A/N: WOW, is it really hard to keep Harry independent! During this delay, I've gone back and reread the first 23 chaps and made a shocking discovery: It's only Jan 12th! I just have too much fun with these characters to move at a faster clip! But, we need to get thru Jan so that Harry can be emancipated, and then struggle to figure out what that even means now. Heh heh.
I'll stop making promises about timing with chapters, but I will absolutely finish this story, probably before Jan 31st.
Chapter 24 - The State of Affairs - Part III
Harry noticed Remus and Tonks sharing a private joke and the sight kept his attention long enough to miss a quick discussion between Lucius and Severus. It wasn't until a heavy hand rested on his shoulder that Harry came back to the present to see Lucius looking him over, as if assessing how bothered he was from this recent event. Then, Harry realized that an infusion of about a dozen aurors was coming through the Grand Entrance. There was a notable difference in the energy and attitude of this group of wizarding law enforcement agents, as opposed to the ones who'd accompanied Fudge the other day. Meanwhile, the rest of the students and teachers had gone ahead and begun enjoying their dinners, in apparent oblivion. Nothing was said about the aurors presently threading through the corridors of the school, outside of the purview of the inhabitants of the Great Hall.
Harry suddenly realized he was still blinking rapidly, as if his eyes were still adjusting to the normal lighting. Once he'd noticed as much, the blinking stopped. Then, his accelerated breathing got his attention, and he calmed that down as he flashed a look around at the other occupants of the Grand Entrance, and saw that other than the squad, only Mad-Eye and Dumbledore still remained.
The surreal ending to what had only been about fifteen minutes of peril, which had occurred entirely unbeknownst to the rest of the school, was still not quite registering itself with Harry. His facial expression must have been concerning, because Lucius' hand moved to cup the side of Harry's head and gently pull it into the crook of his neck as he leaned down to say, "Apparently it's our little secret, what's just happened."
The gesture touched Harry's heart, but also made him want to laugh. This whole "protective fondness" thing from the Master of Arrogance was its own sort of conquest. The irony of it, of course, was that it was not a conquest that Harry had actively sought for himself. But, he took it to heart that the adults were also experiencing a sense of parallel reality, so he was not alone with his confusion. He nodded to acknowledge Lucius' comment and the older wizard released him. He raised his eyes to find Severus leveling an assessing stare of his own at Harry, as he stood a few feet away, arms crossed and body language suggesting he was tense again.
"What's happening?" Harry asked ironically.
Remus came over to stand beside Severus, and then Lucius turned so that he was also facing Harry now, and somehow managing to flank Severus in the process. All three adult wizards stood with feet apart and arms folded.
Power stance. Harry thought inwardly. But… because of me? "What?" He asked in confusion that was edging towards exasperation.
"We will be dining in the kitchens," Severus informed him.
"Will we?" Harry asked next, only pretending to challenge his professor. He was hungry, for one thing, plus, he did not want to go mix in with his peers, as if nothing had happened. I need actual details and interpretations of circumstances from these three.
No one bothered to acknowledge his half hearted defiance, and the four of them headed back down the stairwell.
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"How is it only Sunday night?" Harry asked as he followed Remus down the long corridor that flanked the kitchens, following the identical floor plan to the one directly above for the professors to access their table. "And, how is it only the 12th of January?" He must have slowed his pace, because Severus' fingers (gently) jabbed between his shoulder blades to prod him along.
"I will concur that the last week has felt like several months in duration." Severus responded derisively. When they entered the kitchen he caught Harry's eye again and held out a vial of Magic Replenishing potion.
Harry did a silent assessment of himself. He didn't feel weak, just jittery and unnerved. "I'm not sure I need it, sir. I don't feel tapped out like other times." He frowned at how rapid his speech was, but couldn't seem to get a grip. "But maybe I should take it, just in case? Or, if I take it and don't need it, will something bad happen?"
