We're Not Going to Take It
We're not gonna take it,
No, we ain't gonna take it,
We're not gonna take it, anymore.
Lyrics from the song by Twisted Sister
The next two months were incredibly intense and taxing for Harry. Things weren't made any easier by the fact that he had to be very careful whenever he went outside after Remus informed him that his uncle Vernon had accepted a substantial sum of money to report him missing. He trained almost eight hours a day, sometimes even more. Remus had to insist for Harry to take a day off from training once a week. With satisfaction Harry noticed his improvement in stamina and muscle tone. Even more satisfying was to notice how all the pieces were falling into place. Harry could see how the waist movements he learned in boxing helped him to quickly dodge the spells cast by Tonks in their sparring sessions; or how some frontal high stances in Karate helped him regain an offensive position after blocking a hex; or how Judo helped him to easily roll on the floor to avoid a curse, and quickly get up, ready to fire back.
He was able to better and more quickly move his feet. Remus openly admired the grace of his movements when he was avoiding spells and compared them to dancing. His hand speed had become something to behold. After weeks of throwing punches and kicks at the punching bag, he had reached the point where his hands would become a blur.
From a phial labelled Biathlon Shooting Technique, extracted from Mark Kirchner, 1995, he learned how to breathe properly while casting spells when winded. This helped him keep a steady hand in the heat of battle. He also learned how to bring down his heart rate, and to time his spell casting to his heartbeat whenever possible. As a result, his spell accuracy and effectiveness were dramatically improved. Harry knew that the location where a spell hit an adversary could make a big difference. Rennervate could be used in the battlefield on someone that had been stupefied with a hit to the body; but someone stupefied with a hit to the head, was due for a stay in the hospital, no matter what.
Another phial, labelled Moving Targets and Deflection Shooting, extracted from Manfred Kurzer, 1994, also proved to be incredibly useful. Dueling conditions are always fluid and dynamic, which means that most of the targets are moving. Judging target trajectory and speed was critical to accuracy, but even more so was judging spell deflection given the fact that a spell isn't as fast as a bullet. It soon became second nature for Harry not to shoot at the target, but rather to shoot at the spot where the target would be when the spell got there.
The crown jewel of what he learned, though, was the Agnitio he gained from Gellert Grindelwald. Spending several hours a day casting magic spells left Harry's magical core drained at the end of the day, but it had an amazing side effect. Remus and Tonks were stunned not only at the speed with which Harry's magical core was recharged, but also to discover that his magical capacity and power were growing at a startling pace. It was as if Harry's magic was a muscle that needed to be flexed, and the more he flexed it, the more it grew. Soon he was able to perform the most power demanding spells in Grindelwald's arsenal with ease.
The constant spell casting also increased his casting speed dramatically. Even more helpful was the ability to cast silently he learned from Grindelwald. It affected the power of the spell negatively, but having just to think the spell as opposed to saying the words allowed him to cast veritable barrages of curses and hexes. Tonks assured him that his curses were more than powerful enough despite the tradeoff.
Harry knew he had a talent for magical dueling, for offensive magic and for the Muggle martial arts, but he also knew he had no talent for the complex rituals of Kabbalistic, Sympathetic or Enochian magic.
Theurgy, scrying, goetia, invocation, evocation and magical circles might be helpful in defeating Voldemort, but he wasn't comfortable performing magical rites. Historically it had been witches who had shown the most talent for ritual magic. The phial on Sex Magic, extracted from Catherine Monvoisin, 1680, was simply of no use to him. Sexual magic was, for the most part, witches' magic, and Harry was both intrigued and repelled by some aspects of it.
It had been two months of hard work, filled with the excitement of learning new things, but there had been one major disappointment. The phial labelled Animagus Transformation, extracted from Sirius Black, 1996, was empty. Sirius never had had the chance to fill it.
