Chapter 11: The Doe on the lake

Harry stared up at the pouring rain with a big grin.

"Any moment now!" Sirius shouted over the wind.

"Are you ready?" Susan cried with a grin. Harry turned to her with his beaming smile. Then it happened. The forest and the tent lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Harry muttered. The pain was intense. he grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes tight as sound pulsed through his ears. When he opened his eyes he was staring up at a panicked-looking Sirius.

"Harry?!" he shouted, as he spun around the forest. "Harry?!" Harry let out a shout, which came as a loud squeak. Sirius stumbled back in shock and fell on his butt. Harry darted up the man's leg and stood up on his hind legs. "Harry?" the new animagus made another squeak. Sirius scooped him up and laughed. "Well done!" then he carried Harry into the tent. Everyone looked up and blinked in amazement.

"Harry!" Ron cried in awe, "bloody hell mate!"

"What is he?" Anthony said with a giggle.

"I… I think he's a ferret." Dudley remarked with a snicker

"Or a weasel." Ron joked as well.

"No, he's not!" Hermione insisted. "Weasels are much smaller than that, and they don't have a black tip at the end of their tail. And ferrets are much much bigger." Harry bounced around the table, enjoying the sleekness of his movement. Then he stood up and realized something and let out a panicked sounding squeak. He rushed down the table leg and out the tent door. Sirius leapt up when a white flash streaked past him. Susan let out a screech and dove after the little rodent, snatching him up in her claws right as he grabbed his wand in his mouth. Then she took him high into the air. Harry's eyes widened. In the sky above the trees, it felt just like flying on a broom. The claws around him were tight but comforting. Then suddenly they dove down again. Sirius pulled open the tent flap then yelped and ducked as Susan swooped back in again. She landed on the table and ruffled her feathers. Harry spat his wand out and gave another squeak before he twisted around in excitement. Susan jumped off the table and transformed back into her human form.

"Maybe next time down leave your wand lying around you idiot!" Harry nodded then he transformed standing on the table.

"That was amazing," he said with a grin. "What did I look like?"

"Malfoy," Ron said candidly. Harry scowled and aimed a kick at him and almost fell off the table.

"Oh come down from there!" Hermione napped. "Honestly!" Harry smiled and jumped down. Hermione already had the book on English wildlife out and was flipping through it rapidly.

"Aha!" she cried. "Harry. I am pleased to announce that you are neither a ferret nor a weasel."

"What is he then?" Dudley asked even as Harry was still trying to punch a snickering Ron.

"He's a stoat!" Hermione declared happily.

"What is a stoat?" Anthony asked. Dudley peered around the corner of the book and smirked.

"It's a cross between a ferret and a weasel."

"Oi!" Harry growled. "I bet you they bite all the same!"

"Well, calm down!" Dudley said, "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Bullshite." Harry snarled. But mirth glittered in his eyes.

"How does it feel?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"Brilliant," Harry said happily. Sirius continued to stare. But slowly the happiness melted away until he was sobbing into his hand. Harry and Dudley tried to console him with worried eyes. "James would be so proud of you!" he choked out. Harry smiled sadly.

"Not mum?" he whispered.

"Good heavens no!" Sirius cried with a half-hearted bark of laughter, "she would be pitching a fit!" he started crying again. Harry sighed and gave the man a tight hug. Everyone else slowly gravitated away, with Anthony biting his lip in worry. It took several minutes for Sirius to calm down. When he was done he wiped his face and nose with his sleeve in a way that would have had Aunt Petunia screeching in disgust and displeasure. "Sorry." he croaked out tiredly. "I don't know what came over me…"

"You're grieving." Anthony piped up. He'd never really left, just observed from the kitchen door. "I don't think you've really had the time in the last 5 years. What with running all over the country trying not to die, and then running all over trying to keep Harry and Dudley safe." Sirius blinked at him.

"No I don't suppose I have," he admitted quietly. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I think Dr. Emmeline said something about working through that last summer… but we never quite got past Azkaban."

"Well, I'm not a licensed therapist." Anthony began slowly, "but if you need someone to talk to, I've got tons of experience listening."

"I'll be fine." Sirius said hoarsely as he composed himself "but maybe Harry-"

"I'm fine," Harry said quickly. Anthony huffed skyward.

"Like pulling teeth." He muttered in exasperation. "Alright. But if you change your mind I'm here."

