Hello everyone! This will be the last chapter for Taking Control. I'm planning both a sequel and a companion fic, but there won't be any new postings for at least a few weeks as I'm going back to school in a few days and classes start on the 15th. Thank you for all the support, and I'm open to suggestions on how to work through sixth year, as I don't want to follow canon too closely; it won't fit with the new Harry I've invented. Plus it's a bit boring. So read and enjoy, and keep an eye out for the new update!
Chapter 16: Making Memories (Part 2)
The sun was shining brightly, a welcome change from the gloomy clouds that had prevailed most of the summer. The light reflected off the gold-colored party decorations. Red and gold streamers were suspended in midair, outlining a space around a table piled with food and three round tables set with chairs. Harry was also pleased to see a makeshift Quidditch pitch set up in the field beyond the garden. Dobby had really outdone himself this time.
"Whoa," Ron exclaimed. "Did you do all this?"
Harry grinned and shook his head. "Dobby did it."
At the mention of his name, the excitable house elf appeared in front of him. "How can Dobby serve Harry Potter?"
Still smiling, Harry spoke. "We just wanted to say thank you for the decorations. You did a great job, Dobby."
Dobby bobbed his head in acknowledgement, his eyes filling with tears. "Harry Potter is welcome, sir. Moony Sir is wanting it to be perfect for Harry Potter's birthday."
"Well, it is," Harry repeated.
"Yes, thank you so much, Dobby," Hermione said, entering the conversation.
"You is welcome, Miss 'Mione," Dobby replied with a slight bow.
"Yeah, thanks," Ron said awkwardly. The others were looking on in amusement, and chorused their thanks as well. Dobby flushed with pleasure at their praise, then snapped his fingers and disappeared.
As soon as the elf had gone, Ron and the Weasley twins made for the food table. Ginny and Neville followed, chuckling at the others' enthusiasm. Remus was sitting in a chair nearby, watching with a smile, while Tonks joined the Weasleys.
"How are you, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"I'm doing well, Hermione. Honest," he added at her incredulously raised eyebrow. "Remus and Tonks have been a big help."
Hermione bit her lip, obviously trying to decide if he was telling the truth, but finally nodded and gave him a soft smile. "I'm glad you're doing better. We've been worried about you, you know," she said.
Harry shrugged a little sheepishly. "It was safer this way. Dumbledore might still try to interfere and send me back to the Dursleys if he finds me, and going back there won't help me at all. I'd rather keep this place a secret for as long as possible—which is why you won't be able to tell anyone where it is once you leave."
Hermione nodded and a moment passed in silence, then she asked a predictable question. "How are your studies going?"
Harry grinned. "Really well. I took my OWLs in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy last weekend. I should get the scores by next week, at the latest. I'm already started some of the sixth year material in the core subjects," he said.
Hermione gave him a sideways look, as if she didn't really believe him. "You're joking, right?"
Harry shook his head and raised his hand, mock-swearing. "I'm not joking."
"Then what's the first potion on the sixth year curriculum?" She shot at him, choosing a subject she assumed he wouldn't have bothered to study much.
"The Draught of Living Death, which slows all body functions to be almost imperceptible, thus imitating death almost perfectly. It's a rather difficult brew, actually. Lots of new ingredients," Harry answered immediately, enjoying her open-mouthed look of astonishment. "I haven't tried it yet, though," he added, grinning. Hermione frowned a little.
"So you get one question right. What's the first thing on the curriculum for DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration?"
"Silent casting. And yes, I've already started on that, too," he said, wordlessly lighting his wand with the lumos charm.
"Well, then I'll be working extra-hard to catch up." Hermione said with a huff.
"Friendly competition, then? I'd hate for any hard feelings to develop just because I've been studying more than you this summer," Harry said. Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Let the best witch win?" she asked, extending her hand.
"Or wizard," Harry replied, taking her hand and shaking it.
"When are you opening the presents, Harry?" Ron asked, appearing beside them and looking just as excited as Tonks had been that morning. He also appeared to have already raided the food table. Harry couldn't help but grin.
"I suppose we can do it now," he said with a shrug. Ron nodded enthusiastically.
"Oy! Presents!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the other guests, plus Tonks. She and the twins raced back; Neville followed with a grin but at a more sedate pace, followed closely by Ginny, who was shaking her head at her brothers' antics. The trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione led the way to the table where the gifts were laid out.
The next thirty minutes or so passed quickly, charged with excitement. Harry opened the rest of his gifts while the others looked on. From Hermione he had received a new book of defensive spells that included a section on using Charms and Transfiguration in dueling. From Ginny he got a new pair of seeker's gloves, paid for from wages gained working part-time at her brothers' shop, plus some homemade treacle tart.
"Mum did most of the work on the tart," she said, blushing a little. "It's mostly from her, though it was my idea."
"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said with a smile. Then he moved on to his other gifts.
Ron got him a new and improved sneakascope and a selection of prank items and treats from Honeydukes. Fred and George had sent him a box of their newest products and a voucher for anything in their shop for free. "To make it official," they said, "that you're not paying for anything from our shop, ever."
"Thanks, guys," Harry said, but he still planned on sneaking them tips because he didn't consider it fair that he got everything free.
Neville had gotten Harry a gift certificate for the Three Broomsticks and a potted cutting from his Mimbletus Mimbletonia, the cactus that spurted stinksap. "It was getting too big, so I had to prune it. I figured you could make use of it. It's a nice window decoration, and the sap can be used in pranks," he explained a little embarrassedly.
