. It wasn't like Harry had been expecting Remus' help; he just didn't like the knowing look on Remus' face. It made him feel like he was missing an obvious solution to his problem, which he probably was but that would have to wait for the time being.
Remus, Hermione and Cho had come up with a charmed parchment for everyone in the Council to sign to ensure their silence. Harry thought it was a little extreme but knew better than to argue with Hermione and Cho again. What was the worst that could happen? Taunting from the Slytherins? Awestruck stares from the younger years? That wasn't anything new. Harry had been dealing with that for the past five and a half years. As long as people saw him as anything other than a teenager, it wasn't going to change.
Harry arrived first to the Room of Requirement with Ron and Hermione. In his hands, he carried the Pensieve he had received from Sirius and Remus while Hermione held the crystal bottle containing his memory of that night. Ron and Hermione weren't exactly back to the close friendship they had before Ron's moods and Lavender Brown interfered but at least they could be in each other's presence without World War III ensuing.
Remus was next to arrive with a request for Harry to stay behind after the meeting was over. From the waves of relief and excitement pouring off Remus, Harry knew it wasn't anything to worry about, allowing him to focus on the meeting. The members of the Council arrived in groups of two. Neville and Ginny arrived first followed closely by Cho and Luna then Justin and Hannah a few minutes later. Cho immediately moved to stand aside Hermione to support Harry if necessary.
"Good evening everyone," Remus said with a smile. "We have something different planned for tonight. Harry would like for you all to see an actual duel and learn from his experience. Tonight we will be going into his Pensieve to witness his duel with Voldemort at the Ministry." There were several gasps. "Now, what we will be seeing is not something we want the entire school knowing about so we will need you all to sign."
Remus set the charmed parchment and a quill on a small table that appeared out of thin air. "This parchment contains several secrecy spells. Just so you all know, we do trust that you wouldn't do anything to endanger Harry. However, we also know how easy it is to let things slip from time to time. Any of you who are not comfortable in signing are welcomed to leave. We are not forcing any of you to do this."
Ginny was the first to step forward. "Hand over the quill, Remus," she said with a grin.
Once Ginny signed the parchment, everyone else followed suit. When everyone had signed, Remus rolled up the parchment and pocketed it. Everyone waited eagerly as Hermione handed over the crystal bottle and Harry poured the contents into the Pensieve. Looking around at everyone's eager faces, Harry let out a long breath and pulled up his sleeves. "I'll see you soon," he said then vanished into darkness only to reappear in the dimly lit Atrium of the Ministry. The golden fountain was in one piece and everything looked peaceful.
Hermione was the first to arrive followed by Ron, the members of the Council and lastly Remus. Before anyone could say anything, they heard the sounds of someone approaching. They all turned to see a slightly younger, bespectacled Harry Potter enter the Atrium with a wand in each hand. He was breathing heavily with several bruises on his face. He let out a wince of pain just as another figure entered the Atrium. Several members of the Council gasped while others fought to hold back terrified screams at the snake-like appearance of the black-hooded Voldemort.
"Harry Potter," Voldemort said in his high pitched voice. "We meet again." The younger Harry turned to face Voldemort who pulled out his wand and twirled it between his fingers. "You almost look like you were searching for me, Harry," Voldemort said curiously. "Have you finally realized that only I can help you see your true potential? Or perhaps you were hoping to merely delay me from killing your precious guardians."
Everyone watched in amazement as the younger Harry kept his wits about him while Voldemort circled him like a vulture. No one who was watching moved a muscle. They watched as Voldemort tried to learn of the Prophecy and tried to negotiate with the younger Harry. When that failed, the duel began. They watched as Harry hid behind the fountain to avoid the killing curse. Hermione gripped firmly on Harry's right arm as Voldemort attacked the fountain. Harry tried to ignore the painful hold but it was difficult when your arm starts to go numb.
Everyone quickly saw that Voldemort had the advantage with Apparition and non-verbal spells. No one could believe how Harry had managed to hit Voldemort while flipping backwards and were even in more shock when the sword fight began. Harry could easily see the desperation in his younger self, especially when the younger Harry slammed his elbow into Voldemort's jaw. The sword fight became more frantic until the younger Harry avoided a killing blow by Apparating. Several members of the Council gasped in surprise while others stared at the observing Harry in awe since Harry had refrained from mentioning that he had Apparated before.
"Impressive, Harry," Voldemort said, pulling everyone back to the scene in front of them. Their swords collided at Harry's right. "You clearly have just begun to tap into your potential." Voldemort was pushed back a few steps. "I underestimated you again. Crucio." Harry jumped out of the way. "Now I see why Dumbledore fears you."
Cho had grabbed Harry's left arm as they watched the younger Harry stubbornly counter every attempt Voldemort made to make Harry doubt himself. As soon as Voldemort mentioned the suppression necklace, Harry knew there would be questions but he was ready for them. After all, just because a question was asked didn't mean a specific answer needed to be given.
Harry watched as Voldemort tried to convince his younger self to join him before the duel turned frantic. Everyone could see that the younger Harry was slowly losing ground. He looked exhausted and was drenched with sweat. Several people cried out in alarm when Voldemort managed to hit Harry with the purple colored spell. The grips on his arms tightened as the younger Harry hit Voldemort with a Reductor Curse, causing Voldemort to stagger slightly.
However, no one had been prepared to see what happened next. They watched as the younger Harry cast a strong protection spell a moment before Voldemort sent white light at Harry. They watched as the white colored spell hit Harry's shield, pushing him backwards until the shield broke down. Hermione tearfully bit back a scream as the younger Harry flew backwards into the wall and landed on the floor with a thud. Several of the girls had tears falling down their faces as Voldemort approached.
