I don't own anything related to harry potter.
Chapter 14:
The next couple of days Harry and Hermione spent their time planning the DA meetings and working on Hermione's Occlumency. When they weren't doing that, Harry spent his time studying and practicing new spells, especially ones from his old charms and transfiguration books. He wanted to make sure he was caught up completely so he wouldn't have to waste time on the extra homework the professors seemed to love to assign when the students failed in class.
It was the evening before the Weasleys were to arrive, and after a particularly productive day of studying and practice, as Hermione had finally learned how to put in 'permanent' mental shields. While they were very weak, they would at least inform her if someone was trying to access her memories. Harry decided to give himself a treat by actually going to sleep. That's not to say that he felt any real exhaustion when he didn't sleep, but he had learned that sleep did more than just rest the body, it also relaxed it. Harry also figured it would be nice to give his poor mind a break.
At the threat of sounding like Ron, he was beginning to feel like he would go mental if kept up his demanding studying schedule. For someone who spent all of their time studying and practicing, eight hours of inactivity was a great sacrifice and thus he considered it a treat to himself. After informing Dobby that his services would not be needed that night, Harry changed into his silk pajamas and crawled under the covers and quickly fell asleep.
He was walking down the 7th floor hallway past the room of requirement, when he heard a violin playing a rather up-beat tune from behind the door. He pushed the door open and stepped through.
Harry found himself in what he thought should have been the forbidden forest. Instead of ravenous acromantula and dark shadows, sunlight filtered through the trees, illuminating the patches of grass and wildflowers that were prominent throughout the forest. He gazed around wearily, expecting some strange creature to suddenly pop out at him while searching for the violin. He heard rustling in the bushes behind him as the violin music suddenly stopped. He threw himself around, whipping out his wand, which looked peculiarly like a pencil, and pointed it in the direction the noise came from.
The rustling got louder until a pink and yellow goat sauntered out of the shrubbery.
"What the hell?" Harry muttered to himself. "Why is there a pink goat be out in the forest? Everyone knows only maroon goats hang out in forests. How odd." He continued to stare at it, even as it started to chew on the green toga he was wearing.
While contemplating this most perplexing puzzle, he suddenly jumped back when the goat bleated angrily and suddenly turned into a satyr. The odd creature said not a word and then reached behind itself and pulled out a violin and began to play the same tune Harry had heard earlier.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a swarm of fairies descended upon the area and began to frolic to the upbeat notes coming from the satyr's violin. He chose to ignore them and sat down on the grass, listening to the delightful music. It wasn't until a light buzzing next to his ear that he broke his attention from the satyr and its violin. Recognizing the buzzing, Harry's right hand shot up and grabbed the buzzing object. Harry turned his head to look at the snitch he had caught. He barely had a chance to inspect it when one of the fairies swooped down and grabbed the snitch right out of his hands. The mass of small, flying humanoids gave a collective giggle at his misfortune and quickly flew off into the woods.
Well, this was completely unacceptable. Jumping to his feet, Harry started chasing the fairies, trying to steal the snitch back. They flew quickly through the forest, leaving the clearing far behind. Taking a running leap Harry found himself on his Firebolt, chasing after the fairies as they darted in-between the trees. The chase lasted for a good ten minutes, until the fairy with the snitch was just within his grasp. Removing his hands from the broom, he lurched forward and Harry's hands clasped around the fairy. Unfortunately, the sudden shift forward sent the broom out of control and Harry was flung to the ground. Not deterred at all by the minor injuries he sustained, he grasped the fairy firmly with one hand, and with a cry of triumph, took back the snitch with another. The fairy started to struggle as Harry placed the snitch into a pocket on the inside of his toga.
With the snitch secured, he diverted his attention to the creature in his hand only to find that the fairy was a miniature version of Hermione, with wings, wearing an elegant blue gossamer dress that he was quite sure the real Hermione would never wear (though he had to admit that, miniature or not, she did look quite amazing in it). Taking advantage of his distraction as he observed her, she flew from his grip and dove into his toga. Before he knew what was going on, he was rolling on the ground in laughter as the mini-Hermione tickled him mercilessly. It was only when it stopped did he realize he no longer had the snitch as fairy-Hermione was now standing on his chest, holding it in front of his face.
He looked at the fairy Hermione curiously and then raised his hand to take the snitch back. She responded by smacking the tip of his finger with it, which hurt more that a small object like that should. He pulled his hands away and the fairy took off, not before waving the snitch in front of him mockingly. As soon as she had flown away Harry realized he was in a large field of brown scrub grass that seemed to stretch forever. Turning around, he found that the forest had now disappeared. He looked up only to see the red sky with gray clouds. Shrugging his shoulders, he did what felt most natural and began walking.
As he moved across the field, he came upon a door. It was rather fancy, made of polished oak with a stained glass window that depicted two snakes fighting each other. He was aware of a strong force beckoning him to open the door, inviting him in. Shrugging his shoulders, he reached out and grabbed the brass handle that was in the shape of a dragons head.
Harry opened the door and found himself in what seemed to be a great, black void. Stepping forward, he found that, contrary to the toga he was wearing only moments before, he was now wearing the combat robes that he had worn during the battle of Privet Drive.
