"Tea?" Augusta asked him a few days later.
"Please," Harry agreed.
"Milk, sugar?"
"A bit of both, thank you."
They were sitting in Augusta's office within the Ministry of Magic. She had served on the Wizengamot long enough to have a well-appointed office with a fake window on the court level.
"Are you ready to return to Hogwarts?" she asked. "The train leaves tomorrow, after all."
"Ready enough," Harry answered. "There's still a lot to be done and it's hard to accomplish everything while keeping to a Hogwarts schedule."
"I imagine that is difficult for you," she acknowledged.
"We'll manage," he shrugged. "We always do. I'm more worried about getting through this next Wizengamot meeting if I'm honest."
"I believe we have the votes we need," she said as she sipped her tea delicately.
"How sure?" he asked as he stirred his tea.
"A Longbottom never bids on long odds," she said as she set her cup back in the saucer. "There's no need for concern."
The day had finally arrived for the Wizengamot to vote on the proposal Augusta had introduced at the end of last year. If all went well, werwolves would be able to spend the full moon in safe, humane facilities with access to the wolfsbane potion.
"I think the attack on St. Mungo's is the focus right now," he said. "As it should be but…"
"But the Wizengamot have the attention span of toddlers and we need their attention for their votes," Augusta filled in bluntly.
"Erm yes, that," Harry laughed awkwardly. "And I'm still learning my way when it comes to politics."
"You have a very good team of advisors," she said simply. "There's no need to worry. Madam Tonks and I will do most of the talking, if not all."
"I am lucky to count you among my advisors, ma'am," he said as he sipped at his tea. "I truly value your counsel."
"It is no less than any ally should offer another."
"Thank you, none the less," Harry said as he shifted in his chair and adjusted his uncomfortable Wizengamot robes.
"The attack on the hospital cause a lot of unrest among the citizens," Augusta said.
"Understandable."
"They have just now seen what Voldemort can do with just wizards; the number of casualties from St. Mungo's was deeply upsetting and extremely terrifying," she explained. "The public is scared."
"I don't blame them," Harry said.
"They're looking to the Ministry for reassurance," she explained. "Passing this measure can provide some of that reassurance. No one wants to see what'll happen if Voldemort attacks with werewolves on a full moon. Since we've been promoting this as an effort to limit the freedom of werewolves, to lock them away for at least a week out of the month if not more, it'll go over well with the public."
"The Ministry can appear to be doing something positive without having to pay for it because we're footing the bill."
"Exactly," she nodded. "All they have to do is stamp and file a few forms. At the end of the day, that's all they're good for most of the time anyhow."
Harry hid a snort at that.
"I guess I can take some comfort in knowing that they're always going to vote yes to free stuff."
"Exactly," she said as she finished her tea and stood up. "Now come along. We should begin walking towards the meeting chamber."
"It's time already?" he asked as he checked his watch.
"Indeed," she said. "Now remember that projecting confidence inspires confidence."
Harry processed that for a moment before nodding. That was a good bit of advice; she was onto something there.
"Alright," he agreed. "But these plum-colored robes are making it difficult to feel fully confident."
She chuckled dryly before fixing her signature stuffed vulture hat onto her head.
"I find that I quite like the color now," she said. "It has grown on me."
"I see," he said delicately.
It was true — he could definitely see quite clearly as he looked between the awful shade of purple and the horribly clashing vulture hat. Wisely, he decided not to comment on her fashion sense (or lack there-of). After all, he turned to her for political counsel not the latest fashion advice.
"Just keep your chin up and we'll do the rest," she reassured him as they left her office.
"That I can do."
He could do this. He wouldn't even have to talk this time. It would probably just be mostly boring anyway. If he'd learned anything about the Wizengamot so far it's that it was almost always at least a little boring.
…
Harry wasn't sure whether or not he was pleased to be right. It was definitely quite boring. The press conference afterwards was less boring but he still had not enjoyed it at all. By the end of it, he was more than glad to escape the Ministry by floo in the company of his two proxies.
"Ugh, that was grueling," he complained as he dusted the ash off of his clothes.
"It went well," Augusta disagreed. "The vote did pass, after all."
"I would think you'd look a little happier, Harry, in light of that," Andromeda said with an amused smile.
They were standing in the study at Longbottom Manor. The fire in the large hearth was still burning brightly though it was no longer green. Augusta had left the grate open so that Amelia could step through in a couple minutes. She'd had to follow them separately as it would be too strange to leave together.
"I am happy," Harry said. "But Rita Skeeter might be part dementor with the way she sucks the joy and happiness out of everything."
"I can't disagree there," the dignified woman agreed with a light laugh.
"She knows better than to print anything too inflammatory or less than complimentary but I always hate dealing with her."
"Are you still holding her illegal animagus status over her head?" Andromeda asked with amusement.
"Is it still a five year Azkaban sentence?" Harry asked.
"Well yes."
"Then yes."
"Fair enough," she chuckled with genuine amusement. She was a daughter of House Black, after all. A little light blackmail was typically done before breakfast.
"I think subtly reminding Skeeter of that fact is one of Hermione's favorite pastimes."
"That girl is going to go quite far," Augusta remarked. "She is incredibly sharp."
"She's the brightest witch of our generation, I think," Harry agreed. "Though it's hard to say because I know a lot of bright witches."
The floo flared brightly and drew both of their attention. It let through Amelia in her own Wizengamot robes. She closed the grate on the fireplace behind her with a flick of her wand before looking between the three of them.
"Tell me you're hiding something strong in here," she groaned. "I always need it after dealing with Skeeter."
"I'll pour you a glass," Augusta said with amusement. "Preference?"
"Something as dark as that woman's soul."
"And I thought the children were dramatic," Andromeda chuckled.
"Oh don't even start with me, Andy," the normally stern and severe DMLE head huffed. "You know she's a nightmare just as well as I."
"Have a seat, everyone," Augusta said as she walked over to the bar cart. She gestured towards the collection of chairs and the small sofa to the side of the fire. "Make yourselves comfortable."
"We were just talking about her before you flooed in," Harry said in a commiserating tone, silently turning down the glass of dark amber liquor Augusta wordlessly offered him. He appreciated that she was treating him as an adult though.