In time, Harry started to miss his friends. Despite the daily visits by Tonks and Remus, he felt lonely at times. He missed the sounds and smells of the Burrow. He smiled as he recalled Ron's delusional diatribes about the prospects of the Chudley Cannons for the season; or Hermione's manic obsession with studying ahead for the coming term; or Mrs Weasley's screeching calls for breakfast; he even missed Ginny reminding him what a prat he was.
He missed the smell of grass and broom polish, the smell of treacle tart and that flowery smell he could never quite place, but which he always associated with everything that was good about the Burrow. It was just over two weeks before the start of term, and he wondered if he could go and visit. He nervously spoke to Remus before he left after their sparring session.
"Err... Remus?"
The former professor turned puzzled to face the young wizard. He realized that the insecure tone now seemed out of place with Harry. "Yes?"
"I was thinking... if it would be possible to ...err... visit the Burrow?"
Remus considered his answer. "You can do as you please, Harry. I'm not your guardian, but you have to realize there would be consequences."
"I'll have to face Dumbledore sooner or later. A couple of weeks won't make much of a difference. If Mrs Weasley is mad at me..."
"She is."
"...at least I have somewhere to come back to."
"I think it's a good idea," Remus said pensively. "Your friends are really worried about you, and some company with kids your own age is long overdue."
"Excellent! Show yourself out, Remus. I need a shower before I go," Harry said excitedly as he ran into the bathroom.
OoOoO
Hermione was reading under a tree as Ron flew overhead and Ginny toiled in an endless and pointless effort to keep the garden de-gnomed as she had for most of the summer. The redhead would spin like a Muggle Hammer thrower before sending the gnomes flying way over the fence.
Hermione was, of course, outraged at the treatment the gnomes received, but Mrs Weasley had told her in no uncertain terms that the gnomes were pests, just like rats, and throwing them was more humane than poisoning them.
The brunette raised her head when Ginny let another one go with a mighty scream. "You don't have to throw them so hard; you know?"
The redhead looked at Hermione and swiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. "Why don't you de-gnome yourself if you are so concerned?"
"Your mum forbade everyone from helping you," Hermione replied apologetically. She appraised Ginny as the redhead took a deep breath. "Besides, the exercise is doing you a lot of good," she added before getting back to her book.
"What do you mean?"
Ginny had always been pretty, but during the summer she had lost the last vestiges of "baby fat" in her body. What remained was moulded in all the right places.
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Please don't pretend you haven't noticed the changes in your body, or that you don't look at yourself in the mirror before you dress in the morning."
Ginny blushed. "Oh! I see what you mean."
"You don't have to be embarrassed, Ginny. I look at myself in the mirror too. It's perfectly normal to worry about these things at our age. I have a book about coping with teenage anxiety if you want to borrow it."
Their conversation was interrupted by the distinct sound of someone Apparating on the edge of the wards. Hermione rose to her feet and pulled out her wand at the same time Ginny did. Even though extra security measures had been put in place over the summer, the DA had taught the teens to be ready for anything. The figure twenty meters away looked awfully familiar. The young man had messy black hair and wore round eyeglasses.
"Is that... Harry?" the brunette asked unbelieving.
"I think it is," Ginny said with growing excitement.
Both witches started to trot towards the approaching figure as Ron swooped down in front of the man with wand in hand. "It's Harry," he screamed at the girls before he hugged his best mate. Both girls started running towards the two boys, but Ginny started falling slightly back. Harry just had enough time to push Ron out of the way before the brunette witch launched herself at him. Ginny stood several paces back as Hermione reprehended Harry for the "stunt" he had pulled. She watched the Trio of friends with a sincere smile, and with a great deal of relief.
At some point, Harry started to tune out Hermione's invective, and he looked at Ginny straight in the eyes. The redhead watched as he smiled at her and raised one arm inviting her to approach for a hug. Ginny cursed her luck. If only the earth would just open up and swallow her whole. She was dishevelled, sweaty, dirty... and probably smelled bad too.
"Come..." Harry silently mouthed the word with an inviting gesture of his raised arm.
Ginny approached slowly. "I'm all dirty and sweaty, Ha..."
