Chapter 9
The Boy Who Survived
"Neville? NEVILLE?" Harry gasped. How could that possibly be, he wanted to scream. It was he, not Neville, whom Voldemort had been trying to kill these last few years. He, not Neville, that had lived with Muggles for a decade before he even knew he was a wizard. It was his parents, not Neville's, that were murdered because of Voldemort. Although Neville's parents, he remembered guiltily, were now insane and didn't even recognize him anymore.
Mr. Weasley ran a hand through his thinning hair. "I know it sounds fantastic, Harry –"
"Fantastic?" George blurted. "Dad, it's unbelievable! Neville is hopeless –"
"George, that's unkind." Mrs. Weasley said sharply. "We don't know what Neville Longbottom is capable of."
"Mum, come on, we know Neville," Fred said. "He's good in Herbology, and he's got a knack with Charms, but he's a duffer in everything else."
"But he did well at Defense Against the Dark Arts when Harry was teaching it!" Ginny said on his behalf. "And he was really good when we fought the Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic."
"But could he take on You-Know-Who himself?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking intently at Harry. Harry shook his head slowly.
Mr. Weasley sat still for several moments, then stood. "I'd better get to the Ministry and find out what's been happening," he said. He leaned over and gave a worried-looking Mrs. Weasley a kiss on the cheek. "They may need some help there. Don't worry, Molly, I'll be fine." His voice lowered some as he added, "I'll let you know on the you-know-what when I find out anything."
"It's alright, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, patting him on the arm and looking around. "They know about the coins. I gave Harry one the day of his hearing, in case I needed to send him a message."
"Ah," Mr. Weasley said. "Very good, then. All right, I'm off." And he swept through the kitchen door and out into the evening. Just past the gate, he turned on his heel and was gone.
Neville and what might have happened at his grandmother's house were the topics of discussion for the rest of the evening. Harry was largely silent throughout most of the discussion; he'd begun to feel that, no matter what he said, it was going to come out sounding like sour grapes. Could Neville actually have killed Voldemort? Anything was possible, he had to admit. Harry had faced Voldemort himself three times now: first in the body of Professor Quirrel; second, a young Tom Riddle brought back through his diary, when he'd possessed Ginny Weasley and nearly killed her. And finally, he'd faced Voldemort directly at the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts, after Wormtail had killed Cedric Diggory and used Harry's own blood ("Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe") to restore Voldemort to full life and power. And even though he hadn't fought Voldemort directly at the Department of Mysteries, he was involved in the battle between him and Professor Dumbledore as Voldemort tried to force Dumbledore to kill Harry by possessing his body. Harry could not fight back then, he had been powerless against the Dark Lord's possession, wracked by intense pain and ready to give up. Only when he'd thought of being with Sirius, who passed through the veil only minutes before then, did Voldemort flee, leaving an exhausted, grieving Harry to be returned to Hogwarts, a Harry who, devastated at the death of his godfather, had raged at Dumbledore and smashed many of his possessions before Dumbledore told him the truth about himself, Voldemort, and the Prophecy.
That prophecy, made a year before Harry was born, was spoken by Sibyll Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore as he interviewed her for the Divination position at Hogwarts. It foretold a person who could vanquish the Dark Lord, a person who would be born as the seventh month died, and who the Dark Lord would mark as his equal. Those who bore him would have defied him three times, as both Harry's and Neville's parents had done. Both Harry and Neville were born as July ended; Neville was one day older than Harry.
But Harry was the one who had been marked as Voldemort's equal. The lightning scar on his forehead, the only mark left on him after Voldemort's attack had rebounded, destroying his body and Harry's parent's home in Godric's Hollow, as well as Voldemort's use of Harry's blood in his revival, were strong indications that Voldemort could regard him as an equal. Harry remembered an odd moment, when he told Professor Dumbledore that Voldemort had used his blood, when he thought he saw elation or triumph in Dumbledore's eyes; why had he remembered that just now?
Later that night, after they were in bed, Harry heard Ron turning to and fro restlessly. Finally, "Harry?" he said.
"Yeah."
"Do you really think Neville did it, or not?"
