Chapter 17: Dueling in the Great Hall
When Monday afternoon arrived, Harry and Ginny deposited their books in their room and then went to the Great Hall. Classes had been let out for the day to allow time for the dueling tournament.
Harry found Dumbledore getting ready to set up.
"Mr. Potter, could you conjure up dueling stands?"
Harry waved his wand, and the stands appeared in place.
"Very good. Mrs. Potter, cushions please?"
With a wave her wand, there were cushions all over the Great Hall.
"Now, set up a shield around each individual dueling station."
Harry did so with his wand, murmuring.
"Hit the shields with your best shot."
Harry sent a stunner to the shield, and it was reflected into the ground, scorching a pillow cushion.
"I was right not to allow you two to duel," Dumbledore said, examining the scorch mark. "This is powerful magic you have."
Harry smiled and nodded.
"Yes Professor," Harry said. "You know why we've learned so much."
The man nodded.
"And, I might add, that it's natural abilities, not what you may have inherited. You inherited certain items of knowledge, but everything you do is from your natural abilities. The Founders would have it no other way."
"So if we would have studied long and hard, we may still have come to this point?"
"Precisely. And if I do say so, the only thing that you were given from your ancestors is access to the stores of knowledge, and instant knowledge of certain languages. That's all. They do not give things away freely. You have to earn them by your hard work in studying. I assume that you're continuing to study as much as possible?"
"Yes Professor. We brought a good handful of books with us."
"How?"
Harry smiled and pulled out a bag.
"I must say, I've got a bag just like that one. It's a very useful tool."
"Yes sir, it is."
When the first duels started, Harry and Ginny had set up protective wards around everyone. They made sure that wands would not work outside of the dueling arena, and only those who were called to duel were allowed through the shields. Dumbledore had been impressed with the skill at which the shields were emplaced.
All knew that the shields would only hold for a matter of hours before failing, but that was not an issue. They were meant for temporary protection, not full time protection.
Harry really enjoyed the duels. At the end, Snape and James were the final two men. Lily and a seventh year Slytherin were the two female finalists.
The first match, in a bigger arena, was between Lily and the Slytherin girl. The match was fierce, but Lily had come out on top, thanks to the help Harry and Ginny had given her. James was pleased with Lily's results, but Lily was hit from behind with a serious curse. Harry saw it, and with a wave of his hand, he went through the shield, disabling all wands but his own and Ginny's.
The Slytherin tried to hit Harry, but he bound her quickly while kneeling by Lily. James went into the arena and knelt by Lily as well.
Harry muttered a couple of spells, and the bleeding stopped immediately. Dumbledore was there next, furious at the Slytherin girl. He spoke to Harry, and then Ginny took Lily to the hospital wing with Hermione and a couple more Gryffindor seventh years following.
Then the match went to the men's matches.
James was furious, and Harry knew he would take it out on Snape.
He was right. The duel only lasted five minutes, with James shooting curses so fast that Snape had a hard time blocking. It ended with James holding Snape's wand in his hand, grinning victoriously.
He looked at Harry, who nodded. Then James tossed the wand back to Snape. A moment later, Snape cursed when he was shocked.
"Tsk. Tsk," Harry said. "I've blocked everything," he told Ron. "And Unforgiveables are not allowed at any time in this shield."
Ron nodded.
When Ginny returned, she spoke to James, who left immediately.
"She was asking for James," Ginny said.
"Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, do you care to demonstrate a duel I'm sure you two have been looking forward to?"
"Yes Professor," Harry said.
"You're going down," Ginny said, grinning mischievously. "I've got a new hex for you."
"You'll have to show me," Harry said, as he and Ginny bowed to each other at the starting point. "Oh, and I do think that I'm going to win this one."
The look on Ginny's face was priceless. She gained her fierce expression, and they were soon off, dueling.
Sirius and Remus were looking as they dueled masterfully. They dodged, shielded, and rolled around the arena, demonstrating a good battlefield dueling technique, which surprised quite a few people. And with the hexes and jinxes flying everywhere, people were getting nervous about the shields holding up.