Severus managed to keep his expression fixed at his default level of austere, but with effort. He found the teen's jitteriness to be both amusing and unnerving. He feigned annoyance and gestured at the vial again. "Take half a dose." Next, he passed Harry a Calming Draught.
That actually made Harry feel self conscious, so when they were seated and facing each other, he stifled the urge to beg for Severus' recap of his efforts to capture Maxwell Stoner.
Fortunately, Remus asked instead. "And why would you have sealed that door to the back stairwell?" he added in aftertought.
Severus was serving himself from the steaming bowls and platters the elves had happily set out for them. He paused and looked over at Remus as he answered, "I did not seal it. I followed that little bastard through it, and nearly lost both of my feet, as it sealed itself. It must have been charmed to sense him passing through. The magical skill to alter the function of that passage is far above the skill level of those two dunderheads." Severus then retold his version of the encounter, where he'd first debilitated Mullen, and then chased after Stoner, only to find himself in the narrow stairwell with the rogue Ravenclaw. Stoner had attempted to scramble up the steps, but Severus had used Harry's clown shoes jinx on him, and that had promptly ended the chase.
He merely raised an eyebrow at Harry's guffaw of gleeful laughter.
"Brilliant!" Harry declared as he forked a large bite of roast beef into his mouth. The Calming Draught had barely taken the edge off.
"We can only surmise that the Room of Requirement has become a modified dispatch zone for their operation," Remus said between bites of his own dinner. "Frankly, I'm quite pleased that Albus has brought in such a large group of aurors."
Especially because Tonks is among them, Harry nearly blurted out. What is wrong with me?
"It does indeed add a dimension of stability," Lucius agreed, unaware of Harry's inner mental dance. "I wonder if we dare invade the Room of Requirement, in search of this group of assailants?"
"It would strike me as likely that they are prepared to take their time with their plans, today's event notwithstanding," Severus surmised. "Sending two school boys to attack us hardly revealed the scope of their intentions."
"We know they need me to bring Him back," Harry said. He could hear in his own voice that he still sounded wound up. He paused in thought for a moment and then met Severus' narrowed stare as he recalled something important, "The thing that Dean said, the other day, remember? I think he's completely right: The whole intention of the reign of terror under Voldemort was to allow some people to be violent, but the rest of us to just live in fear." He felt gratified to receive nods of impressed agreement from all three adults. "So, they're basically just continuing with that same method, until they can set the stage for another resurrection." He was surprised at the involuntary shiver that rippled through his entire body, and not at all pleased that the nattering Slytherins had of course noticed.
"You'll sleep in your bedroom tonight," Severus declared with that tone.
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As it was only half six when they'd finished dinner, and as the Room of Requirement was no longer a venue for burning off steam, much to Harry's gleeful surprise, it was determined that the four of them needed to go for a fly around the quidditch pitch. By the time they'd all stood and moved away from the table, Lucius had suggested inviting Draco, so Harry had suggested inviting Tonks. He couldn't help it, he watched Remus' face as the wan Marauder pretended to be indifferent to the idea.
The adults would use school brooms, but Severus and Remus escorted Harry to Filtch's office to retrieve his Firebolt, while Lucius went to fetch Draco, who would presumably want to use his own broom as well. Remus' eyes reddened as he watched his departed best friend's godson battle his emotions while the crotchety school caretaker reluctantly unchained Harry's beloved broom from the wall and handed it over. Then, they were off again, and by the time the three of them had reached the castle's entrance, the Malfoys, and Tonks, were emerging from opposite corridors. Tonks had her Ministry broom with her, her hair rapidly changing from mousy brown to a deep brilliant purple, as she caught Harry's eye and jerked her head. Then to Draco, she said, "Come along, cousin!" and promptly mounted her broom and took off, right out of the large front door. Draco smirked at Harry and followed suit, but Harry hadn't needed to be told twice, and the two of them raced through the doorway in tandem, chasing after the wild-haired auror.