"So this is how you shall die," Voldemort said as he pointed his wand at Harry. "Alone and defenseless. I'll be certain to pass on the news to your precious guardians as well as your mentor."
"He's not alone, Tom," Dumbledore said firmly as he entered the Atrium causing several members of the Council to relax. Voldemort to quickly turn around and stared hatefully at the old man. "Harry will never be alone. Their are too many who care about him for that to happen."
Everyone watched in awe as Voldemort and Dumbledore dueled. The style was completely different. They relied completely on magic and Apparition. These were two powerful wizards that knew each other too well, including each other's feelings towards Harry. Before anyone realized what was going on, Voldemort had silently sent a killing curse at Harry but it never hit the target. Out of nowhere, a flash of flames appeared as Fawkes arrived, grabbed hold of Harry's robes and transported both of them by fire travel behind Dumbledore. Voldemort let out a frustrated cry and vanished.
"I think we should return," Harry said and the memory darkened as they were pulled out of the Pensieve. The Room of Requirement had changed. Before, it was nothing more than an empty room with a table to hold Harry's Pensieve. The table that had appeared for everyone to sign the charmed parchment had vanished. The room was now filled with comfortable sofas and armchairs for everyone to sit in. There was also a fireplace with a roaring fire that created flickering shadows along the dark wood walls.
Everyone mindlessly sat down in the nearest available seat. Hermione, Cho and Ginny were sharing a sofa looking a little worse for wear. They all had tear streaked faces and appeared to be in a state of shock. Ron was sitting next to Neville in the sofa across from the three girls looking a little sick to his stomach. Justin, Luna and Hannah occupied the three nearest armchairs with thoughtful looks on their faces. Harry looked at Remus helplessly and was relieved when Remus gave Harry's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before stepping forward.
"I realize that all of you are shaken by what you have seen," Remus said tenderly, "however, we should talk about a few things. First, from this, what have you learned about Voldemort?"
Several people flinched slightly but stopped themselves from gasping or crying out. Finally, Ginny spoke up. "He tries to make you doubt yourself," she said shakily. "He twists the truth to make you believe what he wants you to believe."
"Very good," Remus said encouragingly. "Distraction is a very common tactic since it can be used in so many different ways. Humans tend to react first and think later. Every one of us has fears, hopes and dreams that are just waiting for someone to exploit." Remus paused and looked directly at Ron and Ginny. "The Weasley family is a pureblooded family that doesn't follow the pureblooded ideals. As a result, your family is frowned upon in a number of ways. There is nothing wrong with your family siding against Voldemort but those who feel differently will certainly do everything in their power to voice their opinion."
Harry noticed that Ron's ears were slightly pink and couldn't miss the waves of embarrassment that were pouring off him. Ron had always taken the Weasley's financial status harder than everyone else in the family. Ginny, on the other hand, was nodding slightly with an accepting look on her face. She knew that Remus wasn't saying these things to hurt but to help them all in the future.
Remus looked at Hermione then at Justin. "Muggle-borns are always viewed lower than everyone else," he said with a sympathetic smile, "even by those who are against Voldemort. Pureblooded children only know of this world and therefore have a head start in basic wizarding history and customs that are not normally taught at schools because it is assumed that children already know them. Muggle-borns have to work extra hard to move past the barriers but are belittled when they do. Hermione, I believe you are the ideal example of this. You have gone above and beyond to learn everything you can. I have no doubt that you know more about the wizarding world than many purebloods your age. Calling you a Mudblood is the only ammunition purebloods have against you and they will certainly use it."
Hermione and Justin nodded firmly, determined to show that the insult would not affect them. Hermione, of course, was used to hearing Malfoy's favorite insult. Justin, however, was sitting in his armchair, his body extremely tense. He clearly had heard the term before but wasn't accustomed to hearing it used so effortlessly in a sentence. Then again, Hufflepuffs were usually the most ignored house at Hogwarts. It was common to see Muggle-borns there so no one thought anything of it. Hermione, being in Gryffindor and Harry's friend, had gained quite a bit of attention over the years so it was natural that the purebloods would attack who they feel threatened them.
Remus grinned at Luna who smiled dreamily back at him. "You don't need to say it, Mr. Lupin," Luna said airily. "No one has ever bothered hiding their opinion of me. That's the problem with being different. Everyone else feels it is their place to voice how un-normal you are." She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at Harry. "It's always those that the Ministry can't control that change things for the better. My Daddy has been saying for years that if the wizarding world continues on its current path, there won't be a wizarding world left. Take the Aurors, for example. They are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy. They're planning to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease."
No one said anything for a long moment. Half of the group was trying to comprehend what Luna just said while the rest were desperately trying not to laugh. You could always trust on Luna Lovegood to say something completely off the wall to justify her otherwise completely rational defense.
"Well said Luna," Remus said at last, unable to withhold a chuckle before moving on to Neville. He didn't say anything. They just looked at each other for a moment before Neville nodded in understanding. Harry knew that they were both thinking of Neville's parents who were in St. Mungo's for prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus Curse. It seemed that some wounds were just too painful to speak about.
Remus moved on and shifted his gaze to Cho and Hannah. He didn't say anything about them either. Cho had lost Cedric Diggory and Hannah's mother had been killed by death eaters months ago. Hannah's family had wanted to pull her out of Hogwarts but she refused. She had told Harry that if the D.A. hadn't continued, she probably would have gone home. Participating in the D.A. made her feel like she was doing something in the fight against Voldemort.
