Chapter Twenty-Eight

Paradise Lost

Aurora took him to Gringotts that Sunday. Then it was back to school. Harry and his friends had started the grind of studying for term tests. His closest friends all cared about their grades, Hermione more than the others. Sarah and Neville struggled in some of their classes. Able struggled with magically strength. Harry wasn't really worried about the term tests, just the backlog of material he'd had to relearn from the past two years. He was all caught up in Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Astronomy. History of Magic had been more difficult to study. And it was a work in progress to get the first, second, and forth years to teach him what Lupin was teaching them. Given the state of DADA in the past few years, he wanted to learn as much as he could while a decent teacher held office.

Almost all of the third years met in one of the large empty classrooms after the afternoon Monday elective. It was Susan's birthday, so Hannah, Megan and Sally-Anne had worked to arrange a year-party. Blaise Zabini had brought along his wizard wireless and the group danced to waltzes. The wireless, Harry learned, would play anything that you wanted it to, whenever, because it was magical and wonderful like that. Harry laughed and joked with Stephan and Terry. Kevin and Anthony were trying to get Hermione and Su to dance with them, but the standoffish bookworms continually refused. Susan worked the room, talking with everyone for a little while and no one for too long. Daphne, Pavarti and Lavender had drawn Lisa and Morag into a giggle circle. Millicent, Mandy, Padma, Sally-Anne, Megan and Hannah were dancing with Justin, Theodore, Wayne, Blaise, Seamus and Dean. Ron and Ernie were in a corner, on the fringes of the group, but still somewhat included. Michael and Neville were engaged in something that looked like arm wrestling, but it wasn't exactly the same.

It was Filch who ruined the party.

The old man and his brown tabby cat shuffled into the room, glaring. He ambled over to the wizard wireless and shut it off. The third years stared at him. Lavender started to protest, but Filch just drawled. "Potter is needed in the infirmary. The rest of you are ordered to report to the Great Hall."

Harry didn't know what to do.

"Why?" Susan said, the first to break a semi-heavy silence.

Filch snarled. "Just that first year brat of his and some of her friends got beat up—"

Harry took off running.

"—no big deal," Filch finished, rather evilly.

Hermione moved to start running after Harry, but Su and Anthony held her back. Sally-Anne and Lisa pushed past Filch and chased after Harry. "Guys," Susan said, in her authority-figure voice, "Get to the Great Hall. Su, Michael, make sure Hermione and Neville get there without freaking too much. Sorry guys." She too turned and dashed after Harry.

Filch stood in the threshold, snarling. "Well? Get the Great Hall already!"

Susan ignored him. She didn't know the quickest route to the infirmary, but Sally-Anne and Lisa were still visible around almost every corner, and they knew where they were going, likely. Otherwise they were just chasing Harry and of anyone, Harry would know how to get to the hospital wing. So she followed. And hoped to Hera's golden apples that everything would be all right.

Susan caught up with Sally-Anne right outside the Hospital Wing.

Cedric Diggory and Sarah Stebbins, the Hufflepuff sixth year prefects were outside. They had let Lisa in, but kept Sally-Anne and Susan in the wings. That area was surprisingly empty. But… Susan took a slightly shuddering breath. If they'd let Lisa in, that had to mean that her younger sister Harrietta was in there. And that was a first year Hufflepuff. And no one messed with a Hufflepuff without—

"Why are they screaming?" Sally-Anne said, "Why are they screaming!"

Susan listened. They were screaming. She could hear Madam Pomfrey and Professors Sprout and McGonagall and Sinistra screeching at each other, not angrily, but as if they were trying to communicate over the din. A multitude of people – young girls – were sobbing. The screams were just one person, but so filled with pain. And then…

"I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him!" That was Harry. He was screaming too.

The sobbing intensified.

Sally-Anne and Susan looked at each other, horrified. Sarah Stebbins started shaking herself. Cedric pushed through the door and dashed into the fray, leaving the girls standing outside. Professor Lupin darted passed them and into the infirmary, not saying a word. Professor Rhythm wasn't far behind. In the brief moments that the door was open, Susan saw what she wished she could long forget.