Harry was silent for so long Ron finally said his name again. "Ron, I don't know what to think. Neville beat Voldemort? I guess anybody could get lucky enough –"
"Harry, that's it!" Ron's voice filled with excitement. "What if he got some Felix Felicis?"
"Um, yeah…" Felix Felicis was luck in a potion. Harry had won a small vial of it at the beginning of the last school year, enough for one person for twelve hours. He'd used some of it to get Horace Slughorn to give him a memory of a conversation between him and Voldemort when the latter was attending Hogwarts and the Dark Lord had asked him about Horcruxes. The rest of it had been used by Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna when Draco Malfoy had let Death Eaters loose in Hogwarts Castle. "But where would Neville get Felix Felicis, Ron?"
"Maybe he made it?"
"It takes six months to make it. And Neville's not good at Potions."
"Oh, yeah…" Ron fell silent. Harry, who was tired from thinking about it so much that evening, had almost fallen asleep when Ron piped up and said, "What if he bought some?"
"Ron, go to sleep. We'll probably find out tomorrow what happened."
When they came down the next morning for breakfast they found Hermione already up, a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of her. She was scanning it intently. Mrs. Weasley looked up from the stove as they entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, dears," she said. She sounded a bit subdued. "Ready for breakfast?"
"Yes, please," Harry said.
"Yeah, I'm starving," Ron said. Mrs. Weasley tipped sausages and eggs onto their plates which they immediately tucked into while continuing to watch Hermione read the paper. She appeared not to have noticed them although she'd shifted a bit when Ron sat beside her.
"Anyone we know dead?" Ron finally asked.
"Lord Voldemort, apparently," she said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "The entire paper is about the attack at Neville's grandmother's house yesterday. Here," she said, handing the paper to Harry. "See for yourself."
You-Know-Who – Vanquished at Last?
The Wizarding world was stunned yesterday at the news that the Dark Lord had been killed during an attack at the home of Mrs. Augusta Longbottom, of Pendle, Lancashire, and her grandson Neville, who apparently killed You-Know-Who after he and a group of Death Eaters attacked and killed Mrs. Longbottom.
Both Neville Longbottom, a resident of Pendle, and Luna Lovegood, of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, a schoolmate who was visiting the Longbottom home, were taken to St. Mungo's for treatment of injuries received during the attack. Reports from the hospital indicate that both are recovering from their injuries. Neville, who suffered a mild concussion during the attack, could not be reached for comment about the incident. Ms. Lovegood, however, commented that she was quite amazed at Neville's bravery in the face of such opposition. "He was quite courageous," she told attendants at St. Mungo's. "When You-Know-Who killed his gran and started for us, Neville stood right up to him."
The Dark Lord, apparently in hiding since his disappearance nearly sixteen years ago following a similar attack on a family in Godric's Hollow, reappeared in June of last year when his followers mounted an attack on the Ministry of Magic itself in London, an attack which appeared to be an attempt to locate a prophecy concerning Harry Potter, who some believed was "the Chosen One," the one person who would be able to rid the Wizarding world of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
"This is insane," Harry said angrily, thrusting the paper at Ron, who took it and began reading. "The Prophet's rewriting history!"
"I wish I could figure out what they're playing at," Hermione said, concerned. "They're acting like they've got their heads stuck in the sand."
Ron snorted. "Or up their –"
"RON!"
"Sorry, Mum," Ron said, turning back to the paper. "Hey, I see Luna gave the paper quite an interview about Neville and the battle."
Luna's description of Voldemort and the Death Eaters' attack and Neville's defense and victory over him read like she'd taken a Babbling Beverage or a Confusing Concoction before giving it. Worse, the interviewer hadn't tried to make sense out of it, seemingly, but simply wrote it down exactly as Luna told it. It was very characteristic of her usual, dreamy state, though, so Harry had no doubt she believed everything she'd said.
