Harry Potter and the Mind Mage
By James Milamber
A/N: Yes, I realise that Luna isn't a Gryffindor, but since she's the only Ravenclaw currently at Hogwarts and all the other students are Gryffindors, Dumbledore is allowing her to stay in Gryffindor Tower until term starts.
Ron and Ginny joined the other four students in the Gryffindor common room some time later. Harry waved Ginny over to a seat on the lounge next to him. Ginny hesitated, indecision momentarily gripping her until Ron gave her a gentle shove in Harry's direction. She sank onto the lounge, but kept a little distance between her and Harry.
It was Hermione who broke the silence. 'Okay Harry, we're all here. What did you want to tell us?'
Harry took a deep breath to steady his nerves. This was it. Until now, the only person he had told about the Prophecy and his role in the coming war was Ginny. He glanced at her now; her eyes were downcast, seemingly focused on the fire roaring on the hearth. He looked around at his other friends; Ron was watching him curiously, Hermione had her bottom lip caught between her teeth in anticipation, Neville looked anxious. Luna was looking at him intently, not at all like her usual dreamy self.
'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives.'
Harry repeated the Prophecy quietly; he had gone over it so many times he had it committed to memory now. As he spoke, he watched his friend's faces. Ginny was scowling, the same scowl she had worn every time they had discussed the Prophecy at Privet Drive. Ron looked puzzled, and Neville's face went deathly white as Harry finished speaking. Luna was watching him like a hawk.
Hermione, however, was looking at him in horror.
'But…you have to…surely not…' She bit her lip, then sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. 'Oh, Harry.'
'What's it mean?' Ron asked, obviously puzzled.
'Simple,' Luna said, as if discussing the weather. 'Either Harry kills You-Know-Who, or You-Know-Who will kill him.'
Ron gaped at her in horror.
'But…Harry can't…he couldn't…can you?' Ron looked hopefully at Harry.
'Look,' Harry said, catching each set of eyes in turn. 'If any of you don't want to go on, I'll understand. Chances are if you hang around me long enough, you'll get killed, so if you want to pull out, I won't blame you.'
'Don't be daft,' Ron said absently, obviously still struggling with the whole concept.
'I told you once before, Harry,' Ginny said, resting her head on his shoulder. 'You won't get rid of us that easily.'
'Of course I'm with you,' Hermione said, shaking her head. 'Honestly, do you think any of us would leave you at this point?'
'It could have been me, couldn't it?' Neville's face was still deathly pale.
Harry nodded reluctantly. 'Yes,' he said truthfully. 'It could have been.'
Neville closed his eyes, his lips moving slightly as if talking to himself. Finally he opened them, and his face took on a determined look.
'I'm with you,' he said firmly. 'I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'm with you.'
Harry looked at the round-faced boy gratefully. 'Thank you,' he said quietly. 'All of you.'
Hermione waved his thanks aside. 'If you don't have any choice in any of this, then I think the first step is to get as many students to join the DA as possible when term starts.' When Harry gave her a puzzled look, Hermione sighed. 'Think, Harry. If he's after you, what's going to be his first target?'
Harry's face went pale. 'Hogwarts.'
'Exactly,' Hermione said crisply. 'We need to train as many students as we can so that they can help the teachers defend the castle if Voldemort – oh really Ron, it's just a name – attacks.'
Ron had flinched violently when Hermione had said 'Voldemort'. 'Yeah, but it's the name of the git who's trying to kill my best friend!' he retorted.
'Maybe I should just leave,' Harry said pensively. 'Go to London, let myself be seen. Then Voldemort wouldn't have any reason to come after the school.'
'Don't be silly,' Ginny said sharply.
'I'm serious,' Harry sat up straight and made to stand.
'Get back here,' Ginny pulled him back into his seat. 'If you go traipsing off to London and get yourself killed, who's going to stop Voldemort?'
'You don't understand,' Harry said hotly. 'What if Voldemort attacks the castle? How could I live with myself if some little first year – or the whole student body – gets killed in a fight I'm the cause of?'
'I don't think they'd leave us alone just because you weren't here,' Neville said quietly. His face was still drawn and pale, and he was trembling slightly.
'That's true,' Luna said. 'Hogwarts is far too tempting to the Dark Lord for him to just pass it by, if only for the fact that it is Dumbledore's base of operations and there are several powerful members of the Order of the Phoenix stationed here.'
Everyone in the room stared at the blond Ravenclaw girl.
'What?' she asked, her head tilting to the side slightly.
Hermione gained her composure first. 'Umm…that's very true,' she said carefully.
Luna gazed at her. 'You know, there is a reason that I'm in Ravenclaw,' she said serenely.
