Standard disclaimer: It isn't mine….blah blah blah :o)
The days following Percy's funeral were hard; but life was slowly starting to return to normal, at least as normal as possible considering the state of things. It had been a very quiet affair, only family, close friends and a few members of the Order were in attendance. Each family member took a turn speaking briefly at the service about Percy and what he had meant to them. Harry had begged off a chance to speak, insisting that only family should have that honor. Of course, Molly had insisted Harry was family, but the truth was Harry still felt such a burden of guilt over it he didn't think he could honestly face it. Ron had been concentrating heavily on Quidditch practice since the funeral. Harry supposed it was the best way for him to deal with it all. He seemed to be coming to terms with the loss of his brother as well as the loss of the chance for them to be family once again. Ron was so good at coming up with new plays and tactics that Harry was quite impressed and the team had been practicing hard to get ready for the upcoming game against Slytherin. It was shaping up to be the battle to watch. Ginny had been mostly quiet and keeping to herself. Occasionally Harry would look up to find her staring quietly at him. 'She must really hate me now,' Harry thought to himself. 'I can't say I blame her, I would hate me too.'
As had been his habit of late, Harry was holed up alone reading in Gryffindor's library. It was the one place he felt he could really relax anymore. For some reason, he seemed to be losing himself over to his emotions, at least more than was usual. He was easily angered and so consumed with guilt over what he felt was his part in his friend's and family's suffering from Voldemort that he could barely stand it. He was just so sure the answer was in here somewhere, that if he spent enough time in here it would come to him. Besides, this was one of the most complete libraries he had been in. He found a great deal of help with his animagus transformation. The lessons were coming along splendidly and he had been practicing very hard. He hoped that at his next lesson he would be able to transform fully into the animal he had chosen. He wasn't sure he would be able to do it since this was a magical creature, but he had at least managed a partial transformation already. Professor McGonagall had suggested that he find out as much information about the creature as possible so he was currently studying from a book of magical creatures about the griffin. He admired the head and front legs resembling an eagle with the body and hind legs of a lion. It had a quite large and impressive wingspan as well. The more he read about it, the more connected he felt to the animal. He didn't know exactly why, but this felt so right. It felt as though the animal was becoming part of him. He put the book aside and lay back on an overstuffed sofa and tried to imagine what it would feel like to transform into a griffin and soar into the sky.
His mind began to wander and soon he found himself walking through a field of tall swaying grass. He spotted the same tall, darkly handsome wizard he had seen before sitting under a tree and walked over to greet him. "You are Godric Gryffindor, aren't you?" Harry asked.
The wizard smiled. "Yes, in a manner of speaking, I am. You see, Harry, I am an impression of him left behind in this place. I was needed to help guide the one that would be chosen to end the evil that began all these years ago. That person, as we both know, is you. It started with Slytherin's vile beliefs and has escalated with each passing generation from his line. If only we had known what it would become." He hung his head sadly.
Harry sat down next to the older wizard and put his head in his hands. "I just don't know how I am going to be able to do this. I know I have to, but each time I have faced him before I haven't been able to do more than make him retreat. He is so much more powerful than I am. I am not afraid of him for me. He has been trying to kill me for my entire life. But I am afraid for my friends and my family. I can't protect them all. He is too powerful, I am just Harry."
Gryffindor shook his head. "That is where your weakness lies. You are not strong enough to kill him, because you think you aren't. What you need is already there inside of you. It always has been. Your job is to find the strength that is already there and unleash it."
Harry sighed. "And how, exactly, do I do that?"
"That," Gryffindor smiled, "is something you must discover for yourself. Just remember, you have the one thing that Voldemort has not. That is the key."
Harry laughed. "You explain things in riddles. You remind me of my Headmaster. He can be just as confusing as you are at times."
