Chapter Fourteen: Setting Foundations
The large fountain on the northern side of the castle was a popular place for students to congregate, especially when the weather was nice. When Harry arrived there, several groups were already milling about the area, and even more were stretched out on the adjacent practice lawn, where Madam Hooch usually held her flying lessons.
He took a seat on one of the empty stone benches with his back to the castle, where he could see the tops of the Quidditch stands peeking over the outer walls of the castle. As he sat there in the afternoon sun, it was all too easy for him to close his eyes and allow himself to relax for a change.
Angelina had insisted on the team being on the pitch at the crack of dawn that morning, her obsession with winning the Quidditch Cup nearly rivalling that of Harry's first Captain and current reserve Keeper for Puddlemere United, Oliver Wood. It had been a good practice; the returning members of the team were already in top form, and even Ron had shown flashes of brilliance — at least, whenever he didn't let his nerves get to him.
As much as Harry enjoyed being out there with the team, he wouldn't have said no to a few more hours of sleep either. Taking a short nap right there on the bench would have been a very real possibility, had Cho not shown up when she did.
"All right there, Harry?"
Harry opened his eyes to see the Ravenclaw Seeker smiling down at him.
"Hey, Cho. Care to sit?"
"Sure," she replied, and Harry slid over to make room on the bench.
"Feeling any better today?"
"Yeah," chuckled Harry, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that — I don't know how I'll survive a whole year with her," he said, though he was only half-kidding. It had only been two weeks, and Umbridge was already a complete nightmare.
"No, I get it," Cho commiserated. "She's really horrible. I can't believe she would lie about you like that…lie about him."
Harry could tell she was trying to keep calm, but Cho couldn't hide the quiver in her voice. A single tear ran down her left cheek, which she quickly wiped away, causing Harry to sigh and look down at the bench.
He really, really didn't want to talk about Cedric. While his nightmares had mostly stopped by that point, that still didn't mean he was eager to be reminded of that night. Even so, it was fairly obvious that she wanted to talk to Harry about him — perhaps even needed to, if her almost pleading expression was any indicator.
Harry pushed his hair back from his forehead and nodded resignedly to himself. As much as he would have liked to change the subject, he had recently come to appreciate the value in having someone else to talk to. It would be pretty callous of him not to offer Cho the same courtesy.
"Did — did you want to talk about it?"
A look of relief crossed Cho's face. "Can we?" she asked quietly. "Is...is that okay?"
Harry nodded.
"Thank you…there's really nobody else who…I'm sorry," she sniffed while wiping her tears. "I just wanted to ask you…Did Cedric — did he mention me at all before he…d-died?"
"No, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It happened so fast…there wasn't really time to say anything."
"He — he didn't…suffer, did he?"
"No, he probably didn't even know it was coming," replied Harry, with a small shake of the head. "It — it was the Killing Curse…they say it's pretty much instant."
Cho closed her eyes and nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"No one ever talks about him," she choked out. "It's like everyone just wants to pretend he never even existed!"
Harry's face scrunched in thought up as he considered her words; she actually had a good point. Why weren't more people talking about Cedric? Even if people thought Harry was lying about Voldemort, shouldn't the recent the death of one of Hogwarts' most popular students during an extremely well-publicised tournament be a more frequent topic of conversation?
"You're right," he said finally.
"Why?"
"Who knows?" shrugged Harry. "Maybe people are just scared of the truth. It's just like with Fudge — it's easier to pretend that I'm a liar and Dumbledore's barmy than it would be to actually deal with the problem."
"Cedric deserves better than that," Cho said angrily.
"He does," agreed Harry. "Cedric was a good bloke. We were never close, but I like to think we were friends by the end. We definitely helped each other out in the maze, right up until…until…" For the first time since they started talking, Harry's eyes started to water too. "It's all my fault," he sighed miserably.
"What's all your fault?"
"Cedric…he told me to take the cup. It was my stupid idea for us to take it together — to let it be a tie. 'It'd still be a Hogwarts victory', I said, as if that even matters now. If I had just taken it myself, then Cedric would still be…I mean, he wouldn't…"
"No Harry, you can't think like that," said Cho, shaking her head forcefully. "I was close to Cedric, and he never would've blamed you for what happened."
"You're probably right…no, I'm sure you are. Logically, I know it's not my fault, but I still can't help blaming myself."
Harry just sat there for a minute with his eyes closed and his head bowed, his chin nearly resting on his chest. For a brief moment, he wondered if Cho had decided to get up and leave, but then he felt her hand on top of his. He looked up to see her looking at him sympathetically.
"You're right," he said again. "I'll work on it…maybe it'd be a good idea if we talk about him more — I mean, with other people."
"I — I think that's a good idea," replied Cho, giving him a watery smile. "Let them know they're not allowed to forget about him."
"Exactly."
"Thanks Harry," she sniffed. "I really needed this."
"You know…I think maybe I did too," he said, and then she leaned over and gave him a hug.
oOoOoOo
Later that evening, Harry once again found himself introducing others to the Room of Requirement. Ron and Hermione had already seen it, of course, but it was the first time for Fred, George, Ginny, and Neville. As expected, the four Gryffindors were suitably impressed — particularly the twins, who were ecstatic to learn of a hidden area they hadn't already discovered in their 6 years at Hogwarts.