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This had been an excellent idea. Harry could feel himself burning off the extra adrenaline he'd struggled with for the last few hours. At first, they'd all just flown around in random patterns, but it quickly became clear that every member of this group was intensely competitive, and before long a series of "challenges" were suggested. There were races around the stands, relays that required flying through each of the hoops in some sort of pattern, and death drops - that had been Harry's contribution - which required flying up so high their clothing began to freeze in spite of warming charms, before turning downward into a free fall. They'd attempted to keep score but there wasn't much point, as each flyer had excelled at at least one of the six contests.
Now they were hovering in a circle, feeling that "spent" sensation from a good workout.
"There are to be aurors on the grounds, regularly, then?" Draco asked.
"Might as well, eh?" Tonks replied with a wink at Harry, "Can't say I don't enjoy being where the pandemonium is centered!"
Harry snickered. But quickly realized now was his chance to find out what had happened to everyone after the battle with Voldemort the previous week. "But you were jailed! How did that play out?"
Tonks exaggerated clearing her throat in outrage, "Oy, Harry. We convicts prefer the phrase, 'held in custody.'"
"Oh!" Harry said quickly, but he grinned. "As you wish."
"It was the oddest thing, that," Tonks went on, "we rushed off with our reports to tell Minister Fudge about that brilliant takedown of the Dark Lord, and blimey! He bloody arrested us! Right then! Me, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, and Johnny!" She shook her head. "Kept us in our cells until Friday night."
"None of the other aurors were held?" Severus asked.
"Not a one," Tonks confirmed. "Had us a bit nervous that Fudge knew we had outside affiliation, and that he took issue with such a thing." She thought for a moment. "Pius Thicknesse made a few comments that suggested he knew about the Order too, but I think he was just grasping." She shrugged. "No matter, at this point. Fudge is out, Pius too. Whatever they cook up from now on won't have the power it had a few days ago."
"But the four of you are likely targets of any upcoming attacks," Remus pointed out.
"I quite look forward to that!" Tonks said.
"The test will be with the coming Wizengamot sessions," Lucius pointed out. He seemed relaxed, but Harry wondered if he was getting worried.
"Albus seems to think that between the dozen aurors taking shifts to watch the school and to patrol Hogsmeade for the next two or three weekends, that we will be able to keep the upper hand," Remus suggested.
"And all of those parents," Harry added. "And the Patroni."
"Awww, I'm so sorry I missed that moment," Tonks said with a sad smile, as everyone but Severus laughed all over again at the memory. Severus merely quirked the corners of his mouth.
"Shall we adjourn to my new quarters for a hot drink?" Lucius suggested. "I was careful to make sure I was afforded space to host a small group."
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Harry hiked down the spiral staircase with both Draco and Severus, heading back to the dungeons. (They'd received a message on the coin from Albus that the door had been unsealed) He'd had two cups of hot cocoa and several biscuits while they'd gathered in Lucius' suite of rooms near Ravenclaw's Tower entrance, and now he was completely ready for a hot shower and bed. "Is there anything I'm supposed to be worried about?" he asked out loud.
"Nothing more than the usual, Scarhead," Draco informed him loftily, but he wasn't trying to antagonize his rival. "I suppose there won't be another one of your Defense Association meetings anytime soon, will there?"
"We might get to have one this week," Harry contradicted. "If Dumbledore can get the new space completed."
"He's already had much of the expansion work done," Severus confirmed. "You can have a look around it in the morning."
They reached the bottom of the stairs. Harry noted that they were one level below the corridor that had been the location of today's mayhem. He also noticed that Draco had seemed familiar with the stairwell, to the point that the way that the doorway quickly vanished behind them, immediately after they passed, didn't faze the blond in the least. Typical. They walked along the corridor about twenty paces and promptly encountered the entrance to Slytherin House. Draco wished them goodnight and passed through to his Common Room.