Ron was laughed when Ginny hit Harry with a jinx that made him sing a weird song. Harry got her back with a simple dancing jinx, which Ginny easily got rid of, even while dodging hexes Harry sent her way.
This battle was still continuing when James arrived.
"How long have they been dueling?"
"About forty five minutes," Sirius said, looking at his watch. "They're damn good."
James watched and nodded.
In the arena, Harry heard Ginny taunting him through their connection. Then, suddenly, she sent an image of her in sexy underwear. As she planned, he got distracted and was soon disarmed.
Harry smiled at her and shook his head.
"I told you I'd win," Ginny said, handing him his wand back, and then pushing her hair out of her face.
"I guess you did," Harry said, placing his arm around her. "That was a great workout. We should do it again sometime."
"After you get your prize."
"My prize?"
Ginny nodded with an impish smile on her lips.
"The one I sent you the image of."
"That one. I can't wait."
"I know you can't. That's why I won."
They heard the cheering crowd , and turned to bow. At that moment, Harry felt his hair on the back of his neck stand up and he knew the ward was disabled. Instantly, he rolled and produced a shield, deflecting the curse right back at the person who sent it.
He saw a Slytherin hit the floor and howl with pain.
Dumbledore nodded emphatically to Harry, and he enabled the ward. The Slytherin was bleeding, but Snape stopped the bleeding.
"What happened?"
"He tried to hit Ginny with a curse," Hermione said, shocked.
Harry looked at Ginny, who had seen the curse hit the shield Harry had produced. The shield itself had scared a lot of people, as it was a lot more powerful than the one he'd produced during the duel.
"Wicked," Sirius said. "After all that, you were able to dodge and produce a shield."
Harry nodded.
"Yeah. That's why we've been doing exercises like running."
Sirius nodded.
"It's actually smart," Sirius said. "I saw how you were showing a good battlefield method of dueling."
"That's the point," Harry said. "We're not going to duel for fun much longer. Once we leave school, we're after You Know Who."
Sirius nodded. He and his friends were going to fight Voldemort. They knew it because of the war that was going on with people scared of Voldemort.
"When you do leave school," James said. "I think the only duels you'll get are when you are facing someone who will not mind trying to kill you."
Harry nodded.
"Yes. I agree. That's why we have to work together to put a stop to that monster."
James nodded his agreement.
"Yes. We do have to work together. To defeat him, we must all work for the same goal."
When Harry saw Lily again, she was in the common room.
"Are you ok, Lily?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Lily said. "Madam Pomfrey said that your spell worked wonders for me."
"Well," Harry said. "I have been studying healing spells. I know they'll come in useful in my quest."
Lily nodded.
"Yes. I agree. I heard you and Ginny had a nice long duel."
"About forty five minutes," James said. "At least that's what Sirius and Remus told me."
"It was long," Harry said. "But this little woman cheated."
"Did not," Ginny said.
"What did she do?"
Ginny looked at Lily and sent her an image mentally.
"You little fox!" Harry said, when he caught the smile on Lily's face.
Ginny looked at him.
"Well, I think it's time for a cool shower before we go eat. Don't you?"
With the way she was winking at him, Harry had no choice but to follow her.
"Nice to see they're getting along," Ron said, sarcastically.
"Shut up, Ron," Hermione said. "You're just jealous because I'm waiting for my wedding night to go all the way."
Ron looked at Hermione as the door shut to Harry and Ginny's room.
"Well," James said. "It's not like they hate each other. But I do admit, Ginny had a fiery look on her face."
"I think Harry did something to set her off so they could have a good duel."
"Ginny is always that way when they duel," Hermione said. "She's dead set on making sure Harry knows she can fight. It's the same thing that almost ruined their relationship in May."
Ron nodded.
As the weeks went on after the dueling, Harry found that he was enjoying his classes more and more. They weren't getting too hard, but he knew that things were going fast for him. He had so many classes, and he was just now getting up to full speed on both Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.
