Chapter 5: Problem Solved
Harry fell to the floor with a crash, hands pressed tightly over his scar. While the students gasped in shock and craned their necks to get a better view Dumbledore rushed to Harry's side. Fudge and Umbridge backed away, dumbfounded.
"Harry?" As Dumbledore rested a hand on the young wizard's shoulder Lupin and McGonagall attempted to calm the students. After a minute or so Dumbledore felt Harry relax. He slowly removed his hands from his face.
"Are you okay?" Dumbledore asked .
"I need to talk to you," Harry muttered, standing up. Dumbledore nodded and turned towards the head table.
"Minerva, kindly take over my speech for me. Severus, please show Cornelius and Delores out, and Harry, come with me."
He then led Harry through the hall, not letting him say a word until they were safely in his office with the door shut behind them.
"This way we don't have to worry about being overheard," Dumbledore explained, sitting down and gesturing for Harry to do the same. "Now, about Cornelius—"
"I know that I shouldn't have lost my temper, but that's not what I wanted to talk about," said Harry quickly.
"I see, then what was it?"
"I know that, well, Voldemort can plant images into my head and all, but can he pretend to feel things? I mean, when I felt that he was angry a little while ago, was he really mad, or was he just pretending to be?"
"I believe that those were really his feelings," Dumbledore informed him.
Harry, unsure of what to say, simply nodded and looked around the room, noticing that something was missing.
"Well, hopefully that's good news for us," Dumbledore commented. He paused, then voiced a question Harry had not expected. "Is the curse gone?"
"Not all the way, although it all got a lot less visible, and the yelling has gotten softer. Why?"
"Because I believe that what Miss Lovegood proposed was a good suggestion."
Harry was about to ask how he knew about that when he stopped. This was, after all, Dumbledore, the man that knew everything that was said between others. Instead he said, "Hermione didn't think it was."
"Still, I bet you're happy that the curse has at least died down some, aren't you?" asked Dumbledore.
"Yeah, I am," Harry admitted, then gasped. The room in his head was now barely visible. "You did that on purpose!" Harry accused the older wizard, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Did what?" asked Dumbledore as if he had no idea what was going on.
"It's almost all the way gone!" Harry exclaimed. "Do something else!"
"What about this?" Dumbledore inquired, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out an envelope with the Hogwarts seal on it. He handed it over to Harry, who looked at it, puzzled. "I probably should have given this to you back in June, but we were a bit preoccupied. But I think this might be just what you need to get rid of the last of the curse."
Harry was about to open the envelope when a crack like a gunshot rang through the room. Harry and Dumbledore looked around to find the source of the noise. A single phoenix feather floated, gleaming, in the air with a note attached to it. That was when Harry realized what was missing: Fawkes.
Dumbledore raised himself from his chair and retrieved the letter. He read it quickly and turned to Harry.
"Remus would like to come up here. Would you mind?"
"Of course not," said Harry, startled that Dumbledore would even have to ask. The older wizard muttered something and the feather vanished. This must have led the visitor in, because seconds later there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
Harry turned in his chair to see Lupin walk in. He took one look at Harry and smiled. "I just thought that I'd come and see how Harry was doing. He had everyone rather frightened back there."
"I'm fine," Harry told him which was, shockingly enough, sort of true.
"We were just about to view his O.W.L. results," Dumbledore informed Lupin, taking his seat once again.
"That's what these are?" Harry gasped; he had completely forgotten about them.
"That's right, you never got those did you?" Lupin asked Harry, shook his head and looked down at the envelope in his hand.
"Well, open it," encouraged Lupin.
Hesitantly Harry opened the letter and looked down at his grades in shock.
AstronomyPoor
Care of Magical CreaturesOutstanding
CharmsOutstanding
Defense Against the Dark ArtsOutstanding
DivinationPoor
HerbologyOutstanding
History of MagicDreadful
PotionsExceeds Expectations
Transfiguration Exceeds Expectations
"Four 'Outstanding's?" Harry asked incredulously, passing the paper to Lupin.
"Well done," he beamed, handing it back to Harry, who looked back down at it, shocked. He turned to give it to Dumbledore but the headmaster shook his head.
"I already know what you got," he told him.
"Of course you do," Harry smiled. Then he stopped. "Hey, the curse is gone!"
"See, I thought that would help," nodded Dumbledore, smiling.
"Then why didn't you give him that a month ago?" asked Lupin.
"Because that wouldn't have helped the curse when it was that strong. But as it seems, Harry need only feel extremely angry and it will lessen the effects of the curse. I guess that we should have invited Cornelius over a long time ago, then," he added thoughtfully.
Harry laughed for the first time in months, then frowned. "So what do you think about Voldemort being angry? Is it something to worry about?"
"Harry, Voldemort's always something to worry about. But I don't want you to worry about it. All I want you to worry about are your Occlumency lessons. I am instructing a new teacher for you."
"Who?" Harry asked, both pleased that it wasn't Snape and upset that he still had to learn it, even though he now knew exactly how important it was.
"I believe that would be me," answered Lupin.
"You?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, why would you prefer someone else?"
"No!" Harry exclaimed, "I'm just glad that it's not Snape."
"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected him. Harry ignored him.
"So, you'll be teaching me," Harry muttered, more to himself than to Lupin.
"Yes, but we also think that I should teach Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood as well," Lupin told him.
"Why?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Because..." Dumbledore struggled to find the words. That was when Harry realized it.
"Because they're his main targets," he murmured aloud. The expression on Dumbledore's face was answer enough.
"But why Neville and Luna? Luna I hardly even know and Neville—"
"Were both in the Department of Mysteries," Lupin reminded him. Harry swore under his breath, remembering.
"I told them not to come," he sighed to himself.
"Harry, we're not sure that they're in danger, we just want to make sure. If we could we would teach everyone Occlumency," Lupin told him in attempt to make him feel better. Seeing that he was not comforted Dumbledore decided to change the subject.
"So, tell me about this army that I came up with."
Harry started. He had completely forgotten about the D.A. He was about to apologize when he saw the look in Dumbledore's twinkling eyes. He then began to tell them all about the D.A. and what all they had learned.
"...and we had been working on Patronuses when we were discovered," Harry finished.
"Patronuses?" exclaimed Lupin, looking impressed. "Could many of them do it?"
