Harry Potter and the Power of Time
Chapter 19 – Trick or Treat
"Are you ready to do this?" Harry asked his future counterpart. It was half an hour before the Halloween Feast was scheduled to begin, and Harry was the last one left in his dorm room. Ron and the others had already headed down to the Great Hall, and Harry had stayed behind with the excuse that he had a headache. Not surprising his friends, because of the way that Harry had acted earlier that day in Hogsmeade, Ron suggested he brew a quick headache remedy before the evening festivities began in earnest. He could have gone to the Hospital Wing for his pain, but Ron knew that Harry kept a decent supply of potion ingredients in his trunk, and liked the extra practice whenever he could get it. Harry thanked his friend for the oddly considerate suggestion, and used that as an excuse to dip into his trunk for a short conversation with his doppelganger. There was something fishy going on, and his double had let him in what was about to go down.
"Yeah; it's kind of weird though. Leaving the trunk when for so long that's been the number one rule to follow. But I guess it will work, because I never noticed any discrepancies from my first time around." Harry's double was getting dressed for the feast, as it was decided that he would attend in Harry's place. The real Harry had more important places to be that night. "Now, are you sure you understand everything about what's about to happen? This is no time to be second guessing yourself. I mean, I'm sure you'll come through this OK, because I haven't been erased from existence or anything like that, but I still can't help but be nervous. This is a lot different than stunning a Death Eater in a dark alley before he has the chance to fight back. We're talking about a major attack here."
Harry, now dressed to the hilt in all his dragon armor, minus the cloak, nodded his head. He was nervous about the upcoming trip, but the fact that his future self had filled him in on the basics of what would happen that night, made him more confident than he'd normally be.
"OK then, shrink the trunk down and get ready to leave. The quicker you show up and find cover, the better off you'll be. Remember to stay hidden as long as possible, and once you're overwhelmed or discovered, apparate out! It's impossible to take them all down tonight, so just grab as many as you can. Oh, and by the way. Remus will know that you're there tonight. Don't ask me how, because it's better if I don't tell you. Just know that he won't say anything to Dumbledore or the others until he talks to you tomorrow, so don't worry about answering his questions. In fact, just ignore him tonight, as he'll only distract you. Got it?"
Harry, who was only hearing about this for the first time in the two hours he and his double had been talking, got a little upset at hearing such important news so soon before he left. "Why didn't you tell me this before? And how will he know I'm there if I stay..."
"I told you," the future Harry answered back sharply, "it's better if you don't know. Trust me, you'll understand for yourself a week from now. Just calm down and get ready to leave. I have to leave soon also, or Dumbledore will know something's up. I can't give away our secret, and I have to act like nothing's wrong at the feast tonight, so you've got to do this alone. Dobby and Winky will be waiting for you when you return."
"Why do they need to be here? Is something going to happen to me?" Harry was really worried now. Usually, Dobby and Winky only worked late at night if Harry had a training accident, and needed their help healing himself or administering potions. What was he in store for?
His double refused to answer though. Instead, he put his navy robes on over the smart shirt and slacks he wore, and walked calmly to the closed door, preparing to leave. The Halloween Feast was one of the few times each year where students were allowed to wear robes other than the school standards. And since Harry had only worn muggle clothing to Hogsmeade earlier that day, this was the first time he'd had a chance to wear them since he purchased them months before. Luckily though, thanks to the extra charms Amber had talked him into buying, the robes had accommodated Harry's slight growth. He could probably still gain another two inches in height, and another ten pounds in weight, before the charms would hit their limits. 'Not that that would ever happen,' Harry thought. For some reason, Harry felt that he had grown all he was ever going to grow. At five foot nine inches, he wasn't short anymore, but was still nowhere near Ron, or even Dean's height. Too many years of starvation and Dursley abuse had made sure of that. Only Neville remained shorter than Harry, but he had just started another growth spurt. Pretty soon, even he'd be taller than Harry was.
Opening the door, shaking his head to rid it of the inconsequential thoughts he'd been thinking, Harry's future self gave one last look back at the nervous and battle-ready other. It amazed him how nervous he was for the other, even when he knew the exact outcome of what would happen. Still, there were no guarantees in life, and Harry could only hope that things remained as they should, and that nothing would go wrong. Theoretically he knew, if someone at the feast noticed he wasn't the original Harry, a chain of events could possibly change the night's outcome for the dragon armor-clad boy. He'd just have to do his best at the feast to make sure no one knew the difference. With one last look over his shoulder, he wished his other self good luck. He'd need it.
"Be careful, and kick some ass for me. I'll see you soon." And with that said, the future Harry disappeared down the stairs, on his way to meet his friends in the Great Hall. A minute later, Harry himself used a portkey to travel to the Forbidden Forrest, and then with another nervous swallow, disapperated with a pop. Tonight, he'd be fighting Death Eaters!
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Walking down the empty staircase on his way to the feast, Harry thought back one week ago to when he was the one leaving to go do battle. What a strange day that had been. It had started off so good; truly one of the best days Harry had had since returning to Hogwarts. And then, things had gone so bad...
FLASHBACK: Earlier That Morning
"Hey Harry, ready to go?" One could tell Ron was excited about the day's Hogsmeade trip, just by the fact he had gotten up early for breakfast, when normally he slept in late on Saturdays. The quicker he ate breakfast, he said, the quicker they could get into town. And since he'd been running low on sweets for awhile now, and Ron's parents had sent him more than the usual amount of spending money (Ron still didn't know about Harry's gift to the Weasleys), Ron was just itching to be let loose on the town.
Harry just smiled at his friend. The last week had been awkward with all the jokes and misgivings passed around his group of friends, but Harry was really looking forward to taking the day off from his studies. He's promised himself, after all. No training, no homework, no advanced reading; no nothing but spending the day with his friends and having a good time.
"Yeah Ron, let's go eat. I bet the girls are already downstairs."
And sure enough; they were. Lavender, who was waiting in the common room for Seamus, let the two know that Hermione and Ginny had already left for the Great Hall. They too were excited about the Hogsmeade trip. Somehow, the first one of every year was always the best.
As the two boys made their way down, discussing what they had planned for the day and what they wanted to buy, they could both feel the excitement in the air. The current third year students were bouncing off the walls at their first opportunity to visit the only complete wizarding village in all of the U.K. Dennis Creevy hadn't even slept the night before. Instead, he'd stayed up in the common room, trying to work off his extra energy in the Quidditch team's weight room. Since he was the alternate seeker, he was allowed, and even a few hours alternating between the treadmill and other light equipment wasn't enough to tire the exuberant boy out. Harry actually envied the boy's stamina and endless amounts of energy. "It must be a Creevy family trait," he thought.
Breakfast passed by quickly enough, and soon, after checking their names off a list with Filch the caretaker, Harry and his friends were passing under the winged boars of Hogwart's front gate. It was about a fifteen minute walk to the sleepy little village, because the carriages were only used on Hogsmeade trips when the weather was bad. Otherwise, it was too much trouble for the thestrals to be rounded up from the forest and secured in their harnesses.
"You look especially nice today, Harry. Any special occasion?" Hermione had been talking quietly to Ron as Harry got lost in his thoughts, but her question broke him out of his daydream.
It was true, he supposed, that he looked nicer than normal. It wasn't everyday he got the chance to wear muggle clothes other than workout gear or his cords, when he lounged around the common room. Today he was wearing a pair of charcoal grey slacks, a cream colored shirt, his dragon hide boots (he always wore those whenever leaving Hogwarts) and the black leather jacked he had favored so much. The weather was just cold enough to justify the extra protection. Being late October, there was a chill in the air, but not enough yet to call for heavy wool cloaks and robes. And of course, Harry had his vest, both wand holsters, and his dagger with him as well. He never was without those, except when he showered or worked out in private.
"Er, no, not really. I just haven't gotten the chance before now to wear any proper clothing. At school, I'm either wearing school robes, workout gear, or just something comfortable to sit and study in. These are just some of the things I picked up this summer. I was tired of wearing Dudley's old cast-offs."
"Oh, and did someone named Amber, by chance, help you pick those out also?" Harry's eyes snapped up to look Ginny in the face, as she was clearly teasing him. Harry still hadn't told the others about his letters to Amber, and Ginny must have known that. She was just being her troublesome little self.
Since their little adventure in the Room of Requirement a few days before, Harry and Ginny were still slightly uncomfortable around each other, but were quickly getting back to their normal routine. They continued to meet after practices to discuss Quidditch, but hadn't yet managed to get back to their massages. 'Maybe next week,' Harry thought, if he could work up enough courage to broach the subject.
"Amber; who's that? Is that the Hufflepuff you patrol with, mate?" If Ron paid more attention to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny when they discussed prefect patrols, he'd know that his other partner besides Ginny was named Cami. Still, the fact that Ron at least knew she was a Hufflepuff was more than Harry expected of his best friend.
"No, Ron," Harry corrected him, "Amber's not my patrol partner. That's Cami. Amber is someone I met at Madam Malkin's this summer, who helped me pick out some robes. And no Ginny," Harry gave her a warning glance, "Amber did not help me pick these out. Actually, it was another girl named Becky. A very nice girl if I remember."
Harry couldn't help but joke back, since it wasn't often he came up with such a witty retort. In appreciation, Ginny remained silent and raised an eyebrow in Harry's direction. The look she gave him seemed to say, "Oh yeah, just how many girls helped you pick out new clothes this summer, Harry?" Harry just laughed in response to the look, and Ginny joined in after trying to hold back the giggles.
"Did I miss something?" Ron asked Hermione. Neville, Luna, and a few other members of the D.A. who were walking with them also didn't get the joke. They all gave confused looks to each other.
"I think we all missed something there, Ron. Probably some private joke we don't get. Forget about it. If Harry wants us to know about it, he'll tell us."
Harry overheard Hermione's advice as he and Ginny rejoined the others, and gave her an appreciative smile as the conversation continued in a more normal manner.
Soon the group entered the village, and by the looks of the freshly painted stores and new, decorative banners in the windows, the town was looking forward to the students' visit just as much as the students were. Briefly, Harry wondered how much the town really relied on the school and its students for financial support. Being so close together, it was almost like a symbiotic relationship for the two.
'Well, you all have a nice time," Ginny waved to the trio of friends. She was going off on her own with Neville, Luna, Dean, and a few others. "Hermione, make sure my dolt of a brother doesn't eat the entire supply of Honeyduke's chocolates and makes himself sick. Let's meet up later for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, alright?"
Ron gave a snort in response, but Harry could see humor in his eyes. Hermione and Harry didn't bother to pretend to be insulted, and laughed outright at the joke. As the three moved off on their own, they waved to the departing larger group, and agreed to the later rendezvous. A perfect Hogsmeade trip always ended with a nice warm or cool butterbeer; depending on the weather.
"So, where shall we go first?" Harry asked his two best friends. Harry had been happy that Ginny was going off with Luna, Neville and the others, because that gave him time to spend with Hermione and Ron alone. They hadn't done much of that is the past months, and it was sorely overdue.
"Well, I need to get to Scrivenshaft's to buy some ink and new quills, and I want to check out the latest releases at Dervish and Banges, but other than that, I can go where ever you all want." It sure wasn't Ron who commented on getting new homework supplies. Hermione was the one who answered Harry's question first.
'Well, I just need to go to Honeydukes. I'm really low on sweets, and after I gave some away to the first years last week, I'm in desperate need for a re-stock. I guess I could use some more parchment too. Those remedial classes aren't as bad as yours' are, but I still have a few essays to write every week. And I'm running out of my supply from last year.
Harry nodded. He only knew a little about Ron's new classes, as only Neville shared some of his remedial classes, but he knew enough to know that Ron was really applying himself this time around. He didn't want to be in the same classes with Ginny next year, so he was hoping to do well enough to be placed back with his year mates in normal seventh year Transfiguration and Charms NEWT classes. He wouldn't mind dropping potions all together, and then he could continue with DADA, Divination, and CoMC as well. That wasn't such a bad course load for seventh year.
"No trip to Zonkos, Ron?" Harry asked. He didn't remember a single trip when Ron wouldn't at least buy a supply of dung bombs, wet-start fireworks, or at least some exploding snap packs.
A pained expression crossed his friend's face. Hermione giggled, as she obviously knew what was going on.
'I really want to," Ron explained, "but the twins won't let me or Ginny shop there anymore. Because now they're competition, so they claim. But honestly, it's not like Fred and George give me a discount, or anything. They don't even offer the same types of products. But nooooo, I'm only allowed to buy joke products from Weasley's Wheezes, they say. Ginny doesn't mind, since she prefers her own tactics when it comes to pulling pranks, but I've always enjoyed dung bombs and the like. And now I can't get more; my supply ran out weeks ago. And the twins made Ginny promise to tell them if I did buy anything from Zonkos. I think they struck a secret deal or something, or maybe bribed her. Did you notice Ginny's new robes this year? They're not even second hand! Fred and George must have paid her off to keep an eye out for me. Honestly!"
Harry couldn't help from laughing at his friend's over-blown conspiracy theory. Harry knew perfectly well where the extra money for Ginny's new robes had come from, and he was sure that she wouldn't rat out one brother to another unless there was more in it for her than just a few sickles. Harry doubted that Ginny would turn Ron in.
"Ron, don't you have new robes this year too?" Hermione asked. She too thought Ron was overreacting. "So do you have a secret deal with the twins, as well?"
Ron bristled with indignation. "Are you mental? Making a deal with those two; I'd have to be unbalanced! And Mum paid for these robes herself, thank you. Fred and George had nothing to do with them."
"Then don't you think," Harry asked, "that it stands to reason your mum bought new robes for Ginny as well? It's not like her to show favoritism among her kids, after all. I think you're getting paranoid, Ron. Probably spent too much time around Mad-Eye Moody this summer. What do you think, Hermione?""
Hermione giggled at Harry's joke. She nodded, and barely managed out, "Yes, very insightful Harry."
Ron was getting all huffy again, and so close to the last time when Ginny and he had played the joke on him, Harry ended the teasing and assured Ron he'd be able to buy whatever he wanted from the joke shop, and not have to worry about Ginny snitching on him. Harry even offered to buy the items for Ron, if he preferred, so the purchases couldn't be traced back to him. Ron liked that idea better, and Zonkos became their first stop.
After rearming himself with his essentials courtesy of Harry, the trio moved on to Scrivenshaft's to let Hermione get her supplies. Ron went off by himself to select a ream of essay-length parchment rolls, and Harry was left alone to wonder.
Not needing a refill on parchment or ink, because his private study desk in the library had refilling spells on its supply, Harry really didn't need to purchase anything. However, he knew a small purchase wouldn't hurt, if only to spice up his very stale and repetitive life. Not that classes and discussions with his friends were boring, but the other half of the time when Harry was left alone in his trunk was. Besides, Harry hadn't spent any money since arriving at school expect for Hermione's birthday gift, so he felt like he could treat himself to something nice.
After some debating on the nice things offered in the shop, Harry decided to purchase a matching desk blotter set. Up till now Harry had just been writing on a old textbook to blot his writing, but the set would replace that nicely, and be a little more proper too. It contained a thick desk blotter made of leather and engraved wood, four stylized eagle feather quills with adjustable quicks, a stand to hold wet quills and an inkpot, and a wax seal set, complete with different color candle waxes and a metal stamp, which could be spelled to the wizard's own design. Harry didn't know yet what he'd chose as his personal seal, but between the sometimes boring books he had to read, and the painful Cruciatus sessions he inflicted on himself, Harry had plenty of time to think about it.
As a last minute addition, Harry also grabbed a couple of voice activated quills. They were very expensive, almost as costly as the Quick-Quote- Quills that the store had on sale. But unlike Rita Skeeter's choice of writing instruments, the voice activated quills recorded what was said verbatim, without adding colorful dialogue. Harry still had plans to have a long talk with Seth when he had the time, and these quills would work perfectly as he translated the Parseltongue that Seth spoke. That way he could keep his mind on listening to his small friend, and not worry about whether he was correctly recording the information. These quills had a one hundred percent guarantee on accurate notes, and Harry was planning on holding the company to their claims.
Wanting to get all the boring stuff out of the way first, Ron suggested that they visit Dervish and Banges next. Hermione didn't argue, so off they were. She again got lost in the stacks of old and musty smelling books, and Ron joined Harry perusing the Quidditch section, looking for the one book in all the wizarding world they hadn't read about the sport yet. There were a few team play books from years past, and Ron convinced Harry to buy one from the Chudley Cannons' team of 1683, telling him it would be a good investment as Quidditch captain. Harry didn't see how a three hundred year old playbook could be helpful, as the plays were probably wide known now, buy Harry didn't argue for Ron's sake. Maybe there might even be something useful in their after all.
Tired of looking, Ron sat in a corner armchair and opened the latest copy of "Quidditch Throughout the Ages" to read. Not feeling like reading himself, Harry decided to go see how Hermione was fairing. He found her in the Charms section, with about a dozen books in her hands.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! Are all those for you!" Trust it to her to turn a weekend holiday into a quest to restock the school library. And Harry just knew he'd be forced to help lug around the heavy pile the rest of the day. Ron would probably complain even more, once he found out.
But Hermione surprised Harry with her answer. It was certainly the last thing he expected her to say. "No, actually, they're for you."
Harry just did his Ron impression, not completely understanding what she meant. The look on his face must have been easy to read, because she explained.
"Honestly Harry. With all the books in the school library, not the mention the ones you've been loaning me these past weeks, on top of all my school work, and keeping ahead of you in Transfiguration, when do you think I have the time to read extra books? True, I'd like to, but by helping out with the D.A., and some of the new prefect responsibilities that I have to attend to, there are just other more important things for me to do right now."
Harry was silently surprised those words had come out of Hermione's mouth, but was even more surprised as she continued.
"You on the other hand, I never see doing school work, hardly see reading all those books you have access to, and spend entirely too much time in Quidditch meetings, practicing, and helping the fifth year students study for their upcoming OWLs. I don't honestly know how you do it, but if you have so much extra time to spend writing love letters to some girl you met over the summer, than you can certainly spare a little extra time learning some new material. These books I've picked out for you are advanced spells and defense texts I haven't seen in your personal library. I figure you could read them in your extra time."
Harry was doing a goldfish impression now. Not just because Hermione had gone out of her way to help Harry bulk up on his general knowledge and magic skills, but because of what she said. Write love letters to some girl? Ginny must have told her about Amber. And now, Ginny was going to die!
"I don't know what you mean, writing love letters to some girl? Ginny must have just been playing with you, Hermione."
Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry, Ginny hasn't said a word, although now that whole "Amber" joke from earlier makes sense. I just mean every week you get a perfume scented pink envelope delivered by owl, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on. Even Ron has noticed, by the way. Every time you run off to "not be late for class" to obviously read the letters, the two of us place bets on the stupid looks you'll have on your face for the rest of the day. It doesn't take a rocket scientist."
Harry felt horribly embarrassed now. Rather than try to further deny the facts, he just looked through the pile Hermione had cradled in her arms. Thankfully, she dropped the subject too.
"So what have you found for me? I still have plenty of books to catch up with in my library, but some more texts couldn't hurt."
And so Hermione showed him. Surprisingly, the all turned out to be excellent choices. Because this store carried a different selection than Flourish and Blotts did, Hermione was able to find some advanced texts that Harry hadn't seen before. What's more, Hermione was able to find some Charms texts that didn't seem like they could be used for dueling, but after a careful explanation, he found that they would be very effective. It followed right with Harry's theme of finding alternate and creative ways of casting spells in a fight. The more creative and inventive a strategy, Harry believed, the less likely his opponent would be prepared to defend against it.
One selection Harry returned to the shelf because he already owned it, but the rest he bought with the Cannon's playbook. Hermione could have sworn she hadn't seen the title among Harry's other books, but what she didn't know was that he hid some titles from her every time he allowed her access to his library. Whenever he'd call down a warning to his double to hide in another compartment, Harry's future self knew to take "Hogwarts: A History" and some of the darker tomes with him. As such, Hermione hadn't been exposed to his whole collection. Frankly, Harry was surprised that Hermione even selected the book. While not true Dark Arts, "Fighting Fire with Fire: Barely Legal Curses Used to Defend Yourself" wasn't sixth year material either. It was auror level reading or beyond, but Hermione picked it up like it was a first year Herbology text.
Harry also managed to grab a few blank journals on his way to the register, bound in thick crimson leather. He remembered all the information Seth said he knew about the days when his master was alive; all the old and forgotten spells and potion recipes. When he got the chance, Harry would use the blank journals and the new quills he bought to make spell and potion diaries; or grimories. 'Maybe I could even publish a book,' Harry thought. 'With my fame alone,' he mussed, 'I'd be a best seller overnight.' Even if what he wrote was pure drivel. Oh, the horrors of being famous.
When Harry and Hermione had completed their purchases, and Ron reshelved the Quidditch book in the nearby cooking section (and the shelf spit it back out into his face, forcing him to put it back correctly), the trio left for their last main stop of the day; Honeydukes.
Ron's eyes lit up as he entered the store, and Harry couldn't blame him. Candy manufacturers always came out with their best new products early in fall, for both the upcoming holidays, and for the school visits Hogwarts always made into Honeydukes. The shelves were overflowing with tasty and delectable sweets, and Harry noticed there were almost twice as many products as when he'd last been in the store.
That was the day of Harry's award ceremony and Fudge's humiliation, when he and Dumbledore had escaped the press by way of a secret passage. Remus had since told him that the passage was now being monitored by Dumbledore through use of security wards, but Harry didn't mind. He had other ways outside the school, and at least now the route wasn't accessible to hostile parties, like any Death Eaters Wormtail might have told, for instance.
Fudge himself was still Minister, although just barely, much to Harry's satisfaction. He escaped most of the blame of Harry's accusations by using his staff as a scapegoat. Percy Weasley had learned that well. Last Harry heard, he was still working in the Centaur Liaison office. And if Fudge's popularity ratings got any lower, he might soon be joined his former aide there.
As Harry got lost in his thoughts again, Ron went crazy, tossing almost every new sweet he could get his hands on in a shopping basket. Hermione was more deliberate about her modest selection, and mostly stuck to her personal favorites like sugar quills and cockroach clusters. Harry still didn't know how she could eat those (they had real cockroaches in them!), but Hermione assured him they tasted quite lovely. They had a lot of protein too, her parents had told her. Apparently, Hermione's parents liked chocolate covered ants and grasshoppers, as they were a more natural candy. Her first year, when Hermione had seen the cockroach clusters, she'd made sure to bring some home for the summer. Since then, they were a favorite of the whole Granger family.
"Oh Harry, look at this!" Hermione's voice beckoned Harry over to a dark corner, where a small stand was set up. Hermione was laughing quietly to herself, and when Harry read the makeshift sign for himself, he knew why. "Exotic Muggle Sweets from Around the World!"
What was even funnier though, was that none of the sweets were particularly exotic or foreign. There were bars of Ghirardelli chocolate, salt water taffies, regular licorice jellies, fruit (not blood) flavored lollies, and an assortment of super sour sweets called Warheads. Knowing what those were from when he had once nicked some from Dudley, Harry grabbed a few packs, hoping a certain someone would appreciate their sour flavor. Harry remembered that taste for himself, as well as the puckered face he had made, and couldn't wait to deliver them.
Eventually Hermione and Harry had made their purchases, but still had to wait another twenty minuets for Ron to finish his. When he finally did leave the store, he had a chocolate frog half out of his mouth, with the legs still twitching.
"Oh, Ron. That's disgusting!" Hermione turned her face away in disapproval.
"Ah, Hermione," Ron said swallowing the confectionary amphibian, "you just have no appreciation for the finer things in life."
Harry could see where Ron was taking this, and bit his lip as Hermione took up the bait.
"Finer things in life? What on earth are you talking about?"
"My dear Hermione," Ron put on a pretend knightly accent, "frog legs are a delicacy in cultured circles which you're obviously not a part of. Don't blame me because you're barbarian palate prefers eating insects over finer cuisine."
Now it was Hermione's turn to huff and pout as Ron and Harry had a good laugh at her mock indignation, but she wasn't really upset they knew. For as much as she scolded Ron about his lack of culture, eating habits, and overall sensitivity, even she could accept he had poked good fun at her.
Midday had fast approached, but as had become tradition, both boys swore off eating lunch, instead wanting to hold their appetites for the holiday feast. Hermione insisted on something small to eat though, and Harry convinced Ron for a quick stop at the Three Broomsticks for a small sandwich. It took less than a minute for Hermione to place her order, and another minute for the house-elves that must work in the back to gat it ready. And although Hermione would have liked to sit down to eat, she reluctantly agreed to take her lunch with her, so the trio could continue their walk around the village.
A few new shops had opened up since the year before, including a new teen magazine, a wizard knick knacks shop, and a small café. The post office had increased in size too, and now offered a wide range of owls and other exotic birds for both short and long distance delivery. Previously, the Hogsmeade post office was only capable of delivering letter as far as Diagon Alley. Another bird at the main branch could then make the final delivery if necessary, but the charges were usually enormous. Since students normally had access to the school owlery, usually it was only the townsfolk who used the Hogsmeade post office. Still, they must have done decent business if they had to expand.
The next two hours Harry and his friends spent exploring the new shops, and ventured into some of the lesser known parts of town. Many homes were located on out of the way side streets, most likely to get away from the business side of town. Still, they were nice to look at, and Harry in particular marveled at the odd architecture he'd never before seen. The Burrow had been the only other wizarding house he'd ever seen, and apparently it wasn't the only one to be held up by mere magic. 'If a muggle contractor could see these houses,' Harry thought, 'they'd faint at the sight of the seemingly shoddy craftsmanship.'
Working their way back towards the busy part of town, the group ran into Luna, Ginny, Neville, Dean, and Padma. It was decided they'd have that drink at the Three Broomstick now, and made their way there. Dean and Padma excused themselves, saying they were going to meet up with Seamus, Lavender, Pavarti, and some more Ravenclaw friends, so Harry bid them goodbye, and was left with only his "core" group. These were the same people who had backed him up in the Department of Mysteries, and he owed them a lot.
"Six butterbeers please," Harry asked of the barmaid. Madam Rosmerta was away for the moment, and it was probably a good thing too. Ron still got a little red in the face whenever she was around. Not as bad as when Fleur Delacour had talked to him, but red in the face nonetheless. While Ginny and Luna grabbed an empty table in the back, Harry paid for the drinks and asked to borrow a tray. He might be able to carry six beer mugs, but he might also end up wearing half of them.
"Cheers, Harry. How much do we owe you?" Neville asked. He was sitting in the far corner of the table, with Luna and Ginny to his right side, and Hermione and Ron to his left. Harry took the empty seat between Ron and Ginny, and gave out the mugs.
"It's on me today, mate. My treat. I figure it's the least I can do after all you've done for me lately. I never did thank you all for helping me out at the Ministry last year. So thanks."
Neville seemed kind of uncomfortable, Luna was staring at the peeling wallpaper, and Ron and Hermione had already gotten this speech before. Ginny was the only one to have something to say.
"So we risk our lives, and expulsion, to go with you and save your arse. Neville breaks his nose, Luna gets knocked out, Ron gets attacked by Merlin knows what, Hermione nearly gets her boobs hexed off, and I get a sprained ankle, and all you think that's worth is a lousy butterbeer?" Ginny was pretending to be hurt and outraged, but everyone at the table knew better. Well, maybe Luna did, if she had heard any of that.
Playing along, Harry answered, "Of course all that's worth more than just a lousy butterbeer. Ginny, you're hurting my feelings." Turning around and waving to get the attention of the returned patron, Harry called out, "Madam Rosmerta, a bowl of your finest beer nuts, please!"
Neville and Ron were snickering into their hands, and Hermione was giggling along with Ginny, who gave a small bow to Harry's cleverness. Luna also turned her attention to the group, "Ohh, I just love beer nuts. Did you know Ronald that some wizards use beer nuts to lay traps for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks because they like the sweet taste so much?"
