The Snake Strikes Back
It was one of the longest nights in Harry's life. He, Hermione and the Weasleys sat at the door to the hospital wing, while behind the door Madam Pomfrey and two healers from St. Mungo's fought for Ron's life. The healers had to come here, because Ron probably would not have survived the transport. Harry had put his arms around Hermione and Ginny, who from time to time wept quietly, and furiously cursed the whole world and himself for being so careless. How could they have been so stupid to let Ron go back to the castle alone in the dark a day after someone summoned the Dark Mark? After all these years full of giant spiders, fights and horcruxes, they had apparently learned nothing.
"Good that you used the map," George had muttered when Harry told them what had happened. Hermione hadn't gotten a word out, she was completely out of her way, even more so than Harry and Ginny. Opposite them sat Arthur and Bill, who had taken Molly in the middle. Harry swallowed heavily. Should the Weasleys lose another child because he had been so reckless?
And then the Elder Wand... Well, now he could be sure that someone was looking for it, Harry thought grimly. Dawlish had already asked him why he had been so stupid to hide it in such an obvious place before joining the Aurors who turned the castle upside down again. They wouldn't find anything again, Harry was sure. By the time they found Ron, the assailant had been long gone with the wand, whoever it was. Selwyn presumably, although Harry had no idea how Voldemort's heir had made it to the castle grounds. Had Nott helped him? Could it be a coincidence that this attack took place just one day after he had been kicked out? But who had conjured the Dark Mark while Nott was in the Slytherin common room? Slughorn had questioned the Slytherins, and Malfoy himself had grimly admitted that Nott had been sitting in front of the fire all day until they dueled.
Harry stared grimly at his feet. And what if everything had only been staged? If Malfoy and Nott were still friends after all? How likely was it that they devastated the whole common room without seriously injuring each other? Sectumsempra was a curse that only a few people knew about, and Malfoy was one of them...
Everyone started violently as the door to the hospital wing opened and a visibly exhausted Madam Pomfrey came out. Molly and Arthur shot up from the bench, while everyone else remained frozen.
"He will survive," Madam Pomfrey said with a strained smile. "But he lost a lot of blood."
"What does that mean?", Percy asked.
''We've given him blood-repleneshing potions and strong sleeping pills, he's going to sleep through the next two days. Rest is now the most important thing for him."
"But he will be back to normal again?" asked Molly, pressing.
Madam Pomfrey nodded tiredly. "Yes, he will be back to normal. Thanks to Miss Granger's swift action, he won't even have a single scar that reminds him of this horrific incident.'
Harry laughed trembly and hugged Hermione and Ginny firmly.
"Thank Merlin," Molly said weakly, sinking back to the bench relieved, while Arthur shook Madam Pomfrey's hand gratefully.
"Can we see him?", Hermione asked quietly.
"Yes," Madam Pomfrey said. "But no turmoil, he needs rest."
Ron's bed was the only one in the hospital wing that was occupied because Zacharias Smith had been thrown out the moment they brought Ron in. He was chalk-bleached and looked terribly thin, but he snorted vigorously as ever.
"I'm going to keep two Aurors as guards here," Arthur said grimly.
Hermione gently brushed Ron's hair and gave him a shy kiss on the forehead before looking grimly at Harry. He nodded briefly. There was nothing to say, no Aurors, but themselves would find the one who had done this to Ron, and then he would regret being born.
"You should go to bed," Molly finally said softly. "Your father and I stay here."
"Me too," Hermione said in a tone that did not condone any contradiction, and sat down next to Ron on the bed. Harry and Ginny hugged her briefly before going out with her brothers. George sighed loudly.
"That was the second time you saved his life, Harry."
Harry just nodded. They said goodbye to the two and slowly went back to Gryffindor Tower, with Harry checking the Marauder's Map again. Except for Dawlish, McGonagall and the Aurors who searched the castle in pairs, no one was on their feet.
"Who was it?", Ginny asked, soft and grim. "What do you think?"
"Selwyn, Malfoy or Nott," Harry growled. "Or all together."
"Malfoy?" she asked, unsure. "I don't think so. His father and he are certainly on Selwyn's list."
Harry shrugged. "Maybe that's why he's helping him. Or how do you explain that Malfoy hasn't been attacked all year round, even though he sleeps under the same roof with children of other Death Eaters?"
