CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: SWEETER THAN CANDY
Saturday's search of the greenhouses failed to turn up anything even remotely resembling Hufflepuff's cup. Harry and Ron found any number of old watering cans and gardening tools, the likes of which neither of them had every seen. They'd checked every inch and had nothing to show for it, except the dirt and grime with which they'd managed to cover themselves.
Tired and hungry, and a little disappointed, they made their way back to the castle, treading along side corridors and back passages until they reached the Prefects' bathroom. Satisfied that they no longer looked like they'd been digging for treasure, they returned downstairs to the Great Hall for a late lunch.
Hermione was seated near the far end of the Gryffindor table. She had a good number of books strewn nearby, effectively deterring anyone else from sitting next to or across from her. Harry and Ron passed Ginny and Colin, who were seated midway along the long table with Seamus, Dean, Lavender and Neville. Ginny and Harry's eyes met only briefly before she looked away and turned her attention back to her friends. Harry noticed the others exchanging meaningful glances as he waved hello and walked on with Ron.
So, they all finally knew that Harry and Ginny had split up. He'd known it would only be a matter of time, and truth be told, he'd been counting on it. It wouldn't be long before the whole school knew; and where Harry was concerned, that usually meant the news would eventually spill outside. Still, he hated the awkwardness that hung between them. He should never have ventured off alone with her last week. They were in an okay place before that. It wasn't perfect, but it had been comfortable. Now, Harry felt like he'd hurt her, when all he wanted to do was keep her safe. He absentmindedly tugged at the silver chain and charm beneath his shirt.
He and Ron dropped into seats across from Hermione and she looked up, eyes questioning. Harry shook his head as Ron reached for a pitcher to pour chilled pumpkin juice for each of them.
Harry discreetly pulled his wand, silently casting "Muffliato."
"Well, you've still got other options, right?" she said quietly.
"Yeah," answered Harry. "I'll ask Dobby to give us a hand with round three."
Ron had already managed to stuff a boiled potato into his mouth and was nodding at both of them to indicate he understood they'd be tackling the kitchens next in their search.
"How'd it go with Professor Sprout," asked Harry, looking over the books in front of them and realizing many were the same ones he'd gone through last month.
"Well, I couldn't exactly tell her you'd read these," she said, following Harry's gaze to the book titles. "She had lots of stories, some of them fascinating; but I'm not sure they'll give you any new ideas on your search."
"Thanks for trying," he replied.
"Hold on, I said I didn't think it would give you any new ideas," she said again, her dark eyes dancing. "But I did manage to find out more about the location of a certain Welsh home."
"You're kidding," said Harry, holding his breath.
""No, I'm not. Professor Sprout has even visited it, herself," she said. "I'll add everything to our notes and let you judge for yourself."
"Okay," he said, reaching to fill his own plate, with his spirits a little higher than when he'd entered.
If the search of the kitchens turned up nothing, he'd have to contact Moody about a little field trip, but at least he'd know where he was going.
The mail arrived a half hour later and Hedwig dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Harry. He was reading about some Ministry official who'd gone missing days ago. The same article also mentioned the still unsolved disappearance of Mr. Ollivander, and Harry silently hoped he'd left of his own accord.
"They' didn't," said Ron suddenly, reading a letter than Pig had delivered behind Hedwig. "They couldn't have."
"What?" said Harry and Hermione together, alarmed that something bad had happened.
He held up a hand for them to wait as he gaped and continued reading the letter. When he was done, he gave it to Harry, adding, "Something tells me this was meant for you, too."
Harry took the letter and read:
Greetings Little Brother,
We hope this letter finds you teetering on madness from sheer boredom. The Ministry has been spouting assurances that the school is now even more secure than Azkaban ever was. Pity, that can only mean you have absolutely nothing better to do than study. Oh wait, there are always Prefect duties.
And speaking of…A little bird tells us that your best friend has joined the ranks as none other than Head Boy. It's an absolute outrage. We are only comforted by the fact that Percy has probably heard the news, as well. What are we to think?