Ron looked panicked for a moment. Hermione was sharing amusing glances with Ginny again, and Harry was trying to hold in his laughter too.
"Er, no Luna, I ah, I didn't know that." To prevent her from expecting further conversation from him, Ron grabbed a handful of the nuts and shoved them into his mouth as soon as they were delivered. Harry suspected that there were more crumbs on Rob's robes than actually in his mouth, but didn't say anything.
A few more jokes and light teasing at Ron's expense were made by Ginny, and Harry just happily sipped on the delicious beverage in his hands. Still, after nearly one a day for the past few months, he still wasn't sick of butterbeer. And it was served cold still, which meant that Madam Rosmerta didn't think the weather chilly enough yet for her to start heating it up. Excitedly, Harry couldn't wait to have the first, frothy warm drink of the season. He'd just have to wait for the next Hogsmeade weekend.
Light conversation passed for the next twenty minutes, most of which included trading tales of class stories and gossip heard around the castle. Harry was glad for once none of it was about him. So far, nothing unusual had happened to him as far as the public knew, and that was just fine with him.
Su Li and Anthony Goldstein in Ravenclaw were dating now, Harry was informed, as well as Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abbott in Hufflepuff. A few more couples were getting together, and Ginny tried to get a rise out of Ron by asking who was still available. Ron didn't seem to mind though, and pointed out that Crabbe and Goyle were still unattached, unless of course they were seeing each other, and even then Ginny might like that. 'Touché, Ron,' Harry smiled.
Eventually though, the small talk faded, and the serious began. Harry knew it was coming, but it still didn't make it any easier for him.
"So Harry, what have you been doing with yourself this whole year? Besides playing Quidditch, classes, or helping Ginny and Luna study, we haven't seen much of you around the common room." It was Neville who broke the terse silence when they all knew Harry had some explaining to do.
So, painfully and slowly, Harry tried explaining to the group how he had felt at the end of last year, and how his attitude had changed to want to be more proactive in the fight against Voldemort. He didn't tell them about the time tuner, the captured Death Eater, or any of his other secrets, but he did let them in on just how much extra reading and work he was really doing.
"Basically," Harry explained, "whenever you don't see me in class, on the pitch, or in the common room, I'm locked away in my room, doing all the reading on advanced spells and curses I can." Harry didn't have to retell them all about his trunk and library, since they had all seen it weeks earlier. But even Ron and Hermione never knew he was spending so much time dedicating himself to his studies.
"So that's why you're so good in Transfiguration lately? I've been killing myself just to stay ahead of you, and now I know why." Hermione looked relived at the news. "I thought I was falling behind, and that you were just learning everything easily. Now it all makes sense though. Even how you conjured those chairs when we gave those first year Slytherins a tour. I never did buy that excuse you used."
Harry gave a weak smile to his bushy-haired friend. True, her hair was a lot less bushier than it used to be, no doubt thanks to some new product, but at heart she was still the same overbearing, know-it-all friend he had relied on so much in the past. It was no wonder she looked relived to find out that her falling behind in classes was only due to another doing even more studying. That, she could handle. A much better excuse then, "Sorry Herm, it just comes easily."
"But why are you so gung-ho all of a sudden about being so involved in the fighting?" Ron asked. "Let the Order worry about it, I say. I mean, it's not as if you've got to fight You-Know-Who yourself, yet you're gearing up to be some sort of warrior. Not even aurors put themselves through so much work and practice."
A very insightful question from Ron, and Harry could see by the nodding heads of the others that he couldn't weasel out of this question. Giving one last deep sigh, Harry stared down at his hands, beckoning them closer.
"It's the prophecy, Ron. When Neville smashed it, no offence Neville, we all thought it was lost. None of us heard it, and neither did any of the Death Eaters. However, later that night when I got sent to Dumbledore's office, he explained to me that he was the person who originally heard it. The glass sphere was just a copy, made from his memory. So he was able to tell me what it was; and it wasn't good news. Voldemort already knows what the first part of the prophecy says, so I guess it can't hurt to tell you.
"The one with the power to vanquish to Dark Lord approaches....Born to those who've thrice defeated him....Born as the seventh month dies..."
The table remained in silence, each pondering over what Harry had shared, until Ron blurted out, "What the bloody hell does that mean? The power to defeat him?"
Looking up now, Harry saw that all the smiles and laughs were gone from all his friend's faces. "That's why's he after me, Ron. That's why he's always been after me. My parents were part of the Order, and they escaped him in some way or another three times. And I was born at the end of July."
"As the seventh month dies..." Luna repeated.
Harry nodded grimly. The only small comfort he felt was that he didn't have to tell them the rest of the prophecy. No doubt, at least one of them, most likely Hermione, would lose it and react just as harshly as he did the first time Dumbledore told him.
"But....but that means....that, that I could be the one...." Neville was a pale green color, just entertaining the thought.
"Don't worry Neville, it's not you. It could have been, because of your birthday and your parents also belonging to the Order. But when Voldemort chose to come after me, for whatever reason, he fulfilled that part of the prophecy. The rest of it just confirms that for us. Even Dumbledore knows it's definitely me. In fact, the reason your parents were attacked later that year, was probably because you also fitted the description. Voldemort wasn't around to tell them they were just wasting their time. I hope you don't blame me that sometimes I wish you were the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. That I might have had a normal life. But then I know that I'd never wish my life on anyone else, so I'm glad it was me and not you also."
Neville seemed to accept Harry's answer, and just nodded.
"But what does the rest of the prophecy say; the part You-Know-Who doesn't know about?" Ginny asked. She'd been awful serious since Harry had started this conversation. It reminded him of the way Ginny used to be around him, when she still had her crush and ran from the room whenever he was around.
"Sorry Gin, it's better if you don't know. The information could be damaging if Voldemort ever found out. But as only I and Professor Dumbledore know it, it could also be a huge advantage for our side. As long as we keep it from Voldemort, we still have that to look forward to. And he doesn't even know that I know the prophecy's contents. He suspects, I think, but he doesn't know for sure. It's because of his indecision that he's been so quiet lately. He probably doesn't want to tip his hat until he learns one way or another for sure that Dumbledore' shared the prophecy with me."
The others nodded, and Ron got up from the table to get refills for everyone. As the whole group was staring quietly at the blank wood table, or at their hands, no one saw a cloaked blonde-haired boy leaved quickly from a nearby booth, and head out the door. Leaving all the others behind, he made his way to the new post office, and rented one of their priority owls. Scribbling a short note to his father, and attaching it to the eagle owl's leg, the blonde-haired boy threw the bird into the air with an evil smirk on his face. If the information was as important as Potter claimed it to be, his father would be greatly pleased with the news he had overheard.
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After Harry had let loose the bombshell that was the prophecy, and after another round of drinks, things started to return back to normal. Almost like Harry and Dumbledore acted like nothing was wrong with their relationship these days, the group selectively forgot the bad news and talked about more normal things. The upcoming Quidditch match next weekend for instance, when Hufflepuff would take on Ravenclaw. There was a lot of speculation about Hufflepuff's new seeker, as it had been reported that he had practiced a lot during the summer. According to rumor, Cho would have her work cut out for her.
It was about a half hour after the talk had returned to normal banter, and the students were just getting ready to return to the school, that Harry felt the first pricks of what he knew couldn't be a good sign. His scar was hurting.
"Ouch," Harry exclaimed, pressing his palm to his forehead. He had already finished his third butterbeer (his limit), when what felt like a sharp, hot poker got pressed to his skin. The pain faded as soon as his hand hit his head, but the feeling was unmistakable. Harry had not felt his scar pain accept in visions since before the DoM battle, but he knew that feeling well.
"What's wrong Harry? Is it your scar?" Hermione asked nervously. Harry thought it was fairly obvious it was, but he knew Hermione, and the others too, were just worried.
He nodded his head yes, slowly as to not increase the pain, and Harry shut his eyes to practice some of his Occlumency techniques. It wouldn't help with the pain at all, but at least Harry could be sure he wasn't receiving any false visions of feelings that Voldemort might be sending him. That had worked before, and damned if Harry was going to let it work again.
"Here you go Harry, maybe this will help." Ron pushed an ice cold mug into his hands. There was still a swallow of butterbeer in the bottom, but Ron didn't seem to mind giving up his beverage. Harry took the offered mug and pressed its cool glass up to his head. It was a tremendous relief.
"Thanks, Ron. That feels great."
"Are you getting any images like last time? What do you feel?" Someone asked. Harry thought it was either Luna or Ginny.
"No images this time, but he's happy. He's happier than he's been in a long time." Harry had managed to open his eyes again, and saw the concerned looks in each of their faces.
"Happy how? I didn't even know You-Know-Who could be happy?" Ron asked. "Isn't that a little creepy?"
"It's not happy really, that's just the first emotion that came to mind," Harry explained. He pondered what he had felt some more, and then continued. "It's more like he's anxious. Looking forward to something, and excited about it happening. Does that make any sense?"
It didn't to anyone, but then again Harry was glad that none of his friends understood the inner workings of a mad man's mind.
"We should get back to the castle, to tell Professor Dumbledore," Hermione suggested.
Harry gave her an evil glance, but she returned it right back
"Don't look at me that way Harry. I know you don't feel the same towards Professor Dumbledore this year. And after telling us some of what happened last year with the prophecy, I don't totally blame you. But he's still the head of the Order. He'll need to know that something might be in the works. If he isn't warned, and something bad does happen, I don't think I ever could forgive myself. Do you?"
Harry was surprised at her candidness, and felt a little shamed. Hermione had also warned him about going after Sirius without confirmation. If he had only listened to her more then...
"OK Hermione, I learned my lesson last year. We'll go tell Dumbledore. Let's go then." Turning back to Neville, Ginny, and Luna, Harry added, "You three don't have to come if you don't want to. There's still over an hour left in town, if you want to go off on your own. I think we," Harry pointed to himself, Hermione, and Ron, "can handle this by ourselves."
Neville spoke for all of the others when he said, "That's OK Harry, I don't think we're in the mood for shopping and anymore. Let's all go back."
And so the six students were the first to head back to the large gates of Hogwarts, with Harry being supported by both sides by his friends. It's not as if he was an invalid, but the steering they gave him allowed him to close his eyes and block out some of the pain. It was much duller now, more of an aftereffect than anything else, but it still hurt more than a mild discomfort.
Once inside the castle, Harry immediately headed towards the headmaster's office, but the direction was in the total opposite direction of Gryffindor tower. And right now all Harry wanted to do was take a pain relief potion and lie in bed. Seeming to read his mind, Ginny suggested he do just that.
"Why don't you go up to bed Harry, and rest before the feast tonight. Unless there's anything other than the sense of anxiousness you sensed, I don't really see your need to be with us. We can tell Dumbledore that. Ron, why don't you go with him, to make sure he doesn't have another attack on the way."
Half of Harry wanted to argue, and the other thought Ginny's idea was the best one he'd ever heard of. In the end his bed won out, and Harry thanked the group with a small smile and wave over his head as Ron supported him by the shoulders and led him of in the opposite direction.
Once in his dorm room, Harry was feeling much better, but still not perfect. In his trunk he swallowed an all-purpose pain relief potion, much like muggle aspirin, and had a short talk with his double. Knowing all about what was going to happen that night, his double said they needed a much longer and more serious chat, and Harry had to skive of Ron for a short time.
Ron provided the perfect excuse when he suggested that Harry brew a headache potion (Ron didn't know that Harry had already taken a ready made one), and Harry learned all about what he'd have to do that night, and the preparations he'd need to make. The day was only just beginning. And it was bound to get much worse.
END FLAHBACK
Once down the stairs and in the Great Hall, Harry stood in awe of Hagrid's giant pumpkins and the real live bats and bugs that decorated the space. Halloween never turned out exactly as planned for the school of Hogwarts lately, and Harry hadn't enjoyed the past feasts as much as he could have. There was Sir Nicolas's deathday party that one year, then Sirius's break in when the students had to sleep in conjured sleeping bags. And of course, the death of his parents. Too many bad memories. And even though his other self was off about to engage in battle, as he had done one week ago himself, the future Harry swore he'd do everything in his power to enjoy the feast as much as possible.
All his friends once again looked concerned, but he made a point to look as normal as possible, to not let on that they weren't noticing a different Harry than earlier in the day, and to not let on that he was plenty worried. Even Dumbledore, who had obviously been told about Harry's earlier episode, gave a concerned look in his direction. Harry had no doubt that they'd be talking privately before the night was over with, but right now Harry only gave a weak smile and turned back to the feast.
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Hundreds of miles away, at the same moment one Harry was sitting down at the Gryffindor table ready to eat, another one, the real one, had just apparated into the same dark, empty back alley in Diagon Alley that he had used before. The sun was just setting in the west, and the streets were still filled with last minute shoppers and whole families, come to celebrate one of the wizarding world's most popular holidays. Knowing that the back alley was seldom used, Harry decided to set up a base of operations there, and under cover of his invisibility cloak, began the preparations.
Not wanting to get caught up in loose sleeves or baggy wizard robes, under his cloak Harry wore, besides his dragon hide pants, vest, and boots, a simple tight black tee shirt. His arms were left bare for quicker access to his holsters, and if all went according to plan, and he remained hidden under his cloak the whole night, his lack of full dress wouldn't matter much.
The one thing Harry had to add was his trusty black bandana. His hair was long enough now to pull back in a loose pony tail, but because his hair was so unruly and wavy, it would still have to be much longer before it would stay tied back. If his hair was instead more straight and flat, like Snape's, it would stay in place better. Harry didn't wish for that though. The last thing he needed was to be compared to looking like Snape. 'Thank Merlin for small favors,' Harry thought.
Making sure the area was warded against apparition, and placing several notice-me-not charms as well, Harry did his best to make sure that no one would enter the space for the rest of the night. Once done, Harry quietly entered the main shopping areas of the busy street, and did a little scout work to see where the best places for ambushes would be. He himself would be setting up ambushes of his own kind, and wouldn't need the locations he found. But he figured that when the action started, that's where the Death Eaters would be. They were too cowardly to attack the public out in the open. Instead they'd use cover of darkness and greater numbers to accomplish their goals. Plus, Harry already found out where the Death Eaters would be from his future self. All he had to do now was wait for them, and according to his watch, that time was only minutes away.
Thinking about his watch, Harry made sure the light shield spell it emitted was up and functional, and that the emergency portkey was ready too. He had planned on apparating out if things got too sticky, but if the Death Eaters put up their own anti-apparation fields, at least then Harry would have an alternate means of escape.
It happened sometime later, while Harry was waiting patiently under the awning of a small, closed shop, that he started to hear explosions and screaming coming from the Leaky Cauldron side of town. Moving quietly so he wasn't heard, Harry began making his way there, looking for prey.
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Back at school, another Harry was tucking into his second helping of roasted chicken and Yorkshire pudding. Ron and Hermione were engaged in another of their pointless arguments, and Harry was content to just sit and listen. Since Hermione had finished Harry's book on house-elf history and culture, she had given serious thought to how to readjust S.P.E.W.'s end goals, and she was thinking about starting it up again. Ron was arguing that if anyone was interested they would have shown it the first time around. Hermione argued that now that the organization's goals would be different and more realistic, that wasn't true.
Harry just smiled, refusing to take a side in the debate, and engaged in light conversation with all the nearby Gryffindors as he refilled his plate with the special holiday gourmet foods. A brief look at his watch let him know that the attack in Diagon Alley had just started, and Harry was no doubt already involved in the action. His job now was to silently observe the staff, especially Dumbledore, and try to appear as normal as possible. Hopefully Harry would be able to handle the situation in Diagon Alley himself, and be alright. Hopefully....
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'One down, many more to go,' Harry thought grimly. He'd just got done stunning a Death Eater who had made the mistake of wondering off alone, and Harry had already deposited him in the empty alley that Harry was thinking of as his home base. The Death Eater had put up more of a fight than Sean Hazelton had, but fighting an invisible opponent was one advantage that Harry was happy to have.
His first curse, a stunner, had missed by mere inches, and the jet of light had alerted the Death Eater to Harry's presence. Harry's second curse, Impedimenta, was likewise avoided. This time it was aimed dead on, but while Harry himself was invisible, his spells were not. The unknown Death Eater had plenty time to erect a shield to deflect the spell, and shot back one of his own in the general direction that he thought his enemy was in.
Managing to dodge the spell effortlessly (it wasn't really that close) Harry realized that he'd have to get a bit closer to the Death Eater to hit him with a spell, unless he used something more creative and powerful. Wanting to save his energy and unique ideas for true battle conditions, Harry opted for the first choice.
Quietly approaching in a winding pattern, Harry was soon behind the masked man, and reached out to tap him on the shoulder. The Death Eater, who was listening for movement and occasionally sending out a spell in the wrong direction, took the bait and swung around before even thinking about the possible consequences.
With the Death Eater's head craned over his shoulder, and being momentarily defenseless, Harry acted on impulse. The stunning spell he had planned on was forgotten as Harry drew back his right arm, curled his hand into a fist, and let loose with all the strength he had.
A sickening crunch sounded as Harry's right hook collided with the man's thin white mask, made of a material Harry couldn't identify. The crunch was too loud for just the mask itself, and Harry felt an odd sense of accomplishment that he had most likely broken the man's jaw or nose. Violence was so much more satisfying than a well placed curse of hex. Of course, it was impractical for Harry to go around punching all his opponents. Already, his hand was sore and beginning to throb. He hadn't broken any of his own bones, but a thin line of blood was dripping from two of his knuckles. Unless Harry came across Malfoy or Lestrange, he thought it best if from now on he stuck to strictly using magic. Or if need be, kicks at the most, but definitely no more punches. Another one like the last, and Harry might not be able to properly grip his wand.
Death Eater number two deposited (Hazleton was the first), Harry strode back out into the alley, looking for more masked men. By now most of the innocent shoppers had taken refuge in the busy shops and stores all along the street, and thankfully none of the Death Eaters were entering them, or even directing their spells through the windows. Instead it looked like they were just randomly throwing destructive spells around, causing as much damage as possible. Many signs, storefronts, and awnings were already blown to smithereens, and some of the cobblestone street was even being damaged. A few lone persons were being teased and bullied by the Death Eaters, and one unlucky family was cornered by an imposing group of three large men, one of which had the family's father in the throws of the Cruciatus. That's where Harry headed next.
Harry's first spell was launched at the man holding the unforgivable curse, and the stunner knocked him out cold, causing the curse to end, but also alerting the other two men to Harry's presence. When they turned around, the two kids, no older than seven and ten, and the man's wife, dragged themselves into a nearby small side street to wait out the fight. Still searching for the person who had stunned their companion, Harry used the time wasted by the Death Eaters to levitate the remaining man to the safety of the alley with his family. He wasn't unconscious after just a short time of the pain curse, but he was still in no shape to move himself or even use his own wand.
Once that was out of the way, Harry turned his attention back to the two large men, and steadied himself for another fight. 'No punches this time,' he mentally reminded himself.
Directing his wand to the man on his right, Harry cast a permanent sticking charm on the cobblestone street. A second later the man stepped right into it, but the little warning he had caused him to fall right over. He did manage to get his hands up in time to break his fall, but the movement caused him to drop his wand, and it fell to the ground. Clattering across a few feet of open street, Harry was pleased to see that even with his arms fully outstretched, the man's wand was still far out of reach. He wouldn't be going anywhere soon.
Focusing his attention on the last of the three Death Eaters in the small group, Harry was unprepared for a jet of water that hit him directly in the face as he turned his back on his downed enemy. The third man, knowing that an enemy was near, but not being able to see him because of a invisibility cloak or disillusionment charm, had cast a large stream of water in a wide arc. The water didn't do any damage, except maybe disorientate Harry, but the water's resistance against the invisibility cloak gave away Harry's position. Until the excess water finished dripping off the cloak, Harry was vulnerable.
Figuring out what had happened, Harry just managed to dive to the ground as a blood red light passed over his head. Not being familiar with that color curse, but not liking the looks of it either, Harry knew he had to finish off this man as quickly as possible, before others were alerted to his location. The next closest group of Death Eaters were across the street and four doors down, maybe about thirty five feet away, and so far only their own noisy curses had prevented Harry's own fighting to be heard. Without the cover of his cloak, Harry might be able to hold off two or three attackers, but not the combined group of five that was nearby. He needed to incapacitate this last Death Eater, regain control of the situation, and then decide if he should risk more attempts at capturing Death Eaters, or apparate away with what he had so far.
Dropping his useless cloak on the ground, but still protected from identity by a hastily placed disillusionment charm, Harry lunged at the last man, casting a barrage of curses as fast as he thought of them. Some were mild pain curses, others were just school yard jinxes, but all served to occupy the large man as he dodged and blocked the multi-colored lights coming from the end of Harry's wand.
The next moment, Harry got pushed from behind as a powerful stunner hit his back. Thankfully the spell sizzled out on his watch's shield spell and dragon hide armor, but Harry knew a second spell wouldn't do the same. Turning his attention around, Harry was surprised to see that the prone Death Eater had somehow managed to get his wand back. Spotting the nearby fallen flagpole, Harry knew how. Without another thought, Harry stunned the downed man, and turned back around to his more dangerous opponent just in time.
Deflecting a cutting curse back at the man, who ducked away at the last moment, Harry decided to use something a bit more powerful. He would never use something of its power in a school class or duel, but he wasn't in school right now, and he needed to end this fight quickly.
"Relashio!" Harry shouted. He had not used this particular spell in almost two years, when he scared off the grindylows during the Triwizard Tournament's second task. Then, underwater, Harry had only managed hot sparks to fend off the bothersome creatures. He knew however that the spell was capable of much more, and his results this time were just that.
A bright line of tightly braided red fire shot out the end of Harry's wand, and acted like a flame thrower. Harry didn't even have to recast the spell each time he wanted more fire either, he just waved his wand to let loose with a burst of flames, while his wand tip stayed lit and ready for another go.
The first shot of flames wasn't intended for any specific target, so it just flew past the Death Eater's left shoulder, harmlessly colliding with a stone wall. Surprised, the Death Eater turned his head to follow the fire, and so didn't see Harry's second attempt fly right towards his head. In fact, the man was unaware until the hot flames hit him right in the mask, which burnt and flaked away in just seconds. The white mask took the brunt of the spell's force, but Harry could immediately tell some damage had been done to the face behind it.
"My eyes! I can't see! My eyes are on fire!" He went on in the same tone, all while brandishing his wand like a sword in front of him, until Harry put him out of his misery. Just to make sure the Death Eater wasn't faking an injury, Harry used the "Avis" spell to conjure a flock of crows to fly at the man's face. Apart from shying away from the noisy flapping, the Death Eater showed no signs of seeing the birds, so Harry was pretty sure that the man was indeed blind. Whether it was a permanent condition or not, wasn't yet known. Personally, Harry didn't much care.
Casting a quick-dry spell on his cloak, Harry once again invisible, went back to unstuck the prone Death Eater, lying on the ground. The way permanent sticking charms worked, Harry had read, was that they couldn't be undone unless the caster knew the password originally used when placing the charm. Since the man hadn't heard Harry's spellwork, he was unable to get himself out of the bind, even once he had recovered his wand. Muttering the counter-curse, Harry collected the three unconscious men's wands, and levitated them back to his alley. They joined the first man on the floor in a sloppy heap of body parts, and Harry took the time to re-Stupefy all of them, as well as tying them up with conjured ropes. He didn't want to take any chances that these four Death Eaters could somehow break free of his spell, like Wormtail had done back in the bushes in front of Hermione's house. Harry still didn't know how that had happened, but wasn't willing to take another chance.
Convinced that the men were as subdued as could be under the circumstances, Harry took a deep breath and made back out into Diagon Alley. The night wasn't close to over yet, and the sudden pain in his head was only proof of that. Voldemort was up to something, and it wasn't good. Still, the pain was less than it had been earlier in the day, and Voldemort seemed farther away too. So after a few moments of deep breathing and Occlumency meditation, Harry continued on.
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Dessert was just being served as future Harry's scar erupted in a volcano of pain. He knew it was coming of course, as it had already happened to him once before, but that didn't lesson the hurt any. Most of the surrounding students didn't notice though, as they were too busy fighting over the delicious portions of puddings, pies, tarts, and treats that had just appeared on golden platters. Not even Ron and Hermione noticed, although Neville and Ginny did. Harry was able to remove his hand from his head and open his eyes after just a moment, and through the pain, saw that two of his close friends had stopped eating. Plastering on a fake smile, Harry did the only thing he could do.
"Don't worry," he whispered to them, "the pain's fading. Just more of Voldemort being happy."
Neville nodded his head and seemed to accept the explanation, but Ginny wasn't as easy to convince. Looking to see that Hermione and Ron were now fighting over who got the last piece of pumpkin/pecan pie, she scowled at them, and turned her attention to the Head table. When Harry turned to follow her gaze, he was momentarily startled to see Dumbledore looking right back at him.
Professor Dumbledore, with a strange owl perched on his shoulder, had a written letter in his hands, and had no doubt just found about the attack at Diagon Alley. He also might have seen Harry flinching at the pain from his scar, so to appear as if he too just found out about the attack, Harry pointed to his head, and mouthed the words, "Diagon Alley." From his previous exploits he had already known that's where Dumbledore and his agents would go. It was too bad that's not where Voldemort, or even his most trusted Death Eaters, were at. No, they were up to something much more sinister than destroying a few Diagon Alley storefront displays. But as much as Harry wanted to warn the Order of the Phoenix to ignore Diagon Alley and apparate to the site of the real trouble, he knew he wasn't able to. He'd already read the next day's paper, and knew what the story would say. It was impossible, no matter how much he wanted, to change the future he already knew would come to pass.
As soon as he had Harry's confirmation, Dumbledore gave a grim nod, and conversed quietly with Professors Snape and McGonagall, Hagrid, and Remus. He also had a quick meeting with Flitwick and Sprout, and then left through a side door unnoticed by the student body. Only Harry had noticed, and Ginny as well, because she was watching what he was. Knowing that all the missing professors were Order of the Phoenix members, Ginny turned her attention back to Harry.
"Harry, what's going on? What did you just tell Professor Dumbledore?"
"Whaa?" Ron mumbled through a mouthful of pudding. Apparently his argument with Hermione was over with, or at least temporarily suspended until after dessert. Hermione too gave her attention to Harry, noticing that Dumbledore was gone after Ginny's statement.
Sighing heavily, and rubbing the last prickles of pain from his forehead, Harry explained the situation in hushed tones so others wouldn't be alerted to the possible danger.
"I just got another pain in my scar from Voldemort. He's happy again, and this time it's because Diagon Alley is being attacked. I just looked at Dumbledore and told him, so I imagine that's where he and the others disappeared too. I only hope that they can get there in time." Really, Harry didn't believe that. He already knew the outcome, and it wasn't one he wanted to dwell on. Still, the others would suspect something odd if Harry didn't show an optimistic outlook, so that's what he forced himself to present to them. They'd know the truth tomorrow anyway.
"Oh, no! I do hope they get there in time." Hermione exclaimed. Ginny and the others nodded in agreement, and Ron said something under his breath that Harry didn't manage to catch.
"What was that Ron?" he asked.
"I said," Ron repeated, "that I can't help but feel glad that Fred and George don't own a shop in Diagon Alley anymore. Knowing them, they'd get right in the middle of whatever trouble is going on, and it would just kill Mum to know her sons were fighting Death Eaters, or even worse yet, You- Know-Who himself!"
Ginny's face blanched as she heard what Ron was thinking, and for once in the past few months, had nothing witty to respond with to her brother's comments. Hermione had plenty to say though, and she let everyone know her thoughts on the subject.