"I'm sure the article will be favorable enough based on her questions," Andromeda tried to reassure her.
"She asked for the dimensions of the, and I quote, 'kennels that the beasts will be corralled in,'" Amelia told her in an incredulous tone.
"Yes but she asked it supportively."
"That does not make it better," Harry said flatly. "The measure passed but that press conference still felt more like being interrogated after a guilty verdict at trial."
"Trust me, that kind of press conference is a lot more bloodthirsty," Amelia said as she sipped her drink.
"It was still no walk in the park," he grumbled.
"We'll just have to wait and see," Andromeda said. "And plan our own responses and further comments as needed."
"You two can do that," Amelia said as she finished her drink. "I still have to go back to the Ministry and try to get my department back into some semblance of order."
"How is that going?"
"Not well, Andy, not well," she sighed. "But not horribly either. These aurors are younger and haven't actually lost any colleagues in a fight before."
"I see."
"And of course everyone is behind on their paperwork," she continued. "Because when aren't they? Fudge is sticking his nose into everything and we get a hundred letters a week from concerned citizens."
"At least the former residents of St. Mungo's have been relocated," Harry pointed out.
"Yes, that has really taken a load off," Amelia agreed.
"The new hospital appears to be doing very well," Andromeda noted.
"The Ministry has been surprisingly willing to allow it to be independently run, for now," Augusta said. "I'm quite surprised."
"They appear to be saving money," Harry said. "Though I'm told they may start fighting for more control of the hospital once they realize they can't line their pockets with charitable donations anymore."
"They just might," Amelia said. "I really should be getting back to the Ministry."
"I should be going too," the only teenager in their midst said as he checked his watch. "I have a lot to do before getting on the express tomorrow."
"Good luck," Andromeda said, raising her glass at him in a small toast.
"Thanks," he said. "And thank you all for your help with everything."
"Of course, Harry," the dark-haired woman said.
Amelia and Augusta just nodded before the elder Longbottom waved her wand to open the floo grate for him.
"We'll talk soon, once the Prophet comes out," he said before giving them a short wave. "Good luck with the DMLE, Amelia."
"Thanks, I'm gonna need it."
…
"I can't tell what's louder," Ron muttered. "The engine on the Express or Harry's snoring."
"Like you're one to talk," Seamus snorted. "You're way louder than Harry."
"Oh shut up."
The Hogwarts express was chugging along the tracks carrying the students north towards Hogwarts. Harry had slept through most of the journey so far since he had fallen asleep within the first thirty minutes of it.
"He needs the rest," Hermione pointed out. "I don't think I've seen him sit still in the four days since St. Mungo's was attacked."
"He does look pretty rough," Seamus said. "And that's coming from me whose been laid up in the infirmary until yesterday."
"I think you probably got more sleep than Harry," Ron said as he looked at the bags under his best friends eyes.
"I think it's so, yeah," Seamus agreed. "Lanuaria made sure of it."
"I don't think he slept at all between all the meetings at Gringotts, the interview he did with the Prophet, the other interview he did with the Quibbler, and the Wizengamot session," Hermione said fretfully.
"Not to mention all the time he spent in the medical wing checking on everyone," the Irishman added.
"Really?" Hermione asked. "He did that?"
"Aye."
"Oh, Harry…"
Needless to say, they let him rest.
"How are your parents settling in on Firewall, Neville?" Hermione asked a little while later.
"Good, I think," he answered after a long moment. "Lanuaria is helping Gran choose a full-time healer to watch over them."
"That's a good decision," she said. "I take it you're not going to send them to the Greater Magical General Hospital?"
It had taken four meetings alone to decide on the name of the new hospital. They had decided to name a ward after Cedric rather than the entire hospital. The Diggory Fund did enough good in his name and they wanted the hospital to be somewhat neutral.
"We talked about it but until the LeStrange brothers are gone for good, I'm more comfortable with keeping them behind powerful wards."
"Understandable."
"We did visit the hospital though," Neville said. "It seems great."
"The article in the paper did it justice," Daphne pitched in. "The patients they interviewed said they're much happier there than they were in the auror facilities."
"I'd say it's even better than St. Mungo's was," Neville said. "I don't think I ever saw that hospital at its prime despite the amount of funding that I know it got."
"It was pretty rundown and outdated."
"Most of the money went into the wards," Daphne said. "Though the more we learn about the faulty ward stone, the more it makes sense that they kept spending the gold on temporary fixes."
"Yeah, or padding their own bank accounts," Neville snorted.
"That too," the blonde Slytherin agreed.
Conversation flowed from there. Neville kept getting drawn back into the conversation which was intentional on his friends part. His head had been in a pretty dark place for the last few days and they wanted to draw him out of it a little.
"You know it pains me to say it, Weasley," Daphne said later as she glanced at Ron. "But those brothers of yours are geniuses."
"Well it hurts me to ask this, Greengrass," Ron said with emphasis on her last name. "But which ones do you mean? That could apply to any of them."
She considered it for a moment before nodding her head to concede the point. Say what you will about the Weasley family but they had produced six rather impressive sons (and one terrifying daughter). She wouldn't be admitting that out loud, however, as complimenting Ron would only make his head big.
"The twins."
"Ah, them," he nodded. "Yeah they're geniuses. Mad, evil geniuses but geniuses none the less."
"You're talking about the button cameras they designed, aren't you?" Hermione asked from the farther end of the expanded compartment.
"Yes," Daphne nodded. "They're incredible."
"I'm amazed they got them to work so quickly," Hermione said. "I thought it would be harder to adapt an idea based off muggle technology especially since the magical world doesn't really have video cameras."
"Well we still need to see if it works in practice," Ron remarked.
"It all hinges on Blaise being able to alter Malfoy's robes and cloaks," Neville pointed out. "You think he can do it?"
"Blaise has a free period where Draco and his goons have potions," Daphne explained. "He should have the dorm to himself during that class to plant all of the buttons the twins gave him."
"He doesn't take potions?" Ron asked curiously.
"Please," Daphne snorted delicately. "As if Snape could teach him anything that Adriana hasn't already covered."