"Thanks, Anthony," Harry said with a grin. The ex Ravenclaw chuckled.

"It's really no problem. What are friends for?"

Hermione sighed and threw the book into an ever-growing pile to her left.

"Still no luck?" Harry asked. Hermione sighed.

"I'm starting to think the thing with the quest was just a myth."

"Why?"

"Because so far all I can find are anecdotal accounts that don't hold up to scrutiny."

"Well tell me one." Harry offered. Hermione grumbled and pulled out a book for the rejected pile.

"In 1576 a sheep farmer named Barnaby Clythe discovered a vile lindworm poisoning his village well. He went on a journey into the mountains in search of a relic said to reside there, that might be able to slay the beast. He returned with the sword of Godric Gryffindor, which he claimed he had pulled from a stone under a tree. He beheaded the vile wyrm, and for his reward, the town granted him land, where he founded the Lind Inn. Barnaby hung the sword over the hearth, where it remained for many years."

"Sound pretty cool," Harry argued with a grin.

"It was a lie," Hermione said tiredly. Harry's face fell. "I sent Sirius and Ron to go investigate it a couple of days ago. The owner is a descendant of Barnaby. He admitted that there had never been a lindworm. His great great great grandfather had bewitched all of his muggle neighbours into thinking a slowworm was a lindworm. The 'sword' was a disguised pair of sheep shears. Someone stole it a few decades ago and had a nasty bit of shock when the charm wore off. There was nothing chivalrous about Clythe at all. He was just a particularly clever muggle baiter."

"And they're all like that?!" Harry demanded in horror.

"A surprisingly large number of quite unheroic people have claimed to own the sword over the years." Hermione conceded with an unimpressed nod.

"But the sword appeared to me. It must be the real one right?"

"Oh without a doubt." Hermione insisted, "a fake sword wouldn't have been able to kill a basilisk. Even in more capable hands."

"Well, that's good. Now, all we have to do is find it."

"Much easier said than done." The bushy-haired girl griped bitterly.

"You'll find something." Harry assured her with a grin, "you're the best researcher I've ever met."

"Flattery won't make the sword magically appear." She said in deadpanned.

"Meh, was worth a shot," Harry said with a shrug. Hermione suddenly grew sombre. Almost fearful.

"There's something else," she whispered before pulling out another book. It was paisley blue, with flash silver writing. Harry frowned at the title.

"The life and lies of Albus Dumbledore?!" he cried "who wrote-" when he turned over the book and saw the devilish Rita Skeeter leering back at him he scowled further. "Oh. I should have known."

"Ron found it on their expedition," Hermione explained. "Its… pretty damning."

"So? Its Skeeter! It's all a load of tripe." Harry assured her.

"Possibly." Hermione agreed.

"Possibly?! There's no 'possibly' about it!"

"But Harry, if even one thing she wrote is true it would be truly despicable," Hermione said quietly. "But… well not everything she wrote is a lie. Some of it is just common knowledge… for instance. He was chief mugwump during the first war."

"Which means?"

"Which means he had veto power over any judge or jury."

"So?"

"Harry, listen to what I said again. During the first war, Albus Dumbledore had the power to overturn any court verdict."

"Right!" Harry snarled, growing frustrated.

"So why did Sirius go to Azkaban?" Hermione asked him coldly. Harry opened his mouth to retort when the full weight of what she said sunk in.

"He…I don't know." Harry admitted.

"Harry… what if he did it on purpose?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if he didn't speak up on Sirius's behalf because he wanted you to be mistreated by your uncle."

"No!" Harry cried in horror, "no he apologized to me for that!"

"Anyone would." the girl muttered darkly. "Especially after they've been caught."

"He was crying, Hermione!"

"He's already proven to be a convincing actor."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Harry roared furiously. Hermione huffed.

"I'm not saying it's true. It's just a theory… I think you should read the first four chapters. Everything after that is definitely lies. But those first four chapters…" she trailed off. Then she straightened. "Just read them and then tell me if what I said sounds as far-fetched as you thought." she went back to her own research as Harry stared at the hated book; willing it to disintegrate. "And maybe ask yourself if you knew him all that well at all." that stung.

"I knew him plenty," Harry said coldly. But still, he walked away, book in hand. Not because of what Hermione said, but because he wanted to know just what propaganda the dark side was slinging around, and how he could help undermine it.