He ignored her protestations and hugged her with both arms around her back, leaving Hermione talking to herself. Ginny's entire body was momentarily tense and frozen, but then she let herself melt into his arms. "It's so good to see you well, Harry," she said, finally hugging him back.
Harry took a step back and quickly looked at Ginny from head to toe. "Wow, Ginny, you've... grown... err... how's the ankle?"
"Her ankle is just fine, Harry," Hermione said, smiling knowingly at the redhead.
Ginny was grateful that Hermione's intervention had spared her from having to answer Harry's comments. The boy blinked a couple of times before turning to acknowledge the brunette.
"You've... grown...also, Harry. What have you been up to?" Hermione asked.
"I can't tell you yet, but I'll soon will," he answered before turning towards Ron. "Is your mum home? I'd like to say hi."
"She's not too happy with you, mate. She's been going around the bend ever since you disappeared," the lanky boy replied.
"She'll scream and wave her arms around, but she'll forgive you," Ginny added, finally finding her voice again. "She's always had a soft spot for you."
They started walking towards the Burrow.
"Do you think you can get Neville and Luna to come over?" Harry asked, turning towards Ron. "I'd like to talk to all five of you at the same time, if possible. I have some very important things to tell you."
"Sure thing, mate."
As they approached, Mrs Weasley spotted them from one of the windows and ran out to the porch. She stood there with both hands on her hips as they came closer. The teens prudently stopped several paces back, awaiting the impending explosion.
"Harry Potter! Of all the irresponsible, reckless things you've ever done, this has to be the worst. How could you just leave the safety of your relatives' home without telling anyone, you could have gotten yourself killed, young man..."
Harry chuckled. Mrs Weasley was screaming and waving her arms just as Ginny had predicted. She had a knack for correctly appraising people.
"... I'm not amused, and neither is Professor Dumbledore!" Mrs Weasley said, raising her voice even more. "You realize the difficult position you're putting me in?"
Harry stepped forward leaving his friends firmly rooted in place. He stopped in front of the matron and embraced her. "I've missed you, Mrs Weasley."
The Weasley matriarch was left spluttering, but eventually squeezed Harry with one of her crushing hugs. She pushed him back, holding him by both upper arms, and looked at him.
For the first time in six years, the young man in front of her didn't look undernourished after the summer. She could tell from the hug that there was actual substance to him, and his skin had a healthy glow. His eyes seemed brighter, if that was even possible, and there was an air of confidence about him.
"Oh, Harry, what am I going to do?" Mrs Weasley wailed conflicted.
"Tell Dumbledore I'm here, of course. I might as well see him now."
"Are you sure?" the matron asked as she pulled him into the house.
Harry just nodded as the others, seeing the danger averted, followed them inside. Harry looked back and mouthed the word "cowards" with a smile. Ginny giggled.
OoOoO
"I must insist you return to Privet Drive immediately," Dumbledore said benevolently, "If you don't, the blood wards will be irreparably damaged."
"I have no intention of returning there, and it's not up to you to decide where I stay," Harry said firmly.
The headmaster tried another strategy. "This is your mother's protection, Harry. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain..."
Harry got up from his chair furious and narrowed his eyes at the headmaster.
Upstairs, Ron and Hermione were having a hard time holding back Ginny from charging down the stairs. Neville and Luna just watched the spectacle without interfering. The teens had been listening with extendable ears, and the redhead had gone ballistic after hearing the headmaster's comment.
"That bastard!" she hissed.
Meanwhile, Harry had regained control of his emotions. "I've been wondering about that. All my life I've been made to feel not only worthless, but guilty about things I have no control of. Is that part of your plan?" he asked with genuine interest.
"My main concern is your safety," the headmaster replied.
"Good job in avoiding the question," Harry said with amusement. "I think my mother would have cared about my well-being, not just my safety. Life isn't life insurance, you know? Safety at any price is for men without dignity, or honour."
"You know your responsibility, Harry," Dumbledore said significantly. "Your safety is paramount."