"Hello Harry Potter," a voice practically hissed from behind him. Harry whipped around to find himself looking at an older version of Tom Riddle. Now, I say Tom Riddle because he did not have the grotesque snake-like appearance that Voldemort now had. Instead, he looked very much how you would expect a sixteen year old Riddle when he was 60, though he still maintained the black robes and red eyes Harry was familiar with. Thinking quickly, he decided that confidence, bordering on arrogance, was probably the best way to deal with this situation.
"Hello to you too Tom," he replied evenly, perhaps even casually. "What are we doing here?"
"We, Mr. Potter, are here to talk," as soon as he spoke these words, two blue leather chairs, a small ornate table, and a tea set shimmered into existence. Not paying any attention to Harry, Tom sat down in one of the chairs and poured himself some tea. Taking a sip of it, he looked back up at Harry. "You know Mr. Potter, it is rude to remain standing when a host offers you a seat."
"Yes, well, being that you are the murderous, I-take-joy-in-causing-pain type of guy, I didn't think you would really stand on ceremony too much. Besides, you never actually offered, you just assumed I would sit."
"Well, then, you have my apologies. Please," he said gesturing to the other chair, "have a seat."
Harry stared at him for a moment before he took a seat and leaned back casually, throwing his legs over the side of the chair. Riddle merely looked at him disapprovingly.
"Really Mr. Potter, do you have no manners?"
"Yes Mr. Riddle, I do. I just don't care right now and I still don't see why you care."
"Harry, may I call you Harry?" Not waiting for a response, Tom continued on. "You see, that is exactly what my Death Eaters fight for, pride and dignity. Just because they are ruthless when it comes to pursuing what must be done to defend their way of life does not mean they are completely uncultured. Indeed, me and my followers fight so that the more civilized, proper race can resume their place of power."
"You know what Voldemort, I don't really care. You said we are here to talk, so what do you want to talk about? And it better not be about any of your pure-blood bs. And while I'm asking, why do you actually look like a normal person?"
"Simple Potter, were are in my mind, so this is who I am, much like you appear to be who you are."
"I see. So who are you then? What does this," he pointed at Voldemort's human body, "representation mean? You dress as Voldemort, but you appear to be Tom Riddle. Which is it?"
"See Harry, Voldemort and Tom Riddle are the very same, always have been and always will be, for all eternity. Though my body has changed, who I am and what I stand for has not."
"I see. And who am I?"
"A soldier, a fighter, but still a young man," he said, gesturing to the combat robes that Harry was currently wearing. Contrary to Voldemort, Harry seemed to appear how he was in the physical world. "I must say that it is somewhat of a surprise to see you like that. I had assumed you would appear, as you said, more normal, perhaps donning those ill fitting muggle hand-me downs that I have heard you wear. I also see your scar, though I have it on good authority that you practically detest the attention you get because of it. I suppose this means you have embraced your identity as my opponent. Very interesting."
"Yes, as interesting as this all is, get to the point. When I go to sleep, I prefer to rest, dream psychedelic dreams, weird stuff like that, not chats with warmongering hypocrites like yourself. Though," he mumbled almost to himself, "its not like you have given me odd dreams before."
"Such rudeness Mr. Potter, though I am probably slightly deserving of your ire, and perhaps you should talk to someone about those dreams of yours. Nevertheless, I actually happen to agree with you and we shall get down to business. You have grown strong Harry, and while my spies can't tell me how you have gained such skill since our encounter at the Ministry, I do have some theories. However, how you have gained this power is irrelevant. What is important is that you are powerful."
"You still haven't answered my question," Harry sneered. Riddle merely ignored his rudeness and continued to speak.
"It is because of these developments that I asked you here. I want you to join me Harry. Now, hear me out before you scoff," he said, holding his hand up. "You would make an excellent addition, and in doing so I can guaranty the safety of the ones you love. You would be my right hand man Harry! Power, respect, it can all be yours. With you on my side, Albus Dumbledore doesn't stand a chance!"
"I can stop you right there Mr. Riddle," Harry said quickly, deciding that if Voldemort was going to be civil for now, he might as well be also, "as I have no intention of joining you. I refused you when we first met, and my resolve has only gotten stronger since."
"Think about it Harry," the Dark Lord replied, brushing off Harry's last comment. "Lets say that somehow, in the unlikely event, you defeat me, what then? You become a public tool, thrust in front of crowds on holidays and then ignored when you're not needed. Perhaps made a scapegoat when things go wrong? It has happened many times before, and will happen again. With me, you can retain your influence, or, if you want, fade from the public view without being hassled. Why worry about public opinion when you control the public, the government, and the press? Just some of the benefits of having absolute power Harry!"
"Power? Power is pretty useless if you have to give up everything to get it. By the way, how the hell did you get into my mind?"
"Really Mr. Potter, you do seem to be jumping all over the place tonight, mentally speaking, of course. Again, to answer your last question first, I didn't. I merely invited you into my mind. I figured it would be much easier than waiting for you to find me as you used to do. Another testament to your skills."
"Wait, what do you mean when you said I used to find you?"
"You honestly do not know Mr. Potter?" Riddle asked, genuinely surprised. "No, I don't suppose you do. Its quite simple Harry, I rarely invade your mind, far too much effort really. Instead, I wait for you to come to me. The fact that it takes so much effort to force myself into your mind is another testament to your power Harry, whether you are aware of it or not. I can help you unlock that power, if you join me."
"Promises Mr. Riddle, nothing but words. How often have you offered power to others only to get them to serve you? You don't give power, you merely take it! I've seen your meetings, where your servants bow and kiss your robes like whipped dogs. Thank you, but no."
