May 3, 2004
2:24 PM
Potter Manor
After three miserable weeks of physical therapy and bed rest, Harry was finally released from St. Mungo's. Demelza had kindly asked him to remain on bed rest for another week. However, she had to have known that Harry had no intention of doing that at all. Equipped with his new cane, Harry limped into the main living room of Potter Manor. Following him was Cho, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom.
Once everyone was seated, Harry began.
"I know that you disagree with me but we need to bring back Dumbledore's Army." Harry said, starting their planning meeting. "Hermione, I know that you don't want us to slip into lawlessness. I very much understand that. However, we need our eyes and ears out there and I know that Robards won't give me access to the every Auror."
"I understand where you're coming from." Hermione replied softly. "I just can't get over the fact that we're going against the Ministry. But it's not like before, Harry. We are actually in charge of this Ministry. Aside from Robards, we have the support of every important head in the Ministry."
"But what if we have to do something that the Ministry wouldn't want to be associated with?" Neville asked. Regardless of the fact that Neville had been largely absent from much of Harry's actions since his return from exile, Harry felt that he couldn't restart Dumbledore's Army without him. The same went for Luna. She had been back in the country since late March but Harry had spent much of his time in St. Mungo's and therefore, he hadn't been able to see her.
Apparently, within the last few months, Xenophilius Lovegood had fallen very ill. So, in order to help him, Luna had come back to England from her trips aboard in order to help him run The Quibbler. There were rumors that Luna had accepted that her father had been a bit of a story teller, convincing her that certain, and very imaginary, creatures had existed. Apparently since she had taken over the Quibbler, they hadn't made a single reference to Wackspurts.
Ginny was there because she had been there with him at the Department of Mysteries just like the rest of them. Plus, she had been good to him while he had been in St. Mungo's, much to Cho's chagrin. Harry had spent nearly all of his time in St. Mungo's convincing Cho that he was not interested in Ginny, only her.
Cho. Cho was there because Harry wanted her there. She was the only person that had been there for him every day in the hospital. She had done everything he had needed without him every having to ask for a thing. While Harry had never thought that it would be possible, he would have had to admit that he had forgiven Cho for her youthful actions and had even started to love her.
"I agree with Neville." Harry replied. "Just like The Order of the Phoenix, we are forming this group because we know that there are certain things that Ministry officials cannot do and cannot be seen doing. Therefore, we use the DA to protect the Ministry while still working against the Network."
"I think it's the only way we can do it, 'Mione." Ron added next to her, looking almost afraid to disagree with her. Harry knew that while their relationship was lightyears ahead of where it had been just a few months ago, they were still on rocky ground.
"I suppose you're right." Hermione replied with a sigh. "How are we going to do it to protect those of us that really work for the Ministry?"
"Ginny, Luna, Cho and I will lead any field teams." Harry answered. "You and Ron will be responsible for working with the other Ministry members in the DA."
"That does sound like a nifty plan." Luna said brightly. Harry could only smile at her peculiar choice of words.
"So how do we do this?" Cho asked.
"Set the coins for two days from now. The meeting will take place here." Harry said to Hermione before turning to Ron. "Ron, tomorrow I need you to remind the old members within the Ministry about the meeting. I'll handle everyone who isn't at the Ministry."
"You know you technically work for the Ministry, right?" Hermione reminded him.
"I know but if I'm implicated, you can always go back on the 'everything is my fault' theme." Harry said with his fabled crooked grin.
"Whatever." Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.
"Everyone go home and get some rest. In two days, we're going to start tracking these people and taking them down."
May 5, 2004
7:00 PM
Potter Manor
Harry stood, hiding under his Invisibility Cloak, watching as the people filed in for the first meeting of the reformed Dumbledore's Army. Harry saw plenty of people that he never thought he would see again.
Alicia Spinnet had walked in ten minutes earlier with a man that looked like a boyfriend or husband. It wasn't for another couple minutes before he realized that that man was Ernie MacMillan.
After her had been, Katie Bell and Oliver Wood hand in hand. The pair of them were married or on their way there as Harry could see the massive ring on her finger and the bump on her stomach.
The Patil twins walked in accompanied by Parvarti's husband, Michael Corner and Padma's boyfriend, Cormac McClaggen. Of all the people that Harry had not wanted to see again, Cormac McClaggen had to be towards the top of that list.
Zacharias Smith and Justin Finch-Fletchey came in together, both wearing the robes of Hit Wizards.
Then, just as the meeting was supposed to start, a large group of people came rushing in, obviously not wanting to be late. They moved too quickly for Harry to get a good look at who was there, although he thought he saw George and Angelina in there somewhere. Knowing that it would take him awhile to get down there on his bad left leg, Harry instead chose to take off his cloak and Apparate down to the front of the room.
Harry had stuck in wand next to his throat and was preparing to magically amplify his voice when another large group of people walked in. Aberforth Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Rubeus Hagrid, Sturgis Podmore, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Percy Weasley, Fleur Weasley, and bringing up the rear was Arthur Weasley. It took a moment before Harry realized who this group was and why they were there before Arthur said it himself.
"Harry, we are the remaining active members of The Order of the Phoenix. We wish to join Dumbledore's Army." he said formally. It took a minute for Harry to compose himself. While he had never been an official Order member, he had very much associated himself with them. Now, what was left of the Order, including two Ministers of Magic, were joining his Order.
"Take a seat." Harry said with a smile. "I'll ensure that Hermione gets you a coin."
As the last large group took their seat, Harry looked to the back and noticed someone that he knew had not been in either group. As quickly as he could, he marched to the back of the room. As he did, he saw Cho moving down the outside aisle with him. As they reached the back, Harry drew his wand and held it menacingly to his side.
"I'm going to ask once. What are you doing here?" Harry asked roughly.
"Harry, I invited her." Cho said quickly.
Taking this information in stride, Harry continued. "What's your name?"
"Tracey Davis." the woman said softly. "I was in your year at Hogwarts."
"I don't recognize you." Harry replied. "What house were you in?"
"If you don't recognize me, doesn't that give you an answer?" Tracey replied with a snap. Instantly, Harry realized what she meant.
"I don't see in houses anymore." Harry said with a smile. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't here and trying to spy on us."
"I wasn't doing a very good job of hiding now, was I?" Tracey said smartly.