Ron swallowed at that reminder. He supposed a woman known as the black widow for (almost definitely) possibly (allegedly) murdering more than half a dozen of her husbands would know a lot about potions (and poisons. Mostly poisons).
"There's always plan B," Neville said.
The Hogwarts house-elves would probably be happy to make sure Draco's robes took a detour on their way to or from the laundry. If Blaise couldn't find the opportunity in the dorms, they could always ask the elves for help.
"Yeah we'd just have to wait longer for his robes to end up going through the laundry," Hermione said.
"Frankly, I want to know what he's up to sooner rather than later. It can't be good," Daphne frowned.
"I agree."
"We're almost to Hogwarts," Ginny said as she poked her head in from the hall.
"Someone has to wake Harry."
"I'll do it," Ron grinned. "The twins gave me a new spell to try out."
"I'm pretty sure they didn't intend for you to try it out on Harry," Hermione said reproachfully.
"They didn't specify…"
"Ronald…" she said pointedly.
"Oh c'mon," he huffed. "You never let me do anything fun."
"Excuse- I never let you do anything fun?" Hermione began, inhaling deeply with indignation.
"Oh here we go," Ginny said, stepping back into the hall. "Good luck with that."
"That's my cue," Daphne said as she stepped through the open doorway gracefully.
"Wait," Seamus called feebly. He would have to walk around Hermione and Ron to get out with the way they were sitting. "Take me with you."
"Bye!"
"Dammit," the Irishman cursed. "What happened to no man left behind?"
"It's every man for himself, Finnegan," Daphne called before she disappeared.
"And another thing, Ronald Weasley-" Hermione continued, somehow beginning to berate him even louder.
"Please, take us with you," Neville tried as Ginny shook her head at them sadly and slid the door closed behind her.
"Oh look, Harry's up," Ron said loudly, cutting off his girlfriend (which didn't seem to help his case any further).
"No I'm not," Harry muttered into the cushion he'd yet to move his face from.
"Nice try," Neville said, kicking his foot. "We're almost to Hogwarts."
"Alright, alright," Harry huffed. "I'm up. What did I miss?"
"Well Ron was going to try out a new spell to wake you but-" Hermione began, hair frizzing slightly as her magic reacted to her irritation.
"Nothing interesting," Neville cut in with a reproachful glare at the dating couple.
"It sure sounds interesting," Harry said as he glared at Ron with sleepy suspicion.
"It's not," the redhead assured him. He sounded more guilty than reassuring though.
"It's nothing," Neville said, "It's time to get changed."
"If you say so."
"I'm going next door," Hermione said as she stood and strode out of the compartment.
"Girls," Ron said with a roll of his eyes. "Am I right?"
"Honestly, Ron?" Harry asked. "Probably not."
"Hey!" the redhead protested.
"He's probably right, sorry mate," Neville said as he clapped his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm with Harry on this," Seamus agreed with a sage nod.
"Just wait until you have girlfriends. Then you'll know what I'm talking about."
"Sure, Ron," Neville said as if he was humoring him. "Whatever you say."
…
The DA was having their first Hogwarts-based meeting of the New Year the day before the term officially started.
The Cathedral was pretty full and the students were buzzing with excitement. The adults who had portkeyed in for the meeting were also caught up in the atmosphere. The newspapers had been full of articles about the Wizengamot vote that had gone in their favor.
"We actually did something," Leanne whispered to Wayne as he held the paper between them. "We worked on that."
"I know," he said with pride. "It's amazing."
"It's real change," she said. "Real, lasting change. Can you believe it?"
"Alright, I think that's everyone," Hermione said as she looked around the room. "Now we just need to get their attention…"
"Listen up!" Ron hollered loudly.
"Thanks," she said dryly.
"No problem," he said genuinely.
As she rubbed the now-sore ear he'd shouted into, she thought that the sweet smile he gave her as he completely failed to notice made it worth it. Besides, it worked. Pockets of chatter quieted down and the volume level in the room fell as they all turned to look towards their leader.
"Hey everyone," Harry greeted with his characteristically awkward initial address. "Good to see you all back if I didn't already spend most of the holidays with you."
"Which you did," Ron muttered.
"The first thing we have to discuss is obviously the werewolf facilities proposal," he continued, unbothered by the weak titters.
"Great job getting that passed through the Wizengamot," Hermione said with a wide smile.
At that, there was a burst of light cheers.
"Yes, thank you to everyone who was involved with that from the drafting and planning to the execution and politicking," Harry said. "So much work went into this but we did it — great job, everyone."
There was a light round of applause that he joined in on.
"It's not over yet though," Harry said as things quieted down. "Now that we have the licensing and permissions squared away, we have some new obstacles. Namely, public opinion, press coverage, and encouraging werewolves to participate."
"The press coverage is making that last point a bit of a problem," Wayne Hopkins said as he looked at a few copies and notes he had spread out in front of him.
"The response in the Daily Prophet was favorable enough but it was worded poorly," Colin said with a light wince. "For anyone who didn't read it — well, it definitely plays heavily on the value of locking werewolves away as much as possible."
"It certainly wasn't very humanizing," Wayne frowned.
"That's an unfortunate side effect of the way we had to play public opinion to garner Wizengamot support," Zara pointed out. "Which worked, to a degree."
"We do have the public support," Susan Bones agreed. "The response is overwhelmingly positive especially as it's not costing the taxpayers anything."
"The problem is that placating the public by selling it as a part-time prison has made the independent werewolves or smaller packs who might use the facilities a bit nervous," Hannah said.
"We're going to have to do some things to address that," Harry frowned. "I know Remus and Sirius are busy with the packs but we can bring them up to speed and ask if its possible to have Remus spread the word about the truth behind the facilities. Most werewolves are smart; if they're told that this is how the facilities had to be presented to get the licensing, they'll understand."
"That won't be enough," Zara said. "Not only are the packs not likely to use the facilities, there's also the fact that not every werewolf in the Isles knows Remus."
"Not to mention how it would look if Remus isn't even there to spend the full moon in said facility," Wayne pointed out. "What he's doing now is important with the Snowden pack, obviously, but he can't convince werewolves to spend time in a facility if he won't be there to back his words up in person."
"The facility wouldn't be running until February," Hannah pointed out. "Remus could be there by then."