"Even if they don't have a shop there anymore, doesn't mean that they won't show up to defend Diagon Alley, Ron. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore contacted Order members, after all. And while I know the twins aren't official yet, they do go on some missions. If they heard about the attack, through you mum or even Bill or Charlie, I'm sure they'd apparate into the middle of a fight in a heartbeat, regardless of whether they were ordered to go or not. That's just the type of impulsiveness the twins like to show."
Ron was just staring at Hermione with bugged out eyes, and Harry couldn't blame him. While being very insightful and even probably true, Hermione's statement about the twins wasn't too tactful. Sometimes she just didn't bother to think her thoughts through before letting herself run off at the mouth.
"Ron," Ginny whispered," you don't think Fred and George would really do something that dangerous, do you?" Harry could tell she was very worried for her older brothers at the moment. Not just the twins either, but Bill and Charlie as well. Not to mention her parents. Ginny and Ron just had no way to know which of their family would be involved. Harry wished he could comfort her, especially since he knew that none of her family would be hurt, but he couldn't explain such knowledge. He tried something else anyway.
"Ginny, I'm sure Fred and George, and any other Order members who might show up in Diagon Alley to fight, are more than prepared for what they'll face. They won't be the only ones there, and Dumbledore won't let anything happen to them. Besides, I'd be more afraid of Fred and George if I was a Death Eater, than anything else. With all their inventions and tricks up their sleeves, not to mention that they're not half bad at defense, the twins are more than a match for any dimwitted Death Eater."
Hermione, finally catching on to the blunder she had made, did the best she could to correct her mistake. "Yes Ginny. If anything, Fred and George are probably more able to defend themselves then a lot of the other Order of the Phoenix members. They'll probably end up saving Tonks when she trips over her own feet, or something like that. You'll see. And that's even if they show up at all. Most likely they'll just spend the night turning each other into canaries, or some such rubbish. I wouldn't worry."
Ginny looked at little better at Harry and Hermione's ensuring words, as did Ron. Neville was just following the conversation closely, but had nothing really to add. He had also abandoned the last of his dessert plate, as he had lost his appetite while hearing about Voldemort's attack. The others all followed suit, even Ron, and pushed their plates away.
Soon enough, the dessert plates were cleared, and the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick addressed the crowd. He must have been left in charge while Dumbledore was gone.
"Attention students! Professor Dumbledore had to attend an emergency meeting with the Minister in his office, but he informed me he wishes all of you a happy Halloween, and to enjoy the rest of the night. As a special treat, all prefect patrols will be taken over by the staff for tonight, so feel free to do as you please, as long as you're all still in your common rooms before curfew. That is all; and have a pleasant evening."
After the group of younger years headed out the doors to return to their common rooms, Harry and his group followed morosely. None had anything to say, and if not for a rude interruption in the Entrance Hall, the whole trip probably would have been made in silence.
"What's the matter Potter, you're looking a little troubled tonight? Had a bad piece of pumpkin pie, perhaps?" Harry hadn't talked to the boy in weeks, but Draco's superior sounding voice was apparent. Clearly, he was fishing for a response.
"Go away, Draco. Nobody here wants to talk to you." As Harry answered, he tried to herd his friends up the main staircase, not wanting to have to break up another fight that it looked like Ron was itching to get into.
"Well, I don't want to particularly talk to you either. It's just that I'm just in such a good mood. You know; it being a holiday and all. Why, I expect that many great things are happening tonight. I know my father is awfully busy with his many parties. What about you, Potter? Is your father going to any Halloween parties tonight?"
Harry's anger was boiling now, and Hermione and Ginny were doing their best to hold back Ron, who was cursing up a storm. Harry knew damned well where Draco's father was that night, and it sounded like Draco knew even more than he was letting on about. He'd have to investigate that more later. But now he just wanted to get rid of the bullying git.
"Oops, I'm sorry," Draco mocked apologized. "I forgot, you don't have a father anymore. In fact, didn't he die this very night? Why yes, I'm sure he did. I wonder if that's the party my father's at right now. Celebrating the death of such a worthless excuse for a pureblood."
Malfoy made a few other comments, but Harry didn't hear as it was drowned out by the boy's insistent laughter. Nearby Crabbe and Goyle joined in too, although they had to be prompted by Draco to start. Clearly, they didn't know what they were laughing at.
Harry was furious now. If he could he'd deduct house points from the Slytherin trio for making such jokes he would have, but technically speaking, they hadn't broken any school rules. Still, Harry couldn't let them get away with this.
Raising his right arm, wand already in hand, Harry cast a silencing charm over all three. Draco responded immediately, but his lack of voice preventing him from executing his intended spell. There were spells of course that could be used without a vocal incantation, but they were few, and the time it took Draco to think of one was all the time Harry needed to act.
Summoning their wands away from them, Harry then transfigured their robes into tight body suits. Draco's was a soft pink color, while Crabbe and Goyle had violent shades of purple and yellow.
Surprised by the move, and embarrassed by their new wardrobe, the three tried to cover themselves, looking for an escape exit. Draco had started to sprint to the dungeon's entrance, when Harry caught him in a levitation spell. Crabbe and Goyle just looked on confused, not knowing what to do.
"See Hermione," Harry said pleased, "Wingardium Levi-O-sa. Even after all these years, I still remember your advice."
Hermione had dropped her grip on Ron by now, and wanted nothing more than to lecture Harry about abusing his prefect responsibilities. However, her encyclopedia-like mind had to first correct Harry's mistake.
"But Harry," she called out from halfway up the stairs, "that spell isn't to be used with live animals. It's unpredictable! You're supposed to use 'Mobilicorpus' instead in this situation."
Harry, who was enjoying swinging Malfoy around the Entrance Hall, suspended twenty feet in the air, had a disturbing grin on his face. "Oh really, I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip. Did you know that Draco?"
Draco, who was too busy loosing his dinner up in the air, didn't respond. Neither did Crabbe or Goyle, who were doing a poor job of dodging the vomit Draco was spewing on them from above.
"I guess that explains why I'm having such a hard time controlling Draco. Do you reckon' I should stop and switch to Mobilicorpus, or should I just manage with what I've already cast?" Draco had just bounced off the large oak doors to the outside, and had a purple mark forming on his delicate pale cheek. No doubt, he had plenty of other bruises as well from Harry's rough treatment.
"Nah, give him another fly around the room, Harry! This is the most brill thing I've ever seen. This tops the bouncing ferret even." Ron was cheering Harry on now, as were Neville and Ginny. Luna said nothing, while Hermione just gave Harry her "McGonagall" face.
Knowing he'd gone far enough, Harry lowered the spinning Draco right onto his two goons, and they all ended in a pile of limbs on the floor. There was mess everywhere, and with a quick wave of his wand and a muttered "Evanesco," the sick was gone. The only bits that remained were what was plastered all over the three Slytherins' body suits. And it wasn't a small amount either.
"Come on, let's go upstairs." Harry called out to his friends. Draco and the others posed no more threat, and Harry's group climbed their stairs to Gryffindor tower. Hermione continued her lecture, and before she would quiet Harry promised to turn himself into a staff member the next day for punishment. It's not like Malfoy wouldn't complain to Snape about the treatment, so really it was unavoidable. Still, hopefully Draco had learned his lesson about messing with Harry, and wouldn't be so quick to anger him again.
Luna parted from the group on the fourth floor, and once past the Fat Lady's portrait, the remaining five friends sat in their customary seats around the fire. Ron was bouncing up and down, replaying the recent events for Dean and Seamus's entertainment, and Harry was content to just sit back and be a spectator.
A glance at his watch told him that the real Harry would be returning from Diagon Alley soon though, and he needed to get ready. He'd have his hands full once he returned, and he started to make his excuses early.
"I think I'm going to head up to bed early tonight," Harry told his friends. "I'm still tired from earlier today, and playing with Draco really took it out of me. I'll see you all in the morning."
Ron and Neville, now engaged in a chess game, bid him good night, as did Hermione and Ginny, who were both bent over the same book. What it was, Harry didn't know, but he didn't have time to find out either.
Harry whistle to the corner of the room, where Hedwig was perched. "Come on girl, come up with me why don't you?" Silently, he added so only she could hear, "You've got some work to do tonight, girl."
Hedwig, now weeks after her arrival, had finally reached a level of disinterest so that she could spend most of her time either on her perch in Harry's dorm room, or in the populated Gryffindor common room. The Gryffindors were so accustomed to her that she wasn't a bother anymore. The rest of the school however couldn't say the same. So as much as she wanted to spend time with Harry, Hedwig wasn't allowed in classes or at meals unless she was delivering a letter. And since Harry had so few people to write, that didn't happen often.
Still, he spent time with her every afternoon when he went down into his trunk to practice with his other self. Hedwig always accompanied Harry then, as well as spent time in his library whenever he was doing his extra studying. 'It's not much different than Fawkes's schedule,' Harry thought, 'as I hardly see the bird outside of Dumbledore's office either. Maybe it's just not practical to have a phoenix follow you everywhere you go.'
As if she knew what Harry was thinking, Hedwig gave a sharp nip to Harry's ear, causing him snap out of his thoughts.
"Sorry girl, I know you'd like to get out more. I'll see what I can do. Maybe you can spend some time with Hagrid, and he can teach his classes about white phoenixes. I'll ask him next time we have tea."
That seemed to satisfy Hedwig, who flew over to her perch the second Harry entered the dorm room. He was all alone, and after another look at his watch, cast a strong locking charm at the door, as well as a silencing charm around the room. Any minute now, they'd have company, and Harry would almost rather deal with Aunt Marge.
"Get ready Hedwig, he'll be here shortly. I only hope things went as planned."
Not a second after Harry finished, a bloody body appeared in the center of the room, limbs twisted at an unnatural angle. Loose strips of black fabric hung off the male in stained tatters, and Harry had no problems identifying who the injured mass of flesh and bone was. It was himself.
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After depositing the three newest captures with his first, Harry returned to find that the remaining Death Eaters were no longer attacking or causing destruction. Instead, they had grouped in the center of the town, right in front of Gringott's, and were all pointing their wands in the sky. Not liking the looks of this at all, Harry let loose a tirade of curses, but not one of them hit their intended target. It seemed the group, at least twenty in number, were behind some sort of protection spell or ward, and nothing could get through. Harry was sure it could be broken with enough time and research, but right now the only thing that came to mind was an Unforgiveable. And even if Harry was able to use the forbidden curses on himself to build up a tolerance, he wasn't about to use them on anyone else. He'd tried that before on Bellatrix Lestrange, thank you very much, and he hadn't liked the feeling it left afterwards at all. The fact that they were all illegal didn't help.
Wondering what was maintaining the shield's power, as all Death Eaters were pointing their wands to the sky, Harry almost missed the silent "pops" that appeared all around him. In fact, if not for his invisibility cloak, he would have been spotted immediately by Professor McGonagall, as she was the closest. The Order of the Phoenix had finally arrived, and right behind them were a dozen or so aurors.
Knowing his own weakness, Harry spotted Moody and his magical eye across the town, and maneuvered himself so that buildings and people were between the two. Harry knew that he couldn't totally prevent the aged auror from seeing him, but hopefully he wasn't looking. Instead, Moody should have his attention turned to the center of town, where all the action was.
Besides Moody and McGonagall, Remus, Hagrid, Snape, Tonks, Kingsley, Amos Diggory, Mr. Weasley, Bill, the twins, Dung, and Hestia Jones were also present from the Order. Not to mention Dumbledore, who was the first to decipher the Death Eater's intentions. He didn't even bother to try to break down the barrier around them, almost as if he knew it was pointless.
"Everyone, quick! They're activating a portal. Work in teams, and be prepared. They could be bringing anything through a portal that size."
Skimming through all knowledge in his head, Harry recognized the term "portal" from his earlier Hogwarts years. It was an advanced charm they had learned about in both Charms class and History, but have never learned how to perform. Apparently, it was a used to move large numbers of people or objects when apparition couldn't be used. Apparition only worked with witches and wizards, and even forced apparition could only take at most two additional passengers. And that needed a very powerful caster. No, portals were weaker and less predictable than apparition, and seldom used just for those reasons. Those, and the fact that it took the simultaneous spell casting of at least five wizards to create even a small portal, is the reason why it was an almost an extinct method of travel. Still, a portal created by so many wizards would be large, and Harry was starting to see why Dumbledore was getting so nervous.
Moving into position so he was at Moody's back, far away from the action, but still close enough to see what was happening, Harry found out moments later when a ten foot wide portal appeared in the air above the Death Eater's heads. At first nothing happened, and some of the Order members and aurors breathed a sigh of relief. The Ministry aurors weren't surprised or shocked at the Order's presence, so Harry guessed that they'd been briefed ahead of time to expect the help.
Sighs of relief however soon turned into gasps of horror, as dozens of dark robed creatures poured out of the portal. They floated down to the ground in a dispersed pattern as Harry had seen before, and immediately coldness and despair flooded the night's air.
'Damn him!' Harry thought of his future self. 'Why didn't he warn me this would happen?' Harry didn't have much time to think anything else, as already groups of Dementors approached the stunned and defenseless aurors and Order of the Phoenix members. The only defense against the creatures, the Patronus Charm, was difficult at best to cast, even for an adult wizard. Of the twenty or so aurors and Order members present, Harry didn't think more than half would be able to protect themselves. There was also the group of Death Eaters to worry about, as they had stopped their chanting, and had turned their attention back to the fight. The barrier that protected them seemed to block the Dementors' effects as well as curses, but it didn't prevent them from hurling their own.
It was Remus's wolf patronus that Harry recognized first, and launched him into action. Already things were too desperate, and the few aurors who couldn't cast patronus were hiding behind those that could. They were also rapidly casting shield charms, to deflect the endless stream of spells coming from the Death Eaters. Still, they stayed protected behind their large barrier.
Seeing a few more patroni join in with Remus's wolf, Harry thought it was safe to cast his own. In a sea of so many animals, another silver totem wouldn't be noticed. Remus's wolf, Professor McGonagall's giraffe (??), and Dumbledore's swarm of bumblebees were holding the largest group of seven Dementors at bay. The only other patroni Harry noticed was a bat that belonged to Snape, and a bear, a moose, and a penguin that came from the aurors. Those were herding the other two large groups of Dementors, but there were still at least ten of the evil creatures left unchecked to do their own bidding.
"Expecto Patronum!!!" Harry yelled, pointing towards the next largest group of Dementors. Honestly, after so much practice with this particular charm, Harry wasn't expecting anything special. Too bad Harry forgot he had a nasty habit of standing out. For where in years past the silver form of Prongs leaped out of his wand tip, this time it was a much larger, golden version of his father's animagus form that joined the battle.
Worried that he'd be discovered by his use of the unique advanced charm, Harry swore and looked around frantically. No one seemed to notice his lone patronus tearing into the Dementors, killing them off instead of just scaring them away. It was because of his frenzied looking in every direction that Harry caught sight of another Prongs, winking up at him from his tattooed forearm. The guardian tattoo of his father had traveled from his normal shoulder blade position, for the first time that Harry had seen.
"What the hell?" Harry blurted out. In response, the tattoo just winked again, and then turned back to watch the action. Already half of the Dementors were destroyed, and the surviving Order members and aurors were turning their attention back to the Death Eaters. Not knowing what was happening to their allies, they started to pace nervously.
'So that's why I'm able to cast a gold patronus!' Harry's mind was running a mile a minute now. 'It's because of the guardian tattoos. Or rather, tattoo. It makes sense that Prongs would have something to do with me casting a powerful patronus, but that has nothing to do with my Padfoot or Lily tattoos. I bet they'll have their own, unique powers. I'll have to research this more later. I've got to cover my tracks now. No doubt Remus recognizes Prongs, and that's how he knows I'm here. I'll have to talk to him quick before I leave. He'll have to make up some explanation to give the others. They can't know that I was here.'
Only six Dementors remained now, and between his golden patronus, and the seven silver ones, they didn't stand a chance. Quickly, while the groups' attention was still on them, Harry ran to Remus's side to have a quick conversation. Luckily, he was alone.
"Remus! Quick, listen to me, I don't have a lot of time," he whispered in the man's ears.
Remus's ears perked up at Harry's first word, and his nostrils flared too. He werewolf sense at work, no doubt. "Harry?" He questioned. "I thought that was Prongs. What are you doing here? And where the bloody hell are you?"
"Shusssh, I don't have much time. I'll meet you tomorrow after breakfast in your office to explain more. But for now, can you make up some excuse about the golden patronus? The others can't know I'm here; especially Dumbledore. Also, you need to get the released spirits, if there are any, to leave before they can be questioned. Tell them to head for the Shrieking Shack, and that there are others of their kind that will explain what's happened to them. Say anything else you can think of, but I've got to go now. Moody can see through my invisibility cloak, and I can't risk that. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Harry, wait!"
Harry would have liked to go back, but he couldn't afford the extra time. All the Dementors were destroyed now, and the Death Eaters were disapparating away before Dumbledore could break through the shield, which he was attempting now. Already they had cast a large Dark Mark in the air, and some of the scared people who had been attacked earlier were coming out of hiding. The street would be filled with reporters and photographers soon, and Harry didn't want to risk detection.
Walking back to his base alley, Harry's mind was spinning with the possibilities of his other two guardian tattoos' powers. He'd have to spend a lot of time in his trunk experimenting, but now that he knew how one of them worked, Harry had no doubt discovering the rest was just a matter of time.
With his wand re-holstered, and his head in the clouds, it was no wonder that Harry fell easily to a lone Death Eater's curse. It was only Impedimenta, but it still left Harry in a very vulnerable spot.
'Damn!' he swore silently, because his mouth couldn't move. 'I forgot to renew the shield spell on my watch after it dissipated.' Still, Harry was dressed in dragon hide armor, and the clothes' protection allowed him to move at about half speed. The Death Eater was no fool though, and after seeing that Harry was still moving, recast the same spell multiple times. Harry was frozen in place now, and wasn't going to break free anytime soon.
"Accio cloak! Well well, what do we have here? The famous Harry Potter, out and about in a dark alleyway all alone. Oh, how my master will be pleased. And what's more, you have a valuable invisibility cloak that you want me to have. Why thank you Harry, I'll be sure to make good use of it."
Still hung on his shoulders, the cloak had flown off Harry into the waiting hands of the Death Eater. This man wasn't as slow or stupid as the others, and Harry even recognized who it was. It was Avery, one of Voldemort's inner circle. But still, how was he able to see Harry with his father's cloak on?
To answer his question, Avery went on to describe how brilliant and deductive he was to notice something was wrong, after discovering that four of his number were missing. In true James Bond villain style, he explained how he'd been left behind in the shadows, to regulate the shield spell the other Death Eaters were protected behind. It was an advanced spell given to them by their master, but required one caster to be outside the protection it offered. And so deep in the shadows, hidden away from the Dementors, Order members, and aurors, Avery had noticed that a few were missing from his group. When the Dementors proceeded to be destroyed, he knew something was definitely amiss, and started to scan the area with a variety of spells. It was a lucky chance that one of those spells happened to be a heat seeking spell, designed purposely to detect hidden prey while hunting. Not knowing who was hidden, but only caring that they were alone and had their back to his position, Avery had cursed the unknown assailant in hopes of learning what had happened to his comrades.
"Now Harry, tell me where the others are, and how you destroyed the Dementors, and I'll reward you by killing you quickly. My master will be most displeased that he hadn't the honor to himself, but will understand. If you don't tell me what I want to know, I can't say he'll show you the same forgiveness."
Eyes wide open, scanning the immediate area, Harry was panicked to learn that nobody was nearby. All the action was on the other side of town, where aurors were dispersing the Dark Mark. Nearby Harry could see the four Death Eaters still unconscious in a piled heap, but the notice-me-not charms he'd placed earlier didn't allow Avery to see the same.
"I won't tell you shit!" Harry spat out in a rage. More than Avery, he was angry at himself for being caught so easily. If only he recast the shield charm, or put off thinking about his guardian tattoos till after he was out of danger. But no, he went and got nabbed in the middle of the street, and still couldn't think of a way to save himself.
Avery only smiled when Harry cursed him. It really was a perverse smile. "Wrong answer, Harry. Crucio!"
Pain shot up his back, and spread throughout Harry's limbs. It wasn't as painful as Voldemort's curse, or even his own, but it still was no walk in the park. And because he was frozen in place, Harry couldn't collapse or flex his muscles, which hurt even worse. At least he didn't scream. If he did, Avery would no doubt find some sort of sick pleasure from it.
After about a minute, much shorter than even Harry's daily sessions with the Cruciatus, Avery stopped. He repeated the question one more time, and stepped back in shock when Harry opened his eyes and clearly said, 'Go to hell! I'm not telling you anything!"
It took a second for him to recover, but Avery continued on. "Well, it seems that you're familiar with this curse, Mr. Potter. How interesting. Perhaps in the future we'll see just how long you can stand before you mind starts to drip out your ears. Still, there are other ways to make you talk. I myself am not even very found of the Cruciatus. I favor other, more enjoyable pastimes."
Harry didn't even have time to wonder what Avery was babbling about when he felt hot knives pass over his shoulders and upper arms. And it wasn't the hot knives feeling of the Cruciatus either; it was the real deal.
Biting his lower lip, refusing to scream out or make a sound, Harry turned his attention back to Avery, and saw the man had a conjured knife sticking out the end of his wand. It was glowing red hot, and he had just raked it across the upper part of Harry's back. Thankfully his armor vest had prevented any damage to his torso, but Harry's exposed shoulders both received long slash marks. They weren't too deep or damaging, but because of the red hot blade, they were mighty painful.
Avery continued in the same manner for awhile. He'd make a few cuts to Harry's legs, arms, or torso, and then repeat his question. Each time Harry refused to scream, and each time he refused to answer. It was only because of the dark black shirt he wore that Avery didn't notice Harry's dragon hide armor vest underneath, which prevented all of the damage to his torso. Only his arms and legs were marked by the red hot blade, and besides burning and causing a loss of blood, they were mostly superficial.
After ten minutes of this treatment (Diagon Alley was empty still, thanks to an evacuation order Harry had heard made by the aurors), Harry was still stubbornly refusing to talk, and Avery was getting angry. Or more specifically, he was pissed.
"Why you troublesome little brat! You've lost your chance now. I'll just have to turn you over to my master, and then you'll know true pain. A week from now, you'll be sorry you didn't let me end your life. A month from now, you'll be begging to see me. Don't forget this Potter! Don't forget, when my master makes you feed your own body parts to his pet snake. Accio wands!"
Harry wasn't listening to Avery rant; instead he was trying to figure out a way to escape. But when Avery called for his wands, Harry freaked. Without his wands, he'd be helpless! It the heat of the moment, Harry had forgotten that his wands were in dragon hide holsters, and couldn't be summoned that way.
"Won't work, huh? You must have some of those auror wand holsters, then. No matter. Accio wand holsters!"
Why hadn't Harry thought of that? This time, his wand holster did unravel from his right forearm, and flew into Avery's waiting hands. His boot holster did the same, now only leaving Harry with his dagger. Momentarily, Harry wondered why he wasn't freed of that too, or why he was even being disarmed if he was so securely frozen. What Harry didn't realize, at least not yet, was that Avery assumed that both holsters on his forearm were for wands. And when two holsters flew into his hands (he didn't see the one come from Harry's boot), he was satisfied. From his position behind Harry's right shoulder, he couldn't see the dagger still strapped to Harry's left wrist.
"I'm going to release you now. I've got a hidden portkey nearby, and we're going to march over there nice an easy. I can't float you through the street without being noticing by the aurors, so you're going to walk in front of me. Try anything funny though, and you'll be sorry. Understand?"
Harry couldn't believe Avery was being so stupid. If he had any smarts, he'd leave Harry frozen, and float his with a Mobilicorpus spell under cover of the invisibility cloak. Still, Avery wasn't used to having the cloak at his disposal, so maybe that's why he didn't think of it. Harry sure wasn't going to correct him. If he was unfrozen, he'd have a chance at escaping. And with his dagger at hand, he might just pull it off. It would have to be quick though, before Harry tired out. The Cruciatus and cutting he'd endured by Avery had taken a lot out of him, not to mention the blood loss. Once the Impedimenta spell was lifted, Harry didn't even know if he would be able to stay on his feet. Yet, he had to try.
"I said, understand?" Avery repeated. Harry had been to busy thinking of an escape to answer the first time, but he managed now.
"Understood. You'll have to move me slowly though, I'm not sure if I can walk." Harry said. Avery mumbled something about moving as fast he wanted to, but Harry didn't really care. Already, he was straining his arms and legs to move how he wanted to. Hopefully the second the spell was lifted, Harry could act.
And that's just what happened. Still about two feet behind Harry's right shoulder, Avery lifted the curse, and wasn't prepared for Harry's sudden movements. Taking a step back with his right foot as if it were spring loaded, Harry's right elbow also launched an attack that landed right below Avery's chin; glancing off his left check. The shot was sloppy and off target, but gave Harry the time he needed by startling his opponent.
Pivoting with his left foot this time, Harry raised his left arm in a fist, swinging it in a wide reverse arc. His hope was to nail Avery in the face at Harry turned to face his capture. The backhand swing wasn't as effective as other blows he could think of, but under the circumstances, it was the best Harry could mange. Just from the first elbow, he was already winded.
Turning away from Avery and completely around in a circle, Harry was surprised to find the Death Eater not where he expected him to be. Obviously, the elbow hadn't done as much damage as Harry had hoped, and Avery had responded by taking a step to the left, and brought his wand up to curse Harry. A green light flew through the space where Harry's head was a second ago, right behind his neck, and it was a good thing Harry's didn't even see it. Such a close call might have disturbed his concentration. Instead Harry continued swinging his left arm, intending his closed fist to connect with Avery's skull. But because Avery was no longer in place, Harry knew he would miss, and made a last minute change in plans.
Instead of using his fist, it was Harry's forearm that made a connection with Avery. Avery was too close, and if Harry bent his elbow, he'd lose all the power of a straight arm. So instead he lowered his blow, and caught Avery right across the throat. The blow didn't hurt Harry as much as he thought it would, and that's when he realized the hard metal of his dagger had done most of the damage. Still incased in its sheath, the dagger's hilt had landed right on Avery's windpipe, crushing it and leaving a nasty red welt.
Avery had backed away when he'd been hit, and was too hurt to even consider launching an attack of his own. Harry backed away too, to put some extra space between himself and the Death Eater. Although he was hurt, Harry was sure that Avery was still dangerous. Maybe more so now than before, because he'd been injured.
"Why you little prick!" Avery croaked out. It sounded nothing like his normal voice, and Harry could tell it was causing him an awful amount of pain just to talk.
Reaching across with his right hand, Harry drew his dagger and pointed it at Avery. It was still as sharp and as lethal looking as the day he had bought it.
"I hit you across the throat with this. Hurt, doesn't it? I wonder if you'll ever sound the same." Harry said coolly. Then he mocked Avery. "Then again, maybe you should thank me for going so easy on you. When your master finds out you had me in your grasp, but let me go, I doubt he'll be so....what was the word you used....ah yes, forgiving."
Rage poured out of the man's eyes, and Harry could tell that he was about to cast something particularly vicious. Not wanted to gamble if the man could enunciate the curse well enough for it to work, Harry immediately dove to the ground, doing a summersault towards Avery as a jet of rusty yellow passed him overhead. From the color spell, and the incantation he heard, it was a good thing that Harry did dive. Avery had used a bone shattering curse, Skelodestructo. It painfully destroyed any bone the light beam hit, and left the muscle behind in ruin. If it hit the ribcage or head, it could easily kill a man. And Avery had been aiming straight for Harry's scar.
Coming out of his summersault, Harry saw that he was right behind Avery's feet, and the Death Eaters had swung his head around to follow his path. Avery's mistake though, had been leaving his legs in a vulnerable position. And Harry took advantage immediately, swiping out with his blade, catching both ankles right above the rim of Avery's shoes.