"True. Please, follow Cho and take a seat." Harry said quickly before turning and marching painfully back to the front of the room.
Once he was there, he turned to the crowd gathered and finally was able to get the meeting started. Amplifying his voice, Harry spoke.
"I would like to thank everyone for coming." Harry said, his voice echoing loudly throughout the hall. "Now, before I tell you all the very specific reason why you're here, I can tell you more broadly. Six years ago, this group of people sought to defend us from the power of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Each and every person in this room was present on that fateful day when he was finally defeated. Today, I'm going to ask you to stand up again and defend Britain again from a powerful evil."
His initial speech over, he turned and grabbed a quill and parchment from the table behind him.
"If you wish to help again, come to the front and sign this parchment. If you do not wish to help, you may leave now. As you have not signed the parchment, you will only remember this meeting until you go to bed tonight. After that, you will remember an incredibly enjoyable experience during the few moments you were here. Now, please sign and help me. If you do sign, I don't think I have to tell you that you can know what to expect if you betray us."
Chuckles scattered around the room as everyone remembered Marietta Edgecombe and her newly formed acne after she had betrayed them years earlier. For nearly fifteen minutes, people made their way up to the front of the room to sign the paper. Once they were done, he saw that every person in the room had signed the paper, a much better turnout than he had expected.
"Thank you, everyone." Harry said. "Now, the actual reason you are here in far more complex. As we all know, The Jester still runs free all across Europe. She was the mentor of the international terrorist known as the Frenchman. Have I lost anyone so far?"
Seeing no one raise any objection, Harry continued.
"Based on information we've found, we now know that these two are not working alone. In the past, they worked alongside the likes of Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald. Together, they formed something that they have simply called The Network."
Harry looked out on the crowd. He could already see that some of them were frightened by the simple mention of the Dark Lord. Hopefully they would be able to last through the rest of his brief speech.
"Now, while they may have been working for the same organization, they did not work together, per se. Instead, they worked independently with their own people working towards the same goal. In his youth, it was Grindelwald's goal to add Albus Dumbledore as a member of the Network. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful. Voldemort used his Death Eaters as his own operatives although I believe that he sought to include Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy as among the more senior members and possible members of the Network. Then, there was the Jester. At different times, it appears that she worked for Lord Voldemort and now is working independently. In turn, we have proof that the Frenchman worked with all three of them, The Jester, Voldemort and Grindelwald."
Suddenly, Harry saw a hand raise from the back. Leaning to his left, he saw that it was Hannah Abbott.
"What's your question?"
Slowly, Hannah stood where she was. She appeared to be nervous to ask. Thankfully, she worked up the nerve to speak up.
"If Grindelwald, You-Know-Who and The Jester were all on the same level, who of them was in charge? It has to be The Jester, right? She's the only one still alive."
"That's actual right where I was going next, Hannah." Harry said before flipping the chalkboard behind him over. On it, he had drawn a diagram of the Network from the Frenchman's notes. "The Big 3, Grindelwald, Voldemort and the Jester, were all on the same level. However, based on testimony from The Frenchman and other notes we've found of The Jester's and The Frenchman's, we know that there is some person that is one level higher. He is the leader of the Network."
"How do we know that they didn't just work together?" Zacharias Smith shouted from the back of the room. Just like in the past, Harry still wanted to hit him whenever he spoke.
"Because I've met the leader of the Network." Harry replied. "It's how I ended up needing this cane."
Harry couldn't have imagined the impact of those simple words. In a flash, a chill of fear surged through the room as people whispered their thoughts to the people around them. He knew they were all asking one question: how can we beat him if Harry already lost to him?
Acting quickly, Harry lifted his hand, silencing the crowd.
"Thanks." Harry said before starting again. "Despite what it may look like, I will beat this man the next time we meet. I've fought him and I've seen how he fights and I know that I can beat him. That is not for you to worry about. What I need from all of you is your cooperation. We don't know much about the Network right now. We aren't exactly certain what their motives are. However, we are going to find out."
"How? We don't know where they are!" a unknown voice shot out from the back of the room.
"Actually, I believe that we do. When we were in France, we took a look through The Frenchman's things. When we were there, we found some letters that The Jester had sent to him. So, I wrote a reply, placed a Tracking Charm on it and sent it back to her via The Frenchman's owl. It has since stopped at an apartment in downtown London. Within a couple days, we will be sending a group to search through that apartment. I don't expect that it will be where she is hiding. However, I do think it is her local HQ and that it will give us a lot of good information. Now, this is how we'll do it."
Harry spent the next hour splitting the DA into various groups and giving basic instructions before allowing Hermione to pass out coins to those that had either lost them or had not been a part of the Army in the last war. After that was done, Harry dismissed the group in front of him. However, several members stayed behind to talk to him for nearly another hour. Finally, it appeared that everyone aside from Cho and Hermione was gone.
"Well, I think that went well." Hermione said as the last group walked out. "I think we have the people we need."
"It's strange." Harry admitted. "This is basically the replacement for the Order and I'm in charge. Just seems weird."
"You'll do fine." Cho said softly before placing a small kiss on his cheek. "You did wonderful."
"Thanks." Harry said, his face reddening with embarrassment as Hermione looked at him with a smart look. Suddenly, Harry noticed that not everyone had left.
"Can I help you?" Harry asked as Tracey Davis approached him.
"Um, I wanted to thank you for letting me stay." she said, her voice incredibly soft. "I know that not everyone was very happy with you."
"I haven't been in school for seven years. So it's been that long since I cared about that."
"Well, I really appreciate it." Tracey said. "Is there any way that I could ask you one more favor?"
"You can ask." Harry said. "I'm not exactly sure what I can do."
"Alright, well, here's the deal. I'm friends with Daphne Greengrass who's married to Theodore Nott."
"I'm sorry for that." Harry said quickly.
"You know, for awhile, I wasn't. When we were in school, Daphne wasn't as crazy as some of the other Slytherins. However, in the past two or three years, she's really just gone over the edge with the whole Pureblood thing. I think marrying Nott had a lot to do with it. Anyway, my point is that if there's anyone in the country that's going to support the Network, it's going to be Theodore and Daphne."
"Alright. I'm not sure how this is turning into a favor." Harry said skeptically.