Gryffindor nodded. "Albus Dumbledore is an exceptional wizard and one of the greatest Headmasters ever to grace the halls of Hogwarts. We have been pleased watching him for these long years. He is quite right to guide you while you figure things out on your own. You will understand that as well someday. We all expect great things from you, Harry Potter."
Harry awoke to find that it had gotten quite late. He made his way back to the Gryffindor common room quietly hoping all the way that he wouldn't run into Filch or his cat. As he approached the Fat Lady Portrait he saw Neville walking up the stairs trying to be quiet as well.
"Getting in late too, huh Harry?" asked Neville quietly.
Harry looked down at Neville's mussed hair and rumpled shirt and snickered. "Yeah, but obviously not for as good a reason as you seem to have."
Neville blushed furiously and stammered, "Yeah….well….Luna and I were in the library working on a project for Professor Sprout and it got later than we realized." He grasped for something to be able to change the subject. "Ummm…so…do you want me to come by the meeting early tomorrow and help you set up?"
Harry gave the Fat Lady the password for this week and started into the common room. "Sure Neville, we can always use an extra hand. I will be there early because I want to get some practice in with the dummies before meeting time starts."
Inside the common room Harry found Ron and Hermione at the table working on an essay for Professor Binns. Ron looked up, "Oh, thank Merlin you are here Harry!"
"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry asked.
"You can save me from this horrible essay," Ron grinned and ducked from the quill Hermione threw at him. "Play a game of chess?"
Hermione started to say something in retort, but changed her mind. They had already been at it for a couple of hours and truth be told, she was a bit tired of it herself. She settled herself in to a chair next to the chess board and prepared to relax and just watch her two best friends try to desperately outwit each other.
An hour later Harry finally had to admit defeat, although it was a hard fought game this time. He thought Ron had to actually stop and think a few times in order to beat him. Hermione stood up, stretched and wished everyone good night, and then she headed up to bed. Ron finished putting away his chess pieces and grabbed his books and headed up the stairs towards his dormitory also. "Are you coming along, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I just need to put these away."
Harry was repairing and urging the angry little chess pieces back into their box. He was almost sure he heard the knight and the bishop say something to each other about mutiny as he stuffed them away back into their boxes. "It's just a bloody game," he muttered to them. He was about to head up the stairs when he heard a noise coming from behind him. He looked around to see Ginny pull herself up from a big overstuffed chair by the fire.
"Hi Gin, I didn't realize there was still someone in here."
"Hi, Harry." Ginny smiled. "That was a close game, you are getting much better."
"Yeah," said Harry, "but he always manages to beat me in the end. He is much better at thinking several steps ahead than I am."
Ginny nodded. "Well, I suppose you do tend to act a bit more on the impulsive side. I guess that's why the two of you make such a good team. Your styles compliment each other."
Harry dropped his head as thoughts of Sirius popped into his mind. "I don't know. My 'style' as you call it seems to fail me more often than not. Fail me and anyone unfortunate enough to be near me at the time."
Ginny walked over and put her arms around Harry's waist. "All I know is, there are members of my own family that are alive today thanks to you. Don't be so hard on yourself, Harry. No one else is."
Harry relaxed in comfort of his friend. He leaned forward and put his chin on the top of her head. "Sometimes it isn't that easy, Gin."
Ginny looked up into Harry's brilliant green eyes. "Maybe it should be Harry."
Harry found himself acutely aware of his hand along the curve of her back and her chocolate brown eyes staring into his. The faint scent of lilies was emanating from her hair and intoxicating his senses. She nervously bit her bottom lip as he looked at her, and his knees almost buckled from under him. He was dimly aware of the sound of his blood rushing through his body and his heart pounding. He couldn't resist her. He ran his finger slowly along the line of her jaw and tilted her head up slightly. He had just started to lean closer in when suddenly the front door to the common room swung open and Lavender and Seamus fell tumbling in together. Harry sprang away from Ginny just as they came around the corner.
"Oh! Harry, Ginny! We didn't think anyone would still be awake." Lavender blushed slightly. "Seamus and I were… out for a walk. Ummm…well….I guess I am off to bed…goodnight everyone."