"All right, well, thanks for coming," announced Harry, attempting to gather everyone's attention. "We're here because between Voldemort being back and Umbridge making sure we don't learn anything in class, we needed to figure out how to do some practicing on our own."
"We actually asked Harry to teach us," Hermione chimed in, indicating Ron and herself. "Not only is he the best in our year in Defence, but I think we'd all agree he has the most practical experience," she added, giving him an apologetic look.
"Why us, though?" asked Neville, his face reddening once he realised everyone had turned to look at him. "I mean…I bet there are a lot of people who would want to learn from Harry," he added meekly.
"I know Lee would join in a heartbeat," offered George. "The rest of the Quidditch team, too."
"And what about the lovely Ravenclaw bird who ate dinner at our table this evening? I bet she wouldn't mind Harry teaching her a thing or two," Fred said jokingly.
"Maybe Harry only wants to teach people he knows he can trust," Ginny replied tetchily.
"I trust Astoria just fine — Lee and the team, too," insisted Harry, rubbing his forehead. "I wanted to keep it small because there'll be trouble if Umbridge figures out about what we're up to. I'm open to letting a few others join, but only people who we know are completely on our side."
"I've been thinking about that," said Hermione. "What if there's a way to make sure nobody tells Umbridge what we're doing? That way we can even invite people who we don't know as well."
In the back of his mind, Harry had already resigned himself to losing that particular battle. If he were being honest, he actually agreed with Hermione when she said that everyone deserved to learn how to defend themselves. Another consideration was his goal of gaining more allies — an endeavour for which he had made very little progress. Teaching Defence to a significant portion of Hogwarts students would go a long way towards accomplishing both objectives. The only thing preventing him from doing so was his own paranoia.
"All right, what did you have in mind?" he asked Hermione.
"I did have one idea," she replied. "I thought maybe we could make everyone use a sign-up sheet, and I could jinx the parchment to permanently mark anyone who gives us up to Umbridge."
At first, no one responded.
"What?" she added, noticing that everyone was staring at her in disbelief.
Ron simply shook his head. "You can be right scary sometimes, you know that?" he told Hermione.
"Well, I thought it was a good idea," she said crossly.
"It's…definitely an idea…" Harry said diplomatically, while rubbing the back of his head.
"Think about it, Hermione," said Ron, perhaps a bit patronisingly. "Mutilating jinxes aside, if the spell only works after we've been sold out, then it'd already be too late!"
"I suppose so," she huffed, "but at least we'd know who did it."
"Allowing you to plot your delicious revenge, of course," remarked George in a sinister tone, a second before both he and Fred burst into laughter. The others soon joined in, and even Hermione cracked a smile.
"All right Hermione," Harry said after a moment, "if you can find a way to prevent people from talking in the first place instead of punishing them after the fact, then I'll consider opening our sessions up to more people. Okay?"
Hermione nodded happily, and Harry saw the spark in her eye that only appeared when something important needed researching. Knowing it would only be a matter of time, Harry decided he'd better start thinking about how to efficiently work with larger groups. Hopefully it would take Hermione at least a couple of weeks to come up with a solution, giving Harry time to get used to teaching others.
"But for now," he continued, "let's go ahead and get started."
Harry flicked his wand towards the training dummies, and one of them zoomed from its spot against the wall and into position, a few metres from where the group were standing. Fred and George looked at one another with raised eyebrows at the display of casual magic, but no one made any comment.
"I'm sure you all know the Disarming Charm," said Harry, "but simply knowing the spell isn't always enough. You need to be fast, accurate, and able to cast it without thinking."
Quick as a flash, Harry flicked his wand again and unleashed a scarlet jet of light towards the unsuspecting dummy. The spell blew the dummy backwards several feet, and the wooden stick that served as its wand flew out of its hand and into Harry's.
Fred gave a low whistle. "Pretty impressive…silent too," he muttered.
"Being able to cast silently can be really important in a fight," acknowledged Harry, his mind flashing back to his first lesson with Sirius. "I know you two can probably do it for at least some spells," he said, addressing Fred and George, who nodded in reply, "but I recommend everybody try to learn. If nothing else, try not to shout the incantation — being loud doesn't make your spell any stronger."
The group nodded their understanding and continued looking at Harry expectantly, causing him to feel a brief wave of anxiety.
"All right…well, why don't we line up and take turns on the dummy," he suggested, after collecting himself. "After that, we can try disarming each other for a bit."
The others lined up as instructed and took it in turns attempting the Disarming Charm on the training dummy, while Harry positioned himself next to the caster so he could observe their form and offer advice on how to improve.
Hermione's form was a bit stiff and mechanical, but she otherwise cast the spell perfectly. Both twins were able to cast it nonverbally, and Harry's advice to tighten up their wand movements immediately translated into improved speed and accuracy. Ginny's spell was surprisingly powerful, although she had difficulty with her aim until Harry corrected her stance.
It became clear early on that Neville's greatest obstacle was going to be his own self-confidence. His first few attempts were nervous and hesitant, but his face lit up when on his fourth try, he finally succeeded in disarming the dummy. Ron's attempts were arguably the best out of all of them, which took Harry somewhat by surprise. When asked about his unexpected disarming prowess, he simply shrugged, saying, "I just did it like you showed us."
