Chapter 36

"There you are." Ginny greeted Harry with a chaste kiss as she met him in the Entrance Hall. "Want some lunch?"

Harry smiled at the pleasant welcome as he returned from his weekend away from the castle. "Hey, yeah, definitely."

They held hands as they entered the Great Hall, finding seats next to Neville where they would face Ron and Hermione.

"How was Dudley the Dickhead?" Ron asked, knowing that Harry had met with his cousin that morning before returning to Hogwarts.

Hermione smacked the back of her boyfriend's head. "Oi, what was that for?"

"Be supportive." She scolded.

Harry laughed at both Ron's phrasing and his subsequent admonishment. "It was fine. Weird, but alright."

"What did he say?" Hermione asked.

"He apologised." Harry said, accepting ruefully the extra bread roll that Ginny put on the side of his plate. "Said sorry for how he used to treat me. He asked how things were for me now that the war was over." Harry dipped a spoon into his soup. "He thought it was strange that I was still at school."

"What a git." Ron scowled. Hermione's displeasure be damned, he was not willing to forgive the whaleboy for bullying Harry.

Harry smiled at Ron's protectiveness and said no more about Dudley which would only antagonize his friend further.

"Dad wrote." Ginny said, voice low enough that only their immediate circle could hear. "There's going to be an Order meeting on Wednesday."

"Where?"

"Here. It's just a small one apparently, but as they want you and Snape there, it makes sense to host it here. McGonagall's office, Dad said."

Harry felt a twinge about being in the Headmistress' office but put it to one side. "So, who's going to be there?"

"All of us and our lot." Ron said, referring to the Hogwarts students and the Weasley clan. "Kingsley too, I reckon."

"Do you think they've got information on the fugitive Death Eaters?" Neville chipped in.

The rest of the group discussed various theories, but Harry turned them out, distracted by his own thoughts. If Bill was going to be at the Order meeting this week, he could ask him about the wards. Snape hadn't seemed to know why Harry's magic had reacted the way it had and, so far, Harry had obeyed the Professor's order not to go down to the other side of the lake by himself to experiment further. Bill, with his experience of working with wards at Gringotts, might have some expertise to share.

Eating his soup idly, Harry looked up to the staff table, finding Snape in conversation with Professor McGonagall. On Friday, before he went back to London, Harry had received an invitation to interview from the Auror Department. He was happy to have got this far in the process and he wanted to share his news with the Professor, only he wasn't sure how Snape would take it. It was no secret between them that Snape didn't want Harry to join the Aurors and Harry didn't want to disappoint the man.

Harry wasn't sure when Severus Snape's opinion started to mean so much to him. Somehow, Snape had come to know more about him, his fears and problems, than anyone else. Harry had never had anyone that knew him like that, except maybe Ron and Hermione. He had never had parents who knew instinctively when something was wrong. For that brief period, he'd had Sirius, and Remus too, but they could never be with him for very long. With their constant hypothesizing and testing of Harry's magic, Snape had somehow become his latest mentor. It was comforting and unnerving in equal measure. Sometimes Harry wondered if he was making himself vulnerable by building a relationship with the professor. The fear of losing another person he was close to, like everyone else, made him want to step back and close himself off again.

It wasn't just the fear of losing Snape's mentorship that kept Harry's defenses up either. Snape wasn't a kind man, Harry knew. He was brave and intelligent and loyal, but he wasn't kind. Their history was complicated. Snape had always been vile to Harry and he, in turn, had been suspicious and distrusting of Snape in every scenario. There was bad blood between them from before Harry was even born. A schoolboy rivalry between Snape and the Marauders had led to choices which had irreparably affected Harry's life. Harry quickly put those feelings back into the compartmentalized box in which he kept them. He'd never had time to actually process that discovery, and he certainly wasn't going to go into it at lunch in the Great Hall.

Harry looked up at the staff table once more. He needed to be careful. With all that he had been through, Snape reverting to his old acerbic self would be more than Harry could bear.

A gentle hand on his wrist brought him out of his own head and back to the table.

"You okay?" Ginny asked him quietly.

Harry attempted a reassuring smile. "Yeah."

Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes, leaning herself against his arm. "Yeah, right, Potter." She said, fully aware of when Harry was struggling, but she said no more. Harry loved her even more for that.

The Gryffindor students were the last to arrive at the Order meeting that Wednesday afternoon; mostly because the group chose to wait for Ron, who was desperately trying to finish his Transfiguration essay. Having ascended the gargoyle staircase, they entered into the office which felt busy due to the room's size, despite the comparatively small number of people. Ron, along with Ginny, who had waited for the 8th years impatiently outside their dorm, went to greet their abundant family members and Minerva soon invited all those present to take a seat.

The set up seemed less formal than other Order meetings Harry had attended where they usually sat around a conference table. In the smaller space, that usually held the headmistress' desk, Professor McGonagall had transfigured enough comfortable armchairs to seat everyone in attendance in a slightly misshapen circle.

As people found themselves seats, the space cleared enough that Harry had a clear line of sight to the wall directly across from him. He couldn't stop his eyes from seeking out the portrait, despite not wanting to see it. On this occasion the frame was not empty and the animated impression of Albus Dumbledore sat serenely on its canvas. The portrait must have sought Harry out too, as they immediately made eye contact. They were on opposite sides of the room, an oblivious collection of people between them, and Harry was relieved by the circumstances which would prohibit any conversation between them. Dumbledore smiled at him gently and Harry froze with the uncertainty of how he should acknowledge the man.

A hand on his shoulder startled him and he looked up to see Professor Snape eyeing him with a stern, concerned expression. "Come, Mr Potter, you need to take your seat."

Harry allowed the professor to steer him over to a chintz armchair with tartan cushions, which was conveniently situated on the opposite side of the room and therefore faced away from the portrait. Severus sat next to him, pulling the cuffs of his shirt out firmly as he sat, but said nothing more.

"We're hitting a wall in our hunt for the Death Eaters." Arthur began the meeting. Harry took a deep breath and focused on the conversation.

"You can't narrow down their location?" Ron asked.

Arthur shook his head. "We can't get any trace on them at all."

"What about the Ministry?" Minerva directed her question to Kingsley.

"We've got nothing either." The Minister said. "The attacks seemed to have stopped."

"Is it not good that the attacks have stopped?" Minerva asked. "They could be giving up? Moving out of the country?"

"No." Severus contradicted, quiet and authoritative. "I would be more inclined to believe that this period of quiet is them planning something larger."

Harry silently agreed. Though there had been no new attacks from the fugitive Death Eaters since the New Year, it still didn't feel safe. Each day without an incident, while a relief, only built the anxiety in Harry's gut as he waited for the next inevitable act of aggression.

"In that case," Arthur said. "I suggest we keep security tight at high threat sites. I'll get together with everyone who is available to do routine checks. We'll set up a rota."

"Where are we thinking are the highest priority locations?" Hestia asked.

"The Ministry, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, Hogwarts, the homes of key persons; you - Kingsley, the Burrow potentially too – though we would be of less political importance."

"Why Hogwarts?" Ginny asked. "Would they really attack here again? It's just a school."

"It's more to do with who is here." Arthur explained. "Harry is obviously a prime target." He gave the boy-saviour an apologetic look. "Hermione and Ron too; and Severus will be high on their list of revenge targets."

Arthur began taking a list of everyone who was available to do routine patrols and when they would be free to do so. Harry was thinking about the Death Eaters and how to track them down, since Arthur had categorically refused to allow the students to take time out of their studies to volunteer. They had agreed, however, that no further Order members needed to be stationed at the castle, since nine Order members were already there as part of the staff and student body.

Severus cast a discreet glance at Potter while the others spoke. Harry had been pretty quiet throughout the meeting and Severus wasn't sure if it was because of Albus, the threat of the Death Eaters or just because he was listening to what was being said. Sitting next to him, Severus couldn't see Harry's expression well enough to properly interpret his emotions. He would usually have positioned himself better, but he had been forced to intervene when Albus' bloody portrait had decided to hang around.

"Who was that bloke at Umbridge's trial?" Harry suddenly spoke, turning his head to direct his question at Severus. His voice was soft and clearly he had not intended to interrupt the general conversation, but all eyes still turned to Potter and the voices quietened to hear him speak.