Seamus grinned. "Goodnight, Lavender. Goodnight Ginny. Coming up Harry?"
"Umm, yeah," Harry stammered. "Goodnight, Gin." He watched Ginny and Lavender go up the stairs. Once in his room he undressed and climbed into his bed and drew the curtains closed. 'What was I thinking...that's the trouble….I wasn't thinking…' He laid back and tried desperately to clear his mind before sleep. It was definitely going to be a long night.
Harry arrived early the next evening at the Room of Requirement to start setting up for the DA meeting. Professor Cochrann arrived to see Harry sparring with one of the practice dummies. She sat down and watched closely as Harry dodged, rolled and fired off spells faster than she could have ever imagined him moving. Harry looked up to see her there and dropped his wand by his side rendering the dummy still. "Hi there, Professor. Something I can do for you?" Harry asked.
Devyn smiled. "No, no, not at all. I was just peeking in to see if you needed anything for the meeting."
Harry walked over next to her. "I don't think so. We are having some guests with us today. We will be breaking up into groups and Hermione and Madam Pomfrey will work with the Healer group. Fred and George Weasley will be here and working with the aerial group discussing the specialized weapons for them. Ron and I are going to be working with the others on hexes and jinxes. Then we will all get back together and work on shielding and some basic strategies. That's about all we have planned for tonight."
Devyn nodded slowly. "I see you are very well organized here Harry. I don't see how Dumbledore expected me to be of much help to you. You and your friends have done a pretty remarkable job."
"Thank you, Professor. They all know what is at stake here. They want to be prepared."
Devyn's eyes clouded over. "Sometimes I think no one can be really prepared for the Dark Lord. He has ways of getting to anyone and making people do things they would not ordinarily do."
Harry watched her as she seemed to stare off into the room. "Surely you know he can be beaten, Professor."
Professor Cochrann looked away from Harry's gaze and started to speak when the door opened and Neville walked in.
"Hiya, Harry. I'm here to help set up like I promised. Hello Professor Cochrann!"
Devyn stood up abruptly. "Well, I have to be off. See you all later and have a good meeting. If you need anything, just let me know."
Harry watched her leave the room with a curious look on his face.
"Sorry about that Harry. Did I interrupt something?" Neville asked.
Harry shook his head. "I'm not really sure, Neville." Harry shrugged the uncomfortable feeling off. "Oh well, let's get started. People will be arriving soon and there is a lot to go over tonight."
Harry was sitting in the Great Hall with his friends for lunch after another difficult DADA class. They were studying vampires now and their history as well as the means to ward one off if necessary. He was dreading the two feet of parchment he needed to write on it before next week. He tried to catch Professor Cochrann's eye several times during class, but she almost seemed to be avoiding him.
"Harry, we only have one more practice before the game this weekend, right?" Ron asked.
"Yeah," Harry said. "Slytherin has the pitch booked tomorrow for practice. I was hoping to go out and watch them for a bit. Maybe pick up a few ideas for defense."
Ron nodded. "Good idea, mate. I'll go out there with you if that's alright."
"Absolutely," Harry said, "you are the best at working strategies."
Hermione was staring towards the end of the head table. "I wonder what is up with those two."
Harry looked up to see Professors Snape and Cochrann with their heads bowed low talking quietly. Snape appeared to be quite agitated and Cochrann was staring at him with darkening eyes. "I don't know," Harry said, "but it doesn't look like a pleasant conversation."
Ron shook his head. "He is probably giving her a hard time about taking the DADA job. You know he has wanted it for years."
Hermione shook her head. "Surely even Professor Snape wouldn't sink that low as to fight with another teacher, even if he did want her job."