"I know that Daphne has had me followed in the past and she's constantly looking for dirt on any of her friends."
"You're worried that she will find out that you're helping us." Harry stated, not in the form of a question.
"Correct. I'm not worried about them finding out, I know she will. What I'm worried about is what will happen to me when they find out."
If Harry was correct in what she was asking, and he was sure that he was, she knew that someone was going to come after her when they found out that she was working with him. That meant that she was going to need some kind of protection.
"I assume that I'm correct in saying that you want to be moved to a hidden location."
"Just somewhere to sleep." Tracey said. "I don't trust the people that I work with in the Ministry not to give me up to save their own hides. I can watch my own back when I'm awake, I just need somewhere peaceful to sleep."
Harry thought about this. He had hardly any knowledge of this woman. However, just by watching her, he could tell that she was being honest. In fact, having spent some years fine tuning his Occlumency, he could often tell a person's intention simply by feeling. He had figured something like this, people need protection, would happen eventually. He just never thought it would be so soon. Deciding, Harry turned to Cho.
"Cho, take Tracey and get her set up in the room next to yours." Harry said.
"No problem, Harry." Cho replied before turning to Tracey. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."
"Thank you." Tracey said, an incredibly appreciative look in her eyes. "I'll make it up to you."
"There's no need." Harry replied truthfully. "Just continue to work with the DA and everything will be fantastic."
"I will!" Tracey said graciously before turning to follow Cho up the stairs. Harry watched as the pair of them marched up the stairs and out of sight before making his way to his favorite living room. Taking a seat, it was only moments later when he was asleep, exhausted from a day of overexerting himself.
May 9, 2004
8:44 PM
Potter Manor
To say that Harry was struggling to be patient was certainly short-selling it. Tonight, one of the small teams that he had established just a few days prior had gone to the location that Harry's letter to the Jester had stopped at. They had been gone for a little over an hour now and while Harry was certain that everything was fine, he couldn't stand waiting to find out.
So, Harry had taken a bottle of his best whiskey into the common room outside his bedroom, lit the fireplace and proceeded to get drunk. The fact that Cho was in the group that he had sent certainly hadn't made things better and if Harry was honest with himself, she was probably a large reason why he was so worried. She had certainly come to mean a lot to him over the past few months and while he certainly disliked that he allowed anyone to get close to him, he couldn't say that he minded having the beautiful witch around.
"Harry?"
Standing quickly and nearly falling over because of the whiskey, he raised his wand and saw Tracey Davis standing in the doorway to his room. Harry, even in his mildly drunk state, realized that he could have done something terrible just then.
"Tracey." Harry acknowledged her. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted some company. I'm in for the night and I can obviously see that you're worried about Cho. I thought maybe I could join you."
Harry considered the woman in front of him for a second before replying. Despite the fact that she had been living in his house for the past few days, he still had hardly seen her and knew almost nothing about her, having taken Cho's word that she was alright. Thinking about that for a moment, Harry decided that maybe he should get to know his house guest more.
"Of course, sit down." Harry said, motioning towards the other chair in the room.
Smoothly, Tracey walked across the room, taking a seat in the chair across from him. For several minutes, neither of them spoke, instead choosing to stare at the fireplace in silence. Finally, she spoke.
"Where did you go when you left?" she asked quietly.
Harry thought about her question. For all of the time that he had been back, everyone had just been concerned with the fact that he was back. Other than those that had been told, she was the first person to ask him where he had been.
"I spent almost all of my time in the United States. Eventually, I settled in Alaska."
"Alaska? Why Alaska?" Tracey asked him, as if he was crazy for having gone there.
"I wanted to disappear." Harry replied simply. "There's no better place to disappear than the edge of the world."
"I guess. I hate cold weather though. I can't imagine being somewhere that cold."
"Yeah, it's fairly cold." Harry said dumbly.
Again, the pair of them chose to sit in silence for a few more minutes. Harry continued to drink at a rate which would make a very unpleasant person sooner rather than later. It was several minutes of staring at the fire before she spoke again.
"Did Cho cash in for me to stay here?" Tracey asked, referencing a very Muggle phrase.
"Not exactly." Harry replied. "I told her I was doing it because you had come on her invitation. However, I did tell her that I severly hoped that you wouldn't do anything to make her regret inviting you."
"I won't, Harry."
"Well, I don't know that, do I?" Harry shot back. "I hardly remember you from school and this is honestly the first time we've ever spoken. I trust Cho. I didn't used to but I do now and that means that I trust her ability to judge character. I don't trust you, not yet anyway."
"I can understand that." Tracey said softly.
Everything about this woman confused Harry. She spoke and acted so timidly. She had asked for Harry's protection from a group of friends that she readily admitted she was afraid of. However, Harry could also see something underneath that. The fact that she had been willing to ask for help, to sacrifice any pride she had, there was a bravery in that. As a Slytherin, she had joined the newest edition of Dumbledore's Army and she had finally decided to separate herself from her friends. There was bravery there, as well.
Harry considered himself to be very good at assessing the heart of a person. Tracey may have been a Slytherin but she had lost that cunning over the years. She didn't have an edge to her eyes and she didn't seek to outdo anyone. Silently, Harry hoped that she was able to get that back. Harry had realized long ago that the best person was not a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff, Slytherin or Ravenclaw. No, the best person was the person that explified the best in all four houses. While Harry knew that he didn't always do that, he thought the best way for the new DA to be successful would be to emulate that.
That meant that a little Slytherin could go a long way.
Suddenly, Harry heard movement downstairs. Stumbling out his chair and grasping his cane, Harry limped down the hallway to the stairs. Moving as quickly as he could and grimacing the whole way down, Harry finally reached the main floor to see the group that he had sent to the Jester's London HQ: Cho Chang, Zacharias Smith, Oliver Wood and Cormac McClaggen, who was loudly complaining that things hadn't gone as he had expected because no one had listened to him.
Resisting the urge to punch McClaggen in the face, Harry approached Cho.
"How did it go?" Harry asked, resting heavily on his cane.
"Are you alright?" Cho asked, placing a delicate hand on his face.
"Fine. Just a little drunk." Harry said quickly. "Now, did you find anything?"
"We have an address in Paris. No letters. We figured they finally caught on to how we were gathering all of our information."
"How did you find the address then?"
