A/N: Thanks to chem prof for, as always, finding and correcting mistakes.
Chapter 10: Hogwarts Again
It had taken him four separate Apparitions to travel to the Shrieking Shack. License or not, there was a matter of confidence involved in travelling through Apparition. Harry had to follow the Hogwarts Express track as he had no idea where on a map Hogwarts was located.
Harry also had no idea whether or not the gates to Hogwarts would be open at half six on a Tuesday night, nor did he want to waste time finding out. Instead, he'd decided to use the old tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow. Despite whatever Snape attested, Harry did not like attention.
The tunnel hadn't changed since Harry's last use for it. It was still low-hanging, causing the now taller Harry to have to bend his way through. It was still filled with dirt and grime, much to Harry's chagrin. Thankfully his review of previous year spell books had taught him a cleaning spell or two.
The Hogwarts end of the tunnel gave birth to the brilliant sight of the castle in all its glory.
The grounds were deserted, minus the occasional sign of wildlife. This is what Harry had hoped for, and decided not to push his luck and linger. Those who had dinner early would soon be leaving, if they hadn't already. Even with the Marauder's Map in one of his pockets, it would be next to impossible to return unhindered during the early evening. As long as he avoided Snape and Malfoy, he would consider the trip a success. After leaving Fleur and France behind, he was not in the mood to take a bunch of immature taunting from either of them, Professor or no Professor, Death Eater or no Death Eater.
Hundreds of voices reached Harry's ears as soon as he neared the castle. He entered the grand doors which were still open and passed by the doors to the Great Hall quickly. Nobody called out his name so he assumed he hadn't been seen. At a half-jog, he climbed the stairs and made his way up the next six floors to Gryffindor Tower.
The common room was thankfully empty, allowing Harry to retire to his bed uninterrupted. Even if he could travel four hundred kilometres via Apparition without straining himself, travelling from France to Scotland, needing multiple jumps, took a fair bit out of him.
He resized his parcels and set about putting everything back in order. It was only after he was done before he noticed something was missing - his Invisibility Cloak.
If Ron took it again… Harry scowled. He walked back out to the stairs landing.
'Accio Invisibility Cloak,' Harry summoned silently. There was nothing for a moment and then he saw the glimmering fabric appear from the girls' dormitory. He caught the Cloak before the spell wore off and paused for a moment.
Did Hermione take it? Or Ginny? They're the only two females that know about it.
Harry quickly stuffed the Cloak under his bed and lay down on top of it. There was a lot to accomplish before the week was over. There was now added pressure, removing the last threads of normalcy from Harry's Hogwarts life. It was now down to classes and two types of training, stopping Malfoy from whatever he was up to and figuring out what else Dumbledore had kept hidden from him.
Life was complicated.
He must've either dozed off or lost track of time because the next thing he knew, there were voices emanating from downstairs that he did not hear come in.
Best get this over with. Harry thought ruefully. He rose from the bed, fixed up his robes and crossed the room to the doorway.
"When do you suppose he'll be back?" a girl's voice said, causing Harry to stop in his tracks just before the doorway. "Dumbledore said he wasn't captured."
"Whenever he wants, it's not any of our concern is it?" a second, harsher voice replied. "He never talks to anyone outside his own clique." Harry blanched at this. He never thought he had a 'clique' of all things.
Apparently he was not the only one who found this funny for the first girl and a third girl snorted at this. "Harry Potter has a clique?" the third girl's voice asked with incredulity. "You must be kidding. Anyone can see he only trusts a few people sure, but it's not exactly exclusive. He just doesn't let anyone really close to him besides Hermione and, well used to be Ron." The three girls were silent a moment.
"It doesn't matter, we're two years behind him so we'll never get the chance to know him let alone be with him," the second girl said offhandedly.
Great, fans…
"You've noticed it too then?" the first girl asked.
"That he does not care for his fame and only wants people to know him for who he is rather than the Boy-Who-Lived?" the third girl said. "Yeah, we've noticed. Pity that the Weasley girl hasn't. She's still figuring out how to get him to get the hots for her."
"She's still at it?" the second girl inquired. "We've been here four years and we already know she'll never have a chance without a love potion or ten." She paused for a moment. "Still trying to snog half the male population to get him to realize she's a girl?"
"Yeah," the first girl replied. "It'll get hard to find a guy who hasn't snogged her soon enough. Shame really, there are some good looking ones that got caught up. Don't want anything to do with them now. It's like they're tainted for me now." All three of them laughed at that.
Intelligent fans,then…
Once upon a time Harry would've torn into them for their attitude towards Ginny but now he found he didn't care either way. He never held any attraction to the small redhead and probably never would, especially after what he had just learned and her attitude towards his friendship with Padma.
Love potions, eh? So Hermione and I aren't the only ones who have thought of that. I'd better be careful around Ginny then, Harry thought.
More voices brought him out of his thoughts. This time it was Neville, Katie, Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Lavender who came in all chattering away.
"Oi," Harry called out. All six new faces in the room, and the three fourth year girls whom Harry did not know, looked up and saw him. Five of the faces turned into grins and smiles of various types, while the three fourth years blushed and looked away, occasionally sending him looks out of the corner of their eyes. Strangely, Parvati's face grew sullen.
"Harry!" Neville called back. "Great to have you back." He hit the stairs and was giving him a 'manly' hug within seconds. Harry, surprised at the action, temporarily forgetting that this was a more confident Neville than the previous five years had shown, froze for a moment before returning the hug. After they released each other, Harry descended the stairs, shaking hands with Dean and Seamus, and receiving hugs from Katie and Lavender, to his surprise. Parvati waved her greeting before leaving for the girls' dormitories.
"She's not still mad at me for the Yule Ball is she?" Harry whispered to Lavender after she left. Lavender shook her head, her medium length blonde hair bouncing everywhere with her movement.
"No, she's just a bit…or very annoyed at you and her sister for being friends," Lavender explained. "She used to have a thing for you, or at least the Boy-Who-Lived you." At Harry's raised eyebrow, she explained further.
"In the few days you've been gone, the school's changed a bit. Nothing major," she replied seeing Harry's instantaneous worried look. "More like everyone's starting to get that you are a person, not the idol everyone reveres. Your life is not like a celebrity at all. You're in danger quite a bit, aren't you?"
"It's taken most of the more than five years," Harry said while nodding. "Guess it's better late than never." Lavender gave him a small, awkward smile.
"I'd like to say that Parvati and I were two of the few that knew you were a person yourself but we were both caught up in the celebrity you. It's … complicated …"
"Nobody likes to talk about it," Dean continued for Lavender. "But we are aware of most of what happens in this place, always. Gossipers like Lavender here," Lavender slapped Dean in side of the head for that remark. "Help spread around any news." Dean finished, rubbing the spot he'd been hit.
Seamus took over. "And so everyone is becoming aware of whom everyone else really is, you know, where their loyalties lie."