"They've already been gone longer than we expected," Leanne pointed out. "We shouldn't discount him but we shouldn't exactly count on him alone either."
"You're right," Harry agreed. "But it can't hurt to have him put the word out that he's been involved in the planning personally."
"What we really need to do is focus on turning the press around," Zara commented.
"That's what we were thinking," Su Li said as she gestured between herself, Colin, and their press squad.
"We've already got the licensing that we need," Harry said. "And with the facilities and funding being handled independently of the Ministry, we don't need to rely on their goodwill as much anymore. That is to say, public opinion doesn't matter quite so much."
"We still don't want to cause any fires," Colin said immediately. He ended up being the one working the hardest to put out any fires Harry started, after all, and they had done a lot to get the public on their side already.
"No, no," Harry agreed. "I just mean that we don't need to placate them quite so heavily."
"The Wizengamot can't exactly take their vote back, per say," Zara explained. "So we can pull back on the scare tactics and move on to humanitarian ones."
"We can start releasing more information about the facilities," Su Li said. "Maybe let one of the facility managers interview with the Prophet."
"The Quibbler is working to present them more as humane clinics than as prisons already," Luna said.
"Pictures would help," Xeno Lovegood spoke up. "The public remembers images much more than words."
"We could release some pictures as everything is set up," Susan mused.
"I'd like to make it a point to show the public that there's no bloody kennels like Skeeter asked about," Harry grumbled. He was still sore about that question.
"We can shift the narrative, I think," Colin said as he shared a few glances with other members of the press squad. "We'll come up with a plan for a series of articles."
"Plan for at least two of them to be written by Rita Skeeter," Harry said even though he sighed a little. "Her articles did a lot of the damage so we'll need her voice to fix it."
"The public will react better to her as well, as unfortunate as that is," Daphne stated.
"I would be willing to do an interview with the woman on-site at one of the facilities," Augusta volunteered from her conjured wing-backed chair. She didn't sound enthused about it but she rarely sounded enthused so it was hard to tell. "That might have some impact."
"We do have a couple werewolves already willing to participate," Hannah mused slowly. "Perhaps you could give the interview to Skeeter at the Hogsmeade Wolfsbane distribution offices and we could ask a couple of the werewolves if they'd be willing to be pictured receiving the potion, maybe even give a quote to the paper."
"That might be better than letting Rita and her photographer into one of the full moon facilities," Wayne said.
"We can release photos of those through more neutral reporters," Hannah agreed.
"Do you think any of the werewolves would agree to that?" Harry asked with a frown. "I wouldn't want to ask them to subject themselves to Rita Skeeter and a lot of them might be very private about their conditions."
"I have a couple in mind that are well known and already have jobs with sympathetic employers," Hannah said. "So they wouldn't have much to lose so long as the article doesn't vilify them."
"I'll reign Rita in," Hermione said with an unduly dark smile.
Augusta and Andromeda shared a silent glance; maybe Harry was right about how Hermione's favorite pastime was tormenting Rita Skeeter.
"Well then we just have to figure out…"
They bantered a few ideas back and forth for awhile. Eventually, they discussed their plans for continuing patrols with the centaurs, figuring out what Draco Malfoy was up to, possible new members, new Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products, the new hospital, and a couple of other things.
"Alright, I think that's everything," Harry said with relief as he finally steered the meeting to a close.
"Actually, there's one more thing," Hermione said.
He tried not to groan but his expression might have betrayed him. "What is it?"
"Well," Hermione said in a drawn out tone. "The chateau on Firewall will be move-in ready by the end of the week. Are you available on Saturday evening?"
Daphne and Fleur were already snickering in the background from their spots in the middle of the Cathedral. That, coupled with Hermione's tone, made Harry instantly suspicious.
"Maybe…" he said. "We don't have Quidditch practices scheduled for the new year and they haven't assigned too much more homework yet. I could probably get away. Why?"
He realized that this was a milestone of sorts for the DA and their alliance with the veela so he needed to be there. He also realized there was something he hadn't been told because Lisa and Zara had joined in on the snickering now.
"I figured- well, we," she stuttered. Harry was really alarmed now. "We figured that you'd want to be there to formally welcome the veela."
"I take it you have something planned?"
"Well Fleur did suggest a small get-together in the ballroom," Hermione said evenly. "It's the only room large enough for everyone, you see, just so they can all be present for any speeches."
Harry blinked slowly.
"Speeches?" he asked equally slowly.
"The house-elves will also be providing some hors d'oeuvres," she continued, hedging slightly. There was now full on tittering happening amongst the assembled DA members as they watched this exchange.
"Uh huh."
"And perhaps some refreshing beverages."
"Well now that sounds awfully like catering, Hermione."
"There may also be a few numbers played by a veela string quartet," she admitted.
"Aaaand now there's live music."
"Which might encourage some dancing…" she continued blithely.
"So a ball. You want to throw a ball."
"Pretty much," Fleur spoke up with a mirthful expression. "I didn't go through all the trouble of designing the perfect chateau just to not show it off with a proper ball."
"Of course you didn't," Harry said flatly.
"Any DA members who are free on Saturday evening are also welcome to attend," Hermione announced.
There were a few excited murmurs and disappointed noises by those who realized their schedules conflicted with the event.
"For all the guys — if you have any doubt about your Occlumency shields and the allure, don't go," Ron said seriously. "We represent the DA and we can't afford to have an incident during the first celebration of our new alliance."
"Not just 'the guys,' Ronald," Fleur corrected with an amused smile. "Anyone who appreciates the fairer sex can be influenced by the veela allure."
"Er, right," he said. He hadn't really considered that.
"I saw plenty of people trying to get at the veela during the Quidditch World Cup," Harry agreed, remembering the summer before his fourth year. "Other women included."
"I don't remember," Ron said sheepishly. "I was, er, a bit distracted."
"Needless to say," Fleur said after an amused look at the teen. "If you have concerns about your Occlumency shields holding against the allure, please do not come. The whole convent will be attending and sometimes the young veela have less control over their allure. It can be overwhelming for some."
"Oh, the entirety of the convent?" Harry asked in a tone that some might say bordered on hysterical. "What happened to 'small get-together,' Hermione?"