Harry was trying very hard not to laugh at the look on Hermione's face. 'Okay,' he said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. 'I'll stay, but I'll need help from all of you if we're going to start training students.'
'We definitely need to speak with Professor Milton,' Hermione said thoughtfully. 'He could probably help you get some sort of training program together.'
'What about wandless fighting?' Neville asked. 'I know that Aurors get training in fighting without their wands, and fencing, and other stuff like that.'
'That's a good idea, Neville,' Hermione beamed at him and he flushed. 'We'll have to find someone to train with, though.' She frowned slightly, her brows knitting together as she thought.
'What about Tonks?' Ron suggested.
'You want to let Tonks in the same room as you with a long pointy object?' Harry asked incredulously.
Ron grinned. 'Definitely. One day over summer, before the…' he trailed off, took a deep breath, and continued, 'before the attack on the Burrow, she had the day off and came around to visit while Bill was there. When he mentioned that he was a curse breaker and had done a bit of Auror training, she insisted on having a duel with him.' Ron shook his head. 'It was embarrassing. Fighting with wands wasn't too bad, but when they got to fencing, Bill only lasted about three seconds, and I'd thought he was good before then. He's nothing on Tonks.'
'Okay, well the least we can do is ask her,' Harry looked at Hermione, who still looked dubious.
'She may not be able to get time off from the Ministry, especially if Death Eater activity is on the rise again.' That morning at breakfast, the Daily Prophet had arrived with the headline, Twenty-Three Dead In Death Eater Rampage.
'How important is this training?' Harry asked cautiously.
Hermione looked exasperated. 'Didn't I just say it was really important?'
Harry smiled. 'Okay then, I have an idea.'
'Like what?' Ron asked.
Harry grinned at his friend. 'Wait and see.'
========
Tonks arrived about two hours later. When she entered the Gryffindor common room, she was met with five incredulous looks and one pleased smile.
'Not happy to see me?' she teased, dropping into a seat beside Hermione.
'What…but…how…huh?'
Harry and Tonks exchanged a look and burst out laughing.
'Very smooth, Ron,' Ginny said, shaking her head. 'Hi Tonks,' she added.
'Hello Ginny,' Tonks said, her currently blue eyes taking in the girl's close proximity to Harry with a broad smile as Ginny flushed.
'Thanks for coming, Tonks,' Harry said gratefully.
'You're welcome.' She paused. 'Now…why exactly am I here?'
And so Harry explained his plan. He had slipped out and spoken to Dumbledore after their previous conversation, telling him of their plans and their need for Tonks. Dumbledore had agreed to his plan and immediately contacted Minister Fudge. Harry had waited outside Dumbledore's office during the conversation until the headmaster called him back in.
'It's all settled,' Dumbledore said, gazing at Harry from behind his steepled fingers. 'As you said, I suggested he place an Auror here permanently to guard you and the school. He was surprisingly accepting of the idea, so I suggested Nymphadora on the basis that you already knew her and were comfortable with her presence. She will be here within a few hours.'
As Harry finished his recital of his conversation with the headmaster, Tonks laughed. 'Anyway,' she took up the story, 'Shacklebolt came to me a few hours ago and told me I'd been restationed to Hogwarts. I should have had my suspicions by that point, but I thought it was just Dumbledore. Imagine my surprise when the first thing he said when I walked into his office was that I should speak with you lot.'
Everyone laughed, and Ginny nudged Harry. 'Are you sure you should be in Gryffindor? That sounds like a Slytherin's plan.'
'The Hat suggested it,' Harry said casually. The laughter abruptly ceased. 'Oh come on,' he said exasperatedly. 'Don't you all get it? Remember the Sorting Hat's song last year? We should be trying to get along with the other houses, not fighting them.'
'So long as you don't try to make me be friendly with Malfoy, I'll be alright,' Ron declared.
Ginny grinned at her brother. 'Ron, it's hard enough trying to stop you two from murdering each other. Believe me, we have no delusions that you will ever be friends.'
Everyone laughed at that, dispelling the tension that had built up at Harry's comment. It reminded him, however, of just how far he had to go. He himself was (rather painfully) beginning to get over his prejudices, but it may take a lot longer for some to get the idea. He sighed pensively as Ron and Hermione explained their ideas to Tonks.
Only Ginny noticed his sigh. She didn't speak, but her arm snaked it's way around his waist as she squeezed him slightly. Harry smiled slightly, glancing down into Ginny's brown eyes, seeing them wide with concern.
Seconds later, his scar exploded with pain.
A/N: Muahahahaha! I love seeing Luna show Hermione up :)
Also, if anyone has a story that they would like edited (yes, I do edit my own work), I'd be happy to take a look. Shoot me an e-mail (the address is listed in my profile) if you're interested.