Harry stared down at the page in front of him. The tears on his cheeks had long dried, leaving ugly red trails. He just felt so… tired. He let his eyes drift shut and closed the book as quietly as he could.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered. "It's dinner time… Ron said you were- oh Harry!" she cried in alarm. Harry sighed and held the book out for her.

"I'm not hungry," he said weakly.

"I'm so sorry Harry," she whispered, watching as Harry crawled up into the top bunk and buried himself into his sleeping bag.

"Don't be." he choked out. "You were right." he sat up, looking utterly lost. "In the end, I didn't know him at all. I thought I did. But I only knew what he wanted me to see. The innocent stuff he didn't feel… ashamed of I guess?" he flopped back down and mashed his eyes with his palms. "God this is so messed up."

"Do you want us to wait on dinner for you?" she asked.

"No... I'm not hungry," he repeated, "I'm gonna take a nap. Tell Anthony I'll be up in time for the second watch."

"Oh, Harry I'm sure-"

"I'll be up." he reiterated as he curled up facing away from her. Hermione bit her lip before going back out to the main room. Ron was humming into his pheasant burger like it was a goddess.

"Dmn hem'one. Ss relly good."

"Don't talk with your mouth full Ronald," Hermione said with less of her usual rage. Ron blinked at her and sighed.

"Is he alright?" Dudley asked worriedly.

"I don't know." then she looked up and gasped before standing.

"It's fine," Harry croaked, "go back to dinner, I'm just going to wash my face."

"You looked awful," Dudley remarked with a wince.

"Thanks for that cousin. You're not exactly a peach yourself," he muttered darkly. Dudley and Ron exchanged a glance. That was starting to sound like Ron on the locket. The tall ginger stood.

"Look, mate… I read it too." he began slowly. "I didn't want to believe it at first. Some of that shit was really messed up. The way my parents talked; Grindelwald was like You-Know-Who on steroids." Harry blinked at Ron's muggle euphemism. He'd definitely been spending a lot of time with Dudley. "But here's the thing mate. It doesn't matter what Dumbledore did."

"How does it not matter?!" Harry shouted furiously. "We're only out here because Dumbledore said-"

"That we needed to find and destroy the Horcruxes for the noseless bastard to finally die ." Ron finished. "So it doesn't matter about everything else."

"What?" Harry cried in confusion. Ron chuckled.

"We're on this mission so that we can kill You-Know-Who. Which, I don't know about you, is a pretty fucking good idea. So whatever Dumbledore said or did in the past. It doesn't matter. You-Know-Who needs to die. And we're doing that. Dumbledore has nothing to do with it anymore. He's dead." Harry blinked at Ron. Then he laughed. Ron was one heck of a pragmatist.

"I guess you're right," Harry muttered. "Still feels like a stab in the back."

"Honestly I wasn't that surprised," Dudley remarked coldly. "I never liked Dumbledore much."

"We know," Anthony said with a roll of his eyes. "He's been going around saying I told you so to everyone."

It was cold. Really cold. Harry shivered again.

"Why are you sitting out here without a fire you knob?" Dudley questioned as he walked up from behind and settled down alongside him.

"Sirius said something about someone skulking around. I didn't want to make too much light or noise…"

"No one can see or hear us in here except us." Dudley reminded him with a roll of his eyes.

"Us and the tent yeah, but we don't know about fire."

"Fair enough." The teens were silent as they peered out into the forest, the long shadows of the full moon making everything slightly eirie and menacing. A low faint howl echoed through the trees.

"Werewolf or coyote?" Dudley asked worriedly.

"Coyote." Harry calmed him quickly. "Werewolves are higher pitched."

"Good to know." They were quite again. "How do you think Remus and Tonks are?"

"Good… I hope." Harry said even as he peered up into the stars.

"Yeah… I hope so too." Dudley said quietly.

"Let's focus on the watch." Harry insisted. The burly teen nodded before he threw his blanket over both of them. Harry smiled and gave his a cousin a grateful smile.

"I think you should take Anthony up on his offer." Dudley suddenly blurted. Harry frowned.

"I'm fine."

"Right. Except you've been talking in your sleep a lot lately. And down think I don't notice you scratching at the chain. Your should take that locket off when you sleep at least." Harry scowled.