There was a mix of first year girls from all the houses, at least six of them, all clustered together. Pomfrey and Sprout were leaning over a bed, with Lisa sitting, slack-jawed and horrified on the bed beside them. Harrietta was pale, and her head was covered with some red liquid. Susan wished she didn't know what that meant. But she knew. Her aunt had come home with some pretty bad battle wounds, and not with any infrequency… Harry was a few paces away from the cluster of girls, standing beside Professor Sinistra. Cedric was with them, and he seemed to be trying to keep Harry calm. They were close enough together that Susa couldn't see who she assumed was little Paradise, but… but…

Ruth Turpin – Susan had never really liked the older girl, but they were on the same social status, so they had interacted a bit – appeared in the infirmary wings, completely frazzled. Her hair was some three different colors, textures and lengths. "What happened? Sarah, what happened?!"

Sarah stuttered. "Cedric and I, we were just… just out talking—"

Ruth's face twisted into an ugly sneer. "Yeah right."

"Hey!" Sarah snapped. "Tempe broke up with him. I make a better match for him than she did anyway."

"Shut up," Ruth snarled. "Just tell me what happened to my sister!"

"We heard screaming," Sarah stammered, "Cedric insisted we go see what was happening, and there were all the first year girls, in one of the lavatories, and, and Marcus Flint, and Higgs and Montague were there, and Flint was holding Harrietta by her hair. He was yelling and saying that he was going to hurt them and make them wish they were never born. Etta was screaming and the girls were screaming and then there's that Gryffindor and she just pulls out this knife and, and she throws it at him and we couldn't stop it and—" Sarah started sobbing.

Sally-Anne whimpered and ran, away from the infirmary. She looked as though she was heading for the Great Hall. Susan shuddered.

"She missed," Sarah sobbed. "She missed and it hit Harrietta. In the head. There was so much blood. And Harrietta wasn't screaming. She wasn't screaming anymore. And then Cedric just starts hexing the Slytherins; stuns all of them, and then that Gryffindor is there and she's staring and shaking and she can't move but she keeps stuttering 'I didn't mean it' 'I didn't mean it.' Over and over. I can't get out of my head. I can't—" Sarah stopped talking.

Ruth brushed her aside and stalked into the hospital wing.

"It was awful," Sarah said, looking at her shoes. "It was so, so awful."

Susan looked down. She couldn't imagine…

o.o.o.o.o.o

The DMLE took Marcus Flint, Terrance Higgs, and Roger Montague away in handcuffs. To anyone who could think straight, Montague might have had a chance of escaping charges, based on in his family's statues, but even he was long gone from Hogwarts. Higgs and Flint didn't stand a chance. And it wasn't looking good for Montague. The girls he'd helped assault came from many different houses: a muggleborn Aster with the full alliance of Noble and Most Ancient Lord Potter, Astoria of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass, Diane of the Noble and Ancient House of Wood, Harrietta of the Noble and Ancient House of Turpin, Rowena of the Noble House of Veilson, Ruby of the Noble House of Martin, and another muggleborn. Anyone paying attention would not place in the odds in Montague's favor.

Especially given the fact that Harry Potter was mad. He was primarily mad at those Slytherins. So mad he couldn't even think about them without swearing and losing control of pieces of his magic. He was mad at Dumbledore for creating that other, alternate reality so that this was the second time Paradise had to deal with something so… horrid from a schoolmate. He was mad at Paradise's parents, just on principal. Irrationally, he was mad at Hedwig for communicating in any way that it was Dumbledore who was responsible for the past memories. He was mad that Dumbledore was still in the school. He was mad that Dumbledore and McGonagall and everyone else had allowed this to happen. He was mad that Paradise had dared use a lethal weapon when he knew that she knew that she wasn't ready. He was mad that she even dared take the knife from the armory. He was mad at her for closing in on herself and not talking about it. He was mad at himself for over estimating her maturity. He was mad at himself for. Not. Pro. Tect. Ing. Her! He was her unofficial older brother. Her semi-official guardian. Her Head of House. It was his duty to keep that from happening!