"I am offering you more than that Harry. I want you to join me, not as a servant, but as a partner."
"Sorry, but the answer is still no."
"Well, I was afraid you might feel that way Mr. Potter, though I really suggest you think about my offer. Until then, you may leave." Harry was surprised at being allowed to just leave, but decided it was best not to question his luck (after all, he really didn't want to fight the Dark Lord, mentally or magically, unless he really needed to), turned around and opened the door. As he stepped back into his mind, he heard Voldemort call out behind him.
"Remember Harry, if you change you mind, you know where to find me." Harry pretended to not have heard him and slammed the door shut.
Harry once again found himself in the field. He stood there, not really sure what to do, when he suddenly started to shake violently and the world started to get all fuzzy.
"Harry! Wake up!"
Cracking open his eyelids, he found himself looking right back into the brown eyes of Hermione. He found himself oddly disappointed to find that she was wearing a normal red blouse and jeans and was lacking in wing span.
"Hermininnny," he slurred out tiredly, "where are your wings?"
"I don't have wings Harry," she replied slightly impatiently.
"Oh. Perhaps you should get some," he muttered as he rolled over and settled back under his blankets. "They look quite nice on you, along with that smashing dress…" he trailed off as he once again dozed off.
"Harry!" she cried out, shaking him again.
"What is it Hermione?" he mumbled, "I was having a really interesting dream. Real interesting, and odd," he muttered to himself. "So very odd."
"I'm sure you were Harry, especially if you think I should have wings, but the Weasley's are coming back today and I thought you might want to be awake when they arrived." Still not moving to get up, Harry closed his eyes.
"What time is it Hermione?"
"It's almost seven! Ron and his family are supposed to be here by eleven! Normally you are up by now, so I got worried. I tried to wake you earlier but you just mumbled something about being rude so I let you be, and then I … Harry, are you even listening to me? Harry!" Noticing that he had once again fallen asleep, she began to shake him vigorously again.
Harry, having already decided that he was going back to sleep for another hour or two (after all, this was his treat to himself) decided he needed to get Hermione to shut up and stop shaking him.
"Ermione," he mumbled, "would you please stop shaking me?"
"No! You need to get up," she said resolutely before sounding a little like a small child, "you promised me we could get some more practice in before Ron showed up!"
"Ill make it up to you later, I promise," was his muffled reply. "I'm taking an undeclared vacation this morning."
"Harry, you can't take a break now! There's still so much stuff I haven't learned yet!" She crawled onto the bed so as to improve her leverage and once again had resorted to shaking him. "Harry, get up!"
He couldn't help but smile at her attitude. 'Only Hermione would want to practice even though it was obvious that he wasn't going to do anything today and had given her the day off.' Well, at least he thought it was obvious. Apparently, she hadn't got the message that he wasn't moving. Hermione was still trying to wake him up, so he did the only thing he could without having leave the comfort of his bed. Holding out his hand, he threw a stunner at her. Not expecting the attack, she didn't even have time to pull her wand out to defend herself.
Harry turned his head when he felt her roll off the bed and land on the floor. He looked at her for a moment through half open eyes. Coming to the conclusion that she appeared to have landed in an extremely uncomfortable position, he levitated her onto he bed. He was already going to get an earful later for stunning her, so it would be for the best if she wasn't stiff and sore to add to her irritation. Making sure she looked comfortable, Harry buried his head into his pillow and fell back to sleep.
R-o-t-G-L-
It wasn't until almost three hours later that Harry finally woke up. Immediately he was startled when he realized that there was someone else in his bed. His moment of panic lasted only the few moments to it took to see was only Hermione, though this still confused him. He sat up and stared at the young woman, utterly perplexed.
'Why is she here? I don't remember…' He quickly looked down at himself and then at the girl by his side. He was wearing a full set of black silk pajamas, both bottom and top, while Hermione seemed to be dressed for the day. 'Well,' he thought with some relief, 'at least nothing happened," though there was a little voice in the back of his head quietly asked if it would have been so bad if something had happened. Harry, who had barely the courage to kiss a girl, much less touch them in that way, merely wrote that voice off as his hormones talking and shoved it into the back of his head. As he sat there trying to remember why his friend was in his bed, he came across the memory of his little chat with Voldemort.
"Damn dark lords," he groaned as he flopped himself roughly back onto the bed. His movements caused the unintended side effect of waking Hermione up.
"Harry?" Hermione said quietly as she lifter her head, her hair even more fizzy than normal. "What's wrong? Is it your scar?"
"No, it's nothing Hermione." He looked over at her, and while he could see the sleep in her eyes, he could tell she didn't believe him. "So," he continued, trying to change the topic, "what time is it?" She gave him one of her looks but dropped the topic as she looked at her watch.
"Oh no! It's almost ten, we need to get ready." With that said, she jumped out of bed and started to pace his room. Harry crawled out of bed much slower than his friend, not seeing the need for rush, though it was later than he had planned. He stumbled to the bathroom, grabbing a change of clothes on his way, leaving Hermione pacing nervously around his room, muttering to herself. However, when he came back out clean and in a fresh pair of black slacks and a gray shirt, she looked as if she had worked herself into a rage.
"You!" she yelled, pointing her wand at Harry.
"What about me?" he replied calmly, holding up his hands in defense as he slowly backed away.
"You stunned me and then act all innocent! I should hex you for that!"
"Come on Herms! You threatened to hex me and Ron all the time."
