The second weekend of November was when Dumbledore had planned their next meeting, the first which would include Ron and Ginny. Over the past 10 weeks, Harry and Ron had both noticed that Dumbledore wasn't around that much, his chair in the Great Hall being left empty more often than not. Harry assumed he was investigating locations, people and items related to Voldemort, to scout for possible Horcruxes
That week Harry had had to endure another Slughorn dinner. He was increasingly glad that Ginny was still getting invited. He had told her about him needing to get in Slughorn's good graces, and Ginny was brilliant at charming the old man. When he had remarked on it, she said that she had spent the first ten years of her life learning how to make her brothers do what she wanted them to do. She had even told a hilarious story about Fred in a dress that Mrs Weasley had transfigured from some old dishcloths.
Life at Hogwarts went on as normal as possible. Harry still encountered students walking through the halls with the results of potion and spell mishaps clearly showing. The staircases still tended to trip up the first years, and a couple of older students as well. At the same time, Harry had noticed an underlying tension that expressed itself in furtive glances at sudden loud noises or the way the castle itself seemed to hold its breath every morning when the Owls came to deliver the news and mail. Most days it could breathe easier when the news wasn't too bad. Other days brought terrible headlines or personal tragedy.
What surprised Harry the most was the relative quiet from the pro-Voldemort pure-bloods. He had expected daily threats from the likes of Malfoy. But after that first week, most Slytherins kept to themselves even more than usual. Malfoy had mostly ignored Harry after their duel. He didn't even seem interested in trying to sabotage him in Potions class. Harry wondered whether this was due to the influence of Slughorn. Sure, Snape was still head of Slytherin, but Slughorn had been as well and Harry assumed the man would exert at least some of his influence. Snape himself also ignored Harry completely.
With the revelation that Harry's Animagus was almost certainly a Gryffin, and the subsequent question of what he had to do to be accepted by his form, Harry was glad that he was heading toward the Headmaster's Office with Ron and Ginny. If anyone knew what was up, it'd be Dumbledore. He was also nervous, about the conversation they were about to have with Ginny. Ron was stone-faced and Ginny's jaw was clenching now and again, as they ascended the twisting staircase.
Harry knocked and opened the door when Dumbledore told them to come in.
"Well, hello!" the Headmaster greeted, as they walked in. He seemed tired. Harry guessed he had only just returned from wherever he'd been. Dumbledore waved his wand and conjured three armchairs that look quite comfortable. It seemed he anticipated a difficult conversation.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and took the two chairs on the outside, leaving the middle one for Ginny. She didn't seem to notice this subtle defensive positioning.
The Headmaster looked at them individually for a moment. Then he started.
"Miss and Mister Weasley, I assume you know why you're here?"
Ron nodded, Ginny shook her head. "I know that you, Harry and I'm assuming Ron also, know what the Diary was exactly," she said slowly. "What I don't understand is why you told Harry rather than me," she continued in a voice that was still polite but also slightly condemnatory.
"The primary reason is that this knowledge is to remain a secret. I'm not saying I don't trust you. The Weasley family has time and again proven their trustworthiness," Dumbledore explained. "But a secret can only spread when it is revealed, and thus, the best protection is to not reveal it at all. This would still be my position if Mr Potter had not convinced me that you might have information that we do not."
Ginny frowned quizzically at him. Harry ignored her but inwardly smiled at Dumbledore's use of his surname. The Headmaster usually just used "Harry" but apparently felt it wrong to do so in the company of other students.
"Okay," Ginny started, "what kind of information would that be? I hardly think there's a subject that I know more about than you, professor."
"You flatter me," Dumbledore smiled as he answered, "I assure you there are many topics I know little about." His expression turned serious again. "The topic in question is an example. As you know, I was Tom Riddle's teacher, when he studied here at Hogwarts. But he never trusted me and always kept a careful distance. I have since learned a lot about the boy and man he was, but I am much more acquainted with the man he would eventually become."
Ginny caught on, her face pale but her voice still strong, "And I have had months of conversation with a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle." She swallowed. "But why does it matter? What information are you looking for?"