"Yes, and I take that responsibility seriously." Harry paused and paced for a moment. "The last two months I've accomplished a lot more that what I could have accomplished as your prisoner in Privet Drive."
The headmaster tried to protest, but Harry continued before he could speak.
"You and the Order have been looking for me for the last two months. You've even set the Muggle authorities after me, and yet, I was able, not only to remain hidden and safe, but also to be happy for the first time in a long time."
"You were lucky, Harry. Only when you are within the blood wards are you truly safe."
"Damn your blood wards, Dumbledore!" the young wizard growled. "I'm not going back, so stop wasting your time, and mine. All I want to know is if you're going to try to interfere, or not," he finished curtly.
The old wizard was visibly shaken, but as Harry suspected, he still wanted to be part of the action, and the action was wherever Harry was. "No. I'll help you any way I can."
Harry was sorely tempted to make a sarcastic remark but resisted the temptation. "If you don't mind, then, I want to have a talk with my friends."
Mrs Weasley was shocked that Harry had talked to the headmaster so curtly, but she wasn't going to allow him to be placed with his relatives either.
"More tea, Albus?" she asked politely.
Dumbledore graciously accepted, thinking about the disastrous day he was having. Things were spiralling out of control, and he had to find a way to stop them from getting worse. He had to regain Harry's trust or lose all influence over him and the events that were to follow. Even if he managed that, things would never be the same. Harry wasn't going to be led blindly anymore, and all his advice would be questioned. It was hard to admit it, but he clearly had miscalculated. To make matters worse, he was in danger of alienating the Weasleys, who were a cornerstone of the Order, and he strongly suspected that the loyalties of Remus and Tonks were divided as well. He had the feeling that they would sooner follow Harry than him.
The old wizard took a sip of his tea, meditating about what to do next.
OoOoO
Harry followed the extendable ears being pulled up the stairs all the way to Ron's room.
"I swear I'm going to hex that senile berk," a combative Ginny was telling a horrified Hermione when he opened the door.
Harry laughed heartily. "Did you just call Dumbledore, a senile berk?" he asked between guffaws.
Ginny nodded with a determined expression, but with a hint of a smile.
"You're my new hero," Harry said still laughing. He realized that a lot of his laughter had to do with releasing tension, but he still was grateful for the outlet.
"That was very disrespectful," Hermione complained. "Whatever you two may think, Dumbledore is still the greatest and wisest wizard of the Age."
"He was also Grindelwald's best mate. You know that, don't you?" Harry said controlling his merriment.
"Yes, but he saw the error of his ways, and fought him," Hermione said with a confident smile. "It takes remarkable moral courage to recognize you're wrong and fight against what you formally believed," she concluded triumphantly.
"You are right about that," Harry said sincerely, "but one thing Dumbledore never stopped believing, was in doing things for what he believes is the greater good. Is that moral?"
There was only silence from the brunette witch. Ron was amazed that she had been stumped.
Harry paced once around the room before sitting down on the floor with the rest of the teens.
Harry took a deep breath and spoke firmly. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."
The teenagers gasped at hearing Harry's words. Luna remained impassive, but she put her hand on top of Ginny's knee and squeezed it. Hermione's eyes filled with tears.
"Wasn't the prophesy destroyed when I dropped it?" Neville asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Harry replied, "but the prophesy was told to Dumbledore by Professor Trelawney. He showed it to me after we returned to Hogwarts that night."
"You mean to tell me that bat actually made a prophesy?" Ron asked, apparently not believing what he had just heard.
Harry chuckled. "Incredible, Isn't it?"
"Do you have any idea what power the prophecy is referring to?" Hermione asked.
"I'm afraid not. Dumbledore hinted that it was my capacity to love, but he wasn't very specific. He seems to go out of his way trying not to be helpful."
"Why are you telling us this, Harry," Ginny asked with a very subdued voice. "Get to the point."
He had rehearsed a little speech for this moment for the last couple of months, but his mind had gone blank. He pulled out his wand and cast a privacy charm on the room. He started talking before Hermione could ask him about it.