"Don't call me Herms! And I will have you know that when I threatened, it was to get you to study! In other words, so you can be productive. Ooh!" she groaned, her wand drooping just a little. "Now we don't have much time to get ready for the Weasleys!"
"Hermione, I really don't see what the rush is," he said, trying to subtly reach for her wand. "So the house might not be in tip top shape, but they have seen the house in worse condition."
"I am not worried about the house, Harry! What do we tell Ms. Weasley, or Ron for that matter?"
"Excuse me?" now Harry was a bit baffled, his hand just touching the tip of her wand. "Tell them what?"
"Don't you remember? They don't know about the attacks! What are we going to say to them?"
"Well," he said very slowly, "I am going to leave telling Mrs. Weasley to Dumbledore and the rest of the Order. I really do pity Mr. Weasley right now. As for Ron, well, I'm sure he will understand." Hermione looked as if she wanted to argue that point, but Harry chose that moment to pull the wand away from her. This earned him a very disapproving glare from his female companion.
"Promise not to hex me?" he asked cautiously, holding her wand away from her. She seemed to mull it over for a moment.
"Fine, but you owe me," she said, grabbing her wand back as Harry held it out to her.
"Harry!" Remus called out to him through the door. "You up yet? I need your help down in the kitchen!"
"I'll be right there Remus. Give me a minute." He then turned to Hermione. "I'm going to go help Remus in the kitchen, you want to come or what?"
"Sure," she said, pocketing her wand. "While we're down there, you can talk me through some mental exercises. We are going to do something productive this morning."
"If that's what you want, I suppose," he said as he shrugged his shoulders and headed for the door, just happy that he had escaped from the stunning incident relatively unscathed, Hermione walking right beside him. They were heading down the stairs when he heard a loud chattering coming from the entryway. It would appear that the Weasleys had arrived.
R-o-t-G-L-
Ron Weasley quickly followed his mother's rapid pace as they approached the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, or as he had learned recently from his dad, Harry and Lupin's house. To say he was excited was an understatement. While he had greatly enjoyed the trip with his family, he had missed his friends greatly. He felt a little guilty about leaving when Harry had just suffered such a personal loss, but his friend had said that he was ok and Ron knew that if Harry said he was okay, there was no way he would accept help. This is not to say that he did not fear a repeat of last year, what with the yelling and all.
"Come along Ron, we can't dawdle too long. Security and all that," Molly Weasley commanded as they headed down the street. They had taken the Knight Bus from the Burrow, where they had flown to after their rather long trip back from Romania, to a few blocks away from #12 Grimmauld Place.
Grunting, he tried to pick up his pace, but was having trouble with his rather heavy trunk. He looked over to Ginny as she giggled at his apparent difficulty while she seemed to be pulling her trunk along with ease. As he looked around, he noticed that the rest of his family seemed to be having an easy time of it as well. His entire family was here, well, almost all of them. The twins were missing, having to tend to their shop. Ron also thought his father looked a little nervous. Not the 'oh dear something bad has/will happen' nervous, but more like the 'I've done something Molly wont approve of' nervous'. Figuring that his dad was always doing things his mom didn't like, he let it go and turned his attention back to his sister, who was still smirking at his apparent difficulty.
"What's so funny Gin?
"Nothing Ron," she said a little too innocently (and too easily, if you asked Ron as he grunted along as he dragged his trunk),
"Really?" He said between breaths. Ginny merely grinned at him at practically skipped ahead to talk to Charlie, where Ron was sure he heard talk about feather-weight charms, causing Ron to roll his eyes, not that anyone saw it. They continued for a few more minutes, all the while the Weasley matron continued to prod them along to hurry up until they stood in front of Grimmauld Place.
They all paused at the front door to #12 as Mr. Weasley handed Percy a piece of paper, which undoubtedly written by Dumbledore to allow Percy to enter the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Not surprisingly, Percy was the only one who didn't seem excited to see Harry, not that Ron couldn't blame him. After all, Percy had been very outspoken against Harry, claiming his delusional and mad, and now he was about to confront that very same person. Once again, Ron also noticed that his father seemed exceptionally nervous, and kept glancing between Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and himself.
Ron followed the rest of his family inside, where he almost dropped his trunk as he noticed the same changes in the house that Harry had a few weeks before. They all began chatting at once, commenting on how much had changed, what had been done before they had left for their trip, and general statements about how it was actually looking like a home now. Molly was quickly lead away to the kitchen for an 'emergency' order meeting while the rest of the family was still mingling. In all the chatter, none of them noticed Harry and Hermione descend the stairs into the entrance way until Ginny happened to look up and see them.
"Harry! Hermione!" the young girl yelled as she ran up to meet them, throwing her arms around the two of them (which was possible as they were still standing next to each other). Ron looked up, intending on greeting his two friends, but stopped when his eyes rested on them. Both were different from when he had last seen them two months ago. Hermione was slightly tanned from her trip to France, and Ron would have wagered that she had grown, something adolescents tend to do, especially when one does not see them for an extended period of time. However, it was not Hermione that caught his attention, but his best mate, also known as Harry Potter.
Harry had most definitely grown, more so than Ron would have thought in only two months. Also, contrary to his normal large, drab gray clothing, he was wearing muggle pants and shirt that actually seemed to fit him. Then there was his flesh, which was extraordinarily pale, especially next to the young woman next to him who had a light tan. As Ron continued to observe his friend, who at the moment was busy greeting the other Weasley's (except for Molly and Arthur), he noticed something was off about him, something was different and he wasn't thinking about the obvious physical changes. He focused on Harry's face before he realized it.