"We found it in an address book that was inside a desk. I imagine that she forgot that it was there. Either that, or-"
"Or she left it there to draw us to where she is." Harry interrupted. "She's seeking a confrontation. She's either getting impatient or her boss knows that he hurt me and is asking her to draw me out to finish me off."
"What do you think?"
Harry was about to answer when suddenly someone came bursting through his front door. Looking passed Cho, he noticed that it was Hermione, looking as stressed and harrassed as he had ever remembered her looking.
"Harry!" she yelled as she approached him. It wasn't until she got up closer when he realized that she was bleeding. Bracing himself, Hermione fell weakly into his arms. Laying her down gently on the tile they stood on, Harry assessed the damage. It was a rather deep gash in her right side. Thankfully, it was nothing life threatening.
"Hermione, how did this happen?"
Unfortunately for Harry, Hermione had been so worked up that she could hardly breath let alone speak. It took two or three minutes for Harry to calm her down before she could speak. When she was finally able to breath in a normal patter, Harry asked her again.
"Hermione, what's wrong?"
"She was there." Hermione said, still breathing roughly. "The Jester attacked the Ministry."
9:03 PM
The Ministry of Magic
London, UK
Minutes later, Harry, after taking Hermione to St. Mungo's, walked into the Atrium at the Ministry. It was a mess. The statue in the center of the Atrium had been destroyed and many of the Floo Fires on the side of the room had been blown away from the walls, leaving giant holes. There were bodies lying all over the floor, some of them intact and others much less so.
Suddenly, Percy Weasley approached Harry.
"Harry, you need to get out of here." he said seriously.
"Are you crazy? The Jester did this! I'm looking for clues." Harry replied quickly.
"I know that, Harry. However, Robards is on a rampage. He thinks that you are working with her and that's why you haven't caught her yet."
"That's insane. I'll deal with that fat pig if I see him but for right now, I'm getting to work on looking for leads."
"You'll do no such thing, Potter."
Slowly, Harry turned around to see Gawain Robards, flanked by four Aurors, all of them with their wands pointed at him.
"You've gone absolultely made, Robards." Harry spat. "If you think for one moment that capturing me is going to do anything but put more people in danger, you've got another thing coming."
"Gawain, lower your wand." Percy ordered him.
"Shut your yap, Weasley. Your daddy may have controlled me but you'll do no such thing. I know for a fact that Potter is working with that bitch and I'm taking him in."
"Really, Robards? Where's your proof?" Harry shouted, subtly removing his wand from his pocket in his cloak. "Where's one shred of proof that I am working with her?"
"Proof? I don't need proof, Potter! Everyone knows you're a criminal and this just proves it!"
"Gawain, this is the last time, lower your wand!"
"Weasley, if you say one more thing, I-"
Suddenly, Harry raised his wand and blasted Robards straight in the chest with a silent Stunner. Within seconds, Harry had disarmed and knocked out the other four Aurors. Even though Harry was drunk and injured, they stood no chance. Once he saw that they were done, Harry turned back to Percy.
"We'll have to talk to your father about him." Harry said, breathing deeply and wincing from the pain in his leg.
"Yeah, he'll be gone tomorrow."
"Can you just make that decision?" Harry asked in confusion.
"I can now." Percy said before turning and indicating Harry to follow him. Confused, Harry took up his cane and did as the Junior Minister asked. Walking towards the Minister's office, Harry noticed that the wreckage was getting worse and worse. Blood was spattered all over the walls and there were more and more dead bodies and more of the bodies were clad in Auror robes. Finally, they got to the hallway where his own office was, just steps away from the Minister's office.
That's when he saw him. Laying on the floor as peaceful as anyone could have been was Arthur Weasley. Harry looked desperately for any sign of life, any sign that this was a cruel joke. After all, Arthur Weasley had raised the masters of the practical joke. Yet, he knew he would never do that. That, plus the lack of any signs of life told Harry all he needed to know.
Arthur Weasley, surrogate father to Harry Potter, member of the Order of the Phoenix, father, husband and friend, was dead.
"Oh my god, no." Harry whispered, tears forming in his eyes.
"I had gone home." Percy said softly next to him. "Normally, I work late with Father. This time, I wanted to see Penelope since I had spent so many late nights here. She came in ten minutes later. It wasn't very smooth. She forced entry which set off the alarms. Unfortunately, that meant more people were here when she attacked as Aurors came rushing back to the Ministry. If she had just been smarter, it would have just been Father. Instead, we think nearly 100 people were killed tonight."
"How did it happen?" Harry asked, his voice rough.
"The alarm goes off at my house." Percy said softly. "When it went off, I immediately rushed back to the Ministry. When I saw the path of destruction, I knew where she was headed. Following the mess, I turned the corner and saw her dueling with someone. It wasn't until I peeked around the corner that I saw that it was Dad. He held up pretty well against a witch of her ability. Unfortunately, his age caught up to him and she hit him in the chest with a Killing Curse. I hid behind a desk until she disappeared. More than anything, I wanted to chase after her but I knew that I couldn't, that people would need me."
"You made the right decision, Percy." Harry replied. "Who else knows?"
"No one. The rest of the family knows that there's been an attack. They're all holed up at the Burrow."
"I'll tell them." Harry said forcefully. "I should have caught her."
"Harry, you couldn't have expected this."
"I should have."
Suddenly, a junior Ministry official approached the two of them from behind.
"Minister Weasley, the news conference has been set up. You'll give the address in one hour."
"Minister Weasley?" Harry said suddenly.
"In the case of a death in the Minister of Magic, the Junior Minister becomes the Interm Minister until the Wizengamot approves his position or calls for elections."
"Wow."
"Yeah, not exactly how I wanted to get the job." Percy said, a single tear escaping his eye.
"You'll do your father proud." Harry said softly. "I've got to go. I'm going to tell your family for you."
"Thank you, Harry. There are people that need me here."
"I know. And they need me there."
9:36 PM
The Burrow
Ottery St. Catchpole, UK
As Harry landed in the grasses outside the Burrow, he took a look at the house that had been his second home for years. Knowing that neither the mother nor the father of that home lived left him with an empty place in his heart that he knew would never be filled. Taking a deep breath, Harry started towards the house, thinking about what he was going to say.