"Well, I'd say about ten out of the 27 could. I just thought that it would have worked better if we could have gotten a boggart so that they could practice in front of a dementor like I had, but given the circumstances..."
"Well, what do you think of continuing this club of yours?" Dumbledore asked him. Harry gaped at him.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm not. I think that it is a good idea that you all be as prepared as possible. Alastor and Remus can help you if you need them. You can use the Great Hall if you wish."
"Actually, would it be alright if we continued in the Room of Requirement? It comes complete with tons of defense books and pillows for stunning...it even has Moody's old Dark Detectors."
"If that's what you want, go right ahead. I shall make an announcement tomorrow. When did you normally meet?"
"Eight o'clock. The day changed every week, because we had to accommodate three different Quidditch schedules, and this way it was harder for others to discover a pattern," Harry told them. Both older wizards nodded their approval.
"When do you wish to start it back up again?" Dumbledore asked.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to wait a while to see if maybe we can come up with more ideas later when I'm not so tired."
"Yes, you must be exhausted," sympathized Dumbledore. "Why don't you head on back to your dormitory and get some sleep?"
"Sure," agreed Harry, suddenly afraid that he would be faced with the same dreams that he had to face before the curse.
"And on your way why don't you stop by and ask Madame Pomfrey for a dreamless sleep potion?" added Dumbledore.
"Thanks," Harry muttered, standing up.
"Would you please tell the people mentioned to meet in my office at 8 pm on Thursday?" asked Lupin.
"Okay," Harry agreed.
"Remember not to tell anyone else, and make sure that they know that too," Dumbledore reminded him.
"I will," Harry assured them, turning towards the door.
"And Harry?"
He turned around to see both Lupin and Dumbledore watching him.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight," returned Harry.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Lupin said. And with that Harry turned and left the office.
Chapter 6: Danger From Foes
Harry stumbled into the common room twenty minutes later. Madame Pomfrey had told him that she was unfortunately out of dreamless sleep potions, and suggested that he go see Professor Snape, since he had had all the necessary ingredients over the summer and perhaps he still had some of the potion left. Seeing as how he would rather die than go to Snape for help, Harry politely declined and wandered back to the common room, ignoring his fellow students' commentary as he walked.
When Harry entered the room he saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville talking quietly in a corner. Harry smiled to himself; how much easier could it get?
"Harry!" cried Hermione when she saw him, beckoning to him. "Come on over here, we were just talking about you!"
"Well, isn't that inviting?" Harry joked, joining the group and disregarding his classmates calling out to him.
"Hey, you were sarcastic!" realized Ron.
"Very good," applauded Harry, smiling.
"But, but, does that mean that—"
"Yup, the curse is gone."
"Oh Harry!" squealed Hermione, hugging him. "But how?"
"Fudge got me really mad, and that got rid of most of it. And then Dumbledore showed me my O.W.L. results."
"Ooh! What did you get?" asked Hermione automatically.
Harry handed her the sheet. It was difficult not to laugh at the look on Hermione's face as she looked down at his grades.
"Wow, Harry, this is really good," Hermione congratulated him as she passed his grades to the others.
"What did you get? Let me guess, all O's?" he asked her.
"No," said Hermione, slightly defensively. "I got an E in Astronomy."
"Boohoo," pouted Harry in friendly sarcasm. He turned to Ron and Neville. "What did you guys get?"
"I don't remember," stated Ron. "I'll show you the sheet later."
'I remember what you got," Hermione declared. "You got P's in Divination, Astronomy, and History of Magic, E's in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures , and Herbology, and A's in Transfiguration and Potions." They all stared at her. "What?"
"You remember that?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Yes, and I know Neville's grades, too," she said impressively. "An O in Herbology, E's in Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, P's in Divination and History of Magic, and A's in everything else." They continued to gape at her.
"You are really weird," Ron told her. Hermione scowled.
"Just because I remember what people get on very important tests—"
"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I'm really, really tired. I'll just see you guys tomorrow," Harry interrupted. He had just turned to go upstairs when he remembered what it was that he wanted to talk to them about in the first place. "I forgot, Dumbledore wants us all to learn Occlumency," he told them, turning back around to face them.
"What?" Hermione asked, alarmed.
"What's Occlumency?" asked Neville.
"I'll explain later, the point is that Dumbledore wants you guys to learn it too. Lupin will be teaching us, but no one else can know besides the five of us and Luna," Harry informed them.
"Luna?" asked Ginny.
"Yeah, she has to learn it, too. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Just meet in Lupin's office at 8 pm Thursday. Oh, and I forgot to mention; Dumbledore wants us to restart the DA."
"Really?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, so we need to start coming up with ideas. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow."
"Goodnight," they chorused.
"G'night," Harry called and went on up to bed.
xxx
He was standing in the middle of a large circle of hooded people in masks. He moved slowly along the line until he came to a certain person.
"Rookwood!"
The Death Eater cowered at being addressed but never the less turned his head up to gaze at Harry.
"Y-yes Master?" he stammered.
"I thought that you said that when something happens to one of the prophecies that the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecy replaces it."
"Yes, Master, that's right."
"Then why is it," retorted Harry," that when I went to retrieve it I found that the door had been locked?"
"L-locked Master?"
"Yes," snapped Harry," locked. Meaning that absolutely nothing that I tried permitted me access to that room."
"Are you sure that you tried the right door, my lord?" questioned the Death Eater.
"Are you questioning my authority?" Harry demanded.
"NO!" cried the Death Eater, "I was merely saying that there is only one room in the Department of Mysteries that is kept locked at all times. Maybe, maybe because of what happened a few months ago, they sealed that off too...my lord."
"How do they seal the doors?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure, my lord. All that I know is that they were sealed so that no one could gain entrance except for an elite few, and I was never one of them."
"Go figure...it doesn't matter. I have a new plan to learn the prophecy. Severus!" Harry called suddenly, turning to another wizard who stood up straight and tall when he was addressed.
"Yes, my lord?"
"How was Potter doing in his Occlumency lessons?"
"Not very well," Snape informed him. "3 months of practice and no improvement. Dumbledore's assigning the werewolf to teach him, but there's nothing to worry about. In the time I spent with the brat he seemed to get worse if anything."
"Good. How is coming along with the curse?"