Not only were there new scars, though they were faint, it was his eyes that got Ron. When he had last seen Harry, his vibrant green eyes seemed sad and somewhat dead, a far cry from the lively look they usually held. Now, however, they were neither lively nor dead, but old and sad. Yes, he looked and felt happy at seeing his surrogate family, but his eyes betrayed a deeper sadness, something that Ron could not place. Now, as surprising as it is, Ron had learned how to read his friend, even if he usually kept his feelings to himself, and while he did not have the grasp of human emotions that Hermione did, he could tell when something was off with Harry, even if he didn't know what.
"Ron!" Harry cried out as he parted through the sea of red headed people. "Good to see you! How was your trip?"
"Oh, yeah, it was great mate!" Ron shook Harry's hand when they were facing each other. "I had a lot of fun, as did I think everyone else. How was your summer?"
"Well, it was, umm, I suppose eventful, would be the correct word," Harry replied, shuffling his feet. Hermione rolled her eyes, but went unnoticed by the two friends.
"Really?" the tall red head asked, though his tone was more accusatory than curious.
"Right, well, you see Ron, um, while I was at …"
"What was that Arthur!" Came the screeching voice of Molly Weasley from the kitchen.
"Um, right. Ron, why don't we take this conversation up to my room? Ginny, you can come too, as you'll no doubt find out anyway." Harry pleaded quickly, his eyes darting around to make sure the Weasley witch hadn't come to find him yet. "Yes, that would probably be best," he muttered to himself and darted up the stairs.
Ron and Ginny both looked at each other in confusion, before turning to Hermione, who seemed to be itching to leave the area as well. Any indecision he may have had was gone when he heard his mother bellow from the kitchen door.
"Harry James Potter! You get down here right this instant!"
Ron looked to guidance from Hermione, only to find that she was already dashing back up the stairs as well. Shrugging his shoulders, Ron followed with Ginny right behind him. They dashed into a room that they saw Hermione enter. As soon as they were inside, the door was slammed shut and both a masculine and feminine voice were heard casting multiple locking charms. Ron just looked stunned that Hermione would dare to break the under-age magic rules (though Harry, for some reason, didn't surprise him).
R-o-t-G-L-
After completing some quick privacy and locking charms, Harry turned back to his friend. When he had first seen him, Harry couldn't help but smirk at his friend. Ron looked a bit sun burnt from all his time outside. Indeed, his skin almost matched his hair now. Ron had also grown some and was still taller than Harry, though not nearly as much since Harry had more time. 'Besides,' he thought, 'if my ego ever needs that boost, there are always magical means of changing one's height permanently.'
"So," Ginny practically demanded as she and Ron took a seat on the bed, "what is going on that has made mum absolutely livid?"
"Yeah Harry," Ron chimed in, "what has been going on around here? Does it have something to do with how you look?"
"What do you mean 'how I look'?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Gee Harry, it might be that you have a few new scars," Ginny said sarcastically. Harry looked at Hermione, who merely nodded in affirmation.
"Oh! I guess I don't really pay too much attention to myself in the mirror. They really that obvious?" They all nodded.
"Whatever Harry, now what's going on?" Ron spoke impatiently. "I mean, dad obviously knows, as he has been looking nervous all day, plus what just happened with mum…" Ron trailed off as Harry held up his hand to tell him to stop. He then walked into the corner of his room where he had tossed the Daily Prophet's he received. He shuffled through them until he found the ones detailing the attack. He walked back over to them and tossed the papers on the bed between the two Weasleys.
"It would be much simpler if you just read it for yourself. Surprisingly, they actually reported it accurately." With that said, Harry began to pace his room while Hermione sat at his desk and started to read whatever book happened to be there. The other two, seeing as how Harry wasn't going to say anymore just yet, shrugged their shoulders and grabbed the paper.
The two siblings sat down on the bed and began reading. Harry was quick to cut them off when they tried to speak and just told them to keep reading. It was a half-hour later (and many interruptions) when the two finished reading, both looking decidedly paler than when they starter.
"Mate," Ron's voice was shaking, "y-you really were there?"
"Yes Ron, I was there."
"And it happened about two weeks ago?"
"That is correct."
"I see," he said quietly, which sent up warning flags in Harry's mind. "Why didn't you tell me? Do you not trust me? I know it doesn't take two weeks for Hedwig to deliver your letters to me!" Harry really wanted to bitch slap Ron for that being the first question he asks, but he restrained himself. After all, if he wanted Ron on his side, it wouldn't do to harm him.
"Its not about trust Ron," he said impatiently, "how would I go about telling you? Somehow I don't think a letter would have been the best way. I can see it now, 'Dear Ron, So my muggle relatives were killed, my neighborhood was destroyed, and oh, by the way, I happened to kill a few Death Eaters while all this was going on. How was your summer?' I'm sure that would have gone over quite well, do you?"
"I'm sure you could have thought of a better way to word it if you tried," Ron replied dryly. The two females remaining silent, deciding it would be best to let the two friends work this out on their own. "Its because you don't trust me, isn't it?" Harry couldn't help but feel a little bad for Ron, who sounded so defeated. After all, it was true, sort of.
"You want an honest answer Ron?"
"Yeah mate, I do."