"What do you mean?" asked Harry curiously.
"No offence mate, but you don't spend much time paying attention to anyone besides your friends," Neville said quickly. "Uh – how can I put this?"
"Ooo, I know, people are choosing their sides," Lavender responded enthusiastically. The other five sent her odd looks. "What?" she asked impatiently.
"At any rate," Neville said, turning back to Harry. "It's become more … open in the last few days. With the attack on the Express and now this one … well –"
"It was bound to come sooner or later," Seamus finished distastefully. "Are we done talking about this? This is not in my comfort zone." Harry couldn't agree more. This discussion wasn't something he ever expected to have with his housemates.
"How are you?" asked Lavender, ignoring Seamus. "Did you get hurt? Is that way you were away for so long?" She took a step forward and started examining Harry, as if she could see through his robes to any injuries he might have had on his skin. A disturbing thought.
"I'm fine," Harry replied uneasily. "Had to take a couple days off, but I'm fine now."
"What from?" pressed Lavender. Harry, out of the corner of his eye, noticed Dean and Seamus smirking at him. Oh, how they would pay for that. Neville merely had a raised eyebrow and Katie was still standing quietly, amusement in her eyes.
"You're not going to let me go until I tell you, are you?" asked Harry, defeated.
"Nope," Dean and Seamus replied at the same time.
"You're dealing with one half of the gossip queens of Gryffindor," Katie said brightly. "You just don't walk away freely from that." A couple of chuckles followed that statement.
"And here I thought I was the dangerous one here …" Harry muttered, earning a few more chuckles.
"Seriously? And who were you with? The Daily Prophet didn't give any description except for a woman," asked Lavender who was now picking at his robes, searching for injuries, probably for gossip. Harry had to resist the temptation to swat her away. It would be easier for her to just vanish his clothes if she wanted to check for injuries.
That was another disturbing thought.
"It's not going to get any easier is it? This year, this … war," Katie asked softly, saving Harry the trouble of not answering. The entire mood seemed to dampen instantly.
"Probably not," Harry replied in much the same tone of voice. It was strange to see this side of his fellow Gryffindors. Day after day he'd written them off under titles of gossipers or girly or typical males. He'd always been far too focused on himself and his own problems and adventures to really pay any attention to his fellow housemates. That was going to change, hopefully.
At that moment the Fat Lady's portrait swung open again and the bulk of the Gryffindors passed by, all too busy in their own conversations or thoughts to even realize Harry was present. That suited him just fine; he had already talked to the few Gryffindors that were figures in his life, minus Hermione. Speaking of which, where was she?
His eyes followed the groups as they sat down or returned to their dorms, before noticing three younger looking girls trying to discreetly catch his eye. He assumed they were the three he had overheard. He waved to them quickly, causing all three to briefly wave back, blush and then huddle closer.
Probably saw me come down and now know I overheard them. Harry figured.
"Ah and who are these three, Harry?" inquired Lavender, who quickly sidled up beside him.
"You're more likely to know than me," Harry quipped in response.
The portrait opened again while Harry and Lavender had exchanged these brief words. Harry turned to see who it was. Before he had even turned all the way around, he was hit by a truck … or, more accurately, a bushy-haired truck that knocked him clean off his feet. He landed with a thud, eliciting many laughs around the room and several 'welcome back's' from various Gryffindors, some even noticeably moving closer to listen in on the conversation sure to follow.
"Let him breathe," Neville chuckled. Harry looked up at Neville oddly; the line reminded Harry of Ron the summer before fifth year. There was a pang in his chest. He wasn't past what happened with Ron yet, but he would get over it.
"Goodness, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, letting him go and clambering to her feet. "I didn't mean to hug you that hard! Oh, Harry, are you alright? I mean, both from me and Diagon Alley. I was so worried. Where were you? Why did you take so long to come back?"
"Calm down, Hermione," Katie said, placing her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Calm down, take a look, he's fine."
In fact Harry was still on the ground, recovering from the completely unexpected tackle hug, blinking stupidly. "Yeah, I'm alright, don't help me up," he said while getting to his feet.
"I think we'd all like to know where you were, Harry," Lavender stated seriously, though Harry could see a glint her eye. He understood what she wanted. Now that Hermione was here, a confidant, than there was far a greater chance at getting answers.
There were several nods from those within and outside of the conversation. Harry did not fail to notice many other Gryffindors, who weren't involved in the conversation, lean in, trying to eavesdrop.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you that," Harry replied. Seeing the put out looks on all but Hermione's faces he added, "It's not about trust or anything. I promised the owner not to give away the location." It was yet another half-truth. He did promise not to use Fleur's house a constant hideaway, and revealing that would endanger her.
The non-DA Gryffindors were rather put out, especially Lavender, who looked like Christmas was cancelled. The news of where Harry had been would certainly be cause for a week's worth of chatter around the castle.
"Right then," Harry said more cheerfully, ignoring the unhappy looks. "I'd say Dumbledore probably wants to have a word with me so I may as well get it over with." Lavender, Neville and Katie bade him farewell, the first rather grudgingly, and Harry exited through the portrait hole. A second later, the door opened again and Hermione came through. Harry waited for her to sort herself out.
"Let's find a nice old classroom shall we?" Harry rhetorically asked. A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione had locked themselves in an unused room and cast a Silencing Charm on the doorway. As soon as that was done, Hermione grabbed Harry into a second hug.
"Oh, Harry, I was so worried," Hermione whispered. "What happened?"
Harry awkwardly wrapped his arms around, squeezed gently; reassuring her he was okay before pulling apart. It might have been wrong and unfair for him to think it, but it wasn't the same as being held by Fleur, even though this had been the best hug he'd ever gotten from Hermione. Fleur's had encompassed a bigger impact upon his soul.
"I was in Diagon Alley," Harry began. "Sirius' will reading ended up happening that day."
"Did Malfoy show up?" Hermione interrupted. "Just as he came into the Great Hall for lunch, he was whisked away and we didn't see him till dinner. He was angry, very angry."
"Yeah," Harry replied, then smirked. "He was hoping to get his paws upon Sirius' gold, but he wrote a will last year that gave everything to me, Tonks and Remus. Narcissa Malfoy tried to contest the will but was shot down. She left in a huff. Then she and Bellatrix attacked me outside the Apothecary."
"It was Bellatrix?" Hermione inquired. "The paper only said that you were with an unidentified female and were attacked by Narcissa and a 'horribly ugly woman'. There was nothing about the state you were in, where you were, your companion's name or description."
Harry laughed at the accurate description of the woman Bellatrix had transformed into. "She used a Polyjuice Potion to get inside Diagon Alley. Unfortunately Narcissa picked a hair from a 'horribly ugly woman'.