"The point of all this is not to listen to what your opponent is saying," Harry said, breaking the silence. "It can be extremely difficult but becoming distracted could cost you your life. Voldemort and Death Eaters do not duel like Lockhart and Professor Snape did in the Dueling Club. They attack quickly, using whatever means necessary to win. You have to be ready to adapt to your opponent. I wouldn't use the same strategy against Remus as I would for Sirius. This brings up the next topic I wanted to discuss with all of you. I want to change what the D.A. is focusing on."
"You want us to go back to learning spells?" Ron asked bluntly. "Is this because Sirius isn't here anymore?"
"It's more of the fact that we need to start concentrating on how to improve everyone's chance for survival," Harry said uncomfortably. "I thought that we could have two or three duels every week with everyone else watching. After each duel, everyone who watched could give the duelers helpful advice to improve themselves because it's easier for others to spot mistakes made since they are watching with unbiased eyes."
"So, you technically want to convert the D.A. into a dueling club but it would only consist of D.A. members?" Justin asked in confusion.
"It's actually a good idea," Cho said thoughtfully. "We could have the duelers randomly selected but we would need to have some guidelines so Dennis Creevey wouldn't be dueling seventh years. It's not fair to him."
"I disagree," Ginny said firmly. "Sure, it may not be fair to put Dennis against a seventh year or even Harry but can you honestly say that we will be against those at our ability level in the future? We need to be mismatched to know what it's like to be in that situation. You have the advantage of using non-verbal spells just like Death Eaters will have. The sooner we learn how to compensate for our short comings the better."
"I agree with Ginny," Hannah said softly. "I also think we shouldn't give anyone any warning to who they will be dueling. The element of surprise and adapting quickly is something everyone should learn. If there are any problems, we can duel each other on Saturday so they have an idea of what the meetings will be like."
"Very well," Remus said with a hint of finality in his voice. "Everyone agrees to the new format?" Everyone nodded. "Then it is settled. If there are no other questions, then I believe we should call it a night."
Harry seriously doubted no one had any questions. They were just too overwhelmed to voice them. Once by one, the Council left the Room of Requirement. Cho and Ginny had pulled Harry into a fierce embrace before they left the room somewhat quickly which left Harry extremely confused. Cho had never acted that way with him and Ginny hadn't acted that way in years. It took a little persuasion to convince Ron and Hermione that they didn't have to wait for him but eventually he was alone with Remus.
Getting a closer look at Remus, Harry couldn't help noticing the shadows under Remus' eyes. He tentatively reached out and wasn't surprised to touch waves of tiredness mixed with relief and excitement. Remus met Harry's concerned gaze and smiled reassuringly. No words needed to be said. Remus knew that Harry knew what emotions couldn't hide. Despite how healthy Remus pretended to be, he was still in the final stages of recovery and couldn't run himself down.
"I'm fine, cub," Remus insisted as he sat down in a nearby armchair. "It'll just take some time to adapt to everything. This is an adjustment for all of us." He reached in his pocket and pulled a very old piece of newsprint out of his pocket. "I found something in the library this afternoon."
Harry took the crumbling piece of paper out of Remus' hand and squinted to make out the moving photograph. It was a picture of a thin girl around the age of fifteen. She certainly wasn't pretty. If anything, she looked irritated and gloomy at the same time. She had thick eyebrows and a long pale face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team. He looked up at Remus in surprise. This was certainly something he hadn't been expecting.
"She's the Half-Blood Prince?" Harry asked in disbelief. He certainly had nothing against a girl being bright, especially considering he was good friends with Hermione, Cho and Ginny. The three of them could make any guy appear to be incompetent if they wanted. Cho didn't necessarily stand out in any way but that was what made her dangerous. No one expected it when she did attack. Ginny was quickly gaining a reputation for her affinity with hexes. Having witnessed a few, Harry was impressed that Dean had the courage to go out with her. Hermione…well…Hermione was Hermione. There really wasn't anything else that needed to be said.
Remus stared at Harry thoughtfully for a moment. "The publication of the book matches the time she attended Hogwarts," he said with a shrug. "It's possible her father was a pureblood and her mother was a Muggle or Muggle-born. She may have felt ashamed of her Muggle blood. Of course, this is all assumption. I haven't been able to dig any deeper into Eileen Prince's life yet."
Harry looked down at the picture again. Was learning who the Half-Blood Prince was really important? No. What did it matter anyways? It was more to settle their curiosity than anything. "Don't worry about it, Remus," Harry said, folding the paper and pocketing it. "I'll look into it. You have enough to worry about already."
Remus stared at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "Do you really think I can't handle a little extra research?" he asked cautiously.
"Not at all," Harry said truthfully. He should have known that Remus would be defensive after months of recovery. "I just think I should help out. Besides, once I tell Hermione, I won't be able to keep her out of the Library. She knows that place better than anyone. We'll find out what we can about Eileen Prince, Remus. Trust me."
Remus smiled and shook his head ruefully as he rose to his feet. "I do trust you, cub," he said sincerely, "and I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I guess I'm just accustomed to Sirius and Poppy being so restrictive. They seem to think I'm still the person who was stuck in that bed for nearly two months."
"Well, Madam Pomfrey does have a tendency of seeing us at our worst," Harry said with a grin. "You know we're her favorite patients."
Remus chuckled as he ruffled Harry's hair. "We are certainly her most frequent," he said candidly. "Come on. We should get you back to the Gryffindor Tower before it's too late."