"Lay off it Dudley." The teen huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'll ignore how much like Frodo in Return of the King you sound."

"I do not!" Harry growled.

"My precious." Dudley joked with a hiss.

"Shut up!" Harry cried but there was a smile on his face. Then Dudley started talking like Gollum and asking riddles three. And Harry was once again so grateful his cousin had insisted on coming with him. Dudley never failed to liven his spirits, especially when they were at their lowest.

Harry woke with a start. Something had startled him awake. Or maybe it was the strange dream he'd had. The one with the mountains and the foggy hills. And always repeated: Gregorovitch. Whatever or whoever that was. Harry scowled. So much for Occlumency. His heart sunk as his thoughts turned to Snape again. Traitorous bastard. What right did he have to play Harry like that? Dudley suddenly gave a loud snore. Harry chuckled.

So that was what woke him.

Then he blinked. There was something out there. Just on the edge of their clearing. Harry rubbed his eyes in disbelief. But he wasn't seeing things.

There was a doe.

A pale ethereal blue doe.

Almost... Ghostly.

The creature stared at him, still as a statue. Harry slowly climbed to his feet, careful not to wake Dudley and inches towards the edge of the wards. The deer watched him coming. The only sign of life in her was a slight slick of her ear. Then she turned away and moved into the forest proper. Harry stared after her. Then she stopped and looked back. Her eyes seemed to bore into his very soul. So he shrunk down to his little ermine, which seemed to startle her slightly. But she took it in stride and began to walk through the forest. Harry skittered after her. Occasional hoping above the snow onto a fallen log or a rock to stand on his hind legs and look ahead. She seemed to just be leading him to some arbitrary location. But she always turned back to make sure he followed. Then she took a sharp turn. Harry made a noise and skittered a bit closer. She'd taken him to a frozen pond. Harry watched as she walked out to the middle of it. Suddenly a soft winds seemed to radiate out from her, blowing the dusting of snow away. And she sunk through the ice. Harry squeaked and bounded out to the ice. When he peered into the freezing waters below he let out another yelping squeal.

Because there, glittering at the bottom of the little pond, was the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

There was no mistaking the ruby hilt. His animal eyes even saw the delicate engraving on the blade proper. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the genuine article. He lay there, trying to form some kind of plan. The water would be pretty cold, no doubt about it. He huffed and bounced to the edge of the pond and changed back. First off the sweater had to go. It would just weigh him down. The jeans too. His t-shirt would be fine. Now to see if the ice would hold his weight. He took a few cautious steps. But there was no cracking or disconcerting movement. It was pretty solid for pond ice. He stood above the hole in the snow the doe had created.

It was a straight dip down. The water was clear. No fussing about. Just dive down, grab it, come back up. And then go straight back to the camp and get some hot cocoa. He pulled out his wand and cut a round hole into the ice. It was big enough for two or three, just incase he couldn't see it on the way back up. Then he sucked in a deep breath and jumped in. Faintly in his ears he thought he heard someone call his name before the sound of rushing water drowned everything out. He dove down towards the sword with grasping fingers. Right as his fingers brushed the silver hilt the locket he'd been wearing under his shirt for the last few weeks constricted around his throat.

Harry gasped as the tightness closed off his already strained windpipe. He let out a gasping plume of bubbles in panic. He tried to rise up to the surface, but somehow he'd missed the hole in the ice. Then suddenly an arm grabbed him around the middle.

His mind instantly brought his back to the cave by the sea. The clammy cold rotting hands of the inferi. He let out a scream, the last of his precious breath replaced with pond water. The world grew foggy around the edges. He was vaguely aware of a sudden blast of cold air. But it was all peripheral. Then suddenly he was slammed back into reality. A pair of firm hands pressed down on his chest and the water that had flooded his lung was cleared. He choked out a few hacking coughs and looked up at his rescuer. The blond hair was plastered to his face.

"Dudley?" Harry wheezed.

"Oh thank god." The teen sobbed as he pulled Harry into a tight hug. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"The sword," Harry muttered as he propped himself up onto his elbows. "Did you get the sword?"

"Yeah." Dudley cried as he held it up. "Pretty nice I must say. Though that locket was pretty pissed at you for trying that. You should have taken it off before you went in! It left a nasty burn mark on your chest." Harry looked down at his ripped shirt and hissed. There was an angry round blistering mark just under his collar bone. On top of that the tender feeling around his throat proved that it had indeed tried to strangle him.