As he got closer, he saw Ginny in the window and tears filled his eyes. Even though she was an adult, she was now an orphan like him. They all were. Harry marched the last steps to the house and slowly opened the back door.
Unexpectedly, he found a wand aimed directly at his face. Looking down the arm it belonged to, he saw the tired face of Hermione Weasley.
"Hermione, it's me."
"Prove it." she said roughly.
"The first time I saw my parent's grave was on Christmas Eve with you." Harry said, telling her something that hadn't been in the book on his life. "It was the day that I fell in love with you."
Blushing madly, Hermione pulled her wand back from Harry's face and then nearly tackled him in a hug.
"How did you get out of there?" Harry whispered into her ear.
"I was coming towards the Atrium when she broke in. She attacked me and knocked me back towards a Floo Fire. I took the Floo to my house and then Apparated to yours."
"Well," Harry started, breaking their hug. "I'm glad you're okay. Who is here?"
"All of them." Hermione said. "Charlie and Bill were orginally both scheduled to go back home early this evening. They had even been on their way there but when they found out that an attack had happened at the Ministry, they decided that they needed to be stay in the country."
"Good. Can you go get them?"
"Sure. What's this all about?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"A DA Mission that I need all of them for." Harry lied.
It took several minutes to round up all of the Weasleys and get them into the dining room. As they all sat down, Harry nodded at them individually. Finally, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Ileana, George, Angelina, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all sat in the main dining room.
"As you all know, there's been an attack on the Ministry." Harry started formally before stopping to prevent himself from breaking down.
"Harry, what is it?" Ginny asked softly and fearfully next to him.
"The Jester attack the Minister with one purpse: kill Arthur Weasley."
"Is she serious?" George said with a grin. "She wants to mess with the man that betwitches cars and plays with Muggle electrical appliances. So, what did Dad do to her?"
The humor in the question made it impossible for Harry to answer. Instead, tears simply began flowing from his eyes as he looked around the room, knowing that he had let down the only family he had ever know.
"She killed him." Harry said simply through his tears.
"What?" George asked seriously.
"She cursed her way to his office where he was waiting for her. He dueled her and put up a pretty good fight according to Percy."
"No."
It was a solitary word. Only two letters but those two letters, coming from the mouth of Ginny Weasley, were all that could be said.
"He's dead?" Charlie asked softly from the other end of the table.
Slowly, Harry nodded his head before standing up.
"He died, fighting to the end. Percy is the acting Minister until the Wizengamot rules otherwise. He's going to need your support. Make sure you're there for him." Harry said before making his way to the door.
However, just before he opened the door and left, he turned back to the stunned family that sat around the dining room table of the Burrow.
"I'm sorry." Harry started simply. "It was my job to find her and I didn't move quick enough. If I had moved quicker, he would still be here and I wouldn't have to come and give you this terrible news. I'm so sorry."
With that, Harry opened the door and rushed out the door on his way to the edge of the grounds and the wards that went with them. He was nearly to the edge of the grounds when he felt someone jump on his back, tackling him to the ground. As he fell, Harry withdrew his wand and, despite his injuries, rolled back up on to his feet. Even in the fading sunlight, Harry saw Ron stand up a look of fury in his eyes.
"Ron, I said-"
"I know what you said, mate!" Ron shouted. "What could possibly make you think that this is your fault?"
"It was my job to find her and to stop her and I failed!"
"Harry, you've found more information on her in a few months than we've found in the two years that she's been active! When we do find her, it will be because you did it!"
"But, I still didn't do it quick enough! Your dad is DEAD because of that!"
"This has nothing to do with you! My dad was the Minister of Magic! Even if you hadn't been around, he would have been a target for her and he knew it! He was talked about how he was surprised that she never came to the house! He knew every risk of being the Minister and chose to take the job anyway!"
"If I had caught her, he wouldn't have had to worry about it!"
"If it wasn't her, it would just be someone else!" Ron shouted.
Suddenly, Hermione stepped right up to Harry and planted a massive kiss right on his lips. In that instant, Harry forgot everything. When she let him go, Harry could hardly breath, let alone continue his argument. Hermione stayed close to his, whispering in his ear.
"We all love you, Harry. I love you."
"Hermione, that's not goi-"
"Stop it." she ordered softly. "Stop pushing us away. We know who you are. We know that and we stay with you anyway. So this time, just stay with us. We need you here, Harry."
Finishing her own method of persuasion, she stepped away from Harry, looking at him knowingly. However, there was one person there who didn't particuarly like her method.
"What the hell did you do that for?" Ron shouted.
"You weren't getting to him." Hermione said simply. "I thought I'd try another tactic."
"Well, it worked but let me know if you're going to go around kissing my best mate more in the future."
"I'll try." Hermione replied before looking back at Harry. "Should we go to the Ministry?"
"No." Harry said softly. "Pack up your stuff for a few days. You're coming to be guests at Hotel Potter."
May 11, 2004
12:00 Noon
The Atrium at the Ministry of Magic
It had been a long couple of days to say the least. However, Harry knew that this was going to be the hardest part: Arthur's memorial at the Ministry. There would be a small gathering of family and such afterwards but nothing formal would occur there, no service. This would be Arthur Weasley's big farewell to the world.
"I would like to thank everyone for coming today."
The voice belonged to Kingsley Shacklebolt. The former Minister would be conducting the ceremony today in honor of his successor.
"I would like to thank you for coming." he repeated. "Today, we are here to honor the life of Arthur Charles Weasley. Before we get to the speaker, I would like to give you brief history of Arthur's life. Arthur was born on February 6, 1950 to Septimus and Cedrella Weasley. He got rather good marks while at school before moving on to the Ministry. During his year's at school, he met Molly Prewitt who he married just months after they graduated from Hogwarts. Despite his good grades, Arthur was only able to get a job in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office where he remained until 1996 when he was promoted to..."
Kingsley continued to give the rest of Arthur's biography. For Harry, none of that mattered right now. What mattered was that Arthur was dead and regardless of what his friends had said, he felt there was something that he could have done to prevent it. Looking from his place at the stage at the Weasley family in the front of the crowd, he couldn't help but think about how much different their life would have been had they not involved themselves with him. Sure, Arthur may have never made it all the way up to Minister, but he would have lived. Fred would have lived. Things would have been so much different.