Harry nodded, carefully picked up his Pensieve and followed Remus out of the Room of Requirement. They walked in silence until they reached the Fat Lady portrait and bid each other goodnight. Harry gave the Fat Lady the password 'Abstinence' and tiredly waited for the portrait to swing open enough for him to enter. He wanted nothing more than a long night's rest, however, it seemed like it wasn't meant to be.
Upon entering the Common Room, Harry was surprised to see that it was extremely crowded and everyone was staring at a furious Lavender glaring at an annoyed Ron and Hermione. Waves of nervousness and eagerness completely overpowered the faint waves of embarrassment and anger. Harry was trapped. Here he was with a Pensieve in his hands in front of an entire Tower of students. Thinking quickly, Harry set his Pensieve down, pulled out his wand and shrunk the Pensieve. He also cast a few protective charms so it couldn't tip over. He was now able to hold the Pensieve in one hand and no one was the wiser.
"Don't you try lying to me Ronald Weasley!" Lavender cried. "You're not part of the Council—"
"—Harry asked us to come," Ron interrupted. "We're his best friends, Lavender. We came back with Ginny and Neville. Where else would we be?"
"Where else?" Lavender spat as she took a step closer and poked Ron in the chest. "You were snogging her, weren't you? All this time you've been seeing her behind my back! I can't believe I actually thought the rumors of her and Harry were true!"
Harry stared at the scene with wide eyes. Rumors? What rumors?
Hermione let out a scoff. "Well you would know all about the rumors, Lavender," she said coldly. "You started them. You and Parvati seem to have nothing better to do than pass rumors because your lives are simply too boring to talk about. Ron and I were at the Council meeting. Build a bridge and get over your jealousy. Also, stop talking about Harry like he's a thing. It makes me sick."
Without another word, Hermione stormed past Lavender and didn't stop until she reached her dorm room. Harry took the opportunity to move to Ron's side. The waves of anger and embarrassment increased with each step. Whispers broke into the silence, increasing as more and more people noticed Harry. Lavender's eyes widened as she noticed who was approaching. Harry didn't say a thing until he was standing right in front of her. "They're telling the truth, you know," he said softly. "Perhaps you should have a little more faith in your boyfriend."
Lavender's face turned scarlet as Harry walked past her and didn't stop walking until he had reached his dorm room. Sometimes he just wondered why people stayed in relationships when they clearly weren't happy. What was the point? Probably because they are afraid of change and the unknown.
Merlin only knew.
Harry awoke with a start the following morning. He was covered in sweat, breathing heavily and shaking uncontrollably. Pulling his bed hangings open quickly, Harry looked around the somewhat blurry room frantically, trying to find the source of his distress but couldn't see anything. The room was still dark and was silent except from Ron and Neville's snoring. Instinctively, Harry reached out to see if there were any stray emotions but couldn't sense anything, which was expected. He had never been able to sense emotions of someone in deep sleep. The emotions had always been too muddled to make out.
Closing his eyes, Harry tried to recall why he woke in such a state but he couldn't think of anything. He couldn't remember if it had been a nightmare, Hogwarts or his empathy overacting again but whatever it had been hadn't been pleasant. Nothing that caused this much fear and distress ever was. Concentrating harder, Harry could vaguely remember screams and pain but nothing else. He quickly shook his head to banish the thoughts and forced himself to calm down. He was sixteen-years-old. He wasn't supposed to be haunted by hazy nightmares anymore, especially nightmares that he couldn't remember the moment he woke.
Harry had calmed himself down before long but sleep stubbornly stayed away. After an hour of tossing and turning, he gave up on a few more hours of sleep and pulled himself out of bed. There was no point remaining in bed where the mind could simply wander aimlessly. With extreme caution, Harry managed to change clothes and find the bathroom without waking anyone. It was bad enough that he couldn't sleep at four in the morning. Why make anyone else suffer?
It wasn't a surprise to find the Great Hall completely empty at half past four in the morning. The silence was a little eerie but it was better than waiting around in the Common Room for someone to wake. The lamps provided the only source of light for quite some time as Harry double checked his Transfiguration homework. It was tedious and allowed him to think of what had happened the night before. In addition to learning that the Half-Blood Prince was possibly a girl, Harry had also learned that there were rumors about him and one of his best friends. He couldn't believe he hadn't heard anything before now. However, considering his lack of free time, it wasn't that much of a surprise. He barely had time to hear the daily chapter in the Ron/Lavender/Hermione drama.
That was what it boiled down to. He had no time to do anything other than training, studying, the D.A. and Quidditch. He wasn't complaining. He enjoyed his sessions with Madam Pomfrey, he knew training was a necessity, Professor Dumbledore insisted that the lessons with him would help in the fight against Voldemort, he couldn't even think of abandoning his teammates or the D.A. and studying just came with school. There was no way he could get around that. He was clearly stretching himself too thin but couldn't think of a way to remedy that. Note to self, find a way to make more hours in the day.
"Good morning, Harry!" Hermione said cheerfully as she sat down beside him.
Harry jumped in surprise and quickly looked around to see that the sun had started to rise but it was still rather early. There were a few students sitting at each table which was a surprise. Another note, start paying attention to your surroundings. Food, plates, goblets and utensils started appearing on each table, immediately filling the Great Hall with the aroma of freshly cooked bacon, sausages and the spicy scent of pumpkin juice. "Er—good morning, Hermione," Harry said as he relaxed and set his homework aside. "You're up early."
"So are you," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I actually went up to your dorm room to wake you. Imagine my surprise to find your bed cold."
Harry glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "And what were you doing in my bed?" he asked curiously.