"It's great, Neville. Thanks," Harry said sincerely, clapping the other boy on his shoulder.
Harry also opened two more gifts, one more from Tonks and another from Remus. The one from Remus was a set of journals from his Hogwarts days, written by himself, James, and Sirius. The contents, Harry saw as he flipped through them with an amazed expression, consisted mainly of notes for spells and potions they'd invented or altered and a record of their most famous and successful pranks. It also included, Harry realized with some amusement, their animagus notes. Remus gave him a knowing look as he thumbed through it.
"Thank you," Harry said fervently, his eyes shining as he gave the older man a grateful smile. Remus just smiled back.
Tonks's gift was a leather-bound journal. The first few pages recorded her own experience with the animagus transformation—she gave him a wink—and useful tips on dueling, metamorphmagus abilities, and other tidbits she'd thought he'd like to know. The rest, though, was blank, for Harry to record his own stories and ideas. It was also charmed to never run out of pages.
"You coordinated this, didn't you," Harry stated, grinning at the pair of them. Tonks's face turned slightly pink in a poorly concealed blush, and Remus just smiled. "Thank you, both of you," Harry said.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" The group said in a ragged chorus. Harry just grinned and repeated his thanks. Then the group dispersed. The Weasley boys all headed toward the Quidditch pitch, clearly expecting Harry to follow. Hermione and Ginny struck up a conversation with Remus and Tonks, so Harry was left with Neville. He figured now was as good a time as ever to relate his news about the prophecy with the boy.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Harry asked him.
"Sure, Harry," Neville answered with a shrug. Harry led him farther from the main group, away from potential eavesdroppers, where he conjured two chairs. Harry also set a subtle privacy ward. It wouldn't do to be overheard, and Harry still hadn't decided whether or not to tell Ron and Hermione about the prophecy. Neville's jaw dropped slightly at the display of NEWT-level magic, but sat down beside Harry. "What do you need to talk about?"
Harry briefly closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself. "This won't be easy, for me to say or for you to hear. But you deserve to know," he began. It was clear he now had Neville's complete attention. "Do you remember the prophecy orb from the Ministry?"
He nodded. "But it broke, didn't it?"
"It did," Harry agreed. "But Dumbledore heard it when it was first given, and after we got back that night, he told me. It's a prophecy about Voldemort and the one who can defeat him. Voldemort knew part of it, but not all of it. That's why he wanted it—to see what he would be up against." Harry paused, letting out a heavy exhale that wasn't quite a sigh. "It mentioned him and one other person—the one supposedly destined to defeat him. That person is me…but it could have been you."
"Defeat…Him? Me?" Neville whispered, his eyes wide. "But…I'm nothing. I can barely do magic. The only reason I passed my OWLs is because of you and Hermione."
Harry smiled a little. "You're not nothing, Neville. You did brilliantly in the DA all on your own. You just needed the motivation." Harry paused. "But that's what the prophecy mentions, is who and how. This is the first part, the part that Voldemort knows. It says, '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…' That's how it could have been either of us. Both your parents and mine faced Voldemort three times and defied him, and we were both born at the end of July."
Neville looked nervous and uncomfortable, but he nodded in understanding. "But why is it you and not me?" he asked after a moment.
"That's the second part, the part that only Dumbledore and I, and now you, will know: 'and the dark lord shall mark him as his equal, and he shall 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…' "
"Mark…? Does that mean…?" Neville trailed off, awkwardly pointing to Harry's forehead.
Harry nodded, pushing aside his bangs to reveal the lightning bolt scar. "That Halloween, he chose to come after me, to mark me…though accidentally I'm sure. That's what makes me, and not you, the 'Chosen One'," he said with a grimace.
"But that means…you have to either kill him or be killed by him?" Neville sounded horrified.
"That's what I thought at first. I thought that because of the prophecy, I was obligated to do something, that it was my destiny or something," Harry said with a slight smile. "But then I realized that it doesn't. I can still choose whether or not to go after him. But, I won't ever be able to live a normal life while he lives, because he will always come after me, no matter where I go. That's what the last part means, 'neither can live while the other survives.' But," Harry began, his expression determined, "he did kill my parents, a friend, and my godfather. I'm hardly going to let that go."
Neville nodded in agreement, a fierce expression forming on his face. A moment passed in silence, then he spoke again. "But why tell me all this, if it was you all long?"
"I felt you had a right to know, because you have as much reason to fight as I do," Harry said, quietly but firmly.
Neville nodded fiercely. "That's right. I will fight, for Mum and Dad."
"So will I," Harry agreed, then he smiled. "Did you know that we're god-brothers?"
"We are?" Neville asked, completely derailed by the change of subject.
Harry nodded, smiling. "Remus mentioned it once. Your mum is my godmother, and my mum was yours."
"Really?"
"Really. So, brothers?" Harry inquired, extending his hand.
Neville grinned. "Brothers," he agreed, clasping the offered hand firmly for a moment.
"Oy, Harry! We need another seeker!" George called across the yard. The guests had all congregated and were gearing up for a three-on-three Quidditch match. Hermione refused to play, and Remus was still recovering from the full moon.
Harry grinned. "Coming!" he called back. He and Neville exchanged a grin, then Harry ran toward the pitch, summoning his Firebolt as he went.