She and Neville had spent the day after his birthday (which would have been Harry's birthday, as Neville was one day older than him) installing the security devices he'd bought at the Weasleys' shop. Neville's gran had wanted them, she'd said, since she was getting older and Neville, though improving, was still nowhere near as proficient as his father Frank had been. After that she and Neville had planned to make dinner as a surprise for his grandmother when she got home, as she'd had lunch with an old friend, when Mrs. Longbottom turned up unexpectedly. Her friend hadn't met her for lunch and she couldn't get in contact with her. She'd shooed Neville and Luna out of the kitchen to make dinner herself; they'd sat in the parlor and talked about whether Hogwarts would reopen and if they'd see Harry Potter (Harry was almost surprised to see himself mentioned, the Prophet now seemed to be going out of its way to avoid writing about him in anything but a bad light) again and how hard the N.E.W.T.'s were going to be when one of the security devices had gone off. ("Fred and George'll like that," Ron commented when he read that.)
They'd jumped up, carefully approached the sitting room where the alarm had gone off, but Mrs. Longbottom intercepted them and told them to let her check first. Amazingly, several Death Eaters had gained entry to the house. At this point Luna's story went nearly incoherent. The Death Eaters attacked them and Mrs. Longbottom, Neville and Luna all fought back, they using the skills they'd developed in Dumbledore's Army (Harry's eyebrows went up again, he was surprised the Prophet let that get through), and Mrs. Longbottom on her years of experience. They had almost routed the Death Eaters when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named entered the house and attacked Mrs. Longbottom with the Avada Kedavra, killing her.
Neville went berserk, Luna said. He stunned the remaining Death Eaters and tried to disarm You-Know-Who himself, who dodged the charm and attacked again with the Killing Curse. Apparently, however, Mrs. Longbottom had done the same thing for Neville that had been done sixteen years ago when he attacked Harry Potter – with her death she set up a protection for Neville that shielded him from the Killing Curse, causing it to rebound on the Dark Lord. The rebounding spell caused the Dark Lord to explode; Luna remembers the Aurors who found them telling her that the only thing left of him was his right hand. Of the unconscious Death Eaters, no trace was found.
Other articles in that day's Prophet had little more than speculation on what had actually occurred. The front of the house was heavily damaged as if by an explosion; Aurors examining the wreckage were unsure of the cause or whether a rebounded Killing Curse would act in the way described. ("The one that rebounded off of me knocked my parents entire house down," muttered Harry when he read this.)
By the next day's paper, the Prophet was calling Neville "the Boy who Survived." The Ministry of Magic refused to release further information on the attack but "reliable sources" kept popping up to leak information to the paper. Neville had awakened at St. Mungo's having little or no recollection of the attack. He kept asking if his Gran was coming to visit him before he was let out of the hospital. Luna had been released but remained by Neville's side until he awakened; she had been collected by her father, who brought her back home to recover further. Even Fred and George were mentioned in the paper: they'd gone round to check on Neville themselves and were questioned by a Prophet reporter on the security devices they'd sold Neville. Unofficial reports on the hand left behind confirmed that it was the Dark Lord's, though how this had been determined was not made clear in the article.
Another article in the paper caught his eye: the governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had met the previous day to determine whether the school should be reopened for the coming school year. After taking into consideration recent events, they had been unanimous in their vote to reopen the school. Hermione will be pleased, at least, Harry thought distractedly. He wondered for a moment if students could reapply to finish their studies and receive their qualifications. Marcus Flint, after all, had done a year over.
By the beginning of the week after Harry's birthday, the Wizarding world was convinced that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been killed. Tuesday morning, Harry sat at the breakfast table reading the Prophet. He made no outward sign, but inside he was fuming. Why was the Ministry letting this happen?
Harry could see only one reason: it would cause panic and division in the Wizarding community. Learning that a Dark wizard could enhance his chances of living forever by killing others was a dark, dangerous secret indeed; it would raise the level of distrust and fear even higher than it had been while Voldemort had been at large.
"Hello, Mr. Potter." Harry jumped. He hadn't heard the back door open, but even if he had, he never would have expected to hear Minerva McGonagall's voice in the Burrow's kitchen.
Harry turned around. McGonagall was dressed in her usual emerald green robe and very dark green traveling cloak, and carrying a black purse tucked under her arm. Harry stood and said, uncertainly, "Good morning, er – Professor – um, Headmistress..."
" 'Professor' will do, Mr. Potter," she said evenly.
Ron walked into the kitchen. "Harry, who are you talking –" seeing McGonagall, Ron gasped and froze.