"Well at least we know it's the real thing." Harry offered.

"It's surprisingly light," Dudley muttered and he juggled the sword from hand to hand.

"Careful." Harry reminded him as he pulled on his thankfully still dry sweater. " It's got basilisk venom all over it."

"Right." the teen said with a sheepish blush. Harry then marched over and grabbed the locket from Dudley and walked over to a rock.

"Alright Dudley, when I open it, stab this thing."

"Wot?!" Dudley squeaked, not unlike Harry's stoat. "I can't kill it! I'm not a Gryffindor!"

"Well you just dove into a freezing cold pond and saved me, sound pretty god damn brave and chivalrous," Harry argued. "It's gonna be fine Dudley. You can do this."

"But-" Dudley began worriedly. "I'm not even a wizard!"

"Yes, you are!" Harry cried in horror, "maybe not the most powerful, but that doesn't make you any less magic!"

"It's literally because I have less magic!" Dudley cried furiously.

"Just shut up and kill it alright!" Harry argued. Dudley huffed but strengthened his grip in the sword. "I'm gonna have to use parseltongue to open it," Harry remarked. Dudley pulled a face.

"Can't say I'm a fan. I don't exactly have good memories of you talking to snakes."

"I said I was sorry about that." Harry reminded but still winced. "And the snake didn't actually want to eat you. He just wanted to go to Burma."

"Yeah I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Dudley argued. Harry rolled his eyes and squared his shoulders.

"Ready?" Dudley sunk down a bit, like he would for a boxing match and adjusted his grip on the sword again.

"As I'll ever be." He murmured. Harry turned to the locket. He stared at the snake on the cover. As he looked into the emeralds that served as its eyes, it looked almost eerily alive now. Like it knew what was about to happen.

"Open up." Harry hissed.

The locket sprung open.

There was a moment of anticlimactic silence, where nothing happened. It seemed only to hold two pictures, one of Marvolo and a woman Harry could only assume was his wife, Voldemort's grandmother. Dudley took a step closer and then suddenly a great black cloud burst out of the image's eyes. And then a horrible oppressive noise Harry remembered only too well echoed, not just around them, but in Harry's mind as well.

I have seen your heart Dudley Dursley. I know what you fear. I know what you dread.

Harry choked as a terrible cold descended over them. It was not unlike dementors. Indeed the shadow seemed to grow grasping claws. And there were faces in the shadows. Faces Harry thought he recognized.

You are weak. You have always been. You will never help him. You can only hurt and destroy.

"Dudley don't listen!" Harry screamed, but the roaring seemed to drown him out.

You know the truth Dudley Dursley. Your cousin is broken. And you are the one who caused it.

"Dudley!" Harry screamed as he tried to fight the pain splitting his head open. Then suddenly an apparition of himself crawled out of the locket. He was more battered and bruised than Harry had ever been. He looked like he wasn't even breathing.

"Why?" the evil Harry gurgled as if he was moments from death. "Why?"

"No." Dudley choked out. "No no, I would never do that to him!"

It is too late Dudley Dursley. You cannot change what you are. Then suddenly Dudley gave a cried of alarm and dropped the sword as if it were on fire. You have become that which you despise most.

"Why do you hurt me like this?" the vile apparition begged with tears streaming down his face, though it looked to be cruelly enjoying himself. Dudley fell to his knees, quivering in fear.

The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.

Then suddenly Dudley looked up. A fire burned in his eyes.

"Oh hell no." he snarled. "I've had way too much therapy for that bullshit!" he scooped the sword up again, dashed across the little clearing and swung it down on the locket, slicing right through the evil Harry apparition. The locket gave a screech and then there was an explosion as the two halves split apart. Harry swayed on his feet, a wave of dizziness overtaking him as he fell over in the grass, trying to blink it away. The shadow cleared away, Dudley panting. Then he threw the sword away sunk to his knees and cried. harry slowly dragged himself back onto his knees and crawled over to his cousin. He sobbed into his hands as Harry came and gave his cousin a hug. After a few minutes of Harry rubbing his back, he finally whispered.

"You're not Vernon." Dudley flinched back. Then he let out a bitter laugh.

"No shit Harry," he muttered. "That was the locket's first mistake. I'd never do what Vernon did."