"After I returned to Privet Drive, I wanted to push all of you away because of the danger that being close to me would put you in. Then I realized that you still would be in danger anyway, even if it was less, so I thought that maybe I should pull you closer, to keep an eye on you."
Harry raised an arm to stop all of them from speaking at once, before he continued.
"Then I realized that I had no right to do that either. The five of you are the best friends I could ever hope to have, and I don't want to manipulate my friends the way I've been manipulated. I'm telling you this so you can make your own choices. Big trouble is coming my way, and those close to me will be in mortal danger. If you want to remain my friends, you will have to learn how to defend yourselves, with brutal force if necessary."
Harry turned towards Hermione.
"I'll have to kill Voldemort, Hermione, and in order to do that, I'll probably have to kill several more people along the way. You will always be my friend, but if you want to be close to me, you will have to accept that. Being my friend will probably put you in kill or be killed situations, and if your sense of righteousness is greater than your instinct for self-preservation, then you cannot be part of this."
Hermione looked shocked, and she slowly lowered her head. She spoke softly. "Harry, you are the first friend I ever had. You never made fun of me; you stood up for me; you risked your life for me, and if I have to kill that son-of-a-bitch and all his Death Eaters myself, I'll do it, if that's what it takes to keep you alive."
The other five teens were looking at the bushy haired witch with their mouths hanging open.
"But only if it's absolutely necessary," Hermione added, raising her head.
Harry smiled gratefully at the brunette. "That's all I'm asking for. I'm not advocating killing Death Eaters on sight, but if we are attacked, we can give no quarter, because we'll get none. If it comes to kill or be killed, I rather it be them doing the dying."
"You realize some of them could be under the Imperius Curse? We could kill innocent people," Hermione said, still conflicted.
"There are limits to what one can do under an Imperius. It's like Muggle hypnosis, but more direct. You can be made to say and do some things, but it won't turn you into a murderer unless you are already a murderer. If it were that simple, all Voldemort would have to do is Imperio the entire Wizarding population of Great Britain. Besides, as you well know, the curse can be resisted, and the more you are exposed to it, the easier it is to break it." Harry lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "We won't be able to save everybody, Hermione. The more we wait and do nothing, the more people will die."
"Are we going to use Unforgivable Curses?" Hermione asked.
"Never."
"Will we give them the opportunity to surrender?"
"No one here will be allowed to harm a Death Eater who surrenders or is unarmed. We'll capture those that can be captured and provide medical care to those who need it. But during the fight we must put them down for good. It's no good to stupefy a Death Eater ten times only for him to be Rennervated. If you're not certain you can get a head shot, it's better to break his wand arm..."
"…or his skull," Ron finished.
Harry turned silently to Ginny.
"You know me, Potter. I'm not a safety at any cost kind of girl," the petite redhead said firmly. "Tom owes me, and I want to be standing right next to you when he dies."
"Luna?" Harry asked, wondering if she had been paying any attention.
The Ravenclaw smiled almost normally before speaking. "You need all of us, Harry. Six is the number of love, the number of petals on a lily. Besides, you'll only be sending them to the other side; you know that, don't you?"
There were several puzzled faces, but Harry just turned to face Neville without any further explanation.
"You can have Vol...Vol... Voldemort, Harry." Neville slowly looked at all the other teens and spoke fiercely. "You can let me handle the rest if you want, but whatever you do, Bellatrix is mine."
Harry finally turned to Ron. Several seconds went by, and everyone turned expectantly towards the redhead boy.
"Of course, I'm in," he said startled. He then leaned forward conspiratorially towards Harry. "Are you really sure you want them in this?" he whispered as his eyes darted from Luna to Ginny.
Ron had the subtlety of a stampede of elephants, so everyone noticed the eye movement, including his sister, who was looking rather annoyed when she spoke.
"You don't remember much from the 'Planet Room' because you were confounded but let me remind you that it was Luna and I who saved your arse that night, you gormless git."