"Apparently he threw it off after he told off Fudge. They seemed to have found a loophole."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that Potter only needed to be extremely angry and it would lessen it."
"I see. Does Dumbledore suspect anything?"
"My lord?"
"Does he suspect that I removed it?"
"No my lord, as far as they're concerned there's no counter curse."
"There's not. But, seeing as how it would be an Unforgivable if the Ministry knew about it, it falls under the same category as one. Meaning that you have to be focused on it, and I took my focus off of it when I was trying to get the prophecy. But no matter, I have a new plan now..."
"What is it Master?" asked one Death Eater eagerly. The others in the circle winced at the amateur.
"I will tell you when I feel it necessary," sneered Harry, raising his wand. "It would appear that I need to teach you a little patience. Crucio!"
The Death Eater immediately dropped to the ground and started screaming in agony. The scar on Harry's forehead seared with pain; he sat bolt upright in bed and woke up his entire dormitory with one long, piercing scream.
Chapter 7: Occlumency
The next morning Harry got up early and, ignoring Ron's questions, left Gryffindor tower and walked up to Dumbledore's office. He gave the password that he had heard Dumbledore use the previous night (Phoenix) and proceeded up the stairs. He was about to knock on the door when the sound of voices inside made him stop.
"...removed the curse from Harry, no wonder the curse went away so fast," he heard Lupin say.
"Did you find out what the plan was?" Moody growled.
"No, I just know that it has something to do with getting the prophecy out of Potter," Snape informed them.
Harry stood still, not wanting them to know that he had been eavesdropping yet knowing that they probably already knew anyway. Not only could Moody's magical eye see through doors but Dumbledore himself was in there and Harry knew that that man knew everything that went on it that castle. Figuring that he had better do something quick, Harry knocked on the door.
"Come on in, Harry," called Dumbledore.
Harry opened the door and saw that Dumbledore, Lupin, Snape, Moody, Fred, George, and Mrs. Weasley were all assembled inside.
"Should have known, a private conversation between members of the Order and Potter comes running," sneered Snape. Harry scowled.
"I came here to find out whether a dream I had involving you telling Voldemort how bad I was at Occlumency really took place. I'm glad that I know that it did," Harry retorted.
"You saw that?" Snape asked him.
"I believe I just said that," Harry spat.
"Ten points from Gryffindor!" Snape snapped. "For disrespect towards a Professor." Harry rolled his eyes but decided that it would probably be in his best interest not to anger the professor more.
"I thought that you were going to go and ask Madame Pomfrey for a dreamless sleep potion," Dumbledore inquired.
"I was, but she said that she was out so I just went back to the common room." Harry paused before voicing a question that had been bothering him. "So Voldemort still wants to learn the prophecy and now he wants me to tell him?"
"It appears so," stated Dumbledore, "which is why you must learn Occlumency as soon a s you can. I'm pushing the meeting up to tonight. Have you informed your friends?"
"The ones in Gryffindor," Harry answered, not sure whether he was supposed to mention Luna's name or not.
"Good. Go now and tell them that the meting is 8 o'clock tonight," Dumbledore said. Harry could tell that Dumbledore still wasn't going to tell him what was going on. He nodded and turned to leave when Dumbledore called him back. "Harry, did you tell anyone about the prophecy?"
Harry turned back around to look in Dumbledore's eyes. "No," he said truthfully.
"Good. Don't, at least not until everyone has learned Occlumency." Harry nodded to show that he had understood.
"I'll see you all later," he said and left.
xxx
Harry walked to the Great Hall and was relieved to see them all sitting at the table. He walked over and sat down next to Neville.
"Hey, Harry. What did you need to see Dumbledore about?" asked Ron.
"Never mind, Occlumency lessons have been pushed up to tonight," he told them when he was sure no one else was listening.
"Why?" asked Hermione, alarmed.
Harry thought for a moment. He couldn't tell them that it was because Voldemort was trying to get the prophecy out of him because they didn't know that he knew it in the first place. Instead he said, "Dumbledore changed his mind and wants us to start as soon as possible." That was true enough.
"Are you going to go tell Luna or do you want me to?" asked Ginny.
"Um...u go do it, that way it won't look suspicious. Remember: 8 o'clock, Lupin's office, don't tell anyone," he reminded her.
"I'll remember," promised Ginny, standing up. "I'd better go now then. I have potions first and I don't want to be late."
"Don't worry, Snape's in a meeting with Dumbledore," Harry told her.
"Thanks," she said and walked off.
"So what is Occlumency?" asked Neville.
"It's something that stops people from entering your mind," Harry told him. Neville raised his eye brows.
"Entering your mind?"
"Yeah, like finding out information, telling whether or not you're lying, misguiding your thoughts..." Harry trailed off.
"Oh," said Neville comprehensively. "Great, this is gonna be really hard isn't it?
Harry didn't answer.
xxx
8 o'clock that night found Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna all standing in front of Lupin, who was explaining Occlumency.
"...it's a very complex curse to beat, as Harry can tell you, but I have complete faith that all of you will do just fine."
"So did Sirius," Harry muttered, receiving a frown from Lupin.
"Harry can go first since he already knows what to expect. Remember, only use your wand as a last resort. One...two...three...Legilimens!"
Harry was facing Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, his wand pointed at his godfather's heart. "Going to kill me, Harry?" whispered Sirius...Sirius was hiding in a cave off of Hogsmeade, "What are you doing here?" Harry asked. "Fulfilling my duty as a godfather. Don't worry, I'm pretending to be a loveable stray..." "Poor Snuffles," Ron commented. "He must really like you, Harry, imagine having to live off of rats..." Sirius was falling behind the veil as Bellatrix's evil, baby-like voice rang out through his head..."Awww...did you love him, little baby Potter?..."
"Yes!" Harry burst out, falling to his knees. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Lupin helped Harry to his feet and talked quietly to him while the others looked at him, perplexed.
"I'm here if you need to talk, okay?"
Harry nodded and turned to the others, determined to stay strong and keep the tears from falling.
"Who's next?" asked Lupin.
After seeing Harry collapse the others were somewhat reluctant to volunteer. Apprehensively, Hermione stepped forward.
"Excellent," stated Lupin, raising his wand. "Try to close your mind. One... two... three.. .Legilimens!"