He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had missed Percy speaking and introducing him. Suddenly, he noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him and he knew that it must have been his time to speak. Rushing to the magical microphone and podium, Harry withdrew a heavily folded piece of paper and laid it out in front of him.
"Sorry everyone." Harry said quickly, eliciting some chuckles from the crowd.
Harry took a look at the words that he had prepared. Reading them, he realized that they didn't sound anything like them. So, he took the paper and crumpled it up and threw it of to one side of the stage. He heard a couple people gasp, thinking that maybe he wasn't going to say something. Quite the opposite actually, he wanted to say something about Arthur from the heart, not something he had written two days ago.
"Arthur Weasley was sworn in as the Minister of Magic on January 6th of this year. His death two days ago makes him the shortest tenured Minister of Magic ever, a term of only five months and three days."
Harry took a deep breath and looked down at the family in front of him. Then, in just one moment, he realized that they were also his family. He could remember the exact day that he had met each every one of them. He could vividly remember a memory between just the two of them. Whether it was Bill at Shell Cottage, George and Fred giving him the Marauder's Map or Fleur saying goodbye to him at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, he knew all of them as if they were his family. Harry realized that could only be the case if they were his actual family, blood or not.
"Five months and three days." Harry repeated. "He's the first popularly elected Minister in the history of Britain. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and he was present at the Battle of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, none of that really matters when it came to Arthur Weasley."
Looking down directly at the Weasleys, he continued: "Arthur Weasley was a Weasley first and foremost. Nothing means more to a Weasley than to be part of the Weasleys, which means to be an incredibly strange and strong family. The Weasleys were the first wizarding family I came into contact with and I thought they were absolutely insane. They had a son who worked with goblins, another with dragons, one who was obsessive compulsive about his grades, a pair of twins who thought it was their life's goal to blow up everything, another son who had the nerves of a noodle at times and nerves of steel at others and a daughter with a temper as legendary as any person I've ever."
Seeing the smile on their faces, Harry decided that he was on the right track.
"The mother of the Weasleys was as caring as person you could possibly imagine while also crossing over onto borderline imprisonment of her children. She made some of the greatest dishes I've ever had the pleasure of eating and cared for me more than the only flesh and blood I knew had. But, honestly, it was Arthur that was the strangest of them all and that was due to his love of all things Muggle. He couldn't get his hands on enough Muggle objects and he took every opportunity he could to grill me on the latest Muggle invention, even though I stopped following the Muggle world the second I stepped into this one."
All around the room, he could see people laughing. He knew they weren't laughing at him or his stories. Instead, they were thinking of their own memories of Arthur, as strange and interesting a man he had ever met.
"Like I said, Arthur was sworn in on January 6th." Harry said with a smile on his face before he quickly sobered up. "He was sworn in and I wasn't here to see it. The man who had been the father I had never had the luxury of having was celebrated the greatest achievement in his political life and I wasn't here. Why? I wasn't here because I was angry. I was angry because I felt that I had been abandoned by those closest to me and by everyone else. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized that my family never left me, they were with me the whole time. No, it was only a small group of angry people that betrayed me and hated me for all I had done."
Turning to a large picture of Arthur and his old Ford Anglia that had been put up behind him, he spoke directly to him.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you on your big day. I'm sorry I wasn't there when Molly was sick and I'm sorry I wasn't there for all of the hardships that I left behind when I took off."
As Harry turned around, he looked down at the Weasleys.
"Your father was the most incredible man I ever had the fortune of meeting." he said softly before facing the crowd again. "Arthur wouldn't have wanted any of this. He would have thought it was silly. But it isn't. A man like Arthur Weasley needs to be celebrated. So that's what you should with the rest of your day: celebrate! Go out and visit Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and pick up some Extendable Ears from his son, George! Go look at a Muggle automobile! Have fun with your day because that is what Arthur Weasley would have wanted! Goodbye, Arthur. We'll miss you."
Feeling that he had said exactly what he had wanted to, Harry gave a small bow and took his seat on the stage again. That was until he was attacked by a flurry of long red hair. As he hit the stage behind him, he noticed that it was Ginny laying on top of him, hugging him furiously.
"Thank you." she whispered in his ears.
"No problem, Gin."
11:14 PM
The Office of the Minister of Magic
London, UK
"What are the casualties like?"
Late in the evening following Arthur's funeral, Harry met with Percy and the rest of the DA leadership inside the office that Percy's father had inhabited until just a few days ago. They met to discuss the attack on the Ministry and the new information that Cho's group had discovered at the Jester's London HQ.
"95 deaths, 112 injuries." Percy said gravely. "Senior officials Roger Davies, Terry Fitzgerald and Amos Diggory were killed. Cornelius Fudge was also killed, although he didn't die until earlier this evening."
"That's too many." Ron whispered next to him. "We need to find her and quick."
"Well, we got an address from an address book that she left in a desk at her London HQ." Cho replied. "We think it's probably a trap but-"
"It may be one we want to trip." Percy completed before looking at Harry. "Are you certain that you can trip it without getting caught?"
"If it's her tripping the trap, even with my mobility issues, I will take her apart. If it's the other guy, then we may have other issues. But, I think it's her."
"How many of you will go?" Percy asked.
"Probably twelve people or so. No one that works at the Ministry other than me." Harry replied, noticing the angry looks he was getting around the room. "I know you are all angry at me but as we just saw, we can't afford to have any more Ministry officials leaving."
"She attacked at night, Harry!" Hermione shouted. "We aren't going to be here then!"
"Neither will anyone else." Percy said confidently from across the desk. "I'm instituting a new policy. The Ministry will be closing at seven o'clock each evening. Anyone caught in the building will be prosecuted for trespassing."
"Seriously?" Hermione said. "I do a lot of work late here."
"It's for everyone's safety. There is too much at stake right now for us to be sitting here late at night without the numbers we need."
"I guess." Hermione replied, looking very disappointed.
"Anyway, tomorrow I'm taking twelve people to Paris via Portkey." Harry said to Percy. "Can you give us a place for everyone to meet? I would prefer not to take down the wards on my house again."
"Yeah, I think we can do something for you."