Ginny shrugged. "He has other friends... Greengrass and Goyle... It seems to me that he has learned his lesson. And as for Selwyn, how is he supposed to have got in here? All entrances are monitored and this vanishing cabinet no longer exists."
"They did monitor everything last year," Harry said stubbornly. "And yet I came in here, through the-"
He broke off and stopped in amazement as the shock wave came over him...
If Neville could get the room of requirement to open a passage outside, why shouldn't Malfoy and Nott be able to do the same? There only had to be one of them in the room to wish for the tunnel, and Selwyn could easily go in and out of the castle...
"The room of requirement", he said softly, and Ginny stared at him in horror.
"How could we not think of it?", she asked quietly.
"No idea," Harry growled as he pulled her over to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "But now that we know it, we can take action."
As they passed through the portrait hole, they found, without much surprise, that Parvati, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, Neville and Demelza were sitting in the armchairs by the fire, waiting for them. Neville jumped up.
"How's Ron doing?"
"He'll be fine," Harry said, walking over to them as they all breathed a serene breath.
"Who- ," Dean began, but Harry waved off briefly.
'We don't know who it was, but we think we know how they got in.'
He briefly explained his theory to them and then looked at Neville resolutely.
"We need to reactivate the DA."
Neville nodded slowly. "But what can we do? Waiting in front of this wall hanging is of no use, the room can open everywhere, otherwise the Carrows would have caught us immediately last year..."
"But the Carrows didn't immediately know where you came out," Harry said, waving the Marauder's Map. Neville nodded enthusiastically, but the others looked at him in confusion.
"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," Harry said, tapping the card with his wand.
"Crazy," Seamus said, impressed. "Where did you get it from?"
"Not so important," Harry said impatiently. "The point is, from now on we will patrol the corridors in groups and catch them."
"Um, at night?", Demelza asked. "What if we're caught?"
Harry shook his head. "Not at night, only until the curfew, in addition to the prefects. Then we watch the map here and see if someone is behaving strangely."
- "And how does the rest know if something happens?", Parvati asked.
Neville winked and pulled a certain golden galleon out of his pocket, with "Harry is back" on the edge instead of a serial number.
"Exactly," Harry said contentedly. "We're also going to meet in the room tonight and then I'm trying to teach you how to have your Patronus deliver messages, that's much faster."
Lavender tiredly brushed her hair out of her face. "Excuse me if the question is stupid, but why don't you give this map to the teachers or the Aurors?"
Harry shook his head decisively. "Who says it's not a teacher or Auror who helps Selwyn? No," he said grimly. "We take care of it ourselves."
The others nodded resolutely.
"And something else must be clear", Ginny said. "From now on, none of us go anywhere alone. Not even to the bathroom."
" Good," Neville sighed. "So tomorrow we will let the others know that we are meeting in the room. And now let's go to bed, it's been a long day."
The next morning, Professor McGonagall waved Harry to her after the end of their Transfiguration lesson, while the others made their way to lunch. She waited until Daphne Greengrass had closed the door behind her and then sharply looked at Harry.
"Potter, you don't go anywhere on your own from now on, is that clear?"
"Yes, Professor," Harry nodded.
"I mean it, Potter-"
"I understood you, Professor," Harry said. "We're watching our backs. I swear."
McGonagall snorted. "Good. Furthermore, Madam Hooch will now supervise your training, and the whole team will go back and forth together, understood?"
- "Yes, Professor."
McGonagall leaned back. "So you have lost the Elder Wand?"
Harry snorted. "I'm the only one who can use it."
"They're going to attack you, Potter," McGonagall said.
"That's what I'm used to," Harry said coolly.
- "Potter-"
"They can just come," said Harry, now a little louder. "Professor, I've been waiting for this all year," he growled. 'I'm not afraid of Selwyn. And not of anyone else.'
Professor McGonagall sighed loudly and rubbed her temples.
"Did the Aurors find anything?", Harry asked.
"There was a break-in in Horace's office," McGonagall said succinctly.
"What was stolen?"
- "His entire stock of Veritaserum."
Harry nodded slowly as the final pieces of the puzzle joined together.
"So they stunned Ron, injected him with the stuff to question him about the Elder Wand, and then tried to kill him."