Next, they paired up and worked on disarming their partner — stationary at first, but then Harry had them moving around the Room so they could practice both dodging and aiming at moving targets. Everything seemed to be going well, so he added another wrinkle by instructing them all on how to do a proper Shield Charm. The remainder of their session was little more than organised chaos, with all seven of them running about the Room trying to disarm one another while dodging and shielding incoming spells.
It was the most fun any of them had experienced so far that term.
Eventually, Harry called a stop to their activities, and the seven exhausted, slightly sweaty Gryffindors settled into the seating area by the bookshelves, which had automatically expanded itself to account for the increased number of people.
"That was amazing, Harry," said Neville, slightly out of breath. "I've never disarmed anyone before. I think I learned more today than I ever have in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"You did well today," replied Harry, clapping his dorm mate on the shoulder. "All of you did," he added, this time a little louder. "It's only our first day and I think everybody's already improved — myself included."
"You make a cracking good teacher, too," said George. "We've got to ask, though — how did you get so good at this?"
"Right, I mean we knew you weren't half bad, but when did you get so far ahead of the rest of us?" added Fred.
"It's not like I really showed you much," shrugged Harry, brushing off the praise.
Ginny scoffed. "Come off it, Harry," she groaned, "the overly modest thing doesn't really work once people have seen you in action."
"Fine…for one, that thing that happened over the summer ended up changing my magic — in a good way," explained Harry. "It's almost like there was a block that was removed."
The others all nodded in understanding except for Neville, who just looked around in confusion.
"Second…" he hesitated. "I practiced duelling with Sirius every morning while we were at…at…"
Harry stopped when he realised he couldn't speak the name of the place, and his eyes immediately shot to Neville, who was looking at him with an alarmed expression.
"S — Sirius?" the boy said haltingly. "Do you mean Sirius Black?"
"Yeah," confirmed Harry, sighing in resignation. "We should probably bring you up to speed on a few things if you're going to be hanging around us. Long story short, Sirius Black is innocent, and he's also my godfather. Peter Pettigrew is actually alive, and he's the one who betrayed my parents."
"Wow," Neville said hoarsely. "Why was he trying to break into the school, then?"
"We can explain all that later," Ron interrupted. "I want to know why we weren't invited to practice with Sirius too!"
"Mostly because we didn't want your mum finding out," responded Harry. "Me sneaking around is one thing, but there's no way we could've all gotten away with it, even if there was enough room — which there wasn't."
"I guess," said Ron, who still seemed a bit miffed about missing out.
"We also got started at four-thirty every morning," Harry added with a grin, making Ron grimace at even the thought of waking up that early. "And…" he continued, adopting a melancholy tone, "…I haven't had much one-on-one time with Sirius, and I didn't want to give that up."
"I understand, Harry," said Hermione, after a few quiet moments. "Plus, you're using what you learned from Sirius to teach us, so it all works out."
"Thanks, Hermione," he nodded gratefully, and then the group seemed to collectively come to the decision that it was time to head back to the common room.
"All right, it's about thirty minutes until curfew," said Harry, as he perused the Marauder's Map. "Umbridge is in her office so we should be fine, but I think it's best we split up and take different routes back to the common room, just in case."
They all agreed, and Ginny took off in one direction with Fred and George, while Neville joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The latter two took turns filling Neville in on the events of their third year, giving Harry the opportunity to think back on their first training session together.
It had gone even better than Harry had expected. While he had been a little uncomfortable at first, it turned out that teaching came somewhat naturally to him. Seeing the evidence of everyone's improvement with his own eyes was incredibly rewarding, and it only reinforced the idea that they were doing the right thing.
For the first time since she proposed the idea, Harry actually found himself hoping that Hermione would find a way to safeguard their secret. While he had been wary at first, he now understood how big a difference he could make by getting out of his comfort zone and working with anyone who was willing to learn. After all, if these sessions could save even one innocent life, then it would all be worth it.
oOoOoOo
"Happy birthday, Hermione!"
The bushy-haired Gryffindor was so startled that she hopped backwards and almost pulled out her wand to defend herself. Having shown up to the Room of Requirement a few minutes early to prepare for their third session, she had no idea her friends would be lying in wait to surprise her — and surprise her, they did.
Instead of being configured into Harry's usual training facility, the Room was set up like a large drawing room, complete with a half dozen Gryffindor banners and a large fireplace, which was fairly reminiscent of the one in their own common room. Zigzagging across the ceiling were multi-coloured streamers, along with an enormous banner, reading 'Happy Birthday!'in colourful letters that rapidly cycled through the entire rainbow.
"You — you!" she said, clutching her chest. "You nearly frightened the pants off of me!"
"Sounds like a proper birthday to me!" shouted Fred, receiving several laughs in return, along with a stiff elbow from Ginny.
"Happy birthday," Harry said with a grin. He escorted his friend over to the table, in the centre of which was a vanilla frosted birthday cake set with sixteen sparkling candles.
"Was this your idea?" she whispered.
"Sort of," he replied. "We were planning to have a cake for you after our training session, but I got a note from Dumbledore saying he wants to see me this evening, so we decided to just have a party instead."