And there Paradise said, quiet and empty, staring at the curtains closed around another bed, with the knowledge that she could have killed a friend of hers.

It sucked. The whole thing sucked. It sucked that he wasn't allowed to actually do anything. He wanted to take Flint and… and… and…

Harry flopped on the edge of the bed by Lisa and Ruth. All of the first years girls, excepting Harrietta, had been given calming draughts and sleeping potions, even the ones who were physically unharmed. Lord and Lady Greengrass, Mr. Wood, Mr. Turpin, Mrs. Martin, and Mr. Veilson were all gathered with Aurora, Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore in the adjacent office. They'd chased Harry out just a few minutes ago.

"You're really mad," Ruth pointed out. She was chewing on a piece of her hair.

"'course I am," Harry said.

"Are they going to prosecute your sister?" Lisa asked.

"No."

"They should," Lisa snarled.

Ruth smacked her on the back of the head. "What on earth are you talking about?!"

"She nearly killed my sister!" Lisa snapped.

"Our sister."

"It's not her fault," Harry said, glaring at his yearmate. "She was scared. She wasn't aiming for Harrietta!"

"So what? No one made her throw that knife."

"It was those stupid Slytherins," Ruth snarled. "They were going to, you know, those girls. They're the ones who are going to be prosecuted."

Lisa shrugged. "I still think the girl should get it."

"Shut up," Harry said.

"Don't tell me what to do."

They glared at each other.

"Just drop it, Lisa," Ruth ordered. "It's not Paradise's fault."

"Sure, take the Gryffindor side of things."

"Shut up!" Harry ordered.

"Don't give me orders!"

"Shut up, both of you." Ruth begged.

Madam Pomfrey emerged from her office and glared at the three of them. "Be quiet or I'll evict all three of you."

Lisa sighed and lay back on the bed, her hands behind her head. "Where are the other Woods, and the other siblings?"

"Harrietta was the only one actually hurt," Ruth said. "Sarah said that they wanted to keep it to us."

Lisa raised her eyebrows, pointedly glaring at Harry.

Ruth snorted. "You have no idea about Paradise, do you?"

"I know she nearly killed our sister."

Harry jumped off the bed and moved away. "You were told to shut up." He was angry. He was so very, very angry.

"Be quiet, Lisa."

Lord and Lady Greengrass exited the office and strode, briskly, through the long and narrow room. They stopped briefly over Astoria's bed, before continuing their emotionless walk. Harry stood and moved to intercept them, ignoring Ruth's hiss of warning. Harry bowed to Lord Greengrass and muttered a heartfelt apology for what had happened. He didn't want them to think poorly of him. Lord Greengrass nodded his acceptance of the apology. He laid a gloved hand on Harry's shoulder, before nudging the boy aside and continuing his walk. Lady Greengrass bowed back to Harry. They left.

Ruth and Lisa stared at him.

Harry stared back.

"She bowed to you," Lisa hissed. "She bowed! Oh you're gonna marry Daphne for sure."

"Shut up, Lisa. Harry's a modernist." Ruth rolled her eyes.

It was only the twenty-eighth time that Harry had heard someone say that he would find himself in a marriage contract. Once with Fae Daniels, thrice with Artemis Ingraham, once with Pallas Ingraham, once previous with Daphne, once with Susan Bones, once with Hannah Abbot, once with each of the Patils, once with Lavender Brown, four with Mary MacDonald, twice with Gracelyn Zale, four times with Persephone Grant, and six times with Selene Grant. It was truly annoying. He liked all those girls well enough; all of them were nomahs or noahs, but he just… he wouldn't… Why had his dad married his mom? If he was truly like everyone said, he could have had his pick of marriage contracts! Harry sighed and rejoined Ruth and Lisa on the side of the room.