His homework scores had improved dramatically after he'd finally gotten through all of the stuff from the first NEWT year of the courses. He'd gone from Acceptable level grades, to getting top marks in the class, which really impressed his friends. Hermione was the most ecstatic at his improvement.
She and Ginny were scoring top marks as always. And their help made sure Harry was doing the same thing, though he wasn't relying on Hermione as much as he used to. Hermione remarked on that to Ron, who muttered and then asked Hermione to look over his homework for DADA.
Harry and Ginny were through with their work, and went to the Prefect's Bath for some fun.
Harry had planned this night for a while, and Lily had approved of his use of the bath, giving him the password to get in there. She was not ashamed to help their relationship grow as much as it could while they were here. And she was pleased with the person that Harry was turning into.
He'd started the year off a little more mature than most students. Now, he was acting like he'd been married for two or three years instead of just months. Ginny appreciated that, and she rewarded Harry whenever she got the chance.
Not that they didn't get into arguments about things. They did, and Harry sometimes had to sleep in the common room. But he did that and then, the very next day, he apologized for his mistakes.
Harry always tried to plan some alone time with Ginny at least once a week. And, with the help of his friends, he managed to make some evenings special for Ginny. She loved it.
Soon, they approached the Christmas Holidays. Most students were going home. Harry and his friends were staying here, of course, as they didn't have a home per se in this time. James and Lily went to their homes, and they were left at the school with very few people.
As a special treat, Harry and Ginny had gone shopping to get gifts for their close friends, mainly the Marauders, Lily, and Hermione and Ron. That was about it.
During the days off from school, they were studying, and they were also researching more about the items of the founders and Horcruxes.
On Christmas Day, there was a feast, and there were about a dozen students and a handful of staff members present. Instead of using the tables as they usually were in the Great Hall, there was one, large, round table for everyone.
Harry sat down next to Snape and Ginny. He didn't mind sitting next to Snape, as he knew he could handle him if things came to blows. But he didn't expect that would happen. Snape was only sitting here because this was the only place where he could get something to eat.
After the dinner, Harry retreated to the room with Ginny, intent on having a good evening with her.
The rest of the year progressed fast, and they soon found themselves studying hard with Lily and James for their NEWTs. The four went to Dumbledore's office with the two to say their goodbye's.
It was hard for Harry to leave. He'd gotten to know Lily and James quite well, which was good for him. And they were quite a couple now.
"Wait, Harry," Lily said, looking at him. She had something in her hand as they were about to use the time turner to return to their own time.
Harry walked over to Lily, who gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. He saw tears in her eyes, and he couldn't help but think about this.
"Well, I hope you have a good life," Lily said.
Harry nodded, knowing he couldn't say the same thing back to her.
"Thanks," he said, quietly.
No one had to ask why he didn't say the same thing back to her.
"Here," Lily said, handing him something. "I want you to have this."
"But it's…"
"I want you to have it," Lily said. "It's brought me great joy in my life, and I hope it does the same thing for you. And I think you can use it on your quest. But don't open it until you get to your time."
"Ok," Harry said. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
After further goodbyes, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione put the time turner around their necks, and Hermione activated it to the correct time, with the correct number of turns.
When they saw the office fade from them and fade back, Harry saw Remus and Minerva chatting.
"Welcome back," Minerva said. "How was it?"
Harry sighed, and looked at the box in his hand.
"Where did you get that," Remus asked.
"Lily gave it to me," Harry said. "Right before we left."
"I wondered where that got off to."
"You know what it is?"
Remus nodded.
"Open it."
Harry opened the small box, and a beautiful sound came from it. It soothed his soul, and then he sat down. When the song was over, he closed the box.
"Lily's favorite," Remus said. "She must have really liked you to let you have it."
Harry nodded.
"She, Ginny, and I were great friends," Harry said. "Damn," Harry muttered, his eyes misting up.
"Harry, it's ok," Ginny said.
"I know," Harry said. "It's just hard for me to think about what happened just about four years after we left their time."
Remus nodded sadly.