"Thank you," she said, giving him a firm, but brief hug.
"You're welcome. Now, go blow out your candles before they burn the place down."
She managed to blow them all out in one try, only to have each of them fly off the cake one at a time and explode into tiny fireworks — courtesy of Fred and George, of course. Next, Hermione opened up her presents (books, obviously) while Harry and Ginny passed around slices of cake, and then everyone shared some of their favourite Hermione moments over the years ('We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled' was Harry's).
"The cake was very good," remarked Hermione, just as she finished her last bite. "Which one of you made it?"
"Dobby," admitted Harry. "I asked him where we could get a cake, and he was all too happy to help."
"That was nice of him."
"Yeah, I already owe him some socks for showing me the Room. I'll have to pick him up something to go with them now."
"Oh, speaking of the Room," she said, setting her plate down. "I've been researching ways to keep both the Room and our group secret, and I may have an idea."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"That was fast," said Ron.
"That's our Hermione," the twins added in unison.
Harry nodded appreciatively. He'd expected her to come up with something, but he figured it would at least take her a couple of weeks, not five days.
"All right, what did you find out?"
"Well," she started, "I read about a spell called the Tongue-Tying Curse, but that would only prevent someone from talking about the secret — they could still write it down, you see. There's also something called an Unbreakable Vow. The problem is that it actually can be broken — it just kills the one who broke it. There are all sorts of magical contracts and oaths too, but basically all of them focus on penalties for breaking faith instead of preventing anyone from doing so."
She took a deep breath and made eye contact with Harry.
"I've actually only been able to find one possible way to do what you asked."
"Which is?"
"The Fidelius Charm."
"The Fidelius Charm," repeated Harry.
"Yes."
"As in the one Dumbledore put on…you-know-where? The one my parents used to hide from Voldemort?"
"Yes, it's the only way I've found to completely hide a secret: to keep anyone from talking, writing, or communicating about it to anyone in any way," she explained. "It's an extremely complicated spell, and I'll need to do some more research before I can do it properly, but I really think it could work."
"Okay, if you think it'll work then let's do it," agreed Harry, after a moment's consideration. "You might want to speak with Professor Flitwick — he's brilliant with charms, and he wouldn't have a second thought about you asking him an academic question."
"That's a great idea, Harry," beamed Hermione, pleased that her idea had been so well received.
"Yeah, well — if anyone can do it, I'm sure you can," Harry told her, as he stood up from the table. "Now, I need to go, or else I'll be late for Dumbledore. Enjoy the rest of the party."
Quickly saying his goodbyes, Harry threw on his Invisibility Cloak and made his way up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Their first lesson had been so incredible that he could hardly wait to find out what the professor would be teaching him this time.
"Good evening, sir," said Harry, as he was admitted into the office.
"Good evening, Harry. I trust you are well," Dumbledore responded politely, and Harry nodded and took his usual seat in front of the headmaster's desk. "Have you made much progress in honing your magic-sensing abilities?" enquired the professor.
"I think so," replied Harry. "The first few days were rough; it's like there was a constant buzzing in my head from all the magic in the castle. I have gotten better at ignoring it though, and it's easier for me to pick out individual sources even through all the noise."
"Yes, I am sure it was quite overwhelming," Dumbledore nodded apologetically. "Have you been able to sense anything of particular interest around the castle?"
"You mean aside from the curse I dodged in Potions, which somehow resulted in me getting kicked out of class?" asked Harry pointedly.
A look of concern appeared on Dumbledore's face. "Who attempted to curse you during class?" he asked. "Do you know which spell was used?"
"Malfoy or Nott," Harry replied angrily. "They were behind me, so I'm not sure which. I'm not sure what spell it was either, but it definitely wasn't a Tickling Hex."
"I see," the headmaster said calmly. "I shall speak with Professor Snape about the incident. In any event, it does seem to have been a rather effective practical test of your developing skills. Have you sensed anything else worthy of note?"
Harry snorted and shook his head. "Nothing too exciting," he said. "I noticed what I assume were locking charms on a few doors, but that's about it. I can feel magic everywhere around the castle, but there's usually too much interference for me to pick out anything specific."
"That does not surprise me," replied the headmaster. "That is, after all, why we ventured outside the castle for your lesson. I encourage you to keep practicing, however, as it will become easier with time and experience."
"I will"
"Now, on a somewhat less pleasant note," said Dumbledore, switching topics, "how have your lessons with Professor Umbridge been since we last spoke?"
"Awful. She keeps getting worse, but at the same time she's more subtle about it, if that makes sense," scowled Harry. "She doesn't try to bait me in front of the whole class as much, but she's constantly making nasty comments where only me and a few others can hear them."
"That is unfortunate," Dumbledore sympathised. "I had hoped she would eventually grow tired of attempting to provoke you, once it became clear you were not rising to the bait."
"That's not all," continued Harry, his expression darkening. "She's been suggesting to other classes that I had something to do with Cedric's death."
Dumbledore steepled his hands in front of him, briefly touching the tips of his index fingers to his lips and adopting a pensive expression.
"I am sorry you are forced to deal with all this, Harry," he said after a while. "Once again, you have shown a level of resilience beyond anyone's reasonable expectations."
