Fifth Year Part Two
A/N: Thank you so much to my reviewers for the positive feedback and your graciousness in my minor errors. I try my best and as always, ENJOY R&R PLZ!
Hermione reopened the folder, her hold on her emotions was tenuous at best. Every time she had to mention Sirius it would be like a stab to the gut, let alone having to face him in person. "Okay I believe I left off with the Weasleys and Harry going back to Grimmauld Place. They waited up all night until Mrs. Weasley came and told them that Arthur would make a full recovery."
"What a relief," Lily sighed.
"But Harry was still troubled. The depth of the dream was such that he felt he WAS the snake. There had been a moment in Dumbledore's office when he felt it again. He expressed his concerns to Sirius who told him not to worry about it, that it was probably just an after-effect of the vision."
"Don't worry about it?" James repeated incredulously. "Padfoot mate that is probably the worst piece of advice you could have given him. If I felt like I had attacked a man in my sleep, you better believe I would worry about it."
"It was probably in lack of anything else to say," Sirius shrugged. "I mean, what do you say to your godson after he's been through something like that?"
"Fair point," James conceded.
"Nonetheless that kick-started what would be a common occurrence for Harry – brooding. And a lot of it. Especially after their first visit to St. Mungo's when the Order discussed the idea that Harry may have been possessed by Lord Voldemort. He became very worried and even attempted to run but due to Dumbledore's usual clairvoyance he sent a messenger to stop him."
"Who?" Remus asked.
"Phineas Nigellus, his portrait hung in Harry's room. He told Harry to stay where he was but nothing else so obviously that was of little comfort to him. He pretty much kept to himself, rarely coming to meals and not speaking to anyone. When I arrived I got Harry to come out and see his friends. Ginny cleared things up in terms of possession seeing as how he didn't have the symptoms she experienced."
"Oh that's right," Lily remembered. "She went through the same thing in second year."
"Exactly, after that conversation Harry was in a much better mood but no one could top Sirius. He was thrilled to have us over for Christmas and started decorating and singing carols everywhere he went. God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs was quite interesting."
"Ah one of my favourites," Sirius smiled. "It's one of those songs that I just have to sing as loudly as possible."
"Tell us about it," grumbled James and Remus who had experienced Sirius's carol-exuberance first-hand.
"Christmas day was rather tense given that Percy had sent back his gift which only highlighted the fact he hadn't looked in on his dad either but we went to see Arthur at any rate. The main issue was that they couldn't get the wound closed so Arthur and the trainee healer decided to try stitches only they didn't exactly work out."
"Stitches?" James asked. "What the devil are those?"
"In essence sweetheart, he tried to sew his skin back together," Lily patted her husband's knee. "It's a muggle remedy for wounds and gashes. I had to get some, when I was young I fell off the curb and hit my head really hard."
"Sounds painful," Sirius grimaced.
"They give you medication to help with it," Lily shrugged.
"Molly wasn't pleased that Arthur had been dabbling in muggle remedies so we decided that that would be a good time to go get some tea. On our way to the tearoom, we came across the long-term residents ward and our old friend Lockhart."
"I thought we were shot of that git," Remus groaned.
"Remus be nice, he hasn't got a clue who he is. He wandered out into the halls and couldn't remember how to get back."
"Did he ever get better?" Lily frowned.
"Last I heard he never really remembered his old life but he did regain his senses. He was told what he did and felt really bad about it. Thankfully he had kept a log of the people he tricked so he decided to track them down, lift the charms and redirect the revenues from his book sales to them. After that I think he went to America under an alias to make new memories. Anyway at the hospital, the healer in charge came and got him and we sort of got pulled in. Turned out the only vestige that remained with Lockhart was his love of giving out autographs so we had to sit with him while he signed stacks of photos. The healer was busy distributing presents to the residents including a potted plant to Broderick Bode."
"Why do I not like the sound of that?" Sirius asked apprehensively. "Bode is an Unspeakable at the ministry."
"We'll get there," Hermione replied. "There is something that's going to be hard to hear. While we were there, we saw Neville and his grandmother visiting his parents."
"Frank, Alice," Lily almost moaned sadly. "Did they recover? Even partially?" Hermione felt it best to remain silent. A few months after the war Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were officially declared incurable and moved to facility outside London that Neville went to every other weekend. Lily would obviously divine her answer from the silence but she definitely did not need the specifics. As it was, the redhead looked ready to cry again and just waved for Mya to continue.
"Neville's gran told us what happened to her son and daughter in-law, that was no news to Harry because of the pensieve last year but to rest of us were shocked. Neville never wanted the pity so he had always kept quiet about his parents."
"Damn the person who invented Cruciatus," Sirius spat.
In seemed old habits really did die hard as Remus, Lily, and Hermione all said lowly in unison, "Sado Agonair, 1179."
Sirius snorted, "Of course." There were some tight smiles but no one really felt amused.