Hermione gawked at him as she swatted the back of his head. "For your information, I was checking to see how long ago you left your bed," she said stiffly then smirked. "Of course, if you want to insinuate that there is something else going on…"
Harry raised his hands in surrender. "You win," he said then started to pile food on his plate. "So what are these rumors that Lavender mentioned last night?"
Hermione let out a sigh as she also started putting food on her plate. "Well, they started after Slughorn's party," she said softly. "Since we went together, everyone thinks we're seeing each other. Things have been pretty quiet here so everyone's grabbing onto what gossip they can. People have noticed how much time we're spending together, Harry."
Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. "We're not spending any more time together than we have in the past," he countered. "The only thing that's changed is Ron's imprisonment by Lavender and we're spending more time with Cho. If anything, there should be rumors about her—"
"—there are," Hermione said bluntly. "Harry, the entire school thinks you're either romantically seeing one of us or waiting to see which one of us you like better." Harry groaned as he buried his face in his hands. Hermione laughed. "It's not the end of the world, Harry," she said good-naturedly. "Actually, it's understandable if you think about it. No one here knows about your…well…ability. They don't understand that you're hanging around us because Ron's being overly hormonal."
Harry looked at Hermione in shock. "Is that what you really think?" he asked in disbelief. "That the only reason I'm spending time with you is because Ron can't stop snogging Lavender?"
Hermione smiled reassuringly at Harry. "That's not what I meant," she said as she started cutting her bacon. "You've been a great friend, Harry. All I'm saying is that people don't care what brought about the change. They just notice that something has changed. You weren't on the train before Christmas so you didn't hear what everyone was saying. The fact that 'The Chosen One' went to one of Slughorn's parties with two girls was slightly more interesting than how many girls McLaggen tried to snog."
Harry snorted at the comment. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended," he muttered then let out a sigh. "I'm really sorry, Hermione. I should have been there to tell everyone that we're just friends...and that anything more than that is impossible because you fancy a certain Weasley."
Hermione swatted Harry on the back of the head again. "It's not your fault so stop blaming yourself," she said then swatted him again, "and stop teasing me. If the situation was reversed I wouldn't be giving you such a hard time about whoever you fancied." Hermione's face turned pensive for a moment until she looked at Harry curiously. "By the way, who do you fancy?"
To say that Harry was caught off guard would be an understatement. Hermione had never expressed any interest in his love life (or lack thereof) before. It had never been a problem so they didn't talk about it. They didn't worry about it. After all, until Ron and hooked up with Lavender, Harry had never spared a thought of Ron or Hermione having that sort of relationship with anyone, much less each other. The constant threats of danger over the years had pushed any normal teenage antics far from their minds. That could explain why everything was cascading upon them at once now.
"Harry?" Hermione asked in concern. "Harry, are you all right?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry quickly shifted his gaze to his plate, determined not to meet Hermione's eyes. "I'm fine," he said, sounding more confident than he felt. Change the subject! "I just have a lot on my mind." Reaching into his schoolbag, Harry pulled out the folded piece of paper Remus had given him the night before and handed it over.
Hermione unfolded the piece of paper and took a long look at it before blinking in surprise. "Well, that's unexpected," she said then glanced at Harry. "So, you're Half-Blood Prince is actually a girl with the last name 'Prince'?"
Harry shrugged. "That's what we have to find out," he said with a grin then turned to meet Hermione's eyes. "So, what do you say? Care to help me learn more abut Eileen Prince?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and handed the paper back to Harry. "Who else would?" she asked rhetorically. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "And don't you dare think that I'm not aware of how you avoided my question, Harry. I honestly didn't mean anything by it. It's just that you've never even hinted fancying anyone. Is it Ginny?"
Harry shook his head slowly. Why couldn't Hermione just take a hint? "No, it's not Ginny," he said firmly. "Ginny's like a sister to me. I can't see her in any other way."
"Can't or afraid to?" Hermione countered.
Harry didn't answer. He wasn't about to get into an argument of possible girlfriends in the middle of the Great Hall that was becoming more and more crowded by the minute. Why had Hermione brought up Ginny of all people? Ginny was currently in a relationship with Dean, Ron's sister, and a part of his family. Harry couldn't think of her as any more than that just like he couldn't see Hermione as any more than his best friend. To him, friendship was a treasure. He would rather have his friends as they were instead of losing one if a more intense relationship were to fail. It wasn't very Gryffindor of him but Harry didn't think he could handle any more complications.
Hermione didn't bring the topic up again and Harry didn't bring up Ron. After that morning, Harry began to notice the subtle whispers that seemed to follow him whenever he was with Hermione and Cho. Girls were either giggling or glaring at the two girls while the boys were occasionally glaring at Harry. Nevertheless, the jealousy pouring off everyone was suffocating. It made Harry wonder how he had managed to miss it before.
Another change that Harry had noticed was Ron continuously attempting to put more distance between Lavender and himself by spending more time with Harry, Hermione and Cho. This didn't settle well with Lavender, of course. Despite the ongoing rumors, Lavender still suspected that Ron was cheating on her and voiced her opinions whenever she saw Ron and Hermione together. It didn't matter that Harry and Cho were with them at the time or even Ginny and Dean. It seemed that all rational thought had been erased by Lavender's jealousy.
With all of the drama in addition to everything else, it was difficult for Harry and Hermione to find time to research Eileen Prince in the Library. They had finally managed to find time Saturday afternoon and took that opportunity to fill Ron in on what he had missed over the past few months. Ron had been shocked to learn about the Half-Blood Prince and the where Harry and Hermione were in discovering who it was.