Harry looked back at Professor Dumbledore but didn't respond. While he knew the headmaster meant it as a compliment, being so used to adversity that he could keep marching forward regardless of how much dragon dung was heaped upon him didn't feel like a cause for celebration.
"I do, however, believe that Dolores may be playing a dangerous game," Dumbledore added thoughtfully.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"First, you must remember that Professor Umbridge has fully bought in to the Minister's delusions — that is to say, she firmly believes that you are lying about Lord Voldemort's return, and that I intend to raise an army to take over the Ministry."
"Daft cow," Harry muttered under his breath.
Dumbledore ignored the barb, though Harry thought he saw the corner of his mouth twitch up slightly.
"Considering the actual reality of the situation, I am certain that a full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Cedric Diggory's death is the last thing that Lucius Malfoy — and by extension the Minister — wants to see enacted."
"Why's that, sir?"
"I would have thought that was obvious. In his rush to dismiss your warnings as delusional, Cornelius had Mr. Diggory's death declared an accident and blocked any attempts to investigate it further. Opening an inquiry now would only increase the likelihood of the truth coming to light — something which would please neither Voldemort nor the Minister."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"I am glad that you agree," said Dumbledore, inclining his head towards him. "Now, unless you have other concerns, I suggest we dive into our main topic for the evening, so to speak."
"Sounds good, sir," Harry replied eagerly, while Dumbledore walked across his office to retrieve his Pensieve.
"I shall apologise in advance, for tonight's lesson is not one of the practical variety," stated the headmaster, as he arranged a series of crystal phials on his desk. "Over the past several years, I have done a fair amount of research into Tom Riddle's history, and I believe the time has come for me to share that knowledge with you."
"His history?" said Harry, slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be learning any new magic that evening. "Is that important?"
"It is absolutely crucial," Dumbledore replied firmly. "One should never engage a dangerous enemy such as Voldemort without knowing as much as possible about them — their strengths, their weaknesses, and even their motivations," he explained. "To that end, I have procured a series of memories which I believe contain information critical to the final downfall of Lord Voldemort."
"I understand sir," nodded Harry, as he stood and joined the headmaster at his desk.
"Excellent. Our first memory of the evening belonged to Bob Ogden, a former employee of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We are about to accompany him on a visit he made in the course of his duties. After you, Harry."
Harry took a deep breath and plunged his face into the Pensieve. Bob Ogden's interactions with the Gaunt family would be the first of six memories they reviewed that evening. Next, they briefly visited the memory of Caractacus Burke, the co-proprietor of Borgin & Burke's in Knockturn Alley, followed by Professor Dumbledore's own recollections of meeting an eleven-year-old Tom Riddle at his muggle orphanage, which only proved to Harry that Voldemort had never not been creepy.
The next memory belonged to Riddle's uncle, Morfin Gaunt, which showed his own interaction with the teenager who would one day be known as Lord Voldemort. A house-elf named Hokey provided the fifth memory, which included a meeting where her mistress showed Riddle her two most prized possessions — Salazar Slytherin's locket, which Harry was already intimately familiar with, and a cup once belonging to Helga Hufflepuff. The sixth and final memory showed an adult Voldemort, minus the snakelike features, at Hogwarts, asking Professor Dumbledore for a teaching position — specifically, Defence Against the Dark Arts.
After each memory, Harry and Professor Dumbledore stopped to discuss what they had seen and how each event related to the other memories they had viewed. By the end, Harry was mentally exhausted, but they had successfully crafted a reasonable narrative surrounding the early life Tom Riddle. More importantly — at least in Harry's estimation — they had identified potential candidates for Voldemort's Horcruxes.
"So, you think he made Hufflepuff's cup into a Horcrux?"
"That was indeed my theory, but after receiving confirmation that Slytherin's locket had become a Horcrux, I am now firmly convinced," replied Dumbledore, with a slight bow of head. "There was another item that caught my attention as well. I wonder if you spotted it?"
Harry thought about it for a solid minute. "Marvolo's ring?" he asked questioningly.
"My thoughts exactly!" Dumbledore said excitedly. "The ring of an ancient pure-blood house would certainly appeal to Voldemort's sense of grandeur, and being descended from that line, he would have rightfully considered both it and Slytherin's locket to be his property."
"All right, so…where do we find them?"
"That, my dear boy, is a most troublesome question — and not the only one we face, I am afraid," Dumbledore replied humourlessly. "You see, not only are we unaware of their locations, but the total number of Horcruxes also remains unclear."
"That's…not ideal."
"A sentiment which you and I share. That said, we are not without hope — I have been using my knowledge of Tom's history to search for potential hiding spots, and I am pursuing another memory which may shed some light on the number of Horcruxes we must find."
"Well, that's good news," Harry replied genuinely.
"Try not to focus too much on the Horcruxes, for the time being," advised Dumbledore. "Rest assured that I am giving the matter my full attention, and I shall inform you when I have news to share."
"Thank you, sir."
"You are very welcome, of course," Dumbledore said kindly. "Now once again, I see I have managed to keep you out well past curfew. I believe it is time you return to your common room, especially as your friends are likely waiting up for you."