"It's just a small ball," she hedged.
"Oh sure."
"A teensy tiny one."
"Uh huh."
"Come on," she said before saying what everyone says before dragging a friend into some nonsense. "It'll be fun."
"Famous last words."
"I've already got my dress robes picked out, of course." Hermione said, ignoring his pointed negativity.
"Of course you do," he said flatly.
"We just need to get you some new dress robes," she said, looking at him thoughtfully as if fitting him for an outfit in her mind's eye. Her eyes flickered towards Ron next. "And Ron is going to need a new set as well."
"Oh no…" Harry said.
Ron and Harry shared a look. He knew where she was going with this. "Hermione, no," Ron said.
"And you'll both need some new dress shoes as well," she continued heedlessly. "Maybe we should go shopping."
"Oh shit," Ron groaned.
"Please, no," Harry said at the same time.
The DA members were laughing again as they watched the two boys go pale.
"Language," she said offhandedly. She was clearly still thinking. "It is important to make a good impression, I think."
"Don't say it, don't say it," Harry whisper-prayed to any deity who may be listening. "Please don't say it again."
"Yeah, we should go on a shopping trip," Hermione decided. "Daphne, Fleur — do you want to come?"
"Oh most certainly," Daphne said with that shark-like grin.
"Oui oui," Fleur confirmed with one that matched.
In that moment, Harry and Ron realized that they were well and truly screwed. Some say that their answering groans still echo around the Cathedral's rafters to this day.
…
Firewall Island was far north enough that the sun had long-since set by the time Hermione's 'teensy tiny ball' really kicked off.
"Try not to look so stiff, Harry," the girl in question reminded him.
"I'm not stiff," he protested as he looked around the quite-full ballroom of the Château de la Flamme. "I'm just not a huge party person. And this is a huge party."
"It is a rather full house," Ron said as he snagged a flute of sparkling juice from a passing elf and handed it to Hermione.
"Thank you," she accepted it with a smile before she turned back towards Harry. "It seems to be going rather well."
"The hors d'oeuvres are delicious," Ron said supportively.
"I wish more of the DA could have come though."
"I do too," she said. "But I'm a completely straight female and even I can feel the allure in the air. It's even stronger than it was at the World Cup."
"Yeah, I've never felt it so strongly before," Harry acknowledged.
"I barely notice it," Ron said proudly.
Hermione gave him another warm smile at that. The allure was resisted easier by someone in a strong, happy relationship. That or not being attracted to women. That's why there were only a handful of guys from the DA compared to a number of girls (who were ecstatic to be attending a ball since they were few and far between).
Harry stared at the dome above their heads for a moment. It still reminded him ever-so-slightly of a birdcage. He could see a clear, starry sky through the crawling gold vines that formed the branch-like dome. The thousands of crystals glittering in the main chandelier kept drawing his eye. Speaking of…
"Nice dress, by the way," Harry said dryly.
"Yeah, you look beautiful 'Mione," Ron said genuinely.
"Thank you," Hermione said, avoiding Harry's eyes to glance at her boyfriend.
"It's quite…striking," Harry continued.
"Thank you," she repeated a little more stiffly. Carefully, she adjusting the silken ivory fabrics that swirled around her.
"It looks a little familiar."
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Oh come on Hermione," he finally snapped. "It's definitely inspired by the Phantom of the Opera dress."
She adjusted one of the off-the-shoulder sleeves on the boat-necked dress and flushed slightly.
"Maybe just a little."
He gave in to the urge to chuckle a little and shook his head.
"Is that from that play?" Ron asked as he looked at the dress with new eyes.
"It's loosely inspired by that dress," Hermione answered with a light flush. "I went for a less full skirt."
"Well you look beautiful," Ron said again.
"You don't think it's too much?"
"Naw," the redhead said. "It's great."
"Well I think this whole place is too much," Harry said as he nodded subtly towards a passing veela who had an honestly questionable amount of white feathers within the skirt of her dress robes. "You fit right in."
"Thanks," she said with a laugh.
They were standing near a small table full of various finger-foods setup near the main doors to the round ballroom. On the side of the rooms where the Matriarch's thrones stood, a string quartet had been set up. In the recessed area at the center of the room, well-dressed veela, witches, and wizards danced around with graceful spins.
"Go on, socialize," she finally said. "I see Fleur's father; I have a few questions for him," she finally said. "I'm gonna go socialize. Ron, you coming or are you staying with Harry?"
"I'm sticking with you tonight," he answered. "In case I need someone more beautiful than a veela to distract me from their allure."
"Oh, you," Hermione blushed.
"Gross," Harry said while making a fake gagging noise. "Gross. Now I'm glad you're leaving me alone."
"Shut it, Potter," Ron said, shouldering Harry good-naturedly.
"You two have fun."
"We will," Hermione said. "You too!"
"I'm sure," he said dryly.
"You could if you tried," she told him.
"It's just been pretty hectic lately," he said. "It feels weird to be at a ball with everything else that's going on."
"I understand," she said. "But life goes on. That's part of what we're fighting for, right?"
"You're right," he agreed. He needed to unwind more.
"So try to make the best of tonight, enjoy yourself as much as you can," Hermione told him whilst still glancing towards Fleur's father and one of the other Matriarch's husbands.
"Alright, alright. I will. Now go on," Harry urged, laughing. "I'll grab a snack and then mingle."
"Let me know if you see more of those little bacon things," Ron whispered to him. "Use the ear piece."
"Do not," Hermione interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "You ate a whole platter already."
"I did not!"
"Nearly," she said. "Now save some for the rest and try one of the cabbage rolls. They're vegetarian."
"Bah."
"We'll see you soon," Hermione said before she and Ron headed off to the other side of the room.
Harry made good on his promise, grabbing a snack and a flute of actual champagne before turning to survey the edges of the room. Apolline Delacour was on the other side of the room in a small grouping of what looked like her relatives. Though to be fair, most of the veela looked like they were probably related so it was quite hard to tell.
"Ah, Harry," Apolline greeted him. "Join us."
"Apolline," he returned, accepting her cheek kisses with as much aplomb as possible (not much). "Thank you."