Except each time a parent walked by, he jumped up and apologized. By the time Mr. Turpin left, Aurora had come out to escort Lisa back to the Ravenclaw tower. It was with strict orders that she told Ruth to get Harry back to the Gryffindor tower. He actually obeyed this time. All the girls were under sleeping draughts… Ruth escorted him all the way to the door of his room; the common room hadn't been empty, what with the fifth and seventh years already up late studying. And Hermione. But Hermione had been asleep at her books, so she didn't notice Harry going through. Harry tiptoed about the room, not wanting to wake his friends – or Cormac.

He gathered parchment and one of his quills and wrote as quietly as he could.

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson

or the Guardians of Siân Jackson,

I am a fellow student at your daughter's school, and I would like to alert you of some possible drawbacks you might be unaware of given your status in the world. The school authority has, in the past, found it unnecessary to notify the non-magical parents of students when something bad has happened. Now, I do not wish to alarm you; Siân has not been hurt.

However, this school is not a safe place. Siân was a part of a group of girls who were assaulted and threatened by three older boys. She stood with her friends as these boys threatened physical harm, even to the extent of rape. Your daughter is an extraordinary girl.

Harry really didn't feel guilty about lying here. He liked Siân from what he'd seen of her, so it wasn't that far a stretch of the truth.

Before any damage was done, the girls were found and the boys stopped. The three boys are now facing criminal charges and have already been expelled from this school. I tell you this not to scare you, and I beg of you to trust in Siân's gift, but only to inform. If the school has already alerted you, I am grateful and shall apologize for such a perfunctory letter.

Sincerely,

Harry Moorland

Harry stared at the signature. It was more than possible that Siân would have mentioned him. But then if her parents asked him about a Harry Moorland, she'd probably know the answer as well. It wouldn't give him much anonymity. Well, in a school the size of Hogwarts, could anyone have any anonymity? Harry magically erased the Moorland and signed the letter

Harry King

post script: Should you wish to respond, the owl will wait while you compose a letter. Feel free to use regular paper and pen should you require.

He didn't need to visit the owlery. He'd convinced Cormac that Hedwig was his familiar and she needed to stay in the room with them. Neville and Able had been very supportive. And his bond with the beautiful white owl had only strengthened. Harry folded the letter, addressed it to "the guardians of Siân Jackson" and tied it to Hedwig's leg. She was good a finding people like that. Hedwig winged off into the night.

Harry went to bed.

But he couldn't go to sleep.

o.o.o.o.o.o

At breakfast the following morning, people could not stop talking about what had happened the night before. None of the girls had shown up, so it was really just Cedric, Sarah, Harry, Lisa and Ruth who really knew what had happened. And Harry didn't want to talk about it. And Hermione was in a pestering mood, so he left his friends at the Gryffindor table and sat down with Sally-Anne and Megan. The two Hufflepuffs looked like they hadn't gotten much sleep, especially Sally-Anne. They didn't talk. Harry appreciated that.

The pureblood fanatic end of the Slytherin table was more empty, and even more lonesome. No one even dared go within four plate settings of the cluster. There was only six left; Maria Flint, Elizabeth Higgs, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe. And they were arguing, mostly with Goyle. Harry ate and watched, lidding his eyes so that the six of them didn't notice. Towards the end of the meal, Goyle jumped to his feet, spat at Malfoy, and stalked away from them. He eluded Maria's claws and reached Sally-Anne's side.

"Em, excuse me," Goyle stuttered, "Miss Perks, would you mind if I joined you?"

Sally-Anne gave him a million-watt smile and the boy sat down. Chatter in the Great Hall had effectively stopped. Now no one could hide the fact that the Slytherins were being stared at.

Goyle raised his nose in the air.

Megan shifted, a little uncomfortably, and Harry didn't really know what to say. It was all a little weird. "So, Greg," Sally-Anne said, "do you think the snap-dragons are going to survive the winter?"

The burly boy's eyes widened, "If they're still being cared for, yeah…"

And it clicked for Harry. Greg was one of the four natural growers in the third year. He'd know Sally-Anne, Hannah and Neville better than most, right? "The snap-dragons are in Greenhouse 4, right?"