Harry pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and turned to leave when a thought occurred to him. He slowly turned around, asking, "Sir, do you think he may have hidden a Horcrux here at Hogwarts?"
"It is quite possible, perhaps even likely," Dumbledore concurred. "Few have explored this castle to the extent that Tom Riddle did when he was a student, with the possible exception of yourself, or perhaps the Weasley twins."
"Chamber of Secrets?" suggested Harry.
"Perhaps," replied Dumbledore, stroking his beard, "although I cannot recall a time when he would have had the opportunity. He may have possibly hidden a Horcrux on the very night he requested the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, but I doubt there was enough time for him to revisit the Chamber."
"It probably worth checking though, isn't it?"
"Yes, I tend to agree, even if just to cross it off the list of potential locations," said Dumbledore. "I shall arrange for us to pay a visit to the Chamber at a later date. Off you go, now."
Harry waived goodbye and began making his way back to Gryffindor Tower, while trying to recall the details of all the memories he had witnessed that evening. While he was exceptionally tired, he fully expected Hermione to demand a full synopsis before he was allowed to go to bed.
oOoOoOo
The next two weeks flew by for Harry, in part because he spent almost every night training in the Room of Requirement. Somehow, he was able to work out a schedule where he could alternate nights between training with his Gryffindor group and Daphne, while still making Quidditch practice.
As much as he enjoyed watching his closest friends improve, there was something exhilarating about his time with Daphne that couldn't be matched. While she still couldn't compete with Harry in an all-out duel, the gap had narrowed considerably — but that wasn't the only reason Harry looked forward to their sessions.
Practicing spells with Daphne was the only time he felt completely free with his magic. While Ron and Hermione knew about his 'dabbling' in Dark Magic, he still wasn't comfortable performing any of the spells in front of them. Even when he trained alone, there was a lingering sense of guilt that he couldn't quite shake. When he was with Daphne, however, he felt none of that.
Harry knew that he could perform the foulest, most destructive magic he could find in front of her, and she wouldn't even bat an eye. There would be no judgment, no guilt, no looks of disappointment…If anything, Daphne was far more ruthless than he thought he could ever be, which only encouraged him to step up his game.
In fact, he was rapidly becoming proficient in a multitude of curses. He even managed to seriously impress Daphne — which was no easy feat — by permanently disintegrating one of the training dummies.
They had found the incantation, Summa Dissolutum, in Sirius's book, along with several warnings about the dangers of the spell and the amount of magical power required. After some prodding from Daphne, he focused all his magic and cast the spell, and then the two of them watched, mouths agape, as the wooden dummy rapidly turned to dust and floated away, as if carried by a gentle breeze. After that, both of them quickly agreed to declaring that particular spell off-limits in their sessions going forward.
Another new development was that he was finally able to cast Dark curses on command and at his full strength, without needing to picture the faces of his enemies first. One potentially concerning side-effect was the return of the short temper that had plagued him for much of the summer, although Snape, Umbridge, and an ever-increasing number of students treating him with disdain may have had something to do with it.
Malfoy hadn't attempted anything else during Potions, but that didn't stop the obnoxious Slytherin from whispering insults to him and Ron, whenever Snape was out of earshot. Harry actually started reaching for his wand after a particularly nasty comment about his mother, but luckily, Ron was paying attention and grabbed Harry's arm to stop him, before he got himself expelled.
After class, Harry stormed out of the dungeons without waiting for his friends, intending to grab something quick to eat before going to the Room to blow up a few things. At least, that had been his plan, until he was waylaid by Ernie MacMillan within seconds of entering the Great Hall.
"Potter," called the Hufflepuff, as he strode across the Hall towards Harry.
"Ernie," nodded Harry, as the boy approached. He was wary, because the Hufflepuffs had been among his most vocal detractors in recent weeks, owing largely to Umbridge's insinuations that he was responsible for the death of Cedric Diggory, who was something of a hero to his fellow badgers.
"Listen, Potter," Ernie said in a carrying voice. "I just want you to know that there are plenty of us who believe you. I know you had nothing to do with Cedric's death, and I believe you about the return of You-Know-Who."
"Wow," responded Harry, half-stunned by Ernie's rather public proclamation. "Thanks Ernie, I really appreciate it," he said, shaking the boy's hand.
"Don't mention it. Just because our Ministry are burying their heads in the sand, that doesn't mean the rest of us are," he replied with a nod, before returning to the Hufflepuff table.
Harry just stood there for a moment in mild shock, taking note of the whispered conversations and confused expressions triggered by Ernie's declaration of solidarity. While he knew at least a few people believed him, most of them either kept it to themselves or told him privately. Harry couldn't help but feel grateful for the gesture, and he resolved to never complain about Ernie's pompous manner ever again.
"That was nice," came a voice from behind him, and he turned to see Astoria smiling at him.
"Yeah…it was really unexpected," replied Harry.
"He's not the only one, you know."
"I know, but it's still nice to hear it said out loud."
"Well, I've always believed you," Astoria reminded him, and then she invited Harry to eat lunch with her and her friends.