McGonagall nodded slowly. "We believe that, yes. Apparently, Mr Weasley was lucky that they didn't use the killing curse..."
Harry laughed bitterly. "They wanted him to suffer," he said. 'And he would have died surely, they couldn't know that I had the map. If we had searched for Ron by the usual means, we would never have found him in time to save his life."
McGonagall sighed and mustered him sharply again. "Is there anything I should know about, Potter?"
"No, Professor," Harry said succinctly. "But thank you for your openness."
Hermione, Parvati and Terry were waiting for him at the door.
"Do you know?" Harry asked the Ravenclaw succinctly.
"Yes," Terry said, briefly pulling his galleon out of his pocket, which now read "RoR, 7 p.m.." Neville had changed the date with his own coin because Harry had lost his one last year when the Snatchers caught them. They were heading for lunch when Ginny and Demelza showed up with a blonde Gryffindor from their year, who seemed vaguely familiar to Harry.
"Geoffrey Hooper," the boy said nervously, reaching out his hand which Harry shook a little confused.
"Uh, a pleasure," he said, throwing a questioning glance at Ginny. She formed the word "Quidditch" with her lips and Harry realized what this was about.
"Well, Hooper," he said. "We need a new keeper until Ron is fit again, and because you were the second-best in the selection, you're in."
Hooper nodded enthusiastically. "You won't regret it, Harry!" he said, jumping away from there.
"I hate replacing Ron," Harry confessed.
Ginny shrugged. "He should be fit again by the time of the game," she said. "And although Hooper is a crybaby, he can't be worse than McLaggen."
Harry fervently hoped she was right.
The DA meeting in the evening was in a very tense atmosphere, not least because they had all hoped that such a meeting would never be necessary again. At the same time, everyone was determined to get the one who had done this to Ron. They split into four groups of three who would take turns patrolling the corridors in the evenings, with Dennis Creevey remaining as a replacement, which he wasn't exactly pleased about. Harry, Ginny and Demelza took over the first night, but couldn't find anything special except that Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass were conspicuously long in a broom cupboard on the second floor together.
"Aren't they the prefects who should be watching the corridors today?", Harry asked.
Ginny shrugged. 'I'm sure I'm not going to bother them, Harry. Although I really don't understand what Greengrass finds about him."
"He looks outrageously good," Demelza said slyly.
"What?" she asked, somewhat embarrassed, when she noticed how disgusted Ginny looked at her. "He looks good!"
- "He's an evil bastard."
- "A devilishly good-looking evil bastard..."
- "Psst," Harry hissed as he saw a small dot titled 'Argus Filch' approaching them. Not a heartbeat later, Mrs Norris came flying around the corner and hissed at them. Harry hastily put the map away, just in time, before Filch jumped out behind a wall.
"HA!", the caretaker shouted with vicious joy. "I got you! Running around in the corridors after curfew, oh, now you're in some real trouble!"
Ginny stared at him in confusion. "Sorry?"
- "No stupid questions, Weasley!" Filch bluffed angrily.
"It's only a quarter to ten, Mr. Filch," Ginny growled.
"Ridiculous," Filch said, waving his wristwatch. "It's quarter to eleven, Weasley!"
"Either someone has played you a prank, or your watch goes wrong," Harry said calmly. "It'squarter to ten, Mr Filch, but if you don't believe us, take us to Professor Dawlish."
Filch licked his lips in confusion as Professor Sinistra came round the corner and nodded to them all in a serene way before continuing.
"Professor!", Ginny shouted.
"Miss Weasley?", Professor Sinistra asked, turning around inquiringly.
"What time is it, Professor?"
The astronomy teacher looked briefly at her wrist. "Almost ten to ten. You should hurry up you want to return to your common room in time."
Filch turned bright red. "PEEVES," he growled with anger and hurried away, followed by Mrs Norris.
"Thank you, Professor," Ginny said with a grin.
The first training session with Hooper the next evening was much less pleasant. Harry certainly hadn't expected any miracles from him, but a keeper who held only every third ball and almost stopped training when he got a clap against the thigh for the first time didn't deserve the designation. Madam Hooch, who oversaw them from the gallery, seemed to agree, as when Hooper almost burst into tears, she looked as if she had eaten something particularly disgusting.
"I hope Ron is fit for the final again," Ginny muttered as they all walked back to the castle after training, with Harry holding his wand in case unwelcome surprises awaited them - he had given Hermione the Marauder's Map, who was on patrol this evening with Ernie Macmillan and Terry Boot.
"Angelina said at the time that he was a whiner," Harry muttered. "But you have seen the others, he is the one-eyed among the blind."
Madam Hooch said goodbye to them in the entrance hall and waited for Filch to close the door. The Gryffindors booted up to their common room and were stunned to discover that Dawlish had just climbed out of the portrait hole.
"Ah, Potter, Weasley, you're there," he said. "I was looking for you and Miss Granger, but I couldn't find you anywhere."
"Quidditch training, sir", Harry said, shrugging, holding up his firebolt.
"Hermione is probably in the library," Ginny lied without flinching.
"Anyway," Dawlish said. "Mr Weasley woke up an hour ago, you can visit him if you want."
"Thank you, Professor!", Ginny said enthusiastically, pulling Harry towards the hospital wing.
"Shouldn't we leave the brooms here?", Harry asked as he ran after her.
"I want to know if Ron remembers anything!" she shouted back.
"I'm sure Dawlish would have mentioned that," Harry quid.
Dawlish was right, Ron was awake, although he still looked pretty tired.
"You gave us a real scare, buddy," Harry grinned with relief as Ginny pressed him briefly.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Where is Hermione?"
"Probably in the library," Harry said loudly, because the two aurors that were supposed to protect Ron were nearby.
Ginny whispered to Ron where she really was and he frowned anxiously. Harry sat down with him on the bed.
"Can you remember anything?"
Ron shook his head dully. "Nothing at all, Harry. I remember there was a red flash, and then the first thing I can remember is waking up here."
Harry nodded a little disappointed.
"What was the training like?" asked Ron, who only now seemed to notice that they were wearing their Quidditch clothes.
"All right," Ginny said with a chuckle. "But the guy who represents you is even worse than you."
Ron grinned. "Who...?"
"Geoffrey Hooper," Harry sighed. "How the guy ended up in Gryffindor, I really can't explain."
"In our third year, he stopped Care of Magical Creatures after two weeks because he was so afraid of the Blast-Ended Skrewts," Ginny giggled. "And of Hagrid, too, I think."
Ron didn't bother to hide his relief at his surrogate's inability, but before they could tell him about the rest of the two days he had missed, Madam Pomfrey came over and told them to leave so they wouldn't overexert Ron.
"He was really lucky," Ginny muttered as they walked back to the common room. "Again."
Harry nodded grimly. "We have to catch Selwyn for all this horror to stop."
- "What do you think Selwyn wants to do with the Elder Wand?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders as they walked past the statue of Boris the Barmy. "No idea, but he can't control it yet... Fancy a bath?" he added.
Ginny only seemed to notice that they had stopped in front of the prefects' bathroom now.
"Hermione and the others have the map, remember?" she asked.
Harry smiled. "Oh, righ-"
- "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry did not wait for the attacker to end the killing curse, instead he instinctively grabbed Ginny and dragged her to the ground, both painfully crashing against the statue of Boris the Barmy. The green flash of light instead hit Harry's firebolt and caused the bout to break through in the middle. Harry pulled the phoenix stick out of his sleeve.
"Avada-"
- "EXPELLIARMUS!"
The two flashes of light met in the air, but instead of bouncing off each other, they merged into a golden ray. Harry grinned grimly when he realized he was dealing with Ron's attacker. The grin disappeared when he recognized the one staring at the golden flash with big eyes and desperately trying to break the connection, while a golden dome spread around them both. It was Zabini.
"You!" Harry spat hatefully.
He took a quick look at Ginny and angrily discovered that she was bleeding from the forehead and unconscious. Zabini made big eyes when a golden pearl appeared in the middle of the beam and quickly approached his wand. Harry concentrated with all his might to push the pearl to Zabini, and the Slytherin had nothing to defend himself.
"HARRY!" he heard Hermione shout. "What should we do?"
- "Get Ginny away from here!", he shouted back.
Zabini used the short deflection to make the pearl stop, but then he screamed furiously as it slowly continued to crawl towards him.
Further, further... only a little bit more...
Harry pulled the black-thorn stick out of his other sleeve with his free hand and then the golden pearl disappeared into Zabini's wand and he didn't wait to see what came out, but pulled up the phoenix stick to break the bond and shot at the same time with the another hand, an unspoken stunner on Zabini. The red lightning struck Zabini in the middle of the face and the Slytherin collapsed unconscious. Ernie kicked him vigorously between his legs to underline his anger.
"So it was him!", he growled.
"Daphne isn't going to like this," Terry sighed, then summoned up thick ropes that tied Zabini tightly from head to toe. Harry turned around and found with relief that Ginny was back on her feet and Hermione was just healing the wound on her forehead. He pointed the phoenix stick at his twin, who was lying on the ground next to Zabini.
"Accio wand."
When he caught it, Hermione and Ginny just joined him. Hermione breathed sharply when she recognized the wand in his hand.
"That's not-"
- "Not now, Hermione," Harry muttered hastily as Professors Vector and Dawlish came around the corner.
"Potter!", Dawlish shouted, while Professor Vector stared at the shackled Zabini. "What happened?!"
"Zabini wanted to kill me, sir," Harry said calmly. "And since he had this wand with him, he should also be the one who attacked Ron."
- "He used the killing curse?" Dawlish asked in disbelief.
Harry nodded and pointed to his destroyed firebolt. "Luckily, only my broomstick didn't survive."
"Could I take a closer look at this wand?", Dawlish asked. Harry shrugged and gave it to him.
"Prior Incantato!", Dawlish called and the shadow of the killing curse appeared. Professor Vector grabbed her chest in horror. "Did he summon the Dark Mark?"
"We'll find out quickly, Septima,", Dawlish said, who was now in his element. "We have to question him, my office is closest. Macmillan, you get the Headmistress. Boot, you bring Professor Slughorn there, his Head of House should be present at the questioning. Granger, take Miss Weasley to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey should have a closer look at her head. Potter-"
"I can inform the ministry," Harry said hastily.
"Very good," Dawlish said, causing Zabini to float with a snippet of his wand. "After that, you and Septima guard my office, we don't know if he still has accomplices who are running around here."
Harry sent his Patronus to Proudfoot and asked him to bring Veritaserum with him for Zabini's questioning before following the two teachers. On the way there, Proudfoor's silver badger appeared and announced his coming. Arriving at Dawlish's office, Professor Vector and he posed to the right and left of the door, while Dawlish guarded Zabini inside. Professor Vector was obviously in shock.
"He was one of my best students," she said. "I would never have expected that of him."
Harry saved himself an answer. He had always known that Zabini was evil, but he had always considered him the most harmless of all the Slytherin boys of his year. He had had more to do with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, and this year he had to deal with Nott, so he had never noticed anything about Zabini, apart from him having a new girlfriend every two weeks.
"Shouldn't we notify his parents?", Professor Vector asked after a while, a little hesitantly.
Harry shook his head. "He's of legal age, Professor."
Zabini was facing a lifetime in Azkaban, he knew, the only question was whether he had worked with Selwyn and whether he knew where the last Death Eater was. Harry hoped it was so, so that all the haunting could come to an end tonight.
He heard someone approach and pointed his wand at the end of the corridor, but it was only Professor Slughorn who came up the stairs.
"Harry, my boy!" he said as he came over. "Bad thing, bad thing - you're fine, I hope?"
"All right, Professor," Harry said.
"Where is he?"
"Professor Dawlish has him inside, sir," Harry said, knocking on the door for a moment.
"Come in!" shouted Dawlish, and Slughorn stepped in.
Zabini sat on a chair in the middle of the room, Dawlish stood behind him and had his wand pointed at his back of his head. He looked up only briefly when Slughorn came in.
"Horace."
- "Merlin's beard, John," Slughorn groaned and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. 'I didn't expect that. Perhaps the boy was bewitched?"
"We'll find out right away," Dawlish said calmly. "Potter, what news from the ministry?"
"Proudfoot is on his way," Harry said.
"Then we leave it to the Aurors," Dawlish said.
"Are these ropes really necessary, John?", Slughorn asked. "The boy is unconscious anyway."
"He directed two killing curses at me, Professor," Harry said. "These ropes are more than necessary."
A little later, Professor McGonagall arrived with three Aurors and Proudfoot's secretary in tow. Apparently Proudfoot had brought Savage and Zeas along, and his secretary would probably keep records.
"Potter," Proudfoot growled before McGonagall could say anything. "Report. What exactly happened?"
"He attacked me and my girlfriend twice with the killing curse," Harry said succinctly. "Then I caught him with a stunner. We believe he is also the one who almost killed Ron two days ago."
Proudfoot nodded slowly. "Savage, Zeas, you're standing guard outside."
"I'll try to find some sleep," Professor Vector sighed, hurriedly walking away, apparently glad to leave this scene behind.
"So then," Proudfoot said, pulling a small vial out of his pocket and pouring three drops of clear liquid into Zabini's mouth. Then he summoned up a chair and sat down opposite the Slytherin. His secretary sat down at Dawlish's desk and took pen, ink and parchment.
"Rennervate."
Zabini woke up, but his eyes remained glassy and strangely empty.
"What's your name?" Proudfoot asked calmly, as his secretary began to write in a hurry.
"Blaise Zabini."
- "Do you know where Arius Selwyn is?"
Harry held his breath, but Zabini said "No."
Proudfoot snorted a little disappointed. "Are you in contact with Selwyn, or have you followed orders from him?"
- "No."
- "Why did you attack Mr Potter?"
"To gain control of the Elder Wand," Zabini said. "As long as Potter lives, it doesn't obey me."
- "He has the Elder Wand?", Proudfoot growled at Harry. Harry silently pointed to Dawlish who held up the wand Zabini had had with him.
"How did you come into the possession of the Elder Wand?", Proudfoot asked.
"I used Ron Weasley," Zabini said, blankly. "I caught him coming back from the Quidditch field alone. I gave him Veritaserum and questioned him. Weasley said Potter had buried the Elder Wand with Dumbledore."
- "Where did you get the Veritaserum from?"
"I stole it from Professor Slughorn's stockpile two days ago," Zabini said. "I used a bluff knit that I threw into Pansy Parkinson's kettle to provide a distraction."
Proudfoot breathed out deeply. "What did you do with Weasley after you questioned him?"
"I had no use for him anymore," Zabini said. "I used the Sectumsempra spell that Potter used against Draco to kill him. Unfortunately, he was found before he could bleed to death."
- "Tell me about your attack on Potter."
- "I knew from Daphne that the Gryffindors have training today. Potter would certainly visit Weasley in the hospital wing after that, so I waited between the hospital wing and Gryffindor Tower, at the statue of Boris the Barmy. When Potter and Weasley passed, I attacked, but the two threw each other aside. Weasley lost consciousness, but Potter tried to disarm me. Our spells met and our wands connected."
- "Your wands connected?" Proudfoot asked.
Harry threw a side-view at Professor McGonagall, who had her forehead ruffled, and shook his head slightly. McGonagall nodded briefly.
"Yes, our wands connected", Zabini said. "In the meantime, Granger, Boot and Macmillan arrived. I tried to break the connection, but I couldn't. Potter made a golden pearl touch the Elder Wand, and then I lost consciousness."
Proudfoot looked at Harry inquiringly.
"I stunned him," Harry said succinctly.
"What about this connection?", Proudfoot asked.
Harry shrugged. "This must have had to do with the fact that the Elder Wand didn't want to work against me."
Proudfoot seemed to want to say something, but Harry had another question.
"Did you search through my stuff during the game against Ravenclaw?" he asked Zabini.
"Yes," Zabini said. "I had become disillusioned and hid at the Gryffindors' portrait hole to find out the password. When everyone was gone, I went in and searched Potter's stuff. I couldn't find the Elder Wand, so I left. I confunded the portrait so that it wouldn't remember me."
"Did you summon the Dark Mark on Remembrance Day?", Proudfoot asked.
"Yes. I did it to show everyone that it's not over yet. To announce my coming."
- "What did you want to do with the Elder Wand?"
"I wanted its power," Zabini said, dispassionately. "I wanted to use it to pass my exams and then become a successful duelist. I wanted gold and fame."
- "Did anyone else know about your plan or the attacks?"
- "No. Only me."
- "Stupor", Proudfoot growled disgustedly and Zabini lost consciousness again. Proudfoot's secretary packed her belongings and stowed Zabini's confession in her bag.
"Well, that explains a lot, although it doesn't help us a little bit when it comes to Selwyn."
"What will become of him now?", McGonagall asked coolly.
"For now, we'll take him straight to Azkaban", Proudfoot said. "There will be a trial, but after this confession he will never leave the island."
McGonagall nodded narrowly. "Horace, notify his mother."
Slughorn pulled a grimace, but nodded before leaving the office.
"That would be all, Professor," Proudfoot said, calling Savage and Zeas in to take Zabini away.
"Good job, Potter," Savage said shortly before following the others out.
"Go to bed, Potter," McGonagall said.
"One moment, Minerva," Dawlish said, pulling out the Elder Wand.
"Keep it here for now, sir," Harry said after a brief deliberation. 'There's hardly anyone going to look here, and as long as its here, you don't have to worry about me cheating on the exams.'
"As you think, Potter," Dawlish said, stunned.
Harry left the office with McGonagall.
"That wasn't the Elder Wand, wasn't it?" the headmistress asked with a smile.
"No, Professor," Harry confessed with a grin. "Of course not."
McGonagall shook her head with a sigh. 'I could have imagined you're not so stupid to pick such an obvious hiding place. But how did you get Voldemort's old phoenix stick?"
"He had it in his pocket when he died," Harry said succinctly. "I looked at the body and found it."
McGonagall nodded slowly. "I'm not going to ask you what you did with the Elder Wand, Potter. But why did you leave this wand with Professor Dawlish?"
Harry shrugged. "Dawlish doesn't need to know everything, and as long as he believes that the Elder Wand is safe with him, he's less concerned."
They reached the portrait hole.
"Good night, Potter," McGonagall said, now as distant as ever.
"Good night, Professor."
Unsurprisingly, he was expected by the entire Gryffindor DA.
"Zabini confessed everything," Harry said before anyone could ask. 'He attacked Ron and us and scrambled through my stuff, but he had nothing to do with Selwyn, so we'll keep doing our rounds. Everything else I'll tell you tomorrow when we meet the others, okay? It's been a long day."
He went over to Ginny and took her hand. "Can you give us a moment?"
The others nodded, wished them a good night and went to their dormitories. Only Hermione remained, as one might expect. Harry smiled at her tiredly.
"You lied to us, Harry," she said sinisterly.
"I haven't."
"Yes, you have," she quid. "You said the Elder Wand was in Dumbledore's grave, but that was Voldemort's old wand!"
- "I never-"
- "- I'm glad you lied to us, because otherwise it might have been worse, but still-"
"I didn't lie to you", Harry said sharply. Hermione fell silent and put her hands on her hips.
"I said to Dumbledore's portrait that I would put it back to where it came from," he said calmly. "And that's what I had in mind, but then I had a better idea because this hiding place was far too obvious."
- "But you said later-"
"That I buried the Elder Wand," he interrupted. "But not where exactly."
Hermione opened her eyes in amazement and formed a perfect 'Oh' with her mouth.
"It doesn't mean I don't trust you, Hermione," Harry said. 'It was just a precautionary measure that obviously paid off, but if you want to know where it is, I'll tell you. Of course I'll tell you.'
"You don't have to," she said with a soft smile. "I think I know exactly where it is."
"You do?" Ginny, confused.
"Yes," she grinned, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry that-"
"It's okay, Hermione," Harry said tiredly. "I deserved it."
She smiled and went to bed.
Ginny still seemed to be thinking.
"Do you want to know?"
She shook her head slowly. 'I don't think so. The thing with Ron has shown me that it's probably better if I don't know, and all I care about is that you would tell me."
"Okay," he said, smiling. "Is everything okay with you?"
She snorted. "Just a slight concussion. Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion and everything was fine again."
Ginny cuddled up to him. "It's been a pretty exciting week."
"Too exciting," Harry grimly confirmed, thinking about how close they and Ron had got away in recent days.
"You need a new broomstick."
He sighed. "Again. And only for a single game..."
"I was right, by the way," she muttered. "Because of Malfoy, you know. He had nothing to do with it."
Harry just buzzed. "We should go to sleep," he finally said. "It was... a long day."
- "Not so fast, Mr Potter," Ginny muttered, pressing the Marauder's Map in his hands and sitting down on his lap. "Now that we are undisturbed, I would really like to come back to your offer from before..."