"Arghhhh!," Harry heard loudly as he weakly got to his knees. The dive he did to escape the bone shattering curse had done something funny to his left shoulder, and it hung loosely at his side. What's more, Harry barely had enough energy to even stand, and Avery was still a threat. His cut Achilles tendons had brought him to the ground, but his wand was still in hand, and he was still mighty pissed.
Things finally went Harry's way though, as Avery dropped his wand to grasp at his feet, and totally forgot about Harry's presence. Still on his knees, Harry crawled over behind Avery and knocked him unconscious. Not having his wand back yet, he had to improvise. Bringing the hilt of his dagger down on Avery's skull full force worked just as well as a Harry's most powerful stunner.
Thankful that the night was finally over with, Harry struggled to find his wands and cloak in Avery's pockets. He then levitated the crippled man to the dark alley to join the others, and crawled over himself. Harry just didn't have the energy to stand, and he barely made it to his hideout before aurors came by to investigate the curses they had heard.
"There's nothing here," Harry heard from one man. Another responded, "It must be further down, let's go take a look."
It was a good thing Harry cast those notice-me-not charms on the alley. They'd only last for a couple of hours at the most, and more powerful or skillful wizards could see right through them, but they had done their job. Apparently they had worked on the two aurors, and though they didn't know it, they only moved on so quickly because an odd sense that what they were looking for wasn't close told them to.
Recasting stunning spells on all five Death Eaters, Harry enlarged his trunk and pushed them all inside the seventh compartment. Once done, Harry shrunk it back down to size, and re-pocketed the tiny luggage. It was getting hard to concentrate now, and Harry noticed small dark blurs entering his field of vision.
The last two things he needed to do before leaving was dissipate the anti- apparition wards and notice-me-not charms. Luckily taking down the anti- apparition wards was much easier than putting them up, and Harry only had to repeat the spell twice before it worked. The notice-me-not- charms were more difficult, and after four attempts Harry still hadn't managed.
He didn't know why it wasn't working, and he didn't know why the dark spots in his vision were getting bigger and bigger.
"Oh bloody hell!" Harry cursed himself once he figured it out. "I'm starting to black out."
Knowing that he couldn't be found passed out in the middle of the street, Harry left the charms in place and just trusted that they would fade to nothing in a few hours. Hopefully nobody would discover them in that time.
Apparating away, as he'd planned, was also out of the question. Harry didn't have the strength to even attempt it, and even if he did, he'd most likely splinch some part of himself in his injured condition. Luckily he had a backup.
A small stone in his pant's pocket acted as a portkey, and it was a good thing that Harry had thought of this as back up. Different then the portkey on his watch which would take him to his home, this one would transport him right to his dorm room, where hopefully his double would be waiting with medical attention. Now he knew why Dobby and Winky would be around. And if any of his dorm mates happened to be in the dorm room still so early in the night, then he'd just have to worry about that later. Once he was better, Harry could obliviate them as needed. Assuming he would survive the night, that is.
Trying to dig the portkey out of his pocket with his limp arm, Harry perhaps for the first time realized how hurt he really was. Exposed to the Cruciatus for over a minute, then cut and tortured for ten minutes by a sadist Death Eater, which had accounted for an extreme loss of blood. Then he'd hurt his arm in that dive he'd done to dodge a curse, not to mention the beating his body had endured while he pummeled Avery with his arms, and the limited Dementor exposure he had suffered.
On the edge of consciousness, Harry finally managed to pop the small portkey out of his pocket and close his working fist around it. With his trunk in his back pocket, and his wand holsters cradled in his lap, Harry just managed to utter "activate" before the black spots completely enveloped his vision. Another ten seconds, and Harry wouldn't have made it.
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The next morning, Harry woke up sore and tired. Still, it was necessary to make an appearance at breakfast, to show Dumbledore and the others that nothing was wrong. He had a meeting to attend with Remus also, and that was a conversation that couldn't wait.
Skipping his normal workout routine and shower, Harry beat Ron and the others down to the Great Hall, and poured himself a bowl of cereal and began to eat. He didn't realize how hungry he was until after finishing the second bowl, but it did make sense. He'd skipped lunch the day before in anticipation of the Halloween Feast, and he'd never seen that either. It had been a full twenty four hours since he'd last had a meal.
"Harry, I wonder if you might join me for a moment while you wait for your friends?" Harry dropped his spoon in his cereal bowl when Professor Dumbledore surprised him from behind. Harry didn't want to talk right now, as he was still painfully injured, but saw no escape. None of his friends, or even the Quidditch team was down at breakfast yet, and because it was a Sunday, they wouldn't be anytime soon.
And so Harry followed his headmaster out of the Great Hall, up the familiar path, to the circular office hidden behind the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore immediately took up his seat behind the desk, and Harry didn't even wait for the invite to sit down. After such a long journey, he needed his rest, and Dumbledore seemed to notice.
'Are you feeling alright, Harry? You seem to be suffering some pain this morning."
Harry grimaced. He'd hoped to keep his pains to himself. "I'm alright, sir. Just sore from yesterday's pains, plus I didn't sleep well. I'm sure I'll feel better by tomorrow."
Dumbledore nodded slowly, and went on to say. "Yes Harry, the pain you suffered through your scar yesterday is what I wanted to talk to you about. We didn't get the time to meet ourselves, but your friends informed me that you suffered from an attack while in town yesterday afternoon. Could you please elaborate?"
"There's not much else to say, really. I was drinking butterbeer with the others, and then out of nowhere, I sensed that Voldemort was excited about something happening. Anxious, really. At first I thought he was happy, but that was only a first impression. It was more like he was looking forward to something. After my second spell last night at the feast, it makes sense that he was happy about Diagon Alley being attacked. I just wish that I could have given you more warning."
It was a long time before Dumbledore replied, and when he did, it was to ask Harry if he'd like any tea or lemon drops. Harry politely refused, and remembering his last trip to Honeydukes, called out in the air, "Hedwig could you come here for a moment please?"
A moment later Hedwig burst into the room in white and gold flames, and perched on Harry's outstretched arm. She gave a curious look over to Fawkes, perched in his usual spot, who only gave a curious look back.
"Hedwig, can I ask you a favor?" Harry's voice brought the female phoenix's attention away from her counterpart. "Can you bring me the yellow bag of Warheads that I bought yesterday? They should be on my bedside table, in a larger back of sweets. If you can't separate just the yellow bag, bring them all, and I'll do it."
Hedwig sniffed her nose as if insulted, and a second later, disappeared in another burst of flames. While she was gone, Dumbledore turned his attention back to Harry.
"Warheads, Harry? Aren't those a little dangerous to have lying around your dorm room? If my understanding of muggle technology is correct, you shouldn't even have access to such devices."
Harry just laughed. "Not those type of warheads, Professor. These are a type that you'll enjoy, I'm sure, but are still just as dangerous. Just wait, and you'll see."
He didn't have to wait long, because Hedwig returned just at that moment. In her talons she had the single bag of yellow lemon Warheads, which she neatly deposited in Harry's awaiting lap. Once done with her task, she turned back to face Fawkes again, who was trilling a slow and peaceful greeting.
"Oh, that's right. You haven't met Fawkes yet, have you Hedwig? Why don't you go over and say hi? I'm sure he won't mind. Next to you, he's the nicest phoenix I know."
The old man laughed at Harry's encouragement, and Fawkes nodded his head as if to agree. So Hedwig warily flew over to share his grand perch, and the two had a quiet conversation in phoenix talk. Harry couldn't remember off hand if Hedwig had ever met Fawkes before as an owl, but for some reason he didn't think so. This was probably their first meeting.
"So Harry," the Headmaster brought him back out of his thoughts, "is that small bag the Warheads you talk about? I can't see them being much of a danger. Why, they look like a package of sweets."
"They are sweets, Professor. I bought them yesterday in town with you specifically in mind, and you offer of a lemon drop reminded me of them. They're like a super-sour lemon drop; not for the feint of heart though. Would you like to try one?" Harry couldn't help but tease his old mentor just a little. No one really could imagine how sour they were until the very first one, and almost always the individual puckered up their mouths and spit the candy into their hands. After the first time they were more enjoyable, but that first was always a surprise.
Naturally, Dumbledore couldn't resist a new lemon flavored candy, and his response was just what Harry was hopping for. After tearing the little foil packet open, and popping the dusty candy in his mouth, the mage's eyes got wide and teared as the first wave of sourness hit his taste buds. Next Dumbledore popped up out of his seat, and did a little jig as he waved his hands around his head. Harry was openly laughing now, and he could see that although Dumbledore was acting the part, he was quite enjoying himself too. Another twenty seconds later and the intense flavor part was over with, and the candy just tasted like a normal lemon sweet again. With a few last puckers and smacks of his lips, Professor Dumbledore returned to his seat to finish his treat.
"My word Harry, you weren't kidding when you said that those were still quite dangerous. That was the most delicious, sour and tart sweet I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. I wonder if you might allow me to purchase the remainder of this package from you. I can't wait to see Minerva or Severus's expression when I convince them to have one of these."
Harry laughed at the thought. He'd kill for a picture like that, of either McGonagall or Snape eating one of the sour sweets. "Actually, sir," Harry managed after ridding the images in his head, "I bought this packet for you. I have others in my room. There are other flavors if you'd like to try that are on sale at Honeyduke's. I'm partial to cinnamon myself, but I know that you like lemon, and those are the most sour as well. Feel free to share them with whoever you like, but if you do manage to convince Professor McGonagall or Snape to have one, do you think I could visit your memory of that in a pensieve? That's my only price."
Now it was Dumbledore's turn to laugh, but he agreed, as long as Harry kept the secret to himself. The professors, especially Snape he said, wouldn't appreciate being made fun of.
While Dumbledore finished his candy, and Harry drank his tea, a silence filled the air, and Harry knew the conversation was about to return to unpleasant matters. Sure enough, a moment later they did.
Dumbledore steepled his hands under his chin, and held the pose a long time before he spoke. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Harry. Back to what you were saying before, even if you did manage to give us more of a warning, I doubt it would have done more good. While it was a good thing that we responded to the threat at Diagon Alley when we did, at the same time we missed the larger threat altogether. Now, I expect you to find out about this later this morning in the papers, but Voldemort himself attacked Azkaban last night as well, with some of his most trusted Death Eaters. It would seem that Diagon Alley was just a diversion, and it worked perfectly. I and most of the Order apparated to Diagon Alley to fight off the Death Eaters and Dementors with Ministry aurors, while Voldemort had free reign at Azkaban. Only when I realized the attack was a diversion, as very few people were injured, did I get a message that Azkaban was under attack. Unfortunately we were too late, and Voldemort was able to again free all his followers."
It was Harry's chance to take a long pause before he responded. "I can't say I surprised, really. After all, it does fit Voldemort's M.O. After the battle at the Ministry, while Malfoy and some of the others were let off by Fudge, Voldemort still had a good number of his high ranking Death Eaters locked back up. Now that the Dementors are no longer guarding the prison, but have sided with him, it's got to be much easier to break in to Azkaban." Harry paused again. "How's the prison even guarded these days? Was anybody hurt in the attack?"
"Harry," Dumbledore said seriously, "a team of sixteen aurors have guarded the prison since the Dementors have left. Four were killed, eleven were kissed, and only one was left unharmed. Voldemort himself had captured the auror in charge, and only let him live to spread the truth to others, so they'd know what had happened. Voldemort isn't in hiding anymore, and this is very bad. I had hoped that he'd wait more patiently, possibly to make another attempt at finding out the prophecy from either you or me. It seems that he's done waiting now, and that worries me. Not to mention the fact that last night's attack marks the fifteen year anniversary of his initial defeat. I'm afraid that Voldemort will be attacking more openly from now on, and that is truly troubling.
Hearing Dumbledore's thoughts mirror his own, Harry wondered what had changed so drastically that Voldemort had decided to launch an open attack. Last vision Harry had had, Voldemort was still trying to decide if he knew of the prophecy or not, and wasn't making any plans to attack anybody. And it was odd too that just yesterday Harry had discussed these very reasons with his friends at the Three Broomsticks. Could one of them have somehow alerted Voldemort about his knowledge of the prophecy? No, that was ridiculous, wasn't it?
"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted his thinking again, "is there anything else you'd like to tell me about last night? Some of the staff noticed you behaving oddly, and there's still some strange behavior I can't explain. Perhaps you know something that cold help me understand?"
Harry knew that if he hadn't already proven himself an able Occlumens, that Dumbledore would no doubt be probing his mind right now. Last night he'd been as careful as possible to go unnoticed, but that damn golden patronus had messed everything up. Had Dumbledore seen? Harry thought he had turned his attention to the Death Eaters' shield at that point. He could only hope Remus had come up with a believable story. Until he talked with him after breakfast, Harry would have to remain as vague as possible.
"No sir, nothing else. I was just a little on edge all night long, from my scar hurting. I'm sure you understand." The Headmaster only nodded. "Actually, there is something Professor. This isn't related really, but I promised Hermione that I'd turn myself in."
Eyes perked up by Harry's interesting confession, Dumbledore listened attentively as Harry explained how Draco had baited him into a conflict, and how he had responded. A twinkle shown in Dumbledore's eyes as Harry described using the wrong levitation spell on Draco on purpose, and the resulting effects it had had.
"I thought I should tell you sir, before Professor Snape has the chance to punish me. I dare say after our last conversation, he'd like nothing more than the chance to administer detentions. I know what I did was wrong though, so I won't argue over any punishment."
In the end, Dumbledore had applauded Harry for turning himself in when he could have just as easily gone unpunished. As such, he only had to serve two detentions with Hagrid, and only had thirty points deducted from Gryffindor. Harry knew that if it was Snape giving out demerits it would have been much more, and Harry was pleased. The thirty points could be made up easily enough in the next Quidditch match, and serving detention with Hagrid wasn't detention at all. It was more like being forced to spend time with a good friend.
Harry left a short while later to return to his breakfast and friends, only to notice that Hedwig didn't want to leave. She was enjoying herself too much with Fawkes, and after the sacrifices she had made last night for him, Harry didn't have the heart to order her away. Dumbledore found the situation amusing, and promised Harry that she could stay for awhile longer, and he'd be sure to send her on her way later in the day.
Back in the Great Hall, the student tables were almost completely filled, and their was a loud buzz going through the air. A quick look at the Ravenclaw table showed Harry that the Daily Prophet had already arrived, and the truth about Diagon Alley's attack and Azkaban's release was no doubt known. Harry reclaimed his seat among his friends to see their reaction to the news. It didn't look good.
"Oh Harry, you must feel horrible!" Hermione was almost in tears, and gave Harry a tight hug the moment he sat down. How odd...
"Hermione, it's OK. The attacks could have been a lot worse, and it was mostly superficial damage done to Diagon Alley. The escaped Death Eaters from Azkaban, while troublesome, wasn't really unexpected in my opinion. I don't understand why you're nearly crying." Harry tried to comfort the girl, but his attempts only made her worse. Unable to speak, Ginny had to continue.
"Harry," she asked, "have you actually read the papers yet? Do you know what's happened?"
Harry just gave her a strange look. "Well, no, but I have a pretty good idea. I saw it in my vision last night, and I just came from Dumbledore's office, where we discussed it all. I'm sure he knew more than are in the papers." 'Not to mention,' Harry thought, 'that I was bloody well there last night!'
"Harry, just read the article. I'm so sorry." Now Ginny had tears in her eyes, and she slowly pushed a copy of the paper across the table. Dreading what it might say to elicit such a reaction from his two friends, Harry read the front page.
TWO ATTACKS LAST NIGHT!!!!!
DIAGON ALLEY THE DIVERSION, WHILE AZKABAN IS FREED BY
YOU-KNOW-WHO HIMSELF!
By Kendall Smiley
In a surprising and destructive attack last night, an estimated twenty
to twenty five Death Eaters apparated to Diagon Alley and began
causing havoc. Not there to target any single person or place,
instead they just let loose with a deadly combination of spells and
dark magic that stained the peaceful streets of our capital city.
Storefronts were destroyed, holes were blown right out of the paved
street, and a number of innocent people, young children among them,
were tortured and played with as if mere pets.
Only when Ministry aurors and Albus Dumbledore, leading his own team
of wizards showed up, did the Death Eaters fall back behind an
impenetrable shield spell, clearly the work of strong dark magic.
Conflicting reports say that up to fifty Dementors were present as
well, but the Ministry has yet to issue a conclusive report. Normally
eyewitness accounts are good enough for such claims, but many present
are swearing that they were kissed be Dementors, only to have their
souls returned back to their bodies. There's also talk that Albus
Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chief Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards, and Headmaster of
Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) created a new spell that
completely destroyed the reported Dementors. Much more powerful than
the standard "Patronus Charm" that is only able to repel a Dementor,
this new spell will be invaluable in the war effort, especially if
it's able to return eaten souls to those unfortunate enough to of been
kissed. (For a full account of the Dementor rumors and spell
theories, see article on page thirteen.)
Still, while Dumbledore and Ministry forces were protecting Diagon
Alley, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself was seen at Azkaban by head
auror in charge of guards, Otto Musidora. "It was like looking into
the face of pure evil," Musidora claims of coming face to face with
You-Know-Who. "He only left me alive to make sure everyone knows that
he's really back. He alone killed three of my team with a single
curse, and another near dozen were kissed by Dementors he had with
him. They didn't even affect him! It was like the Dementors were
more afraid of him than he was of them. He's not human, I tell you!
We didn't stand a chance!"
All of the Death Eaters recently recaptured last summer are once again
loose in England, so be on the lookout. A full page of mug shots and
crimes committed by each is on page three. The fifteen aurors killed
or kissed in action are listed on page twenty seven, along with the
two Diagon Alley casualties, Peter Growkins (age one hundred fourteen,
innocent shopping bystander, kissed by Dementor) and Amber Starr (age
eighteen, Madam Malkin's robe shop employee, crushed to death under
falling ruble).
Minister Fudge was unavailable for comment, but his staff....
Amber Starr, age nineteen! No; no it couldn't be. The article went on for another full page, but Harry lost all interest. He had been so caught up in the action last night, he hadn't even realized that there were any casualties. And Amber....oh no.
"I'm so sorry Harry, it's awful to find out this way." Hermione was still crying. She didn't know how close Harry and this Amber really were, but he had already lost enough people in this fight. How many more was he expected to loose? "If there's anything we can do...." Hermione didn't even know how to finish that, so she just left the offer hanging.
Next to her, Harry just sat stunned. It hadn't quite hit him yet, and he couldn't believe that he'd lost yet another person close to him. But the proof was right there in front of him, in black and white. She was really gone.
"Oh no, Amber! I'm so sorry...."
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AUTHOR NOTES:
Well, here you go. I know it's not as soon of an update as I promised, but I stayed on vacation longer than I expected. Plus, I didn't realize the difficulty of typing on a laptop keyboard after twenty years of being accustomed to a full sized one. I tell you, those things are a pain in the ass! So anyway, we got some major action in this chapter, as well as a few heart to heart talks with Harry and his friends. He even told them about the prophecy! Sort of. Bet you didn't think that would happen yet. And yes, I know that you all what to hear about how injured Harry got, and how he was able to make such a speedy recovery. Well, trust me when I say that you'll find out in the next chapter. Also, we'll see the wizarding world's response to Voldy's attacks, and a long overdue letter to Harry. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? I'm hoping to make it a surprise, so we'll see. And oh yeah. It was the same Amber in the attack, and she really is dead. Sorry, no more nookie for Harry there! If I want him to end up with Ginny after all, I can't have anyone else tempting him away, now can I? I guess that means I have to kill Cho next, huh? Ok, time for a rewrite. J/K, although I know many of you would love to see Cho get killed off. Sorry, I've got plans for her. Later all! By the way, I hope my use of two curse words is alright for this rating. It's actually one curse word used twice. I thought it realistic in the circumstance, so tell me if I'm wrong.
Matthew Conolly – You say that I grossly under use the magical lens. Well, you must be a guy then. Yes, I agree with you. However, to avoid a higher rating, and the need to post my work on adult fanfic sites, I do have to reign in Harry's perversity. This isn't a smut story after all. Maybe when I get the chance I'll write an alternate scene and post it in my yahoo group. You never know? However, if that happens, which is a very small chance, you can be sure it will not fit into the rest of the story. This is a PG-13 Harry after all.
Relieved Pitcher – As to your questions about transfiguring objects in dueling, yes, Harry's learning that. I think I even mention it as far back as Chapter 11, where he admits to being able to transfigure small objects one at a time, but not more than that. He also can't launch other spells while controlling a transfigured object, as he needs to focus his concentration. Over the rest of the fic, we'll see progress, but remember. Harry will never reach the level of Voldemort/Dumbledore, at least in fic, as it's just not realistic. Even if he was more magically powerful (which I don't believe), the others have a lifetime of experience, which Harry is only just now touching on. He might be able to defend himself, but don't go expecting him put on a red cape and tights. This is not a SuperPower Harry story!
Rerrer – OK, you got me on the leg locker curse, but I hope I made my point. JKR doesn't mention every incantation in her books, so I don't think I have to so that either. I will mention some (as I already have), but not all
Numba1 – Fine, I put in a little Harry/Ginny moments in the last chapter to get all those shippers of my back, but rest assured that it isn't at the heart of my story. It's just some extra stuff that all teenagers do. And yes, I realize that Ginny didn't need to make Harry suck on her neck for the joke to work. And yes, I realize giving each other massages after each Quid practice is just a thinly veiled excuse to get all touchy feely. But come on, these are the exact type things I did when a teenager. With my hormones raging, I looked for any excuse to spend time with females, whether I was touching them or not. And for your information, the hickie story came directly from my life. I was at summer camp one year, on an overnight trip, when a bunch of us decided to play a joke on our councelors. All the guys marked up the girls' necks, and then we went back to the fire site to shock them all. It really was quite funny, and no one took the pairings we made seriously after that. It was just some harmless fun, and an excuse to suck face.
Darkmoore – Yes, I'm straight. Sorry. And when I think of Natalie Wood, I don't think "West Side Story," I think more "The Searchers." A very manly movie. It's got John Wayne in it for pete's sake! And yes, I'm horny. Aren't we all?
AthenaKitty – I've said this to you before. Harry already knows the counter charm to the handcuff charm! He just said he didn't because he liked to leave Snape in that position. If you go back and read that chapter, Harry mentions that when talking to his double.
Goldilocks31890 – Why don't I like Ron? Well, you claim he's cute, protective, and....more cute. IN my opinion, he's nosy, insensitive, and annoying, not to mention his bad table and study manners. As for being cute, who cares, I'm a guy. Unless Ron's got a great rack, I can very easily dismiss him. And one more thing I hate about most fanfics. Who says that because Ron's so great at chess, he's automatically a brilliant strategist? I'm a chess player, and it's hardly transferable to war, as so many authors have him doing. It may be a very complex and involved game, but that's all it really is, a game. Now if he played wizarding RISK, I might believe him as a strategist, but come on! And I hardly think that Harry got a lot of practice playing at the Dursleys', so it's no wonder that Ron beats him every time. I wonder why we never see Ron playing anyone else in Gryffindor tower?
Lauren – Glad to see your hurt hands don't interfere with your long reviews! Yes, harry's not perfect, as I've tried to include some moments showing this in the past. And the future will hold some big mistakes for Harry as well. Yes, Ginny's prank was a little over the top, but not out of character for her I don't think. Think of some of Fred and George's pranks. Now they went over the top. All Ginny had to do was get Harry to kiss her, and then send a letter home to her mum. Most pranks have a lot more planning than that. Ever read Luna the Moonmonster's series of fics. I do enjoy them, but the pranks she has Harry play are way out there! Having all four houses, not to mention the teachers, up on the tables signing show tunes and dancing can cans. Now that's over the top. I'm glad that you like some Hermione moments. I didn't think I had enough of her yet, so I included a fair amount in this past chap. And there will be more Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville from now on, as I said in this last chapter. But forget about H/Hr, not going to happen. Harry might notice her "assets," as he's only a guy, but he has no romantic feelings. I have something special in mind for Hermione that should be made apparent around Valentine's Day.
Goddess of the Black Roses – Sorry, no celebration for the Death of Voldy. One, he's back now, so it's kind of moot. Two, I don't think Harry would appreciate the wizarding world celebrating the death of his parents. And three, we can't overshadow Nearly Headless Nic's Death Day party, now can we?
TuxedoMac – Dude, you sound drunk every time you write. I know English is not your first language, but please read your reviews before hitting the "send" button.
Tombadgerlock – Harry didn't think Ron realized his crush on Herm back in fourth year. He thinks Ron still probably hasn't recognized his feelings for what they are. No, Harry himself noticed Ron's attraction to Hermione, as evident of his jealousy towards Krum, and his reaction to Herm at the Yule Ball. I think we all realized Ron has strong feelings for Herm back then, if not sooner. I have yet to theorize Herm's feelings towards Ron, except that she might know about his slight crush.
Fanatic25 – Yes, I realized I hadn't integrated that in the story like I hoped. I had too much fun the first chapters, and then it was too late. I will attempt to salvage the rest of the story, and you can be sure the sequels will have a "main plot theme throughout the story." As for a formal, romantic relationship between H/G. Sorry, I think they're too young for that. They'll just be having fun in my fic, and only openly return affection the last few chapters.
PhoenixRising – If FF.net contacts me about cutting back or getting rid of my ANs completely, than I will. But until then, I see no need to stop. After all, the only things I've heard are rumors, from other fans. I've yet to see an email or post by FF.net that warns against ANs.
Earl – Yes, I'm doing Quid differently. I think that each house should play each other (6 games), and then the top two scoring teams should play for a final. That's the way I'm going to write my fic, although we probably won't see another such in-depth game until the finals. Is it any secret that is will be a Gryff/Slyth rematch?
Wind Whisperer – I think this chapter touched on all the things you mentioned in your review except the duel with Rofordit. Trust me, that's coming, but I'm saving it for a special chapter. I hope you enjoyed everything else, though. Probably not Amber dying, but you've got to take the good with the bad. Sorry about that, but keep reading. I've got plenty more surprises in store for you all.
Gotta B Writin – You were picturing cheesy porno music in your head when you read the last chapter? Funny, I was playing cheesy porno music on my computer when I wrote the last chapter. Go figure, huh? Seriously though, I can understand you not liking the last one as much as others, but I have to add a little of that stuff in my fic. Hopefully you liked this chapter better, so let me know. I think I also answered some of your questions Hermione had about Harry's study habits. See how well I anticipate my readers' needs? I'm a genius!
Dark Immortal – I've addressed this numerous times, but let me do so again. Yes, Harry is aging twice as fast as normal, but no one notices because they think it's just a growth spurt (finally!). And it's been brought up that because wizards live so much longer than muggles, we don't even know if the age at the same rate. A good question, and in my opinion, enough of one to warrant some time tuner usage. After all, no one noticed Hermione when she used one.
Samyjoc- Dude, in my mind, Blaise is a hot chic. Live with it. If the only evidence you can provide that he's a guy is that the name is traditionally male, or that some third world publication of HPSS uses male adjectives to describe the character, I don't think that's enough. Sorry if I broke your heart with that one, but Blaise is just such a cool name. And it screams "hot chic" in my head.
CherryCoke – Ron is such an important character in the books BECAUSE he can be put down. After all, it would do well for JKR to make her title character a prat, now would it? Ron's her punching bag in a way, and I've expanded on that ideal. And if you disagree, look at some of the evidence. In the first story (SS; book or movie), Ron's supposed to be all heroic sacrificing himself for the others. I say, Hogwash! He's a prat, or at best a nancy boy. Just look at this line. "....Harry, you be the bishop.....Hermione the rook. And me (pauses dramatically to place hands on hips), I'll be a knight!" What a ponce!
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Chapter 19 – Trick or Treat
"Are you ready to do this?" Harry asked his future counterpart. It was half an hour before the Halloween Feast was scheduled to begin, and Harry was the last one left in his dorm room. Ron and the others had already headed down to the Great Hall, and Harry had stayed behind with the excuse that he had a headache. Not surprising his friends, because of the way that Harry had acted earlier that day in Hogsmeade, Ron suggested he brew a quick headache remedy before the evening festivities began in earnest. He could have gone to the Hospital Wing for his pain, but Ron knew that Harry kept a decent supply of potion ingredients in his trunk, and liked the extra practice whenever he could get it. Harry thanked his friend for the oddly considerate suggestion, and used that as an excuse to dip into his trunk for a short conversation with his doppelganger. There was something fishy going on, and his double had let him in what was about to go down.
"Yeah; it's kind of weird though. Leaving the trunk when for so long that's been the number one rule to follow. But I guess it will work, because I never noticed any discrepancies from my first time around." Harry's double was getting dressed for the feast, as it was decided that he would attend in Harry's place. The real Harry had more important places to be that night. "Now, are you sure you understand everything about what's about to happen? This is no time to be second guessing yourself. I mean, I'm sure you'll come through this OK, because I haven't been erased from existence or anything like that, but I still can't help but be nervous. This is a lot different than stunning a Death Eater in a dark alley before he has the chance to fight back. We're talking about a major attack here."
Harry, now dressed to the hilt in all his dragon armor, minus the cloak, nodded his head. He was nervous about the upcoming trip, but the fact that his future self had filled him in on the basics of what would happen that night, made him more confident than he'd normally be.
"OK then, shrink the trunk down and get ready to leave. The quicker you show up and find cover, the better off you'll be. Remember to stay hidden as long as possible, and once you're overwhelmed or discovered, apparate out! It's impossible to take them all down tonight, so just grab as many as you can. Oh, and by the way. Remus will know that you're there tonight. Don't ask me how, because it's better if I don't tell you. Just know that he won't say anything to Dumbledore or the others until he talks to you tomorrow, so don't worry about answering his questions. In fact, just ignore him tonight, as he'll only distract you. Got it?"
Harry, who was only hearing about this for the first time in the two hours he and his double had been talking, got a little upset at hearing such important news so soon before he left. "Why didn't you tell me this before? And how will he know I'm there if I stay..."
"I told you," the future Harry answered back sharply, "it's better if you don't know. Trust me, you'll understand for yourself a week from now. Just calm down and get ready to leave. I have to leave soon also, or Dumbledore will know something's up. I can't give away our secret, and I have to act like nothing's wrong at the feast tonight, so you've got to do this alone. Dobby and Winky will be waiting for you when you return."
"Why do they need to be here? Is something going to happen to me?" Harry was really worried now. Usually, Dobby and Winky only worked late at night if Harry had a training accident, and needed their help healing himself or administering potions. What was he in store for?
His double refused to answer though. Instead, he put his navy robes on over the smart shirt and slacks he wore, and walked calmly to the closed door, preparing to leave. The Halloween Feast was one of the few times each year where students were allowed to wear robes other than the school standards. And since Harry had only worn muggle clothing to Hogsmeade earlier that day, this was the first time he'd had a chance to wear them since he purchased them months before. Luckily though, thanks to the extra charms Amber had talked him into buying, the robes had accommodated Harry's slight growth. He could probably still gain another two inches in height, and another ten pounds in weight, before the charms would hit their limits. 'Not that that would ever happen,' Harry thought. For some reason, Harry felt that he had grown all he was ever going to grow. At five foot nine inches, he wasn't short anymore, but was still nowhere near Ron, or even Dean's height. Too many years of starvation and Dursley abuse had made sure of that. Only Neville remained shorter than Harry, but he had just started another growth spurt. Pretty soon, even he'd be taller than Harry was.
Opening the door, shaking his head to rid it of the inconsequential thoughts he'd been thinking, Harry's future self gave one last look back at the nervous and battle-ready other. It amazed him how nervous he was for the other, even when he knew the exact outcome of what would happen. Still, there were no guarantees in life, and Harry could only hope that things remained as they should, and that nothing would go wrong. Theoretically he knew, if someone at the feast noticed he wasn't the original Harry, a chain of events could possibly change the night's outcome for the dragon armor-clad boy. He'd just have to do his best at the feast to make sure no one knew the difference. With one last look over his shoulder, he wished his other self good luck. He'd need it.
"Be careful, and kick some ass for me. I'll see you soon." And with that said, the future Harry disappeared down the stairs, on his way to meet his friends in the Great Hall. A minute later, Harry himself used a portkey to travel to the Forbidden Forrest, and then with another nervous swallow, disapperated with a pop. Tonight, he'd be fighting Death Eaters!
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Walking down the empty staircase on his way to the feast, Harry thought back one week ago to when he was the one leaving to go do battle. What a strange day that had been. It had started off so good; truly one of the best days Harry had had since returning to Hogwarts. And then, things had gone so bad...
FLASHBACK: Earlier That Morning
"Hey Harry, ready to go?" One could tell Ron was excited about the day's Hogsmeade trip, just by the fact he had gotten up early for breakfast, when normally he slept in late on Saturdays. The quicker he ate breakfast, he said, the quicker they could get into town. And since he'd been running low on sweets for awhile now, and Ron's parents had sent him more than the usual amount of spending money (Ron still didn't know about Harry's gift to the Weasleys), Ron was just itching to be let loose on the town.
Harry just smiled at his friend. The last week had been awkward with all the jokes and misgivings passed around his group of friends, but Harry was really looking forward to taking the day off from his studies. He's promised himself, after all. No training, no homework, no advanced reading; no nothing but spending the day with his friends and having a good time.
"Yeah Ron, let's go eat. I bet the girls are already downstairs."
And sure enough; they were. Lavender, who was waiting in the common room for Seamus, let the two know that Hermione and Ginny had already left for the Great Hall. They too were excited about the Hogsmeade trip. Somehow, the first one of every year was always the best.
As the two boys made their way down, discussing what they had planned for the day and what they wanted to buy, they could both feel the excitement in the air. The current third year students were bouncing off the walls at their first opportunity to visit the only complete wizarding village in all of the U.K. Dennis Creevy hadn't even slept the night before. Instead, he'd stayed up in the common room, trying to work off his extra energy in the Quidditch team's weight room. Since he was the alternate seeker, he was allowed, and even a few hours alternating between the treadmill and other light equipment wasn't enough to tire the exuberant boy out. Harry actually envied the boy's stamina and endless amounts of energy. "It must be a Creevy family trait," he thought.
Breakfast passed by quickly enough, and soon, after checking their names off a list with Filch the caretaker, Harry and his friends were passing under the winged boars of Hogwart's front gate. It was about a fifteen minute walk to the sleepy little village, because the carriages were only used on Hogsmeade trips when the weather was bad. Otherwise, it was too much trouble for the thestrals to be rounded up from the forest and secured in their harnesses.
"You look especially nice today, Harry. Any special occasion?" Hermione had been talking quietly to Ron as Harry got lost in his thoughts, but her question broke him out of his daydream.
It was true, he supposed, that he looked nicer than normal. It wasn't everyday he got the chance to wear muggle clothes other than workout gear or his cords, when he lounged around the common room. Today he was wearing a pair of charcoal grey slacks, a cream colored shirt, his dragon hide boots (he always wore those whenever leaving Hogwarts) and the black leather jacked he had favored so much. The weather was just cold enough to justify the extra protection. Being late October, there was a chill in the air, but not enough yet to call for heavy wool cloaks and robes. And of course, Harry had his vest, both wand holsters, and his dagger with him as well. He never was without those, except when he showered or worked out in private.
"Er, no, not really. I just haven't gotten the chance before now to wear any proper clothing. At school, I'm either wearing school robes, workout gear, or just something comfortable to sit and study in. These are just some of the things I picked up this summer. I was tired of wearing Dudley's old cast-offs."
"Oh, and did someone named Amber, by chance, help you pick those out also?" Harry's eyes snapped up to look Ginny in the face, as she was clearly teasing him. Harry still hadn't told the others about his letters to Amber, and Ginny must have known that. She was just being her troublesome little self.
Since their little adventure in the Room of Requirement a few days before, Harry and Ginny were still slightly uncomfortable around each other, but were quickly getting back to their normal routine. They continued to meet after practices to discuss Quidditch, but hadn't yet managed to get back to their massages. 'Maybe next week,' Harry thought, if he could work up enough courage to broach the subject.
"Amber; who's that? Is that the Hufflepuff you patrol with, mate?" If Ron paid more attention to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny when they discussed prefect patrols, he'd know that his other partner besides Ginny was named Cami. Still, the fact that Ron at least knew she was a Hufflepuff was more than Harry expected of his best friend.
"No, Ron," Harry corrected him, "Amber's not my patrol partner. That's Cami. Amber is someone I met at Madam Malkin's this summer, who helped me pick out some robes. And no Ginny," Harry gave her a warning glance, "Amber did not help me pick these out. Actually, it was another girl named Becky. A very nice girl if I remember."
Harry couldn't help but joke back, since it wasn't often he came up with such a witty retort. In appreciation, Ginny remained silent and raised an eyebrow in Harry's direction. The look she gave him seemed to say, "Oh yeah, just how many girls helped you pick out new clothes this summer, Harry?" Harry just laughed in response to the look, and Ginny joined in after trying to hold back the giggles.
"Did I miss something?" Ron asked Hermione. Neville, Luna, and a few other members of the D.A. who were walking with them also didn't get the joke. They all gave confused looks to each other.
"I think we all missed something there, Ron. Probably some private joke we don't get. Forget about it. If Harry wants us to know about it, he'll tell us."
Harry overheard Hermione's advice as he and Ginny rejoined the others, and gave her an appreciative smile as the conversation continued in a more normal manner.
Soon the group entered the village, and by the looks of the freshly painted stores and new, decorative banners in the windows, the town was looking forward to the students' visit just as much as the students were. Briefly, Harry wondered how much the town really relied on the school and its students for financial support. Being so close together, it was almost like a symbiotic relationship for the two.
'Well, you all have a nice time," Ginny waved to the trio of friends. She was going off on her own with Neville, Luna, Dean, and a few others. "Hermione, make sure my dolt of a brother doesn't eat the entire supply of Honeyduke's chocolates and makes himself sick. Let's meet up later for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, alright?"
Ron gave a snort in response, but Harry could see humor in his eyes. Hermione and Harry didn't bother to pretend to be insulted, and laughed outright at the joke. As the three moved off on their own, they waved to the departing larger group, and agreed to the later rendezvous. A perfect Hogsmeade trip always ended with a nice warm or cool butterbeer; depending on the weather.
"So, where shall we go first?" Harry asked his two best friends. Harry had been happy that Ginny was going off with Luna, Neville and the others, because that gave him time to spend with Hermione and Ron alone. They hadn't done much of that is the past months, and it was sorely overdue.
"Well, I need to get to Scrivenshaft's to buy some ink and new quills, and I want to check out the latest releases at Dervish and Banges, but other than that, I can go where ever you all want." It sure wasn't Ron who commented on getting new homework supplies. Hermione was the one who answered Harry's question first.
'Well, I just need to go to Honeydukes. I'm really low on sweets, and after I gave some away to the first years last week, I'm in desperate need for a re-stock. I guess I could use some more parchment too. Those remedial classes aren't as bad as yours' are, but I still have a few essays to write every week. And I'm running out of my supply from last year.
Harry nodded. He only knew a little about Ron's new classes, as only Neville shared some of his remedial classes, but he knew enough to know that Ron was really applying himself this time around. He didn't want to be in the same classes with Ginny next year, so he was hoping to do well enough to be placed back with his year mates in normal seventh year Transfiguration and Charms NEWT classes. He wouldn't mind dropping potions all together, and then he could continue with DADA, Divination, and CoMC as well. That wasn't such a bad course load for seventh year.
"No trip to Zonkos, Ron?" Harry asked. He didn't remember a single trip when Ron wouldn't at least buy a supply of dung bombs, wet-start fireworks, or at least some exploding snap packs.
A pained expression crossed his friend's face. Hermione giggled, as she obviously knew what was going on.
'I really want to," Ron explained, "but the twins won't let me or Ginny shop there anymore. Because now they're competition, so they claim. But honestly, it's not like Fred and George give me a discount, or anything. They don't even offer the same types of products. But nooooo, I'm only allowed to buy joke products from Weasley's Wheezes, they say. Ginny doesn't mind, since she prefers her own tactics when it comes to pulling pranks, but I've always enjoyed dung bombs and the like. And now I can't get more; my supply ran out weeks ago. And the twins made Ginny promise to tell them if I did buy anything from Zonkos. I think they struck a secret deal or something, or maybe bribed her. Did you notice Ginny's new robes this year? They're not even second hand! Fred and George must have paid her off to keep an eye out for me. Honestly!"
Harry couldn't help from laughing at his friend's over-blown conspiracy theory. Harry knew perfectly well where the extra money for Ginny's new robes had come from, and he was sure that she wouldn't rat out one brother to another unless there was more in it for her than just a few sickles. Harry doubted that Ginny would turn Ron in.
"Ron, don't you have new robes this year too?" Hermione asked. She too thought Ron was overreacting. "So do you have a secret deal with the twins, as well?"
Ron bristled with indignation. "Are you mental? Making a deal with those two; I'd have to be unbalanced! And Mum paid for these robes herself, thank you. Fred and George had nothing to do with them."
"Then don't you think," Harry asked, "that it stands to reason your mum bought new robes for Ginny as well? It's not like her to show favoritism among her kids, after all. I think you're getting paranoid, Ron. Probably spent too much time around Mad-Eye Moody this summer. What do you think, Hermione?""
Hermione giggled at Harry's joke. She nodded, and barely managed out, "Yes, very insightful Harry."
Ron was getting all huffy again, and so close to the last time when Ginny and he had played the joke on him, Harry ended the teasing and assured Ron he'd be able to buy whatever he wanted from the joke shop, and not have to worry about Ginny snitching on him. Harry even offered to buy the items for Ron, if he preferred, so the purchases couldn't be traced back to him. Ron liked that idea better, and Zonkos became their first stop.
After rearming himself with his essentials courtesy of Harry, the trio moved on to Scrivenshaft's to let Hermione get her supplies. Ron went off by himself to select a ream of essay-length parchment rolls, and Harry was left alone to wonder.
Not needing a refill on parchment or ink, because his private study desk in the library had refilling spells on its supply, Harry really didn't need to purchase anything. However, he knew a small purchase wouldn't hurt, if only to spice up his very stale and repetitive life. Not that classes and discussions with his friends were boring, but the other half of the time when Harry was left alone in his trunk was. Besides, Harry hadn't spent any money since arriving at school expect for Hermione's birthday gift, so he felt like he could treat himself to something nice.
After some debating on the nice things offered in the shop, Harry decided to purchase a matching desk blotter set. Up till now Harry had just been writing on a old textbook to blot his writing, but the set would replace that nicely, and be a little more proper too. It contained a thick desk blotter made of leather and engraved wood, four stylized eagle feather quills with adjustable quicks, a stand to hold wet quills and an inkpot, and a wax seal set, complete with different color candle waxes and a metal stamp, which could be spelled to the wizard's own design. Harry didn't know yet what he'd chose as his personal seal, but between the sometimes boring books he had to read, and the painful Cruciatus sessions he inflicted on himself, Harry had plenty of time to think about it.
As a last minute addition, Harry also grabbed a couple of voice activated quills. They were very expensive, almost as costly as the Quick-Quote- Quills that the store had on sale. But unlike Rita Skeeter's choice of writing instruments, the voice activated quills recorded what was said verbatim, without adding colorful dialogue. Harry still had plans to have a long talk with Seth when he had the time, and these quills would work perfectly as he translated the Parseltongue that Seth spoke. That way he could keep his mind on listening to his small friend, and not worry about whether he was correctly recording the information. These quills had a one hundred percent guarantee on accurate notes, and Harry was planning on holding the company to their claims.
Wanting to get all the boring stuff out of the way first, Ron suggested that they visit Dervish and Banges next. Hermione didn't argue, so off they were. She again got lost in the stacks of old and musty smelling books, and Ron joined Harry perusing the Quidditch section, looking for the one book in all the wizarding world they hadn't read about the sport yet. There were a few team play books from years past, and Ron convinced Harry to buy one from the Chudley Cannons' team of 1683, telling him it would be a good investment as Quidditch captain. Harry didn't see how a three hundred year old playbook could be helpful, as the plays were probably wide known now, buy Harry didn't argue for Ron's sake. Maybe there might even be something useful in their after all.
Tired of looking, Ron sat in a corner armchair and opened the latest copy of "Quidditch Throughout the Ages" to read. Not feeling like reading himself, Harry decided to go see how Hermione was fairing. He found her in the Charms section, with about a dozen books in her hands.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! Are all those for you!" Trust it to her to turn a weekend holiday into a quest to restock the school library. And Harry just knew he'd be forced to help lug around the heavy pile the rest of the day. Ron would probably complain even more, once he found out.
But Hermione surprised Harry with her answer. It was certainly the last thing he expected her to say. "No, actually, they're for you."
Harry just did his Ron impression, not completely understanding what she meant. The look on his face must have been easy to read, because she explained.
"Honestly Harry. With all the books in the school library, not the mention the ones you've been loaning me these past weeks, on top of all my school work, and keeping ahead of you in Transfiguration, when do you think I have the time to read extra books? True, I'd like to, but by helping out with the D.A., and some of the new prefect responsibilities that I have to attend to, there are just other more important things for me to do right now."
Harry was silently surprised those words had come out of Hermione's mouth, but was even more surprised as she continued.
"You on the other hand, I never see doing school work, hardly see reading all those books you have access to, and spend entirely too much time in Quidditch meetings, practicing, and helping the fifth year students study for their upcoming OWLs. I don't honestly know how you do it, but if you have so much extra time to spend writing love letters to some girl you met over the summer, than you can certainly spare a little extra time learning some new material. These books I've picked out for you are advanced spells and defense texts I haven't seen in your personal library. I figure you could read them in your extra time."
Harry was doing a goldfish impression now. Not just because Hermione had gone out of her way to help Harry bulk up on his general knowledge and magic skills, but because of what she said. Write love letters to some girl? Ginny must have told her about Amber. And now, Ginny was going to die!
"I don't know what you mean, writing love letters to some girl? Ginny must have just been playing with you, Hermione."
Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry, Ginny hasn't said a word, although now that whole "Amber" joke from earlier makes sense. I just mean every week you get a perfume scented pink envelope delivered by owl, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on. Even Ron has noticed, by the way. Every time you run off to "not be late for class" to obviously read the letters, the two of us place bets on the stupid looks you'll have on your face for the rest of the day. It doesn't take a rocket scientist."
Harry felt horribly embarrassed now. Rather than try to further deny the facts, he just looked through the pile Hermione had cradled in her arms. Thankfully, she dropped the subject too.
"So what have you found for me? I still have plenty of books to catch up with in my library, but some more texts couldn't hurt."
And so Hermione showed him. Surprisingly, the all turned out to be excellent choices. Because this store carried a different selection than Flourish and Blotts did, Hermione was able to find some advanced texts that Harry hadn't seen before. What's more, Hermione was able to find some Charms texts that didn't seem like they could be used for dueling, but after a careful explanation, he found that they would be very effective. It followed right with Harry's theme of finding alternate and creative ways of casting spells in a fight. The more creative and inventive a strategy, Harry believed, the less likely his opponent would be prepared to defend against it.
One selection Harry returned to the shelf because he already owned it, but the rest he bought with the Cannon's playbook. Hermione could have sworn she hadn't seen the title among Harry's other books, but what she didn't know was that he hid some titles from her every time he allowed her access to his library. Whenever he'd call down a warning to his double to hide in another compartment, Harry's future self knew to take "Hogwarts: A History" and some of the darker tomes with him. As such, Hermione hadn't been exposed to his whole collection. Frankly, Harry was surprised that Hermione even selected the book. While not true Dark Arts, "Fighting Fire with Fire: Barely Legal Curses Used to Defend Yourself" wasn't sixth year material either. It was auror level reading or beyond, but Hermione picked it up like it was a first year Herbology text.
Harry also managed to grab a few blank journals on his way to the register, bound in thick crimson leather. He remembered all the information Seth said he knew about the days when his master was alive; all the old and forgotten spells and potion recipes. When he got the chance, Harry would use the blank journals and the new quills he bought to make spell and potion diaries; or grimories. 'Maybe I could even publish a book,' Harry thought. 'With my fame alone,' he mussed, 'I'd be a best seller overnight.' Even if what he wrote was pure drivel. Oh, the horrors of being famous.
When Harry and Hermione had completed their purchases, and Ron reshelved the Quidditch book in the nearby cooking section (and the shelf spit it back out into his face, forcing him to put it back correctly), the trio left for their last main stop of the day; Honeydukes.
Ron's eyes lit up as he entered the store, and Harry couldn't blame him. Candy manufacturers always came out with their best new products early in fall, for both the upcoming holidays, and for the school visits Hogwarts always made into Honeydukes. The shelves were overflowing with tasty and delectable sweets, and Harry noticed there were almost twice as many products as when he'd last been in the store.
That was the day of Harry's award ceremony and Fudge's humiliation, when he and Dumbledore had escaped the press by way of a secret passage. Remus had since told him that the passage was now being monitored by Dumbledore through use of security wards, but Harry didn't mind. He had other ways outside the school, and at least now the route wasn't accessible to hostile parties, like any Death Eaters Wormtail might have told, for instance.
Fudge himself was still Minister, although just barely, much to Harry's satisfaction. He escaped most of the blame of Harry's accusations by using his staff as a scapegoat. Percy Weasley had learned that well. Last Harry heard, he was still working in the Centaur Liaison office. And if Fudge's popularity ratings got any lower, he might soon be joined his former aide there.
As Harry got lost in his thoughts again, Ron went crazy, tossing almost every new sweet he could get his hands on in a shopping basket. Hermione was more deliberate about her modest selection, and mostly stuck to her personal favorites like sugar quills and cockroach clusters. Harry still didn't know how she could eat those (they had real cockroaches in them!), but Hermione assured him they tasted quite lovely. They had a lot of protein too, her parents had told her. Apparently, Hermione's parents liked chocolate covered ants and grasshoppers, as they were a more natural candy. Her first year, when Hermione had seen the cockroach clusters, she'd made sure to bring some home for the summer. Since then, they were a favorite of the whole Granger family.
"Oh Harry, look at this!" Hermione's voice beckoned Harry over to a dark corner, where a small stand was set up. Hermione was laughing quietly to herself, and when Harry read the makeshift sign for himself, he knew why. "Exotic Muggle Sweets from Around the World!"
What was even funnier though, was that none of the sweets were particularly exotic or foreign. There were bars of Ghirardelli chocolate, salt water taffies, regular licorice jellies, fruit (not blood) flavored lollies, and an assortment of super sour sweets called Warheads. Knowing what those were from when he had once nicked some from Dudley, Harry grabbed a few packs, hoping a certain someone would appreciate their sour flavor. Harry remembered that taste for himself, as well as the puckered face he had made, and couldn't wait to deliver them.
Eventually Hermione and Harry had made their purchases, but still had to wait another twenty minuets for Ron to finish his. When he finally did leave the store, he had a chocolate frog half out of his mouth, with the legs still twitching.
"Oh, Ron. That's disgusting!" Hermione turned her face away in disapproval.
"Ah, Hermione," Ron said swallowing the confectionary amphibian, "you just have no appreciation for the finer things in life."
Harry could see where Ron was taking this, and bit his lip as Hermione took up the bait.
"Finer things in life? What on earth are you talking about?"
"My dear Hermione," Ron put on a pretend knightly accent, "frog legs are a delicacy in cultured circles which you're obviously not a part of. Don't blame me because you're barbarian palate prefers eating insects over finer cuisine."
Now it was Hermione's turn to huff and pout as Ron and Harry had a good laugh at her mock indignation, but she wasn't really upset they knew. For as much as she scolded Ron about his lack of culture, eating habits, and overall sensitivity, even she could accept he had poked good fun at her.
Midday had fast approached, but as had become tradition, both boys swore off eating lunch, instead wanting to hold their appetites for the holiday feast. Hermione insisted on something small to eat though, and Harry convinced Ron for a quick stop at the Three Broomsticks for a small sandwich. It took less than a minute for Hermione to place her order, and another minute for the house-elves that must work in the back to gat it ready. And although Hermione would have liked to sit down to eat, she reluctantly agreed to take her lunch with her, so the trio could continue their walk around the village.
A few new shops had opened up since the year before, including a new teen magazine, a wizard knick knacks shop, and a small café. The post office had increased in size too, and now offered a wide range of owls and other exotic birds for both short and long distance delivery. Previously, the Hogsmeade post office was only capable of delivering letter as far as Diagon Alley. Another bird at the main branch could then make the final delivery if necessary, but the charges were usually enormous. Since students normally had access to the school owlery, usually it was only the townsfolk who used the Hogsmeade post office. Still, they must have done decent business if they had to expand.
The next two hours Harry and his friends spent exploring the new shops, and ventured into some of the lesser known parts of town. Many homes were located on out of the way side streets, most likely to get away from the business side of town. Still, they were nice to look at, and Harry in particular marveled at the odd architecture he'd never before seen. The Burrow had been the only other wizarding house he'd ever seen, and apparently it wasn't the only one to be held up by mere magic. 'If a muggle contractor could see these houses,' Harry thought, 'they'd faint at the sight of the seemingly shoddy craftsmanship.'
Working their way back towards the busy part of town, the group ran into Luna, Ginny, Neville, Dean, and Padma. It was decided they'd have that drink at the Three Broomstick now, and made their way there. Dean and Padma excused themselves, saying they were going to meet up with Seamus, Lavender, Pavarti, and some more Ravenclaw friends, so Harry bid them goodbye, and was left with only his "core" group. These were the same people who had backed him up in the Department of Mysteries, and he owed them a lot.
"Six butterbeers please," Harry asked of the barmaid. Madam Rosmerta was away for the moment, and it was probably a good thing too. Ron still got a little red in the face whenever she was around. Not as bad as when Fleur Delacour had talked to him, but red in the face nonetheless. While Ginny and Luna grabbed an empty table in the back, Harry paid for the drinks and asked to borrow a tray. He might be able to carry six beer mugs, but he might also end up wearing half of them.
"Cheers, Harry. How much do we owe you?" Neville asked. He was sitting in the far corner of the table, with Luna and Ginny to his right side, and Hermione and Ron to his left. Harry took the empty seat between Ron and Ginny, and gave out the mugs.
"It's on me today, mate. My treat. I figure it's the least I can do after all you've done for me lately. I never did thank you all for helping me out at the Ministry last year. So thanks."
Neville seemed kind of uncomfortable, Luna was staring at the peeling wallpaper, and Ron and Hermione had already gotten this speech before. Ginny was the only one to have something to say.
"So we risk our lives, and expulsion, to go with you and save your arse. Neville breaks his nose, Luna gets knocked out, Ron gets attacked by Merlin knows what, Hermione nearly gets her boobs hexed off, and I get a sprained ankle, and all you think that's worth is a lousy butterbeer?" Ginny was pretending to be hurt and outraged, but everyone at the table knew better. Well, maybe Luna did, if she had heard any of that.
Playing along, Harry answered, "Of course all that's worth more than just a lousy butterbeer. Ginny, you're hurting my feelings." Turning around and waving to get the attention of the returned patron, Harry called out, "Madam Rosmerta, a bowl of your finest beer nuts, please!"
Neville and Ron were snickering into their hands, and Hermione was giggling along with Ginny, who gave a small bow to Harry's cleverness. Luna also turned her attention to the group, "Ohh, I just love beer nuts. Did you know Ronald that some wizards use beer nuts to lay traps for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks because they like the sweet taste so much?"
Ron looked panicked for a moment. Hermione was sharing amusing glances with Ginny again, and Harry was trying to hold in his laughter too.
"Er, no Luna, I ah, I didn't know that." To prevent her from expecting further conversation from him, Ron grabbed a handful of the nuts and shoved them into his mouth as soon as they were delivered. Harry suspected that there were more crumbs on Rob's robes than actually in his mouth, but didn't say anything.
A few more jokes and light teasing at Ron's expense were made by Ginny, and Harry just happily sipped on the delicious beverage in his hands. Still, after nearly one a day for the past few months, he still wasn't sick of butterbeer. And it was served cold still, which meant that Madam Rosmerta didn't think the weather chilly enough yet for her to start heating it up. Excitedly, Harry couldn't wait to have the first, frothy warm drink of the season. He'd just have to wait for the next Hogsmeade weekend.
Light conversation passed for the next twenty minutes, most of which included trading tales of class stories and gossip heard around the castle. Harry was glad for once none of it was about him. So far, nothing unusual had happened to him as far as the public knew, and that was just fine with him.
Su Li and Anthony Goldstein in Ravenclaw were dating now, Harry was informed, as well as Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abbott in Hufflepuff. A few more couples were getting together, and Ginny tried to get a rise out of Ron by asking who was still available. Ron didn't seem to mind though, and pointed out that Crabbe and Goyle were still unattached, unless of course they were seeing each other, and even then Ginny might like that. 'Touché, Ron,' Harry smiled.
Eventually though, the small talk faded, and the serious began. Harry knew it was coming, but it still didn't make it any easier for him.
"So Harry, what have you been doing with yourself this whole year? Besides playing Quidditch, classes, or helping Ginny and Luna study, we haven't seen much of you around the common room." It was Neville who broke the terse silence when they all knew Harry had some explaining to do.
So, painfully and slowly, Harry tried explaining to the group how he had felt at the end of last year, and how his attitude had changed to want to be more proactive in the fight against Voldemort. He didn't tell them about the time tuner, the captured Death Eater, or any of his other secrets, but he did let them in on just how much extra reading and work he was really doing.
"Basically," Harry explained, "whenever you don't see me in class, on the pitch, or in the common room, I'm locked away in my room, doing all the reading on advanced spells and curses I can." Harry didn't have to retell them all about his trunk and library, since they had all seen it weeks earlier. But even Ron and Hermione never knew he was spending so much time dedicating himself to his studies.
"So that's why you're so good in Transfiguration lately? I've been killing myself just to stay ahead of you, and now I know why." Hermione looked relived at the news. "I thought I was falling behind, and that you were just learning everything easily. Now it all makes sense though. Even how you conjured those chairs when we gave those first year Slytherins a tour. I never did buy that excuse you used."
Harry gave a weak smile to his bushy-haired friend. True, her hair was a lot less bushier than it used to be, no doubt thanks to some new product, but at heart she was still the same overbearing, know-it-all friend he had relied on so much in the past. It was no wonder she looked relived to find out that her falling behind in classes was only due to another doing even more studying. That, she could handle. A much better excuse then, "Sorry Herm, it just comes easily."
"But why are you so gung-ho all of a sudden about being so involved in the fighting?" Ron asked. "Let the Order worry about it, I say. I mean, it's not as if you've got to fight You-Know-Who yourself, yet you're gearing up to be some sort of warrior. Not even aurors put themselves through so much work and practice."
A very insightful question from Ron, and Harry could see by the nodding heads of the others that he couldn't weasel out of this question. Giving one last deep sigh, Harry stared down at his hands, beckoning them closer.
"It's the prophecy, Ron. When Neville smashed it, no offence Neville, we all thought it was lost. None of us heard it, and neither did any of the Death Eaters. However, later that night when I got sent to Dumbledore's office, he explained to me that he was the person who originally heard it. The glass sphere was just a copy, made from his memory. So he was able to tell me what it was; and it wasn't good news. Voldemort already knows what the first part of the prophecy says, so I guess it can't hurt to tell you.
"The one with the power to vanquish to Dark Lord approaches....Born to those who've thrice defeated him....Born as the seventh month dies..."
The table remained in silence, each pondering over what Harry had shared, until Ron blurted out, "What the bloody hell does that mean? The power to defeat him?"
Looking up now, Harry saw that all the smiles and laughs were gone from all his friend's faces. "That's why's he after me, Ron. That's why he's always been after me. My parents were part of the Order, and they escaped him in some way or another three times. And I was born at the end of July."
"As the seventh month dies..." Luna repeated.
Harry nodded grimly. The only small comfort he felt was that he didn't have to tell them the rest of the prophecy. No doubt, at least one of them, most likely Hermione, would lose it and react just as harshly as he did the first time Dumbledore told him.
"But....but that means....that, that I could be the one...." Neville was a pale green color, just entertaining the thought.
"Don't worry Neville, it's not you. It could have been, because of your birthday and your parents also belonging to the Order. But when Voldemort chose to come after me, for whatever reason, he fulfilled that part of the prophecy. The rest of it just confirms that for us. Even Dumbledore knows it's definitely me. In fact, the reason your parents were attacked later that year, was probably because you also fitted the description. Voldemort wasn't around to tell them they were just wasting their time. I hope you don't blame me that sometimes I wish you were the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. That I might have had a normal life. But then I know that I'd never wish my life on anyone else, so I'm glad it was me and not you also."
Neville seemed to accept Harry's answer, and just nodded.
"But what does the rest of the prophecy say; the part You-Know-Who doesn't know about?" Ginny asked. She'd been awful serious since Harry had started this conversation. It reminded him of the way Ginny used to be around him, when she still had her crush and ran from the room whenever he was around.
"Sorry Gin, it's better if you don't know. The information could be damaging if Voldemort ever found out. But as only I and Professor Dumbledore know it, it could also be a huge advantage for our side. As long as we keep it from Voldemort, we still have that to look forward to. And he doesn't even know that I know the prophecy's contents. He suspects, I think, but he doesn't know for sure. It's because of his indecision that he's been so quiet lately. He probably doesn't want to tip his hat until he learns one way or another for sure that Dumbledore' shared the prophecy with me."
The others nodded, and Ron got up from the table to get refills for everyone. As the whole group was staring quietly at the blank wood table, or at their hands, no one saw a cloaked blonde-haired boy leaved quickly from a nearby booth, and head out the door. Leaving all the others behind, he made his way to the new post office, and rented one of their priority owls. Scribbling a short note to his father, and attaching it to the eagle owl's leg, the blonde-haired boy threw the bird into the air with an evil smirk on his face. If the information was as important as Potter claimed it to be, his father would be greatly pleased with the news he had overheard.
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After Harry had let loose the bombshell that was the prophecy, and after another round of drinks, things started to return back to normal. Almost like Harry and Dumbledore acted like nothing was wrong with their relationship these days, the group selectively forgot the bad news and talked about more normal things. The upcoming Quidditch match next weekend for instance, when Hufflepuff would take on Ravenclaw. There was a lot of speculation about Hufflepuff's new seeker, as it had been reported that he had practiced a lot during the summer. According to rumor, Cho would have her work cut out for her.
It was about a half hour after the talk had returned to normal banter, and the students were just getting ready to return to the school, that Harry felt the first pricks of what he knew couldn't be a good sign. His scar was hurting.
"Ouch," Harry exclaimed, pressing his palm to his forehead. He had already finished his third butterbeer (his limit), when what felt like a sharp, hot poker got pressed to his skin. The pain faded as soon as his hand hit his head, but the feeling was unmistakable. Harry had not felt his scar pain accept in visions since before the DoM battle, but he knew that feeling well.
"What's wrong Harry? Is it your scar?" Hermione asked nervously. Harry thought it was fairly obvious it was, but he knew Hermione, and the others too, were just worried.
He nodded his head yes, slowly as to not increase the pain, and Harry shut his eyes to practice some of his Occlumency techniques. It wouldn't help with the pain at all, but at least Harry could be sure he wasn't receiving any false visions of feelings that Voldemort might be sending him. That had worked before, and damned if Harry was going to let it work again.
"Here you go Harry, maybe this will help." Ron pushed an ice cold mug into his hands. There was still a swallow of butterbeer in the bottom, but Ron didn't seem to mind giving up his beverage. Harry took the offered mug and pressed its cool glass up to his head. It was a tremendous relief.
"Thanks, Ron. That feels great."
"Are you getting any images like last time? What do you feel?" Someone asked. Harry thought it was either Luna or Ginny.
"No images this time, but he's happy. He's happier than he's been in a long time." Harry had managed to open his eyes again, and saw the concerned looks in each of their faces.
"Happy how? I didn't even know You-Know-Who could be happy?" Ron asked. "Isn't that a little creepy?"
"It's not happy really, that's just the first emotion that came to mind," Harry explained. He pondered what he had felt some more, and then continued. "It's more like he's anxious. Looking forward to something, and excited about it happening. Does that make any sense?"
It didn't to anyone, but then again Harry was glad that none of his friends understood the inner workings of a mad man's mind.
"We should get back to the castle, to tell Professor Dumbledore," Hermione suggested.
Harry gave her an evil glance, but she returned it right back
"Don't look at me that way Harry. I know you don't feel the same towards Professor Dumbledore this year. And after telling us some of what happened last year with the prophecy, I don't totally blame you. But he's still the head of the Order. He'll need to know that something might be in the works. If he isn't warned, and something bad does happen, I don't think I ever could forgive myself. Do you?"
Harry was surprised at her candidness, and felt a little shamed. Hermione had also warned him about going after Sirius without confirmation. If he had only listened to her more then...
"OK Hermione, I learned my lesson last year. We'll go tell Dumbledore. Let's go then." Turning back to Neville, Ginny, and Luna, Harry added, "You three don't have to come if you don't want to. There's still over an hour left in town, if you want to go off on your own. I think we," Harry pointed to himself, Hermione, and Ron, "can handle this by ourselves."
Neville spoke for all of the others when he said, "That's OK Harry, I don't think we're in the mood for shopping and anymore. Let's all go back."
And so the six students were the first to head back to the large gates of Hogwarts, with Harry being supported by both sides by his friends. It's not as if he was an invalid, but the steering they gave him allowed him to close his eyes and block out some of the pain. It was much duller now, more of an aftereffect than anything else, but it still hurt more than a mild discomfort.
Once inside the castle, Harry immediately headed towards the headmaster's office, but the direction was in the total opposite direction of Gryffindor tower. And right now all Harry wanted to do was take a pain relief potion and lie in bed. Seeming to read his mind, Ginny suggested he do just that.
"Why don't you go up to bed Harry, and rest before the feast tonight. Unless there's anything other than the sense of anxiousness you sensed, I don't really see your need to be with us. We can tell Dumbledore that. Ron, why don't you go with him, to make sure he doesn't have another attack on the way."
Half of Harry wanted to argue, and the other thought Ginny's idea was the best one he'd ever heard of. In the end his bed won out, and Harry thanked the group with a small smile and wave over his head as Ron supported him by the shoulders and led him of in the opposite direction.
Once in his dorm room, Harry was feeling much better, but still not perfect. In his trunk he swallowed an all-purpose pain relief potion, much like muggle aspirin, and had a short talk with his double. Knowing all about what was going to happen that night, his double said they needed a much longer and more serious chat, and Harry had to skive of Ron for a short time.
Ron provided the perfect excuse when he suggested that Harry brew a headache potion (Ron didn't know that Harry had already taken a ready made one), and Harry learned all about what he'd have to do that night, and the preparations he'd need to make. The day was only just beginning. And it was bound to get much worse.
END FLAHBACK
Once down the stairs and in the Great Hall, Harry stood in awe of Hagrid's giant pumpkins and the real live bats and bugs that decorated the space. Halloween never turned out exactly as planned for the school of Hogwarts lately, and Harry hadn't enjoyed the past feasts as much as he could have. There was Sir Nicolas's deathday party that one year, then Sirius's break in when the students had to sleep in conjured sleeping bags. And of course, the death of his parents. Too many bad memories. And even though his other self was off about to engage in battle, as he had done one week ago himself, the future Harry swore he'd do everything in his power to enjoy the feast as much as possible.
All his friends once again looked concerned, but he made a point to look as normal as possible, to not let on that they weren't noticing a different Harry than earlier in the day, and to not let on that he was plenty worried. Even Dumbledore, who had obviously been told about Harry's earlier episode, gave a concerned look in his direction. Harry had no doubt that they'd be talking privately before the night was over with, but right now Harry only gave a weak smile and turned back to the feast.
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Hundreds of miles away, at the same moment one Harry was sitting down at the Gryffindor table ready to eat, another one, the real one, had just apparated into the same dark, empty back alley in Diagon Alley that he had used before. The sun was just setting in the west, and the streets were still filled with last minute shoppers and whole families, come to celebrate one of the wizarding world's most popular holidays. Knowing that the back alley was seldom used, Harry decided to set up a base of operations there, and under cover of his invisibility cloak, began the preparations.
Not wanting to get caught up in loose sleeves or baggy wizard robes, under his cloak Harry wore, besides his dragon hide pants, vest, and boots, a simple tight black tee shirt. His arms were left bare for quicker access to his holsters, and if all went according to plan, and he remained hidden under his cloak the whole night, his lack of full dress wouldn't matter much.
The one thing Harry had to add was his trusty black bandana. His hair was long enough now to pull back in a loose pony tail, but because his hair was so unruly and wavy, it would still have to be much longer before it would stay tied back. If his hair was instead more straight and flat, like Snape's, it would stay in place better. Harry didn't wish for that though. The last thing he needed was to be compared to looking like Snape. 'Thank Merlin for small favors,' Harry thought.
Making sure the area was warded against apparition, and placing several notice-me-not charms as well, Harry did his best to make sure that no one would enter the space for the rest of the night. Once done, Harry quietly entered the main shopping areas of the busy street, and did a little scout work to see where the best places for ambushes would be. He himself would be setting up ambushes of his own kind, and wouldn't need the locations he found. But he figured that when the action started, that's where the Death Eaters would be. They were too cowardly to attack the public out in the open. Instead they'd use cover of darkness and greater numbers to accomplish their goals. Plus, Harry already found out where the Death Eaters would be from his future self. All he had to do now was wait for them, and according to his watch, that time was only minutes away.
Thinking about his watch, Harry made sure the light shield spell it emitted was up and functional, and that the emergency portkey was ready too. He had planned on apparating out if things got too sticky, but if the Death Eaters put up their own anti-apparation fields, at least then Harry would have an alternate means of escape.
It happened sometime later, while Harry was waiting patiently under the awning of a small, closed shop, that he started to hear explosions and screaming coming from the Leaky Cauldron side of town. Moving quietly so he wasn't heard, Harry began making his way there, looking for prey.
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Back at school, another Harry was tucking into his second helping of roasted chicken and Yorkshire pudding. Ron and Hermione were engaged in another of their pointless arguments, and Harry was content to just sit and listen. Since Hermione had finished Harry's book on house-elf history and culture, she had given serious thought to how to readjust S.P.E.W.'s end goals, and she was thinking about starting it up again. Ron was arguing that if anyone was interested they would have shown it the first time around. Hermione argued that now that the organization's goals would be different and more realistic, that wasn't true.
Harry just smiled, refusing to take a side in the debate, and engaged in light conversation with all the nearby Gryffindors as he refilled his plate with the special holiday gourmet foods. A brief look at his watch let him know that the attack in Diagon Alley had just started, and Harry was no doubt already involved in the action. His job now was to silently observe the staff, especially Dumbledore, and try to appear as normal as possible. Hopefully Harry would be able to handle the situation in Diagon Alley himself, and be alright. Hopefully....
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'One down, many more to go,' Harry thought grimly. He'd just got done stunning a Death Eater who had made the mistake of wondering off alone, and Harry had already deposited him in the empty alley that Harry was thinking of as his home base. The Death Eater had put up more of a fight than Sean Hazelton had, but fighting an invisible opponent was one advantage that Harry was happy to have.
His first curse, a stunner, had missed by mere inches, and the jet of light had alerted the Death Eater to Harry's presence. Harry's second curse, Impedimenta, was likewise avoided. This time it was aimed dead on, but while Harry himself was invisible, his spells were not. The unknown Death Eater had plenty time to erect a shield to deflect the spell, and shot back one of his own in the general direction that he thought his enemy was in.
Managing to dodge the spell effortlessly (it wasn't really that close) Harry realized that he'd have to get a bit closer to the Death Eater to hit him with a spell, unless he used something more creative and powerful. Wanting to save his energy and unique ideas for true battle conditions, Harry opted for the first choice.
Quietly approaching in a winding pattern, Harry was soon behind the masked man, and reached out to tap him on the shoulder. The Death Eater, who was listening for movement and occasionally sending out a spell in the wrong direction, took the bait and swung around before even thinking about the possible consequences.
With the Death Eater's head craned over his shoulder, and being momentarily defenseless, Harry acted on impulse. The stunning spell he had planned on was forgotten as Harry drew back his right arm, curled his hand into a fist, and let loose with all the strength he had.
A sickening crunch sounded as Harry's right hook collided with the man's thin white mask, made of a material Harry couldn't identify. The crunch was too loud for just the mask itself, and Harry felt an odd sense of accomplishment that he had most likely broken the man's jaw or nose. Violence was so much more satisfying than a well placed curse of hex. Of course, it was impractical for Harry to go around punching all his opponents. Already, his hand was sore and beginning to throb. He hadn't broken any of his own bones, but a thin line of blood was dripping from two of his knuckles. Unless Harry came across Malfoy or Lestrange, he thought it best if from now on he stuck to strictly using magic. Or if need be, kicks at the most, but definitely no more punches. Another one like the last, and Harry might not be able to properly grip his wand.
Death Eater number two deposited (Hazleton was the first), Harry strode back out into the alley, looking for more masked men. By now most of the innocent shoppers had taken refuge in the busy shops and stores all along the street, and thankfully none of the Death Eaters were entering them, or even directing their spells through the windows. Instead it looked like they were just randomly throwing destructive spells around, causing as much damage as possible. Many signs, storefronts, and awnings were already blown to smithereens, and some of the cobblestone street was even being damaged. A few lone persons were being teased and bullied by the Death Eaters, and one unlucky family was cornered by an imposing group of three large men, one of which had the family's father in the throws of the Cruciatus. That's where Harry headed next.
Harry's first spell was launched at the man holding the unforgivable curse, and the stunner knocked him out cold, causing the curse to end, but also alerting the other two men to Harry's presence. When they turned around, the two kids, no older than seven and ten, and the man's wife, dragged themselves into a nearby small side street to wait out the fight. Still searching for the person who had stunned their companion, Harry used the time wasted by the Death Eaters to levitate the remaining man to the safety of the alley with his family. He wasn't unconscious after just a short time of the pain curse, but he was still in no shape to move himself or even use his own wand.
Once that was out of the way, Harry turned his attention back to the two large men, and steadied himself for another fight. 'No punches this time,' he mentally reminded himself.
Directing his wand to the man on his right, Harry cast a permanent sticking charm on the cobblestone street. A second later the man stepped right into it, but the little warning he had caused him to fall right over. He did manage to get his hands up in time to break his fall, but the movement caused him to drop his wand, and it fell to the ground. Clattering across a few feet of open street, Harry was pleased to see that even with his arms fully outstretched, the man's wand was still far out of reach. He wouldn't be going anywhere soon.
Focusing his attention on the last of the three Death Eaters in the small group, Harry was unprepared for a jet of water that hit him directly in the face as he turned his back on his downed enemy. The third man, knowing that an enemy was near, but not being able to see him because of a invisibility cloak or disillusionment charm, had cast a large stream of water in a wide arc. The water didn't do any damage, except maybe disorientate Harry, but the water's resistance against the invisibility cloak gave away Harry's position. Until the excess water finished dripping off the cloak, Harry was vulnerable.
Figuring out what had happened, Harry just managed to dive to the ground as a blood red light passed over his head. Not being familiar with that color curse, but not liking the looks of it either, Harry knew he had to finish off this man as quickly as possible, before others were alerted to his location. The next closest group of Death Eaters were across the street and four doors down, maybe about thirty five feet away, and so far only their own noisy curses had prevented Harry's own fighting to be heard. Without the cover of his cloak, Harry might be able to hold off two or three attackers, but not the combined group of five that was nearby. He needed to incapacitate this last Death Eater, regain control of the situation, and then decide if he should risk more attempts at capturing Death Eaters, or apparate away with what he had so far.
Dropping his useless cloak on the ground, but still protected from identity by a hastily placed disillusionment charm, Harry lunged at the last man, casting a barrage of curses as fast as he thought of them. Some were mild pain curses, others were just school yard jinxes, but all served to occupy the large man as he dodged and blocked the multi-colored lights coming from the end of Harry's wand.
The next moment, Harry got pushed from behind as a powerful stunner hit his back. Thankfully the spell sizzled out on his watch's shield spell and dragon hide armor, but Harry knew a second spell wouldn't do the same. Turning his attention around, Harry was surprised to see that the prone Death Eater had somehow managed to get his wand back. Spotting the nearby fallen flagpole, Harry knew how. Without another thought, Harry stunned the downed man, and turned back around to his more dangerous opponent just in time.
Deflecting a cutting curse back at the man, who ducked away at the last moment, Harry decided to use something a bit more powerful. He would never use something of its power in a school class or duel, but he wasn't in school right now, and he needed to end this fight quickly.
"Relashio!" Harry shouted. He had not used this particular spell in almost two years, when he scared off the grindylows during the Triwizard Tournament's second task. Then, underwater, Harry had only managed hot sparks to fend off the bothersome creatures. He knew however that the spell was capable of much more, and his results this time were just that.
A bright line of tightly braided red fire shot out the end of Harry's wand, and acted like a flame thrower. Harry didn't even have to recast the spell each time he wanted more fire either, he just waved his wand to let loose with a burst of flames, while his wand tip stayed lit and ready for another go.
The first shot of flames wasn't intended for any specific target, so it just flew past the Death Eater's left shoulder, harmlessly colliding with a stone wall. Surprised, the Death Eater turned his head to follow the fire, and so didn't see Harry's second attempt fly right towards his head. In fact, the man was unaware until the hot flames hit him right in the mask, which burnt and flaked away in just seconds. The white mask took the brunt of the spell's force, but Harry could immediately tell some damage had been done to the face behind it.
"My eyes! I can't see! My eyes are on fire!" He went on in the same tone, all while brandishing his wand like a sword in front of him, until Harry put him out of his misery. Just to make sure the Death Eater wasn't faking an injury, Harry used the "Avis" spell to conjure a flock of crows to fly at the man's face. Apart from shying away from the noisy flapping, the Death Eater showed no signs of seeing the birds, so Harry was pretty sure that the man was indeed blind. Whether it was a permanent condition or not, wasn't yet known. Personally, Harry didn't much care.
Casting a quick-dry spell on his cloak, Harry once again invisible, went back to unstuck the prone Death Eater, lying on the ground. The way permanent sticking charms worked, Harry had read, was that they couldn't be undone unless the caster knew the password originally used when placing the charm. Since the man hadn't heard Harry's spellwork, he was unable to get himself out of the bind, even once he had recovered his wand. Muttering the counter-curse, Harry collected the three unconscious men's wands, and levitated them back to his alley. They joined the first man on the floor in a sloppy heap of body parts, and Harry took the time to re-Stupefy all of them, as well as tying them up with conjured ropes. He didn't want to take any chances that these four Death Eaters could somehow break free of his spell, like Wormtail had done back in the bushes in front of Hermione's house. Harry still didn't know how that had happened, but wasn't willing to take another chance.
Convinced that the men were as subdued as could be under the circumstances, Harry took a deep breath and made back out into Diagon Alley. The night wasn't close to over yet, and the sudden pain in his head was only proof of that. Voldemort was up to something, and it wasn't good. Still, the pain was less than it had been earlier in the day, and Voldemort seemed farther away too. So after a few moments of deep breathing and Occlumency meditation, Harry continued on.
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Dessert was just being served as future Harry's scar erupted in a volcano of pain. He knew it was coming of course, as it had already happened to him once before, but that didn't lesson the hurt any. Most of the surrounding students didn't notice though, as they were too busy fighting over the delicious portions of puddings, pies, tarts, and treats that had just appeared on golden platters. Not even Ron and Hermione noticed, although Neville and Ginny did. Harry was able to remove his hand from his head and open his eyes after just a moment, and through the pain, saw that two of his close friends had stopped eating. Plastering on a fake smile, Harry did the only thing he could do.
"Don't worry," he whispered to them, "the pain's fading. Just more of Voldemort being happy."
Neville nodded his head and seemed to accept the explanation, but Ginny wasn't as easy to convince. Looking to see that Hermione and Ron were now fighting over who got the last piece of pumpkin/pecan pie, she scowled at them, and turned her attention to the Head table. When Harry turned to follow her gaze, he was momentarily startled to see Dumbledore looking right back at him.
Professor Dumbledore, with a strange owl perched on his shoulder, had a written letter in his hands, and had no doubt just found about the attack at Diagon Alley. He also might have seen Harry flinching at the pain from his scar, so to appear as if he too just found out about the attack, Harry pointed to his head, and mouthed the words, "Diagon Alley." From his previous exploits he had already known that's where Dumbledore and his agents would go. It was too bad that's not where Voldemort, or even his most trusted Death Eaters, were at. No, they were up to something much more sinister than destroying a few Diagon Alley storefront displays. But as much as Harry wanted to warn the Order of the Phoenix to ignore Diagon Alley and apparate to the site of the real trouble, he knew he wasn't able to. He'd already read the next day's paper, and knew what the story would say. It was impossible, no matter how much he wanted, to change the future he already knew would come to pass.
As soon as he had Harry's confirmation, Dumbledore gave a grim nod, and conversed quietly with Professors Snape and McGonagall, Hagrid, and Remus. He also had a quick meeting with Flitwick and Sprout, and then left through a side door unnoticed by the student body. Only Harry had noticed, and Ginny as well, because she was watching what he was. Knowing that all the missing professors were Order of the Phoenix members, Ginny turned her attention back to Harry.
"Harry, what's going on? What did you just tell Professor Dumbledore?"
"Whaa?" Ron mumbled through a mouthful of pudding. Apparently his argument with Hermione was over with, or at least temporarily suspended until after dessert. Hermione too gave her attention to Harry, noticing that Dumbledore was gone after Ginny's statement.
Sighing heavily, and rubbing the last prickles of pain from his forehead, Harry explained the situation in hushed tones so others wouldn't be alerted to the possible danger.
"I just got another pain in my scar from Voldemort. He's happy again, and this time it's because Diagon Alley is being attacked. I just looked at Dumbledore and told him, so I imagine that's where he and the others disappeared too. I only hope that they can get there in time." Really, Harry didn't believe that. He already knew the outcome, and it wasn't one he wanted to dwell on. Still, the others would suspect something odd if Harry didn't show an optimistic outlook, so that's what he forced himself to present to them. They'd know the truth tomorrow anyway.
"Oh, no! I do hope they get there in time." Hermione exclaimed. Ginny and the others nodded in agreement, and Ron said something under his breath that Harry didn't manage to catch.
"What was that Ron?" he asked.
"I said," Ron repeated, "that I can't help but feel glad that Fred and George don't own a shop in Diagon Alley anymore. Knowing them, they'd get right in the middle of whatever trouble is going on, and it would just kill Mum to know her sons were fighting Death Eaters, or even worse yet, You- Know-Who himself!"
Ginny's face blanched as she heard what Ron was thinking, and for once in the past few months, had nothing witty to respond with to her brother's comments. Hermione had plenty to say though, and she let everyone know her thoughts on the subject.
"Even if they don't have a shop there anymore, doesn't mean that they won't show up to defend Diagon Alley, Ron. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore contacted Order members, after all. And while I know the twins aren't official yet, they do go on some missions. If they heard about the attack, through you mum or even Bill or Charlie, I'm sure they'd apparate into the middle of a fight in a heartbeat, regardless of whether they were ordered to go or not. That's just the type of impulsiveness the twins like to show."
Ron was just staring at Hermione with bugged out eyes, and Harry couldn't blame him. While being very insightful and even probably true, Hermione's statement about the twins wasn't too tactful. Sometimes she just didn't bother to think her thoughts through before letting herself run off at the mouth.
"Ron," Ginny whispered," you don't think Fred and George would really do something that dangerous, do you?" Harry could tell she was very worried for her older brothers at the moment. Not just the twins either, but Bill and Charlie as well. Not to mention her parents. Ginny and Ron just had no way to know which of their family would be involved. Harry wished he could comfort her, especially since he knew that none of her family would be hurt, but he couldn't explain such knowledge. He tried something else anyway.
"Ginny, I'm sure Fred and George, and any other Order members who might show up in Diagon Alley to fight, are more than prepared for what they'll face. They won't be the only ones there, and Dumbledore won't let anything happen to them. Besides, I'd be more afraid of Fred and George if I was a Death Eater, than anything else. With all their inventions and tricks up their sleeves, not to mention that they're not half bad at defense, the twins are more than a match for any dimwitted Death Eater."
Hermione, finally catching on to the blunder she had made, did the best she could to correct her mistake. "Yes Ginny. If anything, Fred and George are probably more able to defend themselves then a lot of the other Order of the Phoenix members. They'll probably end up saving Tonks when she trips over her own feet, or something like that. You'll see. And that's even if they show up at all. Most likely they'll just spend the night turning each other into canaries, or some such rubbish. I wouldn't worry."
Ginny looked at little better at Harry and Hermione's ensuring words, as did Ron. Neville was just following the conversation closely, but had nothing really to add. He had also abandoned the last of his dessert plate, as he had lost his appetite while hearing about Voldemort's attack. The others all followed suit, even Ron, and pushed their plates away.
Soon enough, the dessert plates were cleared, and the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick addressed the crowd. He must have been left in charge while Dumbledore was gone.
"Attention students! Professor Dumbledore had to attend an emergency meeting with the Minister in his office, but he informed me he wishes all of you a happy Halloween, and to enjoy the rest of the night. As a special treat, all prefect patrols will be taken over by the staff for tonight, so feel free to do as you please, as long as you're all still in your common rooms before curfew. That is all; and have a pleasant evening."
After the group of younger years headed out the doors to return to their common rooms, Harry and his group followed morosely. None had anything to say, and if not for a rude interruption in the Entrance Hall, the whole trip probably would have been made in silence.
"What's the matter Potter, you're looking a little troubled tonight? Had a bad piece of pumpkin pie, perhaps?" Harry hadn't talked to the boy in weeks, but Draco's superior sounding voice was apparent. Clearly, he was fishing for a response.
"Go away, Draco. Nobody here wants to talk to you." As Harry answered, he tried to herd his friends up the main staircase, not wanting to have to break up another fight that it looked like Ron was itching to get into.
"Well, I don't want to particularly talk to you either. It's just that I'm just in such a good mood. You know; it being a holiday and all. Why, I expect that many great things are happening tonight. I know my father is awfully busy with his many parties. What about you, Potter? Is your father going to any Halloween parties tonight?"
Harry's anger was boiling now, and Hermione and Ginny were doing their best to hold back Ron, who was cursing up a storm. Harry knew damned well where Draco's father was that night, and it sounded like Draco knew even more than he was letting on about. He'd have to investigate that more later. But now he just wanted to get rid of the bullying git.
"Oops, I'm sorry," Draco mocked apologized. "I forgot, you don't have a father anymore. In fact, didn't he die this very night? Why yes, I'm sure he did. I wonder if that's the party my father's at right now. Celebrating the death of such a worthless excuse for a pureblood."
Malfoy made a few other comments, but Harry didn't hear as it was drowned out by the boy's insistent laughter. Nearby Crabbe and Goyle joined in too, although they had to be prompted by Draco to start. Clearly, they didn't know what they were laughing at.
Harry was furious now. If he could he'd deduct house points from the Slytherin trio for making such jokes he would have, but technically speaking, they hadn't broken any school rules. Still, Harry couldn't let them get away with this.
Raising his right arm, wand already in hand, Harry cast a silencing charm over all three. Draco responded immediately, but his lack of voice preventing him from executing his intended spell. There were spells of course that could be used without a vocal incantation, but they were few, and the time it took Draco to think of one was all the time Harry needed to act.
Summoning their wands away from them, Harry then transfigured their robes into tight body suits. Draco's was a soft pink color, while Crabbe and Goyle had violent shades of purple and yellow.
Surprised by the move, and embarrassed by their new wardrobe, the three tried to cover themselves, looking for an escape exit. Draco had started to sprint to the dungeon's entrance, when Harry caught him in a levitation spell. Crabbe and Goyle just looked on confused, not knowing what to do.
"See Hermione," Harry said pleased, "Wingardium Levi-O-sa. Even after all these years, I still remember your advice."
Hermione had dropped her grip on Ron by now, and wanted nothing more than to lecture Harry about abusing his prefect responsibilities. However, her encyclopedia-like mind had to first correct Harry's mistake.
"But Harry," she called out from halfway up the stairs, "that spell isn't to be used with live animals. It's unpredictable! You're supposed to use 'Mobilicorpus' instead in this situation."
Harry, who was enjoying swinging Malfoy around the Entrance Hall, suspended twenty feet in the air, had a disturbing grin on his face. "Oh really, I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip. Did you know that Draco?"
Draco, who was too busy loosing his dinner up in the air, didn't respond. Neither did Crabbe or Goyle, who were doing a poor job of dodging the vomit Draco was spewing on them from above.
"I guess that explains why I'm having such a hard time controlling Draco. Do you reckon' I should stop and switch to Mobilicorpus, or should I just manage with what I've already cast?" Draco had just bounced off the large oak doors to the outside, and had a purple mark forming on his delicate pale cheek. No doubt, he had plenty of other bruises as well from Harry's rough treatment.
"Nah, give him another fly around the room, Harry! This is the most brill thing I've ever seen. This tops the bouncing ferret even." Ron was cheering Harry on now, as were Neville and Ginny. Luna said nothing, while Hermione just gave Harry her "McGonagall" face.
Knowing he'd gone far enough, Harry lowered the spinning Draco right onto his two goons, and they all ended in a pile of limbs on the floor. There was mess everywhere, and with a quick wave of his wand and a muttered "Evanesco," the sick was gone. The only bits that remained were what was plastered all over the three Slytherins' body suits. And it wasn't a small amount either.
"Come on, let's go upstairs." Harry called out to his friends. Draco and the others posed no more threat, and Harry's group climbed their stairs to Gryffindor tower. Hermione continued her lecture, and before she would quiet Harry promised to turn himself into a staff member the next day for punishment. It's not like Malfoy wouldn't complain to Snape about the treatment, so really it was unavoidable. Still, hopefully Draco had learned his lesson about messing with Harry, and wouldn't be so quick to anger him again.
Luna parted from the group on the fourth floor, and once past the Fat Lady's portrait, the remaining five friends sat in their customary seats around the fire. Ron was bouncing up and down, replaying the recent events for Dean and Seamus's entertainment, and Harry was content to just sit back and be a spectator.
A glance at his watch told him that the real Harry would be returning from Diagon Alley soon though, and he needed to get ready. He'd have his hands full once he returned, and he started to make his excuses early.
"I think I'm going to head up to bed early tonight," Harry told his friends. "I'm still tired from earlier today, and playing with Draco really took it out of me. I'll see you all in the morning."
Ron and Neville, now engaged in a chess game, bid him good night, as did Hermione and Ginny, who were both bent over the same book. What it was, Harry didn't know, but he didn't have time to find out either.
Harry whistle to the corner of the room, where Hedwig was perched. "Come on girl, come up with me why don't you?" Silently, he added so only she could hear, "You've got some work to do tonight, girl."
Hedwig, now weeks after her arrival, had finally reached a level of disinterest so that she could spend most of her time either on her perch in Harry's dorm room, or in the populated Gryffindor common room. The Gryffindors were so accustomed to her that she wasn't a bother anymore. The rest of the school however couldn't say the same. So as much as she wanted to spend time with Harry, Hedwig wasn't allowed in classes or at meals unless she was delivering a letter. And since Harry had so few people to write, that didn't happen often.
Still, he spent time with her every afternoon when he went down into his trunk to practice with his other self. Hedwig always accompanied Harry then, as well as spent time in his library whenever he was doing his extra studying. 'It's not much different than Fawkes's schedule,' Harry thought, 'as I hardly see the bird outside of Dumbledore's office either. Maybe it's just not practical to have a phoenix follow you everywhere you go.'
As if she knew what Harry was thinking, Hedwig gave a sharp nip to Harry's ear, causing him snap out of his thoughts.
"Sorry girl, I know you'd like to get out more. I'll see what I can do. Maybe you can spend some time with Hagrid, and he can teach his classes about white phoenixes. I'll ask him next time we have tea."
That seemed to satisfy Hedwig, who flew over to her perch the second Harry entered the dorm room. He was all alone, and after another look at his watch, cast a strong locking charm at the door, as well as a silencing charm around the room. Any minute now, they'd have company, and Harry would almost rather deal with Aunt Marge.
"Get ready Hedwig, he'll be here shortly. I only hope things went as planned."
Not a second after Harry finished, a bloody body appeared in the center of the room, limbs twisted at an unnatural angle. Loose strips of black fabric hung off the male in stained tatters, and Harry had no problems identifying who the injured mass of flesh and bone was. It was himself.
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After depositing the three newest captures with his first, Harry returned to find that the remaining Death Eaters were no longer attacking or causing destruction. Instead, they had grouped in the center of the town, right in front of Gringott's, and were all pointing their wands in the sky. Not liking the looks of this at all, Harry let loose a tirade of curses, but not one of them hit their intended target. It seemed the group, at least twenty in number, were behind some sort of protection spell or ward, and nothing could get through. Harry was sure it could be broken with enough time and research, but right now the only thing that came to mind was an Unforgiveable. And even if Harry was able to use the forbidden curses on himself to build up a tolerance, he wasn't about to use them on anyone else. He'd tried that before on Bellatrix Lestrange, thank you very much, and he hadn't liked the feeling it left afterwards at all. The fact that they were all illegal didn't help.
Wondering what was maintaining the shield's power, as all Death Eaters were pointing their wands to the sky, Harry almost missed the silent "pops" that appeared all around him. In fact, if not for his invisibility cloak, he would have been spotted immediately by Professor McGonagall, as she was the closest. The Order of the Phoenix had finally arrived, and right behind them were a dozen or so aurors.
Knowing his own weakness, Harry spotted Moody and his magical eye across the town, and maneuvered himself so that buildings and people were between the two. Harry knew that he couldn't totally prevent the aged auror from seeing him, but hopefully he wasn't looking. Instead, Moody should have his attention turned to the center of town, where all the action was.
Besides Moody and McGonagall, Remus, Hagrid, Snape, Tonks, Kingsley, Amos Diggory, Mr. Weasley, Bill, the twins, Dung, and Hestia Jones were also present from the Order. Not to mention Dumbledore, who was the first to decipher the Death Eater's intentions. He didn't even bother to try to break down the barrier around them, almost as if he knew it was pointless.
"Everyone, quick! They're activating a portal. Work in teams, and be prepared. They could be bringing anything through a portal that size."
Skimming through all knowledge in his head, Harry recognized the term "portal" from his earlier Hogwarts years. It was an advanced charm they had learned about in both Charms class and History, but have never learned how to perform. Apparently, it was a used to move large numbers of people or objects when apparition couldn't be used. Apparition only worked with witches and wizards, and even forced apparition could only take at most two additional passengers. And that needed a very powerful caster. No, portals were weaker and less predictable than apparition, and seldom used just for those reasons. Those, and the fact that it took the simultaneous spell casting of at least five wizards to create even a small portal, is the reason why it was an almost an extinct method of travel. Still, a portal created by so many wizards would be large, and Harry was starting to see why Dumbledore was getting so nervous.
Moving into position so he was at Moody's back, far away from the action, but still close enough to see what was happening, Harry found out moments later when a ten foot wide portal appeared in the air above the Death Eater's heads. At first nothing happened, and some of the Order members and aurors breathed a sigh of relief. The Ministry aurors weren't surprised or shocked at the Order's presence, so Harry guessed that they'd been briefed ahead of time to expect the help.
Sighs of relief however soon turned into gasps of horror, as dozens of dark robed creatures poured out of the portal. They floated down to the ground in a dispersed pattern as Harry had seen before, and immediately coldness and despair flooded the night's air.
'Damn him!' Harry thought of his future self. 'Why didn't he warn me this would happen?' Harry didn't have much time to think anything else, as already groups of Dementors approached the stunned and defenseless aurors and Order of the Phoenix members. The only defense against the creatures, the Patronus Charm, was difficult at best to cast, even for an adult wizard. Of the twenty or so aurors and Order members present, Harry didn't think more than half would be able to protect themselves. There was also the group of Death Eaters to worry about, as they had stopped their chanting, and had turned their attention back to the fight. The barrier that protected them seemed to block the Dementors' effects as well as curses, but it didn't prevent them from hurling their own.
It was Remus's wolf patronus that Harry recognized first, and launched him into action. Already things were too desperate, and the few aurors who couldn't cast patronus were hiding behind those that could. They were also rapidly casting shield charms, to deflect the endless stream of spells coming from the Death Eaters. Still, they stayed protected behind their large barrier.
Seeing a few more patroni join in with Remus's wolf, Harry thought it was safe to cast his own. In a sea of so many animals, another silver totem wouldn't be noticed. Remus's wolf, Professor McGonagall's giraffe (??), and Dumbledore's swarm of bumblebees were holding the largest group of seven Dementors at bay. The only other patroni Harry noticed was a bat that belonged to Snape, and a bear, a moose, and a penguin that came from the aurors. Those were herding the other two large groups of Dementors, but there were still at least ten of the evil creatures left unchecked to do their own bidding.
"Expecto Patronum!!!" Harry yelled, pointing towards the next largest group of Dementors. Honestly, after so much practice with this particular charm, Harry wasn't expecting anything special. Too bad Harry forgot he had a nasty habit of standing out. For where in years past the silver form of Prongs leaped out of his wand tip, this time it was a much larger, golden version of his father's animagus form that joined the battle.
Worried that he'd be discovered by his use of the unique advanced charm, Harry swore and looked around frantically. No one seemed to notice his lone patronus tearing into the Dementors, killing them off instead of just scaring them away. It was because of his frenzied looking in every direction that Harry caught sight of another Prongs, winking up at him from his tattooed forearm. The guardian tattoo of his father had traveled from his normal shoulder blade position, for the first time that Harry had seen.
"What the hell?" Harry blurted out. In response, the tattoo just winked again, and then turned back to watch the action. Already half of the Dementors were destroyed, and the surviving Order members and aurors were turning their attention back to the Death Eaters. Not knowing what was happening to their allies, they started to pace nervously.
'So that's why I'm able to cast a gold patronus!' Harry's mind was running a mile a minute now. 'It's because of the guardian tattoos. Or rather, tattoo. It makes sense that Prongs would have something to do with me casting a powerful patronus, but that has nothing to do with my Padfoot or Lily tattoos. I bet they'll have their own, unique powers. I'll have to research this more later. I've got to cover my tracks now. No doubt Remus recognizes Prongs, and that's how he knows I'm here. I'll have to talk to him quick before I leave. He'll have to make up some explanation to give the others. They can't know that I was here.'
Only six Dementors remained now, and between his golden patronus, and the seven silver ones, they didn't stand a chance. Quickly, while the groups' attention was still on them, Harry ran to Remus's side to have a quick conversation. Luckily, he was alone.
"Remus! Quick, listen to me, I don't have a lot of time," he whispered in the man's ears.
Remus's ears perked up at Harry's first word, and his nostrils flared too. He werewolf sense at work, no doubt. "Harry?" He questioned. "I thought that was Prongs. What are you doing here? And where the bloody hell are you?"
"Shusssh, I don't have much time. I'll meet you tomorrow after breakfast in your office to explain more. But for now, can you make up some excuse about the golden patronus? The others can't know I'm here; especially Dumbledore. Also, you need to get the released spirits, if there are any, to leave before they can be questioned. Tell them to head for the Shrieking Shack, and that there are others of their kind that will explain what's happened to them. Say anything else you can think of, but I've got to go now. Moody can see through my invisibility cloak, and I can't risk that. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Harry, wait!"
Harry would have liked to go back, but he couldn't afford the extra time. All the Dementors were destroyed now, and the Death Eaters were disapparating away before Dumbledore could break through the shield, which he was attempting now. Already they had cast a large Dark Mark in the air, and some of the scared people who had been attacked earlier were coming out of hiding. The street would be filled with reporters and photographers soon, and Harry didn't want to risk detection.
Walking back to his base alley, Harry's mind was spinning with the possibilities of his other two guardian tattoos' powers. He'd have to spend a lot of time in his trunk experimenting, but now that he knew how one of them worked, Harry had no doubt discovering the rest was just a matter of time.
With his wand re-holstered, and his head in the clouds, it was no wonder that Harry fell easily to a lone Death Eater's curse. It was only Impedimenta, but it still left Harry in a very vulnerable spot.
'Damn!' he swore silently, because his mouth couldn't move. 'I forgot to renew the shield spell on my watch after it dissipated.' Still, Harry was dressed in dragon hide armor, and the clothes' protection allowed him to move at about half speed. The Death Eater was no fool though, and after seeing that Harry was still moving, recast the same spell multiple times. Harry was frozen in place now, and wasn't going to break free anytime soon.
"Accio cloak! Well well, what do we have here? The famous Harry Potter, out and about in a dark alleyway all alone. Oh, how my master will be pleased. And what's more, you have a valuable invisibility cloak that you want me to have. Why thank you Harry, I'll be sure to make good use of it."
Still hung on his shoulders, the cloak had flown off Harry into the waiting hands of the Death Eater. This man wasn't as slow or stupid as the others, and Harry even recognized who it was. It was Avery, one of Voldemort's inner circle. But still, how was he able to see Harry with his father's cloak on?
To answer his question, Avery went on to describe how brilliant and deductive he was to notice something was wrong, after discovering that four of his number were missing. In true James Bond villain style, he explained how he'd been left behind in the shadows, to regulate the shield spell the other Death Eaters were protected behind. It was an advanced spell given to them by their master, but required one caster to be outside the protection it offered. And so deep in the shadows, hidden away from the Dementors, Order members, and aurors, Avery had noticed that a few were missing from his group. When the Dementors proceeded to be destroyed, he knew something was definitely amiss, and started to scan the area with a variety of spells. It was a lucky chance that one of those spells happened to be a heat seeking spell, designed purposely to detect hidden prey while hunting. Not knowing who was hidden, but only caring that they were alone and had their back to his position, Avery had cursed the unknown assailant in hopes of learning what had happened to his comrades.
"Now Harry, tell me where the others are, and how you destroyed the Dementors, and I'll reward you by killing you quickly. My master will be most displeased that he hadn't the honor to himself, but will understand. If you don't tell me what I want to know, I can't say he'll show you the same forgiveness."
Eyes wide open, scanning the immediate area, Harry was panicked to learn that nobody was nearby. All the action was on the other side of town, where aurors were dispersing the Dark Mark. Nearby Harry could see the four Death Eaters still unconscious in a piled heap, but the notice-me-not charms he'd placed earlier didn't allow Avery to see the same.
"I won't tell you shit!" Harry spat out in a rage. More than Avery, he was angry at himself for being caught so easily. If only he recast the shield charm, or put off thinking about his guardian tattoos till after he was out of danger. But no, he went and got nabbed in the middle of the street, and still couldn't think of a way to save himself.
Avery only smiled when Harry cursed him. It really was a perverse smile. "Wrong answer, Harry. Crucio!"
Pain shot up his back, and spread throughout Harry's limbs. It wasn't as painful as Voldemort's curse, or even his own, but it still was no walk in the park. And because he was frozen in place, Harry couldn't collapse or flex his muscles, which hurt even worse. At least he didn't scream. If he did, Avery would no doubt find some sort of sick pleasure from it.
After about a minute, much shorter than even Harry's daily sessions with the Cruciatus, Avery stopped. He repeated the question one more time, and stepped back in shock when Harry opened his eyes and clearly said, 'Go to hell! I'm not telling you anything!"
It took a second for him to recover, but Avery continued on. "Well, it seems that you're familiar with this curse, Mr. Potter. How interesting. Perhaps in the future we'll see just how long you can stand before you mind starts to drip out your ears. Still, there are other ways to make you talk. I myself am not even very found of the Cruciatus. I favor other, more enjoyable pastimes."
Harry didn't even have time to wonder what Avery was babbling about when he felt hot knives pass over his shoulders and upper arms. And it wasn't the hot knives feeling of the Cruciatus either; it was the real deal.
Biting his lower lip, refusing to scream out or make a sound, Harry turned his attention back to Avery, and saw the man had a conjured knife sticking out the end of his wand. It was glowing red hot, and he had just raked it across the upper part of Harry's back. Thankfully his armor vest had prevented any damage to his torso, but Harry's exposed shoulders both received long slash marks. They weren't too deep or damaging, but because of the red hot blade, they were mighty painful.
Avery continued in the same manner for awhile. He'd make a few cuts to Harry's legs, arms, or torso, and then repeat his question. Each time Harry refused to scream, and each time he refused to answer. It was only because of the dark black shirt he wore that Avery didn't notice Harry's dragon hide armor vest underneath, which prevented all of the damage to his torso. Only his arms and legs were marked by the red hot blade, and besides burning and causing a loss of blood, they were mostly superficial.
After ten minutes of this treatment (Diagon Alley was empty still, thanks to an evacuation order Harry had heard made by the aurors), Harry was still stubbornly refusing to talk, and Avery was getting angry. Or more specifically, he was pissed.
"Why you troublesome little brat! You've lost your chance now. I'll just have to turn you over to my master, and then you'll know true pain. A week from now, you'll be sorry you didn't let me end your life. A month from now, you'll be begging to see me. Don't forget this Potter! Don't forget, when my master makes you feed your own body parts to his pet snake. Accio wands!"
Harry wasn't listening to Avery rant; instead he was trying to figure out a way to escape. But when Avery called for his wands, Harry freaked. Without his wands, he'd be helpless! It the heat of the moment, Harry had forgotten that his wands were in dragon hide holsters, and couldn't be summoned that way.
"Won't work, huh? You must have some of those auror wand holsters, then. No matter. Accio wand holsters!"
Why hadn't Harry thought of that? This time, his wand holster did unravel from his right forearm, and flew into Avery's waiting hands. His boot holster did the same, now only leaving Harry with his dagger. Momentarily, Harry wondered why he wasn't freed of that too, or why he was even being disarmed if he was so securely frozen. What Harry didn't realize, at least not yet, was that Avery assumed that both holsters on his forearm were for wands. And when two holsters flew into his hands (he didn't see the one come from Harry's boot), he was satisfied. From his position behind Harry's right shoulder, he couldn't see the dagger still strapped to Harry's left wrist.
"I'm going to release you now. I've got a hidden portkey nearby, and we're going to march over there nice an easy. I can't float you through the street without being noticing by the aurors, so you're going to walk in front of me. Try anything funny though, and you'll be sorry. Understand?"
Harry couldn't believe Avery was being so stupid. If he had any smarts, he'd leave Harry frozen, and float his with a Mobilicorpus spell under cover of the invisibility cloak. Still, Avery wasn't used to having the cloak at his disposal, so maybe that's why he didn't think of it. Harry sure wasn't going to correct him. If he was unfrozen, he'd have a chance at escaping. And with his dagger at hand, he might just pull it off. It would have to be quick though, before Harry tired out. The Cruciatus and cutting he'd endured by Avery had taken a lot out of him, not to mention the blood loss. Once the Impedimenta spell was lifted, Harry didn't even know if he would be able to stay on his feet. Yet, he had to try.
"I said, understand?" Avery repeated. Harry had been to busy thinking of an escape to answer the first time, but he managed now.
"Understood. You'll have to move me slowly though, I'm not sure if I can walk." Harry said. Avery mumbled something about moving as fast he wanted to, but Harry didn't really care. Already, he was straining his arms and legs to move how he wanted to. Hopefully the second the spell was lifted, Harry could act.
And that's just what happened. Still about two feet behind Harry's right shoulder, Avery lifted the curse, and wasn't prepared for Harry's sudden movements. Taking a step back with his right foot as if it were spring loaded, Harry's right elbow also launched an attack that landed right below Avery's chin; glancing off his left check. The shot was sloppy and off target, but gave Harry the time he needed by startling his opponent.
Pivoting with his left foot this time, Harry raised his left arm in a fist, swinging it in a wide reverse arc. His hope was to nail Avery in the face at Harry turned to face his capture. The backhand swing wasn't as effective as other blows he could think of, but under the circumstances, it was the best Harry could mange. Just from the first elbow, he was already winded.
Turning away from Avery and completely around in a circle, Harry was surprised to find the Death Eater not where he expected him to be. Obviously, the elbow hadn't done as much damage as Harry had hoped, and Avery had responded by taking a step to the left, and brought his wand up to curse Harry. A green light flew through the space where Harry's head was a second ago, right behind his neck, and it was a good thing Harry's didn't even see it. Such a close call might have disturbed his concentration. Instead Harry continued swinging his left arm, intending his closed fist to connect with Avery's skull. But because Avery was no longer in place, Harry knew he would miss, and made a last minute change in plans.
Instead of using his fist, it was Harry's forearm that made a connection with Avery. Avery was too close, and if Harry bent his elbow, he'd lose all the power of a straight arm. So instead he lowered his blow, and caught Avery right across the throat. The blow didn't hurt Harry as much as he thought it would, and that's when he realized the hard metal of his dagger had done most of the damage. Still incased in its sheath, the dagger's hilt had landed right on Avery's windpipe, crushing it and leaving a nasty red welt.
Avery had backed away when he'd been hit, and was too hurt to even consider launching an attack of his own. Harry backed away too, to put some extra space between himself and the Death Eater. Although he was hurt, Harry was sure that Avery was still dangerous. Maybe more so now than before, because he'd been injured.
"Why you little prick!" Avery croaked out. It sounded nothing like his normal voice, and Harry could tell it was causing him an awful amount of pain just to talk.
Reaching across with his right hand, Harry drew his dagger and pointed it at Avery. It was still as sharp and as lethal looking as the day he had bought it.
"I hit you across the throat with this. Hurt, doesn't it? I wonder if you'll ever sound the same." Harry said coolly. Then he mocked Avery. "Then again, maybe you should thank me for going so easy on you. When your master finds out you had me in your grasp, but let me go, I doubt he'll be so....what was the word you used....ah yes, forgiving."
Rage poured out of the man's eyes, and Harry could tell that he was about to cast something particularly vicious. Not wanted to gamble if the man could enunciate the curse well enough for it to work, Harry immediately dove to the ground, doing a summersault towards Avery as a jet of rusty yellow passed him overhead. From the color spell, and the incantation he heard, it was a good thing that Harry did dive. Avery had used a bone shattering curse, Skelodestructo. It painfully destroyed any bone the light beam hit, and left the muscle behind in ruin. If it hit the ribcage or head, it could easily kill a man. And Avery had been aiming straight for Harry's scar.
Coming out of his summersault, Harry saw that he was right behind Avery's feet, and the Death Eaters had swung his head around to follow his path. Avery's mistake though, had been leaving his legs in a vulnerable position. And Harry took advantage immediately, swiping out with his blade, catching both ankles right above the rim of Avery's shoes.