Seeing that Ron and Hermione still hadn't made it to the Great Hall, he happily agreed and followed her to the Ravenclaw table. Harry couldn't remember the last time his emotional state had flipped so rapidly. Only minutes ago, he had been in a towering rage, but that had swiftly been replaced by a sense of calm and acceptance that had become all too rare as of late. Feeling much lighter, he sat down next to Astoria, opposite Noreen and Felicity, and set to work fixing himself a sandwich.
"Hi, Harry," the other girls greeted him at the same time, causing them both to start giggling.
"Er — hi," he replied slowly, giving them an odd look. Harry then recognised the boy sitting next to Noreen as the same one from the train. "And…it was Ethan, right?" he said tentatively.
"Potter," the boy replied brusquely before looking away, causing Felicity to roll her eyes.
Harry shook his head and surveyed the rest of the table. Most of the other Ravenclaws seemed indifferent to his presence, but he did notice Cho looking at him from her place a few seats down the table. She gave him a small wave once he made eye contact and sat up in her seat.
"I believe you too, Harry," she announced, "and I know Cedric wouldn't have liked what people are saying about you."
"Thanks, Cho," he replied gratefully and gave her a small wave.
None of them noticed, but up at the staff table, Umbridge was positively seething, as she observed the interaction with beady eyes.
"We believe you too, of course, but you already knew that," Felicity said brightly.
Harry grinned and picked up his sandwich. "First Hogsmeade weekend's coming up. Are you looking forward to your first trip into the village?" he asked before taking a bite.
"Definitely!" replied Felicity. "I've been there with my parents, of course, but I've never been able to just go wherever I want."
Turning to Astoria, he asked, "Have you been before?"
"Once or twice, I think — but I was a lot younger," she replied. "Daphne always says it's not that big a deal, but she says that about everything."
"Doesn't really surprise me," chuckled Harry. "I like Hogsmeade, though — there's just something about it. It's good to get away from the castle every now and then."
"I went last year, obviously," said Noreen. "I like it, but I don't think I can go this time. I have a big project for Ancient Runes that I'm already behind on, and I could really use the time to catch up."
"Which is super annoying, because she already promised to show us around the village," Felicity complained.
"I don't really have any plans," shrugged Harry, "so I can go around with you, if you'd like."
The girls first looked at each other, then back at Harry.
"Are you sure you don't mind?" asked Astoria.
"Of course not; it'll be fun," he responded. "I need to stop by Spintwitches to pick up some new Seeker gloves, but otherwise, we can go wherever you want."
"All right, then," Astoria nodded happily. "So, we'll meet in the entrance hall Saturday morning?"
"Works for me," agreed Harry, before returning his attention to his sandwich.
The three girls exchanged wide-eyed glances as Felicity did her best to suppress a giggle. The rest of their meal passed uneventfully, and after a while, Harry left them to meet up with Ron, so they could make the trek up to the Divination classroom together.
Ever since her inspection by the High Inquisitor, Professor Trelawney had been more frazzled than usual and had taken to making increasingly gloomy predictions about her students. Having already had enough of Trelawney's predictions to last a lifetime, Harry mostly used the class period to either daydream, or work on mentally preparing himself for his next class.
A short while later, Harry felt a familiar sense of impending doom as he and Ron made the slow march to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. They met up with Hermione on their way and filed into the classroom along with the rest of the Gryffindors.
As usual, the class fell silent as Professor Umbridge entered the classroom. "Wands away," she announced, though no one had bothered taking theirs out in the first place. "I would like for you all to turn to page fifty-seven of Defensive Magical Theory and continue with your reading…"
"There will be no need to talk," Harry mouthed silently, in perfect sync with Umbridge's usual instruction.
For a while, the room was completely silent, except for the occasional sound of a page being turned. Seeing that the latest chapter was just as useless as the others, Harry allowed his mind to wander and prayed that Umbridge would decide to take a day off from antagonising him. He was in the middle of mentally cataloguing the best spots in Hogsmeade to show the girls when his hopes came crashing down on him.
"Hem, hem…"
Harry raised his head to see Umbridge standing over him with a leering expression.
"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems that you have been spreading nasty lies again," she said in a sickly-sweet voice.
"I don't know what you mean, Professor," he replied flatly, genuinely having no idea what she was referring to.
"I overheard Mr. Macmillan and Ms. Chang in the Great Hall this afternoon," she explained. "Why else would a witch and wizard from otherwise respectable families make such statements, if not because of you filling their heads with dangerous fabrications?"
"You'd have to ask them," Harry responded through gritted teeth. "I've barely spoken to either of them all year."
Umbridge placed her hands on Harry's desk and leaned in closer.
"Believe me, Mr. Potter, if not for the headmaster, I would have had you in detention for spreading your filth from the first day of term. Unfortunately, Dumbledore insists we witness the bad behaviour first-hand before assigning punishments — for now."
"I am not a liar," he ground out. "The truth will come out eventually."
"Oh yes it will, Potter," replied Umbridge, with a malicious glint in her eye, "and when it does, I will see you shipped off to Azkaban faster than you can blink, but fear not; I shall make sure Albus Dumbledore is there to keep you company — in the cell next to yours, of course."
Not for the first time, Harry wondered whether Professor Umbridge was calculating, opportunistic demagogue, a deranged crackpot, or some combination of the two. As delusional as she clearly was, their current conversation had Harry unexpectedly sensing the beginnings of an opportunity, but one which could easily backfire. No doubt, he would need to navigate some treacherous waters, but the potential payoff could be worth it.