"Ginny and Luna are in if they want to," Harry said firmly. "They've both proven themselves."
Ginny smiled gratefully at Harry, and he inexplicably felt the temperature of his ears rise.
"As you already know, my life changed dramatically this summer," Harry continued. "I want to share with all you everything I've learned, but first you will have to learn Occlumency."
"That could take months," Hermione whined.
"Not if you have this," Harry said, theatrically pulling out the Occlumency Agnitio phial out of his pocket.
"Is that...?" Hermione asked wide-eyed.
"This is Agnitio," Harry replied addressing all those present. "It's knowledge obtained from a willing donor. Extracting it requires that the person be totally concentrated, so it cannot be obtained under duress. Who wants to be the first one to learn Occlumency?"
Hermione's hand shot up, and she waved her hand excitedly. Harry chuckled. "Alright, we have a volunteer. Everyone pay attention, because you will have to do this on your own later."
Harry went methodically through all the steps as he introduced the Agnitio on Hermione's brain. "You'll instinctively know when the process is finished. What do you think Hermione?"
"Wow, Harry, that was amazing," she said breathlessly.
For some reason that escaped him, Ron was looking daggers at Harry, but Harry ignored his friend as he repeated the process with the rest of the teens until he got to Luna.
"Do you mind if I try Legilimency on your mind, Luna?" he asked. "I promise to stop if I encounter any memories."
"Go ahead," Luna said, shrugging her shoulders.
As soon as he tried to enter the Ravenclaw's mind, Harry had to withdraw. Her mind was like a gigantic logic bomb in which the most diverse and odd thoughts were all jumbled together. No one could ever find or make sense of any information in there, but somehow, Luna could navigate the chaos of her mind.
"You don't need this Agnitio, Luna," Harry said. "Your mind is better protected than any of ours. The rest of you start working on you defences tonight.
OoOoO
An hour later almost everyone was sitting by the table for dinner. Mrs Weasley placed a treacle tart made especially for Harry on the table.
"Are you staying until the start of term?" she asked.
"I would love to," Harry replied enthusiastically. "I just need to get some things from my flat. I'll get them after dinner."
Mrs Weasley was a little hesitant. "If you think it's safe..." she said, obviously fighting her most primal instincts.
Dinner was a copious and raucous affair. After it was over, Harry used his Portkey to go to his flat, and Apparated back to the Burrow with his trunk. Inside were his clothes, and the Agnitio case.
That night Harry had trouble falling asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Ginny, and most importantly, he didn't want to stop thinking about her. Ickle Ginnykins was not so ickle anymore. That much was certain. Harry felt confused, and couldn't help feeling like a pervert one moment, and as a traitor to the Weasley family the next. They had always made him feel like one of their own, and it felt very wrong to be thinking about Ginny the way he was thinking about her. Harry closed his eyes and cursed himself when he recalled the feeling of her body against his when they had embraced.
When did that happen?
Last year he had noticed other boys at Hogwarts paying attention to her, and on one occasion Dean Thomas even had approached him to ask about Ginny and Michael Corner. Dean apparently was planning a move of his own, and wanted to know how attached Ginny was. Harry had answered with the truth. He didn't know. After the events at the Chamber of Secrets he had hardly paid any attention to Ginny whatsoever. She was simply a presence in the background. He had been obsessed with Cho Chang since his fourth year, and that had made all other girls at Hogwarts of no significance to him. But now, looking at Ginny, the idea of ignoring her seemed ludicrous. Cho was, and remained, one of the prettiest girls in school, but Ginny was not only beautiful; she was so much more. She was a fighter, a champion athlete, a true friend, and to top things off, she had a wonderful sense of humour.
As the night progressed and he grew sleepier, visions of freckles spilling from her nose, of creamy, whiter shade of pale skin; of fiery red hair, refused to fade away. He would continually remember the sensation of her breasts against his chest, her bright face, and easy smile.
Harry fervently hoped that Hermione had been wrong when she said that Ginny had given up on him. He would want nothing more than to have the opportunity to explore his feelings for her. Of giving himself a chance. But could he?