The smile left his face, replaced by a solemn expression. "This proves that Voldemort can get in anywhere, now that he's using Polyjuice, unless…"
"Unless?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Unless the two of them acted alone," Harry grew thoughtful a moment. "The attack was a disaster for them. It was completely unorganized. They were hidden in a small alley between two shops, with a Silencing Charm, but Narcissa Malfoy did nothing to hide her own identity. I couldn't hear them talk though I could see and notice that she was talking, or arguing, with someone privately. There seemed to be no tactic but to wait and attack me when I went to leave the Alley. Not to give the enemy compliments, but Voldemort is smarter than that."
Hermione put on her problem solving expression. She bit her lip and started pacing. "Narcissa was caught, by the way. There's been no news on when her trial will be. Was it you who Stunned her?"
Harry shook his head. "No."
"Then the tall, blonde woman you were with?" she prodded.
"Yeah," Harry replied, then paused and stared at Hermione. From what Lavender had said ten minutes ago, there was no description except for a woman. While he was surprised that nobody gave a description of the part-Veela like he had thought, meaning she was safer than she could've been, and Bellatrix had never met the Beauxbatons Tri-Wizard Champion before, Harry was shocked to see Hermione fishing him out for details instead of just asking. That wasn't like her at all.
"You have something you want to ask?"
"Of course I do, Harry! Who were you with? Where did you go? Why are you being like this?"
Harry couldn't explain why he wanted to keep his trip to France and what happened to himself. In part he thought it was because he was afraid he might tell Hermione everything, including the more private activities, had he started to say anything. There were some things that were private, even amongst friends, and that was definitely something he wanted to keep private.
"Are you telling me that you have told me every secret you hold?" he asked, stalling until he could figure out what to say.
"Of course not," she responded in puzzlement. "Not things that are personal. But what's that got to do with this? You're not saying …?"
Harry started to panic. This was exactly the direction Harry did not want this conversation to go. "No, no, not at all," he assured her. "It's just that … I haven't felt like telling you things recently."
Hermione frowned, trying to understand this reluctance, and comparing it with her own similar feelings. "Are we alright Harry? You and me?"
Harry didn't need her to elaborate any further. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Hermione asked apprehensively.
"Quite clearly there's still something between us." Harry replied. "Whatever it is, potion, spell, whatever, it's still in effect." Hermione didn't respond.
"Are you sure that waiting for whoever it is to make a mistake is the wisest move?" Harry prodded. "This will get messy, I can feel it. Why not just go to Madame Pomfrey? We can pretend that there's problems between us, can't we?"
"I doubt it, Harry." Hermione said sullenly. "For almost five years we've been close. Can you expect us to act like we're falling apart without it actually happening? I don't think I can."
"So, you're saying that we should continue?" asked Harry warily. He didn't like the sound of this one bit. Did it matter if the person responsible was caught? Who knew what would happen before they were caught.
"What else can we do?" Hermione asked in the same sullen voice. "If it was a love potion then you should be dotting after whoever the focus is and your attention would be completely focused on them. Since you aren't, it's not any potion I know of. That leaves spells."
"I suppose a simple 'finite' isn't enough?"
Hermione shook her head. "'Finite' only works on general spells. For something to affect us on such a fragile plane, at least that we're aware of, it's too complex to be solved by that. I won't be able to try anything without reading through a dozen books, trying all the cancellation spells I find. Then we might never find out who's doing this. With all the work I've got and the DA … I might not have time to get far."
"That means we have to let this play out their way?" Harry inquired hesitantly.
"Yes," Hermione replied after a moment's pause.
"I don't like this one bit," Harry informed her. "Frankly, the plan blows."
"I don't either but I don't have any better ideas, do you?" she countered testily. Harry paused, and then shook his head, not having a better idea. He trusted that Hermione would not let this get too far.
"But we've gotten off track here," Hermione pointed out. "Please, what can you tell me?"
Harry thought about which things he could reveal without giving away anything of what did happen between Fleur and himself. "First of all, you know I had an Order guard with me, right?" Hermione nodded. "So, who do you know who is a tall, blonde woman, who is in the Order, and who might be the logical person to escort me to Gringotts?"
This time Hermione managed a self-deprecating smile. "Fleur, of course. I can't believe I didn't figure that out." She paused a moment, then carefully phrased her next question. "Can you tell me why you went into hiding?"
"I had to heal. I don't trust the Weasley's at the moment, so I didn't go to the Burrow. It's also too obvious for the Death Eaters, and I wouldn't put it past any of the future Death Eaters here to try something." Harry answered truthfully. Hermione stopped pacing.
She turned to him and asked, "You were injured?" Harry nodded. "How?" she asked a bit softer.
"What's Bella's favourite curse?" Harry asked darkly, crossing his arms. He was just thankful his arms were clear and healed again. Burst blood cells in his eyes wouldn't help her worry less over him.
Hermione's face darkened equally in recognition. "Oh…"
"That's the one." Harry replied shortly.
"How long?"
"Ten seconds apparently."
"Apparently?"
"You don't have the luxury of counting while under the curse," Harry said dryly.
"Right. So Fleur told you?"
"Yes, she took care of me till I got better," Harry explained. "Then we went to buy me some better Muggle clothes."
"Where was that?"
"That, I can't tell you. I promised."
Hermione tried to hide her expression of disappointment, and largely succeeded, but Harry still caught it.
Instead of dwelling or forcing the issue, Hermione crafted another question. "So, I can assume that Fleur took you to wherever you were hiding?" Harry shrugged noncommittally and she hastened to add, "That's all right, you don't have to say. I'm sure she … if she was involved that is … that she saw to it that you were well taken care of."
Harry fought to keep his face passive. 'Well taken care of' was an understatement! He desperately needed to change the subject.
"I got my Apparition License," Harry blurted out. Hermione rounded on him, her other concerns forgotten.
"What? How? Don't you have to be of age?" rushed Hermione, eyes wide and sparkling with interest.
"You've already answered the question, Hermione dear," Harry replied, smiling.
Hermione blushed for a second. "You're of age? How?"
"Sirius made me his heir. By being the last in the Black family line, and past sixteen, I am automatically of age. But don't tell anyone. Only you, the Head Goblin, and one other and a few Ministry workers who can't say a thing without losing their magic, know."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said sadly.
"It's okay, Hermione," Harry placated. "I've made my peace with it. I don't blame myself at all. I blame the people involved."
Hermione looked like she wanted to hug him again but was holding back. It was probably better that she did restrain herself after everything. Hermione then furrowed her brow.
"The Goblins were pretty nice," Harry continued.
"I've read they are business focused and don't care for anything but the formalities," Hermione countered.
Harry shrugged. "I have a fair bit of money, surprisingly, maybe that's why."
"Honestly, Harry, don't you know anything about your family?" reprimanded Hermione. She paused, eyes widening as soon as she had finished. "Oh, I didn't mean it to come out that way. I meant their past, family history, not –"
"It's okay, it's okay," Harry placated her, hands raised in calming gesture. "I know what you meant. And what do you mean?"