"Yes. Now you understand where I learned more about the patronus and why I gave you chocolate."
Harry nodded.
"Yeah. I did it in your time. And you taught me in my third year."
Remus nodded.
"What did you do to the Dementors?"
"They were destroyed," Harry said. "Or I think so. When my patronus hit them, they disappeared in a puff of black smoke."
Remus nodded with a grin on his face.
"And what memory did you use?"
"I didn't," Harry said. "I don't know how I did it, but I produced the biggest Patronus I've ever produced. Lily and James were in danger, so…."
"So you reacted," Professor McGonagall said. "I remember that attack well, but until today, I could not remember for the life of me who had saved Lily and James. Now I know."
Harry nodded.
"And your memory charm has been broken," Harry said.
"Yes," Minerva said. "I remember you four in my class quite well now. And now you know why I always felt you were a better student than you act to be."
Harry nodded.
"Professor, can we go to our rooms now?"
"Of course. I know you need to relax and prepare for classes tomorrow."
Harry nodded.
"And Professor? Thanks for letting us do this. I know my parents very well now, and they were such smart and great people."
Minerva nodded.
"Yes. Your mother and father were very smart. And you take after them. Though you just now have seemed to gotten your drive to study."
Harry nodded.
When they got to the Head's Common Room, Harry looked at the three others.
"It looks like we're ready to go for the first Horcrux," Harry said.
Hermione nodded.
"Yes. We think that it's somewhere near the orphanage where Riddle grew up."
Harry nodded.
"We'll go this weekend. Luna and Neville are going to be alert, and the DA will have patrols going through the school to assist prefects and professors. I'll tell Professor McGonagall that we're going out this weekend."
There were nods.
"What if we need more people?"
"Ok, if we need help, Lupin and Bill are the first two we should call. They know the most about what we're doing, and they should be of great help. But I don't have to remind you that this is very dangerous and something could happen to any of us."
There were nods.
"Ok, tomorrow, we meet in the Room of Requirement to go over our contingency plans, and then Ginny and I will consult with the Founders about this mission. They know what we're doing and I want to discuss one more thing with them."
"What's that?"
"How to destroy the Horcrux. And, just in case, after we get back, I want to search the Room of Requirement where all the stuff is hidden. I want to retrieve the Half Blood Prince's potions book for examination and then I want to see if there's anything else in that room that may be of use to us."
There were nods.
"I'm going to invite Bill and Lupin to help search with us. I know they'll want to help. Besides, if we run across any horcruxes, then we know they'll be cursed. I know I can recognize some curses, but we don't dare try to destroy the item until we let Bill and Lupin examine it."
"I agree, Harry," Hermione said. "And we should have teams that stick together. We shouldn't have to part."
"Yes," Harry said. "And Ginny, it's a good thing you're underage. Tom might not have left a trap for someone who's underage. That's another reason I'm glad you're coming. You know about what Dumbledore and I did."
"If there is a potion, what will you do?"
"I don't think he'll protect each one the same way. But we all carry chocolate, bezoar stones, and a few other antidotes Bill recommended to us."
"Great," Ginny said. "What if we run into serious trouble?"
"Use the portkey to get back," Harry said. "You all know the silent incantation. Once one person goes back, then our rings will light up and we should seriously consider going back to help the other. And our wands are charmed so they'll follow us back if we lose them and we have to use a portkey. But if someone has them, they'll just disappear from the pockets."
"Can we try that to make sure it works right?"
"Yes," Harry said. "We should. Tomorrow evening, after dinner, and after we go over our contingency plans for this trip."
"And yes, Ron," Ginny said. "We will carry food stores. Harry will ask Dobby to make sure we have food to carry with us."
"Does Professor McGonagall know?"
"Yes," Harry said. "She will. We have our Head's meeting with her tomorrow, and we can broach the topic then."
"What about the meeting on Sunday?"
"We hopefully will be back," Harry said. "But Professor McGonagall wants us to get back to school ASAP. When she's gone, she wants us here."
"Just in case something happens?"