May 12, 2004
12 Grimmauld Place
11:00 PM
The group that Harry had assembled to go with him to Paris was a strange one. Harry was obviously there accompanied by Ginny and Luna, the other two members of the DA leadership that didn't work at Hogwarts or the Ministry. Tracey wasn't observing anyone at the school that day and had volunteered to join them. George and Angelina had left their shop with one of the higher employees to come with him today. Ernie MacMillan had left his desk at Gringott's for the day. Hannah Abbott had closed down the Leaky Cauldron to join the rest of the group. Justin Finch-Fletcher, who Harry had no idea what he did for a living, was there as well.
But the strangest members of the group were the last three because, up until a few days ago, they had never been members of Dumbledore's Army. They were Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall and Fleur Weasley.
"Alright everyone, this is how this is going to work." Harry said, speaking over everyone. "Percy has set this Portkey to go at 11:05 so I only have a few moments to explain this. We're going to split into three groups. Group one will include myself, Ginny and Fleur. We're going to be the ones actually going inside the penthouse. Group two will be led by Minerva and will include Luna, Tracey, Justin and Ernie. Group three will be Kingsley leading George, Angelina and Hannah. Group two will take the north side of the apartment building, spacing yourself around the building evenly. Group three will do the same on the south side of the building. If any one of the three of us going in send a Patronus, you are to follow whatever command it gives to a T, is that clear?"
Harry looked around the room to see everyone nodding with understanding. Seeing that, he continued.
"We believe that this is intended to be a trap set up by the Jester to take me down permanently. I have no intention of letting that happen. However, if it does, mission command falls to Ginny, is that understood?" Harry said, again noticing agreement among anyone. "Orders are to be followed to the letter. If you have a question, wait until we get back and ask. While we're there, we move and we do it quickly and quietly."
Finishing his prepping speech, Harry looked at his watch and noticed that they had only thirty seconds before the Portkey would send them away. Giving everyone an indication that it was time, they surrounded the Portkey, a large serving tray that was big enough for a group of twelve to grab it simulatneously.
"Three, two, one." Harry whispered before feeling that familiar pull behind his navel and disappearing into nothing.
Paris, France
11:06 PM
As they landed roughly in the alley a block away from the building they were aiming for, most of the group actually succeeded in landing on their feet. Only Hannah and Justin fell and Hannah only feel because Justin fell on top of her. Looking embarrassed, they both scrambled to their feet as quickly as they could. Once everyone was ready to go, they moved quickly. Within moments, the other two groups raced around the block and were out of Harry's sight.
Going as fast as Harry's still sore leg could move (even though he had Hermione give him a Pepper-Up Potion that would cause him to ignore much of the pain), the smallest group raced towards the apartment building. The building itself was immaculate and Harry could tell that only the wealthiest of the wealthy could live there. In fact, with the penthouse having on of the best views of the Eiffel Tower in the city, he knew that alone would jack up the price.
"Fleur, do your work." Harry nodded to the half-Veela.
Quickly, Fleur strode through the door and began speaking to the desk man. Even standing nearly twenty-five yards away, Harry could feel the hair standing up on the back of his neck as Fleur worked her magic. Seconds later, she nodded her head and the three of them sprinted across the lobby and towards the elevator. Again, Fleur worked her magic on the elevator operator, forcing Harry to bite down on his tongue so that he could fight the urges that he was feeling based on Fleur's persuasion techniques. Harry could tell that Ginny noticed what was going on with him, giving him a weak smile. Thinking about it, Harry was proud of himself for not ripping her clothes off when she looked at him.
Once Fleur got her way with the man, they all packed into the elevator and rode it straight up to the top. As the elevator crawled to a stop and the doors opened, Harry, Fleur and Ginny poured out of the doors and began searching the apartment. Even for being inside an apartment building, it was enormous and Harry suspected that it was magically enlarged just like the Frenchman's apartment had been.
For nearly thirty minutes, they searched the apartment and found nothing. No sign of anything magical in the least. Harry repeated checked rooms for wards and for hidden passages but found nothing.
Just as he was ready to give up, he suddenly noticed that the elevator was moving, coming up from the bottom floor. Swiftly, Harry turned to the other two.
"I want you to go in the room furthest away from here." Harry ordered. "If I need you, you'll know."
Harry could tell that both of them looked apprehensive about leaving him here with her alone.
"What did I say about orders?" Harry said, a small growl coming into his voice.
Understanding the line of questioning, the two witches quickly made their way out of the room, leaving Harry alone. Seconds passed slowly as Harry watched the elevator level increase on the sign above the door. Finally, it reached the floor he stood on and the door opened.
Inside stood Azoli Vinogradoff, The Jester, with the elevator operator dead on the floor.
"Harry Potter." she said smoothly. "So nice to see you again."
"It's too bad I can't say the same for you." Harry replied, flicking his wand so the blinds collapsed on all of the floor length windows that surrounded the apartment. The last thing that Harry needed was a warning on the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy."
"How is your leg doing?" she asked, feigning concern.
"It will be much better when you're not around." Harry replied, venom creeping into his voice.
"But won't you miss chasing me? If I'm gone, what will you do then?"
"We both know you aren't the only person left to chase."
"Oh. You want to chase him? That's what this is about, is it? I'm not good enough for you?" she said, anger started to influence the volume of her voice. "We'll just have to see, now won't we?"
"Certainly." Harry said, before raising his wand and attacking.
His silent Torture Curse blasted The Jester directed in the chest, causing her to scream in pain and collapse onto the floor. Once she recovered, she quickly leapt to her feet and struck back, firing her own Torture Curse in reply. Harry stepped to the side and then stepped forward, launching a stream of curses.
With that, they were off. Neither of them played much defense, choosing to fight fire with fire instead. Unlike the last duel between the two where Harry chose to play defense to wear her out, he was refusing to let her settle in on a steady stream by launching quick barrages of spells that broke up the rhythm of her attack. Even though they rarely hit, Harry could tell that he was seriously frustrating her.
Finally, one of her curses got through to Harry, launching him backwards through the wall that separated them from the reception area they had been in and the dining room just off of it. Flying through the wall, Harry landed on the dining room table, forcing to collapse under the impact. As quickly as he could, Harry rolled away, knowing that this was the kind of opportunity that she would be looking for.
As he rolled away, Harry saw a Killing Curse strike exactly where he had been. This time, she wasn't going to try and play with him. Instead, she was going for the quick kill. This meant one thing above all: she respected him enough to not play with him. This made her ultimately more dangerous because she wouldn't bad mouth or taunt him. Instead, she would go for the kill shot.