Ron laughed. "You always think the best of them just because they are teachers Hermione. You can't tell me that after all these years you can still trust that greasy git Snape." He shook his head. "Tell her, Harry"
Harry knew he couldn't reveal anything that the Headmaster had revealed about Snape in confidence. Honestly, at the moment, he was more concerned if Professor Cochrann had found out something about Snape having once been a death eater. She had been acting so oddly lately. He just looked up and said, "It's none of our business whatever it is. I guess they will work it out themselves." Ron and Hermione both looked surprised at Harry's answer but he wasn't willing to say anything else about it.
Harry stood up. "I have to get something from the dorm before class. Meet you two in Potions in a bit. He walked out of the Great Hall leaving his friends gaping behind him.
Potions, as usual, was a long and tedious experience. The potion was difficult and as usual Snape was less than fair to him. Harry was determined not to let Snape get the best of him. The more Harry refused to take the bait, the more Snape seemed to taunt him. He was determined to get a good grade in Potions this year. No way was he going to keep him out of the Auror Program. Even when Harry turned in a perfect potion at the end of class, Snape barely even acknowledged him.
Ron was stuffing his books into his bag. "Honestly, Harry, I don't know how you stand him. He's not exactly nice to me, but he is absolutely beastly to you."
Harry grinned. "True. But at least I know if I can score a good grade in his class, I can beat anything."
Harry, Ron and Hermione filed out into the hallway to find Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle still waiting there.
Malfoy swaggered over to stand in front of Harry. "Oy, Potter. I have been watching that miserable bunch you call a quidditch team. Save yourself the trouble and don't even bother to show up on Saturday."
Hermione put her hand on Harry's arm. "Just ignore him Harry; he isn't worth your trouble."
Draco looked at Hermione with a look of utter contempt. "No one was speaking to you, you filthy mudblood."
Ron stepped forward and snarled. "Watch it, Malfoy. You aren't deserving enough to even look at her, much less talk to her."
Draco looked at Ron. "You aren't much better, muggle-loving blood traitor. Your whole family is a disgrace to the real wizarding community." Draco turned to walk away, muttering, "At least there is one less of you to embarrass yourselves now."
Ron lunged at Draco only to be stopped by Hermione. "Ron! Don't! He isn't worth the trouble that you will get into. He is only trying to bait you into doing something to get punished for before the game."
Harry had drawn himself to full height and was trembling with anger. It welled up inside of him like a volcano at the brink of release. The air was finely crackling around him and you could feel the magical energy radiating off of him. Hermione and Ron both stepped back away from him. Harry looked at Draco with piercing green eyes and stepped forward. "If you know what's good for you Malfoy, you will turn around now and leave without another word."
A small group of people were gathering in the hallway to watch the commotion. Hermione looked at Harry pleadingly. "Harry, let's just go. We are still right outside of the Potions classroom. This isn't the place for this."
Malfoy's eyes twitched nervously between Ron and Harry, but he couldn't back down in front of a crowd now. "Heh, behold the great Harry Potter. This is who people are claiming to be 'The Chosen One'. He couldn't even save his own supposed friend's brother from a common burglary gone wrong. Of course, maybe he didn't really want to…" Draco's words were cut off suddenly and his face started to turn a peculiar shade of purple.
Harry was standing in front of him in a fury. He leaned towards Malfoy and snarled, "I warned you to just walk away while you still could. If you and your father think people will actually believe that was a common burglary then you are thicker than I thought." He leaned closer to Malfoy and dropped his voice to an angry whisper. "If you think he will get away with it, you are as daft as he is. I'll see to it myself if I have too."
"Potter!" Professor Snape walked up behind them. "Potter! What is going on here?" Harry stood up straight and looked back at him. Malfoy was furiously mouthing words but no sound was coming out.
Snape stared at Harry. "Release him now." Harry waved his hand toward Malfoy and turned away.
"…attacked me for no reason at all! He is as crazy as everyone says he is!" Draco rubbed his hand over his throat.
Snape looked down at Malfoy. "Unless you need to go to the hospital wing, I suggest you take this opportunity to return to your dorms."