If Ginny still liked him and he was marked to die, was it fair for him to start a relationship? He didn't want to cause her any pain. It would be selfish to allow any possible feelings for him to grow when he could soon be gone.
Harry knew that any relationship with Ginny would mark her as an even bigger target than she already was, and the thought of anything happening to her made him ill. He had to keep her close because he wouldn't trust her safety to chance, or to anyone else. Somehow, he had to find a way to keep her close, while at the same time keeping his conflicted feelings at bay. The trials of Tantalus seemed mild in comparison.
He thought about the many things that had been left unsaid in his life. Things that he wished he could have said to his parents, and to Sirius, but he would never get the chance to say. Would he regret it if he did nothing? If he wasn't letting Dumbledore dictate his life anymore, why should he let Voldemort dictate it instead?
The beautiful dreams he was having transformed into nightmares, and into a night of restless sleep.
OoOoO
The next day the six teens met in Ginny's room. It wasn't girly, but it was clearly a girl's room. The curtains had a flower pattern, and there was a blooming flowerbed outside the window. Everything on the dresser and the desk was in order and clean. On top of the desk was a Wizarding photo of Ginny holding up the Quidditch House Cup that she had been instrumental in winning for Gryffindor the previous school year. There was a poster of Gwenog Jones on one of the walls, and one of the entire Holyhead Harpies team on another.
They sat on the floor forming a circle, and Harry placed the Agnitio case he had retrieved from his trunk in front of him. First, he did a test of everyone's Occlumency shields, and found them generally satisfactory, but advised all of them to shore up their defences every night. He then proceeded to tell them about everything he had done during the summer, starting with the arrival of the owl from the barrister's office, until his arrival to the Burrow.
"After the Ministry battle, all of you have become targets for Voldemort and his servants," Harry said after a pause. "I will accept your help only if you prepare thoroughly and follow some basic rules."
Harry pulled a bag with five gold coins out of his pocket and handed one to each of his friends. He had commissioned the coins to a London jeweller, and each had an engraving of a stag on one side, and a Latin inscription on the other. The inscription read: "Hinc labor et virtus"
As his friends inspected the coins, Harry continued. "These are emergency Portkeys that Remus obtained from a source at the Ministry. You will always carry them with you, is that clear?" After everyone nodded, he continued. "The coins will activate with the password 'effugio'. They will take you to the vestibule of my flat. If you ever encounter a dicey situation and need to get away, use it without hesitation."
"What does the inscription mean?" Neville asked.
"It means: "From here forth, work and courage". During the last six weeks I have been training and learning many things that will help me in the fight against Voldemort. All of you will have to work hard to prepare yourselves, starting today. We'll have to rely on one another for our safety, and we're going to protect each other the best we can. This case contains the Agnitio phials that Sirius collected for me," Harry pushed the case to the centre of the circle, and Hermione immediately grabbed and opened it to see the contents. "They were extracted from some of the best experts on the subjects described on the labels.
"Yes, you will have knowledge, but not practice on the subject. You will discover that you'll need intense physical training for most of this knowledge to be useful. At Hogwarts we can train in the Room of Requirement; meanwhile, I'll try to arrange some training sessions for us. Only one phial can be used per day, so for the next thirty days or so, we'll see each other every day so the Agnitio can be transferred to you."
"Deflection shooting?" Hermione asked surprised.
Harry laughed. "That was my first reaction too, but believe me, it's incredibly useful."
Hermione grabbed another phial and read the label with a hint of sadness. "The Talk; extracted from Sirius Black, 1996."
Five curious faces turned expectantly towards Harry.
"I'm really sorry," he said blushing. "You know Sirius, I guess he thought it was a good joke or something to include that."
"Actually, it was thoughtful of him. Have you used it?" Hermione asked, blushing slightly.
Her curiosity was always stronger than her embarrassment.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see an amused looking Ginny leaning forward to get a better look at him. The temperature of his face went up several degrees.