"Arghhhh!," Harry heard loudly as he weakly got to his knees. The dive he did to escape the bone shattering curse had done something funny to his left shoulder, and it hung loosely at his side. What's more, Harry barely had enough energy to even stand, and Avery was still a threat. His cut Achilles tendons had brought him to the ground, but his wand was still in hand, and he was still mighty pissed.
Things finally went Harry's way though, as Avery dropped his wand to grasp at his feet, and totally forgot about Harry's presence. Still on his knees, Harry crawled over behind Avery and knocked him unconscious. Not having his wand back yet, he had to improvise. Bringing the hilt of his dagger down on Avery's skull full force worked just as well as a Harry's most powerful stunner.
Thankful that the night was finally over with, Harry struggled to find his wands and cloak in Avery's pockets. He then levitated the crippled man to the dark alley to join the others, and crawled over himself. Harry just didn't have the energy to stand, and he barely made it to his hideout before aurors came by to investigate the curses they had heard.
"There's nothing here," Harry heard from one man. Another responded, "It must be further down, let's go take a look."
It was a good thing Harry cast those notice-me-not charms on the alley. They'd only last for a couple of hours at the most, and more powerful or skillful wizards could see right through them, but they had done their job. Apparently they had worked on the two aurors, and though they didn't know it, they only moved on so quickly because an odd sense that what they were looking for wasn't close told them to.
Recasting stunning spells on all five Death Eaters, Harry enlarged his trunk and pushed them all inside the seventh compartment. Once done, Harry shrunk it back down to size, and re-pocketed the tiny luggage. It was getting hard to concentrate now, and Harry noticed small dark blurs entering his field of vision.
The last two things he needed to do before leaving was dissipate the anti- apparition wards and notice-me-not charms. Luckily taking down the anti- apparition wards was much easier than putting them up, and Harry only had to repeat the spell twice before it worked. The notice-me-not- charms were more difficult, and after four attempts Harry still hadn't managed.
He didn't know why it wasn't working, and he didn't know why the dark spots in his vision were getting bigger and bigger.
"Oh bloody hell!" Harry cursed himself once he figured it out. "I'm starting to black out."
Knowing that he couldn't be found passed out in the middle of the street, Harry left the charms in place and just trusted that they would fade to nothing in a few hours. Hopefully nobody would discover them in that time.
Apparating away, as he'd planned, was also out of the question. Harry didn't have the strength to even attempt it, and even if he did, he'd most likely splinch some part of himself in his injured condition. Luckily he had a backup.
A small stone in his pant's pocket acted as a portkey, and it was a good thing that Harry had thought of this as back up. Different then the portkey on his watch which would take him to his home, this one would transport him right to his dorm room, where hopefully his double would be waiting with medical attention. Now he knew why Dobby and Winky would be around. And if any of his dorm mates happened to be in the dorm room still so early in the night, then he'd just have to worry about that later. Once he was better, Harry could obliviate them as needed. Assuming he would survive the night, that is.
Trying to dig the portkey out of his pocket with his limp arm, Harry perhaps for the first time realized how hurt he really was. Exposed to the Cruciatus for over a minute, then cut and tortured for ten minutes by a sadist Death Eater, which had accounted for an extreme loss of blood. Then he'd hurt his arm in that dive he'd done to dodge a curse, not to mention the beating his body had endured while he pummeled Avery with his arms, and the limited Dementor exposure he had suffered.
On the edge of consciousness, Harry finally managed to pop the small portkey out of his pocket and close his working fist around it. With his trunk in his back pocket, and his wand holsters cradled in his lap, Harry just managed to utter "activate" before the black spots completely enveloped his vision. Another ten seconds, and Harry wouldn't have made it.
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The next morning, Harry woke up sore and tired. Still, it was necessary to make an appearance at breakfast, to show Dumbledore and the others that nothing was wrong. He had a meeting to attend with Remus also, and that was a conversation that couldn't wait.
Skipping his normal workout routine and shower, Harry beat Ron and the others down to the Great Hall, and poured himself a bowl of cereal and began to eat. He didn't realize how hungry he was until after finishing the second bowl, but it did make sense. He'd skipped lunch the day before in anticipation of the Halloween Feast, and he'd never seen that either. It had been a full twenty four hours since he'd last had a meal.
"Harry, I wonder if you might join me for a moment while you wait for your friends?" Harry dropped his spoon in his cereal bowl when Professor Dumbledore surprised him from behind. Harry didn't want to talk right now, as he was still painfully injured, but saw no escape. None of his friends, or even the Quidditch team was down at breakfast yet, and because it was a Sunday, they wouldn't be anytime soon.
And so Harry followed his headmaster out of the Great Hall, up the familiar path, to the circular office hidden behind the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore immediately took up his seat behind the desk, and Harry didn't even wait for the invite to sit down. After such a long journey, he needed his rest, and Dumbledore seemed to notice.
'Are you feeling alright, Harry? You seem to be suffering some pain this morning."
Harry grimaced. He'd hoped to keep his pains to himself. "I'm alright, sir. Just sore from yesterday's pains, plus I didn't sleep well. I'm sure I'll feel better by tomorrow."
Dumbledore nodded slowly, and went on to say. "Yes Harry, the pain you suffered through your scar yesterday is what I wanted to talk to you about. We didn't get the time to meet ourselves, but your friends informed me that you suffered from an attack while in town yesterday afternoon. Could you please elaborate?"
"There's not much else to say, really. I was drinking butterbeer with the others, and then out of nowhere, I sensed that Voldemort was excited about something happening. Anxious, really. At first I thought he was happy, but that was only a first impression. It was more like he was looking forward to something. After my second spell last night at the feast, it makes sense that he was happy about Diagon Alley being attacked. I just wish that I could have given you more warning."
It was a long time before Dumbledore replied, and when he did, it was to ask Harry if he'd like any tea or lemon drops. Harry politely refused, and remembering his last trip to Honeydukes, called out in the air, "Hedwig could you come here for a moment please?"
A moment later Hedwig burst into the room in white and gold flames, and perched on Harry's outstretched arm. She gave a curious look over to Fawkes, perched in his usual spot, who only gave a curious look back.
"Hedwig, can I ask you a favor?" Harry's voice brought the female phoenix's attention away from her counterpart. "Can you bring me the yellow bag of Warheads that I bought yesterday? They should be on my bedside table, in a larger back of sweets. If you can't separate just the yellow bag, bring them all, and I'll do it."
Hedwig sniffed her nose as if insulted, and a second later, disappeared in another burst of flames. While she was gone, Dumbledore turned his attention back to Harry.
"Warheads, Harry? Aren't those a little dangerous to have lying around your dorm room? If my understanding of muggle technology is correct, you shouldn't even have access to such devices."
Harry just laughed. "Not those type of warheads, Professor. These are a type that you'll enjoy, I'm sure, but are still just as dangerous. Just wait, and you'll see."
He didn't have to wait long, because Hedwig returned just at that moment. In her talons she had the single bag of yellow lemon Warheads, which she neatly deposited in Harry's awaiting lap. Once done with her task, she turned back to face Fawkes again, who was trilling a slow and peaceful greeting.
"Oh, that's right. You haven't met Fawkes yet, have you Hedwig? Why don't you go over and say hi? I'm sure he won't mind. Next to you, he's the nicest phoenix I know."
The old man laughed at Harry's encouragement, and Fawkes nodded his head as if to agree. So Hedwig warily flew over to share his grand perch, and the two had a quiet conversation in phoenix talk. Harry couldn't remember off hand if Hedwig had ever met Fawkes before as an owl, but for some reason he didn't think so. This was probably their first meeting.
"So Harry," the Headmaster brought him back out of his thoughts, "is that small bag the Warheads you talk about? I can't see them being much of a danger. Why, they look like a package of sweets."
"They are sweets, Professor. I bought them yesterday in town with you specifically in mind, and you offer of a lemon drop reminded me of them. They're like a super-sour lemon drop; not for the feint of heart though. Would you like to try one?" Harry couldn't help but tease his old mentor just a little. No one really could imagine how sour they were until the very first one, and almost always the individual puckered up their mouths and spit the candy into their hands. After the first time they were more enjoyable, but that first was always a surprise.
Naturally, Dumbledore couldn't resist a new lemon flavored candy, and his response was just what Harry was hopping for. After tearing the little foil packet open, and popping the dusty candy in his mouth, the mage's eyes got wide and teared as the first wave of sourness hit his taste buds. Next Dumbledore popped up out of his seat, and did a little jig as he waved his hands around his head. Harry was openly laughing now, and he could see that although Dumbledore was acting the part, he was quite enjoying himself too. Another twenty seconds later and the intense flavor part was over with, and the candy just tasted like a normal lemon sweet again. With a few last puckers and smacks of his lips, Professor Dumbledore returned to his seat to finish his treat.
"My word Harry, you weren't kidding when you said that those were still quite dangerous. That was the most delicious, sour and tart sweet I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. I wonder if you might allow me to purchase the remainder of this package from you. I can't wait to see Minerva or Severus's expression when I convince them to have one of these."
Harry laughed at the thought. He'd kill for a picture like that, of either McGonagall or Snape eating one of the sour sweets. "Actually, sir," Harry managed after ridding the images in his head, "I bought this packet for you. I have others in my room. There are other flavors if you'd like to try that are on sale at Honeyduke's. I'm partial to cinnamon myself, but I know that you like lemon, and those are the most sour as well. Feel free to share them with whoever you like, but if you do manage to convince Professor McGonagall or Snape to have one, do you think I could visit your memory of that in a pensieve? That's my only price."
Now it was Dumbledore's turn to laugh, but he agreed, as long as Harry kept the secret to himself. The professors, especially Snape he said, wouldn't appreciate being made fun of.
While Dumbledore finished his candy, and Harry drank his tea, a silence filled the air, and Harry knew the conversation was about to return to unpleasant matters. Sure enough, a moment later they did.
Dumbledore steepled his hands under his chin, and held the pose a long time before he spoke. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Harry. Back to what you were saying before, even if you did manage to give us more of a warning, I doubt it would have done more good. While it was a good thing that we responded to the threat at Diagon Alley when we did, at the same time we missed the larger threat altogether. Now, I expect you to find out about this later this morning in the papers, but Voldemort himself attacked Azkaban last night as well, with some of his most trusted Death Eaters. It would seem that Diagon Alley was just a diversion, and it worked perfectly. I and most of the Order apparated to Diagon Alley to fight off the Death Eaters and Dementors with Ministry aurors, while Voldemort had free reign at Azkaban. Only when I realized the attack was a diversion, as very few people were injured, did I get a message that Azkaban was under attack. Unfortunately we were too late, and Voldemort was able to again free all his followers."
It was Harry's chance to take a long pause before he responded. "I can't say I surprised, really. After all, it does fit Voldemort's M.O. After the battle at the Ministry, while Malfoy and some of the others were let off by Fudge, Voldemort still had a good number of his high ranking Death Eaters locked back up. Now that the Dementors are no longer guarding the prison, but have sided with him, it's got to be much easier to break in to Azkaban." Harry paused again. "How's the prison even guarded these days? Was anybody hurt in the attack?"
"Harry," Dumbledore said seriously, "a team of sixteen aurors have guarded the prison since the Dementors have left. Four were killed, eleven were kissed, and only one was left unharmed. Voldemort himself had captured the auror in charge, and only let him live to spread the truth to others, so they'd know what had happened. Voldemort isn't in hiding anymore, and this is very bad. I had hoped that he'd wait more patiently, possibly to make another attempt at finding out the prophecy from either you or me. It seems that he's done waiting now, and that worries me. Not to mention the fact that last night's attack marks the fifteen year anniversary of his initial defeat. I'm afraid that Voldemort will be attacking more openly from now on, and that is truly troubling.
Hearing Dumbledore's thoughts mirror his own, Harry wondered what had changed so drastically that Voldemort had decided to launch an open attack. Last vision Harry had had, Voldemort was still trying to decide if he knew of the prophecy or not, and wasn't making any plans to attack anybody. And it was odd too that just yesterday Harry had discussed these very reasons with his friends at the Three Broomsticks. Could one of them have somehow alerted Voldemort about his knowledge of the prophecy? No, that was ridiculous, wasn't it?
"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted his thinking again, "is there anything else you'd like to tell me about last night? Some of the staff noticed you behaving oddly, and there's still some strange behavior I can't explain. Perhaps you know something that cold help me understand?"
Harry knew that if he hadn't already proven himself an able Occlumens, that Dumbledore would no doubt be probing his mind right now. Last night he'd been as careful as possible to go unnoticed, but that damn golden patronus had messed everything up. Had Dumbledore seen? Harry thought he had turned his attention to the Death Eaters' shield at that point. He could only hope Remus had come up with a believable story. Until he talked with him after breakfast, Harry would have to remain as vague as possible.
"No sir, nothing else. I was just a little on edge all night long, from my scar hurting. I'm sure you understand." The Headmaster only nodded. "Actually, there is something Professor. This isn't related really, but I promised Hermione that I'd turn myself in."
Eyes perked up by Harry's interesting confession, Dumbledore listened attentively as Harry explained how Draco had baited him into a conflict, and how he had responded. A twinkle shown in Dumbledore's eyes as Harry described using the wrong levitation spell on Draco on purpose, and the resulting effects it had had.
"I thought I should tell you sir, before Professor Snape has the chance to punish me. I dare say after our last conversation, he'd like nothing more than the chance to administer detentions. I know what I did was wrong though, so I won't argue over any punishment."
In the end, Dumbledore had applauded Harry for turning himself in when he could have just as easily gone unpunished. As such, he only had to serve two detentions with Hagrid, and only had thirty points deducted from Gryffindor. Harry knew that if it was Snape giving out demerits it would have been much more, and Harry was pleased. The thirty points could be made up easily enough in the next Quidditch match, and serving detention with Hagrid wasn't detention at all. It was more like being forced to spend time with a good friend.
Harry left a short while later to return to his breakfast and friends, only to notice that Hedwig didn't want to leave. She was enjoying herself too much with Fawkes, and after the sacrifices she had made last night for him, Harry didn't have the heart to order her away. Dumbledore found the situation amusing, and promised Harry that she could stay for awhile longer, and he'd be sure to send her on her way later in the day.
Back in the Great Hall, the student tables were almost completely filled, and their was a loud buzz going through the air. A quick look at the Ravenclaw table showed Harry that the Daily Prophet had already arrived, and the truth about Diagon Alley's attack and Azkaban's release was no doubt known. Harry reclaimed his seat among his friends to see their reaction to the news. It didn't look good.
"Oh Harry, you must feel horrible!" Hermione was almost in tears, and gave Harry a tight hug the moment he sat down. How odd...
"Hermione, it's OK. The attacks could have been a lot worse, and it was mostly superficial damage done to Diagon Alley. The escaped Death Eaters from Azkaban, while troublesome, wasn't really unexpected in my opinion. I don't understand why you're nearly crying." Harry tried to comfort the girl, but his attempts only made her worse. Unable to speak, Ginny had to continue.
"Harry," she asked, "have you actually read the papers yet? Do you know what's happened?"
Harry just gave her a strange look. "Well, no, but I have a pretty good idea. I saw it in my vision last night, and I just came from Dumbledore's office, where we discussed it all. I'm sure he knew more than are in the papers." 'Not to mention,' Harry thought, 'that I was bloody well there last night!'
"Harry, just read the article. I'm so sorry." Now Ginny had tears in her eyes, and she slowly pushed a copy of the paper across the table. Dreading what it might say to elicit such a reaction from his two friends, Harry read the front page.
TWO ATTACKS LAST NIGHT!!!!!
DIAGON ALLEY THE DIVERSION, WHILE AZKABAN IS FREED BY
YOU-KNOW-WHO HIMSELF!
By Kendall Smiley
In a surprising and destructive attack last night, an estimated twenty
to twenty five Death Eaters apparated to Diagon Alley and began
causing havoc. Not there to target any single person or place,
instead they just let loose with a deadly combination of spells and
dark magic that stained the peaceful streets of our capital city.
Storefronts were destroyed, holes were blown right out of the paved
street, and a number of innocent people, young children among them,
were tortured and played with as if mere pets.
Only when Ministry aurors and Albus Dumbledore, leading his own team
of wizards showed up, did the Death Eaters fall back behind an
impenetrable shield spell, clearly the work of strong dark magic.
Conflicting reports say that up to fifty Dementors were present as
well, but the Ministry has yet to issue a conclusive report. Normally
eyewitness accounts are good enough for such claims, but many present
are swearing that they were kissed be Dementors, only to have their
souls returned back to their bodies. There's also talk that Albus
Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chief Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards, and Headmaster of
Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) created a new spell that
completely destroyed the reported Dementors. Much more powerful than
the standard "Patronus Charm" that is only able to repel a Dementor,
this new spell will be invaluable in the war effort, especially if
it's able to return eaten souls to those unfortunate enough to of been
kissed. (For a full account of the Dementor rumors and spell
theories, see article on page thirteen.)
Still, while Dumbledore and Ministry forces were protecting Diagon
Alley, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself was seen at Azkaban by head
auror in charge of guards, Otto Musidora. "It was like looking into
the face of pure evil," Musidora claims of coming face to face with
You-Know-Who. "He only left me alive to make sure everyone knows that
he's really back. He alone killed three of my team with a single
curse, and another near dozen were kissed by Dementors he had with
him. They didn't even affect him! It was like the Dementors were
more afraid of him than he was of them. He's not human, I tell you!
We didn't stand a chance!"
All of the Death Eaters recently recaptured last summer are once again
loose in England, so be on the lookout. A full page of mug shots and
crimes committed by each is on page three. The fifteen aurors killed
or kissed in action are listed on page twenty seven, along with the
two Diagon Alley casualties, Peter Growkins (age one hundred fourteen,
innocent shopping bystander, kissed by Dementor) and Amber Starr (age
eighteen, Madam Malkin's robe shop employee, crushed to death under
falling ruble).
Minister Fudge was unavailable for comment, but his staff....
Amber Starr, age nineteen! No; no it couldn't be. The article went on for another full page, but Harry lost all interest. He had been so caught up in the action last night, he hadn't even realized that there were any casualties. And Amber....oh no.
"I'm so sorry Harry, it's awful to find out this way." Hermione was still crying. She didn't know how close Harry and this Amber really were, but he had already lost enough people in this fight. How many more was he expected to loose? "If there's anything we can do...." Hermione didn't even know how to finish that, so she just left the offer hanging.
Next to her, Harry just sat stunned. It hadn't quite hit him yet, and he couldn't believe that he'd lost yet another person close to him. But the proof was right there in front of him, in black and white. She was really gone.
"Oh no, Amber! I'm so sorry...."
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AUTHOR NOTES:
Well, here you go. I know it's not as soon of an update as I promised, but I stayed on vacation longer than I expected. Plus, I didn't realize the difficulty of typing on a laptop keyboard after twenty years of being accustomed to a full sized one. I tell you, those things are a pain in the ass! So anyway, we got some major action in this chapter, as well as a few heart to heart talks with Harry and his friends. He even told them about the prophecy! Sort of. Bet you didn't think that would happen yet. And yes, I know that you all what to hear about how injured Harry got, and how he was able to make such a speedy recovery. Well, trust me when I say that you'll find out in the next chapter. Also, we'll see the wizarding world's response to Voldy's attacks, and a long overdue letter to Harry. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? I'm hoping to make it a surprise, so we'll see. And oh yeah. It was the same Amber in the attack, and she really is dead. Sorry, no more nookie for Harry there! If I want him to end up with Ginny after all, I can't have anyone else tempting him away, now can I? I guess that means I have to kill Cho next, huh? Ok, time for a rewrite. J/K, although I know many of you would love to see Cho get killed off. Sorry, I've got plans for her. Later all! By the way, I hope my use of two curse words is alright for this rating. It's actually one curse word used twice. I thought it realistic in the circumstance, so tell me if I'm wrong.
Matthew Conolly – You say that I grossly under use the magical lens. Well, you must be a guy then. Yes, I agree with you. However, to avoid a higher rating, and the need to post my work on adult fanfic sites, I do have to reign in Harry's perversity. This isn't a smut story after all. Maybe when I get the chance I'll write an alternate scene and post it in my yahoo group. You never know? However, if that happens, which is a very small chance, you can be sure it will not fit into the rest of the story. This is a PG-13 Harry after all.
Relieved Pitcher – As to your questions about transfiguring objects in dueling, yes, Harry's learning that. I think I even mention it as far back as Chapter 11, where he admits to being able to transfigure small objects one at a time, but not more than that. He also can't launch other spells while controlling a transfigured object, as he needs to focus his concentration. Over the rest of the fic, we'll see progress, but remember. Harry will never reach the level of Voldemort/Dumbledore, at least in fic, as it's just not realistic. Even if he was more magically powerful (which I don't believe), the others have a lifetime of experience, which Harry is only just now touching on. He might be able to defend himself, but don't go expecting him put on a red cape and tights. This is not a SuperPower Harry story!
Rerrer – OK, you got me on the leg locker curse, but I hope I made my point. JKR doesn't mention every incantation in her books, so I don't think I have to so that either. I will mention some (as I already have), but not all
Numba1 – Fine, I put in a little Harry/Ginny moments in the last chapter to get all those shippers of my back, but rest assured that it isn't at the heart of my story. It's just some extra stuff that all teenagers do. And yes, I realize that Ginny didn't need to make Harry suck on her neck for the joke to work. And yes, I realize giving each other massages after each Quid practice is just a thinly veiled excuse to get all touchy feely. But come on, these are the exact type things I did when a teenager. With my hormones raging, I looked for any excuse to spend time with females, whether I was touching them or not. And for your information, the hickie story came directly from my life. I was at summer camp one year, on an overnight trip, when a bunch of us decided to play a joke on our councelors. All the guys marked up the girls' necks, and then we went back to the fire site to shock them all. It really was quite funny, and no one took the pairings we made seriously after that. It was just some harmless fun, and an excuse to suck face.
Darkmoore – Yes, I'm straight. Sorry. And when I think of Natalie Wood, I don't think "West Side Story," I think more "The Searchers." A very manly movie. It's got John Wayne in it for pete's sake! And yes, I'm horny. Aren't we all?
AthenaKitty – I've said this to you before. Harry already knows the counter charm to the handcuff charm! He just said he didn't because he liked to leave Snape in that position. If you go back and read that chapter, Harry mentions that when talking to his double.
Goldilocks31890 – Why don't I like Ron? Well, you claim he's cute, protective, and....more cute. IN my opinion, he's nosy, insensitive, and annoying, not to mention his bad table and study manners. As for being cute, who cares, I'm a guy. Unless Ron's got a great rack, I can very easily dismiss him. And one more thing I hate about most fanfics. Who says that because Ron's so great at chess, he's automatically a brilliant strategist? I'm a chess player, and it's hardly transferable to war, as so many authors have him doing. It may be a very complex and involved game, but that's all it really is, a game. Now if he played wizarding RISK, I might believe him as a strategist, but come on! And I hardly think that Harry got a lot of practice playing at the Dursleys', so it's no wonder that Ron beats him every time. I wonder why we never see Ron playing anyone else in Gryffindor tower?
Lauren – Glad to see your hurt hands don't interfere with your long reviews! Yes, harry's not perfect, as I've tried to include some moments showing this in the past. And the future will hold some big mistakes for Harry as well. Yes, Ginny's prank was a little over the top, but not out of character for her I don't think. Think of some of Fred and George's pranks. Now they went over the top. All Ginny had to do was get Harry to kiss her, and then send a letter home to her mum. Most pranks have a lot more planning than that. Ever read Luna the Moonmonster's series of fics. I do enjoy them, but the pranks she has Harry play are way out there! Having all four houses, not to mention the teachers, up on the tables signing show tunes and dancing can cans. Now that's over the top. I'm glad that you like some Hermione moments. I didn't think I had enough of her yet, so I included a fair amount in this past chap. And there will be more Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville from now on, as I said in this last chapter. But forget about H/Hr, not going to happen. Harry might notice her "assets," as he's only a guy, but he has no romantic feelings. I have something special in mind for Hermione that should be made apparent around Valentine's Day.
Goddess of the Black Roses – Sorry, no celebration for the Death of Voldy. One, he's back now, so it's kind of moot. Two, I don't think Harry would appreciate the wizarding world celebrating the death of his parents. And three, we can't overshadow Nearly Headless Nic's Death Day party, now can we?
TuxedoMac – Dude, you sound drunk every time you write. I know English is not your first language, but please read your reviews before hitting the "send" button.
Tombadgerlock – Harry didn't think Ron realized his crush on Herm back in fourth year. He thinks Ron still probably hasn't recognized his feelings for what they are. No, Harry himself noticed Ron's attraction to Hermione, as evident of his jealousy towards Krum, and his reaction to Herm at the Yule Ball. I think we all realized Ron has strong feelings for Herm back then, if not sooner. I have yet to theorize Herm's feelings towards Ron, except that she might know about his slight crush.
Fanatic25 – Yes, I realized I hadn't integrated that in the story like I hoped. I had too much fun the first chapters, and then it was too late. I will attempt to salvage the rest of the story, and you can be sure the sequels will have a "main plot theme throughout the story." As for a formal, romantic relationship between H/G. Sorry, I think they're too young for that. They'll just be having fun in my fic, and only openly return affection the last few chapters.
PhoenixRising – If FF.net contacts me about cutting back or getting rid of my ANs completely, than I will. But until then, I see no need to stop. After all, the only things I've heard are rumors, from other fans. I've yet to see an email or post by FF.net that warns against ANs.
Earl – Yes, I'm doing Quid differently. I think that each house should play each other (6 games), and then the top two scoring teams should play for a final. That's the way I'm going to write my fic, although we probably won't see another such in-depth game until the finals. Is it any secret that is will be a Gryff/Slyth rematch?
Wind Whisperer – I think this chapter touched on all the things you mentioned in your review except the duel with Rofordit. Trust me, that's coming, but I'm saving it for a special chapter. I hope you enjoyed everything else, though. Probably not Amber dying, but you've got to take the good with the bad. Sorry about that, but keep reading. I've got plenty more surprises in store for you all.
Gotta B Writin – You were picturing cheesy porno music in your head when you read the last chapter? Funny, I was playing cheesy porno music on my computer when I wrote the last chapter. Go figure, huh? Seriously though, I can understand you not liking the last one as much as others, but I have to add a little of that stuff in my fic. Hopefully you liked this chapter better, so let me know. I think I also answered some of your questions Hermione had about Harry's study habits. See how well I anticipate my readers' needs? I'm a genius!
Dark Immortal – I've addressed this numerous times, but let me do so again. Yes, Harry is aging twice as fast as normal, but no one notices because they think it's just a growth spurt (finally!). And it's been brought up that because wizards live so much longer than muggles, we don't even know if the age at the same rate. A good question, and in my opinion, enough of one to warrant some time tuner usage. After all, no one noticed Hermione when she used one.
Samyjoc- Dude, in my mind, Blaise is a hot chic. Live with it. If the only evidence you can provide that he's a guy is that the name is traditionally male, or that some third world publication of HPSS uses male adjectives to describe the character, I don't think that's enough. Sorry if I broke your heart with that one, but Blaise is just such a cool name. And it screams "hot chic" in my head.
CherryCoke – Ron is such an important character in the books BECAUSE he can be put down. After all, it would do well for JKR to make her title character a prat, now would it? Ron's her punching bag in a way, and I've expanded on that ideal. And if you disagree, look at some of the evidence. In the first story (SS; book or movie), Ron's supposed to be all heroic sacrificing himself for the others. I say, Hogwash! He's a prat, or at best a nancy boy. Just look at this line. "....Harry, you be the bishop.....Hermione the rook. And me (pauses dramatically to place hands on hips), I'll be a knight!" What a ponce!
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I don't respond to everyone's reviews personally, just those that have comments or questions. Especially now that I'm receiving too many (not really!) reviews per chapter, I just can't fit them all in. So if you've written to say you liked my story and are waiting for more, than thank you.
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