"So this Half-Blood Prince is really…well…a Prince-ess?" Ron asked in disbelief.
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh as she put the old newspaper she had been reading in the 'already read' pile before grabbing the next newspaper to read. "Is it really that unbelievable that a girl can be brilliant at Potions?" she asked. "Honestly, Ron. I never thought you would be so closed minded."
"I never said that!" Ron protested. "Bloody hell, Hermione! It was just a joke! I'm friends with you! How can I not think a girl can be smart after five and a half years of you knowing the answers to everything?"
Hermione stared at Ron in shock before returning her attention to the newspaper, her face slightly red. Ron seemed to realize what he had just said and also blushed. An uncomfortable silence fell between them which Harry quickly broke by telling Ron about his latest lesson with Dumbledore and the assignment to obtain the memory from Slughorn. There was so much awkwardness between them at the moment. Ron clearly didn't like the way his relationship with Lavender was going but didn't have the courage to end it. Hermione seemed to be grateful that the normal joking and bickering Ron was back, even if he was bickering with her.
"I can't say I've ever heard of Horcruxes before," Ron said completely dumbfounded, "but it shouldn't be too hard to get the memory from Slughorn. He loves you, Harry. He has from day one."
"That may be true but Slughorn is determined to keep the memory to himself," Hermione countered. "If Dumbledore failed, that means simply asking for it wouldn't work. Also, Dumbledore wouldn't have asked Harry unless he was confident Harry could pull it off. That means there's something we're missing, a solution we haven't thought of yet."
Ron stared off thoughtfully for a long moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "Well I guess all I can say is good luck with it, Harry," he said helplessly. "If Hermione's at a loss then I don't know what sort of help I'll be."
Harry stared at Ron in disbelief before he slammed his head on the table. He couldn't believe it. How could he have missed something so obvious? Why hadn't he realized it before when Remus told him the very same thing? "I must be the thickest person on the planet!" Harry said through his teeth in frustration. He sat back in his chair and looked at a startled Hermione. "All I need is luck, Hermione. Felix Felicis! That's why Dumbledore asked me!"
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed in a hushed voice. "Why didn't I think of that? It's so simple yet so ingenious! Under the influence of Felix Felicis, you're guaranteed to succeed!" Rubbing her hands together eagerly, Hermione shifted her attention to Ron and smiled at him. "Ron, you're a genius!"
The stumped look on Ron's face was downright hilarious. After all, it wasn't every day that Hermione complimented Ron's intellect. "Er—thanks…I think," he said uncertainly. "So let's say Harry takes the potion and somehow convinces Slughorn to hand over the memory. Then what? Slughorn doesn't seem to be the type of person to forget something like that."
"So I'll just have to catch him after he's had too much of that mead that he's so fond of," Harry offered. "He won't remember anything if he's drunk."
"Harry!" Hermione scolded. "That's taking advantage of a teacher!"
Harry stared at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. "And using Felix Felicis against a teacher isn't?" he asked sarcastically. He couldn't believe they were arguing about morals. "Look, this has to be why Dumbledore asked me to do it. He's encouraging me to use whatever means to get that memory. Do you have any other suggestions?"
Hermione let out a sigh and buried her face in her hands. "I don't like it, Harry," she said honestly, "but I can't think of any alternatives. Dumbledore shouldn't be putting this on your shoulders. You already have enough to worry about."
Harry could only shrug his shoulders in response. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to do it but he evidently had the means to succeed. Plus, I have the element of surprise. Slughorn would be expecting for Dumbledore to try again. He would never expect for a student to corner him with something he had given them.
All Harry had to figure out now was when to strike.
The new structure of the D.A. meetings was met with eager acceptance. The majority of the members couldn't wait to test what they had learned. Remus had created an enchanted parchment which would randomly select names of duelers so no one could be accused of biasness. Ernie Macmillian and Marietta Edgecomb had been selected first. Their duel hadn't lasted long. Ernie easily distracted Marietta by setting her hair on fire. Remus had immediately jumped in and with a few waves of his wand, she was back to normal. After their duel, the entire D.A. gave suggestions to how Ernie and Marietta could improve their dueling.
The next duel was a little more interesting. The parchment had selected Zacharias Smith and Ron Weasley, two Quidditch players that had a tendency to hold a grudge. Ron hadn't forgiven Smith for the biased commentary during Gryffindor's first match and Smith didn't like that Gryffindor had such a dominating presence on the Quidditch field. Hufflepuff had never been much of a threat and was usually the team overlooked when Quidditch was discussed. With Slytherin in their current rut, the two teams actually worth discussing were Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Even then, most of the talk focused on the Seekers since they were the best in the school and such close friends (and possibly more than friends, according to the rumors).
The duel had started out slowly and controlled only to escalate into a battle of pride in a matter of minutes. Both were too determined to show up the other to worry about dueling safely. Ten minutes into the duel, Harry and Remus had to interfere, body binding both of them. It took Remus another ten minutes to remove all of the hexes and heal all of the injuries but everyone had learned an important lesson. Never let personal vendettas control your decisions while dueling.
The D.A. meetings went a lot smoother after that. Everyone seemed to understand what happened outside the D.A. meetings, stayed outside. After a few meetings, the Council was able to split up and supervise duels so more than one could take place at a time. With each duel there were at least five spectators for each side to offer their input. Everyone was quickly learning what worked and what didn't work in duels. They were also working harder to learn rare spells and jinxes in order to catch their opponents off guard. All in all, the new format had worked better than Harry ever expected.