"Well…yes. I've used all of them."
There was a predatory smile on Hermione's face now. "And…?"
"Ermm…Tonks thinks it's good…"
"What do you think, Harry?" Ginny asked with a mischievous smile.
Harry leaned forward, took the phial from Hermione's hand, and put it in his trouser pocket. "This phial is for my private use, if you don't mind," he said, obviously embarrassed. "Let get started with Human Anatomy."
"Spoilsport," Ginny said with a chuckle.
After each had finished implanting the Agnitio, under Harry's supervision, the group talked excitedly about what they were looking forward to learning the most. Hermione in particular was very anxious to get to the magical spell phials, but Harry stressed the importance of the Muggle martial arts. They would all follow a similar schedule to the one he'd had, and Hermione helped in setting up training schedules for everyone before they went down for lunch.
OoOoO
They were eating their sandwiches when an owl came in through the kitchen window and offered a leg to Harry. He untied the parchment and offered a treat to the owl before it flew away. The letter was from Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore is sending my OWL results and next term's supply list," Harry announced.
Hermione rose slightly on her seat and leaned forward.
"How many did you get, Hermione?" he asked her slyly.
"I got twelve, with eleven 'O's', and an 'E' in Astronomy, but I think they should take into consideration the irregular conditions during that test. It is really unfair," she finished huffing.
Harry did not make a big production out of it. He simply opened the envelope and announced he had received nine OWL's. At the moment academic achievement wasn't a top priority for him. There were much bigger problems to solve. He turned his attention to the headmaster's letter.
As he suspected, Dumbledore's letter was full of regrets and apologies. Unfortunately, he still wasn't sure about the actual sincerity of those apologies. More promising was his offer of help. After he finished reading, Harry silently handed the letter to Ginny, even though Hermione was closer. It was a totally unconscious move, and after doing it he wondered why he had done it.
The significance of the simple gesture didn't go unnoticed by anyone. Mrs Weasley looked surprised, and Hermione was a little hurt. Ron's chess instincts told him that the move meant there was a new queen on the board, and that made him nervous. The queen was always in the thick of the action, and the opponents were always trying to lay traps for her. Hermione had been publicly demoted to rook, just as he had always seen himself. He felt both relief for Hermione and fear for Ginny. Ron just hoped that Harry didn't end up playing the Wizarding version of the "Immortal Game", a famous chess match in which the most powerful pieces, the queen and both rooks, had been boldly sacrificed on the way to a "romantic" victory.
Ginny knew the gesture was some sort of signal, but so far, the signals had been so contradictory she didn't dare think too much about it. She read the letter quickly and handed it to Hermione.
Harry waited until they had all read it before speaking. "I think we need to impose some conditions on the headmaster," he said looking around the table. "Dumbledore has all these big, impressive titles, and it's high time he put them to use. We should demand proof of good faith."
"I think you should demand that the restriction on underage magic be removed for the five of us," Ginny said evenly. "We need to be able to defend ourselves at a moment's notice."
"I would also ask him to obtain Apparition licenses for us," Hermione added, "in case we have to get away quickly."
"He should teach us to do Portkeys as well," Luna finished.
Harry smiled at the three witches. "Those are great ideas, although the Apparition license is not as critical. Apparition isn't actually tracked by the Ministry. The license is required for public safety and revenue reasons, much like Muggle driving licenses. If you stay away from apparition points, and don't end up splinched somewhere, they are none the wiser. I'll include that request in my reply to see what Dumbledore does anyway."
That night Harry wrote a polite, but uncompromising letter to Dumbledore. He demanded deeds, not words from the old wizard. He went to sleep feeling more optimistic than he had ever felt.
O-o-O-o-O
A/N: The "Immortal Game" refers to a real chess game played in 1851. It's one of the most famous chess games ever played, featuring open attack and a never-before-seen spirit of sacrifice. In it, Adolf Anderssen sacrificed his queen, his two rooks and a bishop on his way to victory. It's considered the best example of "Romantic Chess".