"Correct," Harry said. "She's revealed to me and Hermione the secrets of activating the castle's defenses. And since Ginny helped us put up the wards, she can activate further defenses as well. Sorry, Ron, we can't give you this information."
Ron nodded.
"I understand. I'm just the pawn."
"You're more than a pawn," Hermione said. "You're a knight. Harry is our King, and Ginny the Queen. But this King isn't limited to moving one space at a time."
Ron nodded.
"Right. So that makes you a Bishop? A trusted advisor?"
"That sounds right to me," Harry said. "Hermione is the brains of this outfit."
Hermione blushed.
"You guys aren't far behind," Hermione said, after she regained her composure. "So, this is a fact we're going?"
"Unless Professor McGonagall says we can't this weekend. I think this would be a good weekend to go, as no one will be going to Hogsmeade. We don't want to be out of the castle on Hogsmeade weekends. I mean out of the group."
There were nods.
"Why?"
"Ron, you know we're part of the protection. Prefects are going to be required to participate in the DA for the school's benefit."
"Even Slytherins?"
"Even Slytherins. But in the event of an emergency, the wand magic wards will activate in the building except for those who have been deemed trustworthy. And that includes every member of the Order."
"Even Snape?"
"No," Harry said. "I excluded him, just in case Dumbledore was wrong. I still want to believe that Snape is good, but we don't want to take any chances on being wrong."
There were thoughtful nods.
"Any questions about our plans? We must look at our class schedules to remind ourselves what we have here."
Ginny smiled.
"And, Harry, we can work on a baby."
Harry looked at Ginny. She smiled at him and winked.
"I guess I'm outvoted," he said, as he saw Hermione smile.
"I vote not to," Ron said.
"You don't have a vote," Hermione said.
"She's right, Ron," Harry said. "You don't have a vote. I look at it this way: if we have a child, we have it when we have it."
Ginny beamed.
"But," Harry said. "I would rather wait until this is over. I don't mind if we do have one, but I want to wait."
Ginny looked at Harry.
"Why do you want to wait?"
She looked at him for a moment and nodded.
"I guess you're right. We don't need a child to worry about right now. We have enough on our minds."
Harry nodded.
"Precisely. I'd love to have a child. But now is not the right time. Not with school, Voldemort, and making sure we're adjusted to married life."
Ginny nodded.
"I guess we will have one as soon as Voldemort is killed."
"Yes," Harry said. "I think that would be a good option. We may get to him after school is out, though."
"When we graduate, we go hunting him full time?"
"Yes," Harry said. "Full time. On the breaks, I want to go home to have some freedom to see if we can't catch some Death Eaters or Horcruxes."
"The Order said our mission is the horcruxes, Harry."
"I know, Hermione. But if we can capture or kill Death Eaters, and then use veritaserum on them for interrogation, I think we may find some interesting information."
"Voldemort wouldn't trust information with just anyone."
"I know. There are very few he could trust. I don't think he trusts Lucius Malfoy or Draco. Bellatrix is dead. We need to see where we are on capturing known or suspected Death Eaters."
"Talk to McGonagall. She'll have the information the Order has."
Harry nodded.
"Yes. I'm sure she'll keep us updated on that. And we're required to report to her, Lupin, and Bill on our progress."
The next day, when they got to Bill's class, Harry walked up to him.
"Can I help you?"
"Bill, we're going this weekend."
Bill nodded and looked back to his notes.
"Ok, is everyone ready for our first class?"
Harry looked around. There were about ten people in the class: himself, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, 2 seventh year Hufflepuffs, three seventh year Ravenclaws, and Seamus Finnigan.
They ignored Ginny, as they knew she was now a seventh year, thanks to her grades on her OWLs and then her intense study the previous summer with Hermione and Harry.
"Welcome. This class is a special class that was requested by Professor McGonagall at the end of the previous school year. You have been chosen for this class, and a spell making class that Professor McGonagall will teach herself. There is an important reason you are taking this class, and it's good to know that each of you are member's of Dumbledore's Army. I think that's a good name for a good organization. I will become the faculty advisor for DA when Harry decides it's time to meet."
There were nods.
"As many of you know, I am Bill Weasley, brother of Ron and Ginny. I am a cursebreaker for Gringotts, and I am honored to be here this year, taking a leave of absence to teach so you can become cursebreakers, or, in some cases, understand how to do this on your quest to become Aurors.
"This course will require that you know OWL level Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, as these two items are very important, especially Arithmancy. If you have not taken the classes, as three of you have not, we will work with you to get through that section of the curriculum. I trust each of you has the book?"
There were nods.
"If you need more resources, I will be glad to provide you with the information on several good books I've found in the library here, and other places. I am also willing to allow you to use my personal book collection as well, in case you want more information than your textbook can provide. This is a post-NEWT level course, and I think most of you are in post-NEWT level DADA."
Each member of this class was in the post-NEWT DADA class. Most were in the special Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration Courses as well, after having an intense summer of study. The post-NEWT classes would start with NEWT level material, but rapidly move to the advanced knowledge and techniques.
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"Bill," Ron asked. "How do we address you?"
"You can call me Bill in here," Bill said, with a smile. "Any more questions?"
There were none.
"Good. First off, I want to introduce the basic concepts of curses. You have to know exactly what a curse is before you can attempt to break it. This is a very dangerous profession, and you will have a practical exam at the end of the year, using curses we've studied in this class. We will only cover the basics of curse breaking, as some of the harder curses take months of study before they can be broken without harming someone."
Bill looked especially at the Golden Trio and Ginny.
"It is helpful if you can sense, or see in some cases, what kind of curse you are dealing with. Can anyone see or sense anything on this object sitting on that table?"
Harry raised his hand.
"Yes, Harry?"
"I sense a burning curse."
Bill nodded.
"You're right. How do you know?"
Harry shook his head.
"I just felt it," Harry said. "I'm going by my instinct."
"Instinct is good. Harry, you may be a good cursebreaker if you ever want a job post-Hogwarts."
Harry smiled.
"Does anyone else see or sense the curse?"
Ginny raised her hand.
"Ginny?"
"The curse is not on the inside of the cup," she said. "It's only on the handles and outside."
Bill nodded at his sister, the surprise on his face evident.
"Correct. I made sure to place the curse that way to see if anyone could see it. Where did you learn that?"
"The same way Harry did," Ginny said. "We studied together over the summer."
Bill nodded and smiled. He knew the entire reason, but knew better than to get into it right now.
"Good. Anyone know a counter-curse for this burning curse?"
Hermione raised her hand.
She went into the explanation about the curse.
Bill nodded.
"Wow, you Gryffindors are adding up today. I'd say that's worth five points each to the three of you. I'll give everyone a chance to earn five points by correctly answering questions today. Until everyone has them, no one can get more points in today's lesson. I'll reward points for those of you who answer the more difficult questions throughout the year."
There were nods. And a sigh of relief through the others. They knew Hermione would easily answer tons of questions.
At the end of the classes, Harry and Hermione had to go to McGonagall's office for a meeting.
"Harry, Bill tells me you're going this weekend."
"Yes, Professor," Harry said. "If all goes well, we'll leave on Friday evening and return on Saturday."
The woman nodded.
"Good. Bill also said that you're sensing abilities are starting to get better."
"I worked with them during the time I was on my other assignment," Harry said.
"Good. This course is only offered because of the mission you four are on. But I had to extend the offer to other students."
Harry nodded.
"The same is true of the post-NEWT level courses and the healing course. Now that you've finished NEWT courses, do you think this is a good choice for a school year?"
"Yes Professor," Harry said. "Much to my surprise, I enjoyed Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."
"Good, Harry. You're in those classes again, but you know that this is only so you can take the NEWTs."
Harry nodded.
"Do you know my score on the OWLs?"
"You'll find out when the sixth years do. We had to give special permission for the sixth years to continue on if they were averaging at least an E in their courses this time. But some will have to drop out if they don't make the grades."
Harry nodded.
"I understand, Professor."
"Good. Now, do you mind staying here on Sunday evening? I have to go to a meeting at Headquarters. I want you four here to protect the school if something happens. And you know you speak with all the authority of a professor due to your position teaching DADA."
Harry nodded.
"I'm aware of that, Professor. You made sure to tell me when we were studying the protections of the castle."
"Harry, I also want you and Hermione to sit in when we plan contingencies for the school. We already have the basic plans in place, but I want you to help us since you may be the one to initiate one of them."
"We will, professor," Hermione said. "Just tell us when."
"I'll do it when you have a free moment in your schedule. I hate to have you all working all the time, but after your other assignment, I'm sure you can handle the NEWTs."
Harry nodded.
"You know the drill. Your patrol schedules are on the wall. And if you may, could I have one of those DA coins you use? They're a great idea?"
Hermione smiled and reached into her pocket.
"Here, Professor," Hermione said. "Harry or Neville can activate the charms. The numbers will move for form a date and time for the meeting. We can also activate the emergency call."
"How?"
Hermione instructed Professor McGonagall on everything, including the charm she'd used.
"And Miss Granger, you did this in your fifth year?"
Hermione smiled slightly and nodded.
"It's amazing what I've seen you two do in your time here. Now, I think you will both have great careers without having to worry about employment."
Harry nodded.
"That's after we take care of Voldemort."
McGonagall nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes. But if you work hard enough, you may be able to draw him out into a final battle sometime in June or July. Wouldn't you love to have that off of your head on your eighteenth birthday?"
"Yes," Harry said. "That would be wonderful. I know that it would be great not to worry about him, and focus just on my family. I don't have to work if I don't want to."
"That's quite understandable. It will allow you and Ginny time to settle into life at a reasonable pace. And you can work just any job to give you something to do."
Harry nodded.
"I do think I still want to become an auror. If I survive this war, and after I talk to Ginny about it, I think I'd like to donate my salary to either here or St. Mungo's."
Hermione looked at Harry.
"Really?"
"You know my inheritance from my parents is huge. Much larger than I thought it would be."
Hermione nodded.
"Well, Mr. Potter, you should discuss that with your wife at a later time. I don't think now is the time to think about that. You should focus on the task at hand, and work on keeping your marriage in tact during this task and school. You have your hands full right now, and you need to focus on everything that's facing you immediately or in the near future."
Harry nodded.
"I guess you're right, Professor," Harry said. "Sometimes, I get these daydreams about the career and life I'd like to have after he's gone."
They didn't have to ask who he was.
"I'm sure that you can come back here and teach, Mr. Potter. You too, Miss Granger. But that's up to you, and we have a lot more to worry about before you start to think about that."
Harry nodded his agreement.
"Promise me this, Mr. Potter. If you run into trouble, you'll activate your emergency port key system and get out of there."
"Professor, that's our contingency plan. We've charmed our wands to follow us. We tested it, and they'll disappear with us and end up in our pockets when we arrive."
"How did you do that?"
"It was Ginny's idea," Harry said. "She thought of it the other day, and we went to work on it."
"Did you have any help?"
"No, Professor," Hermione said. "The charm was easy enough. We found one in a book Harry inherited and modified it to fit our needs."
"That's a good idea," the woman said, smiling. "I'd like to see it. Who did the most work?"
"Ginny," Harry said. "We helped her, of course, but she did the most work thinking on it."
"Tell her I'd like to see it in our next spell making class."
"I will, Professor," Harry said.
"I'm sure you four will come up with a good dozen spells by the end of the year. And modify a few more."
"I hope to, Professor," Harry said. "I know what I want to do, but I haven't had time to get started on it."
"Well, Mr. Potter, it is only September. And you have plenty of time to get it done. I'm sure you'll get enough spells in to get your O in the class."
Harry nodded.
Soon, they were back in their common room, studying the curse breaking text. They knew that would be the hardest course they were taking this year, as the others they were already well prepared for.