With the Council taking a more active role in the D.A., Harry was able to focus more on his assignment from Professor Dumbledore. Even with the aid of Felix Felicis, Harry knew he needed to get closer to Professor Slughorn. He needed the Potions Master to lower his guard and the only way to do that was for Harry to continue asking questions about potions. As the weeks passed, Slughorn grew eager for Harry's questioning sessions and even offered setting up a designated time where they could meet in his office so they wouldn't be rushed or interrupted.
Harry could only think of one thing when he arranged an available time. Jackpot.
With the arrival of February, the snow melted only to be replaced with the constant chilly wetness. This made Care of Magical Creatures class a little less than to be desired since Harry ended up covered with mud by the end of each class. However, February also brought along the start of Apparition lessons, which would be held in the Great Hall on Saturday morning so it didn't interfere with any classes.
That morning Harry had met with Remus for the 'Sirius Update' only to learn nothing. Sirius had made a habit of somehow communicating with Remus at least once a week for updates but rarely gave any information about himself or his mission. The only thing Remus could tell Harry was that Sirius was safe and would be back as soon as he could. It was just hard to hold on to the 'no news is good news' mentality when it concerned a member of your family. It was times like this when Harry regretted handing over the small two-way mirror Sirius had given him to Remus. Even though Harry would never admit it verbally, he missed Sirius' overprotective nature. He missed Sirius and Remus bickering over pointless topics. No matter how hard Remus tried to support Harry, there was no denying that there something missing.
Harry and Hermione reached the Great Hall together although Ron was closely behind them with Lavender holding onto his arm tightly. All of the tables had vanished, leaving the large room extremely bare. Rain hit the high windows and dark clouds covered the enchanted ceiling. At the front of the Hall were Professors, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Sprout along with Remus and a small wizard who could only be the Apparition Instructor from the Ministry. The man was extremely pale and thin with translucent eyelashes and frail hair.
Once everyone arrived, the Heads of Houses called for quiet and the Ministry wizard stepped forward. "Good morning," he said. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry-Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare your for your Apparition test in this time—"
"Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall interrupted. "Be quiet and pay attention!"
Everyone looked around and saw a flushed Malfoy quickly stepping away from Crabbe, whom he apparently had been arguing with. Harry glanced at Hermione who shrugged helplessly before returning his attention to Twycross. It was impossible not to notice the irritated look on Professor Snape's face as he glared at Malfoy. Harry couldn't help noticing that Snape's entire stance was remarkably similar to the way Snape had stood the night of Slughorn's party. Clearly Professor Snape and Malfoy still weren't on the best of terms.
"—by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test," Twycross continued after everyone had settled down again. "As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The Headmaster has lifted this enchantment, only in the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this hall and it would be unwise of you to try." There was a moment of silence before Twycross added, "I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."
Harry nervously did as he was told as everyone scrambled to find a wide enough space. Remus had warned him that they would be practicing Apparition today, something that he really wasn't sure he was ready for. The Heads of House spread out through the crowd, moving students into position and silencing any arguments that had began.
Hermione noticed Harry shifting his weight from one foot to the other and frowned. "What are you so worried about, Harry?" she asked in confusion. "You've already Apparated."
Harry stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh yeah," he said sarcastically. "Just find someone to try to kill me with a sword and I'll be fine. It was accidental, Hermione. It's almost like comparing accidental magic to actual spells. They just don't work the same."
The Heads of House shouted, "Quiet!" and silence quickly fell. Truthfully, the only time Harry had felt the affects of Apparition was when Sirius had Apparated him back to Grimmauld Place, like he was being squeezed through a tube. He had been told that he would grow accustomed to the feeling with practice and knew he needed to learn this if he were to have any hope of surviving in the future. He couldn't keep relying on others to get him out of trouble.
"Thank you," Twycross said with a nod. "Now then—" he waved his wand, conjuring old-fashioned wooden hoops to appear on the floor in front of every student. "—the important things to remember when Apparating are the three Ds! Destination, Determination and Deliberation! Step one, fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination. In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."
Harry did as he was told, lowering his gaze to his hoop and the patch of dusty floor inside it. He desperately pushed all of his worries to the back of his mind. Self doubt would only result in failure or worse, splinching.
"Step two," Twycross continued, "focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from our mind to every particle of your body!"
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on picturing his hoop in his mind. He wanted be inside his hoop, standing on that patch of dusty flooring five feet in front of him. He could picture himself standing in the middle of the hoop and suddenly felt like he was being forced through a tight rubber tube. A loud crack filled the air and for a split second, Harry couldn't breathe, every part of him was being compressed to an almost painful state only to vanish completely a second later, allowing Harry to take in a deep breath.
Gasps filled the room as Harry opened his eyes and noticed that he was not standing beside Hermione anymore. Looking down, Harry's eyes widened as he saw himself standing in the center of his hoop. He quickly looked up at Remus to saw Twycross and the Heads of House looking at him with wide eyes. Everyone around him was staring in amazement, making Harry feel extremely self conscious. Great. Just great.
"Er—sorry," Harry said as he stepped out of his hoop and moved back to standing beside Hermione.
"No harm done, Mr. Potter," Twycross said with a distinct hint of pride in his voice. "You shouldn't apologize for correctly executing the three Ds." He then turned his attention back to the rest of the students. "Now, remember the first two steps. Fix your mind on your destination and focus on occupying the visualized space." He waited for a long moment as everyone tried to focus on their own hoops. "Step three, and only when I give the command, turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation. On my command, now…one—"
Harry concentrated on the wooden hoop and the dusty floor inside it once again. Looking hard, Harry could even make out where he had stood only moments ago.