"Because there are other objects like the Diary out there," Dumbledore responded. The only outward sign of Ginny's state of mind was her jaw clenching and her lips thinning.
"Now, Miss Weasley, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions. If at any point you feel like you can't answer, or for whatever reason, feel like you don't want to, please, do not be afraid to tell me so. Do you understand?"
Ginny nodded. She breathed in deeply and Harry recognized her game face. Like with Quidditch, she was nervous about talking about the Diary but managed to transform the nerves into sheer determination. Ron grabbed her hand. Ginny smiled fleetingly at him.
"Did Tom ever mention any advanced magic? Either Dark or not?" Dumbledore began. Harry assumed Dumbledore was planning to warm up before they delved directly into the topic of Horcruxes.
Ginny thought about it for a moment. "Tom offered advice on spells sometimes, but our conversations mostly were about other topics," she said, determinedly not looking at Harry.
"What kind of advice did he offer? Please, don't hold back anything you think you already told me back then," Dumbledore prompted. Harry hadn't known that Dumbledore had talked with Ginny about the Diary but that made sense. The Weasleys would have had to ask permission for Ginny to visit with Primrose Jorkins, her therapist. Harry assumed that Prim had also been in contact with Dumbledore in some shape, just be sure of the magic that was used in creating the Diary.
"In the beginning, he encouraged me to practise spells that were second or third year. He said that I was powerful and that learning powerful spells would be a good way to impress…" Ginny stopped and then sighed in an annoyed manner. "He said that learning powerful spells would impress Harry and get him to notice me." She blushed slightly but smiled mostly self-deprecatingly.
Harry was confused. "Why would he think I would be impressed by powerful magic?"
Ginny shrugged, but Dumbledore looked pensively. "Whether as Voldemort or as a young Tom Riddle, he was always primarily interested in power. Everything he did was in support of garnering more power. The only relationship he understood was that between powerful and powerless. In his mind, power would always attract the powerless." He turned to Ginny again. "You said he seemed to believe you to be powerful. Did he ever say why he thought so?"
Ginny nodded. "Aside from the manipulative flattery, he seemed very interested in the fact that I was a seventh child, and the first girl in seven generations," she said.
Dumbledore's eyes widened minutely. Harry wouldn't have noticed had he not spent so much time with the man over the last months.
"Did he ever tell you why that mattered? Did he mention the number seven often?"
"Yeah, he said that there was power in the number seven."
Harry understood at once why this was important. This indicated that Voldemort followed the arithmantic theory that stated that seven was the most magically powerful number. If that was the case then Voldemort would most likely have split his soul into seven pieces.
"Thank you, Ginny, that is very insightful," Dumbledore said, a bit distractedly, he was already thinking furiously about what this meant.
"Why, though?" Ginny asked, "Why does that help?"
Harry decided to answer, "Because that means there are probably five other items like the Diary out there," he said looking at Dumbledore for confirmation, which came in the form of a solemn nod.
"Well, four, I guess," Harry mused out loud, thinking about Nagini. The snake wasn't an item like the diary or the ring were.
"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked. "What is the diary exactly? Do these objects matter in defeating Tom?"
"They do," Dumbledore said.
Then Ron spoke up for the first time. "I think she deserves to know," he squeezed Ginny's hand, "I know I would, and Harry would want to know as well."
Dumbledore looked at Ron in silence and then acquiesced. "Between the three of us, you know Miss Weasley the best, of course."
He stood up. "What I'm going to tell you, Miss Weasley, Ginny, I must ask you to tell no one. Absolutely no one. It is crucial in defeating Voldemort that he never learns what we are about to discuss. Do you understand?"
Ginny nodded determinedly.
"Can't we use a Fidelius to prevent us from speaking about it?" Ron asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "The Fidelius only works to hide a location. Do not fret, however. I think it is highly unlikely that anyone would try to get the information from Miss Weasley. My guess would be that the four of us and Voldemort himself, will be the only ones who know about this. As long as we don't discuss this in places we can be overheard, and use sufficient privacy charms we should be safe."
They were silent for a moment, letting build the gravity of what they were about to tell Ginny.
"Did Tom ever talk to you about Horcruxes?"
Ginny's eye lit up in recognition, but she frowned at the same time. "I recognize the term, I think he did mention it but I can't remember in what context."
"A Horcrux is an item in which a part of a soul is stored," Dumbledore explained softly.
Ginny's gripped the armrest of her chair hard, her knuckles protruding and her freckles clearly visible in the white skin of the back of her hands.
"He wanted to steal my soul," Ginny whispered, more to herself than to them. She looked at Harry. "The Diary…?" she whispered pleadingly, looking up at him, different emotions racing over her face.
"… was a Horcrux," he confirmed, emphasizing the was because he felt that would help soften the blow.
Ron leaned forward and put his other hand on Ginny's also. Ginny slowly looked at her hand, up at Ron, and then slowly pulled her hand from his. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, shivering.
Dumbledore continued in a soft tone. "The Diary was indeed a Horcrux, making it most probably one of the darkest pieces of magic to have ever existed." He then spoke up a bit louder, "Which is why I am so incredibly proud of how far you've come since."
Ginny didn't say anything for a long while. She just stared at the space in front of her chair. Harry and Ron shared a look over her head, clearly not knowing what to do.
After a good while, Ginny looked up. "You said there were four more of these, these Horcruxes?"
"Based on what you said about Tom's interest in the number seven, we have good reason to believe his goal was to split his soul into seven pieces. That would mean a total of six Horcruxes, with the remaining seventh part of his soul remaining in his body."
"We suspect one of them to be Nagini, his snake. When I said one was different I meant that the others are all objects like a ring or a diary, but Nagini is a living creature," Harry explained.
Ginny nodded but turned silent again. She had turned a bit green beneath her pale face. Harry couldn't blame her. He had only been possessed by Voldemort for a couple of minutes and if he hadn't been emotionally dead in the aftermath of the battle he knew he would have felt dirty, wrong, violated even, for days. Ginny had carried the Horcrux with her for months.
Ron tried to squeeze her hand again but she rather snappishly slapped his hand away. She turned to Harry instead. "How long have you known?"
"Since the first weekend we were back this year," he admitted. Ginny narrowing her eyes was reason enough for him to quickly explain, "As Professor Dumbledore said, this must be kept secret. As long as there are Horcruxes, Voldemort, Tom cannot die."
That took the wind right out of Ginny's sails. "He's immortal?" she exclaimed, aghast.
"He cannot die as long as he has his Horcruxes," Dumbledore corrected, "Which is why it is crucial that we find and destroy them before he realizes that we are doing so. If he were to find out, he would most certainly move them and increase their security."
Dumbledore walked over to Ginny and kneeled in front of her. He grabbed her hand in his hands. Ginny's pale skin clashed violently with the blackened, dead skin of the Headmaster's right hand. In kind, grandfatherly tones Dumbledore tried to assuage Ginny's fears.
"Listen to me, Miss Weasley, Ginny, if I may. I have seen absolutely no evidence of any lingering issues stemming from your contact with the Diary Horcrux. I am certain that, besides psychological trauma, which you have so valiantly and bravely overcome, you are free from its influence. You are not dirty, you are not sick, you are not unclean. Your soul is your own. You are alone in your mind. You are in no way, shape, or form tainted. In fact, the opposite is true. With the knowledge I now have of what the Diary actually is, I am even more amazed by your resistance."
When Ginny tried to protest, he continued, "I told you then, that you should not feel ashamed. Many older and powerful witches and wizards have been misled and corrupted by Voldemort. You had him with you and you still held out for months." He then looked at Harry. "As a matter of fact, and I rather think your brother and Mr Potter would agree, when, as I am certain we will, we are victorious, our victory started with you withstanding him for as long as you did. Do you understand?"
Ginny nodded and she smiled half-heartedly at the Headmaster. Dumbledore gave a small pat on her hand and then stood up. Harry noticed that it was a slight struggle for the man. He had no idea how old the Headmaster was exactly, but his age was beginning to show.
Dumbledore returned to his seat and looked at Ginny again. "And if you do feel threatened or afraid of being possessed again," he said in the same kind and warm tones, "surrounding yourself with love is the best protection you have, isn't that right, Harry?"
Harry blanched. He knew exactly what he meant, but the problem was he hadn't told either Ginny or Ron about the fact he was possessed at the end of the battle last June. They both looked at him.
"You mean like the protection Harry got from his mum?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, dear," the Headmaster said apologetically to Harry, "it seems I have accidentally betrayed something you have kept secret. My apologies."
Harry narrowed his eyes at the man. Had it been an accident? Or was it a way to force Harry to talk about it more? The slight twinkle in the Headmaster's blue eyes seemed to indicate the latter.
Ron looked at him, probably unsure whether Dumbledore was talking about the "power he knows not". Ginny looked at him, the question clearly visible in her eyes.
Did he want to talk about it? There wasn't really a reason to hide it, was there? He sighed.
"What the Headmaster meant was that, at the battle last year, at the end, I was briefly possessed by Voldemort," At Ron and Ginny's outraged and shocked yells, he hastily added, "But he couldn't bear the pain when I was thinking about Sirius and Hermione. Apparently, my love for them exorcised him." He ran his hand through his hair, a bit embarrassed. He looked up cautiously to see their reactions.
Ron was looking at him with sad eyes. Ginny, on the other hand, was quickly reaching a boiling point and Harry had only a second to brace himself.
"Harry Potter, you complete arse!" she yelled, jumping up. "How dare you ask me about the Diary and then not mention that you were fucking possessed yourself! Don't you think that's something you should've mentioned? Let me go, Ron!" This last was aimed at her brother who had hugged her from behind to keep her from attacking Harry.
Harry wasn't going to take this that easily, though. "We didn't even talk about your possession! Only what you did after!"
The Headmaster's voice drifted over them, bringing a calming influence with it. "Let's all calm down. Harry, I was unaware you hadn't discussed the possession with Ginny. My apologies." He then looked at Ginny, "Miss Weasley, I can understand your anger, but please remember how long it took you to talk."
Ginny, clearly still angry, exhaled violently, but sat down.
Dumbledore took charge of the discussion again. "I think we have discussed what we wanted to discuss, did we not? Miss Weasley, if you remember something you think may be important, please come see me, or tell Mr Potter or your brother. Mr Potter, if I may ask you to stay for a moment longer?"
Ron dragged Ginny up from her chair and together they made their way to the door, but Dumbledore spoke up before they left. "Oh and Mr Weasley, congratulations on your achievement last weekend. Miss Weasley, I trust you know where to go if you feel the need to talk to someone. Mrs Jorkins is free to come up to the castle if you feel the need." Then, his moustache twitched and with twinkling eyes, he said, "and this time I won't take House Point for your language!"
Ginny didn't really smile but nodded politely and she and Ron walked out.
With a wave, the Headmaster vanished their two chairs.
"Now, Harry," he began, "Let us switch topics. Minerva has informed me that your experience with the Animagus potion has not been satisfactory."
"Yes," Harry confirmed, "I have been wanting to ask you about it. Did Professor McGonagall inform you what happened?"
Dumbledore took his glasses of his face and cleaned them with his wand. "It is my understanding that you didn't pass the judgement that is usually only ceremonial, and that as a result, you are unsure of what animal choose you. Is that correct?"
"Well, yes, but I asked Hagrid and Luna, we are quite certain that what I saw was a Gryffin. I didn't tell them that it was Animagus-related, though, I just presented it as a puzzle."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "A Gryffin?" he murmured to himself, "how very interesting." He waved his wand, and a copy of Fantastic Beasts came flying into his hand.
He looked at Harry and with a smile said, "Alas, creatures have never been my forte, either magical or non-magical."
As the Headmaster read the entry, Harry explained: "During the vision, I felt like I hadn't yet proved myself worthy, but I definitely had the feeling I could prove it. But I'm unsure how to do so,"
"Indeed?" Dumbledore muttered under his breath while he read. The other things he muttered Harry couldn't hear.
After a while, when Harry was quite sure Dumbledore had read the passage multiple times, he cleared his throat and tentatively asked, "Sir?"
Dumbledore look at him for a moment before he finally said something. "Well, there are clear similarities to be found, of course, but I am more interested in the symbolism. I'm sure you have realized this."
Harry nodded, "Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin, I'm potentially a Gryffin Animagus."
This past week he had been wondering whether this symbolism was just that, or whether there was more to it. "Sir? Do you think I may be related to Gryffindor? Like Voldemort is related to Slytherin?"
"I'm quite sure you are not, my boy," Dumbledore said. "Even if you are a true Gryffindor,"' he said, nodding to the Sword of Gryffindor. "As far as I know, there are no wizards or witches in Britain that carry the name of any of the four founders. Of course, Rowena Ravenclaw's direct line ended with her daughter. As we know from the memories of Hepzibah Smith, the Smiths are most likely the most directly related living relatives of Helga Hufflepuff. Most scholars agree that the Gryffindor name has died out, but that his relatives were among the first to accompany the British Muggles in their quest to colonize the American continent. If there is an heir of Gryffindor out there, they are probably living somewhere on the American continent."
"So the symbolism is only that?" Harry asked.
"My guess would be, yes and no," the Headmaster said. "Let me explain. I think crucial here is the regal quality of the Gryffin. The Gryffin is a kingly animal, stretching its realm far and wide, over land and through the air. Such an animal would not allow a threat to its position to live within its territory."
Harry understood at once what Dumbledore was getting at. "I need to defeat Voldemort. That's what was lacking."
The Headmaster nodded slowly.
"Luckily that was the plan anyway," Harry said dryly.
- In her memory –
The next two weeks went by rather quickly. Harry was really beginning to feel the effects of their breakneck schedule. If it wasn't for Quidditch and the fact that he and Ron were clearly improving, he thought he might have gone crazy.
Not everything was going smoothly, though. Having kept an eye on the corridor with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, he had concluded that Malfoy was visiting the Room of Requirement. Goyle and Crabbe were often stationed outside. He had no idea what he was up to, however.
Another thing that puzzled him was Ron. He hadn't noticed at first, but Ron had completely stopped complaining about muscle aches and his mood had improved. But at the same time, Harry was completely sure that he still wasn't getting enough sleep. He had talked to Ginny about it, and she agreed that the change had been too quick. Harry had been in favour of keeping an eye out for any more changes, but Ginny had just cornered Ron to ask him about it.
Ron had said that he was just happy with the progress they were making, and with the animal his animagus form was. That was all.
While Harry wasn't sure this was true, he couldn't deny that Ron was getting good at duelling. He had taken Flitwick's guest lecture for the HA to heart, and combined with Dumbledore's book, he was beginning to think more strategically about duelling. Harry suspected this was exactly why Dumbledore had given him the book, as Dumbledore had given him the book after their discussion about Harry having to rely on things other than just spells and power.
Together with Neville, they had spent one of their Defence self-study session discussing different ways they could try to maximize the effectiveness of the spells they already knew. Taking Flitwick's example of minimal movement, they had scoured the Hogwarts Library, asked the Room of Requirement, and had written to Tonks about it. But their greatest idea came when Harry had used the Invisibility Cloak in one of their practice duels.
"Hey! That's a great idea!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"Being invisible?" Neville asked. "We could practise our disillusionment charms," he suggested.
"Yeah, we should do that," Ron said, waving his hand, "but casting a stunner or a disarmer would still give you away, wouldn't it?"
Harry and Neville looked at each other.
"Here, look at this," Ron said impatiently. He fired a stunner at the empty space, casting it in the familiar red light. He turned and aimed at his book bag. "Wingardium Leviosa", he said, levitated the bag for a moment, and then looked up at Harry and Neville expectantly. They had not yet practised nonverbal spells that they weren't likely to use in a duel.
When Harry and Neville didn't say anything, Ron explained. "Even if I was under the cloak, or had disillusioned myself if I had cast the Stunner, the red light would've given me away. Casting it gives off light, but levitating something doesn't!"
Harry and Neville looked at each other in surprise and dawning comprehension.
"If we could find a way to stun or disarm without it giving off that light…" Harry said, thinking hard.
"You could stun people without giving away your position granted you're invisible in some way!" Ron said, grinning broadly. "That way it doesn't matter whether someone is a better dueller or more powerful, they would have no target."
"Isn't that a bit Slytherin, mate? Sneaking around like that?" Neville said, with a smirk to indicate he was joking.
But Ron took it very seriously. "I'd willingly resort myself into Slytherin if that meant I could keep my friends and family alive," he said darkly.
Neville frowned but nodded his agreement. Harry thought Ron's statement said everything about how their last year had been. Together with Hagrid, Ron's view of Slytherin had been one of the main reasons Harry himself had told the Sorting Hat he didn't want to be in Slytherin.
Harry smiled wryly. "If sneaking around makes you a Slytherin, we've been snakes ever since our first year, mate," he said, thinking back on all the trips he, Ron and Hermione had taken through the castle at night. "I even distinctly remember encountering you a couple of times, Neville!"
"Something with a three-headed dog, right?" Neville said, pretending to think hard. They all laughed.
"All transfigurations and most charms are cast nonvisible, right?" Ron said, bringing them back on topic.
"Which charms are visible?" Neville asked.
"Lumos," Harry said, snickering.
"Ha-Ha," Neville laughed sarcastically.
"Does it have to do with power?" Ron suggested.
Harry shook his head, "I saw Dumbledore perform the Fidelius Charm, which is a highly powerful charm, but that was invisible as well. Hang on, remember what McGonagall said at the HA?"
"That almost all spells taught in Defence are charms?"
"Yes," Harry said, "and that makes sense right? I mean aren't jinxes and hexes almost always charms themselves? They only add or remove a characteristic from the target, which is the definition of a charm, right?"
"Yeah, but jinxes, hexes and curses are all cast visibly," Ron answered, cottoning on.
"But why?" Neville asked, "what determines whether they are visible?"
They all thought about it for a moment.
"It has to be about the fact that you cast them on other people, right?" Neville argued, sitting down in a chair.
"But stuff like a Cheering Charm is still invisible," Ron said.
"Intent, maybe?" Harry suggested, "Spells are visible when they are in one way or another cast with the intent to harm?"
Neville seemed impressed but Ron shook his head. "When I levitated the Troll's club back in first year, I levitated it with the intention of dropping it on his head but the spell was still invisible."
Harry sighed. This was the exact sort of conundrum they needed someone like Hermione for. He felt a sting of grief, and then a wave of anger. Not at the circumstances but at himself, because noticing his grief when he needed Hermione's brain felt wrong somehow. She had been much more than her brain.
"I got it!" Neville said, making Harry pay attention again, "It is true you cast the spell at the club to use it to harm the troll, but you didn't mean to harm the club itself!"
"I guess," Ron said a bit unsure, " But when I cast that stunner on the empty space it was still visible, even though there was nothing to intend to harm."
"But you still needed the conviction you wanted your target to be stunned for the spell to even work, right?" Harry said, "Plus, you aimed at something, even if was empty air. That might be enough?"
Ron looked at him for a second and then let out a groan and covered his face with his hands. "All this thinking makes my brain hurt," he said, making Harry and Neville burst out in laughter.
After they had calmed down, Harry spoke up again. "There is an easy way to test this, you know. If we purposefully overpower a Cheering Charm, like I accidentally did to you back in third year, Ron, with the intent of making the target laugh so hard they get cramps in their midriffs, that might tell us something."
Neville looked at him thoughtfully. "You could argue that casting it that way, the charm actually becomes more of a Jinx or Hex. Do you think you could reverse that process? Like maybe Ginny's Bat-Bogey hex could be used to treat a stuffed nose if you cast it with that intent?"
Harry, quite ironically, snorted loudly. "So, you want to try it out?"
Neville nodded, standing up. Ron didn't, "You two go ahead," he said. He looked a bit apprehensively.
"Uh, sure, mate," Harry said, shooting a glance at Neville who shrugged. They played a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would start. Neville won.
The first rounds of Cheering Charms being cast back and forth didn't result in anything but high spirits and beginning muscle cramps. But whether this was because their theory was wrong or because they failed at adequately translating the intent or conviction into their casting, they didn't know.
Deciding to call it quits, Harry suggested they would ask Flitwick after their next charms lesson.
- In her memory –
It was Friday and Harry and Neville were in the Room of Requirement messing around with overpowering a Cheering Charm again. This Hermione's Army meeting had proved to be very interesting. It had actually been Ginny who had come to him after the meeting that Tuesday, to ask whether Harry thought it would be a good idea to tell the members something about who Voldemort really was. Nothing about you-know-what, of course, she had joked, but maybe if it was more widely known that Voldemort was a half-blood named Tom, it would take away some of the fear.
When teased by Harry that she just wanted to know more herself, after what they had discussed in Dumbledore's office, she had shrugged and just answered in the affirmative. Neither had said anything about their yelling match, but Ginny had either forgiven him or had figured she shouldn't blame him anyway. But Harry was quite sure the topic would come up in the not-so-distant future.
After a quick check-in with Dumbledore, who had been at dinner on Wednesday, Harry got permission to tell the HA members something about Voldemort's past.
However, when the meeting started, he was interrupted by the Headmaster himself. Clearly, Dumbledore had decided that it was better if he would be the one to tell them, being the only one who had known the man as a boy.
Harry might have felt a bit miffed at not being trusted to present this information, if not for the fact that Dumbledore gave a half-hour lecture on more than just Voldemort. He started with a large picture of a young Tom Riddle and gave them some background information. Witch Mother, Muggle Father, raised in a Muggle Orphanage. He presented his story in such a way to make Tom Riddle look like a sympathetic character, someone who had strived to overcome adversity on his own, only to then pull the rug from under that sympathy.
Harry assumed Dumbledore had done so to drill the point home of how manipulation could work. It certainly had an impact on the members listening. They had discussed it shortly before they used their second hour to practise their defence and healing skills again. After almost three months of the HA being active, Harry had to acknowledge that the Healing part of their curriculum was lacking. This was mostly due to their inability to find a teacher that had time. With Hogwarts in full swing, combined with the usual flu season, Madam Pomfrey was too busy to dedicate the time needed. But those interested in Healing still did their best.
Their number had also grown again after Flitwick's lesson. They know had about 55 members that came regularly. The new recruits mainly came from the younger students, which meant that Harry and Ron had to dedicate more time to teaching the simpler spells. Luckily, most of the original members took the younger members under their wing. If they hadn't, Harry and Ron would not have time to practise for themselves.
Harry turned his concentration back on Neville and tried to envision wanting to hurt his friend. He concentrated on his aching abdominal muscles and mentally projected that he wanted to repay his friend in kind.
Neville did burst out in hysterical fits of laughter again, but the charm was still cast non-visible. It seemed Flitwick had been on the money: trying this with a spell that made them feel giddy wasn't the best way to start.
Flitwick had not been much help either way. Apparently, there were many theories out there that tried to explain spell colour, but none had proved to stand the test of time. He did know that there had been people who had experimented with trying to cast disillusionment on the spell itself but that hadn't worked out great either. He had promised to look into it a bit for them, though.
Harry had had the idea to ask Fred & George whether they could come up with an idea. It was exactly these sort of out-of-the-box ideas that the Twins excelled in.
Giving up on the Cheering Charms, Harry and Neville walked around for a bit, helping out with spells. As was often the case, Ginny, Luna, Lily and Sophie were practising with each other. Harry had the sneaking suspicion that Ginny was saving Sophie from being a third-wheel.
Harry also noticed that Lavender was, likely on purpose, staying on the other side of the room from where Ron was. Harry wasn't sure that Ron had talked to her at all after she had tried to kiss him, but he wasn't planning on asking him. Looking over the members he was glad to see that everything was going well. People were mingling between houses, although the number of Slytherin members was still very low. Aside from fifth-year prefect Signe, there was a second-year, Nissa. She was someway related to Leif, the Gryffindor Reserve Seeker Mia's friend, but Harry wasn't sure whether they were actually twins or just were born within a year from each other. The third Slytherin was another girl, which was probably due to Ginny's influence. She was also a fifth year, and one of the twins that Harry had seen at Slug Club gatherings. If Harry remembered correctly this one was the one that had avoided eye contact with Ginny and Harry.
Things seemed to be going quite well, for as far as it could go well with a war going on.
This all changed in December.