In any case, we thought you'd be interested in knowing that we are expanding our base of operation and are now the proud proprietors of Honeydukes. That's right, we said Honeydukes. The Flumes decided it was an ideal time to retire and we couldn't pass up such an incredible deal.
We've got lots of plans for renovating, starting with that storeroom in the cellar. It's much too small for the volume of new goods we're adding, so we're thinking of moving inventory to the upstairs quarters. Looks like we'll have to send you and Ginny pictures and samples though, because you probably won't be seeing past the winged boars for quite a while.
Give our best to Ginny.
Fred & George
Harry handed the letter across to Hermione without looking up. He was remembering the note tucked into his birthday gift from the twins. Well, this certainly qualified as a more serious item. He wondered what else they were planning.
Hermione finished reading and the trio glanced from one to the other. They'd all come to the same conclusion. That little mention of the cellar in Honeydukes was a clear cut message from the twins. Fred and George had provided a secure passageway from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade.
Then Harry remembered that Dumbledore had cautioned him against using it to exit the castle alone. He would do his best to abide by Dumbledore's wishes; but Harry had another plan forming in his head.
"They never cease to amaze me," said Hermione.
"Yeah, get in line," said Ron.
"They're brilliant," said Harry quietly as he stood up to leave. "Meet me in the Transfiguration classroom in ten minutes."
He was thinking and pacing near the front of the room, watching the doorway as they entered.
Hermione closed the door and sealed the room.
"What are you plotting," asked Hermione, eying Harry suspiciously.
He smirked and said, "I think it's a good time for a D.A. meeting. Can you two start spreading the word?"
"Sure," said Ron. "When?"
"Let's meet tonight, around seven."
"Are we using the Room of Requirement?" asked Hermione.
"It's as good a place as any. See if you can get the other Prefects to join us," added Harry.
"Including the Slytherins?" asked Ron, making a sour face.
"Well, you heard what the Sorting Hat said," interjected Hermione.
"It's too risky," Harry said after giving it some thought. "The Slytherin Prefects are definitely not fans of mine. Pansy would just welcome the chance to try an Unforgivable Curse on me. Besides, McGonagall didn't alter our shared classes to the Hufflepuffs instead of the Slytherins for no reason."
"Okay, so we see who shows up for a D.A. meeting tonight," said Ron. "Then what?"
"Then we start by running the D.A. just like the last time," said Harry. "We shouldn't need to meet more than once a week. Jillian's an excellent teacher, and I'll probably only be reviewing or previewing a lot of what she's planning to cover, anyway."
"So why do it?" asked Ron. "You weren't all that certain when Neville and Luna brought it up weeks ago."
"Because we," he said, using his hands to indicate the three of them, "also need to come up with an escape plan for the school. Fred and George already provided the means; we just need to work out the rest. And reviving the D.A. is the perfect way to get all the others working together."
"You're serious," said Hermione.
"Yeah, I am. The Order and the Ministry have done everything they can to secure Hogwarts. I hope it's enough; but on the off chance it isn't, there will be hundreds of students at risk."
"Harry, we were all stunned when the Death Eaters got in last year. But what are the odds of that happening again?" asked Hermione.
"What were the odds of it happening the first time?" asked Ron, starting to see Harry's point.
"Look, I hope this turns out to be completely unnecessary. But think about it," said Harry. "The best way to get to the school – or to me, if I'm still here – is to divide the attention of the Ministry and the Order. If Voldemort causes enough mayhem elsewhere, he could weaken security here. I'd rather not have a castle full of sitting ducks."
"Okay, so it won't hurt to have a backup plan. But if, as you just tried to slip by, you aren't here or we aren't here," said Ron, emphasizing 'we,' "then who's going to know about the tunnel? You can't tell everyone. It'll be chaos."
"I'd already worked that out," said Harry.
"And we can also work out ways for D.A. members to get groups of students to the third floor corridor. They can use some of the hidden or lesser known passageways and other corridors," said Hermione, her brow furrowed in concentration. "But…"
"I know," interrupted Harry. "There's probably no way to get everyone out, but it's better than doing nothing."