"Hello, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly at Ron's astonishment. "Is your mother close at hand? I'd like a word with her."
"I'll – I'll go check," Ron said, backing slowly toward the door, not taking his eyes off McGonagall except to spare Harry a wide-eyed look before turning and racing away. Harry and McGonagall could hear him calling for Mrs. Weasley. "Mum! Mum! Professor McGonagall's here for you!"
"Well, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, looking at him appraisingly. "Are you happy that the school has remained open for another year?"
"It's fine," Harry said, a bit too indifferently. He thought McGonagall would scold him for his attitude but instead she went to an entirely different subject.
"I'm stopping by St. Mungo's to see how Neville Longbottom is doing. Perhaps you'd care to join me?"
It took Harry a few moments to fathom what she'd said. "Er – yes, that would be nice. Thank you, Professor."
Hermione hurtled into the room, stopping just past the doorway to collect herself and say, in an unconvincingly surprised tone, "Why, Professor McGonagall! How nice to see you! I was pleased to see that Hogwarts will reopen this year," she went on excitedly. "Isn't that wonderful, Harry?"
"Fantastic," Harry said flatly. A suspicion about the reason for Professor McGonagall's visit had begun to form in his head.
"Hello, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, nodding at her and almost smiling. "I was just telling Mr. Potter here that I was going by to visit Mr. Longbottom at the hospital, and I wondered if he might be interested in visiting as well. Of course the invitation is open to you, too."
Hermione beamed at her Head of House. "That would be wonderful, Professor! It will be good to see how Neville is doing."
"It should be interesting," Harry added. Hermione looked at him curiously.
Mrs. Weasley came into the room followed closely by Ron. "Ah, Professor McGonagall! How are you?"
"Fine, Molly, fine. I brought some forms by for you and Arthur to look over and sign for Ginny's school year." McGonagall produced a parchment envelope from her purse and passed it to Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh thank you, Professor. I have something for you, too." Mrs. Weasley held out a rolled up scrap of parchment which McGonagall took and placed in her purse. "Would you like a cup of tea while you're here, Professor?"
"No thank you, dear, I've loads of errands to run today, I'm already hopelessly behind. Delayed as we are, the job of getting this school year started will be quite formidable." She looked at the three teenagers. "If you three want to see Neville, we'd better get started."
"What?" Ron asked, confused.
"The professor's going to see Neville at St. Mungo's," Harry explained quickly. "She said we can go along to visit him if we want."
"Excellent!" Ron said with a grin. "I've been wondering how he's been getting on these past few days."
"I'll have them back shortly, Molly," McGonagall said to Mrs. Weasley, who nodded and waved as they walked out the back door toward the gate.
Just past the gate, McGonagall turned to them over her shoulder and said, "You all know where St. Mungo's is, correct? We'll arrive outside the lobby."
"Er, Professor?" Hermione said quickly. "Harry and Ron still don't have their Apparition licenses."
"Ah, I'd forgotten about that," McGonagall said. "Thank you for reminding me, Miss Granger." She extended her arm. "Mr. Potter, you can do Side-Along with me."
"I can go with Hermione," Harry said.
"I'm sure you could, Potter," McGonagall said with some irritation in her voice. "But I'd prefer if you'd travel with me, please."
Shrugging, Harry took McGonagall's arm and they all turned on their heels; blackness enclosed Harry, pressing on his arms, legs and chest as if he were being pushed through a tight rubber tube. Just when it seemed the pressure might become unbearable, light returned and the pressure disappeared, and they were standing in front of an old store called Purge and Dowse, Ltd., inside of which was St. Mungo's.
McGonagall stepped up to the window and addressed the female dummy modeling the green nylon pinafore. "Professor Minerva McGonagall here to see Mr. Neville Longbottom on Hogwarts business," she said crisply. "With guests," she added as an afterthought. After a moment the dummy nodded slightly and its jointed finger beckoned them forward. One by one they stepped into and through the window.
In the reception area, McGonagall didn't bother with the inquiries desk, but went straight through a set of double doors and to a staircase, which she began climbing briskly.
"Do you know where Neville is, Professor?" Hermione asked a bit timidly.