"Fine. There are two reasons. One, after I recovered, I was perfectly happy not thinking about it except from a strategic view, you know, seeing what I could have done better, how the outcome of that incident will effect things in the short and long term, that sort of thing. The second reason is that I honestly didn't know how you would react."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, unlike Hermione, I don't have a good grasp of people's emotions. I figured one of two things would happen. You either would think I was perfectly justified in my actions or you would think I turned into some insane dark wizard." Harry couldn't help but wince at the pained look on Ron's face.
"Did you really think I would believe you had gone dark Harry?" Although Ron sounded almost pleading, making Harry wish he could tell him that it was a silly notion of his, but he couldn't, because that would be a lie. He decided to give Ron a straight answer. After all, he knew he would want one.
"As unlikely as it seems Ron, I did. Let me explain first," he said quickly, cutting off whatever comment, if any, Ron was about to make. "I know its been over a year, but sometimes you can just be so damn unpredictable. I would never have guessed that you would turn on me with the whole Tri-Wizard thing, but you did. Yes, I know that is done and over with and that you have matured and learned from your mistakes, but a part of me will always remember that at one point, you turned on me along with everyone else."
"I understand Harry," Ron replied a bit dejectedly, "and you know that I am sorry about that."
"I know Ron, and I do think that it's just being paranoid on my part. After all, Privet Drive was supposed to have been the safest place for me to live, according to Albus. I suppose that belief being destroyed so completely made me feel a bit vulnerable."
"What I want to know," Ginny cut in, "Is why you weren't able to pull that sort of thing off back in the department of mysteries?"
"Yeah, about that, um, I can't tell you, at least, not at this time."
"Why is that? Does Hermione know?" Ron asked, giving the bushy-haired girl a glance.
"Yes, mainly because she found out on her own, and because she has agreed to a few conditions."
"Well, we can agree to do whatever Hermione did!" Ginny declared.
"Well, it does require learning Occlumency," Hermione chimed it, "and that isn't a stroll in the park, even when you have Harry teaching."
"You know Occlumency now Harry?" Ron asked in disbelief. "How?"
"One of my secrets Ron."
"Oh. So, when can I learn?"
"Sometime after school starts, at the earliest," Harry said patiently. "I want to make sure Hermione is trained first, seeing as how she knows the most, aside from Albus."
"Oh, so we don't get to find out till then?"
"If ever," Harry said flatly.
"Come on Harry, what is so important?"
"Ron, what I have done to be able to do what I have done is not only very illegal, but really dangerous, as Hermione has already lectured me. I can not take the risk of it becoming public knowledge without a few guarantees." Harry took a breath, waiting for their reactions. And waited.
"So that's it?" Harry asked, a bit perplexed.
"Yeah mate, what else were you expecting?"
"You're not upset about me having killed people?" He looked at the two Weasleys who were just staring at him. "Nothing? Especially I killed some of them in a rather brutal fashion? Loads of secrets, that sort of thing?" Ron looked almost taken back by the question.
"Why would I mate? I mean, hell, they did kill your family and countless others, if these articles are anything to go off of. I say they got what they deserved."
"I agree Harry," said Ginny. "They made the choice to become Death Eaters, now they have dealt with the consequences." Harry couldn't feel more pleased, and a little shocked, at this news, though he wondered if they would still be singing the same tune if they learned what other things he had done, and what he still planned on doing. The group continued to discuss things, such as OWL results and classes. Ron had decided to take DADA, charms, transfiguration. Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures plus the Art of Enchanting elective while Hermione was going to take DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Potions and Arithmancy. She also was able to squeeze in the Magical Theory class. She had wanted to take The Art of Enchanting, but Albus had warned her about the amount of work that came with NEWT level classes. As it was, she was taking more than the average student (and Hermione had already sworn to herself not to do the time-turner trick again).
Dinner that night was a quiet affair, as somehow Arthur had been able to pacify his wife. This did not, however, prevent her from pampering Harry whenever she got the chance, even if it was just refilling his drink. Harry and Ron merely shook their heads at each other, hoping that it would pass once she got over the shock. After all, it's not every day that you learn your eighth child was involved in a Death Eater attack. Again. With a full stomach, Harry gave Dobby instructions to once again prepare his midnight meal and headed up stairs to continue his studies.
It was early the next morning when twin cracks signaled that people had Apparated into Harry's room. Harry, who had been sitting at his desk, didn't even turn around to see who it was. After all, there were only two people he knew who would Apparate together, especially this early in the morning.
"Hello Fred, George," Harry not looking up from the book he was reading. "May I ask what you are doing in my room? You do know it is common courtesy to knock before you enter."
"Now Harry, I don't believe any one has ever accused us of being courteous."
"Indeed, our dear founder, you must have us mistaken for someone else."
"Perhaps," Harry responded idly, "but that still doesn't answer the question of why you are here."
"That is a conundrum, isn't it Fred."
"I couldn't agree more George."
"Would you two stop it?" Harry said firmly. "I am in the middle of something you know."
"Sorry Harry," they replied in stereo, smirking slightly.
"Don't worry about it, just, knock next time." He put a marked his page and closed the book before turning around to face the twins. "I take it you came to wake me up?"
"Correct! By George, he is a smart one, isn't he Fred?"
"I couldn't have said it better George." Harry just groaned as he rested his head on his palms. "Now Harry, that is no way to accept a compliment! It was one, right George?"
"Yes Fred, I believe so. However my dear brother, it is perhaps best not to antagonize him. You read what happened to the last people that made Harry angry."
"So true, and sad business that," they both shook their heads sadly before perking up again. "Well Harry, Remus asked us to tell you that we, that is to say you, Hermione, Gin, and our dear brother Ronniekins, can go to Diagon Alley today. Dumbledore suggest that we leave early, so if there is any incidents, there won't be that many people."
"Secretly though," George added, "we think he is doing it as a favor to you so you can avoid as much gawking and hero-worship as possible. The only people who will be there are honest business people and dark wizards who are out for your blood."
"Good to know," Harry sighed. "Lets go then."
Harry met the rest of his friends, along with Remus and Tonks, who were to act as 'security,' though Remus quietly told him that they were more like back up for him. The twins meanwhile, had Apparated back to their shop. Dumbledore had managed to get the ministry to authorize a legal Portkey for their trip, due to the 'high security threat' posed towards Harry. Harry secretly thought that the ministry was still trying to gain his favor. Donning the ridiculous hat he had worn on his last trip to Diagon Alley, something which earned him a surprised look from Hermione and giggles from Ginny even after he explained it looked better when worn with robes. Hermione just shook her head and told them to hold up for a minute as she ran back up the stairs. The teens just shared confused glances until Hermione came back carrying Harry's silver cloak.
"If you insist on wearing that awful hat, then you might as well wear this as well. It makes you look just a little less ridiculous," the girl said authoritatively as she handed the garment to Harry. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at each other just before they grabbed the Portkey. After their arrival in a private room of the Leaky Cauldron, they set out for their shopping trip. The first part of the trip was uneventful, and perhaps even down right boring.
As predicted, there were not very many people out shopping that early, though there were a few Hogwarts students, however none that Harry or the others recognized. They stopped at all the standard shops: Flourish and Blotts, Madame Malkins (where Harry picked up his replacement set of combat robes), the apothecary, and the Magical Menagerie.
"All right everybody," Remus announced as they ate lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. "We'll let you guys go off for the rest of the afternoon, but I want you all to be at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes at five so we can Floo back as a group. Understood?" After receiving nods and grunts (Ron) in confirmation, he and Tonks when out to patrol the Alley.
"So where are we going to head off to then," Ginny asked once the adults had left.
"We need to head to quality Quidditch! Right Harry?"
"Well, actually Ron," Harry replied, "I need to pick up some books first." At this, Hermione beamed while Ron scowled.
"Harry, mate, we already stopped at Flourish and Blotts, what else do you need?"
"Flourish and Blotts doesn't have what I am looking for"
"It doesn't have what you are looking for?" Ron looked at Harry in amazement. "Harry, they have practically everything!"
"Ron, just drop it. There is another place that I like to shop at."
"Oooh!" Hermione practically squealed, "is this where you got your other books?"
"Um, yeah Hermione," he replied, a bit startled by her girlish out burst (if you can count squealing over a bookstore girlish).
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Hermione said as she bolted up from the table, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him with her. Ron looked absolutely confused.
"What about Quidditch Harry?" the tall red-head called after him desperately. "You need new pads this year!"
"Not playing this year Ron. Well meet you at your brothers shop!" Harry called back over his shoulder as Hermione dragged him back into the alley. Ron sat there in shock.
"You're not playing?" he said to the empty air. Ginny giggled at him and turned back to her food.
Harry, meanwhile, allowed himself to be dragged along until they were almost upon the entrance to Knockturn Alley. They had gotten some odd looks from other patrons of the Alley, though they didn't pay too much attention as Harry's scar was still covered up. Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and turned her so that she faced him.
"What Harry?" she asked impatiently.
"Well, first of all, you don't know where we are going. Secondly, we are going into Knockturn Alley, so perhaps a bit of indiscretion is due till we get to the shop? You are dressed as a muggle after all."
"So are you."
"Right, um, you have your school robes, right?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded as she held her bag up slightly. "Good, I need one and you need one." Realization dawned on Hermione and she hurriedly pulled two of her new robes out of the bag. Hermione pulled Harry into a small alley between stores, earning herself a raised eyebrow from Harry.
"Do you really want to be putting on a girl's robe in the middle of the street?" she snapped.
"No, I suppose not," he replied as he fastened the slightly too small robe one. He pulled out his wand, and muttering under his breath as he waved it at himself, resized his borrowed robes. With another flick, he had changed them to a cobalt blue color. Analyzing the color for a moment, he pointed his wand at his hat and changed the color to match the robes.
"I do hope you plan on changing those back Mr. Potter," his female companion huffed as she watched him. "They are new after all."
"Don't worry Herms, the charms will fade in a couple of hours." Sadly, he missed the glare he got for shortening her name again. "Now," he commented looking over at Hermione, "you're missing something." She looked at him curiously as he seemed to be inspecting her, making her feel more than a little self-conscious. His eyes suddenly lit up and he reached down to the ground and found a small pebble. "Now," he said with a bit of excitement, "stand still. I haven't done this before." With that he placed his hand on the top of her head, leaving the pebble there.
"Harry?" Hermione stuttered as Harry leveled his wand at her.
"Just stand still Hermione," with that said, he suddenly swished his wand in an oval shape to the area above her head while saying creatrix pestas! Suddenly, Hermione's head tingled and it felt as if someone was pulling her hair as a weight settled on top of her head. Almost as soon as it had started, the tingling and pulling was already over.