Malfoy glared at Snape for a moment, turned on his heel and started for the Slytherin common room with Crabbe and Goyle close on his heels.
Hermione reached out to grab Harry's arm. "Come on, let's go then."
Snape looked at Harry. "Not so fast." He pointed at Hermione and Ron. "You two, back to your rooms. Potter, come with me."
Harry nodded at his friends. "I'll catch you up later." He turned and followed Snape into his office.
Professor Snape walked over to his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment. He hastily scribbled a note, sealed it tightly and handed it to Harry. "Take this to the Headmaster now. You will return for detention tonight at 8PM."
"Yes, sir." Harry nodded.
"Well Potter, what are you waiting for? Get out of my office."
Harry walked in stony silence to Dumbledore's office. As he neared the hallway leading to the revolving stone staircase, he felt a wet lump splash up against the back of his robes. "Oy! It's wee Potty-Potter being a bad boy and having to go to the Headmaster!" Peeves flew around his head getting ready to throw another wet sponge at him.
Harry turned and growled. "Sod off Peeves! I am not in the mood for you right now!" Peeves flew off down the hallway howling with laughter.
Harry gave the password and headed up to the Headmaster's office. He stopped at the door when he heard voices inside and decided to wait until they were gone to go inside. He placed his ear against the door to see if he could figure out who was in the room with Dumbledore. He heard Dumbledore clearly say, "You might as well come in Harry, you can hear much better from inside."
The door swung open and Harry walked inside sheepishly. "Come in, come in Harry. We were just talking about you. Please, have a seat." Dumbledore motioned to a chair on the other of his desk. "Lemon drop?"
Harry looked around the office and saw Mad-Eye Moody and another man he didn't recognize. "No thanks, Professor. Professor Snape sent me. He told me to give you this." He handed the rolled parchment to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore sat back in his chair reading for a moment. He stared at Harry for a moment while absent-mindedly stroking his beard. "Hmm… I was afraid this was coming, it's just coming sooner than I expected." He turned to look at Moody. "We will set up a time next week, Alastor. Your suggestion is well thought out and we will begin immediately. Now if I might have a moment with Mr. Potter here."
Mad-Eye and the other man stood and walked towards Harry. "Harry, this is Master Lee Chung. You will be meeting with him next week. I expect to hear good things about you, Potter."
Master Chung bowed slightly in front of Harry, "It will be my pleasure, Mr. Potter."
Harry stood and bowed to him also. "Mine, I am sure." He looked inquisitively at Dumbledore.
"We will see you at the meeting tonight, Albus," Moody said as he stepped into the fireplace with Master Chung and disappeared in a burst of green flame.
Harry sat glumly back into his chair. "I suppose Snape sent me here for punishment."
"Professor Snape, Harry. And no, he did not send you for punishment. I believe you have detention with him tonight for that already. Would you like to tell me what happened in the hallway with Mr. Malfoy?"
Harry got up and started pacing. "He was baiting me! He just makes me so mad. He insults my friends, and even had the nerve to make a reference to Percy when he knows his father is the one that probably killed him. I asked him to walk away and he kept on going. I finally couldn't stand to listen to it anymore. I snapped. I was just so angry. I don't really understand what happened. I wanted him to shut up…and he did. I didn't pull my wand on him, I swear I didn't." He was getting angry all over again just talking about it. The air around him began to crackle with life once again and his eyes were flashing as he spoke.
"I see," Dumbledore said. "Harry, you must try to calm yourself. Can't you feel what is happening to you?"
Harry sat down heavily in the chair and took a deep breath. "Yes, but I don't understand it, and I can't control it. What is the matter with me?"
Dumbledore sat back and looked at Harry. "When a wizard reaches adulthood, he nears his full magical potential. Don't misunderstand me, you can continue to learn new spells and techniques after that, but the magical power within you reaches its peak. Since you are coming closer to seventeen, this is what is happening."