Standing up, Harry launched his own counter attack. Once he finished his quick barrage, Harry went back to the strategy that had worked so well during their first battle, with one alteration. His constant Shield Charms were broken up only by the occasional attack that kept her from being able to truly open up with the speed that she would have liked. Harry could tell from the look of rage on her face that was getting angrier which would only make her sloppier.
Sure enough, she sent three Killing Curses that Harry stepped out of the way of before lowering her wand just a few inches. Since the hole this produced, Harry fired.
"Diffindo!"
The white light shot across the room, hitting her in the face and spattering blood all across the wall behind her. When she turned back around, the whole left side of her face had been peeled back and there was a large cut across her face that even appeared to have cut into her eye a bit. Smiling with the result of his action, Harry fired again, this time choosing three quick Stunners. As he expected, she blocked all three rather easily before stepping back towards him. However, in the time it had taken for her to block them, Harry had gotten close. Too close for her, as it turned out, as Harry launched a solid left uppercut to her stomach, knocking her to the floor.
He knew that most wizards would frown upon resorting to Muggle tactics. However, it was unpredictable for most witches and wizards and it gave him a distinct advantage. As she tried to catch her breath, Harry leveled his wand again.
"Expulso!"
The spell hit her directly in the chest. Just like he had been thrown through the wall behind him, she was launched backwards through two walls and a cabinet full of fine China. As Harry looked through the holes that her entry had caused, she stood up, her face gushing blood and a large shard of glass sticking out of her shoulder. Harry had to admit that she was tough. Raising her wand, she instead aimed it at the walls in front of her and with a wave, blew them away leaving an open space between them.
"I've been looking forward to this, Potter." she said weakly, breathing deep from pain and exhaustion. "Everyone said that before he became a useless drunk, Harry Potter had been among the best duelists in the world. Unpredictable and dangerous, you never knew what you were going to get when you fought him. His tactics never the same and his methods unusual, there was no way to prepare for him. You don't disappoint."
"I do try to please." Harry said boldly.
"Oh, I can tell." she said before lining up her wand towards him again. "It's too bad that even at your best, you're no match for me."
"Avada Kedavra!"
The green curse came flying at him. Thinking back to their first duel, Harry lined up his wand, standing strong as the green blast got closer.
"Confringo!"
The two curses collided in midair, causing a massive explosion that blew all of the glasses out of the many windows that surrounded him. Falling to the floor, Harry aimed his wand towards The Jester again.
"Diffindo!"
This time, it didn't simply hit her eye. Instead, it removed her left leg. Screaming in pain as her leg slipped away from the rest of her body, she collapsed to the floor, holding the stub that used to be her leg. Standing up weakly, Harry limped towards the fallen witch. Aiming his wand at her leg, he fired.
"Incendo."
Flames shot up from the stub as he quickly cauterized her wound, causing the bleeding to stop. However, Harry to imagine that it would actually be more painful that if she had simply bled out.
Good.
Walking around towards her head, Harry stepped on her hand, causing a bone in her thumb to break. Before he began his interrogation, Harry saw Fleur and Ginny run into the room.
"Harry?"
"It's all good." Harry said with a smile before looking down. "Ms. Vinogradoff and I were about to have a nice talk. Weren't we?"
"Go fuck yourself, Potter." she said weakly. So, Harry pressed down harder on her hand.
"Do I have your attention?" Harry asked mockingly. He had never imagined himself as someone who truly enjoyed causing pain to someone else. However, The Jester was a different breed. She had worked for the man who had killed his biological parents and had actually killed his adoptive father. To say that Harry was angry was a severe understatment.
"Yes." she whispered softly in reply.
"Good." Harry said with a smile. "Now, who attacked me at Christoph's home?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Quickly, Harry lifted his boot and brought it down on her hand, causing another finger to break. Harry knew that he could have done all of this easier with magic. However, for many witches and wizards, the fear of actually physical injury was overwhelming.
"Harry!" Ginny shouted from across the room.
"He calls himself the Lost Angel!" she shouted in pain.
"The Lost Angel?" Harry mocked. "What kind of ridiculous name is that?"
"I don't know his real name." The Jester explained beneath him. "All I know is that he recruited me. He found me when I was younger. I think I was fourteen or fifteen. He said that I could control the world. I am the best witch I know. However, my family was very poor. I knew that I would never get anywhere. So, I changed my name and joined him. When he told me I was ready, I was forced to duel him. He nearly killed me just a few seconds."
"That's too bad. Now, why does he call himself The Lost Angel?"
"Because that's what he is." she said, suddenly appearing fearful. "He's something different. I've worked with him for years as a spy with Lord Voldemort and then directly underneath him. I had thought I'd seen power when I joined Lord Voldemort. Then, The Lost Angel visited Voldemort and thrashed him about like a rag doll. He's something else, something not human."
"You actually believe this shit, don't you?" Harry replied with a sneer. "He may be powerful but he's only human. Angels don't exist. They're only existance is in the form of children's bedtime stories."
"You'll see, Harry Potter. When he kills you, when he makes you beg for mercy, you will become a believer."
"I doubt that." Harry replied as he aimed his wand at her. "See you in hell."
"He lied to you."
"Who did?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Christoph. The Frenchman knew everything. In fact, he'd been working with The Lost Angel to discover how much we knew about each other. He lied to you."
"He wasn't working with The Lost Angel. He was working with someone else." Harry retorted. "Plus, he's dead."
"What?" she asked in shock.
"Lucius Malfoy killed him under your order." Harry said softly. Suddenly, she shifted to an entirely different mood: one of arrogance.
"Well, in that case, I'm happy. I thought one of you had gotten to him."
"Nope." Harry replied, reaiming his wand. "By the way, tell him we said hi."
"Avada Kedavra!"
With a green flash, the life left the eyes of The Jester, ending her reign of terror. Looking up, he saw a look of fear in the eyes of Fleur and Ginny.
"Harry, don't you think we should have taken her back to London?" Ginny asked softly.
"She died in battle." Harry replied. "We would have never been able to get her home. The man she works for would have seen to that."
"I guess." Ginny replied. "Are we done here?"
Harry nodded before speaking. "Let's go home."