"Then why-" Harry began in confusion.

"I couldn't move." Dudley finally whispered. "It was like the thing was holding me in place. I desperately wanted to help you… but I couldn't. I'll admit, making me think the sword was a belt was a bit disconcerting, hence why I dropped it… but I'm not afraid of hurting you physically… I'm afraid of not doing anything…that I won't be able to help." he rubbed the tears from his face. "I'm afraid of who I used to be. I'm afraid of the me that didn't love you. Evidently the locket didn't see it like that. It just assumed I was afraid of turning into Vernon. Which I never would. Even if I had never figured myself out."

"It wouldn't understand that," Harry said slowly. "Since it's a piece of You-Know-Who… and You-Know-Who cant love."

"What a way to live," Dudley muttered bitterly. "If you'd even call it that." Harry nodded before he collected up the two halves of the broken locket. Marvolo's picture was completely ruined. The eyes looked as though they'd been burned away, and the metal was peaking through the bottom. Harry shuddered slightly as he remembered that strange apparition of himself. "Let's beck back to the camp," Dudley muttered. "Sirius is probably going grey around the muzzle as we speak." Harry nodded. He paused and looked back at the little pond. He thought back to the strange doe.

"Hey Dudley… did you see the doe?"

"Oh, that's what it was!" Dudley said, "all I saw was a blue blur. It was too obstructed by the trees to see clearly. And I got lost when it turned sharply. You're bloody hard to see in the undergrowth."

"I'm an underbrush carnivore. That's the point." Harry argued. "But I'm glad I wasn't just seeing things."

"Where did it even come from?" Dudley questioned.

"No idea," Harry admitted. "It just kinda appeared, then it led me to the sword."

"That's just a little too barmy for my taste," Dudley said slowly. "Let's get back to camp. Tell everyone the good news." Harry nodded. But he decided not to tell Dudley that he felt like they'd been watched while Dudley defeated the locket.

He was sure it didn't matter.

A/N: Hello Hello Helloo!

Sorry this one is a little late!

Life has been a bit hectic lately.

I finally revealed Harry's animagus form!

He is a stoat!

There's a lot of symbolism around why I picked that.

Stoats are pretty voracious predators.

They're rather famous for hunting rabbits, which are several times bigger than they are.

I thought that was a nice symbolism. The idea that Harry is an unassuming small thing, but he's capable of defeating things that seem much more powerful than him.

They're also very adaptable. Stoats become ermine in winter, trading their brown fur for white.

Not only that, but they're very agile and playful, which perfectly suits Harry's character as well.

And of course, I love the idea of compatible patronuses or animagus forms.

And one of the northern goshawk's primary sources of food, at least in the UK, is stoats.

So yeah. Harry is a stoat.

ILoveGeorgeEads: Thank you! And don't worry! Mittens goes on to have three more broods and died at the ripe old owly age of 53. (magic is one heck of a life-lengthener...)

Aslan's Princess: Anthony didn't spend too long in there. He knows the best way back into Hermione's heart is academics. Their relationship is so wonderful.

They finally got the sword and finally got rid of the locket. Sadly this is the end of the Lord of the Rings jokes from here on in. They will be missed.

Godric's Hollow was a difficult thing to write. It ended up being much longer than I intended, hence why I had to separate it into two parts.

My problem was that I felt like everything had to be in there for the story to work properly moving forward.

As for what happened in the hallway...

Well, let's just say I interpreted some things a little differently this time...

Also

I'm gonna put this to bed now

Harry doesn't go looking for the Deathly Hallows in this story.

Dumbledore had intended for there to be a side quest.

But since Harry didn't stick around to get the clues. It does really matter.

Though Voldemort is still looking for Gregorovitch...

And that is all I will say on that topic.

and finally,

We get to Dumbledore.

And well...

I'll let the fact Hermione shared with Harry speak for itself I think...

but that is just a teeny tiny sliver of why I hate Albus Dumbledore.

There are many many more.

But that one point, in my opinion, is one of the most damning.

But that's a conversation for another time.

Thank you all so much for reading!

I'll see you this weekend for the conclusion of part 1!

Don't forget to keep on reading!

-TTC

P.S. If you're interested, I have a painting I made of Harry and Susan in their animagus forms, so you can see how they looked side by side. It's the perfect size for a phone screen too. ;) PM me for more info.