"He'll be on the fourth floor," McGonagall said without looking back.
"But what room?" Hermione persisted.
"We'll know when we get there," McGonagall said, sounding a bit impatient again. Hermione and Harry looked at each other; Harry shrugged and simply followed McGonagall to see what would happen.
But it became obvious when they stepped onto the fourth floor what McGonagall had expected. They were met by two Aurors, neither of whom Harry recognized, at the head of the spell damage ward who stopped them from entering.
"Who are you here to see?" the first Auror asked McGonagall.
"I'm Headmistress McGonagall of Hogwarts, here to see Neville Longbottom on school business," McGonagall said curtly. "These fellow students of his are accompanying me."
The Auror consulted a clipboard for a moment, then nodded and said, "Room 429, ma'am. There will be a security check before you enter." He and the other Auror held the doors open for them.
McGonagall said, "Thank you, Ackerly," and the Auror did a double-take as she walked away. Once out of hearing, McGonagall said out of the corner of her mouth to Harry, "It hasn't been that many years since he was at Hogwarts – did he think I wouldn't recognize him?"
She proceeded briskly down the corridor, ignoring the various pictures of Healers on the wall who kept trying to offer them advice on cures and potions, and walked up to the two Aurors in front of room 429.
They were checked with the usual long golden rods for any suspicious materials and allowed into the room. It was a semi-private, unusual at St. Mungo's but obviously necessary given the need to prevent contact with curiosity seekers, reporters (Harry idly wondered if any beetles would be about in the room) or Death Eaters seeking revenge. The room was small and spartan, clean and smelling faintly soapy. Neville was the only person in the room; the farther bed was vacant.
He was propped up in bed, reading a copy of the Quibbler, the magazine Luna's father published on a monthly basis. As they walked in behind McGonagall, Neville looked up and his face broke out in surprised delight.
"Professor McGonagall! Oh, and Harry! And Hermione! And Ron! Hello! I'm glad to see you all," Neville was positively beaming at them, even McGonagall, whom he'd always seemed a bit intimidated by.
"Hello, Longbottom," McGonagall said gently. "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good!" Neville said brightly. "I was not doing too well yesterday but the Healers have been giving me a potion that cleared things up."
"What was wrong with you?" Harry asked.
"They tried to explain it to me," Neville said, looking a bit uncertain. "It had to do with 'old magic,' they said, and how You-Know-Who's spell affected me before it rebounded and destroyed him."
"We are just glad you've survived," McGonagall said as Harry and Hermione looked at each other, both wondering how Voldemort had failed to account for 'old magic' when it had had such a disastrous effect on him the last time. "I have some things for you," McGonagall continued, reaching into her purse and pulling out an envelope.
"The Hogwarts board of governors has voted to reopen the school. In light of recent events they've also decided to allow some extra freedoms to seventh-year students who are of age." She handed the envelope to Neville, who took it gingerly. "This is your consent form. Bring it with you when you arrive on September first. The exact details have not been worked out yet, but seventh-years will be allowed to leave the grounds at certain times, probably during weekends." McGonagall's voice sounded pinched, as if she were not happy with this arrangement.
"I hope you will be returning this year, Longbottom," McGonagall said, her voice softening again. "I realize the loss of your grandmother was a terrible blow to you –" Neville's eyes were bright as he looked at her, unblinking "— but you will have many friends there who will help you, as will we all," she finished, looking around significantly at Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ron looked at his feet and Hermione blushed.
Harry, however, did not take his eyes off Neville as he reacted to McGonagall's sympathetic words. "Yes, I–I'd like to return for my last year," Neville said, though his smile was somewhat wan. "I know I'd miss everyone there terribly if I didn't come back." He looked at Hermione, then at Ron and Harry. "I'm sure I would miss you all very much."
"We're going to leave now," McGonagall said, her hand gently touching his shoulder. "I have a few more errands to run today. But I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts." Ron and Hermione both said goodbye to Neville, and Harry waved goodbye as well.
"Thanks for coming by!" Neville said loudly as they walked out the door. "I'll see you all on September first!"