"The Potters, Harry, were important in the many small time, yet successful businesses that really took off in the early to mid twentieth century." Hermione explained. "It should come as no surprise that you have a fair amount of money …" she paused, took a breath and added quietly, "especially when your vault has been untouched for so long."
"That's what … Fleur figured." Harry replied, hesitating a moment before he said the woman's name. He still was wary, wary that he was say too much. Consequences were bound to come, but this would be a little sooner than he had envisioned earlier in the day.
"There's something else," Harry said slowly, trying to distract Hermione and to move onto the next point. "A passage in my parents will is missing."
"Missing?" asked Hermione. "How? Why?"
"I can only guess, but I have several suspects. Chief among them is Dumbledore."
"Why would Dumbledore hide your parents will, Harry?" Her disbelief was audible.
Harry shook his head. "I've only got guesses on that, too. He was the last noted viewer, according to the Goblins. But the main point at this point is that I don't trust him anymore. I can't. He's not straight with me."
"You're going against Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, slightly frightened at the prospect.
Harry shook his head again. "Not really. I just won't rely on him anymore. I'll have to continue as if he isn't around. Nothing will change, really. I simply won't run to him whenever something happens. I have my own group of people that I can turn to now."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Hermione asked brightly, pushing aside her questions. "We need to start training then don't we?" Harry stood shocked for a moment, and then smiled at her. He held out his finger and then realized that the ring was still with his packages, for Fleur had removed it when she divested him of his robes while unconscious on his arrival. "Oh right," he said. "Still with my new clothes,"
"I'll get it," Hermione said immediately. "You'd better go visit Dumbledore now. Hurry back to the Room." Hermione spun on her foot and unlocked the door. Harry removed the Silencing Charm and followed her out. They went their separate directions, both hoping that whoever was influencing them would make a mistake soon, for if they didn't, things would get very, very messy.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Not long afterward, Harry found himself in Dumbledore's office. It looked the same as always, with the elderly wizard sitting across from him, observing his every move. Thanks to several similar examinations over the years, Harry was able to remain impassive and not squirm under the scrutiny of Dumbledore's gaze.
"Welcome back, Harry," Dumbledore said in a friendly tone. "It's nice to know you are safe."
"Thank you, sir," Harry replied politely. There was a moment silence.
"May I ask why you did not check in with the Order?" Dumbledore asked.
"You are the one who is adamant about sending as few owls as possible," Harry said calmly. "I sent a note to Hermione. It said I was fine and that I'd be back in a few days. I thought that was enough. Owls get intercepted, don't they? Putting my location on the note wouldn't have been a smart move."
"Ah, yes, Miss Granger showed me your note. And yes, I understand your reluctance to give away your location so easily." Dumbledore smiled at him. Whether it was something he had never done before, or Harry was just now aware of it due to his mistrust of the Professor, or even his own paranoia, Harry could sense something off about him. Despite his smile, there was something else behind there; something much more secretive and something that Dumbledore didn't want known. It unnerved him greatly.
"Still, Harry, I am shocked that you did not trust the Order to help you," Dumbledore continued.
"I was safe, sir. That's all that matters."
"True enough." Dumbledore said jovially. Harry noted the completely lack of visible surprise at his refusal to respond. Looking around the room, he noticed Fawkes was absent.
"How is Fawkes?" Harry asked suddenly, actually interested to know where the Phoenix that had saved his life was.
"Quite well, Harry," Dumbledore said cheerfully, seemingly quite touched that someone would ask. "He has recovered well from his unexpected death, saving me from Tom's Killing Curse. A couple weeks ago he regained the ability to teleport."
"That's good to hear," Harry replied half-heartedly. He looked back to the Headmaster.
"Is everything alright, Harry?" Dumbledore asked concernedly. Harry nodded.
"Just a headache and tired, sir, it has been a long day," Harry replied.
"Are you quite certain that you can't tell me where you were hiding, Harry?" asked Dumbledore again. "Knowing where you are for next time may save us a lot of worry and trouble."
"Sorry, sir," Harry answered. "But I don't think I'll even be going back there again."
"I see," Dumbledore said softly. He took a lemon drop and popped it in his mouth. There was a small silence.
"I understand the need for discretion in these times, Harry. I won't ask again; however I hope that next time I can be a trusted confidant for you." Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile. "How is Miss Delacour? The Order is unaware of her whereabouts as well."
"She's fine, as far as I know, sir," Harry replied, quite honestly in fact. "She wasn't injured."
"That is good to hear."
"What's happened with Narcissa Malfoy?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore was pensive for a moment. "Narcissa Malfoy was found at Diagon Alley with her wand beside her. Using back tracing spells, it was discovered that Mrs. Malfoy had cast a variety of Dark spells."
"Has she been put on trial? Is she going to Azkaban" questioned Harry rather impatiently. She better not have gotten off…
"I am unsure," Dumbledore said honestly. "The trial is later in the week at an undetermined time. The result …" he surveyed Harry for a moment. "… is as unknown as our future."
Harry raised an eyebrow. From what he knew, his immediately future was not very unknown. Fight, either kill Voldemort or die trying. That was pretty straightforward. A hidden message, perhaps?
"Is that all, sir?" Harry asked.
"One more thing, Harry," Dumbledore said in his sagely voice. "With the attack on you in Diagon Alley, I feel the need to step up your lessons. Next Saturday at eight p.m. is free I presume?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said. He then got up and walked out, closing the door with a click.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Dumbledore sighed.
Harry had been less than receptive to his questions. Something seemed to have changed. He was polite still, there was no indication of anything wrong with him, yet there was something … off … about their conversation. He answered his questions bluntly and didn't care to elaborate any further that was necessary. Simply, he wasn't volunteering information.
Frustrated and worried at the same time, he had foolishly tried to penetrate the younger man's mind. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Harry had turned aside both times he had attempted to use Legilimency.
Using Legilimency on students came with so many moral problems. He appreciated the need for secrecy, even on the same side, and had never, until the previous day, had to use it on his own allies.
Dumbledore rose to his feet and stood next to his phoenix's perch, where Fawkes would normally stand if he wasn't off delivering messages.
This wasn't good, not if he was being pushed to do something so morally wrong twice in two days. And why was Harry being so indifferent? What had happened or what had he learned, that changed things so drastically between them?
Dumbledore sighed again.
All he wanted was to be aware of Harry, to keep him safe until it was time for the prophecy to be fulfilled.
Maybe he would open up if he stepped up his lessons?
Dumbledore hoped so. He had to keep the teen safe. He wasn't ready yet. There was still so much to tell him if he had any hope of defeating the Dark Lord.