"Harry James Potter!" she practically screeched. "What have you done?" Instead of answering her directly, he waved his wand and conjured a hand-mirror and handed it to his female companion. Hermione gasped as she found herself now wearing an emerald green gaucho hat with a silver band. While transfiguring a hat wasn't that amazing, it was the fact that it was Harry who cast the spell that had put her hair up into the hat. "Wow. Though, I do wonder why you Harry, of all people, happen to know that charm?"
"Well that's quite simple Hermione," he replied, "it was in a book on stealth and disguise. Now, enough standing around. We do have a shop to go to." With that, he held out his arm for Hermione to take a hold of. Now it was her turn to give him an odd look. "What? We want to look casual, as if we take strolls through Knockturn Alley all the time." Hermione just sighed and looped her arm through his and they made their way into Knockturn Alley.
Despite it being later in the day, there were still surprisingly few people, making the walk to the alley that contained the shop just that much more easy. Harry pulled her into the alley between two buildings and quickly guided Hermione down the stairs to the shop. She looked skeptically at the ratty old sign but followed nonetheless.
The place was just as Harry remembered it: large and dusty. Hermione looked like she had found heaven as she started glancing at titles of the various old books.
"Mr. Potter," the old man wheezed haughtily, seeming to literally come out of the woodwork, causing the two teens to jump. "I sell you those books on the belief that you would do some good with them. Instead, I read in the paper that the Death Eaters slain by you were deprived of life by spells taught in school! My god boy, what have you been doing with your time?"
"Ah, sorry sir. You see, I had um, used that one book that I was a bit reluctant to buy a few hours before the attack and was feeling a bit drained. I assure you, next time I will put to good use all that I have learned." Seeing the man still glaring at him he added, "besides, you should feel proud. I got the idea of using basic hexes and such from you after all."
"That you did," the old man said, breaking out in a grin. "Well then, why don't you and your friend go ahead and look around. I already sold you the texts I would personally recommend, so have at it." Hermione seemed to get a glazed look in her eyes as she contemplated the amount of unique knowledge that was most likely stored in the shop.
"Hermione," Harry said, snapping her out of her stupor, "do remember we only have a couple of hours here." She nodded excitedly and immediately turned her attention back to the books. Harry let a small grin come to his face as he watched her dash off into the depths of the store. He then turned back to find some texts for himself.
Harry was skimming through a pile of random spell books when a voice spoke up behind him.
"Quite a pleasant young lady friend you have there Mr. Potter." Harry turned around to see the old bookseller looking at him with a twinkle in his eye eerily reminiscent of Dumbledore's.
"Yeah, Hermione is a good friend," Harry responded cautiously. "She's very good at keeping me in line, or at least trying to," he finished with a slight smirk.
"Indeed. Though, if I may suggest something Mr. Potter?" the old man asked. Harry just nodded for him to continue. "Next time you take a young lady out, perhaps somewhere other than a bookstore would be advisable." Harry just stared at the man in shock. Meanwhile, the old man just patted his shoulder and walked off into the depths of his shop. Harry wanted to call to him, to correct the old man, but he had already disappeared among the bookshelves. Sighing in frustration, Harry turned back to looking at books, the event soon forgotten.
It had been a struggle to get Hermione out of the shop, especially when she found that she only had enough money for a third of the books she found. So of course, she had to spend another half-hour sorting through the ones she wanted to buy right away and was still only happy after Harry had gotten the shop owner to put the others on reserve (which cost Harry a few galleons, but he wasn't going to let Hermione know that). With the books sorted out (Harry bought a few himself and had shrunken both his and Hermione's) and the disguise charms back in place, Harry and Hermione headed back into the alley and to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes.
As soon as the two teens entered, they were immediately bombarded with questions about why they took so long, why Hermione was wearing a hat, what was with the different robes, and so forth. Harry merely said 'Knockturn Alley' and pointed to a stack of shrunken books, which seemed to answer everyone's questions, or at least confused them into silence. Harry had barely enough time to look around the shop before Remus started herding them towards the fireplace. Harry was the last one to Floo to headquarters. As soon as he stumbled out of the fireplace, he had only a second to realize it was dark before the room became very bright as people yelled incoherently with bursts of colors happening haphazardly around the room.
Panicking, Harry dove into a roll, whipping out his wand and began cursing wildly as he came to his feet. There was a cacophony of yells and shouts as he sent stunners and mild blasting spells throughout the room, trying to cover as much area as he could. His spell casting lasted only a few moments as his wand was suddenly ripped from his grasp by a powerful disarming hex. Raising another shield with his hand, he took stock of the situation. Instead of the chaos of an attack, he found the kitchen of Grimmauld Place empty, save for one Albus Dumbledore pointing his wand at Harry with one hand while holding Harry's wand in his other.
He realized the room was not empty at all, as members of the Order and his friends started to stand up after hiding under the table. Hermione, confetti hanging off of her temporary hat, was smirking down at the others as if to say 'I told you so.' Ron peeked his head up from beneath the table, looking warily in Harry's direction. There were sounds of 'enervate' as those unfortunate enough to get hit were revived.
As for Harry, he was feeling completely confused. Harry stared at the scene, trying to figure out what was going on. It was Tonks who had taken pity on him. Tapping him on his shoulder to get his attention, she pointed to a frosting-splattered banner (some poor, innocent cake had been hit during the little skirmish) that hung over the kitchen table that clearly stated HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY HARRY!