"I was just telling Monsieur Lesage about your recent successes with…"
An hour later, Harry had to admit he was hoping he could escape back to Hogwarts. He didn't quite flourish at these sort of events even when he was entirely among friends. At least everyone he had spoken to was extremely impressed with the chateau and the island at large.
"I dare say that you have outdone yourself, Lord Gryffindor."
"Lady Tillion," Harry greeted as he turned around. "That is kind of you to say but I am afraid I can't take all the credit."
"No, Fleur has told us much about the various teams who worked to design this space," she acknowledged. "They have done a fine job."
"Then I hope you will be happy for your people to call this place home for however long?"
The veela matriarch was clad in a shimmery, gossamer dress in their favored powder blue color. Like most of her people, she was gorgeous. She raised a flute of champagne to her lips and sipped at it before giving him a demure smile.
"Dance with me?" she asked in a veiled demand, extending her hand.
Harry knew that it would be rude to let her hand hang so he took it into his own quickly. Still, he protested.
"I am afraid that you will find that I'm not much of a dancer."
"Then it is good that we are among friends," she brushed off his half-hearted protest. "Come, this is a fine song."
"They do play very well," Harry said as he began to lead her out onto the dance floor. "I find I don't have many opportunities to enjoy live music."
"That is a shame," she said as she placed her hand onto his shoulder. "That is the way it's meant to be enjoyed, if you ask me."
Harry let his hand fall to the appropriate place on her waist, not straying even slightly. Somewhat stiffly, he began to lead her through the steps.
"Come now, Lord Gryffindor," she purred with an amused gleam in her eyes. "No need to be so stiff. I'm a veela, not a vampire — I don't bite."
"I'm sure you don't," he laughed a little. "But I would be terribly embarrassed if I stepped on your toes."
"You just need to feel the music…" she said, a mischievous glint appearing in her eye. "And embrace it."
She stepped closer to his chest, making their dance seem a little more intimate. Despite the fact that he knew she was both married and old enough to be his mother (or grandmother, even), it was hard to remember that when her allure was brushing up against his magic so strongly.
Even ignoring that (as he was trying very, very hard to do) she was a beautiful woman who did not look her true age. Anyone with eyes could see that.
"I see," he managed to say a little weakly, managing to follow her subtle lead as she swayed and swirled to the beat of the music.
"Just feel the music," she said again with that same mischievous wink and a light grin. "And relax."
Her words coincided with a crescendo in the music that he could only assume she knew was coming based on the hop and spin maneuver she pulled off with minimal help from him. She truly was a terrific dancer, so much so that she even made it seem as if Harry had some real talent too.
"My people are content here, I must say."
"I am pleased to hear it," Harry said, trying to focus on his feet.
"Many have already agreed to begin moving during the following week."
"That is wonderful news."
"I believe my people will be happy to settle here for any amount of time. If that is so, maybe we will want to stay for longer term. Perhaps something to discuss? And should there be something that we could do for each other…"
From there, conversation continued.
By the end of the night, Harry felt more secure in their alliance. Fleur was practically glowing with pride; the future of her people was looking brighter than it had before. Hermione was equally pleased as it was a step in the right direction towards better international and inter-species cooperation.
"Didn't manage to set Harry up with any of my cousins though," Fleur sighed in disappointment.
"Fleur!" Hermione scolded quietly.
"What?" she asked. "I sent at least four of them over."
"Harry's not looking for a girlfriend."
"That's why I sent one of my male cousins over too."
"Fleur!"
The veela only shrugged, unabashed, before swanning back into the crowd of her people. "It was worth a try," she called over her shoulder.
Well, Hermione couldn't disagree there. If anyone deserved a bit more happiness in their life, it was Harry.
"Then again…" the thought to herself as she noticed the group of young veela hanging on Harry's every word over by the dessert table. "He looks happy enough."
…
"For this lecture, we're going to cover the Bubble-Head Charm," Professor Flitwick began. "Has everyone done the assigned reading?"
Given the early hour, there were only a few half-hearted mutters of confirmation.
"Come now," he said. "That's not convincing enough. Let's have a quick verbal quiz then. Ms. Patil — what is the incantation for the Bubble-Head Charm?"
While Parvati answered the question correctly, Harry tried to hide a sigh that Ron easily noticed.
"It's weird feeling so far ahead of the rest of the class, right?"
"No kidding," Harry whispered back. "Is this how Hermione feels all the time?"
"Probably."
Said witch glared at both of them and hushed them quickly. Despite already knowing the charm and its better alternatives and variants (like one with a minty-scent that smells way better than recycled breath), Hermione was taking diligent notes.
"Mr. Potter, can you suggest one use of the Bubble-Head Charm?" the short professor asked. He'd seen that he didn't have the entire attention of the two boys and had subsequently focused in on them.
"Well I shared a tower with the Weasley twins long enough to say it probably would have helped avoid some of their noxious potion fumes," he suggested lightly.
"True enough," Flitwick chuckled. "And you, Mr. Weasley?"
"Well it's good for breathing underwater."
"Perhaps an idea not already suggested by Ms. Turpin?"
The tips of Ron's ears flushed pink a little and he nodded. "Uhm, right. Well it'll give you fresh oxygen if you're trapped in a fire."
"That is a very good point," Flitwick praised. "Three points to Gryffindor. It might surprise some of you to realize that a flame-freezing charm is not enough to save your life in the event that you're trapped in a fire. Does anyone know why?"
Hermione, predictably, raised her hand. So did Seamus Finnegan.
"Mr. Finnegan?"
"Fire feeds off of oxygen, professor," he answered. "Which is a problem because so do we."
"Exactly right," Professor Flitwick nodded. "That's why I've had to smother so many of your previous practical attempts in this classroom — to deprive them of oxygen. Using a Bubble-Head Charm in conjunction with a flame-freezing charm could stop a fire from doing the same to you. It also protects you from smoke inhalation."
Professor Flitwick continued his lecture as he went into other uses for the charm and how to cast it correctly. Under the guise of taking notes, the two Gryffindor's began working on their homework for another class.
"This is an outrage," Ron muttered, careful not to be heard by the professor again.
"What?" Harry asked back just as carefully.