It was very weird to watch from the sidelines, as Harry quickly discovered. Neville did even worse than Harry did and, surprisingly, Luna did the best. She was able to hold Lupin off for a few seconds by the time the hour was up.
"Good job, everyone. We'll meet here the same time tomorrow as well. Remember to rid your mind of emotion every night before you go to bed. I'll see you all tomorrow. Harry, if you could stay a moment..."
"Do you want us to wait for you?" asked Ron.
Harry shook his head.
"I'll meet you guys in the common room." As soon as they were out of the room Lupin closed the door behind them and turned to Harry.
"Are you alright?" he asked the young wizard before him, concern apparent on his face. Harry nodded.
"He loved you, you know. More than anything," Lupin told him.
"Yeah, and look where it got him," said Harry sadly.
"Harry, you can't blame yourself for his death," said Lupin quietly.
"Why not?" demanded Harry. "After all, if I hadn't been such a dumbass and gone after him—"
"Harry, you had no idea that this one dream of Voldemort wasn't real—"
"Hermione told me that it was just a dream! She said that I was supposed to act as if I hadn't seen anything. If I had even bothered to learn Occlumency in the first place I wouldn't even need to worry about pretending that I hadn't seen it because I really wouldn't have seen it!" Harry protested.
"Harry, Sirius was the only person whom you have loved enough to consider a parent. You saw him being tortured and placed his survival above all else. You risked expulsion, imprisonment in Azkaban, and even death in order to save him. No one can blame you for making the decision to go after him, because you made it with your heart."
Harry looked down at his feet, determined to keep the tears that were welling up in his eyes from falling. He had to remain strong, for he knew that if he were to fall apart now then no one would ever be able to pick up the pieces. He felt a hand on his shoulder but continued to stare unseeingly at the ground.
"Harry," started Lupin gently but Harry pulled away from him quickly and looked up into Lupin's warm brown eyes.
"I should go now, I still have a lot of stuff to plan for the DA and Dumbledore wants us to have our first meeting on Thursday..."
"Harry."
Harry stopped talking and looked back up at Lupin.
"I'm here if you need to talk to me, okay?"
"You already told me that," Harry reminded him.
"I know, I'm trying to carve it into your brain." Lupin's tone was humorous but the meaning was serious. Harry nodded and turned to leave when Lupin called him back.
"May I make a suggestion?"
"Of course," said Harry, glad that they were done talking about Sirius.
"You should first review all the things that you guys covered last year and then start up again on Patronuses. If you want I can teach you how to block curses, and then you can teach them that," Lupin suggested.
"That sounds good," agreed Harry. "When do you want to start?"
"You can come by tomorrow at seven before the others get here if you want."
"Sure...um...how long does it take to learn how to block spells?" Harry asked curiously.
"It's not too difficult," Lupin assured him. "I'm sure that you'll have it down within a few days at most."
"Thanks. I'd better go now, I have Potions tomorrow and Snape'll skin me alive if I mess up on something..."
"I thought that you had to get an O in Potions to continue in that class."
"So did I," confessed Harry. "I think that Professor McGonagall talked to him."
"Is that good or bad?" asked Lupin, his eyes twinkling.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," yawned Harry.
"I'll let you go sleep then," said Lupin.
"Thanks, see you tomorrow," said Harry.
When he got back to the common room he quickly spotted Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville.
"Hey," greeted Harry.
"Occlumency is hard!" whined Neville.
"Yeah, you didn't tell us that you had to watch the worst moments of your life!" complained Ron.
"Didn't I?" asked Harry indifferently. "Whatever, I talked to Lupin and he said that for the DA we should review what we already learned and pick up on Patronuses again."
"Yes, that was what I was thinking," said Hermione. "But what about after that?"
"I'm working on it," said Harry, thinking of what Lupin had told him.
"Can you believe that Luna was the best?" asked Ron.
"Hmm..." growled Hermione, apparently upset by the fact that Luna had done better than she had.
"Oh lighten up, Hermione," grinned Ginny, sensing the problem. "Just because you don't like her---"
"Who said I didn't like her?" asked Hermione. "Just because everything that she comes up with is complete crap—"
"How do you know?" Harry demanded suddenly.
"Harry, come on, a Crumple Horned Snorkack?"
"So what?" pressed Harry, suddenly upset. "Just because you've never seen one—"
"Or heard of one," added Hermione.
"Hermione, people thought that I was crazy for believing that Voldemort was back. They thought that I was lying about the dementors. And, if I remember correctly, Luna was the only one who didn't think that I was crazy when I saw those thestrals and she was the only one who believed me when I heard those voices behind that veil!"
"That's not true," said Neville quietly. "I believed you too."
"You did?" asked Harry, anger forgotten.
Neville nodded. "I heard them too."
"You did?" asked Harry, again. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Everyone was too busy," Neville shrugged. "I'm going to bed, I'm tired. I'll see you guys in the morning."
"Yeah me too," agreed Ginny.
After they had bid Ginny and Neville goodnight Hermione turned to Harry.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Forget it," Harry told her. "I don't know why I got so upset in the first place..."
in reality Harry knew exactly why he was upset. After talking to Luna at the end of last year he began to realize how much Luna went through. Everyone thought that she was crazy, and Harry didn't want to add to it. Noticing that Ron and Hermione were still watching him he quickly changed the subject.
"So, what's Dumbledore telling about the DA?"
"I don't know," said Hermione. "I thought that he was making an announcement about it today."
"So did I," muttered Harry. "Maybe he wants to keep it a secret."
"A secret?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, he doesn't want Voldemort's supporters learning what we learned," answered Hermione.
"Oh, I was thinking that he didn't want them to know what we were learning," replied Harry.
"That works too," agreed Hermione.
Harry yawned. He had forgotten how tired he was. "I'm gonna go to bed too," he told them. "I'll see you guys in the morning."
"Goodnight."
Harry walked upstairs, took off his robes, and climbed into bed. It wasn't until he heard a piece of parchment crunch that he realized he was laying on something. Reaching behind his head, he pulled out a note and looked down at the familiar handwriting.
Meet me in my office tomorrow morning at seven. We need to discuss the DA. It won't take long—Albus Dumbledore.
Groaning, Harry crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it across the room, not caring where it went. Then he fell asleep.