Hermione continued narrating, "When we got back from the hospital there was still the issue of Harry's visions. It was a very dangerous connection to have, especially if Voldemort found out about it and used it against Harry." Do not break, do NOT break, Hermione ordered herself. Sirius is alive, he's right in front of you. "So Snape was assigned to teach Harry Occulems."
"Why not Dumbledore?" James demanded. The less time his son spent with that man, the better. They may not be children anymore but there are just some things you don't forget.
"I suppose I could explain it now. Snape and Sirius almost duelled in Grimmauld Place kitchen about it. Dumbledore had been keeping a curious amount of distance from Harry during this year, even during the trial they barely made eye-contact. Headmaster felt it necessary because of that connection. He had already figured out that there was some sort of link between Harry and Voldemort so to make it less appealing for the Dark Lord to use, he stayed away." Of course he used it anyway, Hermione thought bitterly. Dammit Hermione do not break! "The lessons with Snape were proving very hard and Harry felt like he was more exposed than ever after every try. He kept on having dreams, about a long dark corridor with a locked door. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop."
"The connection must be deep," Remus mused. "Or it is not of the mind."
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"Think about it. Occulems is a mental defence but if this link isn't in Harry brain, or perhaps rooted in several areas, Occulems then becomes moot."
How do they do that? Hermione thought awestruck. "It's a good idea Remus but you'll have to wait see if you are correct. It's time for Voldemort's first big move, even if the ministry pretended it wasn't." The whole room had sat up straighter but groaned at the end of her sentence. Hermione knew the feeling. "Test time: does anyone recall what Voldemort said about the Lestranges during his 'rebirth party'?"
James and Sirius automatically looked to Remus and Lily who were clearly thinking back. Remus said slowly, "I know I noted this…he said…he was sure they would rejoin him after the dementors took their side again?"
"Correct," Hermione affirmed. "That being said, ten guesses as to what was featured in the daily prophet one morning?"
"He actually broke them out? And the minister still continued to ignore the signs?!" screeched McGonagall.
"He didn't just break out the Lestranges professor, but Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber, Travers, Augustus Rookwood, and three others. The dementors committed a mass revolt against the ministry and once again aligned themselves with the Dark Lord."
"How in the name of magic did that bungling minister of yours explain it away?" James couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Thankfully the ministry found a convenient scapegoat," Hermione looked Sirius intently until the animagus understood.
"ME?! THEY WERE PINNING THIS ON ME?!"
Hermione made a face, "Yes they were, quite brazenly too. You were only the person they knew of that had broken out from Azkaban. Of course that changed with Barty Crouch but he was as good as dead at that time. So that just left you, plus your darling cousins were amongst the pack. They say blood is thicker than water you know." Hermione couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice, not that she was trying very hard. "Then Umbridge went and passed another Educational Decree banning the teachers from discussing anything unrelated to their subjects so nobody could explain properly it to the students."
"This is madness," McGonagall harped. "Who is going to help the students if not their teachers? Even if it wasn't Voldemort's doing, the children need guidance and support. Hundreds of family were affected by the war, having death eaters on the loose is bound to bring up some traumatic experiences or at the very least fear."
"Well said Professor but this was just the kind of opportunity we needed. Not only did this renew the DA's efforts to train but it also gave Harry a chance to speak out. You see not many wizards liked the Ministry's explanation of breakout. How could one wizard do all of that by himself? It was one thing to break out yourself but it was a completely different one to break out ten death eaters and still remain incognito. Hence the stage was set perfectly for a little plan of mine."
"Ooooh I always love your plans Mya," Sirius leant forward eagerly.
"Well it all starts with the Valentine's Hogsmeade weekend. Harry actually plucked up the courage to ask Cho out on a date and she said yes."
"Yay how sweet of him," Lily giggled.
"But unfortunately my little plan also had to be executed on the same day. I told Harry to come to the Three Broomsticks, he could bring Cho if he wanted, but it was really very important for him to be there. So Harry and Cho first went to Madam Puddifoot's."
"Yikes not the best place for the first date," James scratched at his temple. "Too much for a bloke who doesn't have any experience yet."
"What are you talking about? Puddifoot's is a charming place." Lily protested.
"I'm not saying it isn't but for your first date, you need somewhere neutral. Like a walk around the village would have been better or going to the Three Broomsticks. Harry is not used those kinds of places, he needs to start somewhere he'd be comfortable."
"When you put it that way…" Lily admitted. "Judging by your face, I'm guessing the date didn't go alright?"
"Try unmitigated disaster." Harry's family winced. "I still feel it wasn't entirely Harry's fault. Cho started talking about another boy who wanted to go out with her -" The marauders made the burning hiss sound. "Then she cried about Cedric, it all threw Harry for a complete loop. Of course he had to mention going to meet me at the Three Broomsticks which made Cho angry so she stormed off and Harry just came to the pub."