Horcruxes were one.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Harry quickly made his way through the long corridors up to the seventh floor. His talk with the Headmaster had been awkward to say the least. There was just something about him that he had never been aware of, something that warned Harry that the man held many secrets. There was something he was hiding, something he should know, but what? Did it have something to do with the missing passage from the will?
His paranoid side wanted to believe the Headmaster was manipulating him. It wanted Harry to strike out, take down the man and demand to be told everything.
Harry's lighter side by no means thought Dumbledore as evil … at least in the traditional black and white sense; however it believed that he was fighting against Voldemort, only with his own agenda in mind. This only served as reinforcement to Harry's opinion that there were five sides in this war and that he'd made the right choice by creating his own.
Once outside the tapestry on the seventh floor, Harry thought of the room they used for practice, walked back and forth three times and went inside. Everyone was already there. Nobody had been talking, all awaiting Harry's arrival. All ten heads rose when he entered. Even Luna showed her pleasant smile before resuming her usual examination of everywhere in the room besides his gaze.
"I'll get the simple questions out of the way," Harry began before anybody else could talk. "I was attacked by Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange." Neville practically growled at the mention of Bella's name. "In Diagon Alley. Bellatrix managed to escape, yet again. I was injured in the fight and went into hiding till I was healed. I was healed by Monday morning but stayed in hiding to tie up a few loose ends. I can't tell you where I was because I promised not to. The same goes for who I was with. Any more questions?"
There was a stunned silence. Harry smiled. "Sorry, didn't want to go through the same set of twenty questions for a fourth time." Seeing nobody ready to ask another question, perhaps because of his entrance, Harry continued.
"The Headmaster of Hogwarts …" began Harry. "Hasn't been straight with me when he should have. For now at least, I no longer trust him for help."
There were several gasps. Luna looked up at Harry oddly and only Hermione's and Daphne's faces remained without visible reaction. "Before and again now he has information he should have told me, but hasn't and probably wouldn't have for awhile yet. He has also withheld vital information that would have saved lives had it been known sooner. You'll understand completely once I get the Pensieve in a few weeks."
"Now," Harry clapped his hands together, leaving a mostly stunned ten students to sort out that piece of information later. "We have a lot to learn this year, inside and outside of class. Let's get back to work."
For the next two hours, two hours that left Harry just about dead on his feet after his multi Apparition trip back to Hogwarts, he began to work all ten of his DA members and himself as hard as he could. There were a few grumblings from Ernie, but a glare from everyone, including Daphne, quieted his protests almost instantly. When faced with numerous glares, not including Daphne's, one would usually quiet down. When faced with Daphne's alone, one would definitely quiet down. She was quite effective at silencing people.
"The first new spell I want to work on is the Bone-Breaking Hex. Nothing particularly new or outrageous, yet it is something, as far as I know, you don't know and is useful." Harry paced in front of the ten students before him, all sporting bruises or ruffled up in some manner. Over the past hour, Harry had duelled each of them reviewing the Stunning and Disarming spells, the Reductor and Cutting Curses and the Impedimenta Curse, and the Patronus. Daphne was the only one of the eleven yet to have one; Su had been taught it at her home according to Padma. It had taken her much of the fifty minutes Harry wasn't testing her other spells to form the basic mist that marked the first stage of the spell.
When Harry asked her what happy memory she was thinking of, and if she had any happier ones that the one she was using, he had only become the recipient of one of her infamous glares.
Whatever the reason the glare was for, Harry had to wonder how many happy memories the girl did have.
"Naturally the spell is designed to break one's bones, rendering the target in a fair amount of pain and, if aimed well enough, incapacitate them from the duel…" Harry paused and thought for a moment. "Unless Death Eaters know any Healing magic. This is rather unlikely, in my experience."
"This'll be easy," Ernie muttered, smiling to himself.
For a second time in the Room of Requirements, Ernie found himself slapped in the back of the head by two women, this time Padma and Daphne.
Padma, Susan and Hannah, slightly shocked at Daphne for joining in, stared at the blonde Slytherin for a moment, who returned their questioning gaze with a small smirk.
Harry, who had merely ignored Ernie's arrogant comment, joined in the staring at Daphne.
Before long, everyone was, including Luna, who seemed to be staring because everyone else was.
"What?" Daphne said scathingly at Harry, looking him in eye. "Aren't I allowed to take part in any of this because I'm a Slytherin?"
Surprised and slightly ashamed, Harry looked away, as did mostly everyone else, cleared his throat and continued his explanation. Once Harry started talking again, everyone refocused on him, Padma occasionally glancing at the sole Slytherin amongst them curiously. Daphne continued to pay attention to Harry not responding to the dark skinned Ravenclaw's gaze.
"…enabling one to quickly dispatch an enemy quickly," Harry continued his explanation. "From there, we can use the spell within other strategies to increase effectiveness."
Stopping his pacing and turning to face the group, Harry clapped his hands together. "Enough talk. It's magic time."
Despite Ernie's earlier boasts, his first performance was far less than stellar. Stepping forward to be the second to cast the spell, behind Harry, Ernie raised his wand, a superior smirk on his face.
Silently, as it wasn't entirely Harry's prerogative to cast spells silently, Ernie cast the Bone Breaking Hex.
With a small noise, the spell erupted from the end of his wand and rocketed through the air, quickly closing the distance between himself and the testing dummy the Room had provided at Harry's request.
The spell collided with the dummy with a soft crack, a few chips falling to the ground. Harry stepped forward to examine the dummy.
"You realize this dummy is wood, right?" Harry told the group. "Ernie," he added exasperatedly, "Your spell barely cracked this wooden dummy. I don't think that would've done more than give a human a bruise."
Furious, Ernie cast the spell a second time without waiting for Harry to move out of the way. Silently casting a shield, Harry deflected the spell with childish ease. A long silence followed.
"Are you quite finished?" Harry asked him with calm anger at last.
Realizing that he had just about hit Harry in his loss of control, Ernie took a step backwards, his face flaming red.
Susan and Hannah were about to rip into Ernie for attacking Harry so foolishly when Daphne placed her hands on each of their shoulders. She shook her head once the girls turned around.
"Sorry, I let myself get carried away," Ernie apologized after a moment. "It won't happen again."
"It better not," Padma said darkly, wand in her hand threateningly. "We're on the same side here."
Hermione watched the interaction of the DA members from the side. She knew Harry was very capable of blocking or deflecting the weak Bone Breaking Hex that Ernie had cast and therefore wasn't worried or surprised with how the situation turned out. Inwardly, she was proud of Harry for not lashing out at Ernie for his carelessness. Hopefully the Hufflepuff would learn to control or remove his arrogance from his personality. Arrogance could get people killed.
But another part of her was worried, worried about what would happen if Ernie did lash out in anger again. It reminded her far too much of Ron and what he did, or may have done, in his anger.
Daphne stepped forward, pushing Ernie aside roughly to show her distaste for his actions, causing him to stumble and nearly fall to the ground at the sudden movement, to take her turn at the spell.
Seeing Daphne's intentions, Harry waved his wand and the crack in the dummy disappeared. He took half a dozen steps back and waited for the Slytherin to cast the spell.
With a flick, the same spell sped past Harry and collided with the dummy's shoulder, ripping the wooden arm right off the dummy and splintering the shoulder. The arm collided with the wall five meters behind the dummy with a rather loud thud and fell to the ground with a loud clatter.
Smirking, Daphne turned and made her way back to the end of the line.
Not entirely surprised, Harry, Hermione and Padma grinned to themselves. Oh how things were changing in the minds of the group. It would take time, but hopefully it wouldn't be much longer before Daphne was as well accepted as the rest, Slytherin or not. One could not deny how strong, devious and dangerous the blonde could be when working for the right cause.
By the end of the meeting, everyone considered themselves already improved from their previous abilities. Ernie had quieted down and seriously concentrated on casting the spell the next time it came across his turn. He cast the spell aloud first, getting a similar result to Daphne's silent spell, and then silently a little later, breaking the arm off barely.
The rest of the group performed fairly similar with Susan, Hannah, Padma and Neville edging a little ahead of Su, Katie and, unsurprisingly, Luna. The year difference between the sixth years and the lone fifth year was evident in power levels; however her outrageous ideas for spells in her duel against Harry earlier had proven her to the group. It had taken Harry three minutes and a little help from Hermione and Padma, to completely remove all the boils and the rainbow colored skin he had been given thanks to the youngest DA member.
The non-prefects made a mad dash to get back to their common rooms on time once the group stopped for the night. Padma, Susan (despite not being a prefect), Hannah, Daphne, (also, despite not being a Prefect), and Hermione remained behind, waiting for Harry.
"I'm sure you all have questions for me?" Harry said, seeing them all looking at him expectantly. "If you're going to try and found out whom I was with or where I was, I told you I can't. I'm not going to break a promise."
"It's not that, Harry," Padma said. "Well, that's one thing I want to know. I respect your promises so I won't ask about that. There's something else, something that you know about that tells you that we can't trust Dumbledore. I'm not stupid. Something has to have happened for you to not trust him anymore and before I can agree, I have to know why."
"That's right," Susan said, with more determination that he had ever heard from her. "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say, we want to know. I'm certain the rest do too." She paused, and then added sheepishly. "They're more willing to wait, I guess."
Harry looked to Hermione, who simply shook her head exasperatedly. Terrific, the one's we decided I could trust were also the smartest. I suppose that is why I can trust them.
"Dumbledore's hidden things from me my entire tenure here at Hogwarts, and most recently I've discovered a passage in my parents will is missing." Harry explained. "I believe it was him. But regardless, the fact that he doesn't trust me enough to be honest and straight with me is damaging enough."
The group exchanged a few looks but appeared to take the explanation as it was.
"You'll understand more soon, I promise."
The group began their goodbyes after that.
"I'm glad you're alright," Padma whispered, a hand laid on his shoulder briefly before she took her leave. Harry just smiled at her sincerity.
Susan and Hannah gave him quick hugs as soon as Padma had stepped aside, which were nice. Looking up at Daphne, Harry just had to smirk.
"Going to give me a hug, Daphne?" he jokingly asked.
"Yeah, right, Potter."
And with that she left, Harry following with Hermione a moment later, a content smile on his face.
He was back.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Harry and Hermione climbed through the doorway to the common room together an hour later, after a patrol, to find Ginny waiting for them. As soon as she saw Harry, she stood up from her spot on a couch and approached him.
Harry hesitated. After hearing what he had earlier, he was very wary of the girl.
"Harry," she said quietly. "I'm glad you're alright." She was sincere, Harry could tell that, but that didn't make her motives any more right.
"It'll take more than two Death Eaters to do me in," Harry replied. Hermione punched him in the arm for that, a scowl on her face. "Ow, right, no talk about me and death."
Ginny smiled briefly between the two. She looked up into his eyes, catching them and holding the gaze. "I'm very sorry for what I said to you and Padma, Harry. I regret my mistake and hope I can make it up to you someday."
"Thank you," Harry said honestly, which surprised him. Something inside forced him to. As soon as he thought it, the thoughts vanished and Harry completely forgot about it. Shaking his head at the sudden emptiness inside, he finished off what he wanted to say. "You can start up apologizing to Padma as well." Ginny's face nearly winced but she controlled herself, though not well enough to prevent movement.
"Of course," she replied. "Goodnight, Harry, Hermione." She nodded to the both of them and climbed the stairs to her dormitory.
Harry turned to Hermione. "Did you see it?"
Hermione turned to Harry. "Unfortunately," she sighed. "I'm still not sure whether she did give me something, if she did anything at all, but she's probably one step away from trying something on you."
"I know," Harry replied tiredly. He was rather sick of the Ginny Weasley problem and constantly avoided thinking anything of it since the night when he first found out about it. Whether or not that was because of magical influence was another matter entirely.
"I overheard three fourth years talking about it. Her current plan, according to them, seems to be snog everyone in sight so I notice she's a girl. I'm pretty certain they were exaggerating a bit, but still. I already knew that she's a girl. I'd actually have to be attracted to her for that to work."
Hermione shook her head sadly. "Your apathy towards her advances hasn't stopped her yet."
"It should," grumbled Harry. "Just because my Dad was a fan of redheads doesn't mean I am."
"Oh, and what are you a fan of Harry Potter?" Hermione asked coyly, twisting her body to face him directly.
Harry found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. If he said blondes, then she would no doubt make the connection to Fleur. If he didn't, he'd be lying. Well … at least Fleur was one blonde he fancied. Lavender wasn't hard on the eyes but he had no feelings towards the buxom sixth year.
If anything, he was afraid of her.
In the end, Harry chose a more diplomatic answer. "Blondes, brunettes and dark haired girls."
That seemed to work for Hermione, who smiled and didn't question it … or didn't for a minute. "So you fancy Lavender do you?"
Harry stared at her in complete and utter shock. This was not something the Hermione from previous years would normally say. She began laughing again at his expression. "Oh I was kidding, Harry."
"Right," Harry said, shaking his head. It should have been expected, well, not exactly this, but everyone around him was growing and changing, so she should as well.
"We'd better go to bed, with classes tomorrow and all."
"Goodnight, Harry. I'm glad you're back."
"Goodnight, Hermione."
Harry climbed the stairs to his dorm and found Neville and Ron already in there. Ron saw him, nodded, but didn't say anything. Harry didn't say anything either. He had nothing to say to his former friend.
He bade Neville goodnight, closed his curtains, changed into something more appropriate for bed and Silenced his curtains. Once he had lain down, Harry realized he had forgotten to ask who had his Invisibility Cloak. He'd ask Hermione tomorrow.
Harry got under the covers and rolled over, feeling the expanse of the bed, not realizing it had been this big until now. He immediately began to miss Fleur's presence beside him. Three days was all it had taken him to be used to her and now he was without her for probably ever. He longed to feel her skin on his, her body against his, her lips on his own, her hands on his skin and his own on hers again.
It had been so different from his experience with Cho. This had a far larger impact on his body, mind and soul than the Ravenclaw ever did.
His thoughts drifted to Fleur's end. He started asking himself questions.
What was she doing? Did she feel the same? Was she longing for him as much as he was for her? Did she even think twice about him?
No. Harry immediately crushed that last thought. He knew her rather well now. She did care about him, at the very least in a platonic way before, and something a bit beyond that for her to kiss him.
Then there was Bill.
What was going to happen with him? Were they going to compete for Fleur? What would Bill do if, or when, he found out what had happened?
Right there and then Harry decided to go along with whatever Fleur would say. It was her decision and he had no influence on her final choice. What had happened was a miracle of happiness. Somehow, he would try to move on and consider what had happened the previous night to be his real first kiss.
-x-x-x-x-x-
The confrontation with Snape he had tried to avoid on his return came to fruition the following day in Defense Against the Dark Arts after lunch. His absence from the previous day of classes seemed to irritate Snape enormously, as the man wondered aloud how Harry managed to deal with classes and his adoration of publicity without conflict. Except, of course, this time they did conflict and Snape even criticised his multi-tasked skills. After several minutes of this, Harry finally snapped at earned himself a detention. Seemed he wasn't quite in control of his emotions as he wished.
Elsewhere, the entire school now knew of his return, if they hadn't already known it the previous night. He had a lot of greetings the morning after his return, even from people he had never even talked to before, some of which left him standing stock still in surprise. It was only a not so gentle push from Hermione that kept him on time for all his classes.
The three girls whom he had overheard the previous evening waved to him from down the Gryffindor table at breakfast that morning. Hermione questioned him about that. All he said was that they were the three he had overheard. He didn't actually know anything more about them, not even names.
Ginny had waved and spoken a cheery hello, obviously feeling that they had returned to their previous friendship. He took Padma aside at lunch and asked if she had apologized, to which she replied she had. He asked if it was sincere or forced, she said it was sincere. Unfortunately that made things harder. Ginny Weasley, Harry was sure, was now a girl who could lie through her teeth. She had a problem with the two of them still, he was certain.
At dinner that evening, Harry ate quickly and left before most other students. He was waiting for two people, to have words for both of them separately, for two entirely different reasons. Daphne was the first one to finish and leave. He caught her eye and climbed the stairs. Daphne followed a minute later. He led her to one of the many unused rooms that Harry was becoming very acquainted with lately.
After performing the mandatory Locking and Silencing Charms, Harry turned to Daphne. The tall, attractive blonde haired Slytherin met his gaze and cocked an eyebrow.
"Wanting to talk or is there an ulterior motive perhaps?" Daphne asked, smirking. She had a way with putting someone on the back foot early.
"Talk," Harry replied quickly, not trusting himself to not walk into a word trap.
"You sure there, Potter? If you wanted to see more, Harry, all you had to do was ask," Daphne told him, still smirking. Harry started blushed slightly, caught off guard.
What's with all the wise cracking women lately?
Harry coughed, attempting to leave that subject trail behind. "Right, well, like I said, that's not why we're here. I know you can't say anything because of the Oath, so I'm just going to tell you what I know. Whether it's helpful or not to you, I suppose I can't know."
Daphne nodded and waited for him to continue. "Malfoy is using the Room of Requirement. I don't know what he's doing in there, though it has something to do with a cupboard." Daphne's eyebrows flew upwards for a moment. "I'm on the right track aren't I?"
Daphne didn't answer, not that she could if she had chosen to.
"I recognize the cupboard but I can't place it." Harry had discovered this after thinking about it for a long time since the day he saw it. "That's all I got for now, but I can tell that I'm on the right track. That's all I needed to know. I don't know if any of that was news to you, it probably wasn't, but one way or another I am going to stop him. You're not alone in this, even if we can't communicate."
Daphne remained impassive for a moment. Then she let out a half smile. "Thanks Potter," she said, barely a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
She sent him a coy look, and appraised him as she walked a slow circle around him. Then she added, grinning and gently brushing her coverings, "You sure you don't want to see more?"
Harry stared, trying to determine if she really was playing with him or not. "I'm sure." It was better to be safe than sorry, especially with regards to Daphne Greengrass.
"Wise answer," she replied brightly. "Very wise answer." And with that, their conversation was over. Everything was said that he wanted to say. He couldn't spend much time with her or someone would end up noticing she went 'missing'. Even if it was paranoia, Harry felt it necessary.
Then again, after Lavender, Dean and Seamus's words, he wasn't so sure it would be paranoid to think that way.
He bade her goodnight and let her leave. He left after a little while, to make sure anyone in the corridor had gone, and made his way down to the Ravenclaw common room. It was only once he neared the spot the two of them had talked last time that he realized he had forgotten to ask Padma where the entrance was.
"Terrific," Harry muttered when found himself at the same corridor as before.
"Reliving past memories are we, Harry?" Padma's voice came from behind him a moment later. She had just finished dinner and was returning from the Great Hall. "Come on," she said when he had turned to face her. "I'll show you where the common room is so you're not stuck out here every time."
Padma led Harry through several more corridors before arriving at a suit of armor next to a wall. There was nothing unusual about the area at all. "Cover your ears," Padma instructed. He followed the instruction and watched the suit of armour talk to Padma and Padma answer back. The suit of armour stood aside and Harry watched as a door materialized. Padma pulled his arms away from his ears and led him inside.
Harry took in the sight of the third of four Hogwarts common rooms. The Ravenclaw common room was round and filled with blue hangings and fat armchairs. Harry had entered in the corner farthest from the stairs to the dorms. The domed ceiling was painted with stars accurately representing their true positions.
That gives them an unfair advantage in Astronomy… Harry thought ruefully.
On the wall in front of him was a fireplace, and also featured a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing a short of crown or tiara above it.
"What is that?" Harry asked, pointing to the crown/tiara.
"That's Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. It's been lost for centuries though," Padma explained. "It's unfortunate. It's beautiful." Almost the entirety of the Ravenclaw students in the common room was now staring at Harry. He could feel the stares against him. He was in a place he didn't belong.
As if sensing his discomfort, Padma put a hand on his shoulder and said, "It's alright." She turned to the watching Ravenclaws. "I haven't told him the password, alright?" Most of the students looked at him strangely a bit longer before returning to their previous activities. Harry relaxed somewhat after most of the eyes left him. A few of the older ones continued to stare, Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner giving him the most distasteful glares.
Padma tightened her grip on his shoulder slightly and led him over to a couch in a corner, away from most of the students. "Sorry," Padma whispered. "I didn't want to talk lying against that wall again. I had a crick in my neck for the entire night."
"No problem," Harry replied in the same volume level. "I don't think I'm very welcome though."
"Anthony and Michael?" Padma asked.
"Yeah. Anthony didn't seem to mind when I became a prefect, but I suppose this is kind of trespassing."
"Don't mind them. They're a pair of idiots," Padma said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She sat down on the couch, Harry sat down beside her. "Now that we're more comfortable, what can I do for you?" she paused. "That is if you were coming to see me …" she added a bit less sure.
Harry laughed. "Don't worry, I was after you."
"That's good. I just assumed ..." Padma waved her hand and looked away, a little embarrassed at her presumption, correct or not.
"I wanted to talk about your sister," Harry said. Padma looked up at him curiously.
"What's wrong with Parvati?" she asked, concerned.
"You don't know?" Harry said surprised.
"We haven't talked for quite awhile," Padma explained. "We don't generally talk that much at Hogwarts…" she finished somewhat sadly. Harry felt his heart go out to her. Sisters in different houses maybe, but they were still sisters. Losing that connection must be difficult.
"She was less than welcoming towards me when I came back," Harry began. "Lavender told me that she was somewhat upset with you and me for being friendly with one another. I wanted to ask you about it but I suppose I'm just letting you know."
Padma sighed. "She had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived for a couple of years I recall. I think it only ended after the Yule Ball." Harry winced at that.
"I'm never going to live that down am I?"
"Probably not," Padma agreed. "I suppose she thinks I'm betraying her now that we're friends. I'll talk to her about it."
"That's alright, just as long as you two don't fall apart because of this," Harry said. That was his prime concern here.
Padma shook her head. "She must still like you somewhat, whether the Boy-Who-Lived or you as a person I can't say. It's sad how few people can tell the difference."
"More admirers…" Harry muttered. "There isn't really a Harry Potter Fan Club is there?" he asked, hoping to God there wasn't.
"No," Padma smirked. "Though there probably will be now that you're a more mature, decisive and generally more appealing person." Harry fought the urge to blush. "After all the crap last year, the entire population knows you were the 'lone voice of truth'. You've never been more fanciable."
"Terrific," Harry repeated. "Absolutely terrific." That was just pure A-grade material for the Slytherins to use on him.
"As for my sister," Padma said on a more serious note. "Try and be nice to her anyway. She'll come around sooner or later."
"Right," Harry replied. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
"I'd better go before I outlive my welcome," Harry said, nodding his head in the general direction of the same two males and the black haired, Asian seventh year that had just entered the room.
Padma winced. "Good idea. I think Michael hates you a bit for being with Cho, too."
Harry stared at Padma, unbelieving. "I thought the entire school knew the complete and utter catastrophe that so-called 'relationship' was."
"Has that stopped people before?" Padma countered.
"Touché," Harry replied. "Have a good night, Padma."
Remembering another message he wanted to give, Harry leaned in close. Padma's breathing sped up.
He was moving closer. Very close. It wasn't meters anymore, it was becoming centimetres.
As if in slow motion, Padma watched Harry's face draw closer. It only occurred to her when she heard his voice that Harry was just leaning in to whisper something. Even so, she shivered slightly when she felt his warm breath on her ear.
"The next meeting will probably be on Saturday afternoon," Harry added, whispering in her ear. He stood up, waved sheepishly and crossed the room, leaving Padma with her heart beating twice as fast as normal and a slight, but unnoticeable, color in her cheeks.
Of course he wouldn't kiss me, especially not with everyone here, watching. What the hell was I thinking?
Padma sighed, her mind asking another several dozen questions along those lines. It wasn't the first time that had happened either, or just with Harry. She refused to let it take control of her. There was no way she was going to turn into Parvati, no way.
Stupid hormones…
-x-x-x-x-x-
Harry passed a few younger year Ravenclaws whom he had never known the names of, nodded at Cho who passed by him, surprised to see him there, and exited the common room.
"Harry!" a voice exclaimed as soon as he left the Common Room. Harry found Luna's bright, protruding eyes staring up at him. The year younger blonde was smiling at him. "How nice to see you here! Did you get stung by a Calderwall? They cause mild forgetfulness."
"Hey, Luna." Harry smiled at her. "No, I'm sting free. I just had to talk to Padma."
Luna continued to smile, her air of 'out there-ness' not dissuading him from liking her any less. If anything it drew him in. She was an outcast, like he had been until this year. Things were also changing for her. As far as he knew, nobody hid her belongings anymore. For whatever reason it was, Harry was happy for her. She didn't deserve the coldness and insults she received so often.
"You're a good teacher, Harry," Luna said suddenly. "Everyone trusts you. I told you before we went flying with the Threstrals, you aren't alone."
Oddly enough, that meant an unbelievable amount coming from her, someone relatively new in his life and someone so different. Harry, before he could help himself, wrapped Luna in a hug. She let out a soft 'Oh," of surprise before returning it. After a moment, he let her go.
"Thanks, Luna."
"I have to go now," Luna said, smiling serenely at him. "Goodnight, Harry. Watch out for the Calderwalls. It's their breeding season so there are a lot of them about." Harry just shook his head exasperatedly and watched her talk with the suit of armour, not taking in the words being spoken.
He now figured out that Luna, despite her constant serene smile and eccentricities, was simply lonely most of the time. She was a unique individual, one that deserved more than she received. Harry promised himself to make more of an effort with her once things settled down with him, Ginny and Hermione.
The sound of the suit of armour moving again disturbed his thoughts. Cho had exited the Common Room.
"Harry," Cho said quietly.
"Yeah?" Harry replied, unsure of where this going to go. He had told Fleur he wanted to talk to her … but not so soon.
"I just want to apologize for last year." Cho met his gaze and shook her head. "I don't think I was ready for a relationship after Cedric," she said with a wry grin. "I'm not going to start crying again, Harry." Harry visibly relaxed, after tensing up when she had mentioned Cedric.
"I've made my peace with him. I visited his grave, said my final goodbyes and am moving on. I needed to apologize for my role in what happened last year. I don't expect friendship, since we may never be friends; I just needed to say that."
Cho lowered her gaze, suddenly very self conscious. "Thanks for listening." She turned to go.
"Thanks, Cho," Harry replied. He had no feelings for the Asian beauty anymore, but he didn't hate her. "That means a lot." He might've stretched that a bit, but it did mean something to him. "I'm sorry too, for what I said."
Cho smiled shyly and practically ran back into the Common Room. Harry just shook his head and left before any other Ravenclaws could ambush him.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Harry found himself lying in bed awake once again. He missed Fleur's presence immensely. After a lifetime without a physical presence like that, hers had ignited something within him that desired it, needed it. But it wasn't simply the body; it was the voice, the personality, the laugh.
There were long nights ahead.