"I'm actually ahead on coursework because I've been studying," he whisper-hissed.
"A lot of good students can say that, Ron," Hermione muttered, barely moving her lips.
"Oh come off it, 'Mione," he scoffed as Flitwick demonstrated something to a Ravenclaw on the other side of the room. "You and I both know that I am not a good student."
Harry muffled a laugh. "True enough."
"It's this damn war," Ron muttered grumpily. "Here I am, ahead on both homework and the practicals. It's outrageous I tell you, outrageous."
"Most people agree that war is bad, mate," the dark-haired teen said as he glanced at his best friend. "Though not normally for that reason…"
"I just don't understand how you've managed to study more rather than less like most of us," Hermione whispered.
"You have to consider that he was practically not studying at all to begin with," Harry pointed out. "Now he's just studying a normal amount so he doesn't draw attention."
"It's sickening, I tell you," Ron hissed. "Absolutely sickening."
"And people think I'm the weird one," Hermione muttered. "Seriously."
"You are. 'We could all have been killed," Harry muttered in a higher pitched voice. "Or worse, expelled!'"
Ron sniggered as Hermione gave Harry an affronted glare. She couldn't say anything to defend herself though because that was a direct quote.
"This has gone too far, that's all I'm saying," Ron continued. "It's all because of this stupid war."
"I'll be sure to let the Dark Lord know about it when I read him our list of complaints," Harry said with dry sarcasm.
"Please do," Ron huffed. After a long moment, he tacked on: "…after you mention all the killing and torturing stuff, of course."
"Oh of course."
Hermione rolled her eyes so hard that Flitwick might have heard it based on how fast he glanced over at them. That or he heard Harry's muffled snort. Either way, all three put their heads down and focused on their parchments before they drew the ire of their professor.
"…gonna end up with five whole NEWT's," Ron could be heard muttering angrily. "Maybe even six. It's obscene."
"And that would be a bad thing?" Hermione asked with an unimpressed but grudgingly amused tone.
"It would be uncalled for, 'Mione," he huffed angrily. "Uncalled for."
"If you say so…"
…
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked as he leaned against the dueling platform in the Cathedral.
"I'm fine, Harry," Ella said with a warning glare at him. She unconsciously flexed the arm that had been burned at St. Mungo's before softening her expression slightly. "Thanks for asking but really, stop worrying."
"I don't think I can do that."
"Well you can't worry retroactively," she said.
"Really?" he asked. "It's practically my specialty."
"It doesn't help anything," she said. "You have to focus on the future. There's a lot of us depending on you."
"No pressure or anything," he said dryly.
"If I've learned one thing, it's that you thrive under pressure," she said seriously. "And you've taught a lot of us to do the same."
"Harry!"
"Coming, Hermione."
He and Ella shared a quick nod before Harry crossed the Cathedral with quick strides. Hermione was stood near their maps with her journal spread open on her usual table.
"Blaise is running late," she said. "But we have an update from Sirius and Remus."
"We do?"
"The full moon isn't for two more weeks but they wrote a brief note about the general atmosphere among the pack right now," she said. "Here."
She spun the journal around to face him and he read it quickly.
"Good, that's good," he said after a moment.
"I'm hopeful," she agreed. "Apparently, the news about Wizengamot vote and the werewolf facilities reached them. With Remus there and ready to temper the Prophet's spin on things, they're looking at it pretty positively."
"They haven't had much time since Christmas to mirror-call," Harry told her. "So this is good to hear. I'm glad he and Remus feel welcome."
They heard someone portkey into the room and turned to see that Lucas Masson had arrived.
"Lucas," Harry greeted.
"Harry," he said as he came to stand around the table nearest the maps as well.
"I am not late, I hope?"
"Not really," Ron answered as he walked over. "Still waiting on some of the snakes."
"It's getting harder and harder for them to slip away unnoticed," Hermione frowned. "Everyone is watching everyone."
"It's Slytherin," Zara said as she checked her manicure disinterestedly. "Everyone has always been watching everyone."
Blaise slipped through one of the portrait holes just in time to hear what she'd said.
"She's not wrong," he said. "Sorry I'm late."
"You're just in time," Harry waved off.
"I've got some news on the Malfoy front," he said.
Harry nodded in understanding before turning to face the room at large.
"Have a seat, everyone!" he called as he walked towards the dueling platform. He climbed onto it then sat on the edge so he was only a couple feet taller than the room at large.
It only took a few minutes for everyone to get settled around the room. Hermione and Ron had followed Harry but remained standing near the platform. Lucas and a few of the other older mercenaries remained near the maps, getting comfortable at the tables under the loft area.
"Quick update on Sirius and Remus with the Snowdon Pack," Harry began. "The pack won't make an official decision until sometime after the full moon at the end of the month. However, they wrote to say that they've been hearing generally positive whispers and the atmosphere is good. They're pretty hopeful."
There were a few interested mutters at that before Harry continued.
"Blaise has an update on the Malfoy front. We're still trying to figure out just what the hell he's doing in the Room of Requirement," he said. "Blaise?"
"Fred and George gave me some small cameras designed as robe buttons," he began. "Since term re-started, I've managed to attach half to the robes I think Malfoy wears most. I've put three on robes and three on cloaks; the bastard has a lot of both so it's impossible to know when he's going to end up wearing one or the other let alone go to the Room wearing it."
"Have you had any trouble?" Harry asked. Blaise had sounded confident about attaching all of them before but he had only managed half in the nearly two weeks that they'd been back from winter break.
"You could say that," he grimaced. "Crabbe and Goyle dropped Potions after the first semester. There's no point doing sixth year exams if the NEWT is going to be unattainable to them; they're better off focusing on their other courses."
"Not that they'll have much luck with those either," Ron muttered.
"I guess they're lucky that the Dark Lord doesn't check exam scores," Dean said.
"Unluckily for me, that means that they spend the potions block in the dorms or common room for the most part," Blaise said, bringing them back on track. "And the cameras aren't exactly quick to attach. I have to pair them with a mirror and properly ward them to prevent them from being noticed or detected. Malfoy is always fawning over his robes so if I don't do it right, he'll spot it immediately."
"Having half of them installed is still a win," Harry pointed out.