"Which 'bloke'?" Severus asked.

"You know that one that asked a question; implied I was lying." Harry clarified. "He had a smarmy, Lucius Malfoy vibe."

Surprisingly, that was enough of a description for Severus to confidently identify who Harry was talking about. "You're talking about Clyde Crawford. Why do you ask?"

"I got the impression he would rather the war had gone the other way." Harry recalled. "Am I right?"

Severus ran his finger back and forth across his lower lip as he pondered where Potter was going with this line of questioning. "You are correct. Crawford was a supporter of the old ways and is certainly prejudiced against muggle-borns. He's got money, a pure-blood name and enough self-preservation to not align himself too closely with the Dark Lord."

"How many others are there like that?" Harry asked, still not familiar with the historic politics of the Wizarding World.

"A few." Kingsley admitted. "They are keeping a low profile these days but Voldemort never would have got as far as he did without that underlying support."

Harry nodded as though this confirmed his thinking.

Severus watched him. "What are you thinking?"

"We talked before about how someone must be bankrolling the Death Eaters. People like that Crawford guy might have information; particularly if they're planning something big. Even if they were working alone before, they'd need to make contact with others to achieve anything monumental. Someone has some information."

"You're not wrong, Harry." Kingsley scratched his chin. "But the Ministry can't just interrogate people without cause."

"The Ministry can't." Harry agreed. "But we're not the Ministry." A quiet fell over the group as they pondered this. "I'm not saying we go and rough them up, but there must be people that might slip some information when they aren't careful."

"Severus?" Arthur turned to the professor, since he was the most likely to have less ethical contacts. "Is there anyone you think you could approach?"

The group discussed various names for a while, debating the merits of each potential contact, and then moved on to other updates from the Order members. Typically, when the meeting had concluded, there was still plenty of sociable chatting to be done. People swapped seats or stood as they siphoned off to form smaller groups.

Harry made use of the opportunity to grab Bill to talk to him about the wards. The long-haired Weasley seemed surprised when Harry described what had happened with his lumos and the Hogwarts wards and, like Snape, did not have any previous experience of it happening.

"Do you think it means something is wrong with the wards here?"

Bill shook his head. "It's not how I would expect a ward to act if it was damaged. I'd be interested to see what it looks like. I'll stop by one weekend and you can show me, alright?" Harry agreed readily, hopeful that it would yield some answers.

The room emptied significantly during their conversation and when Bill eventually left, there was only a handful of people left. Kingsley, who was just leaving, spotted Harry and came to shake his hand.

"Good to see you, Harry." The Minister said in his rich, deep voice. "I hear congratulations are in order."

Harry accepted the handshake awkwardly. "Er, thanks. It's not really… it's just the next stage."

"Congratulations?" Harry turned sharply at the sound of Snape's query.

"Harry here has had his Auror training acceptance letter." Kingsley said proudly.

"Not really." Harry corrected quickly. "I've got an interview, that's all."

Kingsley clapped him on the shoulder warmly. "Trust me, the interview is a formality. As long as you don't come across as a complete nutter, you're in."

"When did this happen?" Harry made eye contact with Snape who was giving him a look.

"Friday." He admitted quietly, turning back to Kingsley to avoid Snape's knowing eyes.

"Pop in and see me when you come for your interview." Kingsley suggested.

Harry nodded and said goodbye to the Minister, leaving him with just the Headmistress and Professor Snape, since everyone else had left while Harry was talking.

Professor McGonagall was re-transfiguring the armchairs to their original forms and Harry offered to help out of politeness. McGonagall accepted and Harry took out his wand to start helping but Snape was still looking at him, arms folded across his front.

"What?" Harry asked defensively, as he turned a leather recliner back into a quill pot.

"Why didn't you tell me you got an interview for Auror training?" Snape asked, his tone more curious than accusatory.

Harry shrugged. "You don't really want me to be an Auror."

Minerva began returning each re-transfigured object back to its correct position in her office, allowing her boys to converse. Albus, like many of the office portraits, appeared to be sleeping, his eyes closed gently behind his half-moon spectacles, though Severus didn't doubt the old wizard was eavesdropping.