"And who's going to open and close the passageway beneath the One-Eyed Witch?" asked Ron again.
Harry raised an eyebrow and said simply, "Neville and Luna."
Ron's jaw dropped for a second, but then he smiled and said, "Perfect."
"I think so, too," said Hermione. "But what about Ginny?"
Harry frowned and Ron looked uncertain.
"You two cannot keep her out of everything, no matter the reason. If you recall, Ginny was with us in the Ministry battle and again last year when the school was attacked."
They remembered, but Harry and Ron still looked unconvinced.
"If you shut her out of this, too, you'll only make things worse," she said pointedly to Harry.
She'd struck a nerve and knew it.
"Fine," he said, slightly annoyed. "We'll tell Neville, Luna and Ginny. If we're lucky, then I'm overreacting and none of this will even be necessary."
"You're not overreacting," said Hermione. "Necessary or not, it's a good idea."
"What about Tonks and Jillian?" offered up Ron.
"We can think about that later. Once Lupin finds out the twins bought Honeydukes, he'll know what it means. I'll be surprised if we don't hear from him or Moody before long."
"All right, we'll go spread the word," said Ron. "See you at dinner."
Harry had a few hours to himself and he went upstairs to retrieve the Gringotts letter from his trunk, putting it in his bag along with extra parchment and envelopes. Not wanting to be interrupted, he bypassed the common room and headed out the portrait hole and back to the empty Transfiguration classroom.
Resisting the urge to pull his wand, he focused his attention on the door and willed it to close. At first nothing happened, but then it seemed to shut firmly on its own. Harry was still floored that he could do any such thing.
In many ways, he felt like a first-year student all over again. He'd spent yesterday's lunch hour with Jillian again, just going over the simplest of spells and charms. Starting with the easier spells would allow him to work on focusing and controlling his ability without draining him or leaving him with the creepy feeling he'd been experiencing since the summer. Jillian assured him that feeling would lessen as he gained control of his ability.
He moved to the same desk he used in class and pulled the letter from his bag once more. He read through it again, including the copy of his parents' will. He was drawn to their signatures, realizing he'd never seen either of them before. He smiled when he noted that his own penmanship closely resembled that of his mother's.
Since the morning of his birthday, he had managed to give some more thought to the unexpected fortune that he'd inherited. He'd been left with more than enough for one lifetime and he'd been contemplating what to do with it. He extracted parchment, quill and ink from his bag and set to writing out two rather long documents.
It took Harry quite a while to finish and review both sets. When he was satisfied, he folded them and sealed each in separate envelopes. He took more parchment and wrote a shorter letter and put that one in a larger envelope, sealing the other two inside, as well. He addressed it to:
Mr. Bill Weasley
Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Diagon Alley
According to Ron, Bill and Fleur had returned from France and joined the others at Grimmauld Place earlier in the week. Bill was due back at work on Monday. Harry would have Hedwig messenger the package to Gringotts. He couldn't risk sending her anywhere near Grimmauld Place. Not only did he not want the Death Eaters spotting her near headquarters, he didn't want the others wondering about what he'd sent to Bill. Harry knew Bill would do as he'd outlined, no questions asked.
Glad to have finally accomplished something, he put everything back in his bag. This time, he did pull his wand and used a silent banishing charm to send his things to his four-poster in the dormitory. He glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was already a little past five o'clock.
Harry joined Hermione and Ron in the Great Hall once more. A number of students at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables watched him as he crossed the room, and Neville and Dean nodded discreetly as he made his way past them at the Gryffindor table. This time, he sat beside Hermione and looked across the table at Ron.
"It's all set," said Ron quietly.
"Okay, thanks," he said and turned to see McGonagall also watching him from the staff table.
Harry finished dinner, leaving well before the others and making his way quietly to the seventh floor corridor, pacing the required three times to reveal what he needed, a room in which to hold a D.A. meeting.