Chapter 8: Surprises
The next morning Harry woke up and trudged back up to Dumbledore's office. He muttered the password, knocked on the door, and entered.
"Harry, have a seat," greeted Dumbledore.
Doing as instructed, Harry sat down. "So what about the DA?"
"How many people were in it?"
"Including Ron, Hermione, and me? Twenty-eight, but that was last year, several people left last year."
"I will let everyone know that the DA is back on. Anyone who was not in there last year but would like to be in it this year can fill out a form to turn in to me. At the end of the wee we can review them and pick a list of new recruits, so to speak. They can join in at the next meeting. If you would be so kind as to tell the students what spells that they would need to know so that they can be prepared—"
"Actually, sir, we were going to review what we learned last year, so it would probably be best that they attend the first meeting."
"Okay, then push that meeting back to next Thursday. This weekend I want to get to meet the newcomers to see if they will be allowed in it."
"You mean see if they appear to be spies for Voldemort," said Harry.
Dumbledore ignored him.
xxx
"So now the meeting's next Thursday?" asked Ron.
"Yup," said Harry, picking at his toast.
"And Dumbledore wants to get knew people in it?" inquired Hermione. Harry nodded.
"He wants me to come up with a list of everything that we covered last year. I'm gonna need your help. I don't remember," Harry told them.
"We can do that later tonight," Hermione assured him, finishing her breakfast and looking at her watch. "Come on, we'd better get going to Transfiguration."
"Great," muttered Harry, standing up. He noticed that Ron was still sitting. "Aren't you coming?"
Ron looked up at him and shook his head.
"Why not?" asked Harry.
"You need to get at least an E to get in," said Ron simply.
Harry gaped at him. He had completely forgotten that. He had known that Ron wasn't in potions, but that was because Harry wasn't even supposed to be in there. Harry opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again.
"Oh...well...I guess I'll see you later," said Harry, attempting to smile. Ron nodded, then walked over to join Neville a few seats down. Harry was still staring at Ron's vacant seat when a voice jogged his memory.
"Harry, come on, we're going to be late."
Snapping out of his reverie, Harry turned and followed Hermione to class. He was still thinking of Ron's absence when Professor McGonagall entered, lecturing them on how hard the following year was going to be.
xxx
An hour later Harry stumbled into Defense Against the Dark Arts and was relieved to see that Ron was there, as well as the rest of his class. He supposed that with the ongoing threat of Voldemort everybody had to take this class.
"How was Transfiguration?" asked Ron.
"Weird," confessed Harry. "What did you do?"
"What? Oh, Neville and I had a free period, so we finished that list that Dumbledore wanted."
"Really?" asked Harry.
"Yeah," said Ron, pulling out a list and handing it to Harry, who looked at it, amazed.
"We covered all this?"
"Yeah," said Ron. "It was hard work."
"Thanks," said Harry.
"Where's Lupin?" asked Hermione.
"Don't worry, he'll be here," Harry assured her, although he started looking around as well. He felt someone behind him; the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Instinctively, Harry made to grab his wand. That was when he heard a voice behind him cry "Expelliarmus!"
Harry reacted quickly. He spun around so fast that he nearly knocked Ron off of his chair. Before the spell hit him he had cried, "Protego!"
The spell rebounded upon the person who cast it, who deflected it easily. The person looked down at Harry with a smile on his face.
"That is what I expect out of each and every one of you," said Lupin. "You can never let your guard down and must be prepared to defend yourselves at all times. Good job, Harry."
The class stared. Lupin looked at them with his eyebrows raised.
"What are you waiting for? Divide into pairs and get ready to duel. We're going to have a contest."
Everybody's ears immediately perked up as soon as they heard the word 'contest'. Harry paired up with Ron so Hermione was left with Neville. As soon as the class was paired up Lupin began again.
"Everyone will duel it out for five minutes. It doesn't have to last that long, but the longer it lasts the better the duelers are...usually. If both of you are still up by the end of the five minutes you will both move on to the next round. If one of you ends up stunned or incapable of defending yourself then you will be disqualified. The winner of each class will go on to the school-wide tournament that will take place in the Great Hall on Sunday. They will also win the title of their class' best dueler. Also, the winner of the school wide tournament will get fifty points added to their house, as well as a special award that will be placed in the Trophy Room."
"Well that's not fair!" exclaimed Seamus.
"What's not fair?" asked Lupin.
"Well, Harry's had to face You-Know-Who tons of times, so he's had a lot more practice!"
"Lucky me," muttered Harry sarcastically.
Seamus, realizing what he had just said, looked ashamed of himself. "That's not what I meant."
"It doesn't matter," said Harry. "I just won't be in it, that's all."
"Yes you will," said Lupin. "This contest is to determine who the best dueler is. You get better the more practice that you have. It's not your fault that Voldemort's been after you since before you were born."
Harry, despite how he was currently feeling, had to use all the self control he possessed to keep himself from bursting out laughing. Nearly everyone one in the room made some sort of notion at the sound of Voldemort's name. Lupin, noticing the sudden change, spoke again.
"Why are you all so afraid of Voldemort's name?"
Harry sat up in his chair. This had been something that he was always curious about. No one spoke.
"Well?" asked Lupin.
"He's the most evil wizard ever!" said Lavender finally.
"So fear him. Why his name?"
No one seemed to be able to come up with a reason. Lupin seemed to realize that this conversation was going to get him no where, so he moved on.
"I will not force any of you to say his name aloud—yet. Just be warned that I will not tolerate anymore wincing or anything at the sound of 'Voldemort'."
Immediately the entire class winced and Lupin laughed. "Now, I notice that all of you have matched up with your best friends. That's fine. Just don't go easy on each other or I'll have to disqualify you."
Ron raised his hand.
"Yes?" Lupin nodded to him.
"Can I chose a new partner?" The class laughed, all except Harry, who gave his best friend a mocked hurt look.
"Why?" asked Lupin.
"Because he's loads better than I am!" declared Ron.
"So is Voldemort. Do you think that he doesn't fight people just because he's more powerful than they are?"
Harry caught Lupin's eye and smiled. Lupin winked.
"Okay, we're about to begin. Remember, don't go easy on your partner because they're your friends. Voldemort's Death Eaters won't go easy on anyone and you've got to know how to defend yourselves."