Severus' hand found its way to the back of Harry's neck. "You're less agitated now?" he asked quietly as they progressed down the corridor.
"Yeah," Harry said with a small chuckle. "That was just… so… strange, earlier."
"It was," Severus agreed. He guided Harry into his quarters and all the way to Harry's bedroom doorway. "You'll have an early night?"
"I need a shower, but then, yeah," Harry said. He called Dobby and asked for pajamas, and uniform for tomorrow, and headed into the bathroom.
Severus checked his watch. It was only half nine, but it felt like long past midnight. He poured a small dose of firewhiskey, added two ice cubes as an afterthought, and took a seat in his leather armchair.
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"Lucius will escort you up to breakfast," Severus informed Harry when he emerged from his room the following morning. "He'll arrive here in about ten minutes. I've neglected my House and need to spend some time in their presence."
Harry blinked. Severus sounded terse, but not necessarily directing the cause of concern at him. "Alright," he said without indicating that he'd picked up on this fact. Severus nodded and left. He'd been clean shaven and dressed all in black today. Something's ticked him off. But Harry shrugged that thought right off. As long as it's not me, today might just be a normal day.
Lucius stepped through the floo a moment later. "Good morning, Harry," he said.
He's terse too, Harry noted. "Morning, sir," he openly assessed Lucius, guessing correctly that the effort would soften the arrogant blond's austere visage, rather than bring out the prickliness that it would have with Severus. "What's wrong? Something's happened, I can tell. Severus was terse too."
"Am I terse?" Lucius asked with a marginal smile. He gestured for Harry to precede him out the door and into the corridor for the walk up to the Great Hall.
"Yes," Harry replied. "And why do you think I need an escort?"
"We received a missive from the Headmaster early this morning, directing Severus and Remus to refocus their attention on the teaching responsibilities and to be more of a presence with all students," Lucius admitted in a very low tone. "Dumbledore included me in this instruction, as if to make sure we each were clear on his intentions to work with you directly."
Harry stopped in his tracks. Lucius did as well, and turned to face him. "I don't want one-on-one "work" with Dumbledore," Harry said emphatically. "He may be your boss, but he's not mine. Other than running this school, I mean."
"None of us are happy about this, Harry," Lucius said. "We've not yet convened to share perspective."
Harry shook his head and sighed, turning to resume walking, and hitching his bookbag higher onto his shoulder. "This is why I want my independence."
"I am well aware," Lucius reminded him. "If it comes to it, I can certainly interfere on your behalf, you realize." Harry stopped again and grinned at him. But Lucius simply smirked over his shoulder and continued walking. "I've been thinking about your reward system for your DA group. The chocolate frog incentive was clever."
"Yeah, thanks," Harry said, having to jog a few steps to catch back up with his escort. "I'd wanted to store them in the ROR, in the room we always use for the lessons, but that's not going to happen." He remembered what Severus had said the night before. "Sir, could we pass by the new classroom before breakfast?"
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"Well, it's certainly large enough," Lucius commented as they walked around the vast, empty interior of the new Magical Defense Training Arena. "But fairly few accoutrements as of yet."
"Right," Harry agreed. "But for my next class, I really only want to focus on mental work. I'm going to teach them the calming exercise that Severus taught me." He thought for a moment. "In the ROR, we requested floor pillows for when we all needed to be sitting. I bet I could get help from Dobby." Lucius nodded, trying and failing to disguise his discomfort at the subject of his former house elf. "I need a way to keep the chocolate frogs safe, too," Harry lamented next.
"That's easily remedied, lad," Lucius said. He pulled out his wand and conjured a cardboard box similar to the one that had been delivered the previous day. "You cast a simple sealing charm, then disillusion it, then levitate it high into the air." He demonstrated the three spells with his wand. "Cast a careful Triste caelum to lower it back down, and then Finite to reveal and unseal."
"Brilliant!"