McGonagall nodded to the Aurors at the door as she passed them, and to Ackerly and the other Auror at the head of the corridor, but she didn't speak again until they'd reached the first floor. As she walked past a room labeled Conference Room 102 she headed for it and tried the knob. It was locked, though a small sign on the doorframe said Unoccupied. McGonagall took out her wand and flicked it at the lock, which popped open. The small sign flipped around to say Occupied. "Everyone inside," she said hurriedly, motioning them into the room.
Once inside with the door closed, the Transfiguration teacher turned to them, her expression looking rather more agitated than her usual imperturbable demeanor.
"What's going on, Professor," Hermione asked, looking alarmed.
Harry, who'd half-expected something of the sort to happen, said nothing. Even as Deputy Headmistress, McGonagall had never delivered school information personally. Yet Mrs. Weasley hadn't seemed really surprised to see her in the Burrow's kitchen. Something was definitely dodgy here.
"Before we leave here," McGonagall said slowly, looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione in turn. "I want us all to be clear on some things. First, Neville: Did any of you notice anything strange or unusual about his manner?"
The three looked at one another, but Ron spoke first. "He didn't seem very upset when you mentioned that his gran had died, Professor."
"I noticed that too," Hermione said, her eyes narrowing as she recalled Neville's tone. "Neville has a lot of affection for his grandmother."
"He seemed to follow only what we talked about," Harry said. "He only reacted when you mentioned it, Professor; otherwise he was surprised to see us, or telling us how he felt, or was thinking about Hogwarts. What does it mean, Professor?"
"Neville," McGonagall said, heavily, "took his grandmother's death very badly indeed. When he first woke up in the hospital, he attempted to take his own life. He very nearly succeeded." They all gasped at that – Neville, an attempted suicide?
"The Healers attempted to find out the cause," McGonagall continued after sitting in one of the chairs around the conference table. "They thought it might be an aftereffect of You-Know-Who's curse. But the death of Augusta Longbottom was first and foremost in Neville's mind, as if it had been seared into his brain."
Hermione looked anguished. "It must have been horrible for him!"
"I don't know how I'd feel if my mum was killed by You-Know-Who," Ron said, grimacing, "But I know I wouldn't want to kill myself over it, or act like Neville did today. I'd want to kill whoever killed her!"
McGonagall sighed. "I understand, Mr. Weasley. But Neville has gone through a lot of pain in his life – his parents tortured to insanity, and his grandmother, though well-meaning, has not shown him the love his mother and father had for him. What you need to realize is that his reaction to her death does not match the feelings he has had for these past sixteen years."
"Are you saying, Professor, that he shouldn't feel unhappy that she's gone?" Harry said incredulously.
"Not at all, Potter!" McGonagall looked at him, frowning. "But his reaction was far deeper than anyone who knew him could have expected, and more deeply rooted than any normal shock could have accounted for."
"So what are you saying, Professor?" Hermione asked, now confused. "That something made those feelings so intense inside him?"
"The Healers don't know," McGonagall said tiredly. "A quirk of whatever happened to him – whether by design or accident – or simply something within him. Whatever it was, they were forced to use a Memory Charm on him –"
"What? Why?" Harry cried. McGonagall looked at Harry, then away for a moment. When she finally looked back, she did not look him in the eye.
"Because the Ministry wants him back in school this fall, functioning normally, more or less," McGonagall said quietly. "They want every student that's supposed to be in school this fall, there and acting normally."
So there it was, Harry knew. It was the damned Ministry again, poking itself into places where it had no business going.
"I can see why you came to the Burrow, Professor," Harry said tightly, keeping his anger at her in check. "To persuade me to return to school." Ron and Hermione were looking at him in astonishment – they could hear the fury in his voice. He ignored their stares.
"Quite astute of you, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, a bare tinge of admiration in her voice. "But I think you'll agree, once you look at the situation, that returning to school will be in your best interests, no matter how the Ministry feels about it."
"Why'd you let me bring along reinforcements?" Harry asked, indicating Ron and Hermione on either side of him.
"Because," McGonagall replied immediately, "whether they planned to leave with you or not, the advantages of returning to school this year applies to them as much as it does to you.
"Whatever plan or goal you may have, whether it came from Professor Dumbledore or is something of your own devising, the apparent death of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has given you a reprieve and an opportunity to further your education into the bargain."