"And what exactly is it you believe I'm guilty of that would deserve Azkaban?"
"Let us not be coy, Potter. You know as well as I do that Cedric Diggory's blood is on your hands," she said, her toad-like smile transforming into a menacing scowl. "One count of murder, plus a charge of treason for attempting to destabilise our society with your lies will easily be enough to earn you a life sentence."
Harry's eyes flicked towards Hermione, who was nearly in tears as she listened in on their conversation.
"Tell me, Professor, how can you stand there and claim I was somehow responsible for Cedric's death, when it was your boss who officially declared it an accident?"
Umbridge stood up straighter and fixed Harry with a look of sheer contempt.
"Cornelius — pardon me — the Minister was, I feel, given faulty advice leading up to that decision," she retorted. "Something which I have been working to rectify for quite some time."
"But aren't you his most trusted advisor?" questioned Harry, in a voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, if the Minister won't listen to you, then who will he listen to?"
Dark splotches appeared on Umbridge's face, and she looked torn between either giving Harry detention or cursing him on the spot. Fortunately, the bell rang at that very moment, dismissing classes for the day. In the ensuing commotion, Hermione took Harry by the arm and dragged him out of the classroom before Umbridge even had a chance to collect herself.
"Slow down, Hermione," said Harry, as they marched down the corridor. "You're going to tear my arm off, if you're not careful."
"I am so sorry, Harry," she said, fighting off tears as she hugged him around his neck. "I can't believe she would just threaten you like that in the middle of class! And to accuse you of killing Cedric! What an awful, disgusting —"
"It's okay," he assured Hermione, extracting himself from her grip. "I'm not sure when, but Umbridge will regret pushing me one day — you'll see."
"What sort of trouble are you planning?" asked Hermione, giving him a calculating look.
"Hermione! When have you ever known me to cause trouble?" he replied with feigned innocence, causing her to shake her head in exasperation, smiling in spite of herself.
oOoOoOo
There were few things in this world that Dolores hated more than children, and none more than the one currently being dragged out of her classroom by his obnoxious mudblood friend. Ever since the Potter brat had managed to weasel his way out of expulsion, she had made it her goal to expose him for the criminal that he was.
Cornelius was more focused on Dumbledore, of course — not that she could blame him — but dealing with Potter had become almost personal to her. Lucius had told her that Harry Potter was famously bad-tempered, so she had fully expected to goad him into a detention-worthy tantrum on day one, and have him cowed into submission by the end of the first week.
What she had not expected was for Potter to essentially ignore every subtle dig, veiled threat, and outright insult she sent his way. She really had appealed to Dumbledore to allow her to assign the brat detention, even though he hadn't actually misbehaved in her class, but sadly, she was denied. Hopefully, Cornelius would quickly grant her most recent request, thereby eliminating that particular problem going forward.
Cornelius…even though it had barely been a month, the Minister was already growing impatient with her apparent lack of progress. As much as it pained her to say it, Dumbledore had proven himself a crafty wizard. Regardless of the Minister's sense of urgency, it would obviously take time to uncover enough evidence to have the headmaster removed. Clearing out the unfavourable teachers would also be a more drawn-out process than she would like, as there were official protocols that even she was required to follow.
While it could be months before they could declare victory over Dumbledore, Harry Potter was supposed to be a much easier target. He was supposed to out himself in front of his peers as the unstable, treasonous agitator that he was — the ultimate payoff to her summer efforts conducted through the Daily Prophet — but instead, the boy had remained calm and stoic in the face of her provocations.
In an attempt to push him further, she had begun subtly dropping hints that Potter was behind the Diggory boy's death, but while her efforts had shown some signs of success, it had also seemingly prompted at least two students (respectable pure-bloods, no less!) to publicly announce their support for Potter, and that just would not do.
She tried to warn Cornelius — she had, on multiple occasions, attempted to convince him that putting Potter on trial for Diggory's murder was the correct course of action, but the Minister had inexplicably insisted on letting the matter lie. His reluctance to act on her advice was disappointing, but while she believed Cornelius was a good man, she knew he was not infallible. The man was exceptionally busy, and he simply did not have the time to deal with insignificant pests — which is why she had taken the initiative to send the dementors after Potter, for all the good it did.
Well, if the Minister wasn't interested in pursuing the matter, then perhaps she should once again take the initiative herself. The only question was how best to see the boy dragged in front of the Wizengamot for a second time…
The Potter brat had touched on a sore spot when he suggested that Cornelius wasn't listening to her, but perhaps he had asked the correct question — who would the Minister listen to? Lucius clearly wasn't interested in an investigation, and Amelia Bones was unlikely to even give her the time of day.
Suddenly, Dolores was struck by an idea.
It was risky, but if it worked, the payoff would be enormous. All it would take was a simple letter — she needn't even sign her name to it. A suggestion here, a play to certain sympathies there, and before long, the problem would resolve itself. If it worked, she could take full credit, and if it didn't…well, nobody would know of her involvement anyway.
Dolores's mouth widened into an evil, toad-like smile as she walked to her desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment.