Chapter 15: Cloudy Skies - March 1993
Ron kept his eyes and ears open after what happened at the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff quidditch match.
The redhead still had a gut feeling about Colin, but no evidence amassed either way. Ron didn't ask him about directly the rogue bludger, preferring to remain an observer.
What Ron saw: Colin was as obsessed with Harry as ever. He actually praised Ron, telling him, "You stopped that bludger right in mid air! I can see why you're Harry Potter's best friend."
Ron didn't know what to say to the small, enthusiastic student. "Er, well I practice a lot of charms."
It was true enough. Since the beginning of this school year, Ron had learned hundreds of new charms. He even had the immensely gratifying experience of teaching Fred and George a new one. They put it to use against the Hufflepuff beater that Ron saw with the wand. Despite not knowing their motivations, Ron was not a fan of the player who put other students in danger.
Ron was also planning another prank against Malfoy, who had started to target Ginny. Malfoy is always surrounded by a pack of snakes now, Ron observed. He must have improved his standing in Slytherin since the days when he alone would pick fights with Ron last Fall.
Ginny entered the Gryffindor common room one night with a bruised fist and three days' detention. She told Ron that Malfoy got his goons to rifle through her stuff, and she let them have it.
Ron tried to be encouraging. "Sounds like you stood up for yourself."
"Well, McGonagall punished me for fighting again"
"That doesn't mean she thought you did the wrong thing at the time. How much detention did the others get?"
Ginny answered, "A week."
"There you go. She thought they were more wrong."
"Mum and dad will probably get a note asking them for a meeting," she sulked, "since I'm such a bad influence on the other children."
Ginny narrowed her eyes as she continued, "They'll probably talk to you, actually. Something about how you're supposed to do the fighting instead of me. Protect your baby sister."
Ron asked mildly, "Do you want me to protect you?"
"No." She marched away.
Ginny was a brat, particularly at this age. But Hermione helped Ron see that she felt suffocated by the family's controlling behavior, which made her act out. He hoped that his laid-back support would help her be less combative and happier, but only time would tell.
As for Malfoy trying to go through her things, that reeked of the older Malfoy's diary plot. Mr. Malfoy could be sweating after giving away his master's gift with no results. Maybe he put pressure on his son to clean up his mess?
The first warmer days of early Spring brought many students outdoors, and Harry and Luna were no exception. They spoke to the Whomping Willow as though it were a person, waded in the still-frigid waters of the Black Lake, and trailed after Hagrid as he worked at the edges of the Forbidden Forest.
One day in mid-March, Harry and Luna sat calmly in the freshly-tilled plot of land by his house. They were completely surrounded by small, mundane, black birds. Harry didn't know what kind they were, but he liked getting to examine their pointy beaks and round eyes so close without getting pecked.
"You two've got a way with all sorts o' creatures," the large man observed as he approached.
"Hello, Hagrid." The birds flew off as Luna rose. "How are your charges fairing?"
Hagrid launched into a story about a knarl and invited them in for tea. Eventually, Hagrid asked them how school was going.
Luna told him, "Nothing's quite as interesting as what you tell us."
Harry added, "We love your stories. It makes me wish I had time to take Care of Magical Creatures next year. Hermione's been on me to take Runes and Arithmancy. She has a point, but I honestly don't know if I'll be able to keep up."
Hagrid was thoughtful. "If you keep comin' 'round here, you might be able to sit the OWL with a little independent study. Kettleburn don't know half as much as I do, bein' honest."
Kettleburn? Oh right, Hagrid didn't get the Care professor job until after this year… . Harry's stomach sank as he realized, Hagrid's name wasn't cleared this year. Guilt distracted Harry for the remainder of their visit.
Harry had been prodded by Hermione to start thinking about their various plans for the summer and next school year. They would have another top-secret meeting soon, and she hinted that he needed to come prepared.
Harry wracked his brain for what all she was alluding to. The biggest question mark from his point of view was if Sirius would try to get him from the Dursleys. Harry could admit to himself that he was a bit disappointed that Sirius hadn't gotten in touch with him yet. He was freed from Azkaban back in September.
He talked about it with Luna as he walked her to Ravenclaw tower after a visit to Myrtle.
Luna asked him, "Why not write a letter to him yourself?" Her tone wasn't judgmental, but Harry was still embarrassed.
She coaxed him to explain what he was thinking.
He finally said, "I feel like he should be the adult. He should reach out to me. He doesn't know that I know he's my godfather, even. If Hagrid hadn't told me, Sirius would just be a man falsely accused of basically killing my parents."
"Sometimes adults aren't what we want them to be." Harry knew that Luna's dad was not a reliable guardian either.
Harry considered writing Sirius while Luna handed some raw meat to a thestral.
Harry finally said, "I don't want to be surprised. A newspaper article, a court proceeding. Even if he stays away, I'd like to know what he wants from me. I'm tired of guessing."
Luna told him that purple was the best color for new correspondents. Harry borrowed a dark purple inkwell and sat down to write.
Dear Mr. Black,
I hope you're not upset by my writing you. My name is Harry and I'm twelve years old. I play seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team.
I heard from Hagrid that you were my godfather and that you leant him your flying motorbike. Before I knew that, I had dreams about riding it. I'm glad you're out of prison.
Can you tell me anything about my parents? Aunt Petunia doesn't like to talk about them. I've been told that I look just like my dad, but with my mother's eyes.
Please write back soon,
-Harry Potter
Harry was of mixed feelings on whether it was the right message. He wanted to keep the letter simple, and it was. Yet the terseness combined with the heavy subjects seemed a bit off.
He passed it to Luna to look over. Luna immediately posted the letter for him with Hedwig. He hoped that foretold success.
Harry's stomach sank when he received a scroll asking him to visit Dumbledore's office at his convenience. Harry hadn't spoken to him since the headmaster had banned Dobby from Hogwarts grounds, and he didn't know why the old man wanted to speak with him now.
Dumbledore welcomed him in and offered a muggle sweet that Harry declined. At Harry's feigned nervousness, he offered assurances: "No, you're not in trouble. Before we get to the heart of the matter, tell me, how are your classes?"
"Good, sir. Well, Professor Lockhart is a bit of an exception." Harry thought his real twelve-year-old self would have babbled a bit, so he did just that. "His lectures lately haven't been all that… academic. He's stopped even pretending to do spells in classes."
"Can you think of nothing he has taught you?"
"Er, the perils of thinking too highly of yourself?"
Dumbledore nodded and moved on. "Alas, I am tasked with getting to the bottom of the quidditch debacle from a few weeks ago. As a participant, I was wondering what you saw."
"Not much. I was mostly watching the snitch."
"So you didn't see what was going on in the Gryffindor stands?"
"Near the end, I saw a bludger hit a student. I also saw that Professor Lockhart was knocked out. But I didn't see the lead-up or much after that, at least until the game ended. Ron told me what happened later."
"Do you know what your friend Ronald saw?"
"He saw bludgers throughout the game, even stunning one. He didn't stun any more since he got told off by Madam Hooch."
Dumbledore nodded gravely.
Harry continued, "Ron thought he saw a Hufflepuff beater use their wand to make the bludger go towards the stands."
Dumbledore scratched out a note. "Anything else?"
"He had a theory, but I don't quite believe it myself."
"I'd like to hear it anyway."
Harry hesitated, then said, "Ron thought that Colin Creevey was setting up a test for me, based on a conversation he overheard. Colin seems to think that the Boy-Who-Lived should be a hero and save people. But I don't see how Colin connects to the Hufflepuff beater."
Dumbledore tented his fingers. "Did he have any theories that connect Colin to Professor Lockhart's collapse?"
"None that he shared with me." Harry speculated aloud, "Though maybe Colin wanted to make me look better than Lockhart? If he is involved, he already got one older student to help out…."
Dumbledore told Harry to let him know if he or Ronald thought of anything else. Harry promised that he would.
Then Harry brought up another topic, which had been on his mind since tea at Hagrid's the other day. "Sir, do you know if Hagrid could ever teach a class here? Or run a club? He's so good with creatures, and so patient with my questions."
Dumbledore stroked his beard neutrally. "I can't explain the complexities of staffing dilemmas to you. However, I promise to take the suggestion under advisement."
On a particularly cold Spring day, the trio went for a walk within the castle walls. They wandered through every secret passageway they could think of as they talked about this and that.
Harry told Hermione and Ron, "Lee's looking to set up Music Hour in the Great Hall so students from other houses can listen in." Lee Jordan was an incredibly popular DJ for the Gryffindor Music Hour. He offered editorial commentary and more reporting about the musical artists.
Hermione warmed at the thought. "Oooh, that's wonderful. You know, between the music and the sleepover, we're educating students on a variety of contemporary muggle pop culture. It couldn't have been better for that than if it was our original goal."
Ron said, "I wonder if that will affect politics, like muggle relations, in ten years."
Hermione nodded enthusiastically. That had occurred to her as well.
The witch hadn't worked at the Ministry long enough to become totally disillusioned, but their experiences with Umbridge as well as their numbered Undesirable status certainly had an effect on all three of them.
Harry changed the topic. "How are things with your dorm mates, Hermione?"
A smile reflexively broke out onto her face. "Really great. I actually told Lavender and Parvati about… about finding out that I was adopted. They were very sweet about it. Eventually they even offered to let me check if they're related to me, because 'we could be like sisters!'."
Hermione was relieved that she turned out not to be related to either girl, though she refused to consider why.
"That is… sweet." Harry tried out the unfamiliar phrasing. "Ulg. Nope. I'm going to say 'that's cool' instead."
Ron laughed at Harry's discomfort, and Hermione punched the redhead's shoulder.
Harry attempted sincerity again: "I'm really happy for you, Hermione."
They turned a corner and were about to pass by Dumbledore's office when the stone gargoyle sprung to the side. An uncharacteristically angry Professor Lockhart stepped in front of them. He didn't give them so much as a glance as he stormed off.
With feigned casualness, she said, "I wonder what that was about." The trio exchanged concerned looks.
A/N: There are three chapters left to finish out this school year, and I will post all three chapters next week. This story will continue for another two school years. Thanks for reading!