"How d'you know it has anything to do with You-Know-Who?" Ron blurted out.
McGonagall's square glasses flashed as she turned to him. "I've been around Albus Dumbledore over the last fifty years, Mr. Weaseley. I do know something about his interest in You-Know-Who."
But maybe not as much as we know, Harry thought. "Do you think Voldemort is dead, Professor?" he asked.
McGonagall had winced slightly as Harry said the name, but her tone was stead as she replied. "He was able to return before," she said. "I see no reason to believe he will not be back again, especially considering some of the events that are supposed to have taken place at the Longbottom home, if the news reports can be believed."
"Why do you say that, Professor?" Hermione asked.
"Some of Luna's account of what occurred in the Longbottom home are rather confused, even by her usual standards. I discussed this with Professor Flitwick, and he tells me Luna is quite bright, even by Ravenclaw standards. I do not believe that she would have given the interview in the Prophet as it was written, and neither does he."
"What do you believe, then, Professor?" Harry wanted to know.
"I believe that she was given a Babbling Beverage potion," McGonagall replied.
Hermione nodded knowingly. "That would explain it! We were saying exactly that while we were reading it."
McGonagall nodded. "The effect of a Babbling Beverage is to confuse a person's speech such that they do not realize they are speaking nonsense. Under the effects of the potion, in their own mind, they believe they are being perfectly clear and understandable."
"But everyone else hears complete nonsense! Oh, poor Luna!" Hermione said, looking distressed. "She'll be crushed when she reads that interview in the Prophet."
"By which time it will be too late to retract any of it," McGonagall said flatly.
"So, what can we do, Professor?" Harry finally asked, trying to sum up. He already knew what she was going to say. For Harry, it would be a matter of what Ron and Hermione wanted most.
"Come back to Hogwarts this year," McGonagall said at once. "The new … guidelines … put in place by the governors, at the … insistence of some influential members and alumni, can only work in your favor, if you should need to leave the school during weekends for whatever activities you feel prudent."
Harry measured his words carefully. "Are you saying, Professor, that we'll be able to leave school grounds with your blessings? To do whatever we want, wherever we want?"
McGonagall nodded. "Within the guidelines of Ministry rules, of course." The corner of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Why didn't you have consent forms for us, then?" Ron asked, eyeing her skeptically.
In answer McGonagall reached into her purse and pulled out three envelopes. "I have them right here, Mr. Weasley. I wanted you to understand my motivations. I cannot force any of you to return to the school. I hope that you will, both for Neville's sake and for your own futures. Can I count on seeing the three of you back at Hogwarts this year?"
Harry looked at Hermoine and Ron. Hermoine looked back expectantly, while Ron was watching both of them carefully. Harry could guess what each of them was thinking. Hermione was thinking, Please, Harry, it is such a great opportunity to finish our last years; Ron, more pragmatic, was thinking, You'll never hear the end of it if we don't go back and You-Know-Who turns out to be dead, mate. It was obvious that Hermione wanted to return to school, if possible, and that Ron was hoping to avoid having to side with Harry against her. Harry knew then what he had to do.
He looked at McGonagall. "Yeah, we'll be there."
"Splendid!" McGonagall beamed, handing each of them an envelope with their name on it. He took out her wand, flicked it at the door, which popped open, then led them out into the corridor beyond. "Now I must be off. Miss Granger, I trust you can help Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley with their Side-Along Apparition back to the Burrow."
"Where are you off to next, Professor?" Hermione inquired.
"Oh." McGonagall sobered, then said quietly. "Today is Augusta Longbottom's funeral. I will be attending it."
Hearing this only made Harry feel worse for Neville, who couldn't even attend his own grandmother's funeral. "Maybe, perhaps we could go too, Professor?"
McGonagall gave him a small smile and a pat on the shoulder. "It's nice of you to offer, Harry, but you might look a bit out of place there. If Neville were there it might have been okay. But as it is… best leave it alone."
Harry nodded, understanding. They followed McGonagall out of the building, where she Disapparated. A few moments later, they disappeared as well, leaving the ugly female dummy staring silently out the store window.