"Geez I'm not even disappointed with Harry for that one. I myself wouldn't know how to handle something like that." James stared his child, "It would take a master at dating to navigate that minefield. So – what was your big plan at the pub Mya ?"
"I was there with Luna and had arranged for good old Rita to join us for an interview."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Lily cried. "That she-beetle is going to write another story about my son?! Mya!"
"Lily relax, you're forgetting that we have the upper hand with her. Harry was supposed to tell her everything that happened in the graveyard and I threatened to go public with her little secret if she didn't report Harry's words exactly how he said it. Luna's father runs the Quibbler so she agreed to let the article be published there – for free."
"Ah karma," Sirius beamed. "You are so sweet."
"The next day the article was printed. That morning Harry filled us in on what happened with Cho and I tried to give him some advice when we were bombarded by owls. It seemed like the article definitely made an impact and now people were writing to Harry about it. The opinions were mixed but some people were definitely convinced."
"That should make things for the Order a lot smoother," Dumbledore said, it almost sounded like relief. "Now people can freely talk about the issue and, having both sides of the story, formulate their beliefs. We may even get more members."
"Much of the staff was ecstatic save the toad. She immediately took away Harry's Hogsmeade privileges and banned the article. Too late, everyone was one step ahead of her and kept copies of the article charmed or hidden in their bags and various places. Cho even came and spoke to Harry and they made up. If only the euphoria was meant to last, Harry had another frightful dream in which Voldemort was told that Bode couldn't have done something and so Voldemort had to reformulate his plans. Snape found out while practicing Occulems but before they could really get into it there was a commotion going on up above. Professor Trelawney had failed her inspections and subsequent probationary lessons so she had been sacked and being kicked out in front of the whole school, Umbridge being the one to do it."
"That is just awful," Lily gasped.
"That woman has some gall," McGonagall's nostrils flared frighteningly. "I may not care much for the subject of Divination but a Hogwarts teacher is a Hogwarts teacher and as such deserves to be treated with the respect inherent of the position."
"Here, here Minnie," crowed the Marauders. Lily just face-palmed.
"It was awful to watch." Hermione decided to test out the new name, "Umfudge was being downright cruel to Trelawney. Then Dumbledore intervened and sent Trelawney back to her lodgings. He reminded Umfudge that while she had the power to fire staff, the authority to send them away was still with the headmaster. Besides he had located a replacement that much preferred the ground floor anyway. It was Firenze, the centaur."
"That half-breed hating hag isn't going to like that at all," Remus said gleefully.
Sirius laughed too then stopped, "Wait a second I thought the ministry took control of that and that's why the old toad got in in the first place."
"The original educational decree is only in the event that the current Headmaster is unable to locate a suitable candidate for a particular post. I mean come on, who is better at Divination than a centaur?"
"How did the herd allow him to do this?" Dumbledore asked. "It is my understanding that the centaurs do not like sharing their knowledge with humans."
"Firenze was banished from the herd. He had a hoof print on his chest. He told me it was mark of disgrace but he didn't particularly mind, he'd always been at odds with herd's views. According to the herd, Firenze had essentially become a servant by helping Dumbledore. But on a brighter note, that would change and Firenze would return to lead the herd with more open outlook on cooperation."
"That is a good ending," Lily agreed. "Learning divination from centaur, that must have been interesting. I wish I could have gone to a class."
"I wished I could too but I didn't tell the boys that. From what they described to me, he wasn't anything like Trelawney. Apparently she concerned herself with mundane things whereas centaurs were more interested in bigger things. He was rather vague but he did foretell a coming war."
"You knew that," Sirius shrugged.
"The war hadn't really started yet Sirius," Hermione shook her head. "As it was though, we were having to fight on our own battles. The DA had been compromised by Marietta Edgecombe, a friend of Cho's."
"Oh dear, that can't go over well," Remus sighed. "How did you know she did it?"
"Firstly, no it didn't. Secondly, if you recall I made the members sign a piece of paper, I charmed it so anyone who blabbed would have these great pustules that spelt SNEAK over their face. But that wasn't the worst of it. The DA was in the middle of a meeting when Dobby arrived to warn us that the toad was coming. We tried to get everyone out of the room but when Umfudge got there, she wanted evidence and the room provided; the list."
"Dammit!" James punched his hand.
"Harry was taken to the headmaster's office where Fudge, Percy, Kingsley (an Auror but also an Order member), McGonagall, and of course Dumbledore were. Harry tried to claim that there had been no meetings after the restriction was made. Marietta was brought in but Kingsley cast a discreet memory charm on her so she went along with it."
"I don't get it," Sirius huffed. "Why did she even do that in the first place?"
"Her mother worked at the ministry and she was paranoid about doing anything that would upset Umfudge. At any rate, the name is what basically saved us from Umfudge and Harry from expulsion. Dumbledore pretended to admit to amassing an army against Fudge. Fudge, of course, was thrilled. He ordered Percy to immediately send word to the Prophet while they arrested Dumbledore."
McGonagall gave her approximation of a snort, "Like that would happen."
"Correct Professor, Dumbledore pretty much demolished his office but he cursed everyone save McGonagall and Harry. He left some final instructions, reminding Harry to keep up with Occlumency, and then took off. Not shockingly, Fudge made his parrot the new headmistress. One of her most moves was to create the Inquisitorial Squad, mainly a bunch of Slytherins she chose to help make life miserable for the rest of us. They were given the right to assign detentions and deduct points which was abused naturally. Fred and George ended up pushing Montague into that Vanishing cabinet that Peeves broke in first year. You would've loved the fireworks," Hermione laughed. "Fred and George invented them. They were brilliant. All kinds of shapes and designs. When Umfudge tried to stun them; they exploded like a bomb, tried vanishing them; multiplied by ten."
Sirius pouted a bit, "Too bad Umfudge is so evil, we could have let her come just so the kids could put her in her place."
"It wasn't all fun and games. Soon after her appointment, at the same time the fireworks were set, she summoned Harry for tea."
"I'm guessing that this wouldn't be your usual tea party with crumpets and cakes," Remus said wryly.
"No it wasn't. Harry had a very strong suspicion that she put something in his drink which was only confirmed when she asked him where Dumbledore had gone."
"It was probably Veritaserum then," Lily's mouth turned down.
"Her follow-up question was even scarier, she wanted to know where was Sirius." For the marauders, it was like a cold stone had settled in their guts. How close had Padfoot come to being tossed back to the dementors?
"The Fidelius charm would have protected him," Dumbledore said, probably as a reassurance; everyone's faces had become rather grim. "As long as Mr. Black resided in Grimmauld Place where only the secret keeper would be allowed to speak the name and/or give any indication of its location, he would be completely hidden."
"Sirius, mate I know you hate it, but please don't leave that house," James said with relief. Hermione chewed the inside her bottom lip, the urge to cry surfacing again. If he would have just stayed at the headquarters, he would've lived.
"Cho and Harry argued over Marietta. Harry was mad at Marietta for selling us out and Cho was mad at me for putting the charm on the parchment. She took Marietta's side, trying to say that the girl was actually nice but Harry took my side so it didn't look like things would work out between them. Occlumency wasn't going any better either. No matter how hard Harry tried, he just couldn't block his mind. Then during one lesson, Montague reappeared from the Vanishing Cabinet and Snape was called away to see to him, leaving Harry alone with a pensieve full of Snape's memories. He had been taking out certain memories that he didn't want Harry to see in event of there being some accident. I think it goes with saying that Harry jumped into a memory. This one being from your OWLs, after your defence exam." Lily and James exchanged a fearful glance while Remus and Sirius squirmed in their seats. This time they didn't need Mya to know exactly what Harry saw and heard. Hermione noted everyone's discomfort and hurried on, "I'll spare you the trouble of reliving it, I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about." They nodded quickly. "So cutting to the end, after Lily stormed off in the memory Snape caught Harry and pulled him out."
"Hang on a second," James looked quite angry. "How long was he there for?"
"No idea," Hermione shook her head.
"If he purposely let Harry see all of that – I'll – I'll!"
"James calm down," Lily soothed her husband but she too turned over that idea in her head. There was no denying James had been cruel to Severus but it wasn't exactly one-sided either. There had been times where she and Sev fought because he had attacked James as well. That memory only showed one piece of the story. It didn't show Snape's descent into the dark arts, things he used to call 'just a laugh', but they were evil and wrong. By the time that memory took place Lily had already begun wondering how long she could continue being friends with Snape. Him calling her a mudblood was just proof that she had lost her childhood friend to them, the Death Eaters.
"What happened after they got out of the memory Mya?" Remus said in wild attempt to distract everyone.
"Snape was furious with Harry and threw him out of the office, but not until after swearing never to teach him Occulems."
"But he needs to learn," Lily yelped. "Snape can't do that!"
"Harry didn't actually care, by that time he was convinced that he could never master it. What he was concerned with was James's behaviour that day. He really wanted to speak Sirius but letters were risky and floo calls were out of the question. Unless, as Ginny reminded him, he could break into Umbridge's office which had the only fire that wasn't monitored. Harry didn't want to attract any more trouble but he really needed to talk to someone about what he'd seen."
"I swear if Snape did it on purpose…" James was ready to strangle the man. He supposed his anger stemmed more from Harry having doubts about him, even though it couldn't be helped. It just served to remind him that Harry did not know his father at all. He didn't know how his parents met or fell in love. He knew only how they died. And now he knew how much of a jerk his father used to be and how much his mother used to hate him, what a lovely picture. James huffed, "Did he actually manage to break in?"
The twins approached Harry and told him that they were planning a bit of trouble that could guarantee him about twenty minutes in the toad's office. Harry agreed to it. That day we were getting career advice and Harry told McGonagall he wanted to be an Auror." And became one too, Hermione thought happily. Out loud she said, "In my time, Harry had just qualified for the office, one of the fastest trainees Kingsley ever had."
James tickled his child, "Well done, I'm sure you'll do it this time too."
"Not unless Umfudge is stopped. She was sitting in on Harry's career counselling and tried to say that Harry had very little chance of becoming an Auror."
McGonagall gave another one of her snorts, "I'm sure that even if Mr. Potter said he wanted to become a man with black hair and green eyes, that woman would say otherwise." Little Harry cackled as if in agreement and the woman smiled just little.
"Sarcasm is becoming quite common for you Professor," Sirius said conversationally.
"No, you've just never heard it before Mr. Black," Dumbledore corrected him. "I assure you the novelty wears off." Everyone had to cough into their hands a few times for that.
"Getting back to the story," Hermione quickly jumped in before McGonagall could respond. "McGonagall and Umbridge got into a screaming match as the insinuations kept stacking up. McGonagall swore that Harry would become an Auror, even if she had to train him personally."
"As I would have done," McGonagall agreed with herself, clearly still bristling from Dumbledore's comment. "Although I wish Harry did not have to witness such unprofessional behaviour."
"You ordered him out of the office," Hermione assured her. "The time came for Fred and George's diversion. Harry hid under the cloak outside Umfudge's office until she left to take of whatever the situation was and Harry broke in using a magical penknife Sirius had given him. He used the Floo but had to wait for Remus to get Sirius which sapped almost half the time. The both of you tried to placate Harry and he accepted it for the most part but still felt bad for Snape. Then he told you about Snape not teaching him Occulems anymore and you ordered him to go back and convince Snape otherwise. The conversation was cut short by someone on Harry's end. Harry managed to hide himself before Filch came in for 'An Approval For Whipping', apparently the twins had been cornered."
"Did that she-Fudge really allow such punishments?" Lily demanded.
"Bloodquill," Hermione answered wryly. "And that's when she was JUST the defence teacher."
James looked at his wife, "she-Fudge?"
"What? You think only you lot can come with names?" Lily proudly turned her attention back to Hermione.
Hermione in her mind could think of a long list of names for the hag. "Well I think I'm going with toad for this because that's the one the twins decided to celebrate with their prank, in the most literal sense. There's still a piece of it in the hallways, like a monument, where it was. Professor Flitwick left it there purposely."
"Oh dear god, what did they do?" Sirius asked in an awed kind of reverence. James and Remus had their jaws hanging open. None of their pranks had ever achieved that kind of status.
"They built a swamp that spanned the entire corridor," Hermione sat back to let her words sink in.
"Incredible," James laughed in amazement. "Absolutely brilliant."
"If they pull anything half as amazing, they're going to be made honorary marauders," Sirius vowed.
"At the time, you and Remus did make them marauders. When they arrived at Grimmauld place and Molly wasn't around of course."
"Hold on, do you mean in the summer, after school ended?" Lily asked.
"Nope I mean after they summoned their brooms which had been confiscated by the toad and flew off through an open window before they could be punished. They decided that they didn't need school anymore, they had bought a bought a premises in Diagon Alley and started their dream joke shop. Thus Weasley Wizard Wheezes was born. Discounts off to any Hogwarts student that promised to use their stuff to get rid of the toad."
"HA! That is one for the unofficial history books," Remus laughed.
"And don't suppose any of the teachers were in a rush to clear it," Sirius grinned.
"Nope," Hermione moved her head once. "Short of actually outright refusing to help, they just sat back while mayhem reigned. Before they left, Peeves had been given orders by the twins to raise hell and boy did he take it seriously. Upending tables, toppling paper, starting small fires. The rest of the students weren't exactly quiet either. A wave of mischief, aided and abetted by Fred and George, swept the school. There were candies to make us sick so we wouldn't have to attend class. Pranks being pulled left, right, and centre. It was a total rebellion and the rest of the staff didn't lift a finger."
"Oh man, that would've been our time to shine boys," James grinned at all the possibilities. "Imagine almost free reign to do as you please."
"Blimey that sounds like a mischief maker's heaven," Sirius's head lolled back.
"Mya, can we move on before they start drooling?" Lily rolled her eyes.
"We can give them another minute," Hermione's voice was light but her whole demeanour had shifted. It was coming, Hermione had a prickly sensation in her chest and worked to keep her breathing under control. Lily and the professors were quick to notice it and the apprehension in them built. Hermione tried to remain cheerful, "Alright you lot come back from dream land, it's time for the cup. Unfortunately I can't tell you anything about the match because almost from the very beginning, Hagrid came and took us away, into the Forbidden Forest."
"Why is it that Hagrid always seems to be the reason you're in there?" James groaned.
Hermione shrugged, "He took us deep in and we ran into the centaurs, who were not happy about seeing us in there. They were still quite sore over Firenze and it turned out that Hagrid helped him escape before they hurt him."
"So they're mad Hagrid shows respect and kindness to all creatures," Remus remarked.
"Anyway, we went in a bit further and found the reason Hagrid took so long to get back from his mission. When he went to the giant colony, he was told his mother had died but she had one more child. So he brought his half-brother, Grawp, home." No one was sure which part of that statement to question first so they remained silent. "Hagrid feared that Umbridge would kick him out next, especially with Dumbledore no longer around for protection. So he made us promise that if something happened, that we would come and look in on Grawp from time to time, perhaps help him practice his English."
"Okay," Lily rubbed her head. "On the one hand, Hagrid is worried about his brother and himself but on the other, he is asking my son to make regular visits into hostile centaur-filled forest that also has many other non-human-friendly things."
"In a nutshell, yes. We promised Hagrid that we would, just to put him at ease. But on a happier note, when we got back Ron was being carried out of the stadium, with the Quidditch Cup held high."
"Well at least he learned to be more confident on the pitch," James said, trying to find a bright side.
"He wasn't too happy we missed his great match but when we told him about Grawp, he was slightly more focused on the half-giant living in the woods. We took some comfort that that we would only have to fulfill our promise if Hagrid was sacked and got busy preparing for our OWLs. Thanks to Harry, the DA did particularly well on their Defence exam and Harry was even asked to summon his patronus for extra marks. Our astronomy exam was interrupted, for lack of a better word, by Umbridge. We were atop the tower filling in our star charts when we saw the front doors open and group of people heading towards Hagrid's hut."
The first thing that sprung to everyone's mind was an attack and they shouted together, "No!"
"It was quiet for a few minutes but then we heard Hagrid yelling. From what we could make out, Hagrid had been fired and was being asked to leave the grounds. Umbridge had gone with some Aurors to have him removed. Hagrid fought with them but they couldn't take him down because of his giant blood. Then Professor McGonagall came rushing out to help him. She was shot with no less than six stunners."
The marauders and Lily were up in arms, protesting against their favourite professor being attacked so brutally. Dumbledore remained in his place, the only move he made was to steeple his fingers but you could sense the anger. McGonagall herself didn't appear scared until she snapped, "ENOUGH! I would very much like to know the outcome my injuries."
"You survived Professor," Hermione reassured her. "You would make a full recovery but you had to go to St. Mungo's for the remainder of term." McGonagall nodded stiffly. To the room at large she continued, "As bad as that was, History of Magic is where it all went to hell. Harry passed out during the exam and had another dream. This time he had found his way into that door in the corridor and saw Sirius being tortured."
"WHAT?!" Sirius yelped. "B-bu-buh-but how? I'm supposed to be at the headquarters!"
"Which is why myself, Ron, Neville, and Luna helped Harry break back into Umbridge's office to use the fire again. Kreacher said his master had gone out. Harry recognized the place as the Department of Mysteries since he was there during his trial and wanted to go after Sirius. Enter the toad again. She caught Neville, Luna, and Ginny who had insisted on helping. She summoned Snape for his strongest truth serum but she had already used it when she interrogating Harry the first time. Harry told Snape that 'they have Padfoot' but it didn't seem like Snape was taking him seriously. Umbridge got desperate and was going use the Cruciatus curse on us."
"She wouldn't…" Lily said in cold fury.
"She would have, considering she had no problem setting dementors on Harry during the summer. Just to discredit him and give Fudge a chance to expel him."
"That was her!" James almost went for his wand. "She nearly killed my son for her stinking good-for-nothing Fudge."
"I tricked her into thinking that there was a weapon hidden in the woods and that Harry and I could take her there. We were accosted by the centaurs, Umbridge with her stupid mouth insulted them and they took her away. They tried to turn on us but Grawp saved us and took us to the edge of the woods where we met Ron and others. Luna suggested we use Threstrals to get to London and because Harry and I had been cut and bruised, a few had been attracted. They somehow already knew where to go and took all of us to the Ministry's visitor's entrance. The place was completely empty so we raced down to the department. It took us a while to get to the room Harry saw Sirius in but when we did get there, it was filled with these orbs."
"Sounds like the hall of Prophecies," James commented.
"It was, there was one problem." Hermione could feel her façade cracking, "Sirius wasn't there."
"What? But what about the vision?" Remus demanded until it dawned on him. "It was a trap." Just like that the word closed on them like the real object. Lily could feel it, the death was coming.
Hermione couldn't bring herself to contradict him, "We didn't know that then. But we did notice that one of the orbs had Harry's name and Voldemort's and then someone with the initials A.P.W.B.D."
James snorted a little, "Ten guesses who that could be."
"And if you need the other nine, you must be a muggle," Sirius joked.
"Harry took the orb off the shelf but the second he did, the death eaters descended." Everyone went rigid. "Led by Lucius and Bellatrix, they demanded that Harry hand over the orb but he wouldn't so a fight broke out. We tried to get out while fighting in all these different strange rooms but we were separated. I took a nasty curse to the chest that left me out cold. Neville broke his nose and his wand. Ginny broke her ankle and Ron was attacked by these brains they had in a tank. Luna would also get hurt later on. The battle moved to this room with a veil and that's where the Order arrived to help us out. Originally Tonks had been battling Bellatrix but she lost, don't worry Tonks survived, so Sirius took over. When Dumbledore arrived and rounded up the death eaters, they were only two still duelling. They were fighting dangerously close to the veil. Sirius almost had her but then she – she - " Hermione couldn't keep it in anymore. She let the tears flow freely, letting them silently tell the others what happened. The words 'Sirius died' were printed at the bottom of the page and felt like a blaring sign. Sirius remained still and silent. James hid his face in Lily's shoulder while she attempted to wipe her own. Remus couldn't even begin to digest this. McGonagall pressed her fingers to her mouth as Dumbledore shook his head sadly.
"Mya," Remus said hoarsely. "Just get the rest of this over with."
"Are you sure you don't-"
"No," Sirius responded with an almost frightening edge. "No breaks, no stops."
"Alright," Hermione never felt more relieved to turn a page, staring at the words burned her. "To be honest we don't know what Bellatrix hit Sirius with but regardless he fell through the veil. Harry was distraught; Remus had to hold him back before he tried going after Sirius. But nothing could stop him from following Bellatrix. He chased her to the main atrium and tried to duel her to no avail. Still she demanded the orb but little did she know that the orb had smashed in the battle and was therefore beyond her and her master's reach."
"At least they didn't win," James rasped, finally raising his head.
"The fight wasn't over yet. Voldemort appeared in person. Dumbledore came to Harry's aid and the Dark Lord and our Headmaster duelled. Finally Voldemort attempted to possess Harry fully but because his heart was still filled with so much emotion because of Sirius, the Dark Lord could not hold him."
"Love is the most powerful magic," Dumbledore intoned solemnly. "Even death cannot touch the true ties of love. Sirius and Harry's bond is eternal."
"Voldemort left almost immediately after that but not before being sighted by the ministry wizards, including Fudge. Dumbledore consented to speak with the Minister after sending Harry back to his office. Harry tried to leave once he got back but the door was locked. The Headmaster arrived and tried to calm Harry down but Harry had hit his limit. He raged against everything, trying to vent his frustration and anger. He even smashed some of the headmaster's things."
"He shouldn't have done that," Lily reprimanded immediately.
James said hollowly, "Lil, he's angry and scared. Look at everything he went in the last few hours. The vision, Umfudge, the centaurs and that's only the beginning. He just fought a pack of death eaters and had to watch his godfather die, which he is probably blaming himself for. His friends are all injured, I'm sure he'll feel responsible for that too. And to top it off, he doesn't understand why any of it even happened."
"I can certainly sympathize with that last bit," Remus remarked with a dark tone.
Hermione sighed, "I can help you there. Dumbledore explained that Voldemort planted a false image for Harry to see because he knew Harry would go save Sirius. The key to the plan was Kreacher. At Christmas, Sirius screamed at Kreacher 'OUT!' which the elf took to mean leave the house so he went to the Malfoys and told them all he could. He was forbidden to reveal any of the Order's secrets or the headquarters location but he could tell them everything about Harry particularly Harry's relationship with Sirius. They devised a scheme and Kreacher was told to get Sirius out of the way just in case Harry decided to check on him after the vision. When Harry flooed, Sirius was upstairs tending to Buckbeak whom Kreacher had injured."
"So Kreacher lied," Sirius balled his hand into a fist. "That filthy piece of - "
"Not now Sirius. The only reason Dumbledore knew this was because he had to use Legilimens on the elf. Sirius was supposed to be the one to tell him because Professor Snape, who got the message, was able to make contact with him. When we didn't come back from the forest he realised we must've gone to the ministry and told Sirius to stay and wait for Dumbledore but Sirius refused to remain behind while Harry was in danger. He then delegated the task to Kreacher and went to ministry. This brought them to Sirius wanting to leave and why, ultimately Harry challenged Dumbledore's decisions this year. That was when Dumbledore told Harry the truth. The reason that Voldemort would come here on Halloween night and catapult all these things into action and it all started a few months from now. Dumbledore went to go see an applicant for the post of Divination teacher at the Hog's Head. He was meeting with the great-granddaughter of famous Cassandra Trelawney, meaning this was our own Trelawney who made the prediction about Pettigrew. At first Dumbledore thought that she would be unsuitable for the post but then she had a vision. I quote, The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."
"Neither can live while the other survives," James repeated. "You mean one of them has to kill the other?"
"Yes," Hermione replied as evenly as possible. "One has to die. Dumbledore had always been wary of telling Harry about this for fear of burdening him in his already hard life but if he had told Harry the truth, he would've never set foot in the Department of Mysteries."
"But what kind of life could you possibly live with that hanging over your head?" Sirius, despite being the one who advocated for telling Harry he hadn't expected something like this. "Imagine if someone told you that you're destined to go up against one of the most powerful dark wizard of our time."
"Thank god you already told us Harry won," Remus rubbed his neck wearily.
"Still my boy has to take a life," Lily sniffed. "My child, at the age of seventeen, will have to kill someone. Even if it is for the benefit of the wizarding world and himself, that is something no one should have to do."
"What's this about marking him though?" Sirius looked ready to hit something.
"The scar. The first part of the prophecy was overheard by a death eater who relayed to Voldemort. There are actually two babies the prophecy could have applied to, one being Harry and the other Neville. Voldemort chose Harry to target, for all his vaunting of pureblood, he thought the half-blood was the biggest threat."
"He's a half-blood too," Dumbledore reasoned. "Despite all his propaganda he knows that magic can be strong in muggle-borns and half-bloods. He probably saw himself in Harry."
"But the Dark Lord only ever heard the first part so he had trying to hear the rest. He had others attempt to get it for him like Bode, then sent him a pot plant that was actually Devil's Snare that killed him. HE also imperioused an Order member, Sturgis Podmore, but he was caught and put in Azkaban."
"That's why Voldemort was told Bode couldn't do it," Remus nodded comprehendingly. "I assume having Rookwood, who actually worked in the department, helped."
"Precisely, only those who the prophecy pertained to could remove it from the shelves. Headmaster also explained why Harry had to go back to the Dursleys ever year. As long as Harry was in in the home of his mother's blood, blood wards were activated that no one could penetrate. It provided the best protection possible from anything that might want to harm him. Petunia knew this, it was in the letter they left with Harry that night, which is why Dumbledore sent her that howler to remind her of it." Lily quietly mulled that piece of information over in her mind, if only there was a way to reach out to Tuney now. But no one had the mindset to ask any more questions, like Harry they had reached their limit and wanted this year to be done with. Hermione attempted to speed up, "So Ron and I spent some time in the hospital wing but all of us made it out fine. Fudge at long last admitted to Voldemort's return. Dumbledore and Harry had their reputations back but Harry was still grieving for Sirius. Hagrid tried to comfort him but nothing. While packing Harry remembered he had one last present from his godfather. Sirius had given it to him before he left after Christmas but Harry didn't want to tempt Sirius into leaving the house so he never opened it." The awful irony of that statement weighed on them all. "It was a mirror capable communicating with a brother that Sirius had."
"You gave him the mirror," James chuckled, his eyes watering again.
"He could have used that instead of the fire," Sirius choked. "Why didn't he?"
"He was too scared," Hermione sadly recalled Harry's face at the mere thought of his godfather in such danger. "He wasn't thinking clearly. He beat himself up a lot for that."
"It's not his fault," Sirius scrubbed his tears. "The same way he wouldn't leave it to chance that I was at the ministry, I wouldn't take the risk of letting him get hurt. At least I got to spend time with him, fight beside him."
"Harry broke the mirror in anger and just finished packing. He even asked Nick about ghosts and learned how you become one but I think even he knew deep down Sirius wouldn't come back like that."
"I'm sorry Har-bear that's not the way for me," Sirius played the fringe of little Harry's hair. The infant reached up and Sirius took him in a heartbeat, "I'm going to miss you Prongslet."
He missed you too Sirius, we all did," Hermione tugged her sleeve up to wipe her eyes.
Then it was time to leave." Hermione tried to bolster her remaining energy into the semi-happy ending, "When we got to King's Cross there was a nasty surprise waiting for the Durlseys." Lily realized what she was doing and tried to help.
"Vernon couldn't fit through the door?" Lily guessed looking at James, hoping to cheer him up. James coughed a laugh, looping an arm around her.
"How does the Order of the Phoenix sound? Mad-Eye gave Vernon a good scare." Lily attempted unsuccessfully to stifle her giggles.
She glanced at her boys, "Come on guys, think about it." Against their wills, the marauders cracked smiles.
"To make it all the sweeter, they said Harry had to continuously write to them and report any bad treatment from the Dursleys and if they didn't hear from him, they'd be sending someone to check in."
"I hope they send Tonks or Mad-Eye," Sirius muttered. "Dedalus wouldn't be bad either."
Remus quietly added, "Nah I say Hagrid, what's life without a few broken doors?" The pair bumped fists without looking.
Hermione used her two hands to shut the folder firmly, "And that's ladies and gentlemen finally concludes fifth year."
A/N: I said it before, I'll say it again HOLY BEGEEZUS THIS BOOK IS LONG! But now we are coming to my favourite book, Half-Blood Prince, there will be a lot for Lily to fawn over in that one. I know I told things a bit out of order but I was trying to make a natural progression from one topic to the next. And yes, I am well aware that I glossed over the bit about Dumbledore's emotions getting in the way of his dealing with Harry but I feel like that will come up more in the seventh book.