Severus sighed. "Harry, I'll admit that becoming an Auror would not be my first choice for you, but it is not my choice to make. I may not understand your decision, but I support it. I would happily congratulate you on your achievement."

Harry gave a small smile. "Thanks, Sir."

Professor McGonagall had levitated her desk back to its regular spot and had summoned tea. She and Snape sat down on either side of the desk. "Would you like to join us, Harry?" She offered kindly.

"Er, no, thank you." Harry declined politely, still standing. "There was something I wanted to ask you about though actually."

"Oh?"

"Do you think the Death Eaters would target my muggle relatives?"

"I wouldn't rule it out." Snape answered thoughtfully. "They wouldn't necessarily know the nature of your relationship with them and so might mistakenly believe that targeting your aunt and uncle would cause you some anguish or draw you to them." He reasoned. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that I spoke to my cousin the other day and he said that some weird stuff has been happening at their house and my uncle and aunt are going a bit barmy."

Severus frowned, "It seems a bit subtle for Lestrange…" Suddenly he caught sight of Minerva, who was suspiciously quiet and rather guilty looking. "Minerva…" He narrowed his eyes with a growl.

The headmistress quickly shifted her expression from guilty to one of haughty defensiveness. "What?"

It was no answer but it was all Severus needed. "You hypocrite!" He exploded. "Why were you allowed to hassle them and not I?"

"Because I couldn't trust you to control yourself and because I'm not enemies with half of Magical Law Enforcement!"

"You could at least have taken me with you." Severus sulked. "I could have helped."

"Er…what am I missing?"

The guilty expressions returned, now on both professors' faces. The headmistress owned up. "It is not Death Eaters who have been…interfering with your aunt and uncles' affairs…It was me."

"It was…but why?"

"I couldn't just stand by…after what they've done…it's inconceivable."

"What they've done." Harry repeated slowly. "You told her." He accused Snape angrily.

"She's the headmistress, Harry. We are both responsible for your welfare."

"I'm 18!" He argued back, his outrage increasing. "I don't live there anymore, I'm fine. This wasn't about my well-being or my feelings, this was about you!"

Minerva interceded, hoping to reduce the somewhat tense atmosphere. "Harry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done anything without consulting you. I was angry and frustrated with waiting to hear from Kingsley to see how you can press charges."

Severus winced, knowing that was the wrong thing to say to the young man. Looking over at him now, the calm mask was gone and he could see, quite clearly, that Harry was livid.

When he spoke it was with a quiet but forced tone of voice, his brow furrowed and his jaw tense. "You told Kingsley."

Severus kept quiet but Minerva's eyebrows rose as she realised the error she had made.

"What exactly have you said?"

"Well after Severus told me about how the Dursley's treated you, I made an appointment to see the Minister so we could ask about the possible legal routes you could take. Severus spoke to Kingsley about some of the abuse you suffered."

"I wasn't abused."

"You were." Severus said simply, prepared for the furious glare that was turned on him.

"What do you know about it? You weren't there." Harry countered, voice now raised. He turned back to the headmistress. "You don't get to speak to anyone about what my life was like. You can't act on my behalf. I don't want anything done to the Dursleys, legal or otherwise. It happened, it's over, I'm done. Alright?"

"No." Severus stood, his full body now facing his student. "It's not alright. You cannot pretend it hasn't happened and the Dursley's cannot go unpunished."

Harry was shouting now, angrier than Severus had seen him in a long while. "It's nothing to do with you! Let it go!"

Potter headed for the door and Severus, though a little taken aback by the ferocity of Harry's anger, had the speed and foresight to send a strong locking charm at the door.

"We have not finished this discussion." Severus said clearly as Potter tried the door unsuccessfully.

Harry whirled around. "It's a little late for you to start giving a shit now! If you wanted me to have a loving upbringing you should have thought about it before. You're the reason I was with the Dursleys in the first place!"

Severus stepped back, hurt and stunned, and Harry took his chance to leave, grasping the door handle firmly and breaking through the locking charm as though it wasn't even there.