"—two—"
Harry closed his eyes again and pictured the hoop in his mind, picturing himself in his hoop, wanting nothing more than to occupy the space trapped inside the small wooden circle.
"—THREE!"
Harry could already feel himself being squeezed through that tight rubber tube when he spun on the spot only to have the sensation vanish. The sound of staggering people filled his ears as Harry opened his eyes to and stared at his hoop five feet in front of him in confusion. There was a loud thud as Neville fell flat on his back. Several people around him were snickering. Harry took the opportunity to glance at Hermione and shrug helplessly at her curious look. He couldn't explain it. He was following the instructions so why didn't it work…or more so why did it stop working when he started to turn?
"Never mind, never mind," Twycross said wryly, gaining everyone's attention. "Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions so we can try again."
They tried again and again to Apparate with no success. Harry was growing extremely frustrated that his own attempts failed the moment he moved. When it came time to try again, Harry decided to throw caution to the wind and try to Apparate again without turning on the spot. As Twycross counted off, Harry once again pushed away all thought except for his hoop and his desire to occupy the space in it. He remained completely still as he felt himself being squeezed through a rubber tube. A crack filled his ears as he found it impossible to breathe for a split second before everything returned to normal. Opening his eyes, Harry found himself once again standing in the middle of his hoop.
A terrible shriek of pain forced Harry to quickly turn and see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop but something was missing. Her left leg apparently didn't make the journey and was standing five feet behind her. The Heads of House immediately moved to help and with a great bang followed by a puff of purple smoke, Susan was whole again although it looked like she wouldn't attempt Apparition any time soon.
"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," Wilkie Twycross said impassively, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation…thus." Without further ado, Twycross stepped forward and, with his arms extended, turned on the spot, silently vanishing only to reappear at the back of the Hall. "Remember the three Ds and try again…one…two…three…"
After another hour, Susan's Splinching and Harry's periodic Apparition were the only mentionable events. Harry had still not managed to Apparate while turning on the spot, something that was really irritating. Being able to Apparate meant nothing if he couldn't pass the Apparition test. There was also the high probability that he would need to Apparate while in motion in the future. Being only able to Apparate while stationary was impractical.
Twycross, on the other hand, was oblivious to Harry's dilemma as he shot Harry a smile while fastening his cloak at his neck. "Until next Saturday, everybody," he said as he pulled out his wand, "and do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation." Twycross waved his wand, vanishing the hoops, and walked with Professor McGonagall out of the Hall.
Chatter broke out as everyone filed out of the large room. Harry stayed behind, hoping to avoid the questions that were bound to come and speak to Remus. If anyone could explain the intricacies of something into simple English without making someone feel like a complete idiot, it was Remus. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron being pulled out of the Great Hall by Lavender and bit back a smile. He was still allowing her to basically wear the pants in the relationship.
A hand rested on his arm, quickly pulling him out of his thoughts. "Something wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked curiously.
Harry let out a sigh as he looked over at Remus, who was talking to Professor Flitwick. Their eyes met for a moment before Remus nodded slightly and returned to his conversation. "Not really," he answered as he turned his attention to Hermione. "Just thinking. Why do people stay in a relationship even when it's obvious they don't want to be?"
Hermione stared at Harry for a long moment before shrugging her shoulders. "You're asking the wrong person about relationships, Harry," she said truthfully. "Personally, I think Ron's afraid of whatever Lavender may do to him. You saw how she was when she thought Ron and I were off snogging somewhere. She was completely irrational." Hermione smiled slyly as she wrapped her arm around Harry's. "Honestly, everyone knows Cho and I are madly in love with you."
Harry let out a groan in annoyance. This was all becoming rather annoying. Why couldn't everyone see that he was only friends with Hermione and Cho? It was possible to have a friend who was a girl. It had been acceptable for five years. Why couldn't it be acceptable now? "Very funny, Hermione," Harry said dryly. "You better be careful. If anyone hears you talking like that—"
"—they'll hunt me down for officially taking Hogwarts' Most Desired Bachelor away from everyone," Hermione said in a bored tone as Remus excused himself and approached.
"Congratulations on Apparating today, Harry," Remus said proudly as he gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze. "I must say I'm surprised you accomplished it so soon."
"Actually, that's what I need to talk to you about," Harry countered, earning him curious looks from Hermione and Remus. "I can Apparate when I stand still but when I turn like we're supposed to, nothing happens. Well, I can feel it starting but the movement stops me from actually Apparating."
Remus rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "Interesting," he said more to himself than anything. "Turning on the spot was developed to help in Apparating." Remus glanced at Harry and smiled. "Think of it as a running start before a jump," he explained. "It provides momentum to help someone who would normally be afraid of trying something. Stationary Apparition is actually more difficult since the witch or wizard has to basically push themselves into another place. With practice, most are able to perform stationary Apparation just as easily as normal Apparition."
"But if that true then why can't Harry Apparate when turning?" Hermione asked curiously. "It should be a walk in the park for him."
Remus smiled. "It should be," he said truthfully, "unless the turning is providing a distraction." He gave Harry's shoulder another squeeze before ruffling up Harry's messy hair. "I'm only guessing, Harry, but I have a feeling that you are focusing your mind too much to will yourself into your hoop. Be patient. It'll come with time and practice. I promise."
Harry nodded, unable to hide the relief that he felt. At least there wasn't anything wrong. He was simply trying too hard. It made sense if you thought about it. The only reason he could clear his mind as well as he did was because of Occulmency lessons last year and training this year with his abilities. No one else had that sort of training so if they could learn Apparate normally, he could too.