"Yeah," Greg muttered.

Hannah plopped down next to Harry and joined the Herbology conversation. And then it was time to go to class. Before they left, Harry asked Hannah to tell Kevin to watch out for Goyle during the DADA class that the Ravenclaws and Slytherins shared, third period. He wasn't sure how the other Ravenclaws and even the good Slytherins would react… He could do it himself during Potions. If they actually gained Goyle's alliance—

Part of Harry didn't want to. He wanted to push Goyle away and be really mean to the boy, but he'd spat at Malfoy and that was just plain cool. So he would accept Goyle on the same probationary standard that he held Ron too. They could be cordial so long as Goyle didn't step out of line again.

And a part of Harry desperately wanted Greg to be effective in his default. Greg leaving the other side, and the three older Slytherins gone would leave the diehard Slytherin purists with only five. Five out of a hundred and three. 5.15 percent of the school. Effectively nothing. They'd already cut Malfoy's power base out from under him. With Goyle on the good side, it was another blow to the dark. It was childish, but it made that haughty part of Harry very happy.

Harry found Paradise and her timid cluster of first year girls and walked them to their history class. Harrietta was still in the hospital, but the others had all been ordered to attend classes. And none of them wanted to walk through the hallways alone. And so Harry found himself escorting a clump of ten Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs to the History of Magic wing. Paradise, Vicky, Lily, Ogden, Harry Bellwood, Siân, Diana, the Engleston twins – Vanity and Clarity, and Harry Addison. The last was the son of Hermione's favorite new reporter, but they didn't talk much about that. Other first years arrived in clusters, almost all of them with an older escort as well. With the first years safely in History of Magic, Harry raced for the new Potion's wing.

Professor Rhythm was not a fan of the dungeons. Still, Harry was late. He slipped inside and walked to his lap station. "Mr. Potter?" Rhythm prompted.

"I was walking the first years," Harry said, shrugging. He didn't care if that lost him points.

"Very well."

Well. Sweet. But the partners had shifted again. And Harry found himself paired with Pavarti Patil. She spent the whole period looking like she'd just sucked on rotten lemons. Those who had arrived on time had picked their own partners… Hermione and Tracey, Neville and Greg (thankfully), Dean and Seamus, Lavender and Daphne, Millicent and Blaise, Theodore and Ron (to both their displeasure), Malfoy and Crabbe, and that left Pansy by herself. Well, actually, Rhythm told her to work with whatever group she wanted, so she just attached herself to Malfoy and Crabbe (to the boys' displeasure).

Pavarti chattered while they worked, but it was mostly idle and harmless and he didn't really have to pay attention. He did get annoyed but the frustrated glances that Pavarti would throw Lavender and Daphne every now and again. By letting Daphne into their group, they'd have to get used to working as a trio and just some whining about it! And Harry had plenty of experience balancing a trio. Not that Ron or Hermione made that easy, he thought rather bitterly.

None of the Slytherins really paid much attention to Gregory, but Harry did catch Blaise and Theo tossing him some tentative glances. Good. If the two boys could accept him, he'd be set. Potions dragged on for two periods. It was torture. And he couldn't leave half-way through to make sure Paradise got to her next class safely! He wasn't really worried that she wouldn't, but it still felt nice to actually know…

Harry flashed back to the other reality, the dream reality, the Dumbledore induced reality…

It had just been whispers, nothing confirmed. Just that Flint had done something horrible and gotten away with it. Harry didn't know. Harry didn't care. He was enjoying his anonymity. He didn't care to notice a first year Gryffindor struggling to recover from being raped. He didn't care to notice siblings being mean to siblings. He didn't care to notice anything!

He hadn't been a good person, decided the current Harry. And he'd definitely become more Hufflepuff-ish in the reality since that.

Not that that was a bad thing.

Pavarti asked a question and Harry managed to respond with something at least somewhat related to her question. She graced him with a big smile and Harry let some of his worries go. It was always better to heal than… than compartmentalize.

Or so he'd been told.