"You should have just gotten us some Slytherins then," muttered Dean. Lupin frowned.
"Not all Death Eaters are Slytherins and not all Slytherins are Death Eaters. It's important that you know that."
"Name one Death Eater that's not a Slytherin," challenged Dean.
"Peter Pettigrew," Harry answered curtly before Lupin could.
"Who's that?" asked Seamus.
"The man that everyone confuses with Sirius Black."
Everyone was looking at Harry, who glared right back.
"What?" asked Dean.
"Never mind," interrupted Lupin. "On with the contest. On your mark, get set, GO!"
Ron turned to Harry. "Let's just save us both some time and say that you won."
"Why don't you try? Are you gonna surrender to Voldemort just because you don't think that you can win?"
"Pretty much."
"Why?"
"Because there's no way that I can beat him—or you!"
"That's what I thought every time that I fought him," admitted Harry. "You might surprise yourself. Now come on, before Lupin yells at us."
"Expelliarmus!" cried Ron.
"Protego!"
Ron's spell bounced back to Ron, who, instead of dodging it, got hit with it, sending his wand spiraling across the room. As Ron dove to get it Harry yelled, "Accio wand!"
Ron's wand soared into Harry's waiting hand. Desperately Ron threw himself at his best friend, intending to catch him off guard. Unfortunately for Ron that is, Harry screamed, "Petrifucus Totalus!" Ron was hit in mid-leap, causing him to fall on the floor with a thud. Harry walked over to his rigid friend and looked down at him.
"That was pathetic," Harry told him. Unable to say anything in response, Ron just glared at Harry. Just then Lupin walked over.
"Well, I see we have a winner," he said, smiling down at Ron. "Finite Incantatem." Finally Ron was able to stand up.
"Gee, big surprise there," he said sarcastically, snatching his wand back from Harry. He glared at his best friend for a second, then smiled. "Good job."
"You too, I guess," said Harry, looking around to see if anyone else was still dueling. No one was.
"Okay, the winners of this round were Harry, Hermione, Dean, and Parvati. You four divide into pairs and we'll try this again."
Parvati instantly picked Hermione, so Dean reluctantly turned towards Harry.
"You're not gonna go easy on me, are you?"
"Would Voldemort?" was Harry's response. He raised his wand.
"On three," said Lupin. "One...two...three!"
"Expelliarmus!" cried Harry.
Dean just barely missed it. He screamed, "Rictusempra!"
"Protego!" cried Harry.
This spell hit Dean, who started doubling up with laughter.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry used this spell again, only this time, instead of shouting it, he whispered it. Dean, who was laughing so hard that he didn't even hear Harry's spell, was surprised to feel his wand fly out of his hand.
"Another match done," said Lupin, removing Harry's spell from Dean and re-awakening Parvati. "It all comes down to this final match between Harry and Hermione."
Everyone gathered around, eager to see this battle. Harry and Hermione faced each other.
"Now, all of you seem to have forgotten your manners. Does anyone remember how you're supposed to begin a duel?"
"Bow," spat Harry bitterly, remembering his graveyard duel with Voldemort.
"Correct now bow."
Harry and Hermione bowed to each other.
"Good. One...two...three!"
"Petrificus Totalus!" cried Hermione.
Harry dodged her spell and cried, "Impedimenta!"
"Impedimenta!"
"Protego!"
Harry dodged her spell again, this time attempting to disarm her. "Expelliarmus!"
Now it was Hermione's turn to dodge his spell. That was when Harry realized that they'd be doing this all day, simply dodging each others' spells. He needed something to distract her. Then he got an idea.
"Expecto Patronum!" cried Harry. An enormous silver stag erupted out of the end of Harry's wand and ran in circles around Hermione, who was taken back by the sudden blinding light. Harry used this to his advantage and cried, "Petrificus Totalus!" The spell hit Hermione squared in the chest, sending her flying backwards.
"Latenant!" said Harry, slowing her fall. "Expelliarmus," he finished, holding out his hand for her wand.
The room erupted with cheers. Harry immediately bent down to help Hermione to her feet. She smiled at him. "Congratulations."
"Harry is our winner, meaning that he will attend the final few rounds that will start at noon on Sunday in the Great Hall. We will have a winner for each year, and then they will compete. Good luck, Harry."
The bell rang.
"Your homework is to practice those spells some more!" Lupin called after them.
Harry left with Ron and Hermione. Once they were outside Hermione faced him. "What made you think of using a Patronus?"
"I had to distract you, otherwise we would have been there all day," Harry told her. "Anyway, I'd better take this list of spells to Dumbledore. It's funny, last year I don't speak to him for six months and now, all of a sudden, I'm seeing him everyday."
Ron and Hermione laughed. "See you later."
Harry nodded and walked up to Dumbledore's office.
xxx
"Wow, I didn't expect you to have the list so fast," said Dumbledore, impressed.
"Neither did I," Harry told him. "Ron and Neville did it while I was in Transfiguration."
"That was very nice of them. Now, is there anything else that you'd like to discuss?"
Harry shook his head. "I just came to give you the list that you asked for. I guess I'll talk to you later."
"Harry, would you, Ron, and Hermione meet me here on Sunday? I'd like to review with you the new DA members."
"It'll have to wait until that contest of Lupin's is over, but sure."
"I knew you'd get in," said Dumbledore approvingly. "Who came in second?"
"Hermione."
"No surprises there. I'll see you on Sunday, as soon as the contest is over."
Harry nodded his head in agreement.
Chapter 9: Sunday
Harry woke abruptly on Sunday morning due to someone shaking him. Slightly irritated, he opened his eyes to stare into those of his best friend.
"C'mon, mate. The contest starts in twenty minutes!"
Harry groaned and pulled on his glasses. He noticed that everyone in his dorm was up, dressed, and staring at him.
"Am I really that fascinating?" he asked groggily, pulling on his shirt and robes.
"We've got the list on all the class winners, it you're interested," said Seamus, holding out a sheet of paper.
"Who?" asked Harry, curiously.
"Here we go. In Gryffindor: (a/n this is supposed to be in list form, so if it's not, blame not me)
1—Natalie Pathel
2—Euan Abercrombie
3—Dennis Creevy
4—Leslie Hyzer
5—Ginny
6—you, (duh)
7—Katie Bell
Hufflepuff:
1—Jennifer Grau
2—Rose Zeller
3—Robert Hethe
4—David Cote
5—Patrick Vert
6—Ernie McMillan
7—Jeana Meller
Ravenclaw :
1—Anissa Bailey
2—Janelle McKeen
3—Gillian Harlow
4—Micheal Tyler
5—Luna Lovegood
6—Padma Patil
7—Elle Smaley
Slytherin
1—Alex Moore
2—Barbara Mhoon
3—Kelley Goodson
4—Matt Eckler
5—Marissa Dange
6—Malfoy (great)
7—that Warrington guy (did he fail again?)"
Seamus rolled up the list and put it in his pocket. "So, basically, you've got this thing won."
Harry just shook his head, putting on his shoes as he did this.
"Ready?" asked Ron impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, fine," yawned Harry, standing up.
xxx
When they reached the Great Hall all the tables were gone, save one long wide one running through the middle of the room. Chairs surrounded it on every side and Harry knew that this was where the dueling was going to take place. He spotted Lupin and fought his way over.
"Harry, good, I need to make sure that all the winners are here. It's about time." Lupin made his way onstage and addressed the crowd. "Attention please." The entire hall fell silent or as silent as it was possible to get for a room that full at such an exciting time. "Thank you. I need all first year winners up here, please."
Natalie, Jennifer, Anissa, and Alex made their way onstage. Alex looked upset to be the only guy up there.
"I will draw two names. Those two students will compete. That winner will take on the winner of the other two's battle. That person will be named the winner of their year. They also win their house twenty points. The same will continue for all years. I will explain the rest when we get there. Any questions?"
Nobody had any. They were all simply anticipating the start of the contest.
"Okay, the first two competitors are Natalie Pathel of Gryffindor and Anissa Bailey of Ravenclaw. Now, would you two bow." Both did as they were told. "Good. On your mark, get set, GO!"
And so it went on for another hour. Anissa Bailey won first year, Euan Abercrombie for second, Gillian Harlow for third, and Matt Eckler for forth. Then came fifth year. Ginny beat Marissa Dange easily and Luna had no problem with Patrick Vert. The last match between Ginny and Luna was close. Luna shouted "STUPEFY!" about a millisecond before Ginny did. Ron was visibly upset.
"How could Loony, I mean Luna," he corrected himself after seeing Harry's furious stare, "beat Ginny?"
"You underestimate her," said Harry simply, rising as he heard his name being called.
"Good luck," whispered Hermione.
"Not that you need any," finished Ron.
Harry, Ernie, Padma, and Malfoy gathered side by side onstage. Lupin drew the first names. "Harry Potter of Gryffindor and Ernie McMillan of Hufflepuff."
Harry and Ernie got into position. They bowed on command and raised their wands. "1—2—3!"
"Stupefy!" cried Ernie. Harry dodged his spell.
"Silencio!" screamed Harry. His spell hit Ernie, who looked upset. Deciding that he didn't need his voice, he "screamed" "Stupefy!" again.
Harry, even though he was curious as to what would happen if he was hit with a silent spell, reflected it by yelling "Protego!"
It was obvious that the spell was weak because it didn't even manage to get back to Ernie. Harry then sent his own stunning spell at his opponent. Ernie, who could not utter a single spell, dodged it. Harry sent the same spell towards him again. Ernie jumped to the left. Then he jumped right to avoid Harry's next jinx. Unfortunately for him he jumped right into Harry's next curse which had been aimed a foot away from where Ernie was standing.
"And our winner is Harry!" chimed Lupin, helping Ernie to his feet. Through the clapping Ernie made his way over to sit down next to Harry, who was watching Padma and Malfoy prepare to duel.
"How did you know that I was going to jump that way?" asked Ernie.
"You were predictable," replied Harry, not mentioning that he had been the one in Ernie's position over three years ago, his opponent being a giant basilisk.
Three minutes later Malfoy was pronounced the winner. Harry groaned and stood up. He should have known that this would happen. He saw Malfoy wink at Crabbe and Goyle. Harry took his place and "bowed" to Malfoy as the Slytherin did the same.
"On three. One...two..."
But just as he had done the last time they dueled, Malfoy started on "two." Harry, who had half-expected this, quickly shouted, "Protego!"
Malfoy, surprised at Harry's fast reaction time, barely had time to duck. Harry took this time to yell "Stupefy!" just as Malfoy did the same. The two spells collided and bounced out to the sides. Certain members of the crowd screamed as they made to avoid being hit by the spells.
"Too bad your little guard dog isn't here to save your life!" sneered Malfoy, dodging another of Harry's curses.
"Too bad your father isn't here to save yours," retorted Harry.
"Oh yeah," snapped Malfoy, having sent another stunner at Harry, "well at least my father is still ali—"
Before Malfoy could even finish his sentence Harry had hit him with his own stunning spell. Malfoy, caught unaware, was stunned in mid-sentence and fell to the floor. The hall erupted with cheers. Practically everyone was happy to see Draco Malfoy fall.
"Don't let him get to you," muttered Lupin as he bent down to revive Malfoy. Harry nodded and went to sit down beside Ron and Hermione as Lupin announced him the winner.
"That was awesome, mate," said Ron, beaming.
"Ignore what he said about Sirius," advised Hermione.
"Does it look like I did anything inappropriate?" asked Harry.
The seventh years went by in a bit more time then the previous years, due mainly to the fact that they knew more spells than the others did. The winner was Jeana Harlow, a Hufflepuff.
(A/n: the next bit might get a bit confusing but I had problems writing it out. I hope you get what I'm trying to say. If not, it's not really that important, so don't worry about it.)
"Okay, now that we have the winners from each year we will find the overall winner. I will draw two names. That winner will take on the winner from the next two contestants. The winner of the next two people will take on the last person. That winner will duel the first winner and we will have our champion."
"That was far too much work," stated Harry, getting up once more to join the other six onstage. He took his place between Luna and Jeana. He watched as Anissa Bailey beat Euan Abercrombie. Luna easily took out Matt Eckler. In the battle between Luna and Anissa, Luna proved victorious. Harry beat Gillian, and then Jeana. The final battle was between Harry and Luna, who took their places on either side of Lupin.
"Good luck," said Harry and Luna at the same time. Laughing, they bowed to each other.
"1...2...3—Go!"
"Locomotor Mortus!" cried Luna, pointing her wand at a vacant chair. She then flicked her wrist so that the chair went soaring towards Harry, who dropped to the ground to avoid being hit. Luna, seeing Harry defenseless on the ground, screamed, "Stupefy!"
Quickly, Harry rolled over and leapt to his feet, crying "Stupefy!" as he went.
"Protego!"
As Harry dodged the returning spell Harry screamed Petrifucus Totalus!" Luna barely made it in time. She cried "Expelliarmus!" a second after Harry had cried, "Stupefy!"
Unfortunately for Luna, Harry's spell's shorter length added to her bad timing caused her to get hit. Harry dropped to the ground to avoid her spell at the same time that she got hit with his. She was knocked off her feet at the same time that Harry rose from the ground. The entire hall started clapping. Harry walked over to help Luna to her feet. "Good job," she said.
"I believe that would be 50 points to Gryffindor," announced Lupin. "As well as this little addition to the trophy room." As he said this he raised a small trophy into the air.
"Do you have to put that in there?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said Lupin simply. "Don't you have a meeting with Dumbledore now?"
"Oh yeah," said Harry. "Will you tell Ron and Hermione where I went?"
"No problem," said Lupin.
"Thanks." Harry smiled and left the Great Hall, despite how many people were trying to get his attention. Once he knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office and heard the familiar "come in" he entered.
"Congratulations on winning the contest," was Dumbledore's way of greeting. Harry didn't have to ask how he already knew that he won.
"So, have you come up with a list yet?"
"Yes," said Dumbledore, extracting a piece of parchment from his desk drawer and handing it to Harry. "This is a list of last year's continuing members as well as the new members. There are a total of forty people excluding you, Ron, and Hermione."
Harry raised his eyebrows. He had been expecting a lot more than this. As if in response to Harry's unasked question Dumbledore continued. "More than that applied, but I thought that any more and it would be too hard for you to teach all at once. I picked the students that I found most trustworthy and put them in with you. It includes only students in fifth year and above, the only exception would be to those few younger students that you were teaching last year. Anyone younger than that who wanted to be in it are now going to be taught by Fred and George, who agreed to take on that job as well."
"Wow," said Harry, shocked by this bit of news. Looking down at the list, he wasn't surprised to see that Cho and Marietta weren't on this list, nor were any Slytherins. Harry wondered briefly if this was because none had applied or because Dumbledore found all of them untrustworthy. Both seemed plausible.
"So, Remus tells me that he's teaching you how to block curses."
Harry nodded. "We were supposed to start earlier this week, but we had a lot of homework so we didn't start working on it until Friday night. "
"How's that going?" asked Dumbledore.
"Better than Occlumency. Actually, I think that I'm getting the hang of it. I should have it down by the time the DA starts back up."
"Well that's—"
The headmaster's sentence was interrupted by the door bursting open to reveal one very angry Severus Snape. When he saw Harry his scowl intensified, as did his bad mood.
"You had better learn to watch out for yourself, Potter," growled Snape.
"Severus, what happened?" asked Dumbledore.
Instead of answering, Snape turned and glared at Harry. It took only a moment for Harry to grasp his intention.
"I'll talk to you later, Professor," he said, rising from his chair.
"Good day, Harry."
Harry made his way solitarily back to the Gryffindor common room. As soon as he stepped inside a mass of cheering erupted around him. People were clapping him on the back, yelling, cheering, and eating. Gigantic banners spread throughout the room read: CONGRATULATIONS HARRY! Harry, whose thoughts had still been on the DA and Snape, was taken aback.
"What's all this for?" he asked.
"For you, mate," said Ron, thumping him on the back. "You did a great job, especially against Malfoy.
"Thanks," said Harry, his face turning hot with all these eyes on him. Hermione, sensing the problem, led them both out of the center of the room to talk.
"So, what did Dumbledore say?"
"He gave me a list of the new DA members," said Harry, helping himself to some food. He handed her the list.
"This is all?" she asked in surprise, handing the list to Ron.
"That's everyone that Dumbledore found trustworthy and was in fifth year and above," explained Harry. "Everyone else is going to be taught by Fred and George."
"What?" asked Ron in disbelief.
"Yeah, I know," said Harry.
"Weird," muttered Ron. Harry nodded his agreement. Hermione just shook her head. Harry and Ron were not stupid enough to ask her what she was upset about, for both knew that it would result in a twenty minute lecture on all the useless stuff the twins were going to teach. Minutes later Fred and George made their way over to them.
"So, I take it you lot have heard about our new job?" asked Fred.
"How are you managing all these jobs?" asked Ron. "First you start your own business, then you join the Order and help watch over Hogwarts, and now you're going to teach as well?"
"It's not that hard," said George. "Two hours a week teaching kids to duel, Monday through Friday we wander the halls promoting out shop and keeping you all safe, and weekends we go back to work. It's a piece of cake."
"Who's watching the store the rest of the time?" asked Harry, trying not to laugh at the look on Hermione's face.
"Lee and Angelina," Fred informed them.
"Angelina?"
"Oh yeah, didn't we tell you? We hired her this summer. She was looking for a job and we decided that since we'd be here most of the time Lee could use some help. It's only temporary, you know, until she gets another job, but it works for now."
"What happens when she leaves and it's just Lee there?" asked Ron.
"I dunno, maybe we can get Charlie or Dung to do it, neither of them seem very busy," said George.
"I thought that Charlie was going back to Romania soon," said Hermione, finally taking part in the conversation.
"He is," said Fred. "But maybe we can persuade him to stay."
"Maybe," agreed Harry, yawning.
"Tired?" smiled Hermione.
"Just a little," said Harry, blinking sleep from his eyes. Forty minutes later, however, he could no longer avoid sleep. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning."
"Goodnight" they all chorused back.
Upstairs, Harry pulled on his pajamas and climbed into bed. He was tempted to simply fall asleep, but them he remembered what Snape had said. He couldn't believe that he forgot to tell Ron and Hermione. Making a mental not to tell them in the morning, he lay back and tried to clear his mind, determined to show Snape that he could learn Occlumency and take care of himself. With his mind as blank as he could possibly make it, Harry fell asleep.