"But professor, I won't be seventeen until next summer; you mean it's going to get worse than this?"
"Yes, Harry. I am afraid it is going to get much worse. We need to start more of your training now. You need to learn to gain control of yourself before you hurt someone unintentionally. The man you just met is a martial arts master. He is an Order member and I trust him completely. We are going to have you begin training with him next week. He will be teaching you sword fighting skills and hand-to-hand combat techniques."
Harry looked confused. "Why would I need those?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Sometimes a stealthy approach to a problem is better than running in with wands blazing Harry."
"You know that Draco actually said the attack on the Burrow was being called 'a burglary gone bad'. Is this true?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Some reports tried to downplay the death eater activity in the area. But the truth is known, Harry. He just tries to convince people otherwise."
Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "Has the Order come any closer to finding out where Malfoy or Voldemort are hiding?"
Dumbledore shook his head, his eyes twinkling. "Not yet. I told you I would keep you up to date on business regarding Voldemort, Harry. I meant it. I assume it is better to "keep you in the loop" rather than having you run off on wild goose chases trying to find the information yourself."
Harry grinned in spite of himself. "Yes, you are probably right, sir. I appreciate the confidence."
"Have you been having problems with dreams lately, anything you need to tell me?"
Harry shook his head. "No sir, not at all actually. Every now and then I can feel him trying to probe in just as I am falling asleep. But, he no longer is able to get in."
"Excellent. We are going to start working on Legilimency starting next week."
Harry smiled. "It would be a lot easier to keep me up to date on things if you allowed me to join the Order, Headmaster."
Dumbledore smiled back. "Now Harry, we have already discussed that. You are not of legal age yet, and even if your Godfather agreed I just can not justify it. We will concentrate on your training for now. There will be the right time for you to join. Now, I suggest you get back to your room and get your homework done early, you have detention tonight, remember?"
Harry groaned and nodded his head.
"Alright then," Dumbledore said, "off you go."
Harry had managed to finish his homework even over Ron's constant protests of the unfairness of the detention. After bolting down a quick dinner, he was walking along the hallway to the dungeons. He supposed he really did deserve the detention. Even though Malfoy had provoked him, he did lose control of himself and could have really hurt him. What disturbed him most of all was that he realized he wasn't that distressed over the thought of hurting him. He walked through the door of the Potions class at exactly 8PM. The classroom itself was empty but he could see light shining from underneath the office door. Harry walked up and knocked softly.
"Enter, Potter." Snape pointed to a chair on the opposite side of his desk. "Sit."
Harry took the opportunity to glance around Snape's office. It was bigger than he expected. A large fireplace was along one wall with a warmly blazing fire burning. The other walls were covered with shelves full of books, papers and Snape's personal potion ingredient stores. Severus Snape sat behind his desk sipping from a glass containing a rich honey colored liquid that looked very much like Ogden's fire whiskey.
Snape stared for a moment at Harry. "I realize," he started, "that Malfoy was intentionally baiting you. What were you thinking Potter? You cannot use wandless magic like that in the hallways, especially against Draco Malfoy. Has it not occurred to you that he most certainly is in contact with his father? Has it never occurred to you that he would say something to his father about it? And has it never occurred to you that his father is a direct line to Voldemort?"
Harry hung his head. "No, sir. I wasn't thinking of that."
"Exactly! That's your problem, Potter. You don't think. You not only endanger yourself, but you endanger everyone else that goes out of their way to protect you. You endanger my position here. What do you think would happen if Voldemort became aware of any preferential treatment towards you by me?"
Harry looked sullen. "Well, I imagine he would question your loyalty to him instead of the school, sir."
Snape sat back in his chair. "Merlin, the boy does have the capacity to think after all. Where you may not trust me, Dumbledore does. I have very specific work that I need to be able to do and I cannot continue to do it if my motives are the least bit in question. Your antics cannot harm the greater good that is being done. I cannot be seen in anyway as being easy on you. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"
Harry felt terrible. It had never occurred to him that he was endangering the Order as a whole. He realized for as much as he hated Snape and hated even more to admit that he was right, he no choice but to accept responsibility for his thoughtlessness. He straightened up and nodded. "Yes sir, it is perfectly clear. I won't make the same mistake again."
Snape glowered. "See that you do not. I will not be so forgiving the next time." Snape stood up and walked over to the fireplace. He threw in a handful of powder and stuck his head in flames. "Number 12 Grimmauld Place." He spoke into the flames for a second and stood up to face Harry. "Your Godfather requested to speak to you tonight. When you have finished, I expect you to clean the shelves in the classroom and reorganize them until the remainder of your time is complete. Do not leave early. Are we understood? I will return to check on your progress."
Harry looked surprised. "Yes sir. Thank you."
Snape nodded and swept out of the office.
Harry walked over to the fireplace to see Lupin's head waiting for him. "Remus! I am so glad to see you. Is everyone alright there? The Weasleys got moved in comfortably?"
"Yes Harry, they are fine. Dobby and Winky love having someone here to fuss over and Molly has been keeping busy getting your house ready so everyone has a place to come to for the holidays. You may be sorry you left such a generous allowance for redecorating."
Harry grinned. "Oh no, I won't be sorry at all. I can't wait to see it. I am glad someone has the time to give the place the attention it needs. It will be nice for it to become a happy place instead of a sad one." Harry shook his shoulders as he thought of Sirius again and wondered how he would feel about it.
Lupin looked sadly at Harry. "I think Sirius would be glad Harry. He wouldn't have left you the house if he didn't want you to turn it into something you could be happy with." Lupin smiled. "Now then, would you like to tell me what is this I hear about you half strangling Draco Malfoy with wandless magic in the hallways? What were you thinking Harry?"
Harry shook his head. "I know, I know, I wasn't thinking that's my problem. Believe me; I have already gotten it from Professor Dumbledore and Snape. I'm sorry Remus. I know it was stupid of me, but I just lost control. I couldn't stand to hear another word from him. I don't really understand what all is happening to me anymore."
"Well Harry, you are near to coming of age. There are changes and other things to deal with. I suppose you and I are going to have to spend some time together over the holidays and talk, alright? I am sure you have a lot of questions, and if I am not mistaken, you would prefer to ask them in private?"
Harry blushed deeply. "Now that you mention it, yes, that's true."
"Fine then, is there anything you need until you come home? I can send you something along."
Harry smiled at the thought of actually 'going home' to someplace. "No, Remus. I am fine. I have everything I need right here."
Lupin shook his head and laughed. "Alright then, off you go. We wouldn't want Severus to come back and not find you elbow deep in dusting the classroom cupboards.
"Yes, sir," Harry grinned. "And thank you, Remus. Please give Mrs. Weasley a hug for me and tell her I appreciate all she is doing there."
Lupin disappeared and Harry walked into the classroom to get to work. He didn't mind the detention at all anymore. Snape had really been incredibly fair and easy on him and Harry oddly didn't want to disappoint him.
The bright full moon hung low over the Forbidden Forest illuminating the dark path the cloaked figure was swiftly and quietly moving along. She came to rest under a large tree near a clearing and sat down to wait, her long slender fingers nervously clenching at the hem of her cloak.
A dark hooded figure moved out from behind a tree and approached her. "You have something you wish to tell me?"
Her eyes darted back and forth nervously. "Well…yes…you see…I don't know that I can do this. I mean there is absolutely no opportunity. He is much stronger than we believed…I know what you need me to do…but I don't think I can…what do I do now?"
A silver hand moved out from under the cloak and touched the side of her face. He leaned close and whispered something briefly into her ear. "Now do you understand?"
She sat up straight and looked into the darkness of the forest. "Yes, of course. I understand. I know what I need to do now. Thank you."
She got up and walked silently back into the castle.