"Speaking of the mirrors," Blaise said as he pulled them out. "We'll need to dedicate an area to monitoring them."
"We'll need a schedule as well," Daphne pointed out.
"I'm on it," Hermione said with poorly hidden excitement.
"Who knows how long before they show anything other than the inside of his wardrobe though," Blaise sighed.
"Well…" Jimmy Peakes spoke up after glancing at his brother. "I might have some ideas about that."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," Blaise said. They spent too long around the Weasley twins for his comfort.
"If he's wearing the wrong robes, let us know before or after breakfast," Sean Peakes said. "We can arrange a little accident to force him to change his outfit."
"Peeves would help us too," Jimmy said. "We'll just dung bomb him to high hell, have the house-elves keep the dung bombed robes longer for 'extra cleaning,' and eventually it'll better the odds on him wearing one of our cameras."
"If you do it before lunch and then again before dinner if needed, we have a good chance that he'll be wearing a button-cam on one of his late night excursions pretty quickly," Dean Thomas realized. "We could probably force two or three outfit changes in a day if needed."
"I mean, that sounds a little excessive," Nanette murmured from near the end of the dueling platform where she was sat on an empty infirmary bed.
"Uh, what?" Colin asked as he gave her a puzzled look.
"I mean, it sounds like we're almost toeing the torture line a little bit," the young healer said. "Peeves alone is almost cruel and unusual punishment in his own right."
"Uh…" Dean said slowly.
"But it's Malfoy," Sean said as he blinked in confusion.
"Ohh," Nanette shook her head. "Right."
"Yeah so it's just-" Sean started to explain.
"No, no, I get it," she shook her head. "No need for decency here. It's Malfoy."
"Yeah, exactly."
"Right," Colin agreed.
"I was just being daft, forgot who we were talking about here," Nanette said as she waved her hand errantly. "Carry on, go all out."
A few people were sniggering as they listened and Jimmy shook his head before he spoke up.
"I'm sure Fred and George have some products they'd like to test that can help," he said with a grin that his twin matched.
"Why are all the twins in this group so bloody terrifying?" Blaise muttered to Daphne as he stared at Jimmy and Sean.
"At least we're normal," Flora and Hestia said in perfect sync, turning their heads in unison to stare at their fellow Slytherin.
"Uh," Blaise said dryly before swallowing. "Right."
He shot a wide-eyed look at Daphne who mirrored the expression. Neither one of them was going to say what they were really thinking.
"That's some good, outside of the box thinking, boys," Harry praised. "Reach out to the Weasley twins for supplies and get with Blaise to make some plans if you need extra hands."
"Got it."
"Harry," Lucas said in a severe tone from the back of the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt but…"
"It's no problem," Harry said. He felt a ball of lead begin to form in his stomach when he saw the look on the older Frenchman's face. "What is it?"
"Brock has sent a message; it's longer than usual."
"What does it say?"
"Nothing good."
"Dear Merlin, it can't be another attack already, can it?" someone gasped.
"Ruddy hell, I hope not," another person muttered back from near the fireplace.
"It's not another attack," Lucas answered immediately. "Voldemort has secured a new alliance."
"With who?" Harry asked as the whispering along the edges of the room quieted down.
"A Southeastern European vampire clan," he answered, immediately sending the room back into wild chatter.
"Which one?" Hermione asked loudly.
"The Eredely coven."
Zara sucked in a bit of air between her pearly white teeth as she grimaced. The room quieted down and waited for her to speak.
"That's one of the most magically powerful covens outside of the sworn neutrals."
"Where are they from?" Harry asked.
"Transylvania," Lucas answered. "A country they plan to conquer, apparently."
"Transylvania isn't actually a country though," Hermione said immediately with a frown.
"Tell that to them," the older wizard said as he pursed his lips. "Voldemort has promised to assist them in reclaiming Transylvania once he has conquered Britain, despite what the muggle and magical governments of Romania may have to say about it."
"Merlin's beard," Ron said, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Harry didn't look much happier and most of the DA members were muttering between themselves.
"We'll need to start preparing some countermeasures specifically against vampires," he said before looking back towards Lucas. "Did Brock write anything else? Anything about the timeframe to this alliance or their numbers?"
"It's already a done deal by the looks of this," Falcon said as he read Brock's missive, stroking his sandy blonde goatee. "They were told a day ago and by then it was probably already set in stone. They wouldn't have announced it to the auxiliary forces like Brock if it wasn't."
"I concur," Lucas nodded.
"He didn't write anything about their numbers but from what we know of the Eredely coven, they're magically powerful but not overly numerous. I'd be surprised if they gave him more than 50 combatants."
"That's not an inconsiderable amount either way," Gareth said as he shared a long look with Ron.
"Yeah, we have some plans to adjust now that we know vampires are definite players," the redhead said with a look in his eyes that said he was already internally coming up with new plans and contingencies. "And Fenrir Greyback is still working his way through Southeastern and Eastern Europe, apparently. He was spotted in Moldova two weeks ago and apparently his pack has grown a bit."
"I'll ask the twins to get us a complete list of their werewolf and vampire related defensive products," Ginny volunteered. "I think they were putting the finishing touches on some new ones."
"We'll work on fine tuning all of our game plans, so to say," Gareth said with a glance towards Ron and the Sallys.
"Alright people," Harry said as he hopped down from the dueling platform and landed on his feet easily. "We have a few things going on right now that all need some attention so let's split up into project groups. Can I get our squad leaders to come up here and give me a hand…"
"We need to find out if that's the only coven he swayed to his side," Lucas Masson said to Falcon as the two mercenaries watched the DA split into working groups.
"I'll put some feelers down," the blonde man said. "The Eredely's have always been shortsighted for such a long-lived race. Maybe they're outliers."
"Let's hope they are," the older man said with a heavy countenance. "I'm not sure how comfortably this group can handle an organized force of bloodsuckers, let alone the average citizen. The ordinary witch and wizard is now in a lot more danger than they were before. If he has swayed more covens to his side…"
"I know," Falcon said gravely. "I'll see what I can find out."
"Have the others do the same. It's time we start utilizing our combined resources to the best of our abilities," Lucas directed.
"Yes, sir."