It revealed itself to be almost exactly as it had been when they'd last used it almost two years ago. There was a shelf with a variety of books on Defensive spells and a number of Dark Detectors, including a large Sneakoscope. Instead of pillows, there were dozens of mats like the ones he used in lessons with DeSousa. He spaced the mats out around the room and placed the Sneakoscope near the doorway.
Harry hadn't made up his mind on what they'd be starting with today. He'd wait to see who showed up and go from there.
He didn't have to wait very long. A knock echoed across the room and the door opened. Ron was standing aside, admitting the first group of students. Luna was among them, her enthusiasm to be back with the D.A. apparent in her large eyes.
"Hi, Harry," she said, standing next to another sixth year Ravenclaw that Harry did not know by name.
"Hi, Luna," he said, smiling at his eccentric friend.
"Hello, Harry," came another voice and he looked up to see Romilda Vane and a couple of her friends.
She was looking at Harry with the same bold stare and stance she'd practically stalked him with last year. He'd managed to avoid her up until now and hadn't realized she was one of the new fifth-year Prefects. He'd been neglecting his Head Boy duties these first few weeks. Perhaps he should have given Ron and Hermione a list of people, besides the Slytherins, not to invite.
"Hi, Romilda. Why don't you go wait over there until we're ready to start," he said, indicating the far wall.
"No problem," she said and walked confidently across the room with her friends trailing behind and ogling Harry.
Harry glanced towards the doorway and caught Ron trying to bite back a grin. Harry turned his attention back to Luna and waved her over to him. She said something to the girl who'd come with her and then came to stand beside him.
"Can you hang around for a bit, afterwards?" he asked her.
"Sure, Harry," she said.
"Would you mind asking Neville and Ginny to stay, also?" he added. "I'm not sure I'll be able to get to them before it gets too busy in here."
"Okay," she said.
Seamus, Neville, Lavender and Dean eventually arrived with Ernie and Michael Corner; and Ginny came in shortly afterwards with Colin and Dennis Creevey. Roughly five minutes later, both Ron and Hermione entered behind the last wave of students. It appeared everyone was present. Harry looked around and was pleased to see that nearly every remaining member of the original D.A. had returned. With the addition of the fifth-year Prefects, and several other new faces, there were twenty-five people watching him.
Hermione joined him and handed him a new roster and a quill. He knew she'd taken the same precautions as before. Knowing Hermione, she'd made the penalty even steeper this time. Umbridge wasn't here to torture them, but they didn't want anyone from the outside finding out what they were doing. They'd discussed it during dinner, and each person who wanted in had to agree and pledge not to discuss the D.A. with anyone who wasn't a member. He scrawled his own signature across the bottom and gave it back to her.
"Thanks for coming, everyone." he began. "And welcome back to most of you. Umh, for the benefit of new members, I guess I should talk about why we are here and what we're going to be doing."
"Head Girl Granger already lectured us before we signed up," said one of Romilda's silly friends, giggling at her own comment.
"Then I really hope you paid close attention," said Harry, without a trace of humor in his own voice and his eyes deadly serious.
Ginny coughed to cover up a laugh and looked fleetingly at Harry.
"Let's try this another way," he said calmly. "Does anyone have any questions about why we are hear?"
Twenty-five heads shook that they did not.
"Okay, then," said Harry. "It's been a while and I'm not in class with most of you. Does anyone have something in particular they'd like to work on today?"
A small voice from somewhere in the back said something, but it was lost in the cavernous room.
"Sorry?" said Harry.
Some people shifted to reveal a small boy from Ravenclaw. He was standing next to Dennis Creevey, who was nudging him in the side and he spoke up again.
"I'm having loads of trouble with the Shield Charm, sir," he repeated so Harry could finally hear him.
"What's your name?" asked Harry.
"I'm William Tanner, sir," he answered. "I'm a third-year."
"Hi, William. It's nice to meet you," said Harry pleasantly. "And you can call me Harry. Everyone else does."
William's eyes widened to the size of saucers and several people laughed lightly. Ron looked at Harry and gave an amused shrug.
"Is Professor Grayson teaching you the Shield Charm, already?" asked Harry.
"No, not yet. Professor Snape started it with the second-years last term and it was awful," he said.
Harry knew the kid probably wasn't exaggerating.
"Well, I'm sure Professor Grayson will get to it again this year, but let's see if we can give you a head start. In fact, I bet you're not the only person in this room who could use a little help with it. There are a lot of adult wizards who can't do it, but I think I can help you out."
William smiled and looked over at Dennis Creevey, who gave him a look that clearly said, "I told you so."
"All right, everyone," called Harry to the assembled group. "Pair off at any of the mats around the room. Whoever is casting first, please only use a Disarming or Freezing Charm against your partner. Sixth and seventh-years, verbally this time, please. I'll signal when it is time to switch off. William, you're with me."
William looked up at him and dropped his wand. This time, Ron nearly wept with the effort to keep from laughing aloud.
Harry hadn't been wrong about William not being the only person needing help with the Shield Charm. Harry had turned William into a living statue about ten times, but the kid finally cast "Protego" with enough force to stop his last spell. Even some of the original D.A. members were rusty. After about fifteen minutes of some truly comical mishaps, Harry signaled that it was time to switch.
He walked William over to Ron and Hermione, knowing they'd take care of their youngest member. He made a complete circuit of the room, correcting and making suggestions where necessary.
To his surprise, he found Romilda to be a quick study. He expected her to be as silly as she'd been last year at Quidditch tryouts; but she seemed to have settled on a more mature approach to get Harry's attention. It did, just not in the way she hoped. He was just glad to see that the newer Prefects were taking things seriously. He complimented her technique and moved on.
At ten minutes before eight, Harry signaled for the end of class. Everyone agreed that seven o'clock on Saturdays worked well and he, Ron and Hermione watched as the others slowly trickled out.
When only Neville, Ginny and Luna remained, Ron closed the door once more.
The trio quickly explained what they wanted to accomplish. Neville, Ginny and Luna all agreed that it was a good idea. Harry explained that they would be the only other people who would know where and how to access the tunnel to Hogsmeade.
"We won't tell anyone, Harry," promised Neville.
"I know, Neville. That's why we picked you."
"Once we work out paths to the third floor corridor from various locations of the castle, we'll share those with the other D.A. members. All they'll know is that in the event of an attack, they are to get as many students as possible to the designated corridor," explained Hermione.
"It'll be up to you three to steer them the rest of the way and into the passageway," added Ron.
"And where exactly are you three going to be?" asked Ginny, finally looking at Harry for more than a few seconds.
"Hopefully here to help out," said Harry earnestly. "But if we're not, we need to know this can still work."
"Are there any vampires in the tunnel?" asked Luna in that way that made one question whether or not she was serious. Harry knew she was.
"No, Luna, there aren't," he said.
"Okay, then," she answered, Harry having apparently assuaged her only real concern.
"Harry," said Hermione, looking at her watch, "it's almost curfew."
"Right," said Harry. "Before next week's meeting, we will show each of you where the access point is and how to open it."
"Okay," they said together.
They all exited the room together and walked quietly along the corridor. Luna soon turned off and headed west along another corridor that would take her to Ravenclaw Tower.
The Gryffindor common room was packed with people trying to find ways to occupy a Saturday night. Some were sprawled on the couches and floors, reading. Others were engaged in games of chess and Exploding Snap. There was even a Gobstones contest growing in a far corner; and Dean, Seamus and Lavender were gathered around watching it.
"Let's go upstairs," said Ron to the others.
"You all go ahead. I think I'll hang out down here for a while," said Ginny, walking away from them and going to sit next to Lavender.
Neville was the first to head for the staircase, followed by Ron and Hermione, who looked over her shoulder at Harry, empathy in her expression.
The night wasn't ending exactly as Harry would have liked; but still, he couldn't deny he felt like they were putting something very important in motion. And that had to take priority over everything else. He'd face the fallout later.